~God's Memory~

"She's so beautiful," I said. I wanted to reach down and touch her, but I was too afraid. I withdrew my hand. She seemed so delicate, and I assumed that my large hands would break her.

"She's your daughter too. You don't have to worry like that," she said. I looked at her and her smile shone in her eyes. She was proud and rightly so.

"Hello, little one," I said quietly. I gently touched her cheek. She giggled and grabbed at my fingers. I couldn't help but smile. Here was the woman I loved most in the world and we'd just created the most amazing thing. I had a daughter now. I was a father.

"I decided we should name her Grace." I looked at Venus. Her clear eyes and flowing hair weren't any less beautiful than they always were. I melted when she smiled at the name.

I nodded, "That's perfect."

Venus sighed, "It's a shame she'll have to live such a life. Many hardships await her. I worry."

"It is to be expected, though. We knew this would happen," I said calmly. I gazed down at my daughter.

"I want her to be happy, though. I want her to live normal life for as long as she can," Venus said.

I looked up immediately, "You know that can't last forever. It will have to end sometime or another."

Venus looked pained, "I know, but I still want it for her. Will you promise me? Promise me you won't expect anything from her until she gets older?"

I took a deep breath, held it, and then released it, "I promise."

~Grace~

"Calm down, Grace. You know I would never hurt you," he hissed into my ear. I continued to struggle against him. I didn't want to go back to Satan. I didn't want to have to go through that pain again. Most of all, though, I didn't want to hurt Rin again.

"Grace I need you to stop struggling!" Jude insisted.

"I won't! I won't stop fighting you! Not ever!" I shouted.

Jude's grip tightened on my arm and he slammed me against the stone wall. My head smacked against the stones and I was momentarily stunned into silence.

"I'm trying to help you. We need to move quickly if we want to get out of here," he whispered into my ear. I blinked a few times and tried to process the meaning of his words.

"Help me?"

"Yes, Grace. I want to help you. Please, stop fighting me."

"Aren't you taking me to your father."

"I thought you figured this out," he said quietly and strangely affectionately, "I'm not all too fond of my father. However, I consider you my friend. I like to help my friends. You'll let me help you, Grace?"
I slowly nodded, "Thank you."

He smiled and held my arm, guiding me through a labyrinth of hallways, "If someone sees us, pretend like I'm taking you to see my father. I'll have to make it seem real."

"Oh. Is that why you were so mean to me earlier?" I asked.

"Yes. Now hurry." He continued to lead me down a series of twists and turns. I'd completely lost track of where we were and where we were going. I was glad Jude was here with me. If he hadn't been I definitely would have gotten lost. I tripped on my own feet twice, but Jude caught me both times. After what seemed like hours but must really have been only a few minutes, Jude froze in his tracks. I looked up at him and he didn't return the stare. His dark hair mostly hid his eyes, but I could tell that there was fear in them. I followed his gaze.

"Well, what have we here?" inquired a voice. Standing only a few feet in front of us was none other than Scarlet. Her red hair fell over one eye in an elegant manner and she had her arms crossed over her chest.

"Scarlet, get out of my way," Jude said, "I have business to attend to."

"Business, huh?" she said. She strode towards us and looked into Jude's eyes, "What sort of business?"

"I'm taking her to see my father. He seems to trust me more recently. I suppose that's because of you," Jude said. I looked to Scarlet.

"That's funny, because last I talked to My Lord he said that you weren't to be trusted because you were still too weak," she said.

Jude froze. He didn't say anything. "You're trying to help her escape again, aren't you?"

"Scarlet, you have to understand—"

"Are you in love with her?" Scarlet demanded. Jude's eyes went wide. He released my arm immediately.

"No! She's my friend!" Jude insisted.

Scarlet seemed satisfied with that answer. She stepped forward and, in a quick yet gentle motion, kissed Jude. I stared and then awkwardly looked away. When I looked back, they were still kissing. I cleared my throat. "Lucky for you, I don't have any specific orders to keep her here," Scarlet said.

I looked back and saw that Jude was staring at Scarlet. His face was bright red, almost as red as her hair. I couldn't help but smile. I knew it. I liked being right.

"You're going to let us go?" I asked.

Scarlet looked to me, "I don't know what you're talking about." She detached herself from Jude and slowly walked away, "Goodbye, you two."

"Wait!" Jude called out. He reached forward and grasped her wrist. He pulled her against him, "Come with us. You don't have to stay here. I want you to come."

She smiled and put a hand on the side of his face. Her eyes softened, "I know I don't have to stay here. I choose to. I don't fit in anywhere else."

"You fit in with me," Jude said.

Scarlet laughed, "You're so dumb. Well, I guess that's why I fell in love with you." Jude's eyes went wide and his face turned red again. Scarlet kissed him one last time before she disappeared into the darkness. Jude stared after her and I gently put a hand on his shoulder.

"We have to go. You'll see her again," was all I said. It was enough to get him moving again. He took my hand and we ran into the darkness.

"We need to get outside and then I can get us out of here," said Jude. I smiled.

"I miss the sunlight," I said under my breath.

"What was that?" he asked.

"Nothing. Just…thank you."

I'll see you soon, Rin.

~Rin~

"We've got a few days before your dad gets back. What does he expect us to do for that long?" I asked.

"How about plan our strategy," Mikael said. I looked at him. He was laid back on the couch and had his eyes closed. His stupidly perfect face was annoying me again.

"That's already done, though. Remember? It was my genius plan, after all," I said. I folded my arms behind me head and arched my back. I sighed and looked out the window. The sun was high today. The leaves on the giant oak tree outside my window blew in the breeze. I stared at the base of it and imagined Grace. I could almost see her white hair flying in the wind as she playfully peeked out from behind the tree. She would smile and we, wave, and then retreat behind the tree again. She would be carefree. She wouldn't have that awful expression on her face: the one that showed fear. She wouldn't have black wings. She'd just be Grace. That would be enough for me.

I didn't care about her power. I didn't care about the fact that she was born from God and the immortal Venus. None of that mattered to me. All that mattered to me was Grace. I was prepared to do anything to get her back, and that was just what I intended to do. My plan was crazy, but then again so was I. It seemed like something that Grace would appreciate. Most of what I could think about was saving Grace. The rest was about kicking Satan's ass.

"You space out a lot. Did you know that?" Mikael said. His eyes were open now and he was staring at me.

"I didn't used to," I grumbled.

"Is it because you miss her?" Mikael asked.

I glared at him, "It's none of your business."

"Yes it is. Grace is my sister. I care about her too."

"It's different."

"I know, but I still worry. I still think about her all the time. I still can't stop hoping and praying that she's safe."

I rested my head on my palm, "I doubt you care, but…sometimes I feel like…"

I stayed silent, wondering if I should really tell him this. "Feel like?" Mikael asked.

I sighed yet again, "…like if I had been stronger, if I had tried harder, maybe I would have been able to save her, to keep her safe and away from all the pain she's been through."

"You didn't cause that pain, Rin."

"Of course I didn't, but I can't help but blame myself."

Mikael closed his eyes again and leaned back on the couch, "Think about it this way: you're probably all she thinks about. You're probably what gets her through that same pain. Don't beat yourself up over this. She wouldn't want that."

I hadn't been expecting that, but I guess he was right. I hated to admit it, but I felt a little grateful.

~Grace~

"What is that?" I demanded.

"I don't know," Jude said, "My father doesn't trust me with anything."

"It looks like some sort of machine, except not," I said in wonder. I stepped towards it. "That's so gross." The thing stood alone in the middle of an otherwise empty room. I was huge. It was mostly made of metal, but parts of it had some sort of organic matter creeping alone its sides. It looked almost like a gun, except the 'barrel' as you might call it seemed to be more cone-shaped. The sides of it were what really scared me…it looked like it was breathing.

"Grace, you shouldn't go near it," Jude warned, "You never know what it might do."

"I feel like this is important, though. I want to find out what it is," I said. I stepped closer to it. I was practically underneath of it now. It loomed over me and I realized that it actually was breathing. A breath of hot air sent my hair into disarray. I couldn't stop myself from reaching forward.

"Grace, don't touch it!" Jude yelled. He started towards me, but he was too late. My fingers slid along the slimy and strangely warm surface of the thing. To my surprise and horror, the meaty parts of it wrapped around my arm and started to pull me in. "Grace!" Jude yelled. He grabbed onto my other arm. I couldn't help but freak out. I mean, a giant, breathing, living machine was trying to eat me. Who wouldn't freak out, right?

Jude and I pulled with all our strength, but it didn't do any good. I was being pulled in farther. I finally decided I'd had enough. I extended my hand and a sharp blade appeared in my hand. I slashed out at the thing and my sword cut right through it. Jude and I fell backwards and the thing retreated, hissing.

"Are you ok?" Jude asked. We were both breathing heavily. I did a quick once-over to make sure everything was intact. Yep, I still had all my appendages.

"Mentally, no. Physically, yes," I replied. I got to my feet alongside Jude.

"Good, then let's go," he said. We hurried away. My arm felt strange. It felt weirdly numb. I assumed it was because I'd lost circulation. It was the most likely possibility.

"Here," Jude said. He reached for a door and swung it wide open. I was met with a hot blast of wind in my face. I breathed in the air, hoping that it would be fresh. I was disappointed when it was even harder to breath than it had been indoors. This was the air of Gehenna, though. I was seriously looking forward to some good ol' Assiah air.

"We made it," Jude said happily. I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't having a stupid dream again. I didn't want to repeat that experience.

"Damn straight we did!" I cheered. Now, time to get home.

Yeah, that was intentionally creepy. Sorry! I did it again! I was late updating! You may be a bit, (or a lot), confusing right now, but that's completely understandable. Don't freak out! You'll find out more soon. Leave a review if you want and thanks for reading.