Too all my readers; old and new, hello and good morning... As promised here is my next update and not too long since the last! I've been busy working away in all my writing endeavours and trying to get things back on track. So in my pursuit in this I have also finally set up a Tumblr which I intend to use as a blog, so please follow and it will be more of a frequent update on the things I'm working on as well as some of my best inspiration. Link is at the bottom of the chapter.

Enjoy and review! Arigato!

The following morning, Liz found herself nursing a rather ill feeling Hellboy; whilst having already gotten up to feed the twins and ready herself for the day ahead. It had been a very new thing for her to get used too...Liz had been fully prepared for the lack of sleep as it was something she had suffered with long before falling pregnant. With pyrokinesis; she had found herself having continual sleepless nights, fearing the unconscious mind and the way her nightmares brought on her ability in her subconscious, it having so much destructive power...Yet in spite of this, as she gained better control, she also gained back her control over her sleeping patterns...her nightmares became limited as she understood her powers, yet she was afraid every time a nightmare would strike, for fear of what would happen when she shared her bed with her only comfort. Her soul mate...

Though with the new addition of having children in her family, Liz found that whilst it sometimes scared her that she might not be able to protect her children from some of the bigger threats in life, she had also been afraid of any harm she could do to them through her own genetics. Though Liz took comfort in the fact that she knew for certain that she could hold the flames within herself if it meant her children were safe...

As she accidentally slammed the door after taking the trash out that morning, Liz came from her reverie upon hearing a groan in response, following a dull thud as she walked into the living room to find Hellboy with his head face down against the table.

'Sorry...' she remarked sympathetically, rubbing his shoulders in a rhythmic motion as she leant down to kiss his cheek.

'Ugh...it should be illegal to feel this crap when no alcohol was involved...it ain't right...I need a beer to compensate...' he remarked dryly, debating the idea as he massaged his aching temples.

'Well here's your coffee and some aspirin,' Liz said, setting down a large mug. 'It'll help...'

'Yeah, yeah...at this rate I'll need the damn box,' he sighed, swallowing down the tablets in one go and taking a large swig of his coffee as Abe walked in.

'Good morning...' Abe remarked lightly.

'Ain't nothin' good about it when ya feel like someone's slamming ya head into a brick wall.'

'Well I believe the term "good morning" was simply a polite term that originated-'

'Abe, Abe, buddy, I'm gonna stop ya right there before you start with the long words that sound nothing like simple English,' Hellboy said quickly, interrupting Abe as he took another large mouthful of coffee. 'I need some sleep...'

'Red's just feeling a little fragile,' Liz explained quietly.

'Late night?'

'Yeah somethin' like that...' Hellboy answered, 'if ya count only gettin' home an hour ago,'

'Why were you out all night?' Abe asked, suddenly wondering if he should pose such a question, glancing to Liz as if to see whether an argument had been the cause. Though what he didn't expect was the answer he got.

'Going to California to check on Belle seen as you ain't man enough to do it yourself...'

'Belle?' he breathed in disbelief, his gills expanding as he looked from one to the other before searching Hellboy's thoughts, though not without going unnoticed.

'Hey, what did I tell ya about the whole mind-reading thing?'

'Red...' Abe implored, 'I had to know...this is serious...you saw her?'

'Yeah, I saw her...'

'So...what did she say?'

'Well first she asked me what I was doin' there...I was debating saying I was going to Disney world, but I didn't think she'd buy it. What do you think she said?' he returned sarcastically, before rummaging in his coat pocket looking for his cigars and a lighter.

'Red please, this is serious,'

'Yeah...what do ya want me to tell ya? She's findin' it hard as it is without havin' to worry about whether you still care about her enough for anything to come of the pair of ya. Bu it was me that travelled to the state of frickin' California to see her and do what you should've done weeks ago,' Hellboy replied. Though it was in that moment that as the phone rang intermittently, followed by a string of black cars driving through the gates...though regrettably the news they were about to hear, was something they all feared and anticipated...

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

'So; what do you think should be the next course of action?'

As Ruxandra stood on a cold hill top, overlooking Connecticut from a distance, Rasputin was close beside her, though he did not pass her a glance. His eyes were shielded behind darkened glass that was set in the frame of his glasses, his body shrouded by a black over coat that fell to the floor, his pale features only magnifying the resentment and hatred that burned from deep within his soulless body.

'Make it known to the Angel that she cannot run. The apocalypse will happen and she must be powerless to stop it. Therefore we shall ensure that she is lured out...they cannot keep her safe if she is not willing to allow others to die for her protection.'

'Shall I initiate the attack?'

'No.'

'But you can't seriously-'

'I said, no,' he interrupted, his voice harsh and his tone ice cold. Though as he took care to compose himself, he then continued. 'Kroenen shall take the lead.'

'...and Raphael?'

'He is a...tortured soul...who needs saving from his misdeeds. But with enough work, he can be set on the right path...to do the work of a true God,' Rasputin continued, Ruxandra casting her eyes downward as she tried to settle her over-active thoughts. Though upon noting Rasputin's slightest movement, her head lifted, her other senses acute as her body went rigid at feeling his icy fingertips trail the side of her arm.

'You doubt me?' he questioned,

'No,' she responded firmly, looking at him with a hard gaze.

'Good,' he responded in a calm tone, 'because I wouldn't want to have to put you back in your place...not after everything I've given you...you wouldn't be unappreciative would you?'

'...no...' she repeated, holding her nerve in the best way she knew how, by trying to shut off her emotions...that was how she had always coped with the pain. It was the only way she could be strong...by being cold and never letting her true emotions reveal her.

'Then we are clear; though if you fail me...' Rasputin continued, a blade appearing from beneath his thin skeletal hands as Ruxandra manoeuvred from beneath him, a daggers blade pointed in his direction faster than he could breathe another word.

'You may have knowledge of the dark elements of this world and have surrendered your soul to a dark God, but do not underestimate nor patronise my skill,' she remarked with a sharp tongue. 'I have been loyal to you...you would do well to remember that, after all...as soon as you get your beloved Ilsa back, you'll have no use for me. I'm just a pawn in a game to you. Disposable. At least that's how you perceive me to be...but believe me; I will not be used like one.'

As Rasputin watched her carefully for a moment, he then lowered his blade as she withdrew hers, Ruxandra departing in that moment, confident in her stature but all the while cautious. Her senses continuing to heighten as she walked away, her heart beating hard against her chest, knowing that she did not trust the man who had virtually imprisoned her, binding her to him and all because of one thing...

Though as the dark figure watched the troubled young woman walk away, her powers whisking her away into the atmosphere, a cold, callous smile, slowly begin to form upon his scarred features.

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

Back in California, as Belle readied herself for the morning ahead, she was surprised to hear a light tapping on the door at such an early hour. Though as she lightly brushed her hair over her shoulders and called for them to come in, her ever alert dog leapt lightly off the chair he had been lay out on. Yet as Belle turned to greet whoever was before her, it dawned on her that this was the moment she would be taking her first step into the unknown. Her future...

'I thought I heard you...' Kath smiled, Belle nodding as she gestured to Chance who had gone to nuzzle Kath's hand in greeting.

'He likes to be walked early and Connecticut is much colder at this time of you. So the weather is much brighter,' she responded, Kath coming down to Chance's level and ruffling his fur when she then saw the half-packed suitcases on the bed as Belle continued.

'You were right...I thought I was doing what was best by taking myself away from the problems, because the very people I was close too were only getting hurt. But wherever I go, this isn't going to go away...not unless I stop it. So I have to go back...because I have to face what it is I'm up against...and I'm determined to be ready for it...' she remarked, though there was noticeable fear in her eyes. Yet as Kath put a hand on Belle's shoulder, the clairvoyant looked back to her Aunt who was watching her with a serious expression.

'Don't go doing this on your own...' she remarked, Belle mulling over the remark before letting out a laugh, her Aunt looking at her in some confusion as Belle shook her head.

'Believe me, that much I can promise you...I wouldn't be allowed to go this journey alone...even if I tried,' she smiled, though as she gazed out of the window, it was in that moment that she realised something she had to do. Something she had to set right.

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

Meanwhile at the Connecticut Bureau; Hellboy was about ready to put a hole through a wall of the room he was being confined in. Or use Manning...anything to vent out his frustration since being collected from their home with Liz and the twin's in tow after the pyrokinetic was left with no choice but to accompany them. Though what they didn't realise until their arrival, was that Liz was at the target of the questioning that was to follow in a meeting which felt more like an interrogation to the tired mother of two.

There had been a considerable number of spontaneous fires, with no trace of any accelerant or other means with which a fire could have been started. So with the files passing from office to office, they finally arrived in the hands of Tom Manning. Though with the possibility of another potentially dangerous pyrokinetic on their hands, Agent Manning was determined to get answers from the closest connection they had. Liz Sherman.

'Look, I don't know what you expect me to tell you. I don't know, okay?'

'Liz, I know you don't think much of me; but quite frankly I don't care,' Manning stated plainly, walking around the table they were all sat at. 'I don't care; because I am the only one who has worked hard to keep this place under control for the last god knows how many years.'

'Well maybe if you've got someone like me around, maybe you'll learn how to better treat this one. I wasn't in and out of this place thirteen times just for fun,' Liz snapped in an irritable manner. 'But that's just you all over isn't it? You think it's okay to impose on someone's life just because they're different and force them to do your dirty work because the FBI are too afraid to admit that they can't handle whatever has been thrown at them because they are too afraid to understand freaks like us. So you think it's better to keep us all on a leash than understand us. Well I don't care what you need, okay? If you have a problem on your hands, then you deal with it. I'm a mom now and you know what? I'm not going to just sit here, whilst my babies are in the care of one of your agents, who, to be quite honest are probably just as bad as you and are under your orders to watch them for any behaviour you deem as abnormal. Well I'm telling you now, if you so much as come near them, I swear you'll severely regret it.'

Looking at Manning with a burning anger in her dark eyes, Liz stood from the table and walked straight from the room, Hellboy looking slightly astounded by his other half's revelations. It was rare for Liz to have any kind of outburst, especially as of late...Yet as the men all remained but silent in the room, Hellboy was still the first to speak after the door slammed shut.

'Yeah...what she said.'

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

It was late that night before Belle set off from her Uncle and Aunt's home, and whilst they had wanted her to have an escort see her back to Connecticut, she refused.

'Honestly, you worry too much,' Belle smiled, 'I can take care of myself, besides, I have Chance for company,' she offered, her Samoyed ever loyal by her side.

'Well take care of yourself Belle...remember everything I taught you and you'll be fine...' Adam said pulling her into a tight hug, Belle nodding as he handed her a package, telling her to open it when she really needed it, Belle having no time to question it as Kath drew her into another embrace before it was encouraged that Belle depart. As it was so late at night, everyone had been certain it would be much safer...though the trouble wasn't beginning in California, despite the eyes in the night watching them...the real problems, were starting where it all began...Connecticut...

So, what's going to happen when Belle returns? & does Liz know more than she's letting on? More to come in the next chapter...

My tumblr link is below and my first blog is to come soon! Check it out and expect an update to this very soon!

~x-xMasqueradeAngelx-x

"http : / xmasqueradeangelx . tumblr .com /" (minus the spaces)