It was midnight. His sub-routines woke him up. He looked over to see if his "companions" were asleep. The idiot with the metal legs was snoring. The green-haired thief was sleeping soundly like a baby. He sneered at them. They look peaceful. Peace is not the way of a warrior. It is the way of a weakling! He himself "slept" standing up. Why should he rest on a bed when standing is just fine. Well, I won't be able to sleep now. I'm going for a walk. I'm tired of being stuck up here with these two. He left the room making no effort to be quiet. If the two heard him leaving, then fine. It made no difference to him whether they slept for a day or an hour. He himself needed no sleep. He only "slept" for his own sanity. He had gone 3 years without sleep before, thanks to Talon- even the thought of him made him want to break something- and he had no intention of going through that living hell ever again. He was getting mad. He thought about his deal with Cinder.

"You would like revenge on Talon, wouldn't you?"

"You have no idea."

"I can help you with that. In fact, we could help each other." At this point, Archangel knew what the girl on the other end was trying to do. She was trying to manipulate him. She was trying to use him as a means to an end. He decided then that he wouldn't be used by her. He decided she would be used by him.

"I'm listening"

"Well then, let me tell you what I have in mind. You see, I do not work alone. I am not even really the one in charge. Emerald, Mercury and I work for a being named Salem. She commands the Grimm." This had surprised Archangel, and he didn't believe her at first.

"Why would anyone work alongside the person who commands the Grimm? I don't appreciate being lied to." Cinder had smiled at that. And her answer was simple.

"Power." Archangel knew that desire all to well. He also wanted more power, even though he was already a very powerful being himself. But it wasn't enough.

"Why are you telling me this? I might just kill this being and take their power for my own." Cinder had smiled at this, too.

"I'm telling you this to make my offer. I will arrange a meeting with her for you." Archangel had to hand it to this girl. Most humans were either stupid or arrogant. Cinder was not stupid or arrogant. She was ROYALLY stupid and EXTREMELY arrogant. It actually impressed him that she could be so stupid to think that he could be controlled and so arrogant not to realise that she was the one who was being controlled.

"And in exchange?"

"You will work for me until you meet her." Archangel didn't like this deal. He didn't want to work for any human being. He was far superior to them. However, this deal would bring him one step closer to his ultimate goal.

"Very well. I have a question for you." Cinder nodded for him to go on. "How did you know I was in this room? And how did you know the password to enter it?" She laughed.

"That isn't something that you need to know right now. My source wished to remain anonymous." That had made Archangel angry. He knew that wasn't the truth. He knew she just didn't want to tell him. However, he also knew that if he rebelled too much too quickly, she'd catch on to him. He didn't want to be too complacent, but not too rebellious. The rest of his conversation with Cinder was about trivial things that he didn't really care about. She told him not to reveal himself to the world again too quickly. He could strike when the time was right. No doubt she would determine when the right time was. He wanted to kill her as soon as he came face to face with her, but she DID agree to help him kill Talon. As long as she was useful, he supposed that she could live.

He put on the jacket that Mercury and Emerald had "procured" for him and walked out of their apartment. He walked to the edge of the city and looked out at the land surrounding it. It was too peaceful, of course. He then walked throughout the city, hoping someone would try to rob him. The city was quiet. It looked like a ghost town,. He smiled at the comparison he'd just made. Maybe I can make it one in truth later on. That would be fun… He walked past an establishment that was actually still open. He heard music coming from it. A night club. Interesting, but not the kind of entertainment I'm looking for. His anger was still built up from thinking about his creator and Cinder. On top of that, Mercury has been very annoying the last two days. He heard the sound of someone walking in a nearby alley. He turned to see who it was.

"Hey, you." The man who approached him was wearing all black with a skull mask covering his face. He spoke with a rasp to his voice- as though he were a walking skeleton. "Come here. I wanted to ask you something." Archangel was elated.

Finally, someone dumb enough to attack me! "Alright," he replied in a cold voice. When he got close, he asked the man's name.

"The name's Bones." The man waved him into the alley-way, and blocked the exit. Idiot. "I was just wanting to ask you if you'd be interested in parting with some of your Liyen." He pulled out what appeared to be a bone katana. Archangel looked at him and nearly laughed.

This fool believes he can defeat me with this toothpick!? Well, it's his funeral. "I don't want to, thank you." He got into his fighting stance. Bones laughed.

"I'm afraid you don't get a choice." Bones charged him and swung his weapon. Archangel dodged out of the way easily. Bones made a quick back swing that almost hit Archangel. Whoever this Bones was obviously had training. Archangel dodged again. Bones swung again, and they played this game for a few more swings. Finally, Bones switched tactics. After his 7th attempt to hit Archangel, he tried to sweep his leg. Archangel felt the leg hit his own, and laughed. Bones tried to take advantage of the distraction to attack Archangel with a stabbing attack. Archangel punched down the length of the katana, shattering the bone blade all the way to it's hilt. Bones dropped his sword in terror. "What are you!?" Bones tried to run away, but Archangel grabbed his arm to stop him. Bones froze. Archangel squeezed until he heard it pop. He then threw Bones hard into a wall on his right. Not hard enough to knock him out, but still hard enough to make a satisfying crack in the wall. He put his face in front of Bones and ripped of his mask. The terrified brown eyes that looked back at him where full of tears. This "man" was no more than a boy of maybe 16. Archangel didn't care. He was going to die anyway for attacking him.

"What am I?" He grabbed the boy's throat and lifted him a foot off of the ground. Archangel laughed wickedly. "I am Death, and I've come to take your pathetic, miniscule life away from you." He chokeslammed the boy hard enough to see his Aura start to dissipate. He put one foot on the boy's chest. "Any last words, boy?" Bones looked up at him.

"Please don't kill me?" Archangel looked like he was going to consider it, then smiled down at the boy.

"Sorry, but your life was forfeit the moment you called out to me." He stomped on the boy's chest. Hard.

The two looked at each other. They had never witnessed such brutality done so quickly. Her companion spoke first through his voice changer. It made him sound like he was a robot. "What should we do? Should we follow him?"She had no idea what her companion looked like, and he didn't know what she looked like. They were both wearing masks and hooded cloaks. She looked up and did some scenarios in her head. Almost all of them led to them being noticed. With how quickly he noticed Bones, she was surprised that this person didn't notice them. She spoke through her own voice changer.

"No. We will have to watch him passively." Hers made her sound like some demon. "Besides, he's not our target. I was hoping Bones would lead us to him eventually, but that's out. We must hurry to make up for lost time." Her companion nodded. The two decided to split up to cover more ground. As she left, she wondered who that person was that he could so easily dispatch Bones. No. Focus on the mission. Lance isn't going to find himself.

A few hours later

Emerald's eyes opened. She yawned and stretched as she sat up in her bed. She blinked. Neither Archangel nor Mercury were in the room. She looked at the clock. 4:00 AM. They must already be in the living room. She got out of bed and put her clothes on. She strapped her revolver sickles to her back as she walked into the living room. Mercury was sitting in front of the TV with a disapproving look on his face. Archangel was leaning against a wall behind him with a wicked smile. "Hey guys." Mercury shushed her. Emerald looked at Mercury in surprise. "What?" He waved her over. When she sat down, she noticed Mercury was watching the news. "Finally trying to keep up with current affairs, Merc?" Mercury gave her a dangerous look. Emerald backed up a little bit in shock. Mercury sighed.

"Just watch." He turned up the TV. Emerald looked at the set, and noticed that the police chief of Mistral City was on the screen talking to someone offscreen.

"... must be a form of vigilante justice- albeit a brutal form of it. We still would like residents to take care when walking the streets at night until we get more information on this case." The screen cut to a newsroom.

"Thank you, chief. For those of you just tuning in, a wanted criminal known only as Bones was found dead an hour ago with an arm popped out of place and what appears to be a footprint in his chest that goes past his spinal column. More on this story as it develops. Next, rumors of cloaked figures seen here in Mistral: Fact? Or simple fantasy? Stay tuned to find out." Mercury turned off the TV and threw the controller on the coffee table. He turned to Archangel, who was still smiling.

"Are you happy with yourself?" Archangel nodded, then came to sit next to them. Mercury got up and walked over to the counter separating the living room and kitchen. Emerald scooted over to make room for Archangel. She looked at him like he was a completely new person. Archangel looked at her with his cold grey eyes.

I need to say something to him. "Why did you do it, Archangel?" Mercury spoke up.

"Because he's a homicidal maniac, that's why! I think Cinder made a mistake getting him on the team. Who knows when he'll get tired of us being around? He could kill us at any moment. He could-" Archangel cut him off.

"Quiet, Kicky. If you want to avoid me wanting to kill you, I'd suggest you stop talking right now." Mercury clamped his mouth shut and shot a glare at the back of Archangel's head. "Thank you." Emerald's hair stood on end.

He's not afraid to murder someone, but that could just be a result of his captivity. If I were in his shoes, I'd probably want to take my anger out on something. Maybe not quite like he did, but we all react differently. She put a hand on Archangel's shoulder. He looked at her hand, then at her.

"I would move my hand if I were you. You might lose it." She drew her hand back. Mercury spoke up.

"Hey, she's trying to be friendly to you. You're being rude, T-" He closed his mouth with an audible click. Archangel turned to him.

"I really don't like you, Kicky. Don't push your luck. The only reason you're still alive is because of my deal with Cinder." Mercury matched glares with Archangel.

'Mercury, you idiot! What are you doing!', Emerald screamed in her head. Mercury finally dropped his eyes, then turned his back to them. He called from over his shoulder:

"Wasn't part of that deal to NOT reveal yourself?" Emerald looked at Archangel. He showed no emotion.

"Correct."

"And what do you think you just did?" Archangel smiled.

"I killed a man." Emerald scooted a little further away from him. Mercury turned.

"Yes, in a way that only YOU could do! Wouldn't that reveal you to the world?" Archangel laughed at Mercury.

"Only if someone knew what to look for. And the ones who know what to look for won't be looking." He looked at Emerald. "So, what's the plan for today." It wasn't a question. It was an order. She sighed.

"We were contacted by Cinder. We're to test your combat abilities." Archangel's smile grew dark.

"Against?" Mercury raised his hand.

"Me." Archangel's smile went from dark to dangerous.

"Perfect." Emerald shuttered.

This isn't a smart idea… "Just try not to kill each other, ok?" Mercury nodded while Archangel stared back at her. The only emotion on his face was his smile. His cold, dangerous smile. The smile of a killer.

"No promises. If he isn't strong enough to survive the encounter…" He trailed off, his smile never leaving his face. Emerald shuttered again.

Cinder, what have you gotten us into…

Hey guys. It will probably take longer for me to upload future chapters. I have recently gotten a job that will take up a lot of my time each week. I will keep uploading as often as I can. Hope I can keep up with this! I'm going to try to put in a little bit of trivia at the end of each chapter from now on (if something interesting happens in the creation of that chapter or if I don't run out of trivia). The trivia for this chapter revolves around Bones. Bones was originally going to be a main character who would end up working for Archangel much later in the story. He was going to trick Talon Teknos into fighting Archangel, but this clashed with my initial thoughts for his character. He wasn't weak, but he was a pushover (as in he was easy to boss around). He wouldn't have the guts to attempt to trick Talon as he would know that Talon isn't someone to mess with. On top of that, I couldn't think of a situation where he could get the two in the same room. I didn't want to completely waste his concept, so I thought of putting him in here to show off Archangel's power. Bones's character was originally going to be a student at Beacon, then I thought of him being a big criminal. I even thought of him being the criminal that Talon told Port that he tracked down for the Atlas military. The only problem with these ideas was that I couldn't come up with a good semblance for him. He was also, at one point, going to work for a store across the street from Dust to Dawn. He was going to be the person who gave the eyewitness report on the robbery of Dust to Dawn. In the end, I decided that the best way to use him was to show off Archangel's strength and brutality. That's all for this chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed!