Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen...wow can't believe it's a week into May already...just about 4 weeks until my birthday and I'm already getting excited :)

I hope you're all having a good weekend, I've enjoyed writing the last of this chapter with the sound of heavy rain outside to listen too and watch whilst I've been writing, which is certainly inspiring at best, though I am immensely happy currently anyway...

So this chapter is a fairly long one, and I would like to point out before updating that there will be a few mentionings of violence & some strong language as this story gets a bit darker in this chapter. I hope you all enjoy and review, thankyou!

'You should have known better than to come back here…' a voice uttered…Belle's eyes remaining closed, though she was coming around, the water in her lungs shocking her awake as she choked on the seawater. Yet the moment she tried to pick herself up, a sharp pain shot through her back as she was struck sharply to the stone floor. Gasping out in pain, Belle was pulled up by her hair and thrown against a wall as she tried to speak.

'Abe…?' she choked weakly, the voice she heard sniggering as she looked up to the woman stood over her.

'Don't worry, you'll be reunited with your pathetic little friends soon, but for now…there is someone else you should become acquainted with,' Ruxandra sneered, 'the master will want you soon enough.'

'What have you done with Abe?' she coughed, putting a hand to her throat as she tried to settle her breathing. Though Ruxandra ignored her, leaving Belle alone as she walked from the cell she was being left in. Sinking back as Belle was left alone; she heard the metal of a barred door slam and flinched. Looking around her, there was virtually no light…only darkness, save for a light that shone in a bracket above another that lay seemingly unconscious, Belle's heart beating hard against her chest with panic as she prayed for a way out…

Pulling up the sleeve of the delicate top that she wore, Belle's breathing was still hoarse from coughing up the water she had breathed in as she had been dragged into the depths. It had all gone quickly black, though as she discovered by the locator she wore in the form of a bracelet on her wrist, there would be no contacting anyone from so far below the surface. Looking around her, Belle could see nothing of Abe, the figure in the corner gaining her attention as she then watched him, wondering whether he was even alive until she noted how his chest barely rose and fell. His breathing was silent, but Belle could feel her own getting louder and strained as she tried to remain calm. Breathing heavily as she watched the figure, she could hear her own panic in her weak breath, her mermaid form was gone and she was once again human…but the pain she felt from being struck was still sinking deep, her form having clearly been dragged to the cell she was now in, by the scratches upon her arms. Yet as she pressed herself up farther against the wall, the figure suddenly seemed to sense her presence. Watching as it looked up, Belle realised it was a man, but not like anything she had seen before, his hair was blonde, long, and damaged from little care, his face perfectly defined, though the dirt that seemed to cover him and adorn his robes showed he had been there long before her. Though as he rose weakly to his feet, she finally saw the large wings that adorned his back, these appearing to be the strongest of his features…the feathers were pure and majestic being a rich shade of gold at their height and fading into a pure shade of white as it reached the tips. As he met her gaze, his blue eyes poured into Belle's as she watched him uncertainly. For a moment he did not speak but remained silent, almost as if he were afraid to utter a single word.

Though it was in this that a sound rang from outside the cell, that Belle broke the gaze when the Angel suddenly flew forward, Belle screaming as she was thrown against the bars at the east side of the room, the clairvoyant falling to the floor as the Angel screeched at her.

'HOW DARE YOU! YOU LEFT ME! IT WAS YOU!' Though as Belle watched him go to move again she suddenly burst into hysterics as she begged him not to hurt her, this stopping him for a moment as he watched her uncertainly…

Looking up at the fallen angel that stood over her, her wide eyes were large and pleading, tears spilling over her cheeks. Yet this seemed to spark something in him as he staggered back, grasping his face with his hands as he fell down to the floor, Belle breathing heavily as she watched fearfully. 'Who are you…?' she asked finally, the angel looking up too her, disorientated and afraid.

'Don't…don't…I…I can't'

'Can't? Can't what?' she returned desperately.

'The beatings…the chains…always chains…' he uttered unsteadily, Belle seeing his wrists that were dried with blood as shackles bound them, the girl reaching her hands forward slightly when he drew back quickly, startling her as she kept a distance from him.

'Who did this to you?'

'He waits for you…' the Angel muttered staring at the floor, his eyes unfocused as he continued to speak. 'The pure one…the Angel…'

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~

'Is she contained?'

'Yes…as you requested with the Archangel…' Ruxandra responded, the black jeans she wore clinging to her legs with black heels and a fitted black top. Her hair was styled in the same way it had been before, her eyes following him as he stood at the altar, laying something before it in the main room.

'Good…you have done well…I was impressed with your display. I trust the others are being dealt with accordingly?'

'Anung Un Rama was successfully sedated for now, his girlfriend is here…but the other one is being handled by your servant…' she remarked, Rasputin running a hand nimbly over the alter as he then snapped his fingers upon recognising another presence. As Ruxandra turned to see Kroenen appear at the entrance, he forced Abe into the room with a blade at the back of the merman's neck, his jacket and shirt torn into with fresh blood upon his skin from the harsh lashings he had been subjected too. His breathing was heavy as he was thrust to the ground, the merman barely having time to lift his head up before Rasputin spoke in a more projective voice.

'I must admit…you have been very vigilant as a team trying to protect the girl…you have kept her under your protection for several months, but in the end she was bound to come here…something was inevitably going to lead her to this place…'

'Gregory Rasputin…' Abe uttered weakly, Rasputin pausing as he finally came to turn and look upon the merman with some interest, his dark eyes studying the merman before him as he stepped down to their level. 'Where is Belle?'

'Hmm…first name terms with the girl you're supposed to be protecting…how interesting.'

'You know nothing of any of us…' he muttered, Rasputin showing a distaste at the merman's tone as he nodded to his companion who raised a length of chain and snapped it against his back, the skin breaking as Abe gasped in agony.

'…Is she safe?' Abe pressed, raising a weak head, desperation seeping into his voice when in searching Rasputin's thoughts he gained an answer.

'For now. Tell me though, would you give your life for her?' he questioned. 'Or like the Princess Nuala, would you let her die?' he remarked slyly, knowing by the look in Abe's eyes as he got close to the ichthyo sapien that he had gained his vulnerability.

'The Princess…?' he murmured; pain in his expression as he sank lower.

'You wanted to save her…she was your first love…but fate crossed your path. Fate took the woman you had fallen for. But what if you could have that back?' he whispered, 'everything you'd wanted with her?' Leaning in towards the merman, Rasputin sneered, knowing he had easily gotten in, the black and gold robes that adorned him smoothing out as he rose up.

'She sacrificed herself,' Abe remarked, memories flooding back of that moment; along with those in the library…his vulnerability being exposed.

'Ruxandra; I believe our other guest should be brought in. I trust you can handle her without getting burned?' Rasputin remarked,

'With ease,' she nodded plainly, walking past them and leaving the room swiftly. Though as the tip of Kroenen's blade touched Abe, he was shown a memory of Professor Broom's last moments, Abe breaking it off as he breathed, 'you…' looking around at the man of steel and dust.

Though as Rasputin leant forward once again, his dark eyes seemed to ignite as he reached a hand forward and remarked, 'perhaps you should see all you could have…Abraham Sapien.'

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~

As Belle struggled to remain calm within the cell where she was kept with the fallen angel, she clutched onto the pendant around her neck, her hands trembling weakly. The angel contained with her however had hunched himself back in the corner he had been in before, chains binding him to the wall, Belle questioning how long he could have been there. Yet as she closed her eyes, she thought of the people she loved, wondering where Abe was being kept…whether he was safe…tracing back the last moments she'd had with the people she loved…Abe…Dale…her parents…Hellboy…Liz…the memories making her eyes sting with the tears she refused to let slip down her cheeks. Though the emotions that she felt was emitted in another way, a faint glow taking form around the pendant, it sparking an energy in the angel as he looked up, watching Belle as he took in the light around her form that only he could recognise, his eyes widening.

'That light…' The Angel breathed, Belle opening her eyes and seeing something in his as he sat forward.

'Do you remember who you are?' she asked softly, the Angel pausing as he finally spoke calmly.

'That light…it brings some of it back…those here are shrouded in the darkness of their pasts…but you…purity surrounds you…the same way it did in another I once knew…a friend who bore a similar aura. Maybe that's what brings some of it back…' he murmured distantly.

'You don't even remember your name?'

'It comes and goes…the memories I have…' he breathed. Though as Belle went to speak again, footsteps echoed through the silence, the fallen angel suddenly look disorientated. 'You need to leave this place…you must…he will destroy this world as it is known…if he can remove from it the only thing that can possibly save it…the Angel of Life…' he remarked desperately, though as Belle looked up to see Ruxandra at the door of the cell, she found herself unnerved by the gun that the dark enchantress toyed with lightly.

'So…you're awake. You know I find weapons such as this are a waste when people have other capabilities, rendering such things as this worthless…' Ruxandra mused. 'Particularly when one has such a deadly but powerful ability at their fingertips such as fire…' she continued, Belle's eyes widening as she got to her feet unsteadily.

'Liz...' she breathed, 'what do you want with me?' Belle asked. 'Where is Abe…what have you done to him?'

'Demanding for the one who is locked away…' Ruxandra commented dryly, 'don't worry; you will soon see your friends. After all, the master wouldn't want them to miss the show she remarked…'

'What do you want with me?' she repeated.

'Me? I want nothing from you, you do not interest me…it is the master that has such interest in you and your friends…but I'm afraid the one you call Abe will probably remain in a dormant state for the proceedings that are about to take place. After all, being placed under a deluded fantasy that he is with his former lover is bound to keep him occupied…'

'What?' Belle remarked, her eyes showing disbelief though Ruxandra laughed humorously.

'You seem surprised? Let me tell you something you should consider remembering…Men will never change…they will never put you before everything else. You're just as disposable as the next person…' she remarked dryly, Belle feeling as if she had been hit in the stomach.

Looking at her with worry in her eyes, Belle felt scared though she did her best not to show it. She could sense the aura's around her, feeling more from them than she had before. Though as she looked at Ruxandra, Belle knew there was more to this girl than she allowed others to see.

'Do you think it fair to cage others? To torture them without giving them a chance to fight…is that what you did to Abe? What you're going to do to me? To Liz, to Hellboy?' she questioned tears sparkling in her eyes as she stood her ground, Ruxandra reaching a hand through the bars and grasping at her hair as she pulled her against the bars.

'Don't try to figure me out,' Ruxandra snarled, 'you have no idea of the power we hold here…'

'Let me go!' Belle gasped, the Angel that had sat so still in in the corner lashing out but being unsuccessful in reaching the dark enchantress who swiftly took a handful of black dust and threw it into the eyes of the Angel before redirecting it to Belle, both of them quickly losing consciousness and falling to the floor as Ruxandra finally unlocked the cell door.

'Looks like I'll have to drag you out of here after all,' she mused, irritation in her tone when she caught sight of the pendant upon Belle's neck, a frown crossing her features as she knelt down the unconscious woman. Yet as she looked to the heavily beaten Angel beside her, she couldn't help but breathe a sigh. 'She is undeserving of one thing…your wrath should only have one path to take. She is not the source of your pain, if you could ever remember that…' she remarked quietly, studying him for a moment before finally going to move the sleeping Belle…

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~

Light…Pure light shone straight into the eyes of Abraham Sapien as he lay on the floor of a room he did not recognise. Closing his eyes once more as he adjusted to the sudden brightness; the ichthyo sapien then supported himself up, his biceps flexing as he sat up and took in his surroundings. It was of a regal design…no less than a royal bed chamber he thought as he got to his feet, looking to see the vibrant colours of blue and silver that adorned it. With stone floors and a large bed to his left, Abe took note of the dressing table and the candles that lit that area of the room, a grand chandelier hanging above him with a balcony behind that was covered by simple voile drapes. Yet as he stepped out to see a night time sky, stars glowing above the palace he was in, nothing stood out more than the figure that turned before him, her pearl white features and golden eyes brightening as she saw the man before her.

'Abraham,' she smiled softly, 'I've been waiting for you…'

'Princess…' he breathed; unable to believe it was her, after all this time. 'But how…? I…'

'Hush…' she offered calmly, putting a light finger to his lips as she continued to smile. 'You can call me by my name, after all I've been waiting for you…and such formalities are not required…not here…'

'Nuala…' he remarked, his eyes showing such emotion as he took her into his arms. 'I thought I'd never see you again…' he sighed, Nuala wearing a delicate midnight blue gown, not all so different from the gown she had last been in when he had seen her.

Though the truth of the vision was that it was all just a dream…a dream that hung in the balance of reality as Abe really lay unconscious in the same room where he had faced Rasputin, the question being whether he could recognise that it was not real…

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~

As Belle regained consciousness the horror of the situation all sank in, Belle looking down from the alter from behind a figure that she paid no mind too upon hearing yelling. Before her, Liz, Hellboy, and Abe were all held hostage. Liz was sat on the floor, chains binding her hands as she tried to wake Abe, her attire being only black silk pyjamas, her expression panicked while Hellboy fought with his own restraints, yelling profanities and struggling until Kroenen came to Liz and held a blade to her throat. 'I suggest you calm yourself if you intend for your precious lover to live,' a voice said coldly in front of Belle, the girl finally looking up to see Rasputin as the one before her, Ruxandra being stood nearby as she observed; now silently.

'You bastard! When I get out of this thing I will make you wish you'd never been born! If you don't get that murderer out of Liz's face, I swear to God I'll-'

'Silence!' Rasputin suddenly snapped, 'you have a violent temper when provoked Anung Un Rama, but you fail to understand that it is not perhaps your darling Elizabeth that should have your full concern as it stands. After all, were you not ordered to protect this girl?' he remarked, standing aside so that Hellboy and Liz could see Belle looking at them fearfully as she tried to get to her feet and run to them, though Rasputin seized her at the waist and put a dagger to her throat.

'What an interesting turn of events…' he mused, seeing the look of worry that spread across Hellboy's face as Belle tried to control her breathing, her hands grasping at Rasputin's hand in an attempt to keep the blade as much away from her throat as possible. 'You see…when I initially intended to release your true form to the world…I did not consider one important detail…the detail of your ability to reject your destiny…reject your true form. Though each time you face it; it will get harder to come back to the state you are currently in, there is but one that can save you. The opposing figure to the Angel of Death…'

'Let them go…' Belle breathed, Rasputin pausing as he then leant towards her ear, sending a cold shiver down her spine.

'What did you say?'

'Let…them…go,' she repeated forcefully, Rasputin smiling in a twisted manner as he realised the attachment that Belle had to those before her.

'Well this makes it all the more interesting…but what if they did not truly care for you as you did for them?' he remarked… 'What if they knew you could save Anung un Rama when the time came? So they kept you to themselves…allowing you to think you were being protected?'

'Don't listen to that twisted bastard,' Hellboy interrupted, 'he's the reason my father is dead!' he remarked, Belle realising what trouble they were in though he continued to taunt her.

'Why don't you go to your friend Abraham? See if he will awaken for you?' he offered smoothly, Belle running at the very moment she was released and falling down before the unconscious merman.

'Abe? Abe? Please…please wake up!' she stammered, shaking at his arm in the hopes of seeing him awaken… 'What did you do to him?' she gasped, Liz reaching out and taking Belle's hand as she met her friends gaze, tears forming in their eyes.

'He put an enchantment on him or something…Abe thinks he's with Nuala…that it's real…'

'No…no you're wrong…' Belle breathed, shaking her head in disbelief as she felt like her chest was clenching…constricting her from breathing… 'No…please not you…please; not you…' she gasped, putting her arms over him and burying her face in his neck; tears beginning to slip down her face as she struggled against her restraints, Ruxandra grabbing her and dragging her away from him. 'No! No! What have you done?' she yelled out struggling and writhing.

'Ready her for the final stage,' Rasputin remarked plainly, only tuning to Belle to say one last thing. 'His body was so easily susceptible to it…to my challenge…seeing whether he could sleep for eternity in the belief that he had finally been reunited with his lover Nuala, or whether he would remember the truth and wake up. It would seem you were worthless to him after all…' he remarked, Belle feeling the tears slip down her face as Hellboy yelled to her, Kroenen and Ruxandra locking her in shackles that stretched up against two pillars on a sacred ground. The pattern carved into the stones beneath her being of something similar to the zodiac.

'I made a promise to you Abe…' Belle uttered, her hair falling down the sides of her face, though as Rasputin came up to her, he offered his apologies.

'It is a shame it had to be like this…such a pretty girl as you should not have been subjected to death so young…' he remarked, Belle not being able to respond as Liz screamed up at him, her anger provoking her to ignite in flames.

'You merciless coward! You chain us all up so we can't defend ourselves, what man are you? You're nothing!' Though as Rasputin ran a hand along his jawline, Belle was then subjected to a whip being struck into her back, making her scream out in pain.

'Hitting a woman? Could you get any damn lower…? Come here and try it with me,' Hellboy said bitterly, fighting hard against the chains that held him, convinced he could break free. Though it was as he looked up into Belle's eyes to see the tears falling down her face.

'Red, Liz…' she breathed weakly, 'you have to get out of here…never lose hope…' she breathed, looking then to Abe as he lay there, 'I need you…I promised you I would never put you through a loss again…I promised you…and I will keep my word…' she whispered softly, her amethyst eyes looking to him with so much love. Hearing a lever being pulled as she felt a stinging pain form in her hands from where the shackles were, it starting to travel down her arms as she realised she was about to be tortured before the eyes of her friends. Though as Belle held out through the pain, she called upon the help of the only thing she knew could help her…the one power that was the key to setting them free. Yet as she started to mutter to herself, Abe's eyes began to flicker, the pain getting worse for Belle as Rasputin began to utter an incantation.

'Angel of life…Release me…' she breathed. 'Release me…Release me!' she gasped, pain coursing through her body as she began to tremble, trying to refrain from screaming aloud, though it was as if she was sinking back, her body losing consciousness though she fought against it when a soft voice spoke in her mind. You shall not die…I can help you but once…you are the Angel of Life…but this once, I can resume my form…

'For the sake of my friends…please…help me…' though no sooner had the final words left her lips then did Belle scream in agonising pain, her back arched as Hellboy finally broke from his restraints in pure anger, Abe also awakening to Belle's screams.

'No…not Belle…no!' he called out, trying to get to his feet in order to reach her.

But as a light took form from the heart, Belle suddenly felt the pain in her body lessen as she was encased to all that saw her in a sphere of light. As it thinned to look like that of a cocoon, feathers took form slowly as they suddenly spread out wide upon her back as wings, the shackles breaking as the Angel fell to the floor of the sacred temple, shattering the age old alter before them. As everything in the room fell silent, Rasputin and Ruxandra stood back as Belle slowly lifted into the air, rising above them as her wings moved with little sound emitting from them despite the strength within them. Though it was only as she opened her eyes that it became evident all was not as it seemed. For instead of being their rare shade of amethyst, her eyes now shone a pure white, her glance being cast in Abe's direction at hearing the words he breathed.

'The Angel of Life…'

So Belle has released the powers within her, but can she still manage to control them? and how did Abe break free? and just who is the Angel Belle was trapped with? Lots of answers to these questions coming up in the next chapter! I hope you all enjoyed, I will be updating again soon and of course there will be some more romance later down the line..

I hope you all have a good weekend, and as always a big thankyou to my regular reviewers, you're all lovely and I can't thankyou enough! 196 reviews...it simply amazes me really..

Thankyou and Goodnight!

~x-xMasqueradeAngelx-x