Recap:William looked surprised. "Only one of the problems?" "Yes! All the humans in London have their names on the lists. Other parts of England too, possibly all of it. They're all set to die next week at the same time. All of the humans are meant to die!"

The room was silent and you could almost taste the questions in the air.

"Everyone?" Ronald managed to choke out.

The poor who had to give us the news, who I suspected was just an intern, nodded at the rhetorical question.

"Grell, we will talk about this later," William said turning to Grell. "Go change into something more sensible. I think I can smell a demon behind this."

Within a matter of minutes the day had turned dark. Our fun little adventure was over and we had a crisis on our hands. The harsh fluorescent lighting seemed more fake than usual, the air unbearably stifling. It almost felt like the feather boa I was wearing wrapped itself tighter around my neck and started squeezing.

I got a few strange looks from my coworkers as I tore the thing off of my neck and excused myself to the ladies room claiming a headache. I stumbled along the corridor, my hand on the wall was the only thing that kept me upright. The headache was not just a claim. It was a completely real, head-splitting migraine.

The pounding in my head seemed to increase even more where it reached the frenzy of a tribal song sung by drums and the drone of insects. Blue spots danced before my eyes and I shoved open the door to the bathroom, falling into it and grabbing at the cold marble of the sink. The room seemed to tilt and turn, along with my stomach.

I glanced at the haggard face staring back at me in the mirror and I almost didn't recognize myself. My gorgeous blue hair was hanging limply and dully around my face. My skin was a sickly white color, ashen at the edges, starkly contrasting with my black getup.

The light hurt oh so much and my breathing was irregular. I felt like I was going to pass out and I welcomed it, I welcomed the cool soothing darkness, but it refused to come. All I was left with was the agony. It felt like something was trying to burrow its way into my skull, ripping out parts of me to make room for itself until I was just a hollow shell.

At some point I had sank to my knees and hid under the counter trying to curling into myself. I hoped that it would stop, I needed it to stop. It didn't.

Some unknown measure of time later there was a knock at the door. The noise slammed into me in my hypersensitive state and I managed to retreat further into myself.

"Uhm, you in there?" a voice cautiously asked from behind the door. It opened slowly and I squinted to see an extremely nervous looking Ronald.

"Alecto?" he asked again still not seeing me. "They nominated me to come find you, it's almost been an hour. They felt like I was the least likely to get slapped for going in the woman's lav," Knox said attempting to force out some of his usual humor.

Then I knew he spotted me because he rushed to my side and knelt down next to me, checking for injuries and asking what happened.

I dug my fingers into my arms so hard that I was almost sure it would bruise and croaked out, "H-head. My head." The noise, the lights, the everything, even the scent of Ronald's cologne, I wish it would all just go away and stop!

The buzzing started up again and it was louder than ever. I nodded at the words Ronald said that I didn't truly hear and I felt the black pit coming nearer and nearer, eager to snatch me up. That time, the blackness did engulf me.

I blinked my eyes open and found out that I was being held bridal style in someone's arms in the main part of the office.

Disembodied voices swirled around me.

"Shinigami do not and can not get sick."

"That's a lie! You get headaches from me all the time!~"

"She probably was just freaked over the apocalypse warning."

"Rest is the best for her."

"I'll bring her to her home," the person holding me offered. "Anyone know where she lives?"

Somehow I managed to find my voice and slurred out the address to my apartment, my eyes firmly shut against the still blinding light. I was unbelievably drowsy, but at least the worst of the pain was gone. I wrapped my arms around the unknown person's neck and fell asleep, again.

I woke up quite a few hours later, in my own bed this time. My alarm clock blinked the numbers 1:00 and by the amount of darkness outside I assumed it was very early morning. I stretched lazily. My head was mostly clear, just a little fuzzy around the edges, so I was much much better. The only problem was that my mouth was drier than the Sahara.

I padded out of my room on stocking clad feet. Whoever had brought me home had taken off my boots, thankfully everything else was left on.

On my way to my kitchen a noise stopped me. It sounded like a low, baby lawnmower and was coming from the area where my couch was. Very ninja-like, I crept over to the back of it. The front was facing the wall with the bookshelves and small fireplace. I looked over the top of my black couch and was met with the sight of one of my sleeping coworkers.

He must have been the one who had carried me home. He must have stayed to make sure I was okay and fell asleep on my couch. His tie was loosened and his hair was mussed. How adorable. He must look even better when that hair of his is stained red with his own blood as he gasps his last breath-

I jolted back as if I was pumped with electricity and I tripped over something that was on the thought was definitely not mine. I would never think like that, only if I hated the person with every fiber of my being and even then that might be pushing it.

Yet I heard that in my head.

I figured out that Knox was a light sleeper when I was saved from falling to the ground. To be put into a chokehold.

After some apologies Ronald and I awkwardly sat on the couch. The air was filled with such a complete awkwardness that I could not even begin to describe it.

"So...you're feeling better?"

"Yeah," I paused trying to think of something else to say. "Thanks for bringing me home, and staying here."

"No problem. It's a nice place you got here," Knox complimented me.

"I like books," I stated obviously, "and I like the coziness of it." There was some more awkward silence. "I'm pretty sure I'm going to be fine, it's okay if you want to leave now."

Immediately Ronald started apologizing, "I'm sorry for my presence. If you want me to leave now I will gladly-"

"It's okay," I assured him. "It was sweet that you stayed," I said softly looking down at my lap.

"Are you s-sure?" he stammered and looked like he wanted to kill himself right then and there because of the stutter. "I'd like to stay a little longer- just to make sure you're okay!"

I tried to hide my laughter behind my hand.

"You have a gorgeous laugh," he said suddenly. "Like bells." The fireplace crackled to life and Ronald jumped. I had been getting a bit chilly. "Didn't expect that," he said laughing it off and the golden part of his hair glowed in the firelight. He had a nice laugh too.

A few more moments passed in only a semi-awkward sort of silence. Then Knox decided to go and ask me a stupid question. "Alecto, how old are you?"

"I don't know," I said bluntly. "Around nineteen or twenty."

"How can you not know how old you are?" Ronald asked instinctively before he saw how my eyes hardened and got a bit glassy.

"It's not something I like to talk about. Would you care for some tea? I'm making some for myself," I said getting up and going over to my kitchen.

"Sure," he said and I could tell that he was thinking. I just hoped that he'd leave that whole topic alone, or maybe just stop asking questions altogether.

I went thought the routing motions of making a pot of tea. I had hated it before, but we all know that Undertaker drinks tea like water and I acquired a taste for it while I stayed with him.

Remembering that lead back to more remembering, which lead back to more remembering, which led back to how it all began. That chain of memories made my hands unsteady and I dropped one of my teacups.

It wouldn't have been a big deal, except that I tried to catch it while it was falling and smashed it in my hands in the process. The shards of ceramics dug into my hands, opening up a few old scars. Then I knocked the teapot over with my elbow that was full of hot water and it scalded my right arm.

More chaos may have happened after that, but I don't really remember that. Ronald had ran into the kitchen and saw the mess, already helping me clean up. The way Ronald stopped and stared at my cuts assured me that it was something definitely worth freaking out over.

I remember staring at my cut and bloodied hands wondering what was wrong, if I had suddenly lost the ability to see all color, but the blue shards embedded in my hands told me otherwise.

My blood was black.

A/N Oh look, another cliffhanger!~ This is my Christmas present to you guys (I just typed the entire thing today).

Tell me who you want to pair Alecto off with. Every pairing you guys suggest will be in the story, though the majority will only have small parts. I'm not shipping her with everyone! Whichever pairing is the most popular will become canon in this story.

So please let me know! And if you're completely against the idea of leaving a review and want me to suffer, just send it to me in a pm!

Have a good whatever holiday you celebrate. I promise to try to update again soon. ~Bunny