TK-Productionz:

With the way that I keep this going there's not going to be much more of the first story to put into chapters….

Oh well…

ENJOY!!!!

uggh…

BORN FROM HELL AND IN BETWEEN

The eager for rest party made their way to the door, Atra was in last. Tenesh hurried over. With a wave of his hand he locked the door. Constantine turned around tiredly aggravated.

"Before you go…"

He focused his glaring intent on Atra.

"I have done something for you, now I need you to do something for me…"

She nodded, acknowledging.

"I have an item that I need," His form shifted back into the Native American. "You to get for me."

"What is it?"

His form smeared again into the Caucasian structure.

"The Vail of Kautie."

"So you do have a collection of rare things…"

"What is it?"

"It is a Necklace and two gauntlets. Who so ever wears it will be undetected from anything belonging to the occult…"

"So you are the one who has the ultimate hiding charm."

"It is more than just a charm!!! The wearer is no only undetectable but is also impervious to either side's infliction."

"Infliction?"

He rolled his eyes at her question.

"Attacks…"

"Oh… Right! Got it."

"So you want us to go looking for this thing so you can remain hidden."

Tenesh's will bent at the sourness in John's voice.

"Please… It is all that I ask in favor of saving your friend."

"We'll do it."

Atra was happy to oblige.

"Alright. Realize that this is a thing that cannot be found. You have to let it find you…"

"So you want us to find this thing without actually really looking for it."

"Well… Yes."

"Right…"

With that John took out another piece of nicorette gum to gnaw on. There they went out the door; Atra remained the last one to follow.

"Wait Scarlett Spawn."

She turned around.

Out of one of his pockets he drew an amulet.

"This is the Goron Adaption."

He strung it around her neck.

"What ever environment, the wearer will instantly adapt to it."

She fingered the amulet. Then an onset pang of guilt struck her.

"I cannot take this…"

"Nonsense. Now go."

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"Hope you don't mind me taking my leave John. I still have a few demons to slay before the day ends."

John smiled mutually.

"Get going."

"Call me if any more shit like this comes up."

The powerful witch doctor strode off into the sunset; his many assignments clung in the air above him.

Atra moved over to Khi, her whimsical, girlish, nature returning. Grabbing him by the arm caused him to give off an aroused-embarrassed grunt. He looked away so that she could not see his glowing eyes.

"So who do you think would have the veil?"

Her voice bubbled with the question, throwing him into an even greater state of blushing.

"Ummmm…. Ahem!"

She then directed the question to Constantine.

"A bastard no less."

His answer was blunt.

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Down a dark street, in the eve of night. A figure stood half illuminated under a flickering street lamp. He leaned against the wall, a coined rolled back and forth on his knuckles. The other hand fondled at a necklace, both arms had thick gold silver and wood gauntlets that glowed eerily in the yellow light. He was the lucky soul. The soul that possessed the Veil of Kautie.

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As they walked down the (thanks for writing by the way :D ) alley way, Khi looked at Atra and Constantine, "You saved my life. Why?"

Constantine shrugged, "I don't want you to die. I still have to figure out whether you're good with bad tendencies of bad with good tendencies."

"Right..." Khi shook his head, and kept walking.

Atra looked her hand into his, "So, you never answered my question. Who do you-"

"Balthazar!"

Atra sniffed, "Wow. That's incredible! How do you know that he-"

Khi dropped her hand and took a step foreword, sniffing the air, "Balthazar is here..."

Constantine walked over to him, "How do you know?"

"I can smell demons. And Balthazar is the only demon I know who uses Axe to cover the grave dirt and ash smell."

Constantine pulled out his Cross-Gun, and Atra looked at them warily, "What are you going to do?"

"Deport his sorry ass...again." John smiled.

Khi fell into a crouch, his nose dragging against the ground, his wings spread behind him to give him balance. He then lifted his head, and pointed down a side street, "He's down there...waiting for us."

John lifted his lighter (a memento from his smoking days) and flicked the flame into life. The side street was only a couple feet long, and the small flame illuminated it brilliantly. There was no one there.

"Sure, Damascus." John scoffed.

Khi stared at him, like one would stare at a stupid child, "Not on this plane, you moron."

Constantine sighed, "Oh, I hate this part." he handed the lighter to Atra, who laughed gleefully at the tiny flame, and pulled his shirt sleeves down so one could see the alchemic symbol of the Red King, which was the Fire Triangle with three radiating arrows which symbolizes 'Red King', the sulfur of the philosophers and one of the most powerful symbols.

Suddenly, Khi twitched and shouted, "Papatayin natin sila!" (what the little girl yelled in the beginning of the original Constantine movie… )

Constantine whirled and stared at Khi, who chuckled and smiled, "Just kidding."

Anyway...

Constantine bared his forearms, and shouted, "INTO THE LIGHT I COMMAND THEE!" and pressed the symbols together. It was much easier this time, because he was not dying of emphysema. The walls bend and contorted as the demon Balthazar was dragged out from behind the metaphysical veil where he was hiding.

Balthazar popped into existence much like a jack in the box, rocketing up from the pavement. Khi retreated and hissed like a cat, his knees crouched and his wings spread wide. Atra looked back and forth between then, and then started.

Balthazar stood slouching against the wall, a coin passing across his knuckled. His thin, sculpted lips parted in a smile, and he made a slight hissing sound before he spoke.

"Your getting better at that trick every time I see you, Johnny-boy. You MUST have been practicing."

John yanked a cross out of his pocket and Balthazar hissed, his eyes stinging.

Atra stared openly, and tugged at Constantine's shirt, "John! John!"

"Not now, Atra."

"But John! It's very IMPORTANT!"

"Shut up, Atra!"

Balthazar looked over at Atra, and he smiled sourly, "Well, if it isn't the Spawn of Scarlet. I thought I smelled something rank."

"You mean BESIDES your cologne?" Khi scowled.

Balthazar looked at Khi and laughed, "Well, this is a genuine honor! Tell me, Aekhiyael, how is your grandfather doing?"

"Which one?" Khi spat, "Because one of them is your master and the other one is God. Take your pick."

Balthazar stood and shouted an incantation. Constantine felt all of his joints freeze up, and realized he couldn't move at all, not even to blink. He heard Khi mutely yelling behind him, and felt more than saw Atra fall over, stiff as a board.

'Damn!'

Balthazar walked over to Constantine, and smiled, "I have something that you want. Its right here." he lifted his hands, and Constantine felt his heart sink. He was so stupid!

Balthazar chuckled, and then whispered, "But I'm willing to help you, John Constantine, even though you did brutally deport me. I'm going to give you this shroud. But you first have to bargain. I will come and find you on the next full moon. Be ready for my visit."

He turned and strode off, stopping in front of Khi on his way. He leaned in close so that his mouth was right under Khi's ear and whispered almost crooningly, "Welcome back, God Spawn. I missed you." he then reached down Khi's back, grabbed his cat-tail in a hand, and pulled at hard as he could. As he did so, three things happened instantly. The three frozen people unfroze, Balthazar disappeared and Khi went ballistic.

His eyes turned pure black, and the blades from his hands shot out. His tail was crinked from being yanked, and the Angel-Demon was out for revenge.

"YOU PEICE OF SHIT! COME BACK HERE AND FIGHT ME!"

Constantine looked at him, "Calm down!"

"CALM DOWN?!" Khi spat, "I am going to murder that son of a-"

Atra walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. Thorns protruded from Khi's back like a pissed off cat-s scruff, and his tail was bristling, "He's gone now, Khi."

Khi shuddered and nodded, "Alright." he sheathed his arm claws, and ruffled his wings.

Constantine opened the door to his house, all too aware of how odd of company he kept. Atra skipped inside and stared out the window while Khi wearily made his way to the couch and looked at John.

John sighed, "Both of you can stay here for tonight if you want. Tomorrow I'll get you a hotel."

Khi nodded, "Thank you for your hospitality. For a hot climate, this city is horribly cold."

"It IS cold!" Atra exclaimed.

"I was being metaphorical."

"Oh."

John nodded, and scratched his neck just as the phone rang. Both Khi and Atra jumped and stared in horror at the telephone and John laughed as he picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Constantine?" Came a familiar voice.

"Angie!" John couldn't help but let a little of his relief and joy to hear from her leak into his voice.

Angela smiled, and looked at her clock. It was eleven at night, "Hi, John. I just wanted...I haven't seen you in a while."

"I've been busy." Constantine said, gruffly.

Angie sighed, "Look, I just...today is the anniversary of Isabel's death, and I'm..."

John nodded, "Dinner?"

"What?"

"Want some dinner? I can't cook for shit, but there's a nice take-out place down the street."

Angela exhaled in relief, "Fine. I'll be there in a few."

John nodded, "Alright. Bye, Angie." he hung up and sighed.

Khi looked at him, his head cocked to the side, "Are you going to dinner?"

"Yeah. You two, don't leave the house, alright? And don't let anyone in." He strode to the door, and slammed it behind him as he left. Atra jumped at the sound of the lock clicking shut.

Khi stretched out on the couch, his wings folded behind his back. He yawned, and Atra noticed his fangs.

"So...how are you?" she asked, sitting on the other side of the couch, carefully.

"Better. You?"

"I'm alright." she cleared her throat, "Thank you for saving me."

"You saved my life as well." he shrugged, "We're even. Although I am sad my Metallica t-shirt got killed." He dug into the pocket of his pants, trying to find something. When he came up short, he sighed and shook his head, "I'm very tired, Atra."

Atra looked away, "Could you call me something else?"

"Like what?"

"A shorter name. Atra sounds too formal."

"Alright...Attie."

Attie smiled, and looked over a Khi. His eyes were closed, and he was halfway between asleep and awake, his tail twitching happily. On an impulse, she reached over and scratched the top of Khi's head, mussing his hair and stroking behind his ears like one would to a cat. His lips twitched into a smile and a deep, throaty purr sounded from him. His head flopped backwards and he was asleep in minutes.

Attie chuckled, "Angels..."

Balthazar stalked into an all-too familiar bar. The Garden was a psychic Hot-Spot, a bar in which those who Rise and those who fall can intermingle without fear of reprisal. The bar itself was built over an ancient Native American burial spot, chosen for it's ability to channel energy into the floor boards to give the patrons a metaphysical foot massage as they danced.

Balthazar scowled darkly at many of the tenants; then found himself a table in the corner to plop down in. Suddenly, a woman broke away from the large crowd that was dancing and stood in front of the table. She was wearing a sheer red gown and black fishnets, a pair of black stiletto heels finishing off the ensemble. A pair of fake plastic devil horns sat in her nest of black hair.

The Insect Demon smiled at her, "Why, hello, Ellie."

(Yes, Ellie is now in the story.)

Ellie smiled, her teeth glinting, "Good to see you too, baby. Tell me, how is our little friend the Exorcist doing?"

Balthazar gestured to the seat beside him and Ellie sat down smoothly. She inched close to him and set her hand on his leg. His eyes glowed red as did hers, and he hissed happily.

The demoness flashed a grin and then cleared her throat, "So, you've decided to bargain with your mortal enemy. How epic." She took a sip of Balthazar's wine, and knotted a strand of his hair around a finger.

Balthazar snatched the wine back from her, "It's for a cause, Ellie. I need Constantine's help on this one."

Ellie rolled her eyes, "I have told you a thousand times. John would never help you ascend to this plane."

Balthazar shrugged, "He might. He is unpredictable. He spared your life; he rescued the son of Mammon and the Spawn of Scarlet."

"The Spawn of Scarlet?" Ellie gasped, dropping his hair and inching backwards, "You mean that bitch is HERE?"

"Apparently she managed to escape, Ellie."

"JESUS!" Ellie swore. As soon as she said the name, her tongue started to smolder but she ignored that fact, "Lucifer is going to kill me!"

"Deport you, maybe. You were supposed to keep an eye on her. Yet you were up here," he took a sip, "Playing footsie with the Boss's prize."

"As opposed to YOU who were resurrecting his rival."

"His SON, Ellie Dearest."

Ellie put a hand to her temple, "Is it true?"

"What?"

"That Mammon has found another way to emerge?"

"Yes." Balthazar sighed, "And I'm going to prevent it."

"WHAT?" Ellie gasped.

"You heard me. You may be stupid but you aren't deaf. I'm going to stop Mammon. It's time for some payback." Balthazar sipped the wine as Ellie leaned over and wrapped her arms around his shoulders and closed her teeth around his ear (Ew, i know, but it will all be over soon!)

"I know, Bally...I know." She crooned, "I know your angry at Mammon for allowing Gabriel to deport you, and for denying you everything he'd promised you, but you have to think things through. Come on, Bally. Let me help you."

"You?"

"Yes." she inched closer, and fiddled with the buttons on his shirt, "trust me, baby. If we stick together, everything will be fine. We'll free you from hell." she whispered in his ear, "I promise."

"I promised you I would free you, Ellie." Balthazar said, coolly, "And I will." he pushed her away, and pulled a magnum out of his coat pocket. Inside were silver bullet infused with holy water which he'd stolen from Constantine's supplier, "I'm going to free you from this mortal coil, Ellie."

BLAM!

All of the demons stopped their dancing and two angels turned and stared.

Balthazar stopped, placed some money on the table, brushed the grave dirt and ash from his shirt, smiled, and walked demurely out the door.

Angie turned as Constantine sat down at the table she'd saved for them. John smiled awkwardly, and cleared his throat.

"Hello, Angela."

Angie Dodson nodded, "Its good to see you, John." She bit her lip, trying to mask the fact that earlier that night she'd been crying, "I needed to talk...to someone...about..."

"Isabel." John said, slowly, "Well, she should be doing fine. She IS in heaven now."

"Yeah. Thanks for that, by the way." She looked down. John, I-"

She looked up just as John leaned across the table. Her body tensed, then she closed her eyes sensually, and parted her lips slightly. Nothing happened She opened her eyes and looked over just as John finished adjusting her necklace. The clasp had been in front.

She smiled, her face flushing, "Er...thank you."

"No problem."

Atra crouched in front of the television, her eyes wide with wonder. She carefully reached out a finger, and pressed the large, round button on the receiver, wonder filling all of her movements.

The box sprung to life, featuring Tom and Jerry cartoons. The music blared and Atra screamed in terror, "MAKE IT STOP!!!!"

She yanked a crucifix up from where it lay on the floor, and began shouting, "THE POWER OF CHRIST COMPELLS YOU! CURSED SPIRIT, LEAVE THE BODY OF THIS BOX!!!!"

Khi had literally flipped off the couch when the TV had first turned on, and he scrambled over to Atra and slammed his fist into the On/Off switch. The box faded out into black, and Atra turned and buried herself in Khi's arms.

"What in the name of Christ was that horrible monster?!"

Khi couldn't help but laugh as he guided Atra to the couch and sat down with her, "It's called a Television, dear."

Atra stared at it, "We have to destroy it, Khi. Who knows when the demon will reemerge."

"Attie, it's not alive."

"What?"

"It's a machine. It can't hurt you, and it's not possessed."

Atra slumped backwards, dejected, "Oh."

Khi laughed, "You're strange."

Down in Hell, amidst the screams and the sounds of rending flesh, there came a sound more terrible than any that Lucifer himself could devine. It was a low, gravelly laugh, which split rocks overhead and made all demons cower.

On the ground cowered one demon in particular. Ellie wept on the ground in her true form, the knotted, oozing tendon-like flesh of hers crawling in dread. The only human aspect of her remaining was the pair of plaztic devil horns which sat ironically on her head.

"MASTER PLEASE!!!" Ellie moaned, "I didn't mean to let her go! It wasn't my fault!"

A vise-like hand adorned with thick talons seized her by the throat and dragged her upright so she hung a foot off the ground, "Ellie...that's what they called you Up There, right?"

She choaked, and managed to hack out, "Yes..."

"Well...ELLIE...while you are galavanting around Up There, look what your poor master was enduring!" the long, thick iron and silver manacles which encircled both of Ellie's tormentor'swrists jangled as he shook her left and right, the matching pair around his ankles adding their voice to the clash.

Ellie wailed, and tried to struggle free. Suddenly, she was hurled from her master's grip, smashing into a decrepit wall, her backbone snapping. In agony she managed to push it back into position and get to her knees.

Mammon stood before her, thick black blood oozing from where the silver-infused chains cut into his flesh. His wicked face was carved into a simpering growl, the hole where his nose should have been flaring in hatred. But what scared Ellie more that this was the look in her master's eyes. Those unnatural, evil blue eyes.

Mammon spat, "Elizraggaz, my ascension must take place in the allotted time, or else I shall never have another chance. You have failed me twice, Elizraggaz." he looked at the other Soldier Demons, and snapped his long claws. Ellie uttered a shreik as they inched closer, "I cannot take the chance of you failing me again. Goodbye."

"NOOOO!!!!" Ellie screamed as the Soldier Demons dragged her away. She thrashed and screamed, but they had her in a vise-like grip. She roared once more, before her voice was forever cut short.

Mammon turned his head upwards, and snarled, "Balthazar!"