Under Kuro's direction, they waited until evening before setting out from the hotel room. Pit seemed less than excited about the prospect of losing about four hours of time, but he understood why. Anyways, they found a whole refrigerator full of food in the small kitchen area, and their beds were just waiting for them to hunker down for long naps.

Cedar left as soon as Kuro and Pit came out of the room, saying that Nighthawk would lose his memories faster than she would, so she would have to run Angel Land for a little while. She wished them all the best and left through and open window. Kuro wouldn't admit it to Pit, but he was less than excited to see her go. Less people on their side made him uneasy.

He was honestly just was worried as Pit was, he just hid it better. He knew what was at stake. He had always known how serious everything was. He was just better at containing his thoughts and feelings than his teammates.

But he had snapped. He had completely lost control and tackled Pit when he had been provoked. He wasn't usually like that. He had grown so much calmer in his years away from Angel Land. He knew he was better than that. Mnemosyne's powers must have been working faster than he had thought.

He thought of Symphonia and her message when she had appeared. He knew instantly that she wasn't really there. It wouldn't make sense. The gods were all out of commission. Even Symphonia, the master of wiles, wouldn't have been able to avoid Mnemosyne's abilities.

He had asked her why she had saved them. It was common knowledge among the gods that Kuro and Symphonia didn't get along. He had rejected every single female the goddess had placed in front of him. He was a loner, he always told her. He wasn't looking for someone to settle down with. He didn't play well with others.

She had given him a smirk of a look. I guess I'm still waiting to pair you up! After all, you're my biggest project right now. You're practically the world's most eligible bachelor, besides Leonardo DiCaprio, but at least he goes out and parties with women! You're terrible, you know that?

Then, in all seriousness, she had told him that she needed his help, because the fight was personal. Honestly, my aunt is terrible! She would never give me presents or anything at the holidays, and now she's completely destroyed my mother's mind. Normally, I couldn't care less about you all, but this fight should be mine and I can't do anything. So, I need you to help me. You're an angel, a messenger of the gods. But now, you'll be my champion!

Kuro sighed and went back to his room after stuffing himself with as much salad, peanut butter, and Nutella he could find. He lay on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. He probably needed sleep. Out of all the angels, he was the one who had sustained the most damage. He had healed fully, thanks to Symphonia's magic, but he still felt as though he had been beaten up by a pro-wrestling team. He didn't ache, but he felt weak. He felt like he just needed to lie down for hours, and stay home from whatever was going on.

But he didn't sleep. He couldn't sleep. The idea of sleep terrified him. He would lose consciousness and completely lose control of himself. What if that was when his memories chose to go out? What if he forgot to wake up? Or what if he awoke and didn't know that he had woken up?

He had to stay awake for as long as he could. He would let his memories go one by one, and he would fight for them every step of the way. He couldn't give up, no matter how difficult it got. He knew it was already happening, and he knew that within a few hours, he would be completely useless and probably scared for his life. He wouldn't understand why he was such a mess. He wouldn't have any clue as to why he was doing anything. In fact, he would probably think he was insane for not remembering where he came from.

Do I know where I come from? Kuro racked his brain, trying to think. He was Pit's double, he knew that much, but how was he created? It felt just beyond his reach, but when he thought too hard, a bolt of pain shot through his mind and he grimaced and placed a hand to his skull. He should have known this. He knew that he knew this, but now…he couldn't remember…

He took a long breath in and out. You don't need to know, he reminded himself. You just need to be able to fight. As long as you can sense auras and you know who your friends are, and as long as you can fight, you'll be fine.

Kuro sucked in the air sharply and choked back a sob. Pull it together! He snapped to himself. He had been in a lot of sticky situations before. He was good at working under pressure. But still, losing his memories was hard to swallow. He treasured his memories; they were full of experiences that he had learned from. He needed all of them, or he wasn't complete.

Then I'll do it being incomplete! Kuro mentally snapped to himself.

He let out a long sigh and sat up. He crossed his legs together and closed his eyes. He felt his eyes roll back into his head, and he focused his entire self on the energy around him. He could feel it all, every last molecule of matter. He could feel Pit and Kaitlyn's auras outside. Auras were funny things. He could only describe them as a color that surrounded someone, like a glow. But auras also seemed to make a sound, like a single note. Every species' was different, a different color and note combination. It made a person's aura unique. Pit and Kaitlyn must have been sitting close to one another, because their auras meshed together. Their auras complimented one another. Pit's was close to a gold color, like most angels. Kaitlyn's was a pale pink. The notes nearly harmonized. Kuro wondered if their auras would eventually change to get to the point where they perfectly harmonized with one another.

Kuro's own aura was a deep indigo color. Instead of glowing from him like most auras, his seemed to move. It flickered like flames, cracking its shadows around him. On some days it felt hot and on other days, ice cold. Kuro wasn't sure how to feel about it, but it was his. The sound it made could only be described as a low, rich tenor note. It was an odd note, and he had never heard it harmonize with anyone else's. It had a nice compliment to Lady Palutena's powerful aura, but it wasn't quite right at all. He wondered sometimes if he would ever harmonize with anyone properly. It was a silly, romantic though, but it felt important to him.

He shook his head a little to clear his mind and continued to let his senses roam past the hotel room. Humans had weak auras in general, and he couldn't be bothered with them. He felt his essence going through old alleyways, down dark passages and through buildings.

He found the two auras he was looking for. The first was the one he was pretty sure was Harmonia's. It had the silvery aura of a god, but it felt weak. It hadn't started to flicker yet, which Kuro knew was what happened when someone was close to death, but it was nearly at the human level of aura power. Kuro knew the aura wasn't a human's though. Human auras were usually very basic in color and had a shorter range of sounds. This aura had an incredibly clear, high pitched sound, like a young boy would sing in choir. It was beautiful, and Kuro found himself inexplicably drawn to the sound.

He turned his senses towards the building nearby. The second aura was there, in the club building. The place wasn't really that much of a bustle of activity. In fact, it was rather barren. The host of this particular aura seemed to move around a bit, covering a lot of ground in the building.

But the aura itself was insanity. It was huge, even larger than Mordes', which had been bigger because of the apple piece. Its condition hadn't seemed to change since Kuro had last checked it. It was still pulsing and growing. Kuro tried to focus on the color and sound, though it was difficult with the crazy movement and growth.

The color wasn't normal. It seemed to be a plain beige in the center, but black on the outside. He had absolutely no idea why this was. It was definitely the most unusual coloring he had seen in an aura before. Mordes' would have been silver, but he had used magic to change it to gold to be more like an angel's. Kuro had never seen that kind of black magic before. Eris' Chaos Magic was hard to beat. It could both cover and change auras. It made Kuro feel like his work was unreliable.

The note that came from the aura was just as unusual. It was deep and powerful and made a noise that sounded as though the aura itself were groaning. Kuro winced and pulled his senses back a bit. Everything about the aura was wrong. Was the apple piece trying to connect with the others and the angel was trying to stifle it? He wasn't sure. Once he was within short term range, he would be able to sense it more clearly.

Kuro pulled back completely and took a deep breath as he opened his eyes. He felt a little better, knowing a bit more about what was going on. If he was at the top of his game, he would have felt better and more prepared. But he wasn't. He would have to do the best he could.

Feeling eve more exhausted than he had before, Kuro flopped back onto his bed and stared up at the ceiling until he heard Pit knock on the door and tell him it was time to leave.


Kaitlyn wasn't exactly sure how she felt about walking into a club.

It was something she had never done before, and something she was definitely not comfortable with. The idea of people drinking a lot and interacting made her nervous. It definitely wasn't irrational; she had seen what overdrinking could do to people, and it was nothing to joke about. She hadn't touched alcohol in her entire life, and she wasn't about to start now. She really wasn't sure what to expect at all.

But she wasn't going to let Pit or Kuro know about that. It wasn't something she wanted to bother them with. But she was going to steer very clear of drunk people, if possible.

Kaitlyn lounged on the couch, sliding off her high heels as she kicked up her feet next to her. She honestly really didn't like the outfit set out for her, but she would tolerate it for as long as she had to. She wore a tight black dress that was long sleeved, but only came down to mid-to-upper thigh. She was constantly tugging it down. The sides over her waist had been cut out, and the neckline was low and tight to flash her cleavage top as much as possible. Trying to pull it up was a strain as well, seeing as pulling it up only made the skirt higher. She eventually sighed and gave up.

"Hey, Kaitlyn, where are youuuuohmygosh," Pit's words fumbled from his mouth and is eyes practically bugged out of his skull as he beheld Kaitlyn on the couch in her tight, sexy outfit.

Kaitlyn blushed furiously. "I really need a jacket or something, because this is ridiculous!"

Pit's eyes were focused on the ceiling, and his cheeks were flaming red. "Please do that, thank you."

Kaitlyn got up and went to her room and pulled out a black leather jacket that had been part of an earlier outfit. She didn't care if Symphonia had picked out the dress for her, she was not wearing it without a jacket. She zipped it up tightly and shook out her hair before returning back into the common room.

"Better?" She asked.

Pit's eyes left the ceiling and he gave a slight nod. "Yeah, for the most part. You still have the…you know…" he motioned from her waist to her feet, "the legs…"

Kaitlyn sighed. "I'd fix that if I could, but I swear, there are no leggings, tights, or even nylons in my room. I scoured all the drawers. Symphonia has a funny sense of humor."

Pit, still blushing, nodded.

"You guys ready to go?" Kuro asked as he entered the common area. He and Pit matched in dark skinny jeans and button up shirts. Pit's shirt was red plaid, and Kuro's was a straight dark grey. Both of them had dark jackets. "We'll hit the forest first to find Harmonia, and then we'll go to the club to get the apple piece."

"So we'll take Harmonia with us? That sounds a little risky, especially if she's as out of it as we think she could be," Kaitlyn pointed out.

Kuro's face became more serious. "We have to take that chance. We don't have any other options. Come on, I called a taxi for us."

All three of them grabbed their backpacks. Kaitlyn knew they wouldn't be coming back to the hotel, so they checked out at the front desk and were picked up by the cab out front. The driver spoke very little English, and the angel's Russian was practically nonexistent, so Kuro showed him where to go on a map.

Kaitlyn had never been outside of the United States before she moved to Angel Land. France had looked like everything she had seen in books or on the internet, but she had hardly ever looked at any books about Russia. It wasn't nearly as fanciful as Paris, and felt much darker. Winter had come early here, and snow blurred their vision. Kaitlyn shivered and crossed her arms. The weak heater from the taxi did nothing to warm her chilled body.

The taxi driver dropped them off right outside the club. It looked to be open, but the place was far from busy. The nightlife of Moscow must have started later on. Hopefully they wouldn't be too long, because Kaitlyn knew that they didn't have as much time as it felt like they did.

Kuro paid the driver from the coins stashed in his backpack, and he led the way to the forested area on the other side of the club. At this point, everything was dark and snowy. The clouds had taken on an orange glow, probably reflected off of the street lights. Everything seemed so peaceful and quiet. If Kaitlyn would have taken the time to relax and walk a little, she probably would have found herself swept up in the calmness. But she didn't. She was far too cold and focused for that.

She and Pit watched as Kuro looked back and forth, his red eyes staring through the pitch black of the woods. "I can definitely sense her," he said. "She's…over that way." He pointed to his right, deep between the trees. Kaitlyn nodded and she and Pit followed Kuro's lead into the wooded undergrowth.

Kaitlyn gripped onto Pit's arm fiercely, trying to steady herself. She was wearing high heels that, while having a thick sole, were about four inches in the heel. She wasn't used to wearing anything that high and arching normally, so walking on uneven ground was not easy by far. Pit didn't seem to mind, and held her tightly to help her.

After about ten minutes, Kaitlyn was starting to get worried. "Kuro," she said through chattering teeth, "are w-w-w-we almost t-t-t-there?"

"Almost," he said with an edge of confidence. "She'll be around here—."

He ran headlong into a figure. Kaitlyn stifled a scream of shock and she immediately jerked herself back, holding onto a nearby tree. The figure stood in shadow, merely the barest of a silhouette. It was no wonder that Kuro had run into it.

The figure turned, her face illuminated by the glowing sky. Kaitlyn could hardly make out any features, but she could tell the face and body were feminine. The woman towered over them; she had to be at least seven feet tall.

"Harmonia!" Kuro exclaimed and gave a short bow. Kaitlyn had never seen him show such respect, but Kaitlyn suspected he was just as surprised as she was. "Are you alright?"

The woman's head tipped down, but she didn't seem to comprehend Kuro's words. In fact, she cocked her head completely and said, "What?"

"Are you alright?" Kuro repeated. "Where is your sister?"

"My sister?"

Kuro shook his head and turned to address the other two angels. "She's completely lost her memories at this point."

"Well, that's not very helpful," Pit said. "What are we supposed to do with her? We need her to help us change the apple."

"H-h-h-h-how is she even g-g-going to remember-r-r-r how to c-c-change the ap-p-p-ple?" Kaitlyn spat through shivers. "S-s-s-s-she can't even remem-m-m-m-m-mber her own n-n-name!"

Kuro and Pit looked at one another. Kaitlyn could practically see the cogs turning in their brains. "We've got no other options," Pit finally said. "Here, we'll take Harmonia with us, and we'll worry about it after we've got the apple piece. Sound good?"

Kaitlyn shook her head. "W-w-w-wait, we're taking her in-n-n-to the club? She's h-h-huge! Everyone is g-g-g-going to notice h-h-her!"

"She's a goddess," Kuro said. "She's got heavy magic all over her. And we need her with us. We don't have a choice."

All three of them nodded and Kuro grabbed Harmonia's hand and began gently pulling her towards the edge of the woods where they had come from. Harmonia did nothing to stop him, and came along willingly. Pit and Kaitlyn followed.

By the time they got back, probably about a half an hour after they had left, the club was much busier. Cars had filled the parking spots, and the lights over the top of the building were glowing neon colors. A massive sign in glowing colors was over the door, but Kaitlyn couldn't have read it even if she tried. It used the Russian Cyrillic alphabet.

"Do you have any idea of what this place is called?" Kaitlyn asked.

Both Pit and Kuro shook their heads. "I just sense we have to go into here," Kuro said. The last apple piece carrier is definitely in here, and the aura is getting really strong. We have to find the angel fast."

There was a bouncer at the front of the door, and he waved people in. The angels and goddess slipped into line and waited impatiently for the line to move quicker. Kaitlyn turned to look at Harmonia, but still found it hard to see her in the dark. The neon lights did little to help her see the goddess' face better.

The bouncer looked them up and down when it was their turn. He said something in Russian and shook his head at them. Something told Kaitlyn that he didn't think they should go in. Still, she reached into her pocket and pulled out her ID, the one Nighthawk had made for her when they had gone to Colorado, and held it out. "I'm twenty-one," she said slowly and clearly. "I'm on your list." She pointed to his clipboard, where he was checking off names. They must have been at the VIP entrance.

The man raised an eyebrow in a very skeptical manner. He said something gruffly, which Kaitlyn took as an opportunity to say, "Kaitlyn Dufrene." She pointed at the clipboard, which he showed her. Kaitlyn scanned the list, which was full of Cyrillic names and English names alike. To her surprise, she spotted her name among the list. She had actually been planning on faking which name was hers, but it seemed that Symphonia had done her job when she had transported them to Moscow.

Kaitlyn pointed at her name and showed him her ID again, allowing him to compare names. After a few moments of scanning back and forth, the man shot her a dark look and opened the door for her and the others. She gave him a nod and walked into the club with the other angels and the goddess close in tow.

The club was a sensual experience right off the bat. Kaitlyn was immediately bombarded with bright lights, pounding music, and the musky smell of sweating people. Pit and Kuro had their hands over their ears and winced at the overload of their senses. Kaitlyn took a few deep breaths and shook the already melting snow from her hair.

"Kuro!" Kaitlyn had to nearly yell to get the shadow angel's attention. "Can you sense the apple piece?"

"Not with this sound!" he yelled back. "Or just about anything! I can't focus!"

"Then we'll just have to start searching around! Who would it most likely be?" Pit asked.

Kuro looked around. "Anyone who works here at any given time! Dancers, hosts, bouncers, bartenders! Just start asking around! And Kaitlyn, you take Harmonia with you!"

"You two stay together too!" Kaitlyn shouted back as Kuro brought Harmonia over to her. Kaitlyn grasped the goddess' hand and found it to be icy cold. It sent shivers back through Kaitlyn's body. "You're already losing your memory and if you get lost, we may not find you!"

Kuro and Pit nodded and disappeared into the crowd. Kaitlyn glanced up at the woman before her. In the bright lights, it was much easier to see the woman's features, but she was so tall that Kaitlyn still couldn't exactly see the woman properly. It didn't help that the woman stared straight ahead and hardly acknowledged Kaitlyn's existence. Kaitlyn sighed and began pulling the woman through the crowd towards one of the bar areas.

This place was a little farther away from the neon lights and music, and Kaitlyn found it nice to be able to hear herself think. She pulled up a stool for herself and Harmonia took the one next to her without a word. Kaitlyn glanced at the bartender, a man in a button up black shirt and a white tie, and said, "I'd like a gin and tonic for my friend, and a virgin margarita for me."

The man nodded, which Kaitlyn hoped meant that he spoke English and understood her order, and began pulling drinks off the wall. She watched as he mixed the drinks together. The gin and tonic was clear, so it wasn't very exotic in color. Her margarita, on the other hand, had lime in it and therefore came out green. She smiled at the man and paid for their drinks. "Thank you," she said with a smile.

She took a sip of her drink, relishing the flavors. Harmonia picked up her glass and looked into the side, like a child might. Kaitlyn gently pulled the glass down and took another sip of her own drink to show Harmonia. The woman looked at her, then back at the drink. She took a small sip, and immediately her lips pursed. For a moment, there seemed to be color in her foggy eyes, but it died back down so quickly that it was hard to tell if Kaitlyn had only been imagining it.

Now that they were on the same level, Kaitlyn took the opportunity to actually look at Harmonia. The goddess' face was made of curves, unlike Eris' angular bones. Her cheeks were soft and rounded, but her face was overall slender and long. She had long, dark eyelashes that framed foggy, pale eyes. Long brown hair was pulled back away from her face and an elegant diadem sat on her brow. It was made of gold swirling wires. Pieces of amethyst and quartz crystal were inset in between the wires, and a massive diamond-shaped amethyst hung over her forehead to just between her eyebrows. She wore a long sleeved dress, purple and gold and white. Kaitlyn wasn't sure what the humans saw when they looked at her, but they probably saw a normal woman who looked like any other club-going female. Of course, she probably looked either drunk or completely stoned with the way she was acting.

"Is this your mother?" the bartender asked. It was hard to understand him for a moment, because of his thick accent, but Kaitlyn understood after a few moments.

"Yes," Kaitlyn said, the lie slipping from her mouth as easily as if Harmonia were actually her mother. "We're celebrating my engagement."

The man tipped his head in confusion. Kaitlyn held up her hand, waggling her finger where Nighthawk's magical ring sat. "Married. I'm getting married. I'm getting a husband."

The light returned in the man's eyes and he nodded while grinning widely. "Good for you!" he said excitedly.

Kaitlyn nodded, giving him a sweet smile and taking another drink. "Thank you!"

The man turned away and went back to cleaning glasses and organizing bottles. Kaitlyn could tell he wasn't who they were looking for. He didn't have that interest and connection she was looking for. An angel would have asked more questions, because an angel would be able to see Harmonia as who she was: a seven foot goddess in all her elegance and power.

Harmonia took a few more sips of her drink, then swallowed down the rest. Kaitlyn winced at how quickly the goddess was drinking, but she reminded herself that a drunk Harmonia probably wouldn't be any different than a normal Harmonia, so she wasn't nearly as worried as she would be if Pit had taken that large of a gulp.

Suddenly, she had a terrible and slightly amusing thought. Were Pit and Kuro drinking? Did they know the first thing about drinking? They would probably order a Long Island Iced Tea, thinking it was regular iced tea, and drink the whole thing without realizing just how alcoholic it was. A drunken Harmonia she could deal with. A drunken Pit was something she was a little less excited for.

Kaitlyn grabbed Harmonia's hand and pulled her off the stool and along the edge of the bars deeper into the club. She kept a close eye on the bartenders' eyes and movements. None of them seemed to notice her as she passed by, except maybe give her a nod if their eyes met. They didn't seem to notice Harmonia at all.

The girl glanced around at the other bars, but she couldn't see Pit or Kuro. She hurriedly looked around at the dancers onstage, but thankfully Pit and Kuro weren't there. She had also forgotten to warn them about the dancers. Then again, Pit would probably be so embarrassed at their outfits that he would avoid them at all costs. She breathed a sigh of relief and continued onwards.

She sat down on another stool far away from the first one. The bartender at this one had red hair, loads of freckles, and looked anything but Russian. She desperately hoped he was easy to converse with.

"Can I get you anything?" he asked. He hardly had an accent, and sounded very American.

Kaitlyn breathed another sigh of relief and smiled to him. "No thanks, still washing down the first one."

"I understand. How about for your friend?" He motioned to Harmonia, who had picked up one of the toothpicks from a glass and was gently pricking herself with the tip.

Kaitlyn shook her head. "It'd be pretty bad if she had another drink, if you know what I mean." She gave the man a look that implied that he knew exactly what was going on, and he nodded back, as if he did understand. Kaitlyn smiled, knowing this was exactly how to make him feel familiar. "So," she continued, "you don't sound very Russian. Where are you from?"

"Tennessee," the man said with a smile. "My mother sent me to live with my uncle and aunt, who live nearby, until school starts again in the winter. I took the semester off, so they wanted me to be productive and learn something. So I'm out here."

"Do you like working here?"

"Well, it's good enough, but my Russian is very rusty. I have a hard time understanding anyone from this country. Thankfully, this is a pretty big tourist club, so people from all over come here, and I don't only have to speak Russian!"

"That's nice," Kaitlyn said with a forced laugh. "Okay, this is going to sound pretty weird, but I want to know something about someone you work with."

The man stopped cleaning the tabletop. He narrowed his eyes. "Who?"

"Well, that's the problem. I don't know who this person is. I don't even know a name, but a friend of mine told me to ask for the person who acts a little off, especially lately."

The man paused for a moment and shrugged. "Sorry, but I don't think I can help you."

"Oh come on, you can! Has anyone been acting out of the ordinary lately? Like, they just suddenly got super nervous or something like that? Or someone who's been here for a long time?"

The man's eyes narrowed and he blinked a few times. "This almost sounds like an interrogation. Why do you want to know?"

Kaitlyn could feel his trust in her waning. She couldn't have that happen. She needed a better idea of who to start looking at, and she couldn't just walk around to every single bartender and order drinks. So she slowly unzipped her jacket and pulled it back off her arms slowly, revealing her chest and cleavage. She stretched a little, causing her chest to rise and settle just under the table. Coming closer made her amount of chest obvious and hard to ignore. She was pleased to see that the effect she wanted was already happening.

"Come on," she said slowly, rolling the words between her tongue. "I just need to know, for my friend's sake. You wouldn't make a girl wait like that, right? Come on, I just need a name. I'll be sure to let my friend know just how helpful you were. I'm sure she'd be happy to come by and…say hello."

It was probably bad that Kaitlyn knew exactly how to get the man's attention and how good she was at it. But she had made her point. The man's eyes flickered between Kaitlyn's face and chest, and he seemed to have a hard time speaking until he had cleared his throat a fair few times.

"Well," he said slowly, still swallowing and trying to keep his gaze level with Kaitlyn. "I mean, I guess there have been a few people acting weird."

"Anyone in particular?" Kaitlyn said, coming closer.

"U-u-um…well…Tatiana Kosyak's been acting a little weird."

"How so?"

"Well, she keeps on excusing herself from her post every few hours. She also seems to talk to herself a lot, but not in the normal way. I mean, she sounds like she's arguing with herself, and pretty violently."

Kaitlyn nodded with wide eyes, as though she were only mildly curious. "Really? That does sound odd."

"Yeah, well, that's all I know. Is that what you wanted?"

"Oh yeah, she's sounds just like my friend described, violent conversations and everything. Thank you for your help!" Kaitlyn hurriedly threw her jacket back on and dragged Harmonia away, who promptly dropped her toothpick.

She stumbled through the crowd, once again being bombarded with lights and heavy music. Harmonia was like a weight against her arm, and Kaitlyn found it hard to drag the obviously tall woman through the crowd of dancing people. But Kaitlyn needed to find Kuro and Pit. She just hoped that they weren't totally drunk and making stupid decisions off on their own. When they got out of this, Kaitlyn vowed never to take either of the angels out for drinks, ever.

She finally managed to spot Pit at the edge of the crowd. His unusually messy hair styles and massive wings were hard to miss, but she had had to venture fairly deep into the club to even see them. All of the men here seemed massive, especially in their shoulder width. They all had a lot of brawn to their bodies.

Kaitlyn ran up to Pit and tapped him on the shoulder, trying to yell to get his attention. He turned, looking at her with confusion. "Heeeeey, Kaitlyn!" He yelled back. "You have to try one of these!" He held up a colorful layered drink to show to her.

"What the heck are you drinking?!" Kaitlyn yelled, grabbing the drink from his hand. "Do you even know what this is?"

"Noooooo," Pit said. His movements were odd and jerky, but loose as well. "Kuro said he knew…Ijusttookitandittastessogood," he said. The words fumbled out of his mouth like water tumbling over rocks.

Kaitlyn felt herself deflate from her sudden distress. "Pit, are you drunk? Please tell me you're not drunk."

"I swear to drunk I'm not the gods," he said, shaking his head wildly.

Kaitlyn put a palm to her face, and set the glass on a nearby table. Now she had two people to take care of. Wonderful. "Okay, Pit, do you know where Kuro is? Please tell me he hasn't been drinking too."

"Over there," Pit pointed.

Kaitlyn glanced over Pit's shoulder and caught sight of Kuro sitting at the bar behind him. His wings were low, floating hardly off the ground. He had a drink in front of him and he appeared to be speaking quietly to the barista in front of him. She was cleaning a glass and seemed interested in what he was saying.

"Who is she?" Kaitlyn asked, glancing at Pit.

"Dunno."

"Of course," Kaitlyn muttered under her breath. She put Harmonia's hands in Pit's and gave him a glare. "Okay, just…just stay here, alright? Don't move!"

Pit nodded slowly and Kaitlyn hurried over to the bar. "Kuro! Kuro, are you alright?"

Kuro's gaze turned from the woman to Kaitlyn briefly. To her surprise, his gaze was slightly clouded over, though she doubted it was from the alcohol. He squinted slightly. "Hey, you…um…wait, hold on…your name is…?"

Kaitlyn realized what the problem was. Kuro was losing his memories much quicker than she had expected. She thought it would take at least another day. She sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. "Kaitlyn. My name is Kaitlyn."

"Kaitlyn! Right!" Kuro said, looking slightly more attentive. "So…how are you?"

Kaitlyn put on a smile, narrowing her eyes a little. "I'm doing fabulously," she said with words dripping in sarcasm. "Now, will you introduce me to your new friend?"

She raised her eyes upwards and looked directly into the woman's eyes. The woman looked startled at the direct contact, and Kaitlyn watched as her pupils dilated in fear. Kaitlyn gave her the same smile she had given Kuro. "Hi there! I'm Kaitlyn, a friend of Kuro's. Can I ask you a few questions?"

The glass dropped from them woman's hand and shattered against the ground. The woman rushed from the bar through a set of doors to the back.

"We've got a runner!" Kaitlyn yelled, rushing back and grabbing Pit, who dragged Harmonia along with him. Kuro, still looking slightly confused, followed anyways.

People rushed out of the way as the angels and goddess barged into the back of the club. Kaitlyn found herself leaping over chairs and tables as she attempted to catch up with the woman. Kuro kept close pace with her, even though Kaitlyn was pretty sure that he didn't know what was going on anymore. Pit was running after them and dragging Harmonia behind him.

The woman ran out a door, and Kaitlyn followed, slamming the door open with her forearms and flying out at top speed. Immediately, she lost her balance and went tumbling to the ground. She landed in the snow, and immediately tried to stand, but was bowled over by Pit, who also found he could not stop on the ice, a few moments later.

The girl wobbled to her feet and she immediately scanned around her. The neon lights made the snow a variety of colors, and covered other areas in shadow. Kaitlyn didn't have to look long to find what she was looking for.

A large, shivering lump was on the ground against the building. The woman's body was hunched over, and she looked incredibly unassuming. But Kaitlyn knew better. She reached to grab her gun from her backpack only to find air. They had left their backpacks at the entrance to the club. She was completely defenseless.

Kaitlyn rushed over to Pit, still keeping an eye on the woman, and pulled out Pit's blades from the lining of his jacket. He was too out of it to be able to use them properly. She held both of the blades up and pointed one of them at the woman. "Hey!"

The woman didn't look up but continued to shiver and clutch herself.

Kaitlyn swallowed, feeling more nervous. She glanced at Pit and Kuro, both of whom seemed completely at ease. Harmonia knelt on the ground and looked at her hands a few times, then up towards the clouds and staring at the snowfall. Kaitlyn sucked in a breath and looked back at the woman. "Look, we're here to talk, okay? We just need to know about an angel. Are you an angel?"

The woman took a few moments to respond. "Is that who he was?" She said under her breath. She was so quiet that Kaitlyn hardly heard her words at all. "Was he an angel?"

"Was who an angel?" Kaitlyn responded, pulling the blades back into a more defensive position. She had never been good with blades, which was why she used pistols, but she had learned enough from her few years in Angel Land to be able to defend herself adequately.

"He was so beautiful," the woman continued in a breathy tone. "He was so beautiful. How could they do that? How could it happen?"

Kaitlyn swallowed again, dread filling her mind. Everything about the situation felt wrong. "What happened?" She asked.

"They killed him," she hissed. "They shot him right in the chest…he didn't stand a chance. He didn't deserve it. He was going to give me something. He promised."

Kaitlyn licked her lips a few times. She had no idea what to make of all this. "What did he promise?" she asked, trying to keep the woman talking.

"He had a secret. He told me he would tell me it. Then they killed him. But he gave me something."

"What did he give you?" Kaitlyn asked.

"IT'S MINE!" the woman screamed out, curling tighter into a ball. "HE TOLD ME TO KEEP IT SAFE!"

The blonde angel girl nearly took a step back from surprise. She had not expected the sudden outburst. She was so surprised that she lifted her blades in shock, as though she were about to be attacked. "It's okay!" She said quickly. "It's alright. I just want to see it, that's all. It's okay." She tried to make her voice as soothing as possible as she attempted to calm the woman down.

The woman seemed to be struggling with something. She twitched and trembled, but she kept holding up her fist. She obviously had something in her hand, and she held it close to her. "Keep it safe," she said in barely a whisper. "I have to keep it—." She broke off in a piercing scream that rattled Kaitlyn's being. She nearly shook from sudden terror. That scream was not in any ways human.

Then she saw it, hardly a shadow over the woman. It was incredibly hard to distinguish from the actual shadows, but it wavered slightly, revealing itself only to Kaitlyn's gaze. The more Kaitlyn moved, the easier she could see it, like a 3D bookmark or something else similar.

Whatever it was, it was large, and it waved like a ghost above the woman's head. It wreathed around her head, swirling around her ears. The woman immediately covered her ears and continued to scream.

"Something's trying to possess her," Kaitlyn yelled back, only realizing moments afterwards that none of her teammates were paying attention. "Kuro, can Underworld monsters possess humans?"

"Underworld what?"

"Never mind," Kaitlyn snapped. "Pit, how about you?"

Pit cleared his throat. His words were still a little jumbled, but he seemed to be coming around a little bit. "A couple maybe…don't know."

"That's why her aura is getting bigger. A monster is trying to use her body, and trying to mesh its aura with hers!"

"Sounds interesting."

"Not helping," Kaitlyn snapped, gripping the blades more tightly. "How do you defeat them?"

"Um…hit it really hard?"

"Still not helping! I meant without killing the girl! And tell me fast, this screaming is giving me a headache!"

Pit paused for a while. "Have to separate it from the host. It's attracted to the apple piece."

"So I have to get the apple piece away from her?" Kaitlyn winced. "That's not going to be easy without injuring her."

"I can help!" Pit said. He stood up quickly only to immediately drop back down from his unsteady feet.

Kaitlyn growled a little. "No, you're hardly functional as it is! I'll have to do this myself!"

Kaitlyn slipped the blades into her jacket, and walked towards the woman slowly. "Hey," she said loudly, trying to get the woman's attention. "Are you alright? Can I help you somehow? Please, just stop screaming! It's going to be alright!"

The woman's shrieks died slightly and quieted as Kaitlyn came closer. The woman's head lifted high enough for Kaitlyn to see her running mascara and dark eyes. She gave a sob, and let out a whine. "He wants my brain," she wailed. "He won't leave me alone!"

"I know," Kaitlyn said slowly, coming close enough to kneel in front of the woman. "What's your name?"

"T-T-T-Tatiana," the woman managed to get out. She seemed to be calming down, and Kaitlyn could see the smoky shadow creature pulling away from Tatiana and swirling above her head.

"Are you from America? Your English is perfect."

"I am," she said, giving a slight smile. "My parents are Russian and we moved back to Russia after being in—." She cut off and gave another shriek as the shadow descended back upon her. Kaitlyn stood and whipped out one of the blades, slashing it through the shadows. Whatever the creature was, it gave an unnatural shriek and returned to its earlier position.

Tatiana had retreated into her curled up position once again. "It keeps coming back," she whined. "I can't get rid of it!"

"IknowIknowIknow," Kaitlyn said quickly. "And I can fix it! I promise! I know how to get rid of it!"

Through gasps of fear, Tatiana once again gazed up at Kaitlyn. "You do?"

"Yes, yes I do," Kaitlyn said, nearly babbling at this point. "I really just need whatever is in your hand. You have to give it to me."

Tatiana looked down at her fist and she immediately began shaking her head violently. "No, no, he gave it to me. I have to keep it safe!"

"Who gave it to you?" Kaitlyn asked quietly. "Why do you need to keep it safe?"

"They shot him," was all Tatiana said as she began to tremble again. "They shot him…"

Kaitlyn took a deep breath and grabbed Tatiana's empty hand, trying to calm her down again. "It's alright," she said soothingly. Being comforting wasn't exactly second nature to her, especially when someone was extremely upset. For people she knew, it was less difficult, but for a stranger, she felt awkward. "Who did they shoot?"

"M-m-my fiancé. He was going to tell me something…something important. I…I told him I couldn't marry him if he kept so many secrets. He was going to tell me. He got so close. Then a bunch of people showed up, and they shot him with arrows. He fought them off, but…he was killed…it was terrible!" She buried her face in her hands and choked on a sob.

The shadow took this opportunity to attack Tatiana once again, and again Kaitlyn pulled out her blades and slashed through it. But the shadow avoided her blades and slammed into Tatiana's ears. Kaitlyn snarled, grabbed the woman's arms, and dragged her away from the wall before she slashed through the shadows once again. The shadow creature whined a little, then went back to swirling in the air.

"You have to listen to me," Kaitlyn said quickly. "I need that charm. It's the only way to get rid of the shadows monster, you have to believe me!"

Tatiana's eyes widened, and her grip tightened. "B-b-b-but I'm supposed to keep it safe…"

"I know," Kaitlyn said for what felt like the hundredth time. "But the monster is attracted to its power."

"Power?" The dark-haired woman asked. Her fist opened slightly, and Kaitlyn could see the golden glow emitting from it. Kaitlyn sucked in a breath, staring at her hand. "What is it? Why is it attracted to it?"

Kaitlyn struggled for a moment, then gave a large sigh. "Okay, I just…look, I could spend all day explaining, but if you want to get rid of the shadow, I'm going to need that charm."

Tatiana still looked skeptical, but Kaitlyn took her hand once again. "I promise, everything will get better," she said. "I need that charm, though."

"Will I get it back?"

Kaitlyn was hitting the end of her rope. "I can have something made for you that will look exactly like it, I promise! But if I don't get that charm right now, then your mind is going to be taken over by an Underworld monster! Please, just give it to me!"

The woman's hand slowly opened to reveal the golden apple charm. She held it out, her dark eyes looking deeply into Kaitlyn's. Kaitlyn nodded before grabbing the charm. The metal was warm in her palm, and she let out a sigh of relief.

Kaitlyn stood and glared at the shadow monster, still waiting in the shadows of the building. "You want this?" She yelled. "I dare you to take it from me! I dare you!"

The shadowy figure paused for a moment, as though contemplating his options, then promptly disappeared into thin air.

The young woman turned to where her teammates sat. Kuro at this point was lying in the snow on his back, and appeared to be sleeping. Pit was actually asleep, but he was still sitting up. Harmonia sat cross-legged and watched Kaitlyn with her foggy eyes as though interested in the whole situation.

Kaitlyn jumped back over to her teammates and shook them awake. "Guys, I've got the last apple piece! I need the other ones!"

"Apple piece?" Kuro asked. His gaze was completely fogged over, and he looked more confused than Kaitlyn had ever seen him before. Kaitlyn reached inside his jacket pocket, and pulled out the two pieces he had been holding. Pit was startled by his rude awakening, but pulled out his own apple piece and handed it to Kaitlyn without argument.

The blonde-haired angel took a deep breath and held the four pieces together in front of her. Slowly, she pieced them together. As each piece met with another, they lost their forms of attachment, such as their chains and pins, leaving behind only the apple quarter. Kaitlyn fit them together neatly and precisely.

As the last piece was put in, the apple began to glow. The separate pieces seemed to melt together, forming one large apple that shone in the darkness. Kaitlyn clutched it tightly and let out a sigh. "Alright, guys, we've got the apple. Now all we've got to do is—."

She was cut off as she felt the ground fall away from under her. With a scream of terror, she found herself and the others falling into the earth, and within moments, she had been completely swallowed up. The last thing she saw was Tatiana looking over the edge of the hole with a look of utter horror on her face.


I love having time to write and update :) Yay for winter break!

Hope you all are having a fabulous break and are getting lots and lots of sleep and time to relax! I want to thanks everyone who consistently reviews (That's you, Sky and Pitta!) and everyone who's been following me and my work. You guys are the best :)

~Pixie