Izaya groaned as he lied back on the bed. He made sure to lay down gingerly, so as not to hurt his injuries more than they already did. Within the depths of the church were four rooms designated for beds. Two of the rooms had multiple twin-sized beds against the wall like a hospital ward, one had a few queen-sized beds filling the room, and the last had a single king-sized bed in it. Obviously, the king-sized bedroom was Christabella's by all her the feminine items and only feminine items. No surprise there was a type of caste-system in this terrible cult. But neither Shizuo nor Izaya really cared to discuss that. They were just thankful for the beds. After a quick change of sheets—they had clean ones, thankfully—the two decided to claim Christabella's old bed as their own.

Shizuo plopped down onto the bed as well, his arm hitting Izaya's.

"Sorry." The red-haired man said.

"It's fine." Izaya responded.

The two let out a sigh. They had agreed to share the bed instead of use separate ones. It had nothing to do with the size. After all, Shizuo never really cared for what size bed he got so long as he had one to lay down on. Whether it was a twin-sized or a futon, he didn't see a reason to worry about stuff like that. No, it wasn't about that. Nor was it about Izaya getting a better bed or anything petty like that. They were sharing a bed for safety purposes.

Even though the darkness didn't come into the church once the doors were closed, there was still that paranoia. After all, Alessa got in once before, what's to say she was just choosing not to return, instead of not being able to. Neither were willing to take that risk, so they both shared the same room and the same bed. If one doesn't wake up, the other surely will, so they were safer like that. Neither put up any fuss about it. Izaya made a joke of putting a wooden board between so they could "no homo" but Shizuo just called him stupid and that was all to it.

Luckily, they were able to keep their bed clean since there was clothes throughout this place, so they could change out of their bloodied and soiled attire whenever. A lot weren't the right size, but that was nothing a belt couldn't fix. That meant they were able to keep blood from getting on the sheets.

For the most part. They still had trouble with the blood on their flesh and hair, especially since there was no running water and the water they had needed to be rationed. With that as the case, the two could only take a bath once a week.

Izaya and Shizuo certainly hated that. Not only did they tend to get covered in sweat every time they went out, there were also the times they got caught in the darkness, in which they would certainly get covered in blood—either their own, a monsters, or the bloody rain. They had to change their clothes regularly and only use water to drink and wash their hands until shower day. They both suffered from the lack of cleanliness. Izaya's cowlick would become stiff and hurt to touch while Shizuo would get dandruff and made him have terrible bouts of scratching fits. The day before they could shower was truly the worse.

To keep their sheets as clean as they possibly could, they put many layers on the bed, all the way over the pillows. This made it so they could just peel one layer off and sleep on a clean one the next night.

They certainly had to adjust to a minimal lifestyle. They, of course, managed, but the first week was extremely hard for both of them. Oh, how they missed proper civilization.

Izaya chuckled.

"What?" Shizuo opened one eye, the other shoved into the sheet-covered pillow.

"Nothing." Izaya breathed. "I was just thinking about what I'm going to do when we get back to Japan."

Shizuo paused, then chuckled as well. "Yeah, I'll just be happy to shower regularly. Wake up and take a nice, hot shower. Come home and take a bath."

"Drink a nice cup of coffee in the morning. Then have a little bit of wine for a nightcap."

"Eat some sweets, like candy and ice cream."

"Being able to put on deodorant."

Shizuo held back a laugh. "Ah, deodorant! What a lifesaver. Never thought I'd miss it so much."

Izaya chuckled. "Never thought I'd miss metal silverware."

"Or ceramic plates."

"Dishes are a pain, but damn are they better than plastic forks and paper plates."

"Or washing machines. Being able to pack it then walk away instead of sitting over a tub for three hours scrubbing clothes."

"God, so many things that are so basic but you really miss 'em when you're like this."

The two chuckled then let out a soft sigh. Izaya turned his head to look at him.

"Do you think you'll dye your hair blond when we get back?" The informant asked, reaching out to touch Shizuo's red locks. The hair was still quite soft, despite the red color. The blood had been washed off during their last bath, but it had dyed the blond locks to a permanent red. "This may sound morbid, all things considering, but you don't look bad as a redhead."

"Really?" Shizuo lifted his head and gripped some of his bangs to look at them. "I've never really dyed my hair any other color but blond."

"Eh? Really? I thought you were going through a 'dye my hair' phase back in high school and stuck with blond."

"Oh, no. I started dying my hair back in middle school, actually."

"Really?"

"Yeah. See, Tom-san, well, Tom-senpai back then, we went to the same middle school way back when. And when we became friends, he suggested I dye my hair blond as a kind of ward against guys who wanted to pick a fight. Cuz, you know, I'm not that intimidating of a guy when you first meet me. I don't have bulging muscles like Simon and back in middle school, I was really short. So, bullies were constantly trying to pick fights with me and I would send them to the hospital. So, Tom-san suggested I dye my hair yellow, like a caution sign, so people knew to stay away if they saw me."

Izaya held back a laugh. "Really? How ironic that you colored your hair to a traffic sign when you throw so many of them around."

Shizuo glowered. "Shut up. No one asked you."

The two shared a soft laugh.

"So, that's why you dye your hair blond, huh?" Izaya asked. "I always wondered how you could sit there saying you hate violence when you made yourself look like a delinquent."

"It really worked, though. After I dyed my hair, I stopped getting into fights and had a peaceful middle school life." Shizuo turned his head away then muttered. "Until I met you and you ruined it."

"I heard that." Izaya whacked his arm. "You know, I think I did you a favor. All those fights I set up for you bolstered your reputation, so that everyone in the town knew to steer clear of the tall blond in a bartender outfit."

"You did not do that to help my reputation." Shizuo glowered. "Don't try and make yourself a saint when you were just being an asshole."

"I wouldn't say I was being an asshole. I wanted to see what your full potential was."

"One fight, the first time we met, showed my potential just fine."

"But who would have thought you could get back up after getting hit by a truck!"

"You did, apparently! Unless you were trying to kill me back then." Shizuo glowered at the pillow.

"No, no, I didn't plan to kill you. From what Shinra told me, you would be able to handle it."

Shizuo glared at him. "Shinra told you about me?"

"Yeah. When he found out the three of us were going to the same school, he was super excited. Talked about how he could have two friends at the same time to impress Black Bike-san with."

"Yeah, that sounds like Shinra." Shizuo chuckled.

Izaya chuckled as well. "But yeah, so, he told me all about how special you were, and his theory about your bone and muscle development. That you broke and tore them so many times until they've become as durable as they are now. It interested me, so I had to see what you were like."

"Were you impressed?" Shizuo turned his head to look at him.

Izaya glowered at the ceiling.

"Were you?"

"That's none of your business."

Shizuo smiled. "So you were."

"Shut up. No one asked you."

Shizuo held back a laugh. Then he rested his head on the pillow. "You're still an asshole. Framing me twice like that."

"You didn't get in trouble the first time."

"Doesn't change the fact that you still framed me. You nearly gave me a juvi record and a criminal record."

"It's fine. It was obvious you didn't do it if you came across a cop with competency. Which you obviously did."

"I lost my job because of that."

"But then you got a job with your apparent childhood friend. Isn't it all's well that ends well."

You're still an asshole."

"Well, yeah, I really hated you back then."

"Prick."

"Meathead."

"Flea."

"Monster."

The room fell silent. Then, they laughed. The two let out a hearty laugh that echoed off the walls of the bedroom. They shared the frenzy giggle for a few minutes at least. Once done, they let out another sigh.

Shizuo looked at the raven. "You know, I wonder if we could have been friends back then?"

"Well," Izaya glanced at him. "I tried to be your friend, recall?"

"No, you wanted to use me."

"I hadn't even said anything to you yet. How could you have possibly known?"

"I could feel it."

"What are you, a dog?"

"You wanna fight?"

Izaya chuckled. He then turned to give Shizuo his undivided attention. "I'll be honest with you. You were right. I wanted to use you. I knew that if you and I were together, my plans would never be thwarted. I never intended to use you as a scapegoat, at least it wasn't in my foreseeable plans."

"Doesn't mean it wouldn't be a possibility of the future."

"Well, you're not wrong. But I try not to burn people I think are useful. I'd rather had a constant card in my pocket instead of burning a bridge. I still have a pawn from middle school and high school I can use whenever I feel like it."

"That's such a twisted way to view people, you shithead."

"Force of habit."

Shizuo let out a sigh of annoyance. "How did you end up like this, with this twisted personality? Was it Alessa?"

"Doubt it. I've probably always been like this. Alessa didn't have anything to do with it."

"Are you sure?"

"If anything, Alessa is the only reason I can show compassion. I mean, how many times have I died for her? I obviously care about her enough to give my life for her."

"But why do you care about her and not other people?"

"...Ah, maybe that's why I'm so selfish? Because I spend so much time protecting Alessa, dying for her so many times in my dreams, that I decided I wouldn't have to deal with other peoples problems in the waking world."

"...That would explain why you care so much for Alessa but are such an asshole to everyone around you. And maybe that's why you became an informant too."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, your job is totally scummy. But it's mostly getting dirt on other people, right? Finding something that'll ruin someone's reputation?"

"Well, yeah."

"In that regard, you don't really like lies. Maybe Alessa instilled that need for the truth in you because of these cultists."

"I don't like that."

Shizuo cocked a brow.

"I don't really mind lies, because it's always fun to let them think they can lie to me. To expose them when they're confident they got away with it. But I don't like to think that my whole life was manipulated by Alessa. My life wouldn't have changed just because I was haunted by Alessa. I became an informant because it was the best job to observe humans."

"Well, you could have become a detective or something."

"No, that'd be boring. I wouldn't be able to enjoy the worst of humanity if I was working on the good side."

Shizuo glowered. "Is humanity really that interesting?"

"Of course it is!" Izaya looked at him with a genuine smile. "Think about it! Humans are the most interesting things in the world! You're not going to see dogs or lions make this terrible cult! You're not going to see a bear coming up with this kind of hellscape! This whole place is just proof that humanity is so goddamn amazing! It's why I love them so much!"

"...God, you're still so twisted. It hasn't come out nearly as much since we've been here, I nearly forgot why I hated you so much."

Izaya looked at him. His smile became endearing, as if he knew Shizuo was right, but he didn't mind that.

"In comparison to these cultists and Alessa, aren't I pretty okay?" Izaya asked.

Shizuo glowered at the raven. He then glanced to the side. "I guess that's true..."

Izaya chuckled. The raven then turned his head to lie flat on his pillow again, closing his eyes as he relaxed.

"You better buy me dinner when we get back." Shizuo said.

"Hm?" Izaya turned to look at him.

"Yeah. I want dinner. A nice cooked meal that didn't come out of a can."

Izaya stared at him for a moment. Then he smiled again. "Haha, it's the least I can do, it would seem. Where do you wanna go?"

"...Let's go to Russian Sushi."

Izaya held back a laugh. "Really? I'm willing to take you to a five-star restaurant. I'll take you to a restaurant that sells gold-leafed ice cream."

"Gold-leaf? Like gold coloring?"

"No, I mean edible gold."

Shizuo's eyes widened. "There's edible gold?!"

"Yup. It's very expensive. 24 karat gold that you can eat, usually comes up to 100,000 yen ($1,000)."

Shizuo jolted and lifted his head. "One hundred thousan—is it a whole tub?!"

"No, usually just a cone."

"Why would anyone spend that much on on a single scoop of ice cream?!"

Izaya shrugged. "To be boujee."

"That's just..." Shizuo let his words trail off into a sigh, flopping back down and burying his head into the pillow. "Nah, I'm good with Russian Sushi. I'm fine with my affordable food."

Izaya chuckled. "Alright. Then I'll buy you Russian Sushi whenever you want. Rain or shine, you want Russian Sushi, just call me."

Shizuo chuckled. "Even if I hit you with a trashcan an hour earlier?"

"Yup. You want Russian Sushi and we'll call it a truce during that time only."

Shizuo held back a laugh. "After everything, I wonder if we'll even fight after this. If we can really just go back to how things were before."

"...You know, that's a valid point. Work, I think, we'll go back to, no problem."

"But hating each other?"

"...I don't know, do you still hate me? After all, I'm the one who brought you here."

"I wanted to come with you. I was the one who suggested it, remember?"

"...I guess that's true..."

'So, Shizuo really did bring me back to Silent Hill, if you think about it like that...'

Izaya turned his head away.

"I don't blame you, you know." Shizuo said. "If anything, it's that demon, Alessa, who did this."

"She's not a demon, Shizu-chan." Izaya looked back at him. "She was a tortured soul."

"But the dark Alessa isn't. The dark Alessa is a demon. No way a normal human could make this kind of thing."

Izaya didn't respond, recalling what the dark Alessa had said. "That's when I came. I told her it was there turn."

'Well, dark Alessa is definitely a demon. I already knew that. But Alessa herself isn't. Although, I wonder if she's a demon of hell or if she's just the manifested evil within Alessa that became sentient.'

Izaya's lack of response made Shizuo's brows furrow.

"...I-Izaya..." Shizuo started, lifting his head. "You know now, don't you?"

"Know what?" Izaya looked up at him.

"That...That Alessa isn't..."

"Alessa was, Shizu-chan!" Izaya sat up, suddenly flaring with rage. He groaned because his wounds spasm to his movements then he glared down at the blond-dyed-red. Shizuo was staring at him wide-eyed with shock. "She was just a little girl! She was eight-years-old and they burned her alive! She was so scared and hurt and lonely! No one was there for her! No one could help her! Until Dark Alessa arrived. She said it was there turn! That it was time for them to suffer like she did!"

"Izaya, people suffer from terrible things like this all the time!" Shizuo sat up as well. "You work with Yakuza and the underground society! So, you should know that people have been burnt alive before and never summoned a demon to kidnap a group of people and take them into a living hellscape!"

"They deserved it!"

"That's not the point, Izaya!" Shizuo grabbed the raven's biceps as gently as he could. "People who suffer greatly don't summon a demon! They don't make this kind of place, this hell on Earth filled with monsters and darkness!"

"She didn't summon Dark Alessa! Dark Alessa came to her in her time of need!"

"Izaya, you're missing the point! Why Alessa, that's the point! Why did a demon come to her?! Out of all the people who were hurt by evil people, why did a demon come to her?! Alessa wasn't normal from the beginning, Izaya! There's no way an eight-year-old could come up with such a demented world like this!"

"You weren't normal either!"

"This isn't about me!"

"You can't get bent out of shape when someone calls you a monster and a fighting demon but turn your back on Alessa!"

"Turn my back—She's not a friend to us, Izaya!"

"She saved your life!"

"No, she murdered a bunch of people, which just happened to save me! I was not the reason she was there!"

"Does that matter?! It doesn't change the fact that you're alive because she came!"

"She wouldn't have came at all if you didn't let her in! If anything, you saved me! She didn't care if I lived!"

"And what made you think I cared if you lived?!"

Shizuo jolted, his eyes stretching wide. His heart clenched with genuine pain to such harsh words. He let Izaya go and backed away just a bit.

"...I-Izaya..."

The redhead clenched his teeth. After a month of protecting each other and surviving in this hell, he had assumed the two had developed comradery. Was he wrong? Had he just made up their allegiance all because he was scared?

"...Bu-but you didn't have to..." Shizuo stuttered, "when-when I was on the ladder and couldn't move, you didn't have to save me..."

Izaya didn't respond.

"Did...did you just...save me because you needed my strength?"

Izaya's eyes narrowed. 'I'm not that shallow. I don't need your strength. I survived just fine without you.'

"So this whole time," Shizuo said, "you just wanted to use me? You just wanted a bodyguard who can kill the monsters for you?"

"That's why you came, didn't you? To protect me?"

Shizuo glared at him, the pain seeping away to anger. "So, if I die, it's no consequence to you, huh? Oh, wait, it would be of consequence, because then you won't have your muscle anymore!"

The blond-turned-red stood from the bed, glaring hate at Izaya.

"Just when I thought you had changed..."

Izaya chuckled. "You thought I changed? I don't think I've done anything different from the beginning."

"You cared about Alessa."

"I've always cared about Alessa."

"Why? So you can use her for your schemes?"

Izaya glared. "No! Because she's a little girl and this is literal hell!"

"Is that all you care about?! Alessa this, Alessa that?! Are you willing to burn the whole world all for a demonic child?!"

"SHE'S NOT A DEMON!"

"SHE IS NOW! She may have been human once but not anymore! She chose to let the Dark Alessa corrupt her, to give her these ungodly abilities! No normal person could possibly do what Alessa has done! She's not human anymore!"

"She is, she is, she is!"

"She isn't, Izaya! She's blinded you!"

"I'm not blind! I know Alessa!"

"No you don't!"

"Yes, I do! I saw it all! I saw what they did to her, I saw how she suffered! I know how scared she was and how hurt she was! I felt her rage boiling inside of me as if it was my own! I know her!"

"You knew who she was! You know her as the little girl who was hurt by these cultist bastard! You don't know who she is now! That woman who moved barbed wire like it's a part of her body! That woman who massacred everyone in this church! You don't know her!"

"I do know her!"

"Do you?! You said she gave us permission to leave, yet we can't get out! You trusted her and she lied! Do you really know her?!"

"She didn't..."

Izaya fell silent. 'I can get out if I want to. You can't though.'

The raven couldn't share that information aloud. He couldn't tell Shizuo the only reason Izaya was still in this wretched place is because Shizuo can't get out.

However, to Shizuo, it looked like Izaya couldn't admit he was wrong as he realized he was, so he fell silent.

"Izaya..." Shizuo sat back on the bed, his tone much softer. "Look, I get you've had nightmares about her since you were a kid. I get she's been with you since you were a kid. But you have to realize that's just it. You were just a kid! You didn't know what you were getting into."

Izaya clenched his teeth. He glared at Shizuo, then glared down at the bed.

'...I get that...But still...'

"There's just so much you don't know, Shizu-chan." Izaya drooped his head.

Shizuo's brows furrowed. "Than explain it to me, dammit! Like it or not, we're in this together! I need to know what we're up against and you and I need to be on the same page!"

Izaya let out a heavy sigh. "Weren't you just yelling at me about using you as muscles?"

"Yeah, I'm not okay with that, you asshole. If you plan to use me for whatever bullshit, I swear, I'll break you fucking nose."

Izaya scoffed. "What could I possibly scheme in this world?"

"I don't know. Maybe kill me to earn Alessa's favor."

Shizuo regretted saying that as soon as it left his mouth. He hoped he didn't just give Izaya a bright idea.

Izaya chuckled. "As if. Alessa would sooner damn me for killing an innocent than reward me for it."

'...Well, at least I'm considered an innocent.'

Izaya just stared at the bed. This conversation took too much effort that Izaya was willing to exert right now. He was tired and now annoyed. He just wanted to sleep.

The informant let out a heavy sigh. Then he lied down. He did so gingerly, so as not to hurt his wounds.

"Let's just go to bed." Izaya moaned, getting under the blankets.

"Izaya, I need to know everything." Shizuo said. "If Alessa isn't—"

"You never took interest in any of that before."

"Don't. We've both had more important things to worry about over the last few weeks."

"Mm."

"Don't leave me in the dark."

"Shizu-chan, I'm tired. I want to sleep."

"You were the one who said—"

"I'll tell you. Later, alright? I know you're tired too."

Izaya wasn't wrong about that. Shizuo certainly didn't come to the bed to argue with Izaya about a demon girl. The blond-dyed-red glowered at him for a moment longer then let out a sigh of defeat.

"Alright, fine."

Izaya smiled up at him, letting out a soft chuckle. Shizuo glowered at him.

"You better tell me in the morning." Shizuo growled, getting under the blanket and lying down on his side.

"I will."

"You promise?"

Izaya held back a laugh.

"I~za~ya~." Shizuo's voice thickened with a growl.

"Heh, I promise."


Shizuo jolted with a mighty gasp. A chill, so prominent and volatile, shot down the redheads spine. Along with it came a jostle that made his heart leap from his chest. That terrible sensation when one falls asleep too fast and has their heart jump-started with the feeling of falling. Such a thing hit Shizuo. Without knowing why, the blond was pulled out of his sleep in such a terribly violent way.

The blond panted heavily, a cold sweat trailing down his brow. He wasn't sure what woke him up. He knew he had been in a deep sleep, so there was no reason for him to jolt awake like that. The skip to his heartbeat was something he could probably just write off as a strange phenomenon to his body. However, the chill that stole all the warmth from his body couldn't be ignored. There was something wrong with that sensation.

His gasp made Izaya jolt. The raven quickly rolled over, who immediately cringed in pain as he rolled on his shoulder. But he tried to keep his voice down. Looking at Shizuo was more important.

"What's wrong?" The informant asked.

"...I don't...Sorry. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

The two looked at each other. It was then that they realized something was very wrong and what it was. They couldn't see each other. It was too dark to see. They both stiffened immediately, fear filling their very being. At that moment, they both had a unified thought.

'The Darkness is in our sanctuary!'

The two reached to their nightstands and found their flashlights. They flicked them on and pointed them around the room. Everything looked normal. There was no peeling wallpaper or metal grating as the floor. Nothing was amiss.

They looked at each other. Shizuo looked terrified while Izaya looked confused. Izaya then turned to the oil lamp on his nightstand. The light was out. He flicked the nozzle to try and turn the flame up but that certainly wouldn't work. He took the glass shade off it, put it down, and grabbed the lighter from the drawer. He clicked a flame and put it to the wick. It wouldn't ignite.

Izaya breathed a breath of relief. "We ran out of lighter fluid."

"Is-is that all?" Shizuo asked, smiling nervously.

"Seems like it. The darkness isn't here." Izaya let out a breath of relief and lied back on the bed.

Shizuo chuckled his fear out, rubbing his hand through his dyed hair. Their room was in the middle of the church, so there were no windows. If the oil lamps went out, then of course they'd be in complete darkness.

The blond breathed in deeply then exhaled the fear. He did this three more times before he was finally calm. His heart calmed, warmth began to fill his body again. He rubbed his palms against his eyes for a good few seconds before groaning.

"Alright." Shizuo sat up. "I'll go get more oil."

"Do you remember where it is?" Izaya asked.

"Yeah."

The redhead pushed himself off the bed and stood. He was still a little chilly, so he grabbed Izaya's coat from the wall-mounted coat hooks and put it on. Neither of them had been wearing Izaya's coat even before they came back from the darkness. They both allotted to leaving it at their sanctuary since they just washed it and it needed to dry. Luckily, that meant it didn't get ruined when Izaya was grabbed by the Nightflutter.

Shizuo had fallen into the habit of wearing Izaya's coat. Since he had been wearing it during the time they were separated, it felt a little weird not to wear it. But it was Izaya's coat, of course, so the informant would wear it when he felt cold. However, he didn't complain very often when Shizuo wore it. At this point, the blond-dyed-red wore it more often than Izaya did.

Shizuo opened the bedroom door, gray light filtering into the room. Izaya groaned and buried his face into the pillow to block out the light. The red-haired man left the door open only a crack then turned down the hall. He headed to the utility closet, which was filled with general cleaning items, medical supplies, and chemicals. Said closet was close to the nave but still within the hallway. He opened the door, shining his flashlight into the dark space. He found the metal jug of lighter fluid.

Without warning or reason, the whole room went dark. The gray light vanished and turned to black. Shizuo's eyes stretched wide.

"Wha..."

He turned around quickly and flashed his light around. The walls began peeling up towards the ceiling. The wood started to groan and bend under an invisible force. Some splintered up, the nails popping out to expose metal grate underneath.

Shizuo stiffened with fear. "The...the darkness..."

'But the siren didn't go off!'

"Wh-why? Why is the dark-darkness..."

There was an ominous inhale of breath, a noise that Shizuo barely recognized. He had only met this particular monster a few times now, but every time they met, it had been the most terrifying experiences. Just that noise filled Shizuo with a fear that froze him on the spot.

"IZAYA!" Shizuo screamed as loud as his lungs could go.

The informant heard the call without question. He jolted and lifted his head from the pillow to look at the door wide-eyed. He immediately knew something was wrong when no light filtered in through the cracked door. Izaya didn't hesitate to grab his flashlight and leap off the bed. His bare feet pattered against the polished wood floor as he ran to the door, flung it open, and turned down the hall.

His flashlight flared around the small dark corridor, looking around him. It seemed their previous fear was right. The darkness had certainly arrived. The walls were peeling and some of the floor was replaced with metal grates. He could see embers flaring up from those grates, so Izaya chose not to step on them. He jumped from wood to wood to wood, making his way down the hall.

His light shined on Shizuo. The blond-turned-red was standing in front of the utility closet, looking down towards the doorway leading to the nave with wide, scared eyes.

"Shizu-chan!" Izaya called. "Shizu-chan, what happened?! Did we leave the door open?! Did we—"

Izaya heard an inhuman roar. His eyes stretched wide when he instantly recognized it, the roar followed by the sound of a very heavy sword dragging on the ground.

"Shizu-chan, we have to go!" Izaya ran up to him.

His hands grabbed Shizuo's arm. The taller man didn't move, just staring at the empty doorway with those terrified eyes. Izaya had seen Shizuo get like this plenty of times before. The ex-bartender could not handle scary things very well, it would see, so such horrific events within Silent Hill were too much for him to handle. There had been numerous times where the two had got caught out in the darkness and Shizuo froze up like a deer in headlights.

Luckily, Izaya knew just how to snap him out of it.

"SHIZUO!" Izaya shook him hard then pinched his ear.

The redhead jolted, shaking his head to get Izaya to let go before looking at the raven. "I-Iza—"

"We've got to go! Now!"

"Bu-but where?! We don't know where he is! If we get caught down the hall—"

"Then we'll be able to outrun him! He won't be able to swing his sword at us!"

"Th-then should we stay in here? Go—maybe go hide back in the bedroom?"

Izaya was quiet, thinking on it for a moment. "No, we need to get to the choir booth. He won't be able to make it up the stairs."

Shizuo looked scared at the idea. He looked at the nave with a terror that Izaya understood but didn't have the patience to deal with right now.

"Come on!" Izaya tugged him. "We've got to go for it! The stairs aren't that far!"

Shizuo didn't want to. It was obvious on his face he didn't want to. But Izaya pulled him hard enough to get him to move. He had to trust the informant. Regardless of how scared he was, Izaya hadn't led them astray yet. He had to trust Izaya.

The two barefoot individuals rushed out of the hallway and immediately turned right.

A sword swung at them as soon as they were in the open. Izaya saw it and grabbed Shizuo out of reflex. He tackled the blond to the ground. The sword missed them by a mile as it slammed into the side of the doorway. The wood splintered and creaked to the impact. Neither wasted time looking at it.

Shizuo grabbed Izaya quickly and tugged the raven up. No words were said as the two leaped to their feet. Shizuo shoved Izaya in front of him and they ran to the stairs. Neither looked back. They could hear the stomping feet of the tall man giving chase but they knew better than to do anything but look forward. Their efforts had to go straight towards running and nothing else.

Izaya made it to the stairs, flashing his lights up the steps. Up he ran, hearing Shizuo right behind him.

However, Shizuo didn't get higher than one step before he was grabbed hard by the back of his shirt. Shizuo called out in shock as he was swung around. Izaya stopped in his tracks to look back. He saw the redhead get lifted by his gray button up by the monstrous man with a metal pyramid for a head. Izaya recognized the shape and design as Red Pyramid. Shizuo's biological father.

Despite that being the case, the monster acted anything but fatherly as it turned and threw Shizuo across the room. The Japanese man stared wide-eyed as he soared through the air. Then he cringed in pain as he slammed against the wall shoulder blades first. He fell to the ground and didn't stir.

"Shizu-chan, run!" Izaya yelled.

Red Pyramid 'looked' at Izaya, the lights of the lanterns casting an ominous shadow across his metal head. The informant jolted back. He was confident the monster couldn't reach him within the small staircase. Although, he immediately felt guilty since him being safe meant abandoning Shizuo. The raven glanced over at the felled man. Shizuo was pushing himself up on shaky arms, shaking his head to try and clear the daze he was obviously in.

Red Pyramid turned his attention back to Shizuo. He turned his giant metal head before he turned his body, then took a confident step towards his estranged child.

"Wait, no!" Izaya yelled.

The raven jolted forward down the stairs. He stepped out of the safety of his small space and looked around quickly. His eyes fell on a crowbar, one they had collected a long time ago. He grabbed the long strip of metal in both hands.

Shizuo's head was spinning. Usually, hitting a wall wouldn't knock Shizuo on his ass like this, however, he had never been thrown before—especially by something that was probably as strong or stronger than him. His bells had been rung hard. Thankfully, Izaya's voice helped pierce through the fog. His vision was still a slight blur, but he was able to see what Izaya was doing, see what his intended goal was. Shizuo's eyes stretched wide.

Izaya rushed up to the pyramid head, crowbar reared back and poised to strike as hard as the raven could swing.

However, Izaya didn't even get to swing as a wall of darkness shot up from the floor, separating him from the pyramid head. Shizuo and Izaya's eyes widened to such a thing. Alessa, the little eight-year-old with ratted black hair in a blue school uniform, stepped out of that darkness. From Shizuo's side, he couldn't see that, but Izaya couldn't miss such an obvious display when she stepped out right in front of him. She looked up, her pure black eyes glaring at him.

"Alessa..." Izaya started.

The wall of darkness dropped, exposing to Shizuo what he hadn't seen yet. He felt a chill when he registered Alessa was standing in front of Izaya. The demon was standing in front of Izaya.

Shizuo pushed himself up, the fog of his daze beginning to fade away as protective instinct settled in. He had to be more alert, whether his mind could handle it or not. It was then, as he forced himself to be more attentive, that he realized the pyramid monster was lumbering towards him. His eyes widened at the sight. With little hesitation, he dropped his flashlight—the tool swinging from his wrist thanks to the cloth sling—rushed over to a pew, and grabbed it. It took no effort for him to lift it up and swing it at the monster. However, the pyramid man blocked it, in his own way. He lifted his ashen-colored arm to block his 'face'. The wood collided with his arm and metal head, where it snapped in half on impact. The wood splintered, scattering every which way.

Some flew over to Izaya, who raised an arm to cover his face. The informant didn't feel any of the wood hit him, though. Instead, he felt Alessa's small hand grab his shirt. Shizuo watched as Izaya and Alessa were engulfed in Darkness.

"IZAYA!" Shizuo yelled.

The raven put his arm down to see only black encasing his vision. His eyes widened at the sight.

Shizuo grabbed another pew and threw it at the monster. At the same time, he ran towards that shroud of black. He didn't make it two steps before that bout of darkness dropped to the floor, showing no one there. Shizuo's eyes widened at the sight.

'No, Iza—'

Before his mind was allowed to wonder into despair, he saw the black flair up on the choir balcony. It was hard to see through the wooden banister but he could see the lanterns up there get blocked out. A quick shine of his flashlight showed it was the the darkness shooting up from the floor to the ceiling. As soon as it was there, it was gone, revealing Izaya and Alessa.

Shizuo felt relief. He was happy to know that Izaya didn't get stolen away somewhere Shizuo couldn't follow. Alessa simply teleported them out of harms way. However, that relief was very short-lived as a hand came around Shizuo's neck.

Izaya blinked rapidly, inertia hitting him hard. He stumbled back as he looked around. It took him a moment to realize where he was. He was on the choir balcony. He heard Shizuo choke, which drew his attention to the banister. He went to rush over. However, Alessa grabbed his arm. He looked back at her.

"We must talk." The little girl said.

The pyramid head slammed Shizuo against the ground hard. He gasped and groaned before rapidly kicking against the man. His bare feet slammed into the monster's chest several times but it did nothing. He slammed his fists into the man's wrists, but again nothing. Shizuo clenched his teeth and glared at him with hate and fear.

Something began to move under the monsters arm. At first, Shizuo thought it was his veins moving like snakes under his flesh, but then he realized that certainly wasn't the case. Whatever was under his arm was bulging and beginning to poke out of the skin. Shizuo's glare vanished as his eyes stretched wide.

In the next moment, that something tore through the monsters very flesh. Three prongs of barbed wire shot out of his arm, covered in crimson blood.

'What the fuck?!'

Shizuo started struggling harder, slamming his feet into his chest and trying to peel that hand off his neck. The barbed wire slithered down his arm, dripping crimson on the blonde's face. The metal coils never touched him. No, it was the blood that he should have been concerned about. As soon as the red touched his flesh, it began to burn. He could feel it seep into his very flesh, digging into him with every drip.

Shizuo gasped hard as his form started to quiver. Every muscle began to twitch painfully. He had never felt such a feeling before. It was as if every nerve began to burn and his blood began to boil. He heard a scream, but it sounded so far away from him.

The pyramid man let him go but Shizuo still heard that scream. He rolled over on his side, holding his neck. Strangely, his throat still hurt even though the man wasn't holding him anymore. He finally realized the screams were coming from him. He closed his mouth and groaned.

He couldn't sit crippled like that. Not with that monster looming over him. He had to be alert. Now! Shizuo forced his eyes to open and looked up. The monster was simply staring at him. The barbed wire was gone, having gone back inside his arm, probably. The holes were still there and bleeding. The monster made no action towards him. He didn't move, didn't do anything but 'stare' at him.

'What is...going on?'

The pyramid man then turned away. Shizuo jolted, fear filling his being. This creature was certainly going to be heading for his sword. He lifted his flashlight to illuminate the monster. Then he pointed it to the balcony. Izaya was looking down at Alessa. Shizuo could see the little girls' mouth moving, obviously talking to the raven. Izaya was just staring down at her with a strangely calm gaze.

'What is she saying? I-Izaya, you can't listen to her. You know—'

Metal slammed against the ground, making Shizuo jump. He shined his light back to the pyramid monster. He pulled his giant knife out of the wall, like he thought, where it smacked the wood with a mighty thud. Shizuo pushed himself to his feet quickly, ready to run deeper into the church where the monster couldn't follow him in the narrow corridors.

However, it seemed that was unwarranted as lumps of ashes began to fall from the ceiling. They fused back with the wall. The wood went from black to brown. The pyramid monster began to dissolve into ashes, floating up to the roof.

'The-the darkness is over? Already?'

Soon enough, the monster finally disappeared. Gray light began to filter in through the stain glass windows. Everything was perfectly normal. There wasn't even evidence that there had even been an attack, the obvious split in the door frame of the hallway from the sword having returned to polished wood.

Shizuo panted heavily, his shoulders slumping with relief. Then a shot of pain went up and down his body. He groaned, closing his eyes to the influx. He wrapped his arm around his stomach. Shizuo's whole body was so warm and the heat wasn't going down. He needed water without question. He needed cold, concrete floor, and maybe an ice pack. He was just so hot! The spot where the blood had touched him was the only part that wasn't burning. The dots on his face were numb and strangely tingly. Something was so wrong with him.

'What did that thing do? I feel awful!'

Shizuo looked up. Izaya hadn't moved from the balcony. Even though Dark Alessa was gone, he still stared at the spot where she had been standing. Shizuo's needs would have to wait. Izaya was his priority and he had to see if his partner was okay.

"I-Izaya!" Shizuo called.

The informant turned his head, looking down at him. Shizuo wasn't able to tell what kind of face he was making. His head was spinning from the heat in his body.

"Are-are you okay?" Shizuo asked.

Izaya didn't respond.

"Izaya?!"

The raven said nothing.

Shizuo clenched his teeth. Still holding his stomach, he rushed across the nave to the stairs. He lost his breath once he hit the steps. His body couldn't handle strenuous exercise right now.

'What the hell did that monster do to me? Is his blood infectious or something?'

"I-Izaya, are you alright?" Shizuo called up the stairs. "Th-that pyramid thing did something. I don't...feel very good."

Shizuo leaned on the wall, making his way up the stairs one step at a time.

"Does that pyramid thing have some kind of strange blood?"

The light filtered in front the windows in the choir booth. He was almost to the top of the stairs.

"Should we leave this place?"

Five more steps.

"If the pyramid thing can get in here, it's probably not safe anymore."

Two more steps.

"I'm not sure what to do."

Shizuo stepped onto the flat wood of the choir balcony.

In a flash that he couldn't fully comprehend, a beam of metal slammed into Shizuo's forehead. The struggling redhead lost his footing instantly as his head turned at a dizzying angle. The stairs rose towards his face before he felt every edge jam into his body, arms, and legs. He felt more than saw gravity do its work as he fell down the curved staircase. His vision was spinning far too much for him to see where he was. Everything was just a blur of dark brown for what felt like ten minutes.

Finally, he slammed hard against the ground. He couldn't see anything other than the fur-trimming of Izaya's coat that he still wore. He hugged his ribs with both arms, cringing to the heat in his veins and the inertia in his mind.

'What...happened...?'

He heard someone walk down the stairs.

'I...Izaya...help me. There's...someone here...'

He could hear something metal thunking down the steps, getting closer and closer.

'I can't...My head and body are...all...messed up...'

The assailant stepped off the last step, straddling Shizuo's shins. The redhead groaned as he dug his bare foot in the the ground. He had to be alert! He needed to protect himself before this person hurt him and Izaya! Shizuo rolled himself over, pushing himself up on one arm.

Shizuo was hit in the head with a blunt object. He could only assume it was the metal thing that had knocked him down the stairs. The force of the blow slammed him back to the floor, his head hitting the wood. Shizuo groaned, lifting his arm up to try and protect himself. A bare foot planted itself against his wrist and forced it to the ground. Shizuo couldn't muster the strength to pull his arm free.

The redhead looked up to finally stare at his assailant. Once he realized who it was, he wished he didn't. His chest wrenched painfully as his eyes stretched wide with horror.

"I...Izaya?"

Sure enough, it was Orihara Izaya he was looking at. The raven stood over him with a crowbar in hand and a cold look in his eyes.

"Wh-what are you—"

Izaya swung the crowbar down again. Shizuo groaned as it hit his temple. Another blow followed. Another, and another, and another. Shizuo lost count of how many times he was hit. He couldn't even think long enough to count as his mind became hazy. His vision blurred to the point that he could see nothing but colors.

One more hit, and Shizuo's whole world went black.