Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to Chapter 47 of Hellboy III – the Angels of Life and Death.

In light of this new chapter, I have also recently updated my profile, but will do so again tomorrow in order to explain a few things that I don't wish to weigh down this chapter with as an opening.

I apologise for the delay in updating to all my faithful reviewers, but it shall all be explained in due course – thank you to one of my best friends Angel Protectress who keeps pushing me to not let go of something so well established! Without your added support I don't think I'd find this as easy by any stretch of the imagination!

Please enjoy and review, thank you!

'Report,' a disgruntled Rasputin uttered, his voice dark and husky as he looked between Ruxandra and Kroenen, the dark magic wielder knowing that it was directed to her over Rasputin's right hand man. Gregory Rasputin held a lot of respect for Karl Ruprecht Kroenen, as his visions for perfection in himself fitted impeccably with Rasputin's visions of a perfect world. Ruxandra sometimes wondered if he ever feared Kroenen; seeing how his obsessions led him to self-mutilation and torture. All in a vain attempt at seeking to create the perfect body…But behind the mechanics and the gas mask that filtered out germs and bacteria in the air, was a weak and fragile body that was far from immune to the outside world it was shielded from.

He was a clockwork ticking bag of saw dust and while Ruxandra thought of him with derision and contempt, she had dared not to challenge him. He was fast; with stealth and precision in his technique…she could not deny, his swordsmanship was impressive, but she had often considered how he would fair against her magic. Though under her circumstances, she could never elaborate on such a thing. He was a hollow man, devoid of life. But he was also Rasputin's right hand man, and the wrath of Rasputin was one that made her go cold to even consider.

Ruxandra was not so valued for who she was as a person. But her unique skill set. The traits that Rasputin coveted and somewhat admired, thus resulting in his sparing her life and granting her a new path. He was her protector and her saviour, but also her master. Her captor.

'It would appear, the angel returned without fear of doing so. But she was…evasive.'

'Was she alone?'

'It would seem so. She was careful to avoid detection.'

'No amount of care will allow her to disappear. At least, nothing that she is aware she can do. This time, she will bear witness to Anung Un Rama's rising and she will be helpless to do anything about it. The pathetic God's that this world worships will be abolished in favour of the true God's. The God's that don't get the recognition they deserve. We shall release the Ogdru Jahad.'

'You realise the girl will have some suspicion, you already have an angel in your possession and she was put in a cell with him. Or don't would you prefer for me to act like you're not underestimating them-'

'It is an Archangel. I underestimate nothing and you should learn when to hold your tongue,' Rasputin responded, his voice ice cold.

'Just don't be surprised if she figures out your intentions.'

Meeting Rasputin's stare, a smile formed upon his pale features as he rose from his seat.

'Kroenen; sie sind entlassen,' he uttered, dismissing the mechanical bodied man in his native language before turning to the fiery sorceress.

'Ruxandra; if you would accompany me to my chambers,' he requested, Ruxandra considering it an option as she walked wordlessly alongside him. However, beneath it all... She knew how strong his hold was becoming; it was dangerous. Drawing her in when he wanted her close…and when he didn't, she was at arm's length, never able to break free…but forever fighting against the restraints. As he lured her into the depths of his chambers, Ruxandra found herself at his bidding once more, his lustful eyes studying her with hunger and a fire that she dared not argue with. Feeling his almost skeletal hand wrap around her waist, another held her face in a vice grip, his eyes locking with hers before he leant her face away from him to whisper in her ear.

'You will learn from your disobedience…'

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Walking outside into the cool morning; Belle was greeted by Dale who leant casually against his bike. Smiling at him, she could tell just how much pride he took in his motorcycle. The Ducati 1198S stood firmly behind him, the gloss black bodywork gleaming in the little sunlight that was visible.

She could remember the day that he had gotten the bike, after saving for so many years and with a little help from his Dad, he had arrived outside her doorway upon it, a beaming smile from ear to ear as he dismounted it for the first time. It was like seeing a child on Christmas morning, elated to find a pile of Christmas presents left by Santa Claus. The sheer recollection of the memory made Belle smile with fondness as she descended the steps. Wearing a skirt that came to a couple of inches above the knee in a vibrant shade of pink tartan, she combined it with a black turtle neck ribbed jumper and black tights, her knee high suede boots being laced up from the ankle in a shade of soft brown.

Standing straight at the sight of her, Dale pulled her into a one armed hug and offered her a smile before giving her a hand in mounting the bike.

'Is everything alright?' she queried, studying his expression as he got on in front of her.

'Yeah…I'm fine. You might wanna hold on,' he commented, Belle noticing his change in mood as he started up the engine. Hearing the powerful roar as it came to life, Belle slipped her arms around his leather-clad waist and held on tightly. Burying her face into his back, she felt the smooth glide as they sped off down the lanes. It was a welcome feeling, refreshing and in that moment, she forgot the troubles that had only just begun to trouble her.

Riding to the car dealership where Belle was due to pick up her new car; she noted the way that Dale seemed to tense with her arms wrapped around him. Even a curious glimpse into his thoughts showed Belle his determination to conceal his concerns from her. Feeling taken aback; Belle settled herself to resting her head on his back, Dale easing up a little as they rode towards the Hoffman Audi dealership in the heart of Connecticut.

Reaching the lot, Belle looked up as Dale swerved onto the lot. Seeing the lines of beautiful cars lined up from every range that Audi proudly displayed, Belle brushed her hair back, her fingers making easy work of the tangles that had accumulated during the ride as the engine died out. Watching Dale push out the kickstand as he eased the bike to one side, he and Belle dismounted.

'Okay?' he asked, observing Belle's expression as she smoothed her look of concern with a smile.

'Of course,' she nodded, putting a hand on his forearm as she brushed past him and approached the dignified man who awaited them.

'Miss. Lucivia…Always a pleasure,' he remarked courteously, his experienced features emphasised by the silver tones that had begun to run through his otherwise dark locks. Wearing a slim-fit black suit with a white shirt and a black tie, Belle knew she was in more than capable hands.

'Phillip,' she nodded with a smile.

'If you will follow me; please,' he gestured, 'I have to admit, I have never seen an order processed so quickly, it would seem you were very influential, if you don't mind my saying so.'

'Not at all,' Belle offered, flashing him a bright smile. 'I have been told that I have an acquired taste, expensive…but this is undoubtedly my dream car.'

'Well we take great pride in our vehicles and I can assure you, every detail has been taken care of.'

Walking into a showroom that was void of customers, Belle and Dale noted the few sales reps that were at their respective desks, only a couple venturing more than a single glance at them.

'I trust your father is well?'

'Yes, he is,' Belle nodded, seeing the red velvet cover that shielded her car from view amidst the other showroom models.

'We moved it from the impound this morning, we prefer all of our custom orders to be kept there so that customers do not accidentally scratch or cause any form of damage to new vehicles.'

'At these prices; you'd hope so,' Dale remarked, Belle glancing to him in surprise at his off-handed expression. Although Phillip hardly seemed to acknowledge it as they came to a stop, watching the senior salesman step forward and place two hands on the cover.

Miss. Lucivia, your new car…'

With one smooth sweep, the velvet cover was removed and in its place was the gleaming white surface that embodied Belle's brand new car. Her smile broadened. Walking forwards, she ran delicate fingertips over the smooth bodywork; her amethyst eyes glittering with excitement as she looked over it with satisfaction. Muttering words of awe; Dale watched on from nearby, open-mouthed at the sheer brilliance of the car before them. It was fast, it was beautiful and it was powerful.

It was Belle.

'I am certain you know the specifications quite well,' Phillip remarked, breaking the silence in the room, 'but I shall make a short run of them for you; the Audi R8 Spyder 5.2 litre engine in Ibis white with 19 inch design alloy wheels in a high gloss finish as requested. The interior is fine nappa leather in diamond black as requested and well…I'm sure you know the rest of the details.'

'Yes, thank you,' she smiled.

'I assume you would like to take her for a test drive; but I am afraid there are a couple more forms for you to sign. While we do that one of my colleagues will take her out onto the lot for you and then we will bring you the keys.'

While it didn't take long for Phillip to finalise the paperwork with Belle, she couldn't help but be aware of Dale and his unusual attitude as everything was processed. Yet it was only as they departed the dealership and Belle made her way towards the Audi that she realised she was being closely followed, the pair being out of view from the salesmen inside the building.

Feeling the warming presence behind her; Belle turned to find Dale inches from her, his palms resting on the hood of the car behind her. She was contained. Unable to move from her position; Belle's heart began to pound hard and fast in contrast to her very still breath.

'How long are you going to pretend like nothing has happened Belle?' he questioned, his eyes strained, desperately searching her face for answers.

'How do you pretend like everything is okay when you nearly died a few weeks ago?'

'Dale…'

'You've been slowly disappearing from the lives of everyone who cares about you since Christmas.'

'Dale, I-'

'No Belle, you don't understand what its like. Watching someone you care about put on that brave face in the blind hope of fooling the people closest to you. I have spent months watching you become a shadow, a memory and for what? My safety?'

'You have to see this from my perspective Dale,' Belle cut in, he eyes appealing to him as she ran a hand through her hair.

'I have to protect you…all of you…' she began, Dale taking her face in his hands, his eyes pouring into hers, silencing her argument.

'So where do you fit into all this Belle? Where does it stop with everyone else's safety and begin with you?'

'When I know you're all safe,' she answered honestly, feeling the emotional pain radiating from him as he closed his eyes for a moment.

'You'd allow yourself to die if it meant saving any one of us, wouldn't you?'

'Hellboy, Abe and Liz are there to protect me, just as I am here to protect you,' she responded, Dale averting her gaze as her expression softened.

'I made a promise Dale, a promise that I would live, for Abe…and I will live for you as well. I will fight until my last breath and then I will fight for another. Dale…I understand,' she uttered softly, taking his hands and holding them reassuringly.

'I know that I have been distant and I'm sorry. But I have found it so hard to accept my future. Who and what I am…it puts me in an inordinate amount of danger. I thought if I ran; if I shut myself off from the people I love…then maybe I could take the danger away from you. But I can't. I can't run. I have to face up to this and so I have to do what I can.'

'Belle,' he sighed, pulling her against his chest, the warmth of his embrace welcoming her.

'Please…Don't speak…just listen. I want to protect you Belle. I may not be as strong as Hellboy or as skilled or intelligent as Abe. But I've been your friend since we were just kids. I care about you Belle; I'd give my life for you because…because I love you. I don't expect you to reciprocate my feelings and I'm not telling you to make you feel like you have to respond. I'm telling you because you need to understand why I have to play my part in keeping you safe. Whatever happens Belle; I'll be right behind you. No matter what the fight or the cost.'

Putting her hands on his back, Belle gripped his jacket tightly with her hands, words failing her as it all fell into place. He had hidden his feelings from her for months, perhaps years…and now here they were, out in the open. But most of all she understood. From the pain of constantly wondering whether she and Abe could ever be together, she now realised that someone else had gone through that same long endurance. Wishing, wanting, rejecting the things they had both desired…only to have two very different outcomes. Feeling the tears welling up in her eyes, Belle swallowed hard and closed them, feeling each droplet slip down the silk of her cheek as she clutched him tightly. It was all that she could give him, and it was everything that Dale held onto…

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Arriving home alone, Belle had revelled in the beauty and power that her new car held, it's prowess unmatched in comparison to her Mercedes. But it provided her with little distraction from the feelings she had felt wash over her. Being wrapped in Dale's arms had left her susceptible to everything that he felt. His emotions had overwhelmed her. Reality, however, soon came to her as she entered her driveway to find the familiar black Chevrolet suburban parked outside. Pulling up alongside it, Belle placed the car into neutral before getting out and glancing up to the windows where she could see Manning striding to and fro.

Hellboy was not going to be in a good mood.

Joining the briefing that was taking place in the living room, Belle was greeted by those present in the room, Abe observing Belle's expressions as she sat beside him and placed a hand gently on his knee, an action which he responded too with a hand placed upon hers, gloved, yet soothing. Allowing him to see into her mind, Abe's hand entwined with hers, comforting her with gentle thoughts. Dale had never been quite as careful with his thoughts of Belle around Abe, but he still found himself in disbelief that Belle's feelings had drawn her to Abe over her long time friend. Her desires to be curled up with him away from prying eyes, were welcome sights that he saw in her mind as the pair finally drifted from their version of a conversation.

'We are dealing with a series of suspicious fires and we have reason to believe that a pyrokinetic is causing them,' Manning continued, catching Belle up on the information that had already been provided to the others.

'How can you be sure?' Belle questioned, looking between Liz and Agent Manning as he pulled out a number of files from his briefcase.

'As you may be well aware; when a fire is started intentionally or even accidentally, the fire brigade can determine the point of origin from one of many factors when investigating in the aftermath. But under…selective circumstances, no point of origin or cause is ever discovered.'

'He basically means when someone like me loses control, you could set a massive radius around you on fire, with nothing to trace except the girl who doesn't burn to death, despite the fact she's engulfed in flames.' Choosing to overlook Liz's clearly acidic tone; Manning placed a collection of crime scene photos for Hellboy, Belle and Abe to look over.

'There are all of the photo's that have been gathered from each of the past three incidents. We obtained them from local police officials under the ruse of searching for a serial arsonist that we have been tracing across three different states. There on the other hand-' he added, gesturing to the other photo's he placed before them, 'are photos from the various incidents that occurred before and after Liz came to the BPRD.'

Looking over them with unease, Belle felt as though she were prying into private memories that Liz would rather keep in her past. In their line of work it seemed that privacy was a luxury they were not permitted to have.

'Yeah, so what's your point? You can't use anything here to predict what this person is targeting specifically. So how can we catch the guy?'

'You will be on twenty-four hour duty until we apprehend the culprit. It is imperative that we put a stop to this before it gets out of hand,' Manning remarked darkly. Exchanging a glance with Abe, Belle could sense his equal uncertainty about what they were looking into. But with Manning present they were unable to discuss it further, Hellboy's argument going unheard by the clairvoyant as she squeezed Abe's hand gently, his unwavering support being a pillar of strength that Belle was forever grateful to have…

Unbeknown to the others, Liz sat quietly, listening to the words without absorbing them, her eyes clouded over as she replayed the nightmares in her head. The screams; the fire, the pain…something was happening inside her, she knew that she weren't experiencing merely bad dreams. Even as she glanced to her hands, she could feel the familiar sensation that haunted her…loss of all control…

Before I go as it's nearly 3am, I just have to say thank you so much to everyone who has stuck it out with this story. Those who have been with me since the start and those who are newcomers (welcome!)

With regards to updates; once again I am hoping to get back into weekly updates. I am actually going to begin a new chapter as soon as this one is uploaded. So with some extra time I should be updating again relatively soon.

I also must acknowledge "Ghost of a Chance" as they were a guest reviewer. Thank you for your extensive review and constructive feedback. With regards to the proof reading; as you may have noticed, a lot of my chapters up until around 39 were all generally finished at very late hours of the night such as 2/3am in the morning. So as such when a chapter is finished, I do miss things occasionally when scanning over it before updating. But unlike my novels where I do have someone read over each chapter for me to highlight any grammatical or spelling errors, I don't require a beta-reader to look over my work. Yes I am a British writer; so I'm aware that certain spellings and terms of phrase etc. may be slightly different to American spellings etc. but I have had no complaints from anyone not being able to understand what I've written. I appreciate the feedback, but as for the extra proof-reading, if there is an issue, I have a reviewer who is also a close friend who does flag up anything I may have missed. Please do appreciate though that I am running my own business; trying to make my way into the world of published authors and am thus writing two novels on the side of my Fanfiction work. So I do tend to be working on Fanfiction chapters late into the night. You must also appreciate that when this Fanfiction was started I was only eighteen years old. I am constantly becoming more skilled as a writer and in three years, there will have been errors in old chapters that I am not even aware of now. But when I have more time I will go back and sift through them one by one. Thank you for your review and I hope you continue to enjoy my work.

Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for reading, reviewing and supporting my work, it is my absolute pleasure to be writing for such fantastic and creatively minded readers.

Goodnight!

~x-xMasqueradeAngelx-x