A/N: Hi everyone

I know it's been soooooooo long since I updated my story. I know that many of you will be frustrated and some others may have just felt this story was dead and I had moved on without telling you guys.

I will admit that it has been a long 2021 for me. Real life has been quite the difficult concept for me to work with, work has been manic this year with many issues and problems coming up that my colleagues and I had to deal, combined with the continuing staffing issues that have only steadily grown worse for us.

It's all I've been able to focus on…to the point that I almost completely forgot all about this site and my story.

I'm back to writing now though and I carried on from where I left this chapter half-way through. As well as completing this chapter I also went back through the last chapters, scanning through them and changing little bits to fit the changes I made from my extensive rewrite of the first twelve chapters or so. Hopefully they've been successfully updated at the same time as this chapter. If you're just reading this chapter to start with, I would suggest starting again perhaps…but it's not that big of a deal if you choose not to. I didn't change anything too radically after those first dozen chapters.

With all that said, here's what you've all been waiting for.

Hope you enjoy it.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Your sister?!" Akeno exclaimed in shock at Ben's revelation.

"Yeah, she's my sister," Ben confirmed as he turned to face his sister as she placed a hand on her hip and smirked at him.

"What are you doing here, Jen?"

"I just told you. I've come back to visit you guys. I've missed you all," she replied innocently, tilting her head slightly and smiling to add to its effect.

Ben scowled, annoyed at her but also with himself as he recalled his parents mentioning something just before they went on holiday about Jen heading back from university to visit them.

"I thought would have told you…but then again, maybe not. She did forget to tell me about our new house," Jen added at the end, trailing off at the last comment.

"Regardless…," she continued jovially, spreading her arms wide. "…aren't you happy to see your big sis again after so long?"

Before giving him a chance to answer, Jen switched her attention to Akeno, stepping forward until she stood in front of her.

"Aaaaand just who is this beautiful young lady?" she wondered as she visually appraised Akeno.

"My name is Akeno Himejima," Akeno bowed respectfully in greeting. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you at last, Jennifer."

Jen waved her hand at this.

"Please, call me Jen. Now, what is a stunning vision like you doing with a guy like my little brother?"

Ben laughed nervously as he tried to think of what to say to explain, not just his relationship with Akeno but with all the girls that he lived (and slept) with.

"It's, uh, kinda complicated," was the only response he could give her.

"Complicated," Jen repeated back at him, her eyebrow raising as she saw him wringing his hands nervously.

As if Ben didn't have enough to deal with, the sound of someone clearing their throat behind him abruptly reminded him of the unique guests who he had been escorting to his house for whatever meeting they had to attend. His gaze quickly flicked between Odin, Baraqiel and Rossweisse, and Jen as his brain raced to find a way to explain the trio and what he was doing with them in a way which would satisfy his sister's frustratingly curious mind.

"Ahh, right. Okay then. Jen, may I introduce you to…," he started to say, trailing off when he suddenly realised he had absolutely nothing he could think of that would even begin to adequately explain why he had a fallen angel, the leader of the Norse Pantheon and a Valkyrie with him.

"Lord Odin. Lord Baraqiel. It's a pleasure to meet you," Jennifer stated as she bowed her head respectfully towards them.

Ben froze as his brain seemed unable to comprehend what just happened and was forced to carry out a complete reboot.

'Wait one fucking second! What did she just say?' he asked himself mentally as he watched Odin and Baraqiel return Jen's greeting.

"It's been too long, Lord Baraqiel. I hope you are doing well," Jen continued, confusing Ben even more at how familiar the two seemed to be.

"It has. I'm glad you could join us for the meeting; your insight would prove most helpful," Baraqiel stated with a small smile as he looked down at the eldest of the Tennyson siblings.

"My dear, I must say that I've seen much in my advanced age, but nary are they a match for your beauty. Would you care to join me for a drink later, my dear?" Odin asked cheerfully as he approached Jen, taking her hand and placing a soft kiss on the back of it. "Your company would make this old man very happy."

'Odin is flirting with my sister,' Ben's internal voice observed, his body still recovering from the initial blow to properly respond yet.

"Lord Odin! Please control yourself!" Rossweisse chastised the wizened god while Jen laughed light-heartedly.

"You honour me, Lord Odin. I truly wish I could take you up on your generous offer but, alas, I'm afraid I will have to pass. I simply don't have the time to enjoy such simple things. There is too much important work for me to do yet," she replied diplomatically, withdrawing her hand from Odin's grasp.

If one were to think that the Allfather would be angry at the instant rejection then they'd be quite wrong.

"Ah, tis always the same yet it pains me still; how duty must come before pleasure," the aged god sighed as he leant on his cane more.

"It is the bane of what life should be about," Jen conceded with a slight nod. "Now, I'm sure my little brother must have bored you senseless if he was guiding you through town. Please come inside and make yourself comfortable."

Odin and Baraqiel thanked Jen for her hospitality and made their way into the house while Rossweisse followed behind them, leaving Ben, Akeno and Jen standing outside the house.

"Shall we head in too then?" Jen asked as she went to follow them. "I can't wait to see what's been done to the place since I last saw it. I wonder what my room looks like now."

It was at this point that Ben's brain started working again.

"Wait, wait. Hang on a second. You know?" he demanded, attracting Jen and Akeno's attention back on him.

"Know what, dear little brother?" Jen asked, stopping and turning back to face him, her voice dripping with false innocence that always irked Ben greatly.

"You know perfectly well, Jen!" Ben retorted with a glare as he gestured towards the doors that Baraqiel, Odin and Rossweisse had gone through. "About…." He trailed off, leaving his question open as, even though he was almost certain of the answer, still couldn't bring himself to say it in front of her. Until this point, he only had to deal with his parents in hiding everything supernatural that went on in his life which wasn't that hard considering how easy-going they generally were, magic only being used to enhance it further.

As always, though, Jen was different.

"Oh, do you mean the entire supernatural world, hidden from most human eyes, where all of the things we were told as kids were simply fairy tales and nonsense are actually real? Perhaps you are referring to how magic exists and is capable of doing amazing things, maybe? Or could you be talking about how God, Angels and Devils really exist as well as the other religious pantheons who know each other. Are you talking about any of those, baby bro?"

Ben cringed unconsciously as he always did whenever his sister called him that. He hated being called that and Jen knew that fact very well, evidenced by the subtle smirk forming in the corner of her mouth.

"Yes, that's what I mean," he replied through gritted teeth.

"Then yes, I know all about it," she smirked.

"How long have you known?"

"Certainly longer than you have," Jen revealed, her smirk growing broader before she nodded her head slightly at him. "However, you seem to have gotten more involved than I have from the stories I've heard."

Ben subconsciously gulped at the way Jen said this, already fearing just how much she could have learned about his adventures.

"Speaking of stories…," Jen continued, her stare quickly turning from teasing to serious. "There's one I'm particularly interested in. Tell me, Ben: how did you end up becoming a devil?"

"Uh, um, uh, well, that's an interesting story actually," Ben mumbled in response, his face paling slightly at the look she was giving him and the shiver which ran up his spine.

"Well, I'm all ears," Jen retorted as she stepped towards him, her gaze still completely focused on him.

"Uh, well, the thing is…."

"There you are!"

The three of them looked in the direction of the new voice's origin to see Rias, Asia, Xenovia, Koneko and Gasper walking towards them.

While glad at the fortunately timed distraction, Ben's face drained completely when he saw who had caused the distraction.

'Fuck! They couldn't have picked a worse time!' his internal voice panicked at the sight of them.

"Did you two have fun today? I hope you two had a nice time on your walk in the park." Rias' eyes widened and a faint blush formed on her cheeks as she realised she'd made a blunder. "Uh, n-not that we knew what you were doing! We certainly weren't following you around all day or anything like that."

Ben sweatdropped as he realised what the crimson haired Gremory heiress was doing…or rather, failing to do. She was trying to hide the fact that she, along with everyone behind her, had been stalking him and Akeno on their date, albeit not very stealthily. The two of them had caught them almost immediately after their date started but had decided to humour them and not let them know they'd been found out.

They had eventually slipped away from them in town and, by the way Rias hadn't instantly commented on their detour through 'Love Hotel Avenue', they hadn't managed to find them again and decided to head back home.

"Uh, now's really not the right time," Ben told her as Jen's attention moved from him to focus on the new arrivals.

"Hmm. A powerful, pure-blooded, red-haired devil with an aura of authority surrounding her and living with Ben? You must be Rias Gremory," Jen deduced after giving Rias a quick visual and magical examination.

"Indeed I am," Rias replied, eyeing Jen suspiciously as she crossed her arms under her chest. "You have me at a disadvantage though. You know who I am but I don't know who you are."

"Oh dear me, where are my manners? I'm Jennifer Tennyson. Pleasure to meet you," Jen announced with a theatrical flair of her right hand.

Ben couldn't help but smile a little as he watched Rias' eyes widen as she absorbed Jen's announcement, an act copied by everyone beside her as the instantly realised who they were looking at who Jen was.

They all, collectively looked at Ben who nodded his head, answering their unasked question.

"This is my sister, Jen," he told them with a sigh.

"Your sister?!" Asia squeaked adorably before looking back at Jen and bowing her head politely. "Um, it's a pleasure to finally meet you."

"Ah, you must be Asia Argento. I've heard a lot about you," Jen stated as she approached the blonde-haired young woman.

"Y-You have?" Asia mumbled nervously as she looked up at Jen.

A kind smile formed on Jen's face.

"You're a lot cuter than mum described," she revealed in a friendly tone. "I was a bit worried actually when I heard her and dad telling me all about you. From how they spoke about you, I feared you would replace me as their favourite child."

"Hey!" Ben exclaimed indignantly.

"I'm only speaking the truth," Jen retorted, not taking her eyes off the group of new arrivals. "Anyhow, it's a pleasure to finally put a beautiful face to the name."

"Y-you're too kind," Asia mumbled, lowering her head to hide her face which had turned bright red from Jen's compliment.

"As for you, Rias," Jen continued, returning her attention back to Rias. "I asked Ben this just before you arrived but maybe you'll be able to answer it instead. Could you please tell me how my little brother, my only sibling, ended up becoming a reincarnated devil and a member of your peerage? Ben tells me it's an interesting story and it just so happens that those are my favourite kind."

"Jen, just leave her alone, alright," Ben interrupted, placing himself between Rias and his sister, placing his hand on her shoulder to force back a bit. "I'll tell you how it happened, okay?"

"Actually, I think I'd prefer hearing it from her," Jen retorted as she brushed off his hand from her shoulder, her previous light-hearted tone completely gone, replaced, instead, by a serious one.

"She didn't have anything to do with it, okay?" Ben stated fiercely, glaring at Jen with a glare so uncharacteristically intense that it surprised her and caused her to lose her train of thought. "She saved my life."

Jen stared back at Ben in silence for a few seconds before she raised her hands in a placating manner and backed away from him. "Fine, fine. You will tell me how it happened though. I'll make sure of it."

As their conversation went on, Akeno, Asia, Xenovia, Koneko and Gasper merely watched it play out before them, unwilling to be the first one to try and cut through the palpable tension surrounding them. If it were anybody else speaking to Rias or Ben like this they would have, of course, intervened by now to stand up to them. However, this person was Ben's sister, and none of them knew exactly how to act.

The awkward atmosphere surrounding them was thankfully broken when help came in the shape of a white-haired Norse Valkyrie named Rossweisse who stuck her head out of the open door.

"I don't wish to cut into your conversation but the meetings ready to get started. They're just waiting for you now," she informed them from the large open doorway to the Tennyson household.

"We'll be right there," Jen announced over her shoulder, her eyes never breaking contact with Ben's. The Valkyrie nodded in acknowledgement and withdrew back into the house. The staring contest between brother and sister lasted a few seconds more before Jen blinked first, turned away from them and made her way up the front steps and into the house.

"We'll talk later," Jen declared back to them as she disappeared inside.

When she was gone, Ben let out a heavy sigh before turning to face the others.

"I'm really sorry, everyone," he apologised. "I didn't realise she was coming today and I didn't warn you how she can be with strangers."

"She certainly made a unique first impression," Akeno noted.

"S-she's s-s-scary!" Gasper whimpered from his hiding spot behind Xenovia.

"She's got a strong personality, I'll give her that much," Rias conceded as she looked at the open doorway Jen had disappeared through.

Ben wrapped his arm around her shoulders and held her against him.

"Don't let her get to you. This is her…unique way of measuring a person. She'll try to get you to back down from her but if you stand up to her then she'll judge you 'worthy' or whatever she calls it, passing her stupid little test, and then you'll be fully accepted by her."

"Just don't take anything she says to heart," he added with a small, encouraging smile.

"Don't worry about me, Ben. If she thinks she can try and get me to leave you then she's got another thing coming. I'm a Gremory; when we find something important to us, we never let it go!" she declared confidently as she took hold of the hand wrapped around her shoulders, brought it to her lips, and kissed it tenderly.

"You're very important to me, Ben. I'm never letting you go!" she told him firmly before planting another kiss on his cheek.

"I'm not letting you go, either!" Akeno announced as she took hold of Ben's free hand and held it in her own, their fingers intertwined.

"M-M neither!" Asia stated as firmly as her kind nature allowed.

"I think you're safe, Asia," Koneko noted dryly from beside the former nun. "She seemed to take a real shine to you."

"I must admit she is a formidable foe. But if that what it takes for me to have Ben's children then I shall do what I must," Xenovia declared confidently, as though she had just accepted an epic quest to battle a fearsome enemy.

Ben smiled at everyone's response and shook his head slightly.

"We'd best head in as well," Rias then announced, tightening her hold on Ben's hand which was wrapped around her shoulders and guiding him towards the house. "We don't want to keep them waiting."

They nodded in agreement and all headed inside.

. . . . .

Once inside, the small group of devils made their way across the large foyer towards the very spacious living room where the others had already gathered for the meeting and were waiting for them. It was logical to hold the meeting there as it was, perhaps ironically, the only room in the huge building that actually had space for everyone.

As they entered, they saw Odin and Baraqiel sat beside each other in two of the comfortable, high-backed armchairs with Rossweisse standing behind Odin. Jen, on the other hand, had made herself comfortable on the comfy two-seater, upon which she had spread herself out on to receive maximum enjoyment from it.

"This is very nice," she sighed light-heartedly, all trace of her previous stern manner completely gone. "I've got to admit it, devils make very good interior decorators."

Ben and the others made themselves comfortable on the remaining two large sofas though, with all of them, it was quite tight but not wholly uncomfortable.

"Glad you kids could finally make it," Odin remarked dryly as he leant forward on his cane. "Now, all we're waiting to join us are…."

"Apologies for our tardiness," Michael's angelic voice called out as a holographic projection of him and Sirzechs suddenly materialised in the room. Like Baraqiel and Odin, the two leaders had forgone their armour and now wore simple yet, at the same time, very elegant business suits. Sirzechs wore a deep crimson coloured jacket and pair of trousers accompanied by a black, open-collared shirt, and Michael's attire was composed of a beautiful white suit which seemed to radiate light around his being, even though he was merely a projection.

"Something came up unexpectedly that will need to be dealt with once this meeting is over," Sirzechs explained apologetically.

"No matter, you're here now," Odin waved off their apology, eager to hear what had to be said. "Let's get this meeting going."

"I concur," Michael agreed before looking towards Baraqiel. "As Baraqiel requested to speak on an important during this meeting, I would like to suggest that we start off by hearing what he has to say if nobody has any objections."

Nobody had any objections to this and Michael gestured towards Baraqiel who nodded his head in acknowledgement and stood up from his seat and stood in the middle of the room.

"Thank you, Lord Michael. I'll only be brief as it was my best team that made the discovery so they should be the ones to explain it best. In short, though, a few months ago one of my contacts in the human world sent through a brief message before they abruptly went silent. The message contained only two things: a set of co-ordinates to an abandoned factory in the outskirts of Kyoto and a name: "Project: Hyde"."

Ben tensed at this, remembering his discovery of the secret hideout where he encounters the remains of fallen angels and those demonic mutants, and leant forward in his seat, his interest in the discussion skyrocketing.

[Perhaps now we'll learn how those abominations came to be,] Azmuth's voice muttered inside Ben's head, voicing his own interest in the answer, as he became very interested in the meeting. Ddraig, in contrast to Azmuth, didn't seem overly interested in what was being discussed and was only half-listening due to sheer boredom.

"We believe the contact who sent this is dead, killed for sending us their message," Baraqiel continued, his gaze passing over everyone gathered in the room. "Once we received this message, I ordered my team to investigate the only lead that we could follow: the abandoned warehouse."

"As it was my team's investigation the whole way through, I'll let their leader explain what they discovered," he added before retaking his seat.

"Thank you, Lord Baraqiel," Jen said as she rose up out of her seat and took the floor, completely ignoring the shocked look on Ben's face.

Jen worked for the fallen angels?!

He didn't know how many more bombshells he could take.

[Ooh, now this is starting to get interesting,] Ddraig mused with amusement in his voice from the confines of Ben's right arm.

"When my team and I located the warehouse we scouted the area around it and made our way inside. Once inside we discovered a group of low-ranked fallen angels and several human scientist affiliates working in a makeshift laboratory. We don't know how long exactly they had been hiding out right under our noses in Kyoto but it must have been some time judging by the amount of equipment they had lying around and the number of complex magical traps and barriers that we had to get past as we infiltrated the building."

"As we carried out our recon of their base, we watched them experiment with various chemicals we were unfamiliar with and magical rituals that we hadn't encountered before and then test them on whichever poor bastards they had snatched off the street, injecting them with the strange concoctions they had made. The results were as varied as they were horrific; some test subjects, the lucky ones, simply died while the rest weren't so fortunate. Some melted from the inside out, the poisonous substance coursing through their veins forcing them to stay alive until the very end when their bodies fully liquefied, their screams only ending when all that was left of them was a grotesque puddle of former human."

Jen paused for a moment after this to let everything she'd said sink in to everyone gathered around her. The ones most affected by her grim tale were Gasper and Asia due to his skittish and her kind-hearted nature. Even Xenovia was troubled by what she heard though she hid it very well.

In contrast to their reactions, Michael, Sirzechs, Baraqiel and Odin barely even flinched at Jen's tale. While it was, indeed, unpleasant, Ben was sure that it paled in comparison to some of the things they've seen in their extremely long lives.

Believing her pause had had its effect, Jen continued on with her story.

"As much as we wanted to help those people and shut down whatever operation they had going on, we needed to stay hidden and learn as much as we could about what our enemy's new scheme was."

"And were you able to learn much of value?" Sirzechs asked, holding his chin with the thumb and index finger of his left hand as he processed the information he was being given.

"We did uncover a few things of note in our recon of the operation," Jen replied with a small nod though her expression remained serious. "We never identified who the leader of their group was, if there ever was one, but the fallen angels were frequently contacted by another fallen through projection magic. He seemed to be in charge by the way he spoke and the way the others acted around him."

"Can you describe this fallen angel?" Michael asked hopefully.

For the first time since she started her tale, a faint hint of a smile formed in the corner of Jen's lips.

"I can do better than that," she revealed by holding her right hand out before her which started to glow with purplish-pink energy. A faint sphere of the same-coloured energy surrounded her hand as a flat disc, 2ft in diameter (again, the same colour) appeared beside her at hip-height.

[Look at that, partner. It seems your sibling can use magic,] Ddraig observed with a low chuckle at Ben's expression.

"She can do magic now," Ben mumbled dumbly to himself under his breath as he clutched his head with his left hand to brace himself for the headache he was developing.

[Not just any magic though,] Azmuth added with rare, genuine intrigue. [That's Anodite magic. I thought Vilgax destroyed all trace of that magic in one of his extermination wars.]

Any other time, Ben would have pestered Azmuth for more information. What's an Anodite? Why is their magic so special? Who is this Vilgax and what extermination war? However, his head had been bombarded by so many shocking pieces of information that he barely even registered what the ancient, emerald-green dragon was saying.

Everyone watched as a miniature projection of a figure rose up out of the disc. Michael and Baraqiel recognised the fallen angel instantly though they each reacted differently; Michael simply stared at the projection with a troubled expression on his perfectly sculpted face whereas Baraqiel glared daggers at the image with such intensity that it was as if the person in the image had personally harmed or offended him in some way.

Even Ben and the others thought the figure looked somewhat familiar.

"Isn't that the guy we saw in the Familiar Forest?" Akeno asked as she thought back to the encounter.

"I think it is," Ben confirmed as he struggled by get his brain working again and think back.

"Yeah, he was the one who'd enslaved those demons who were capturing familiars for their experiments," Rias muttered as the unfortunate event entered her mind. "He never gave us his name though. Who is he?"

"Animo," Baraqiel stated with a growl, his eyes remaining glued to the image, his fist clenched tight.

"Indeed, I'm afraid it is," Michael concurred, his troubled expression remaining on his face.

"Care to elaborate for the rest of us, Baraqiel?" Odin asked, noting the expression on Baraqiel's face. "I'm afraid I don't know anything about this guy."

Baraqiel got up out of his chair and stood next to Jen.

"This poor excuse of a fallen angel is Aloysius Animo though he always preferred to be known as Dr Animo. He was once one of the greatest scientific minds in Heaven and a trusted advisor to Azazel. While not as physically strong or magically adept as most of his angelic brethren were, Animo still reached the rank of being a six-winged Angel. After Azazel and the rest of the Grigori Fell, he was among the few other Angels who chose to leave Heaven and become Fallen Angels. They each had their own reasons for doing so; for Animo, it was his loyalty to Azazel."

"They were close?" Lucifer asked curiously.

Baraqiel and Michael both nodded in confirmation.

"Once upon a time, yeah. They each shared an inquisitive mind and intense desire to understand the secrets of magic and the universe. Another reason for their friendship, aside from their passion for scientific discovery and magical advancement, was that Animo shared Azazel's ideals in regard to the balance of power between the Three Factions and the direction they wanted to take their people. Initially, they only seemed to differ in one aspect: while Azazel's main passion lay in Sacred Gears and the understanding and crafting of magical tools, Animo's lay in understanding the biology of all demons and magical creatures and unlocking their secrets."

Baraqiel cast another glance at the image of Animo before continuing.

"We found out how horribly wrong we were about Animo around a millennia ago when we discovered his secret torture factory…or 'laboratory' as he always insisted it was called, and when we found him performing a grisly autopsy on a member of a visiting Orishan diplomat's party that they had ambushed and killed. His defence for his abhorrent actions was that he "couldn't pass on the perfect opportunity to study such a remarkable specimen up close". That was when the illusion over us was dispelled and we saw Animo for what he truly was; a mad scientist who vastly overestimates the significance and importance of his own existence. His fascination with magic, science and biology wasn't driven by his desire to admire and appreciate the beauty of nature as he had led all of us to believe, but rather to hunt demons and magical creatures and dissect them to see what makes them tick."

"I can count the times I've seen Azazel angry, truly angry, on one hand, and two of those times were because of Animo. The first was because of his brutal dissection on a member of the Orishan Royal Family that led to war with the Orishans, and the second time, almost at the same time as the first, was when we learned about Animo's human abattoir where he systematically tortured and tore open humans his minions had kidnapped as he searched for a way to harvest and corrupt human souls."

Michael and Sirzechs each took a sharp intake of breath at this, as did Rias and even Odin who cursed under his breath and slammed the bottom of his cane onto the floor.

"What's wrong?" Ben found himself asking, taken aback by their reactions. "Why is messing with human souls so bad?"

It was Sirzechs who answered his question.

"Messing with human souls directly, in any way, is considered the greatest taboo amongst all the pantheons and particularly for the Three Factions. Souls are the secret behind what made humans so special to angels, devils and even gods despite them being so much weaker than us and despite the vast majority of them not even being aware of our existence. They are the spark that grants power to the pantheons and faiths from human prayer. Not when Devils first emerged after The Fall and not even during the Great War did they ever dare to cross that line; not even during the darkest days of the Great War when some enacted terrible things."

"Even after God's death, the taboo remained though now there was even less reason to break this unspoken rule after the war ended as humans were needed to help quickly rebuild our population, answering the question some devil nobles had when they wondered why God held humans in such high regard," the crimson-haired Devil King added, casting a quick glance to Ben before returning it to Animo's projected image.

"Why would he dare do such an abhorrent thing though?" Michael asked slowly and almost in a whisper, his voice low to hide the anger everyone could still feel in his voice, the radiating light around him flickering for a fraction of a second, surprising everyone gathered, before he quickly composed himself.

Baraqiel hesitated for a moment before answering the Archangel's question.

"He…he believed that God was a fool for wasting the potential souls had by giving them to humanity, that humans are weak and pitiful creatures that should be enslaved by 'higher' species."

"Blasphemy!" Michael roared abruptly, shocking everyone in the room for his sudden reaction which was extremely out of character for him.

Silence dominated the room for a few tense seconds before someone spoke again.

"What's that bastard's scheme then?" Odin asked sternly as he now began glaring at Animo's projection. "What is this 'Project: Hyde'? what else did you find out, child?"

Jen's expression turned to one of pain at Odin's question as she cancelled the magic generating the image and let it disappear.

"Unfortunately, when we did launch our surprise attack, things got out of hand very quickly when some monstrous mutated abominations fitted out with electric pylons in their backs appeared out of nowhere and took us by surprise. We were able to defeat them but the damage had already been done; the warehouse had been completely destroyed along with any and all leads on Animo's scheme. The only thing that remained was a list of satellite labs scattered about Japan. I split up my team so they could investigate the hidden labs and, seeing as I was heading here already, I chose to investigate the one located here in Kuoh."

"We believe them to be the same as the monstrosities that joined Loki and Fenrir when they gate-crashed the gathering several days ago," Baraqiel explained to the group.

"What did you find there?" Sirzechs wondered, ignoring for a moment that Animo's minions had infiltrated his sister and family's territory.

"Nothing good, I'm afraid," Jen admitted with a slight shake of her head. "When I got there and found the lab I was able to quickly subdue the fallen angels and their human friends rather easily. However, some of their experiments broke free from their cages and attacked me. Whatever monstrosities Animo is trying to create, they really were horrific; they looked like someone had tried to splice together a human with a Tetramand to make a new creature altogether."

Baraqiel brought his head up slowly at this and stared at Jen intently.

"You're sure that's what you saw?" he asked and Jen nodded with certainty. The fallen angel broke eye contact with her before tugging at his beard with a concerned expression on his face.

"So that must be his plan. He said he'd find a way to but we never thought he'd actually try and go through with it though," he muttered to himself quietly.

"Care to share to the rest of the class?" Odin asked dryly.

"My apologies. As he fled from capture, Animo preached how he would twist God's 'favourite creation' and "perfect" them so they would be put in their rightful place beneath the boots of their betters."

"But how? I gather it's got something with this 'Project: Hyde' but we still don't actually know what it does or what he hopes to do with it," Michael muttered, his face still covered by an extremely troubled expression.

The line of conversation was suddenly interrupted by Ben clapping his hands together as he suddenly remembered something.

"I thought that name sounded familiar!" he blurted out without warning, causing everyone to look at him.

"You thought of something, kid?" Odin wondered as he slowly stroked his beard.

"I think so. It's that name; 'Hyde'. I thought I'd heard it somewhere before and it just came back to me…."

"Well, what is it?" Jen asked, glancing over at Ben though there wasn't any sarcastic or derisive expression on her face.

"There's an old story, written around a hundred years ago, called 'Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'. It's a story about a scientist, Dr Jekyll, created a potion which, when he drink it, transformed him into a cruel, remorseless, and evil man, Mr Hyde," Ben stated, remembering the story when he had found it amongst his mother's book collection years ago.

Jen sighed and slapped her leg in frustration.

"Ah, of course! How did I miss that?!" she cursed at her failure while the others around them slowly connected the dots and came to the same answer.

"So that's 'Project: Hyde'," Michael gasped in worry.

"It's Animo's plan is to turn humanity into demons," Sirzechs summarised.

"So that's how that crazy fool plans to put humans in their 'rightful place'," Baraqiel growled darkly.

"That bastard," Odin muttered with silent fury.

"I didn't think it was possible for him to fall any further," Baraqiel noted, momentarily ashamed that he was the same race as that monster.

"The pertinent question at this time now is: How close is Animo to perfecting this formula?"

"From the way the ones I fought handled themselves, it is clear that he still has a long way to go before he's ready to unleash it. They were easy enough to deal with even when somebody interfered."

She cast a quick glance at Ben for a split second and he scoffed and crossed his arms, glaring at her.

Ben just stared at Jen in confusion for a few short seconds before he realised what she was saying.

"Wait, that was you?! You were that masked woman who I encountered last night?" he exclaimed, unsure just how many more bombshells he was capable of hearing.

"The very same one who was handling things just fine because you came blundering your way in and throwing your weight around without a clue as to what they'd stumbled on," Jen taunted with a small shake of her head.

Ben glared back at her. "Hey, how the hell was I supposed to know you were there? When I found that building, completely by accident I should add, I had no idea what I was going to find inside," Ben retorted indignantly.

Jen responded with a small smile. "I must give credit to your senses then if you were able to find that place without knowing its precise location." She turned back to address the room. "Unfortunately, aside from a few names and destroying the lab, I wasn't able to find anything of worth."

"We might be able to help then," Rias stated as the partially torn stack of papers materialised in her hands. She passed them to Baraqiel who took them carefully from her.

"That was all I was able to find that looked important from the building before it caught fire," Ben stated as Baraqiel and Jen examined the papers closely. "I didn't know if they would be useful or not."

"Oh Ben, I have a feeling these are very useful," Jen murmured as her eyes scanned some of the papers she had taken from the stack. "Very useful indeed."

"What can these papers tell us?" Sirzechs asked, hoping that there was something they could act on.

"There isn't much we can say at the moment as some of this has been written in a code we are unfamiliar with, like the exact nature of Animo's formula for instance. However there are things on here we can use. There's a list of locations in the Underworld where they collect data on demons as well as a list of names of some individuals from several high-profile Devil noble families and Fallen Angels."

"May I see?" Sirzechs asked and Jen approached him, showing him the list she had been reading.

"They aren't names I'm familiar with. They're most likely distant relatives who joined Animo and the Khaos Brigade in the hopes that they would be rewarded by being made the new Heads of their families. I'll inform Serafall about these names and she'll root them out for us."

"I'll send you a copy of the list. As for the coded parts, I'll have a team to start work on cracking it right away," Baraqiel informed the gathered leaders. "Once we know any more information, we'll let you know and then we can coordinate a response to this threat."

There was a symphony of nodding heads as everyone agreed to the plan. It wasn't the best plan, but it was the only one they had at hand with what they knew.

"Well, now that that's been dealt with for the time being, we should move on to the main reason this meeting was called for in the first place," Odin declared as he rose up out of his chair.

"I agree," Sirzechs nodded before glancing towards Rias who instantly recognised what he was asking and nodded her head.

"Would you please excuse us then, my lords," she said as she rose up from her seat and nodded her head towards the leaders respectfully. Her peerage, without needing to be told, stood up with her, nodded their own farewells and followed Rias as she left the room.

"Likewise. Please excuse me, lord Baraqiel" Jen added after receiving a similar stare from Baraqiel, bid a polite farewell to them and followed after the group of young devils.

As she closed the doors to the living room behind her as she was the last one out, Jen turned around to stare at the assembled supernatural teenagers before her.

"Now that that's over and done with, I seem to recall being promised some answers to some questions I have, correct?" she asked in a friendly tone that hid a level of sternness behind it.

"Now? You wanna heard about it right now? You haven't even seen your room or unpacked yet?" Ben muttered. Even he knew that they were pathetic excuses to avoid having the impending conversation.

"No time like the present," Jen countered, easily seeing through his weak attempt to escape giving her answers. "Come on, let's go somewhere where we can all sit down and have a nice little chat."

Before he had the chance to respond, Rias stepped forward and beat him to it, slipping her arm through his and holding him close to her, a sweet and hospitable smile adorning her face.

"If you would like to follow me then, Jennifer. I know the perfect place for us all to sit and talk.

"Please, call me Jen," Jen said to Rias' back before she followed the Gremory heiress and her little brother towards the dining room, the three of them closely followed by the rest of Rias' peerage.

. . . . .

"Wow! Is everything in this place stupidly big?" Jen marvelled at the sheer size of the room as she sat down on one side of the huge dining/banquet table.

"Yeah, pretty much," Ben admitted as he took his own place on the other side of the table, directly opposite to Jen while everyone took their seats too, Rias and Asia taking their seat on either side of him as per usual. The rest of their group occupied the rest of the seats on their side of the table.

Silence engulfed the room as Jen stared at Ben while he and everyone else stared back at her, each side wondering who'd be the first to break the palpable silence.

As it turned out…it was Ben.

"So…where would you like me to begin?" he asked reservedly.

"At the beginning preferably," Jen shot back with a small smile.

"There's so much to tell. Could you be a little more–."

"Stop bullshitting me, Ben! I'm not mum or dad!" Jen interjected, finally losing her cool composure for a moment. "How did you end up becoming a reincarnated devil and part of Rias Gremory's peerage?"

Taken off guard by her sudden outburst, Ben slowly gulped and quickly decided it would be best for his health to not delay things any longer.

"Okay, okay, I'll tell you everything," he conceded, raising his hands in a placating manner which worked somewhat as Jen leaned back in her chair again. "I guess it started on my very first day of school…."

And so Ben began to tell his tale from the very start. He recounted his first encounter with Rias and Akeno by almost crashing into them while running down the corridor to his next class after losing track of time while drawing a picture of his latest vision only to realise later on that he lost one when he fell.

"You're still getting those visions then?" Jen asked with a tinge of concern in her voice.

"Every now and then," Ben nodded slightly. "It turned out they were memories from the dragon in my Sacred Gear.

Jen pursed her lips at his comment. "Does drawing it still lessen the pain?"

"I've found another way to cope with them but yeah, the drawings did help until then," Ben told her, not noticing the looks of concern aimed at him from Rias and the other girls, particularly from Rias and Asia.

"What is she talking about, Ben? What visions? What pain?" Rias asked with worry.

Jen glanced at Rias then cast her eyes over the others who continued to stare at Ben in concern.

"You didn't tell them."

It was a statement rather than a question but Ben answered it regardless.

"I guess I never found an opportunity to. There was always something else we had to deal with; we had to save Asia from some asshole fallen angels then we had to help Rias get out of her engagement with some prick dickhead, and when that failed I had to gate-crash the engagement party and fight him again to help Rias."

Jen couldn't help but snort a little at Ben's tale, marvelling at how little her brother had appeared to change even after turning into the embodiment of sin and selfishness.

"Besides, they wouldn't be interested in it. I don't want to bore them with the details of something that happened so long ago," Ben shrugged nonchalantly.

"I'd beg to differ," Jen countered, noting the glances the girls were all giving him that he still hadn't noticed. "I'd wager that they're all very interested in hearing it."

Confused by this, Ben glanced at the girls and only at that point finally noted the concerned looks on their faces. Somehow he'd even missed Rias and Asia tightening their hold on his arms and sat closer to him.

"Still as clueless as ever," Jen muttered under her breath.

"What's going on, Ben? What aren't you telling us?" Rias demanded with concern in her voice.

"There's nothing to tell. It all happened a long time ago. It doesn't matter anymore," Ben countered sincerely, taking her hand in his and squeezing it softly.

"But Jen said something about you being in pain. Were you hurt by something?" Asia chimed in, equally worried about Ben as Rias was.

Ben turned back to look at Asia and, imitating his action with Rias, took her hand in his remaining free one and squeezing it again to comfort her.

"It happened a long time ago…long before we ever thought about moving here."

"I can't tell you what to do but I think you should tell these girls about it. They deserve to know…especially Rias and Asia," Jen stated simply as she watched the scene play out before her.

'Mum told me they were close but I greatly underestimated what she meant exactly,' she thought internally as she watched Rias and Asia attach themselves to Ben with genuine and sincere worry about what they'd heard.

Ben glanced first at his sister then to Rias and Asia, noting the way they were both looking at him and then he glanced at Akeno, Xenovia and Koneko and the concerned expressions on their faces before he finally let out a heavy sigh as he conceded to their silent begging.

"Fine, fine. I'll tell you guys about it later, okay?" he announced, adding the last part as a question to them in the hope they'd accept the delay for now while he focused on dealing with his sister.

Thankfully, the five of them agreed, if only reluctantly, and settled to leave it for now…after, of course, making him promise to tell them about it as soon as he was free to do so.

"Well, now that you've got all that settled; how about you continue with your story. You'd just gone back to look for one of your images," Jen prompted as she encouraged him to continue his tale that she was so eager to hear about.

"Hmm, ah yes, well that was when I met Julie," Ben revealed as he returned to his story.

He continued his recount for Jen…and the others as this was also the first time they were hearing his story being told, even if they all knew how it ended. He told them how 'Julie' had told him she was a member of the student council and had been tasked with welcoming him to Kuoh Academy. He thought back to how she had stayed close to him for the entire first week of school under the guise of helping him in his transition to a new school where, in fact, she had been isolating him from the other students, keeping him away from being influenced by Rias or any of her peerage.

Despite her efforts though, he was approached by Kiba who informed that Rias wished to speak to him about something. Before he had the chance to see her though and potentially ruin everything she had planned, 'Julie' invited him out the next day, hiding her true intentions by telling him she wished to show him around town and introduce him to the sights.

When he reached the part of the story where they spent the day around Kuoh in each other's company, Jen broke her silence with a light sigh and shake of her head.

"She charmed you, didn't she? She buttered you up with just the right words and you fell for them, hook, line, and sinker."

Ben found himself at a loss for words, unable to think of a single response, not even a witty retort. Instead, he just leaned back in his chair and sank into it.

Jen noted the defeated expression on his face but didn't make a point of it.

"Yeah, I was, okay? I fell for it like a fucking idiot," he muttered after a moment of silence. "She was the first person I talked to properly since moving here and she seemed like a really nice person. How was I to know what a fucking psychopath she was."

"Ben…," Rias began, pressing her hand against his chest to calm him and let him know she was there for him. when she saw a small tear begin to form in the corner of his eye she wanted to do nothing more than hold him in her arms and let him know that she was there and everything would be alright.

Before she had chance to do anything though, Ben sniffed and quickly wiped away the tear before continuing with his story.

"So, anyway, where was I? Oh yes, when we made it to the park she asked if I would die for her before stabbing me in the chest with a spear of Light."

As the vivid image entered the front of his mind and as he recalled the feeling of being run through by the spear with such intensity that it felt like it had just happened, Ben's fists clenched tightly and his arms trembled a little as he fought to control his emotions.

"As I…as I lay there, lying in a pool of my own blood I…," Ben tried to continue his story but was surprised with himself when he found it so difficult to continue speaking. He averted his gaze from Jen and forced himself to look down at the table, embarrassed at his weakness.

He missed the glisten in Jen's eyes which she quickly blinked away before anyone saw though Rias couldn't hold back anymore.

"Shh, it's okay, Ben, I can tell her the rest now," she told him soothingly as she hugged him tightly and rested her head against the side of his for a moment before pulling it away reluctantly and facing Jen again.

"At some point during that day, Ben ended up with one of our summoning flyers. After he was attacked by Julie…or as she revealed herself to be, the fallen angel, Raynare, he called out for help and I answered. I teleported to his side and I decided to grant his wish."

"So why didn't you use your healing magic? Even without the Twilight Healing, devils still possess healing magic," Jen queried. She wasn't accusing Rias of trying anything…or even not doing enough to save her brother, she just wanted to know why Rias did what she did.

"He was too far gone for healing magic to work. Had he been a magical being then there may have been something else I could've done. However, Ben was a human and his Sacred Gears hadn't activated yet so it would've been too late if I tried anything else. The only way I could save him was by reincarnating him as a devil."

As Rias finished speaking she felt Ben's hand reach out for hers and his fingers intertwined with her own. He gently nuzzled her head with his own before sitting upright and stared at Jen with a determined look in his eyes, his previous energy returning to him.

"I'm not upset with Rias for turning me into a devil. Sure, had someone asked me if I wanted to be turned into a devil before that night, I'd probably have said no. After becoming one though, I don't regret it in the slightest. I've had my eyes opened to an incredible world I never knew existed, seen things I'd only ever thought were stories or fairy tales, I've made friends with weird and incredibly unique people and beings, and I've found people who are so important to me now that I can't imagine my life without them."

He glanced up and down the table, smiling warmly at the girls sat alongside him who returned it, touched at his words and at being told how important each of them were to him. He felt Asia take his hand in hers and squeeze it gently, a move he happily reciprocated, as both she and Rias held him a little tighter.

Once they had exchanged comforting glances with each other, Ben and the girls looked back at Jen to gauge her reaction. She didn't say anything at first. Instead, the eldest Tennyson sibling just sat back in her chair and tapped the beautifully carved table before her with her nails, almost absentmindedly as she just stared back at her brother across the table from her.

The two of them just stared at each other, the whole room being consumed by an awkward silence as the two of them seemed to have an entire conversation without saying a single word to each other in the span of a few silent seconds.

The silence was eventually – and mercifully – broken at last by Jen who nodded subtly, blinked several times in rapid succession to remove the watery hint of tears from her eyes, and shifted a little in her chair before speaking.

"After seeing what you and mum and dad went through after the accident I promised myself that I'd do whatever it took to protect you and make sure none of you ever have to go through that again. I thought I'd found the answer I was looking for when I had my eyes opened to the supernatural. When I found out about the innate magical power within me and when I was offered the chance to learn about it I couldn't've jumped at the chance quick enough."

"Ever since that day I've been practising and learning magic whenever I got the chance so that I can protect you guys and stop anything like that happening again."

"You know you don't have to do that anymore…well, not for me anyway. I'm so much stronger than I could ever dream of. Not only am I a devil now but I possess the strength and power of Ddraig and Azmuth, the Red Dragon Emperor and the Dragon God of Life. You don't have to worry about me," Ben explained with a small smile, touched by her words. He recalled how much she had changed her behaviour after the incident, both towards him and their parents.

Jen just laughed at him and shook her head slightly.

"Ha! Oh, Ben. I don't care how much stronger you've become since we last met nor what crazy powerful Sacred Gear you possess. You are, and always will be, my precious little brother that I have to protect and keep safe. Believe it or not, I'm happy to see the kind of guy you've become since we came to Japan."

"But what about that interrogation just now?" Ben wondered in confusion.

Jen sighed and leant forward, resting her arms on the table before her. "I'm not mad that Rias turned you into a devil. Really, I'm not. I'm angry that it had to come to that. I'm angry with myself for not being there to protect you when you needed me the most and I'm furious with those fallen angel bastards that did this to you."

"Well, you don't have to worry about them anymore. We already dealt with them months ago."

"It doesn't matter though, Ben!" Jen suddenly blurted out, surprising everyone by her abrupt outburst…though not as much, in Ben's case particularly, as the thin streaks of tears which were falling down her cheeks. "Those bastards nearly took you away from me, from mum and dad! That fucking bitch, Raynare, stabbed you and left you to die completely by yourself in a pool of your own blood!"

Jen forced herself to stop by bringing her hand up and covering her mouth with the back of it. once she'd collected her emotions a little before she continued.

"I'm sorry about that, everyone. I got a little carried away just then. It's just that I can't bear thinking about what would happen if you'd…if you'd died that night, Ben," Jen muttered forlornly, doing her best to offer him a comforting smile though the effect fell pretty flat.

Ben felt a sudden urge to reach across the table and take hold of his sister's hand…to let her know that he was still completely fine and had the gap between them not been so large then he would've done it already. As it was though, the best he could do in that instant was give her a warm smile and reach his hand out a little to let her know what he'd intended to do.

Before he had chance to say anything to her though he was beaten to it by Rias.

"You don't have to worry about him when you're not here, Jen. Ben is part of my peerage now and therefore under the protection of my family. For those who don't recognise that protection, none of us here would ever let him come to harm. Regardless of that though, Ben is a very important person in my life now; I can't imagine it without him anymore. I think I speak for everyone here when I say we'd rather die than let anything happen to him," the crimson-haired beauty announced with the other girls nodding their heads firmly at her last declaration. It didn't need to be said among any of them that after nearly losing him during their fight with Loki (a fact none of them were eager to let slip to Jen) they would do whatever it took to protect him wherever they could, the thought of losing him forever being too terrible for them to imagine.

Jen's gaze flashed across all five of the young women, noting the fiery determination in their faces – even in Asia's sweet features – and looked back at Ben before snorting slightly and chuckling.

"You've never had a girlfriend in your life, certainly not before we moved here, little brother. How in the hell did you end up with these girls so enraptured by you that they want to protect you from all harm?"

"How indeed," the voice in the back of Ben's head whispered subtly though Ben's drowned it out and pushed it away.

"There must be something you're not telling me." Jen's eyes widened as a thought struck. "Oh god, please tell me you haven't been…."

Immediately sensing where she was going with her line of questioning, Ben's face turned red and he shook his head firmly.

"No, Jen! We haven't had sex yet?" he declared in embarrassment.

"Yet?" Jen noted with a crooked smile and raise of her eyebrow as she observed the girls around Ben fidget a little in their seats, their faces reddening in embarrassment at Ben's statement. When she noted Asia's flushed face she couldn't help but gasp theatrically.

"Even you, sweet little Asia?" she gaped without any true condescension behind it.

Rather, there was some mirth behind her expression.

Asia's face reddened brilliantly as she squirmed in her seat, suddenly finding the table before her much more interesting to look at than anything else.

"I-I…uh…um…I'm happy with sharing Ben's bed with him right now. I-I don't need anything else right now," the blushing blonde young woman squeaked as she continued to avert her gaze from everyone and tightened her grip on Ben's sleeve, as if fearful he would disappear if she let go.

"Well, well, just when I thought I was getting to know my adopted little sister," Jen commented with a chuckle. She then glanced towards Rias. "And what about you, Rias? If my brother is so important to you, where are you sleeping while he is corrupting sweet Asia?"

Rias didn't answer at first as she thought of a way to explain their sleeping arrangement to her but her silence gave Jen her answer.

"Wait, you're not saying…," she began to say, the cogs turning in her head as she quickly connected the dots and saw the picture.

"As I said, Ben is a very important person to me. I can't bear being away from him. I have grown accustomed to his body and find it difficult to sleep without him," Rias announced with a faint blush in her cheeks as she told Jen all this.

Jen, herself, just raised her eyebrow a little at Rias before she caught sight of Koneko and Akeno sharing similar expressions on their faces. Her blossoming theory grew exponentially when the two of them suddenly didn't seem capable of meeting her eye.

"No way, are you kidding me?" she muttered in complete shock, taken completely off guard by this as she returned her gaze to her brother. "Since when did you become such a womanizer, little brother?"

"I'm not a…," Ben tried to counter but Jen interrupted him.

"Just how many women are you sleeping with then? Does Mum know about this?"

Ben suddenly stood up from his seat and glared down at Jen who hadn't flinched at his abrupt movement.

"I'm not going to discuss this kind of thing with you, Jen! Okay?"

Jen just returned his steely gaze at her with a look of slight amusement. After a few seconds of silent staring/glaring at each other the eldest Tennyson sibling shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, sighed and rose up from her chair and stretched her arms up above her head.

"Fine. I'm bored now anyway. I got what I wanted from you. Now, are you going to be a proper host for once and show me around this palace that is apparently now our home?"

Remembering her manners as a Gremory and seeing an opportunity to change the topic of conversation away from other embarrassing things, Rias also rose out of her seat and gave Jen a warm, welcoming smile.

"Of course, Jen. We'll give you a full tour of the place. We'll also stop by your room so you can unpack," she stated with a smile.

"Sounds good to me. Shall we then?" Jen replied as she stepped away from her seat and made her way towards the door leading back to the atrium with Rias, Ben and the others following after her.

"Allow me to take your suitcase for you," Akeno announced politely as she spotted Jen's lone case which had been left by the front door when they had first entered.

"Nonsense. Ben can make himself useful and carry it," Jen replied with a slight wave of her hand before glancing over her shoulder to Ben who was stood behind her. "Isn't that right, Ben?"

Ben returned Jen's look with a forced smile as he picked up her suitcase by its handle.

"It would be my pleasure," he murmured forcibly through his sarcastic smile.

"Wonderful!" Jen smirked as she slipped her arm through Asia's and pulled her close to her before pointing towards the large staircase before them. "Now let's get going. I can't wait to see what's changed!"

With that, Rias took the lead of the group with Jen – along with Asia beside her – following after the crimson-haired heiress up the stairs with Ben and the other girls trailing behind them as they ascended the stairs and Rias began giving Jen the full tour of the mansion.

. . . . .

(Some time later)

"Wow! The rest of my team would be so fucking jealous if they saw my room. I'm still trying to get my head round it," Jen noted as they made their way down the long corridor on the third floor towards their next destination.

They had just shown Jen her new room which had amazed the eldest Tennyson child. Due to almost heading straight off to university in Kyoto the moment they finally moved to Japan, Jen had only stayed briefly in their old home and even less time to move into her old room. After the renovation, courtesy of Rias' father, Jen struggled to believe Rias when she revealed her new, humongous room to her and thought she was pulling her leg. She didn't even believe Ben as he chucked her suitcase onto her gigantic bed and confirmed that it was her room, certain that they were pulling a prank on her.

It wasn't until Asia herself assured Jen that it was her room that she finally believed it, much to everyone's amusement.

Everyone, that is, except Ben who just shook his head in exasperation at his sister's antics.

As they walked down the corridor, Ben's interest piqued a little at the mention of this 'team' that Jen was a part of, remembering she had mentioned something about during the earlier meeting.

"What is this team you say you're part of then, Jen?" he asked as they passed by the doors which led to the empty rooms which, in theory, belonged to Rias and Asia even though they treated Ben's room as their own.

Jen arced her head over her shoulder at Ben's question.

"Hmm, oh yeah, I guess I can tell you a little about them," she shrugged and stopped in her tracks to turn back and face him. Everyone else also came to a stop, each of them also curious as to the nature of this mysterious team that Jen was with that had uncovered Animo's secret operation.

"So, who are they?"

I'm the team leader of the Japanese branch of a highly secretive and specialised organisation known as the P.L.U.M.B.E.R.S," Jen announced with a hint of pride in her voice.

Ben scrunched his nose as a look of confusion appeared on his face.

"The 'Plumbers'? So you…what…clean magic toilets and sinks and stuff like that? Doesn't sound that cool to me."

Jen sighed heavily and smacked her forehead with the palm of her hand. "No, you fucking dumbass. It's not 'plumbers'; it's P.L.U.M.B.E.R.S. It's an acronym."

"An acronym for what?" Asia asked curiously, still attached to Jen through their linked arms.

"It stands for the 'Paranormally-Linked Underworld Magical Breach Emergency Reaction Sector'," Jen explained, glancing down at the young woman beside her with a bright smile."

"That's quite the mouthful," Ben commented with a whistle at the long-winded name.

Jen rolled her eyes and shook her head at her brother's choice of words before responding.

"Hence the acronym," she stated bluntly.

"I've heard about your organisation," Rias chimed in as she came to stand on the other side of Jen from where Asia stood.

"You have? It's supposed to be a secret organisation," Jen noted with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, when I say I've heard stories, they're more like rumours if anything," Rias replied, backtracking her earlier statement. "I recall my brother talking about a secret section of the Protestant church in the human world that works alongside the fallen angels deals with any demons that end up finding their way to the human world."

"We also deal with the odd stray devil that makes too much noise though that's just a side gig really."

"Wait a minute. Hang on. You're saying there are ways for demons to get to the human world?" Ben wondered as the image of the Tetramand mercenary that was working for Raynare entered his mind. "I thought the only way to get to and from the Underworld was by train or being teleported through magic circles."

"That's true for the vast majority of the time. Normally when someone wants to bring a demon to the human world they use magic transportation circles to do it…," Rias explained for him and the others before Jen joined in with her own input.

"…however, there is one other method, one we still don't fully understand, that demons use to break through into the human world."

"And what's that?"

"Magical breaches," Jen declared matter-of-factly. "We've been studying them for centuries and we still know laughably very little about them. They can appear at any time and anywhere in the world, we have no way of stopping or controlling them, and they appear to be only one-way. The only positive thing about them is that they're unstable and don't tend to last very long before collapsing in on themselves."

"How long are we talking?"

"Most of them last only a few days before disappearing though there are some which have lasted for longer. The longest I've known one to remain open is just over a month though I've heard rumours that there's one in the Himalayas that opened nearly 200 years ago and still hasn't closed. Entire generations of plumbers have dedicated their lives to monitoring and guarding the breach."

"And how do you deal with whatever comes through the breaches? Do you kill them?"

"Not if we can help it. Despite what the Catholic church likes to preach, not all demons are bloodthirsty monsters hellbent on destroying the world. We only exterminate demons that pose a direct threat to humans. Those that can be reasoned with…or those that just don't harbour any malicious intent, we contact the fallen angels and they come and return them to the Underworld," Jen clarified for them.

"It's the same for devils in that we know remarkably very little about the breaches. Beelzebub has been studying them almost as long as he's been a Devil King but he's learned hardly anything new about them in all these centuries…much to his chagrin. The most my brother can really do is what your team does, Jen; monitor and guard them, preventing any demon from passing through where it's possible to do so though they continue to open without our knowledge and demons continue to break through…sometimes to disastrous results."

Jen nodded her head sadly in agreement to Rias' statement, particularly at the last part.

"What sort of disastrous effect?" Ben asked, fearing just what demons were capable of in the human world.

"You remember the 'Great fire of Chicago'?" Jen asked to which Ben nodded his head in response. "That was actually caused by a Pyronite going on a mindless rampage. It took five fallen angels to intervene and finally put a stop to it before it caused even more damage. An incident like that though still pales in comparison to the damage that demons such as Talpaedans have caused in the human world."

"Why? What have they done in the past?" Ben wondered.

It was Rias who answered him this time.

"Their powerful terrakinesis and earth magic enabled them to cause extreme amounts of destruction to the human world through earthquakes," she explained.

Ben's eyes widened at this and the implications it led him to.

"So you're saying that every 'natural' disaster in history was actually caused by a rampaging demon?"

Jen shook her head at his theory.

"No, not every disaster…just some of them," Jen clarified for him. "Luckily for us, most demons are too thrown by suddenly finding themselves in the human world that they just wonder around in confusion at their new surroundings and lack of magic in the air."

"Okay, I guess I can understand that. I've got one last question for now: how come you work with the fallen angels? Why do they help you so much?"

"Because Azazel agrees that demons belong in the Underworld. They have no place up here," a deep voice spoke out behind Ben which caused him and everyone else to jump a little in surprise at the newcomer.

They span around quickly to see that Baraqiel had somehow been able to approach them without a single one of them sensing him, so engrossed they were in the conversation.

Jen bowed her head a little in respect, an action which was the complete opposite to Akeno who Ben saw glare at her father intensely.

"Lord Baraqiel? To what do we owe the pleasure?"

"The meeting ended a few minutes ago. I wish to speak to my daughter and the Dragon All-father before I leave," the senior fallen angel replied, casting a quick glance at the two individuals in question.

"Uh…sure," Ben mumbled, glancing across at Akeno who met his eyes for a moment before sighing a glaring at Baraqiel again.

"Fine, if we must," she muttered under her breath.

"We can talk in here if you'd like," Ben offered, gesturing towards the door that led to his room.

When Baraqiel accepted this with a nod of his head, Ben turned to Rias.

"Are you okay to continue showing Jen around?"

"Of course," Rias replied with a slight nod and a smile. I still need to show Jen the basement levels after all."

Jen perked up at this.

"basement levels…as in more than one? Oh, this I have to see. Lead the way, Gremory!" she announced, snaking her arm around Rias' and pulling her away with the others bar Ben, Akeno and Baraqiel accompanying them. "I'd love to hear some more about your adventures with my brother while I've been away at uni."

Ben watched them disappear around the corner at the end of the corridor before turning back to see Akeno and Baraqiel staring at him. Signing in resignation at what was to come, he opened the door to his room and held it open to allow them inside.

As they walked past him into the room, Ben took a deep breath before joining them inside, closing the door behind him.

. . . . .

"Well then! What do you want? My time is precious and you aren't worthy of it," Akeno demanded scornfully, glaring hatefully at her father.

The three of them were sat in the collection of chairs that were positioned around the spacious table that was located in the corner of Ben's room. Baraqiel was sat on one side of the table while Ben and Akeno were sat opposite him.

Ben cast a sideward glance at Akeno at her demand, stunned by the sheer level of hostility in her voice and the intense stare she was giving the fallen angel sat opposite them.

'What's up with Akeno? Why is she speaking to him like that?' he wondered in his head though he remained silent. This was obviously going to be a heated private conversation between the two of them and, had he not been specifically requested to join them, he would've left them to their privacy.

"Tell me, Akeno; what were you and the Dragon All-father doing in such a lascivious part of town this afternoon? What were you planning to do before we encountered you?"

Akeno snorted and continued to glare at him.

"What's it got to do with you? I can do whatever I want, go wherever I want, and with whomever I choose. What gives you the right to pry into my personal matters or decide how I live my life?" she retorted angrily.

A pained expression could be seen on Baraqiel's face at Akeno's retort.

"Because I'm your father, Akeno. It's my job to–."

"Don't you dare tell me it's your job! You lost the right to call yourself 'father' after what you put mother and I through! You say you're concerned about my wellbeing? Well, where were you when we needed you most?! Where were you when they came for us and mother died protecting me?!"

A lump subconsciously formed in Ben's throat at Akeno's outburst and he gazed at the back of her head from where he was sat.

Her mother was killed trying to protect Akeno from something…or someone?

His heart went out to Akeno at the visible distress she was clearly in by the anger in her voice and the way she was shaking slightly as she fought to keep control of her emotions.

Akeno then stood up abruptly and stepped away from the chairs and table, turning her back swiftly to Baraqiel.

"I thought I could stomach this but I can't. Just looking at you makes me sick. You're not my father; you haven't been for years! I never want to see your face ever again!" she declared with finality in her tone.

Silence fell on the room. Akeno remained where she stood with her back to Baraqiel and refused to even acknowledge his presence anymore. Ben could see the immense pain, almost crushed look, the fallen angel was suffering from at Akeno's emotional declaration. He wanted to say something, to try and find out what had happened that had split their family apart but couldn't find the words to use so just sat there in silence as Baraqiel let out a weak, pained sigh and rise to his feet.

"If that is what you wish," he mumbled weakly, expertly hiding how truly affected he was by his daughter's harsh words.

"It is," Akeno said simply in response, her back still facing him.

Baraqiel cast one last glance at Akeno's back, silently pleading for her to turn around and face him…but when she didn't he turned away and left the room, closing the door behind him and leaving the two young devils alone in the silent room.

After a short moment of silence, Ben pushed himself out of his chair and approached Akeno who was still visibly trembling where she stood.

"Hey, Akeno…," he started to say softly, though not entirely what there was he could say in that moment. He didn't get chance to worry about that though as, as soon as she heard his voice so close to her, Akeno finally turned around and held onto Ben in a tight embrace, as though fearful he would disappear in front of her if she let go of him for even a second.

"Don't go, Ben. Please…please don't leave me," she mumbled weakly, her previous, collected stature crumbling away in the blink of an eye. "Just hold me."

Ben wrapped his arms around her and gently consoled her, resting his head against hers as they stood there in silence.

"It's okay. I'm here," he muttered quietly as his hand slowly drifted up her back to her head which he began stroking gently.

They continued to stand there in silence, both embracing each other. As Akeno slowly calmed down and collected her emotions again, Ben led them to the edge of the bed beside them and sat down, guiding her to the spot beside him.

"I'm sorry," she sniffed, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Don't be. You have nothing to be sorry about," Ben told her and placed his hand over the back of hers which was resting on her lap.

"You deserve an explanation," she murmured quietly.

"No, I don't. I'll always be here for you and help you out however I can but that doesn't mean you have to tell me anything you don't want to."

"I know…but I want to tell you though."

Ben glanced at Akeno and squeezed her hand consolingly.

"Okay then. I'll listen."

Akeno took a deep breath before starting her tale.

"My mother, Shuri Himejima, was a priestess born and raised in a Shinto shrine. One day, when she was performing her daily duties, she stumbled upon a fallen angel who had been severely hurt in battle."

"Baraqiel," Ben muttered under his breath. Akeno just nodded her head slightly as she continued.

"She looked after him, healing his wounds, and during that time they fell in love. Before long, I was born from their love…but because of the scandal it caused, a priestess falling in love with a fallen angel and bearing his child, the Himejima clan cast out my mother and kicked her out of the shrine."

"Because of that, my mother and I moved in with my father and we started a new life together, just the three of us. We were happy for a time but that happiness was brought to an end shortly after my black wings appeared. That's when everything went wrong. What child should be scared that people want to kill her for being born?"

Ben swallowed the lump in his throat at this though held his tongue and the thoughts in his head. He couldn't imagine what it must've been like for Akeno growing being called a monster by people for no other reason than being the child of a human and fallen angel.

"Baraqiel wasn't there when they finally came for us. My mother tried to reason with them but it was no use. They…they…."

"She died protecting you," Ben surmised, saving Akeno from uttering the words she was unable to do so.

Akeno nodded her head as fresh tears started forming in the corner of her eyes. "My life changed completely after that to one constantly on the run, hunted by the Himejima clan and distrustful of everyone…but I was still a child and had my limits and my strength and spirit failed me. Had Rias not found me when she did then the Himejima clan would've succeeded in correcting the mistake of my birth."

"That's how the two of you met?"

"Yes. Rias came to my aid and talked them out of killing me on the conditions that I never set foot in territory belonging to the Himejima clan again and that I remain at Rias' side."

Akeno fell silent as she finished telling her story though this was shortly broken as she teared up and started trembling again.

"I thought that, by telling you all this, I'd finally be able to put all this behind me…but I can't! I'll never forgive that bastard for what he did! He cast us aside and left us to fend for ourselves! There's no way in hell I'll ever call that man 'father'."

Unable to hold back anymore, Ben let go of Akeno's hand and wrapped it around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him. He thought about the words he wanted to use but was cautious about inadvertently saying the wrong thing.

"I know it doesn't excuse him not being there to protect you when you needed him but I saw his face when you said you never wanted to see him again. I thought he was going to break. I don't think that's the sort of person who'd willingly abandon his family…and besides, didn't he save you from those monsters at the ball a few days ago," he told her calmly, adding the last part as he recalled being told about the incident that had been going on while he fought Kuroka.

Akeno paused at Ben's words before clutching the side of her head as more tears began falling down her cheeks and trembled greatly.

"I-I-I don't know what to think anymore!" she gasped despairingly before moving abruptly, catching Ben off guard as she turned towards him and he suddenly found himself lying back on the bed with her straddling his sides and staring down at him.

"Please. Help me forget. I just want to forget about all this," she gasped, her cheeks reddening a little as she ran her hands up and down his chest. Before he could react in any way she'd unclasped the top buttons of her blouse, allowing her huge breasts to spill out into full view of him, took hold of his right hand and brought it up to grasp her breast.

"You don't have to hold back. You can do whatever you want with me. I wanted to do this earlier, back when we were on our date. Please, just…," Akeno announced shakily, speaking before truly considering what she was saying, only halting instantly in her tracks when Ben couldn't take it anymore and placed his hands on either side of her face and holding her in place directly above his own, the two of them now staring directly into each other's eyes.

"No, I'm not going to do that, Akeno…," he told her firmly, causing her to flinch subconsciously at his instant rejection.

"…because that isn't what you need right now," he added, seeing the despair in her eyes as he wiped the fresh tear forming in the corner of her eye with his thumb.

"You are an incredible woman, Akeno, and I look forward to claiming you properly another day in the near future. However, doing it now would only hurt you more and you'd hate yourself and I'd hate myself for taking advantage of you."

"But I don't want to…," Akeno started to retort but Ben didn't give her the chance to.

"I have an idea on how to help you though. I've never done it before but if you'd like to try it then…."

"I don't care what it is. Just…please…just stop me feeling this way," Akeno stated, latching onto Ben's idea, no matter what it was.

"Okay then. Could you just lay down here then," he instructed her, moving out from under her and positioning her where he had just been lying while he manoeuvred himself into sitting cross-legged right by her head. As she did as he instructed, he made sure she was comfortable, stroking her hair softly before he summoned Azmuth's Gear and started cycling through the various forms.

Once he'd found what he was looking for he looked back at her and gave her the best comforting smile he could.

"Brace yourself," he told her before pressing the dial down and disappearing into a flash of green light.

[Transform: Nemuina!]

Having understood his intention, Akeno had closed her eyes just before the green flash, opening them once it had dispersed to see Ben had been replaced by a short, fairy-like humanoid creature, hovering a few inches above the bed with the aid of its purple wings fluttering behind it. It was wearing a green dress with black zigzag patterns covering it.

Had Ben shown her this transformation at any other time then Akeno would've immediately lost it and begin fawning over his adorable new appearance forever…but now was not the time and she just remained where she lay, a confused expression on her tear-stricken face.

"I've never seen that form before. What do you plan to do with it?" she asked quietly as Ben landed on the bed by her head and knelt down beside her.

"Prrr, this is a Nemuina, prrr," Ben trilled, his voice now high-pitched and feminine in nature. "With it, I can enter the dreams of other people and see what they see."

"And you can make me forget about everything? You can help me forget about Baraqiel?" Akeno asked hopefully, seeing a perfect opportunity to cut him out of her life completely.

"Prrr, I can help you understand your pain and hopefully ease your suffering, prrr," Ben replied, choosing his words carefully.

"Okay, let's do it," Akeno murmured, giving Ben a small nod, giving him permission to continue.

Ben nodded back and held out his tiny hand above Akeno's face. She watched curiously as what looked like dust was emitted from his hand and fell on her. As she breathed in the dust, the raven-haired beauty instantly felt herself growing drowsy and drifting off to sleep. As her eyelids suddenly became extremely heavy and began closing she could hear Ben's high-pitched trilling voice far in the distance.

"Picture your family, prrr, picture your mother and your father. Show me your past, prrr."

These were the last thoughts going through Akeno's head as she drifted off to sleep.

. . . . .

With Akeno now sleeping peacefully, Ben wasted no time and placed his miniscule hand on Akeno's forehead and activated his magic, disappearing in a small puff of light green smoke.

"Hmm, prrr, so where did I end up, prrr," he trilled as he reappeared in an unfamiliar room. He didn't recognise where he though he deduced that he must be in a bathroom by the looks of the toilet and sink before him.

"Your wings are so pretty, daddy," a small voice said behind him.

Ben spun around to see Baraqiel and a very young Akeno in the bath. Baraqiel's wings were protruding from his back and dipping into the warm water a little with Akeno brushing one of his wings softly with a brush, her own tiny wings barely just protruding out from beneath her hair.

"You think so?" Baraqiel asked her with a smile, glancing over his shoulder at his daughter as she brushed his wing.

"Yeah, its black but its also so soft and shiny, like my hair," she replied happily.

"Why thank you, Akeno. I'm glad you like them so much."

"Do you think my wings will be as pretty as yours when I grow up?"

Baraqiel chuckled and turned a little in the rather small bath to pat Akeno's head affectionately.

"No, I think your wings will be much softer and prettier than mine will ever be, just like your mother's hair."

"Really?! Thank you, daddy!" Akeno beamed happily, smiling broadly as she pressed forward and hugged Baraqiel's side.

"Prrr, looks like my hunch was right, prrr. I don't know all the details, prrr, but I'm certain that Baraqiel isn't completely to blame, prrr," Ben trilled to himself, watching the dream/memory play out before him.

His surrounding suddenly went black as the dream ended and he now found himself hovering the backyard of a small house with two people, a young woman and a child sat out on the porch. The child was sat in between the woman's legs, a small ball in her hand, and smiling as the woman played about with her hair.

Ben's small, green eyes widened as he moved in closer for a better look and marvelled when, for a split second, he was convinced he was looking at Akeno before he looked down at the child and recognised Akeno.

'Wow, she looks so much her mother,' he thought, glancing between the young woman's face and seeing so much of Akeno that had the two been stood side by side he would he certain that the two of them were twins.

"Mama?" the young girl asked, playing with the ball in her hands as she leant back against her mother's chest.

"Yes, my darling?" Akeno's mother replied sweetly as she continued to play with Akeno's black hair.

"Do you think papa is proud of me?"

"Yes, of course he is. We both love you so much that we could just eat you up," Shuri Himejima replied before wrapping her arms around young Akeno and pressed her face close to hers where she began miming eating Akeno's neck, earning her an excited, childish giggle from Akeno.

After her mother's 'attack' had ceased, Shuri placed her hands on Akeno's small shoulders.

"Why'd you ask such a silly question?" she wondered, nuzzling Akeno's head with her own.

"No reason. I just wish he didn't have to go away for so long."

"I hate it when he has to leave too, Akeno, but he has important work he needs to do. As much as we may want him to be here with us, we can't have him all to ourselves."

"I know, mama. I'd just like it better if he didn't have to go. I miss him when he's gone."

"So do I, Akeno, so do I," Shuri sighed lightly as she returned to playing with Akeno's hair.

As the 'world' went black with the memory having reached its conclusion, Ben wondered what he was going to see next when he heard a sudden gasp and a childish cry of fear. He watched as the world rematerialized around him, this time in a dark room with moonlight flooding it from an open door.

Ben saw as Shuri and Akeno materialised in the corner of the room, their back to the wall, Akeno in Shuri's arms as the two of them stared up at the trio of masked intruders which were standing menacingly over the pair of them, each of them wielding katannas.

"No! Stay away from her! She's done nothing wrong! She's just a little girl! Her father and I love her more than life itself!" Shuri cried out fearfully as she placed herself between Akeno and the masked villains.

"It's so unfortunate so see a member of the Himejima clan fall so far. It seems your heart has been forever corrupted, tainted beyond any hope of recovery by the darkness exuded by the fallen angel menace. We shall cut out this rot before it gets chance to spread any further," the lead masked man declared as he slowly approached the cowering Shuri and Akeno.

"Leave mama alone!" Akeno cried out tearfully though her plea fell on deaf ears as the lead intruder reared his arm back, his sword pointed directly at Akeno, and thrust it forwards.

"Noooo!" Shuri cried as she pushed Akeno back while moving in front of the blade.

Akeno screamed loudly as the blade suddenly emerged out of Shuri's back and she was covered in her mother's blood though she didn't realise this. Her eyes were focussed on her mother as she let out a weak pained cry and collapsed before Akeno.

Akeno wailed tearfully at her mother's unmoving body and placed a hand on her shoulder and shook it.

"Mama! Mama! Please wake up, mama!" Akeno sobbed despairingly while Shuri remined motionless.

"That takes care of the traitor," the masked killer stated plainly as he stared down at Akeno with a malicious aura surrounding both him and his two companions. "Now to take care of the mistake."

He took a step towards Akeno and raised his sword above his head.

The killing blow never came, however, as there was a sudden flash of golden light and the masked man's sword arm was severed from his body and fell to the floor with a dull thud…a sound which was echoed when the arm was quickly followed by the man's severed head, still hidden by the mask.

What followed next for Ben was a whirlwind of light, blood, swords and death, all almost too quick for him to follow.

Once it was all over it the span of less than two seconds, the room fell nearly silent, the only sound coming from Akeno's sobbing and whimpering as she held onto her mother's body.

Standing behind her, with his back to her, was Baraqiel. He was wearing battle armour and was wielding a sword of Light as he stood in the centre of the carnage he had wrought without restraint or mercy. The bodies and body parts of the masked men surrounding him, their blood covering every surface of the room.

Certain that they were dead like the scum they were, Baraqiel turned around to see his daughter trying to wake his murdered wife.

As his eyes fell on Shuri, Ben saw a change in Baraqiel's expression that lasted no more than a few seconds. His whole body trembled like a building ready to cave in on itself, his hand which gripped the hilt of his sword held it so tightly that Ben thought it was going to shatter in his hand. His eyes widened at Shuri's bloodied body and he could see a lump form in the fallen angel's throat.

It was Akeno's continued sobbing that brought him out of his momentary stupor.

"Akeno," he began but Akeno interrupted him before he could say anything more.

"NO! stay away from me! Where were you?! You should've been here to protect me and mama! This wouldn't've happened if you had been here! Mama would still be alive right now!"

"It's all your fault!" Akeno continued, unable to tear her gaze away from her mother and look up at her father. "They only came here to kill us because you're a fallen angel! I hate my stupid black wings! I hate you! I hate everyone and everything!"

"Akeno, I...," Baraqiel tried again, taking a step towards Akeno. As he did so though, Akeno instantly reacted, backing away from him, scrambling across the blood-stained floor until she reached the open door to the backyard where she quickly rose to her feet and fled through it.

"I never want to see you again!" she cried as she ran.

"Akeno! Wait!" Baraqiel called after her and made to run after her when the sound of movement behind attracted his attention first. He turned back to see several masked men wielding swords barge into the room, notice the carnage left behind before believing they would have better luck than their comrades and charged at the fallen angel.

"Shit," he swore as he raised his blade and engaged with the assailants.

Ben didn't see the fight play out though as the memory/dream faded around him, leaving him in darkness.

"I'm, prrr, so sorry, Akeno, prrr, he muttered quietly, aghast that Akeno had gone through something so traumatic when she was so young.

The sound of crying and whimpering brought him out of his thoughts. He glanced around to see he was now surrounded by trees and undergrowth.

He was now in a forest though he had absolutely no idea where he actually was. This didn't matter to him right now though. his only concern was the cowering young Akeno who was sat down on the forest floor, her back resting against a thick tree with her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. Her head was hanging low as she cried quietly.

By the dried blood which still covered Akeno's body, Ben surmised that this must be just after Shuri's murder and when Akeno ran from Baraqiel.

He slowly flew down to her, stopping when he was right beside her.

"Why did this happen to us?" she sobbed to herself, oblivious to Ben's presence. "This is all because of papa. He did this to us! This is his fault."

"Do you really believe that, prrr?" Ben asked her quietly, deciding now was the time to use another of his form's abilities. "Was it truly Baraqiel's fault?"

Akeno stopped shaking and she raised her head up slowly. Tears were still flowing down her face but there was an odd look in her eye now, as though she was looking at something ahead of her that wasn't there.

"No, it wasn't really my father's fault," young Akeno answered him, surprising him because this time she was speaking with the voice of present Akeno now.

"Deep down I always knew that it wasn't his fault…but I couldn't stop myself from blaming him for it. it's pathetic, I know, but I couldn't help it."

"You're not pathetic, prrr, Akeno," Ben told her with as much firmness as he could muster with his form's shrill, feminine voice.

"But I am. I'm so weak. I fear that, because of my weakness, I'll eventually end up completely alone."

Ben wanted to do nothing more than tell Akeno she was wrong, that neither him, Rias nor any of the others would do that to her but he didn't know how much longer he could stay in Akeno's dreams and couldn't afford to divert from his original course.

"Prrr, if you don't want to place the blame on your father anymore, prrr, what do you want from him?" he asked, applying his magic with the intention of Akeno revealing her true thoughts and desires.

"What I…want from him? all I ever wanted from my dad was for him to be around more often than he was. I wanted him to comfort me after mum died, to hold me tightly, pat me on the head and tell me everything was going to be alright. Maybe he would've done if I hadn't run away from him. I-I wanted him to play with me more. I wanted us just to have a little more time in that life."

Ben could feel himself being pulled away, back to the real world but he fought to stay just a few more seconds, determined to make sure he accomplished his goal.

"Prrr, do you want to lose him?" he asked with a strain as he fought to hold on.

Young Akeno shook her head at Ben's question.

"No, I don't. I lost mama…but I don't want to lose my papa too."

With these last words spoken, Ben lost his control of the memory and felt himself being dragged back, the world around him dematerialising into blackness again, leaving him alone as he was pulled back to reality.

. . . . .

Back in Ben's bedroom, Akeno slowly stirred from her magically induced slumber. She glanced to her right where Ben had been before she fell asleep but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Ben?" she asked aloud, wondering where he had gone.

Her answer came in the form of a flash of red light of the side of the bed where Ben raised his head up a second later as he clambered back onto the bed.

"Sorry about that. When the connection was finally broken I was knocked back and fell off the bed," he told her as he carefully helped her up and into a sitting position, her legs dangling off the side of the bed.

Akeno couldn't help but smile a little at Ben's answer. That was so like him.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, course I am. It'll take more than that now to hurt me," Ben replied with a grin. "How about you, Akeno? Are you alright?"

Akeno stared off to the corner of Ben's room for a moment before bringing it back to Ben.

"Yes, I think I am now. Thanks to you."

"I didn't do that much."

"You're wrong. I remember you talking to me in my dream. You were able to uncover my own true feelings, the ones I didn't realise I had myself. Because of you, Ben, I think I can finally start to come to terms with my past. Thank you."

Ben moved himself closer to her and embraced her tightly.

"You don't need to thank me, Akeno. I'll always be there for you."

"I know. I'm sorry I showed you such an unsightly version of myself before."

"Hey, at any other time, I'd have been all for it. But when the day comes that I finally claim you, it'll be when we're both ready for it," Ben told her, smiling at the reddening of her cheeks at his words and promise. It seemed there was a limit to how much she would withstand him when he was like this and her sadistic side was slowly replaced by her masochistic side.

"I…uh…I-I better get going. The others will be starting to wonder what's taking us so long and I have to make a start on dinner. There's something I have to do before that though," she announced before fixing up her blouse at last and turning to leave…though not before turning back quickly and planting an unexpected kiss on Ben's unsuspecting lips. Unlike the last kisses they'd shared which were almost entirely driven by blind lust and attraction, this one was more chaste and loving and it made Ben's heart beat just a little bit faster because of this.

"Thank you again, Ben. See you downstairs in a bit, okay?" she muttered quietly, resting her forehead against his for a moment before pulling away and quickly disappearing through his bedroom door, leaving him alone.

Ben smiled at the door Akeno had gone through when he was struck by a headache and clutched the side of his head due to its intensity.

"Fuck," he grunted through gritted teeth at the pain.

Once it had subsided a little, he pushed himself off his bed and made his way to his desk in the far corner of the room, near the door to the balcony, and sat down in his chair. Once there, he opened up a drawer beside him which contained his paltry collection of stationary. He ignored these, pushing towards the back of the drawer before pressing a hidden button in the corner of the drawer and opening the secret compartment and pulling out the pencils and several cluttered pieces of paper.

Once splayed out on the desk before him, Ben examined the image that had been drawn on each piece of paper…the exact image on each one.

"Why am I still seeing it?" he gasped, still clutching the side of his head as he looked down at the dark corridor he had been seeing in his nightmares for the past few weeks. His eyes focussed on the creature that was always chasing him in these nightmares.

"What are you? Why can't I get you out of my head?" he muttered to himself as he stared at the ghostly creature staring back at him.

Without saying another word, Ben selected a fresh piece of paper and, hoping to have more luck this time around, started drawing the image yet again, hoping to remove it from his mind and spare him from the continuous pain he was feeling.

. . . . .

Demonomicum extract:

Petrosapien

Appearance: Comprised entirely out of diamond-like material, Petrosapiens are amongst one of the most durable demonic species to ever walk the face of the Underworld. Petrosapiens stand at an average height of nearly 10 feet tall and the crystalline material of which their bodies are composed of are nigh indestructible. Four large shards of crystal protrude from their shoulders and for Petrosapien 'males' (for lack of better term for a race of crystalline demons) between two and six shards protrude from their backs while this feature isn't present for Petrosapien 'females'.

The colour of crystal that makes up a Petrosapien's body appears to be dependent on which group – or 'cut' – that Petrosapien is a part of, each of a different colour and shape.

Bio:The land of Petropia is one of unparalleled beauty and splendour, unmatched by anywhere else in both the Underworld and the Human world. It is a land which is essentially one giant crystal mound, every inch of it covered in every kind of crystal known to devilkind…including the revered Taydenite crystal, a mineral widely regarded as the strongest material in existence and one possessing immense magical properties.

Perhaps no other race besides the Petrosapiens had the absolute right to call this miraculous place home. If it weren't for the existence of Devils, Fallen Angels, and the various pantheons which dwell in the Underworld, the Petrosapiens would undoubtedly be the masters of the Underworld, far above any of their demonic brethren. Despite the small size of their land and their low population, separated out into half a dozen city-states, no other race can claim to be as powerful, rich or culturally advanced as them. In terms of riches alone, the vast riches held in the very land around them brought the Petrosapiens up to be unrivalled in wealth amongst any in the Underworld, higher than even the wealth of the Four Devil Kings and nearly all of the 72 pillars combined!

In light of all this though, perhaps the most intriguing thing about Petrosapien society is their life cycle which goes through four distinct stages, each one named after a crystal ranked in terms of durability. The first stage is infancy, Graphite-class, which is followed by their adolescent stage, Ruby-class. It is at this stage that they start to develop their own crystals and take the shape we are most familiar with. When they reach adulthood they are regarded as Diamond-class, and it is at this stage which they spend the vast majority of their conscious life, lasting easily over several thousand centuries.

The last stage of a Petrosapien's life is fascinating. Throughout the entirety of their adult stage they continue to grow and an incredibly slow rate, similar to the crystals which they link their lives so closely to, until they reach a certain size that they actually become incapable of moving. When they reach this stage they have reached Taydenite-class, an incredibly rare class that only the oldest Petrosapiens eventually reach. The fascination with this stage is that, despite no longer being able to move…or even be considered alive by standard terms, Taydenite-class Petrosapiens continue to contribute to their people by metamorphosing into buildings, and helping their cities grow and defending them from any invader which was foolish enough to attack the living fortresses that are Petrosapien city-states.

It is fortunate that they are such a civilised race as, had they the barbaric, war-mongering mindset of Tetramands then, with their wealth and might, the Underworld would be a very different place.

Power Level: High-class Devil (Ultimate-class for Taydenite-class)

Threat Level: Medium

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A/N: Phew! There you go.

I got through quite a bit this chapter, didn't I? Jennifer's been introduced, Animo's making a reappearance at last, the Plumbers have been introduced to my story (How many of you didn't think it would happen?) and Ben helped Akeno overcome her past with one of his transformations.

I know that this chapter was quite a bit longer than my usual chapters but I just had so much that I wanted to include in this chapter so I could finally move the story onward.

Now that I've got much of the discussing and talking out of the way, I am hoping I can now finally move onto the next stage in the Juggernaut arc which I hope many of you are excited for.

Please don't forget to leave me a review and let me know your thoughts. I won't put down the last reviews I received from my last chapter as it was so long ago and I've already PMed several reviews whose question I could answer.

With that, I'll bid you all adieu. As usual I can't confirm when the next chapter will be up but hopefully it won't be anywhere near as long as this one was. I still have no plans to stop writing it; its just having to deal with real life and any delays that it throws in my face.

Until next time, see you!