Words Count: 4057

A/N: Like Goggins said in one of his motivational speeches, 'Fuck you cold, not today bitch!'… Or something along that line? But seriously, I'm as sick as a dog. It's fucking annoying being unable to breath with your nose.

Here's my usual spiel:

You can read from Episode 89 to 111 (And ten Eps of the Sequel – Fate: False Sovereignty) in advanced. The Tier starts from as low as 1USD, try it out!

P a tr e on . com (/) LiamThePoor

On a side note, what are your plans for Christmas? Mine is probably being high on weeds, listening to some sad music or shits. Don't worry, I swear Ep 89 will come out tomorrow for those who don't have anything planned, but for those who are going out with friends and family, I hope you guys have a great time.

Officer Crepsley cursed his luck, forearm reaching to wipe the droplets dripping down his brows, irritating and burning his brown eyes. His balding head was slick and shiny with sweats as he huffed, yet his hands did not cease to dig further and further into the dirt in search of the recently buried coffin. Most of the victims, due to the condition their remains were found, had been cremated.

This was the only one whose family had decided to put what was left of her in a nearby cemetery. Even then, it was unknown to him if they had put the girl's severed limbs inside or not. What was the point of burying a battered, bruised and bloody arm? Parts of Crepsley, the parts with morals shouted at him to stop desecrating the grave of the poor, unfortunate girl,

The other parts told him to hurry the fuck up…

And the other parts were much, much louder than his morality could ever be.

The Officer shivered at the thoughts of fame and fortunes this could- would bring him.

Sure, Crepsley was righteous and all for Justice, but those didn't pay the bills, nor were they nearly as celebrated as being a respected member of society. People might claim they wanted the truths, they wanted Justice, but Crepsley knew. Oh-He knew, alright… Almost four decades of working in the Force had shown him the ugliness humans were capable of. Hell, wasn't he the same: Desecrating the grave of some poor girl in order to gain fame and fortunes?

Slowly, Crepsley shook, the sweats he had just finished wiping away was already starting to stream down on his face as he huffed and forced in large gulps of breath, his lungs expanding painfully to accommodate his larger size. Through the haze of exhaustion, the Officer couldn't help wondering how deep the coffin was buried. He had been at it for almost three hours, yet he had not seen a single sign of said coffin.

Much as he loved fame and fortunes, the sheer exhaustion was slowly getting to Crepsley, his mind whispering of sweets, warm blanket and rest he oh-so desperately want– Nay, needed.

"Putain de merde, òu est-il?! / Fucking Hell, just where is it?!" Enraged, Crepsley began to slam the shovel blindly into the soft dirt, without any purpose or goal, only to muffle a shout as he felt the shovel hitting something- something hard, causing his hands and arms to violently shake as Kinetic-Energy traveled up. Crepsley hissed, hurriedly releasing the shovel to check on his reddened hands. "Ça fait vraiment trop mal, merde! / That hurts so fucking bad, damn it!"

His gaze resentfully moved towards the offending object to find something- A white object sticking out of the dirt, and immediately every complaint and grievance bubbling his throat were gone. In fact, all traces of negativity were as Crepsley dived for the object, his hands clawing at the mess in haste. Sure enough, there it was. "Je l'ai trouvé… J'ai finalement trouvé! / I've found it… I've finally found it!"

His excited laughter- A loud and boisterous thing, echoed in the empty cemetery.

In that instance, Crepsley thought all the hardships were worth it, that was until he popped the coffin open and found the severed leg laying there, bloated and rotting. Its once white and unblemished skin an ugly shade of grey, its smell more offensive than anything the Officer had been subjected to. Almost instantly, Crepsley lurched forth, arms circling his belly like a knot, desperate to stop himself from throwing up the content of his stomach.

He knew he couldn't afford to leave his DNA all over the crime-scene, hence the Officer threw the severed limb into a clear bag, sealed it tight and kicked the coffin back in the spot where it was once buried. Then, his eyes shifted and glanced at the surrounding, looking- searching for anyone who might have seen his deed, only when he's certain he was alone, and that the guards were too busy sleeping their depression away, did he leave,

Racing to the SUV he had parked three blocks away from the cemetery, "I fucking got it!"

In his excitement, Crepsley had forgotten one important thing, which was to fully cover up the evidences of his crime, or the coffin that now laid empty. Who could've blamed him really? After four hours of backbreaking hard-work, he was ready to call it a day.

The Officer could always pin the blame on the culprit anyway, it wasn't like he had left any of his fingerprint for the forensics, what with the comically-oversized gloves he had put on prior to committing grave-robbery.

— [Fate: DML] —

Now that I knew Anne-Marie was staying in the Catacombs and was 'allegedly' not responsible for many of the killings, I was once more back to square one.

There was no sighting of the Killer, still no Pattern to theorize, no possible suspect and worst of all, absolutely nothing on their appearance. All I had were the promise of the Apostle herself and the aid of a very, very unreliable Officer. Thus, I had been spending my days going through [Future Calculation] charges, all in hope I'd get lucky and locate the rampant Killer in one-fell-swoop. As you might have guessed from my tone, things had not been going well,

Given all I had to show for my efforts were a massive headache hammering at the sides of my temples and a nosebleed. It had already been two days, two days of nothing happening. Sure, I checked in on Officer Crepsley often, even went out at nights, hoping I'd stumble on the Killer committing mass-murder or the likes, but it would appear Lady Luck again did not smile kindly on me this and every other night.

Perhaps I had really used my entire reserve of Luck on Traits?

"The fuck do I do now?" I groaned, running a hand through my hair.

I asked, pacing around my Room anxiously. Anne-Marie seemed… Friendly enough, and having an Apostle in my corner could only help, not harm. But, if the Time-Limit ran out, I'd be forced to hunt her regardless of my wants and feelings.

Rin was more important,

If not to the plot, then to me.

Dressed in a black suit, I readied for another of my nightly excursion, only to pause when I saw my phone– The huge and blocky fucking thing, flashed rapidly with Crepsley's name. Without a second thought, I picked up. "Mr. Crepsley, it is a pleasure to hear from you at last… Do you have anything new to report?"

"Ye- Yeah, I got the stuff, can you come fetch it? It smells really fucking bad, I want it gone as soon as possible." Gaze lazy, I remarked, tone thick and full of sarcasm as I drawled, looking at my nails. "Took you just two entire whole days to find it… You work fast, Officer. I'm glad the People are protected by men like you!"

"Can you just- Please, come quickly, it's almost time my daughter returns, I don't- I don't want this in the house when she's here!" Rolling my eyes, I chuckled. "Relax, where are you? I'm on my way."

Once I had written down his address, I blinked there in an instance.

Had I mentioned I had basically spent the last two days and nights wandering aimlessly in hope I might stumble on the Killer? I did? Well, that's how I knew where his house was. Not the exact address perhaps, but I had been to that same street twice. In seconds, I went from standing in the hotel to standing on the rooftop as people- smaller than ants- raced towards their houses, terrified of the curtain of night that had blanketed the entire Sky and what it might represent.

Again, I teleported, but this time to an empty alley, left desolate by the sketchier elements of Paris. Apparently, even criminals were afraid of the infamously dubbed, 'The Bloody Butcher of Paris'. Walking out with naught a trace of worry on my face, I slowly approached the Green Dot. I instantly knew it was Crepsley, for who else could it have been? Who could've possibly known about my existence to have any kind of intention towards me beside the overweight, balding Officer?

On the Map, I noticed another Dot next to him- This one blinking Yellow.

'Must be Crepsley's daughter…' I noted silently as my fist hammered lightly on the door.

"Qui est-ce? J'arrive! / Who is it? I'm coming!" A voice, feminine in nature, and youthful reverberated out in response.

Moments later, I was faced with a woman in her late-teens with dark, almost inky black hair and warm, gentle doe-eyes. She wore a jacket, jeans, looking like she was about to go out, or more likely, had just gone home. "Qui es-tu? / Who are you?"

"Hi there? My name is Leonis Magnum, is this Officer Crepsley's Residence?" The woman stared at me blankly, only barely reacting at the mention of her father's name. Her lips twisted, tongue digging at the inside of her mouth as she stuttered. Not out of fear or any emotional turmoil mind you, but a lack of the ability to converse in English. You- How do y- you know my father? Oh- Oh God… You're my brother, aren't you?! I knew there was a reason mom wanted a divorce!"

''What?/What?'' It was good to know I wasn't the sole person exasperated at the woman's deduction.

How she even arrived to that conclusion was completely beyond me. I replied jokingly. "I- Have you seen your father? There's no way he could have contributed to my birth! I mean–"

I pointed at my face. "Look at me!"

The woman smiled, covering her mouth and responding with a muffled, "You're not wrong."

Goddamn, I was feeling pretty horrible for Crepsley now. In spite of his profession, even his daughter had little to no respect for the Officer. No wonder he was so desperate to prove himself, I'd be too if I were in his shoes. Not that I'd ever allow myself to be that pathetic again, one Life of mild-obesity was more than enough for me. "Can you notify Mr. Crepsley of my arrival? I'd really appreciate it."

She looked at me, nodded… Then proceeded to yell at her father inside the house in French. "Dad, there's a boy out here looking for you! He said his name is Leonis, you know anyone with that name?"

I heard stuffs breaking- vases and shits. Then, out came Crepsley, his shirt probably having been lost on the way somehow, his pants were hanging low, under his arse even. I wasn't sure how it was possible and by what miracle, but Crepsley looked worse than he usually did. If I didn't know any better, I'd have thought him an unemployed alcoholic, leeching off his teenage daughter. "Aye-Aye, Officer! How're you doing on this fine night–?"

Completely ignoring me, the balding Officer pulled me inside by the sleeve. "There you are! C'mon, let's get you inside, I want- need that, that shit out of my fucking house right now! It's disgusting!"

His daughter stared at us as we went- ran to his Office.

The door slammed close in her face, likely leaving the poor woman with tons of questions unanswered. "Wait, what's this about, dad–?!"

Without a word, the Officer searched under his desk and practically threw the bag at me, patting his hands, in a hurry to get rid of the scent. For me, a severed limb was just that- A severed limb, but to an Officer in a relatively peaceful City like Paris, where the only wounds and injuries you'd get close to were gunshots and stab-wounds, this must be quite the horror-show for Crepsley. "'Here! Take it, take it… Please."

Man practically pleaded for me to take the limb,

I didn't know what it was about him:

His face, his demeanor or the haste in which he threw the limb at me,

But Gods did I feel my sadism rising, pushing the dripping bag in his face, voice turning ominous. "What's wrong, Crepsley? Scared of a little… Blood?"

The scream that escaped his mouth was uncharacteristically feminine as he fell on his arse. Not that Crepsley had a manly voice in the first place, but this was more a screech of terror than anything I had ever heard from him. "Dad, dad? Are you alright? What's going on in there?!"

"Nothing!" – "I'm alright, sweetie!" Crepsley said through gritted teeth, while I opened a portal to my hotel, dropping the bloating and boils-covered severed leg into the bathtub. "Well, alright then… I'm cooking for three people, can you tell the boy he can stay for the night? I don't want him going home at this hour, it's not safe!"

I turned to the Officer. "What is she saying?"

"She- She wants you to stay for dinner." Crepsley rose to his feet, patting to dust his behind.

I smiled. "Can you tell her I'd love to, but–"

He looked at me, his were the eyes of a father who simply didn't want the efforts of his children wasted. "Can you- Can you stay the night? My daughter rarely cooks and- Uhmm… She's going to be- Well, she's going to be pissed if I let you leave just like that, especially since the Serial Killer has yet to be caught."

"… What do you think we are? We aren't friends, I'm not going to stay and have dinner at your place." I explained calmly, when my stomach started to growl loudly all of a sudden, audibly making its wishes known and betraying me. Crepsley stared at me with a shit-eating grin, slapping my shoulders. "C'mon, you know you want to."

I faked a cough to hide my embarrassment, looking away. "I- Alright, but–"

Pointing at him, I scoffed. "– Just dinner…"

He said. "Just dinner."

"And nothing else."

"And nothing else." Again, Crepsley repeated, nodding as he hummed. "Got it, Big Boss."

I let out a tired sigh. "Now, let's go meet the Lady of the House."

We both pushed the door open to find the woman spying on us from the kitchen. Seeing us, he hastily averted her gaze, whistling as she faked innocence. "What's the name of your daughter anyway?"

"Emma, Emma Crepsley." That was… An unsurprisingly basic name. I supposed after months of dealing with Mages from both Universes, it's only understandable my Common Sense was slowly lessening. "I'll remember it."

I told him, before confidently walking over the table and giving Emma a wave. "Ms. Emma, I'm thankful that–"

"Emma." She cut me off, the wooden spoon in her hand shaking slightly. "Just Emma. There's no need to be overly… Uhmmm, overly–"

Seeing her still having troubles with English, I decided to give her a helping hand. "Polite?"

"Ah-That!" Emma exclaimed, knocking on her head and giving me a shy smile. "Sorry, my English isn't very good, I hope that won't be an issue?"

"It won't." I offered her my hand, and she took it all smiles.

"As you are already aware, I'm Leonis Magnum. Thank you for having me over for dinner, I'm starving." We shook hands, before I leaned forth to place a gentle kiss above her knuckle, winking as I saw her blush and muffle an embarrassed chuckle. "Oh-My… What a gentleman you are!"

I blew lightly over her knuckle, letting my breath wash over her hand, making her laugh. "Dad, Leo– I can call you that, right?"

"A beautiful woman like you can call me whatever you want, Emma." Once more, I winked, ignoring the angry glare of Crepsley piercing my back. "Alright! That's enough, don't flirt with my daughter in my home."

"Dad–" Before I could even think of a smartass reply, Emma had already beaten me to it. "– Leo is like six to seven years younger than me. I might be desperate, but I'm nowhere near that desperate. Now, will you please take a seat already?"

Sulking, Crepsley silently pulled out a seat and sat, arms crossed, his eyes moving towards his grinning daughter and me. Then, when he thought Emma was not looking, the Officer would stare at me, making a cutting gesture over his throat. 'Am I being paranoid, or is this guy losing respect for me, Angra?'

'You're not being paranoid, but you aren't right either. Dads can be pretty… Overprotective towards their daughters, you know how it is.' The Daemon just shrugged. 'Dude's probably worried you might involve her in dangerous stuffs or use your voodoo on his daughter, which's a valid concern knowing how most Mages are. Those cunts wouldn't think twice fucking up somebody's daughter.'

'… You know what? I respect that.'

"So, how do you two know each other?" While setting up the table, Emma asked. I gave Crepsley a look that immediately silenced him, then spoke for the both of us. "Well, I'm his colleague's son. Dad's dead, mom's busy for a few days while we get settled in a new country so she asked Mr. Crepsley to take care of me for tonight. I'll probably head back after dinner though…"

I said with not a change in my expression beside an awkward smile as I continued. "Yeah, I'll be out of your hair soon enough, I can promise you that."

"No, no. It does get pretty lonely around here with only us around, you're welcome, Leo. Will your mom come to get you later?"

I shook at the question, muttering lowly. "She's- She's really busy, I'll have to call a taxi."

"Oh- Won't you stay the night? It's dangerous at this hour, especially now that some… Some deranged psycho has decided to make this Great City his hunting-ground." Hurriedly, I waved my hands. "There really is no need, Emma. I can protect myself well enough, and I don't want to intrude more than I have already."

"Please, I in- in…"

"Insist?" I asked.

"Yeah! I insist, it's late and I know boys have this whole thing about how brave they are, but I don't feel comfortable making a teenager leave in the middle of the night." Emma said, face staunch with determination and righteousness. "I can't, in good conscience, allow you to leave with a Serial Killer on the loose."

"I- I- Uhmmm… I don't think that's a good idea." I stuttered, backing away from the woman. Christ, what was with women and overly-controlling behaviors? "I can sleep on the couch while you use my bed, if that would make you feel more comfortable?"

I looked at Crepsley, motioning for him to speak up, but he just ignored me and resumed playing with his foods. Finally, under Emma's piercing gaze, I pretended to relent.

"Fine, I suppose it won't hurt to spend the night here–" Not that I actually planned on doing that, there were more important things I must attend to- things that would put me in a trickier situation compared to a Serial Killer. In fact, even if the Killer turned out to be an Apostle as well, they would pose nowhere near the danger Lorelei Barthomeloi represented, especially now that she basically had a magical collar over Rin's neck. "Fantastic!"

Emma clapped excitedly, interrupting my words. "I'll clean my Room for you, you can stay there for the night."

Without letting me get a word in, Emma raced to the hall, leaving me completely baffled at her actions, whilst Crepsley just sighed, seeming quite used to this. "Sorry about that, Emma can be a handful at times. She didn't use to be so…"

"Pushy?" I completed, drawling.

"Yeah… Since my messy divorce, she has been on somewhat of a downwards slope. She used to be really withdrawn, then Highschool rolled around and she became like that." Crepsley ran a hand over his bald-head, continuing. "I don't hate it. If anything, I'm glad that she's making friends at school, but with the Killer running around, I think she doesn't have an outlet for all that energy."

"And you decided I should be that outlet?" I questioned, raising a brow.

"Look–" Crepsley sighed. "– My daughter has always wanted a younger sibling to dote on, and I just spent hours at a graveyard to dig up some poor girl's desecrated remains for you, the least you can do is help me with my daughter, or I can tell the World about your–"

Before he could finish, I glared at him, hand pulling on the collar of his shirt. "… Don't ever try to threaten me like that, or anyone Supernatural for that matter, again. I'm more chill than–"

"The Hell is 'chill'?"

Oh-Right. I forgot, slangs wasn't exactly a very popular thing for adults in the 90's, was it? Especially guys who were over forties years of age like Crepsley here. Plus, I was fairly certain French had their own slangs, 'chill' might not mean anything to them, at least not before the rise of social media. "I mean, I am relatively more patient and calm than other Mages when dealing with the mundane, but anyone else and your head, plus your daughter's might have been lopped off by now. Understood?"

"Is- Is it that bad?"

"It is." I growled. "We take our secrets very, very fucking serious and if you prove to be a potential risk to that, no one will be able to help or save you. I've heard tales of entire towns being utterly annihilated and wiped off the Map, an aging Police Officer and his daughter won't take them more than a day or two. Worst case scenario, I'll be forced to terminate the both of you, and I can promise you right now, I won't hesitate. It is you or me, got it?"

Realizing the severity of the situation at last, Crepsley cursed. "Holy-Fuck… They kill entire towns?"

I answered calmly, tilting my head. "Only when they think our secret might be exposed to the World at large, so be careful when you use threats like that. In fact, don't even attempt to threaten anyone you think is a Supernatural, unless you wish to waste away in the dirt. Even if you survive somehow, by some fucking miracles, you will likely spend the rest of your life eating through a straw."

Slowly, I let go of his shirt, but only after I saw the thoughts starting to really register in his mind. Then, I abruptly called out to Emma. "There's no need to clean your Room, I'm fine sleeping on the couch!"

Would be easier sneaking out anyhow. "Are you sure, Leo?"

"I am! Please come back, the foods are getting cold." After several sounds of hasty footsteps and voice echoing back in French, I watched as Emma return, face all smiles, hands holding a brand-new toothbrush. "Thought you might need it… I have a few stored just in case."

'In case what?' Angra asked, not that anyone other than me could hear him. 'In case she has a sleepover with her friends?'

'Or in case she has a boy over…'

"In case what?" Crepsley echoed the exact same thing as Angra, face scrunched up in suspicion. He interrogated. "In case you have a boy over?"

Emma rolled her eyes, body language portraying naught but sarcasm. "In case my friends and I have a sleepover. Beside, I don't know any boy, dad."

Her gaze moved towards me. "Well, except Leo, but he doesn't count."

Well, that's mildly offensive.

'She's clearly lying. What eighteen, nineteen years old girl doesn't know any boy? Bitch, people have been fucking at the rightful age of thirteen and getting married at fifteen since my time, you think we stupid?'

'Your 'time' is like… Twenty centuries ago, nowadays we call that pedophilia.' Angra burst into laughter. 'Don't tell me you really think she knows no boy?'

'Why are you even invested in Emma's love life? Leave the woman alone.' He scoffed, face fixing in an pouty scowl. 'I'm fucking bored, there's only so much talks and paperwork I can tolerate until I'm ready to lose my shits! When are we going back to murdering and torturing people?!'

'When it's appropriate.' I replied, downing a glass of coke.

"Let us raise our glasses in toast!" The woman shouted excitedly. "To a new… Friendship?"

Emma offered as I raised my glass in response. "To new friendships."