AN: I'm doing better. Here's an new chapter.

Warning: None.

Chapter XX

Crossroads

Lotte walked away. Never looking back. Always looking forward. Her boots crunched against the rocky, pale blue-illuminated driveway of the old property. Her face was stern and emotionless, but her eyes burned with fury.

She would first go to the place she knew someone would lend her assistance. She would need answers; an aid to push her into the right direction of what to do or where to go. As much as she despised the idea of getting help from the other side, with her second sense of tracking demons gone and the mark on her back a scorched, red scar, she somehow knew this specific being would know something.

He was one of them after all.

The moment she saw him in her dream-like, false-life vision, she had connected the dots. When she met him at first glance that day all those months ago, she never realized who he actually was. The shaggy brown hair, the tattered raincoat, the hoarseness of his voice when he spoke to her the one time, and the smell…that smell was the worst – charcoal, tobacco smoke, and aged whiskey. But his character…the one who called himself Daryl…he seemed afraid and annoyed during their only conversation, and yet…

It was only an act.

Lotte could see it now. And she felt like a fool for not recognizing or even sensing the power that emanated from his dirty form. She was too distracted at the time, drowning herself with gin. But now she saw it. And if she had just stayed a little longer, Lotte probably would've seen the menacing grin from the horseman's drunk expression.

He acted scared towards Lilith's name at the time, but she knew it was just a play. He was hiding.

Now all Lotte had to do was find out why.

Nobody seemed to even know who he really was in the pub. At least, if they did, they were used to his heavy presence. They were either scared of him or too blind to even see. Although, who knew what power he could really do. If it was anything like his two brothers then Lotte was curious and anxious to find out.

He was Famine after all.

It was time to unveil the black coat.

Her boot echoed through the dark silence against the cobble stones as made her way through the labyrinth of streets. Dim light from the streetlamps reflected off her path. Her mind was dazed but focused on the quest ahead. Her blood seemed to run quickly from anger at the evening's events. Lilith…Sebastian…her whole subconsciousness never dwelled away from doing everything she could to track them down. So much so that Lotte didn't even realize she had arrived at her destination.

She stood at the entrance of the shabby alleyway, eyeing a small group of demons hunched over in a circle. At least, she thought they were demons. The itch and sensation she would feel towards the creatures no longer marked her body and mind. The once cursed family mark on her back burned from lack-of, but that was it. She was a normal human, free from the supernatural underworld. She no longer felt a demonic presence.

Lotte's hands rolled into fists.

I will never be normal.

So, she continued to walk towards the door of the pub. The group turned and Lotte could see their yellow eyes glowing under the shadowed, smokey and dim light from the entrance above. But she made no indication of attacking. She was in no mood to fight, and if she did….

One of them stepped forward towards her. He could smell the human in her. So, she moved her jacket to show the black pistol attached to her side.

"I wouldn't if I were you," she muttered in the dark.

She continued to walk, pasting into their tight circle and entering the dimly lit and smoke-filled pub.

The atmosphere was the same as before, just a little less crowded. There were several people playing pool in the corner, a few demons chatted in a shadowed booth at the far end of the room, and at the bar, drinks were poured silently from the same tender as before.

He glanced at Lotte once, showing a slight grin and nodded. Then she spotted him. He sat on the other side of the bar, head down and three empty shot glasses scattered around at his head. She walked over to the empty stool beside him and sat.

She held up two fingers to the bartender who was now coming over to her with a curious expression, and without saying a word, poured two shot glasses of brown liquid. She moved one to the hunched figure beside her.

"My treat," she said.

The figure than moved, lifting his head up to her with a drunken, sluggish look. He eyed the shot glass in front of him, took it by two fingers, and shot it back with easy. "You look like you've gone through hell," he commented hoarsely and casually before taking the second shot glass that was planted in front of Lotte.

She let out a quite sigh, indicating for another. "You can say that." Once the glass was in front of her and she too shot the brown liquid back, she continued. "Although, you shouldn't be making comments."

He let out a rough chuckle. "Look around, girl, we all look like hell here." He sat up straighter as a wave of alcohol hit Lotte's nose. "So, you're back, eh? Ever find that bitch Lilith for your friend?"

"Daryl…" the bartender, Lotte remembered, named Bill let out a warning.

Daryl only showed a slight silent grin in response.

"I did," Lotte replied, passing the shot glass in front of her to indicate more. "As well as other things."

"Oh? And care to share?" Daryl asked, his voice chipper. "Did the bitch tell you all about her master plan?"

"Daryl!" Bill snapped, slamming the glass he was cleaning on the counter.

Lotte shot back the second glass, ignoring the bartender and answering simply, "Michael."

Bill froze. Daryl's grin disappeared.

"He's with Lilith now," she continued, passing the glass again. Her mind itching for more.

Lotte knew she said this low enough for nobody to hear. The noise in the pub didn't change, and she wanted to keep it that way. The less demons knew, the better chance she had at getting answers out of the one beside her.

She turned on her stool to the creature. Her expression was stern enough to intimidate her opponent. However, the man beside her only gave her a sideways grin and chuckle again, saying, "You're a funny girl, ain't cha."

"No, but I'm also not a good actor either. Unlike you."

"What are you talking about?"

She watched him grabbing the tall, half-filled bottle on the counter in front of them, as she showed a small smile. Bill didn't move or react. Daryl took a swig of the bottle.

"Let's cut the act now," she whispered in a low tone, leaning towards him slightly. "You know who I am and I know who you are."

"You don't know shit," he frowned, taking another gulp.

"Really? Is that right, Gabriel?"

And he placed the bottle on the counter with a cling, finally facing Lotte with a growing smile.

"Or do you prefer being labeled as the one who starves entire nations out…Famine himself? Or the Black Horseman?"

Bill paused silently, walking away from the two, as Gabriel clicked his tongue. "You are one trickly girl, ain't cha? So, what will you do now since you found out my little secret? Shout to the entire pub? I will tell you one thing," he pointed a swaying finger at her, "these demons don't give one shits."

Lotte shook her head. "I don't care about the demons."

"Then what do you want, girl?"

"I need to find Michael and Lilith."

"Oh! So now you need to find both?" He let out a loud laugh. "You hear that, Bill? You are one interesting chick, ya know that?" He grabbed a handful of nuts resting in a bowl beside him, eating one by one. "And why should I help you? If I really know who you are, and I do, then why don't you just use your little hunting, Phantomhive-mark, tracking thing and do it yourself?"

She swallowed, feeling the pain on her shoulder blade. "I can't."

He locked his golden eyes with hers, and she realized they were a brighter and shiner golden brown then normal demons. Lotte was somehow captivated by them, hungry to keep staring into them, and if she wasn't disgusted by his smell and appearance, she probably could see herself attracted to him.

She sighed.

He shrugged then, taking more nuts. "Not my problem then."

"But you must be able to do something. Don't you have some kind of archangel connection to your brother whenever you want to-"

Gabriel's fist slammed hard and loud on the table, loud enough for the entire pub to freeze. Nuts from the bowl fell over, scattering the ground and counter. Demons faced their direction, all interested on what could've caused 'Daryl' to become so upset at a little human girl. Maybe hoping to watch her soul get devoured and seeing if they could get a piece as well.

"That fool is no brother of mine. Not since he decided to fall in love and get himself caught up in human business with your fucking family centuries ago." He shook his head, his scowl on his face created fear in Lotte. "And now leveling so low to let that bitch Lilith get a better of him…again." He let out a breath of laughter. "How weak he has become. I'd rather seen him rot."

Lotte realized there nothing more she could say to get the archangel into helping her. He wasn't going to help her at all. In her defense, she didn't even know how he could. The man was as drunk as a sailor boy in a rowing boat at sea. She shook her head and sighed heavily, facing away from him.

She had to at least try still.

"The Faustian mark is gone. I understand you don't care, but I do. Whatever Lilith has planned is going to change the course of the human world. You may think I'm just one stupid human that can't do shit about it, but I want to at least try and only you can help me at least place me in the right direction-"

"My god," Gabriel exasperated. "You Phantomhives are sure bad at guilt tripping, ain't cha? That or I'm too drunk to care. I'm going to go for both."

Lotte shrugged. "You're right. I am bad at guilt tripping. And here I thought the Black Horseman's power was worth something more than spreading a lousy famine across the lands. I guess between your brothers, you do level at the lowest. My mistake to think you could help. How could you anyways since you're too afraid to show who you are."

She got up from her seat, and when she did, she felt the cold, hard grey hand of the horseman take hold of her wrist. She looked into his eyes then and saw the golden colour had vanished, and was replaced by a deep blackness. She couldn't look away. A cold wave ran through her. A type of shiver she would only experience in the depths of winter. Flash. Flash. Flash. Her mind showed the red snow on the marble floor no longer there. Flakes of fresh white drifting in from the dark outside. Her father on the ground. Heart gone. She tried to pull herself away, as she tried to do the same with her wrist. She blinked, looking down and realizing what he was doing. Her hand had turned grey and was spreading slowly up her body. A weakness more overwhelming than what she felt that night ran over her; as her lungs tightened and her chest gained weight.

She looked back into his eyes and saw they had turned completely black. His face was as hard as stone, emotionless, and soul crushing. She felt as if all the energy she had regained was suddenly gone in a zap of a second. And when she looked back down to his grasp, she saw her hand and her entire arm was greyer, much smaller and thinner than before.

He was turning her into a walking skeleton by stealing all nutrition from her body.

Was this the power of Famine?

Then her eyes drifted to the few nuts that had been left on scattered on the counter. They too had turned black, a rot spreading as if a poisonous mist had swept through, leaving nothing in its wake.

"Daryl! Stop that!" Bill suddenly shouted.

And in that instant, the hand was released from Lotte's wrist; skin and muscle returning back to normal size. Energy flooded back. Breathing normalized. Lotte looked at Gabriel to see his eyes going back to the golden colour as he reached for the bottle of whiskey and chugged.

"Last time you did that it took me a whole week to restock the food and liquor since your rotten self decided to lose control out of soreness. Next time, you'll be crashing and getting liquor elsewhere. My pub can only take so much."

Gabriel smiled, bowing his head slightly. "Apologies, Bill. I'll try and keep my temper stable for your sake."

Bill turned around muttering "bloody Horsemen" under his breath. Meanwhile, Lotte was still trying to catch herself after seeing a bit of Famine's power.

"I would be careful if I were you, girl," the Horseman said in a drunken slur. "I would think twice before insulting an archangel that literally can take your breath away and rot your flesh to the core. I can make this entire country run dry in an instant if you aren't careful with your words."

Lotte swallowed the lump in her throat, maintaining her composure. "I'll keep that in mind."

"You're an interesting human though to have recovered so fast." His eyes narrowed. "Not many can frankly. Once I steal their nutrition, it could take them months to recover. Some don't. Yet you did in less than a minute. What? Is this some kind of Phantomhive blood power?"

Lotte blinked, shaking her head in confusion. "I don't…"

"Oh lord," Bill interrupted. "I thought you smelled different than a normal human."

"What?" she complied.

"Listen, I know every human that enters my pub from their smell. Your smell is definitely different than before."

"What? Is it some kind of Phantomhive perfume?" Gabriel laughed.

"No. You have his blood in you, don't you?"

Lotte shook her head, still confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Yeah, Bill. What are you talking about? She doesn't have no smell to her."

"Figures you wouldn't smell it, Daryl, considering all you can smell is a rotten stench and whiskey." He glanced back at her. "You must've been on the brink of death for him to give you his blood. That or Lilith did something…"

"The fuck you talking about, Bill?"

"She has Michael's blood running through her veins, Daryl. That's why she recovered so quickly from your wave."

Daryl let out a huff of laughter. "Well I'll be. Looks like his powers are slowly returning, that son of a bitch. He never changes, does he."

Lotte already knew Sebastian's blood was inside her. But the significance was another mystery. However, the way both creatures were looking at her now meant that his blood was more than just healing simple wounds.

"And what does that mean?" she asked.

"It means you will need to do more research on who you may be messing with," Bill answered. "You already know who Michael is, but the significance of his powers is still something to not-"

"Oh shut up!" Gabriel exclaimed. "Stop making him sound like he's some powerful being." He leaned towards Lotte. "Listen, girl, you have his blood in your veins, okay? You have archangel blood which is quite…significant if you catch my drift. Especially Michael's blood, even though he's not even that fucking special to begin with….

"Anyways, you already know that Michael is Pestilence, a sort of plague that can be very irritating and annoying to deal with. You know the Black Plague? Well, that was his doing. So, the guy can spread this awful disease like it's nothing, but did you know he can also heal? A least from what he said. Although not like how he can spread the plague. I swear he just snapped his fingers and the next day black spots started appearing on thousands of people's skin. No, he can only heal through his blood. And not just heal…something like…hmmm."

"Immortality," Bill finished.

Gabriel glared heavily at him. Bill looked away, scared.

"At least, that's what I've heard," Bill continued.

"Immortality?" Lotte questioned. "So, I'm immortal now?"

Gabriel shrugged. "I don't fucking know. It's all just rumours. The one time he wanted to try it, he was a bit too late, the fucking fool. He can probably just cure his plague or you'll never get sick again or something stupid. But who knows who else got his blood through some sort of way? And, of course, the guy was more into showing the mortals up than saving their asses, so I can't tell you the true specifics. Only he can. From all I can tell you, you can still die like if someone wanted to kill you, but I don't know if you'll age or you'll just keep aging without dying…it's honestly very confusing.

"Michael never used it though, but many sure wanted to take a sample and see for themselves." He smiled. "For now, girl, you are a walking relic."

Being someone something was after was no news to her. As a hunter, there was always something a demon wanted from her…usually her soul. Having archangel blood inside her didn't matter.

"Can it help me find him since you're not going to help?" Lotte asked, crossing her arms.

Gabriel held his hands up in defense. "Whoa now, no need to get all sassy pants in my business. I was just giving you a good warning. Besides, I don't even know, and I don't care."

Lotte sighed, pursing her lips. "What else is new?" She grabbed the backpack full of her weapons from under the table and slung it over her shoulder. "Well, if you can't help shit then I'll just go to someone more powerful who can at least lead me into a direction that can."

She turned her back from the archangel until his voice rang back. "Hey, what did I tell you about making insults?"

She stopped, turning her head to him. "I'm not. I'm just sick of wasting time on someone who too scared to get his face out of a whiskey bottle and tell me why he can't help."

He sighed. "Bill was right. You really do need to do more research on us, girl. Listen, one thing, I don't know where you heard we could track each other down like some bloody bloodhounds but that aint true."

She shrugged. "You're part of the Four Horsemen. Thought because of that-"

"Well, you were very wrong. Trust me, if that were the case then I would've tracked my brothers down and destroyed them."

"No, you wouldn't," Bill muttered as he cleaned a glass nearby, earning another hardened glare from the Horseman.

"What I can tell you is someone who is somewhat like a bloodhound, and can track your butler boy to the ends of the earth."

Lotte faced him fully, curious to know what he would say. "Who?"

Gabriel grinned. "An old worker of Death himself – a grim reaper."

"A grim reaper?"

Lotte knew who these creatures were. She never came across one herself, but she read about them in books shoved in her face by Raphael once. They were odd beings who carried an odd weapon and not the tradition death scythe they should. Lotte guessed now it was because Lucifer himself wanted to be the special one for that kind of weapon. But from what these worker bees were created for was to do the dirty work for Death. Clearly the Pale Horseman became overwhelmed and stressed out during plague outbreaks and made these beings that would collect the souls for his taking before rogue demons devoured them due to cravings.

Once again, Lotte realized Sebastian was the cause of another creation. Plague starts - Death is no longer on vacation. And since now Death was currently imprisoned, someone had to collect the dead.

Another odd thing Lotte remembered reading was the reason why these reapers were so hard to find. It was because of the glasses they wore and the fact they dressed like businessmen. They would blend in more than any demon Lotte came across.

Lotte mentally rolled her eyes, imagining herself in the business district of London and asking every person who wore a suit and glasses to help track an archangel down. She would be placed in a mental asylum faster than the snap of Gabriel's fingers.

This was going to be very hard if Gabriel thought Lotte could find one to help track Sebastian down.

"It would be easier to track Sebastian down myself," Lotte exclaimed.

He frowned. "You aren't listening. I didn't say any grim reaper, I said an old grim reaper. One that no longer services the Pale Horseman."

She narrowed her eyes. "And you're sure they can help me?"

"There is no one better to find…who he would call: 'Bassy'."

Lotte didn't question the name, but she did ask another. "Where can I find him?"

The archangel gleamed. "You can find him at Crossroads."

She nodded. "Thanks."

He grabbed the bottle of whiskey and gave Lotte a toast. As she turned towards the exit, she heard him yell one more thing. "Better hurry darling! The sun is rising!"

xXx

Dust trailed behind the motorcycle as Lotte drove down the sun kissed highway. The burning sun in the sky heated the land around her. Blue sky covered above, showing no clouds in sight. Her black shades and headgear protected the rays from burning her facial skin and eyes, as well as shielding her from the oncoming dust. Her leather jacket and jeans were tight on her skin, making beads of sweat cover underneath, but it was all she could do to protect herself from the untamed beast above threatening to burn her red.

It had been three days since she left Gabriel's words behind, as well as what was left of her family legacy. Now she was north, trying to locate the place called Crossroads. She had asked around everywhere, every town, every person, but not one could tell her.

And as her searching ranged on, so did the weather.

What was once a never-ending rainstorm during the day, was now transformed into an unbearable wave of heat. On the radio, meteorologist couldn't explain the unnatural shift in weather and the rapid temperature rise. Scientists all over the world shouted about global warming, while others held signs outside buildings shouting 'God's revenge' and 'apocalypse'. Lotte, although felt crazy when she thought about it, sided with the latter.

This could be the start of an apocalypse if she couldn't find Sebastian and Lilith.

She knew who was causing this. Sebastian had created the never-ending rain when he was imprisoned, so why not create something more unbearable?

And this was truly Hell's weather if she did say so.

But why he was creating this, that was something she wanted to know.

Her motorcycle drove on until the gas tank ran empty, clunking to a stop outside a small, quiet hamlet. She cursed, getting off her bike, sweat rolling down her face under her helmet. To the side of her on the other side of a browning field, a few small cottages were scattered about with wood boarding up the windows from the outside world. She realized it was probably an abandoned settlement, but as she looked around the area she was in, there wasn't much she could do.

"Fuck."

So, she turned her bike around and headed down to the entrance of the village.

She walked slowly, pushing the bike down the gravel path where it snaked off from the main road. Dead trees overhung the side of the streets. No breeze ran through. And as she turned a slight corner, giving her a clear view of the small place, she read the sign of the village's name – faded, covered with now dead vines, and unkept on a wooden post.

"Crossroads."

Hope you enjoyed! Reviews are loved!~