Angel had enjoyed the trolley of food that Hellboy had ordered from the kitchen. She had never seen so much food at once. Eggs in so many different formats such as omelets, poached, and scrambled. There were waffles with assorted fruits and syrups. Hellboy had what he called Pamcakes, which had made her giggle since she knew the right word for it. She took her time choosing what she wanted, which wasn't much really.

"Are you sure you're just satisfied with just that?" Hellboy asked as he looked at her plate.

She looked down at her own plate and nodded. One egg with an assortment of strawberries and blueberries filled her plate. "I don't really eat a lot. My father always made sure I didn't eat too much. I guess that kind of became a habit," she explained.

"If you're sure," Hellboy said. "But don't starve yourself because that's what you're used to. If you're hungry…have at it."

Angel nodded and began to eat her food while Hellboy dived into his pancakes slathered with syrup. Hellboy ate much more than Angel, based on his body's needs. It's really what fueled his body and helped him be strong.

Strong in all the right places

Angel's thoughts made her blush, and she hid it by ducking and eating her egg. She was thankful that Hellboy was too busy eating to even notice what she might be thinking. When she finished her dish, satisfied, she watched Hellboy inhale more food she could ever thought possible. Soon all that was left on the trolley was a few waffles. By the time he finished with his food, Angel was staring with wide eyes. Hellboy looked up as he wiped his mouth and once he noticed her looking, he became embarrassed. It had been a while since someone had seen how he ate.

He cleared his throat, "Ahem…sorry. I was hungry."

Angel gave him a smile. It didn't really bother her as much as he'd thought. "How often do you eat like that?" She asked curiously.

Hellboy stood up to clean his mess, "Three times a day, like most people. But I'm not like most people anyways."

Angle stood up to help him clean, "I'm not like most people either."

Hellboy looked at her with a smile and together they cleaned up their messes. They set the dirty dishes on top of the trolley.

"C'mon," Hellboy said as he grabbed the end rail of the trolley. "Let me take you to go meet Abe."

"Abe?"

Hellboy pulled the trolley out of the doorway he had opened and set it in the hallway. Angel followed him out. She saw other agents milling around. Once he set the trolley in its place, he turned to her.

"My friend Abe, the one who found the information about your bracelet," He said as he pulled her hand.

"Oh," Angel said as she followed him. She looked around as they walked through a series of hallways before they stopped at a set of double doors.

Hellboy put his hand on the door and Angel interrupted, "Is he like us?"

Hellboy paused. He looked back at her and nodded his head. "Yeah, he is."

"And he'll tell me what you couldn't tell me?"

Hellboy looked at her. He should've known she would ask that. Since he was a coward to even tell her the full truth. Once the silence went on long enough, Angel took initiative and pushed the door open. Angel brushed past him and went into the library. Hellboy scolded himself for not being able to answer her or having the balls to even answer.

Coward.

Angel ignored Hellboy following behind and looked around. She was amazed at the number of books in the room. Stacked and organized on shelves against the walls. A couch to lounge on. It almost seemed like a dream come true to be able to pick a book and just read. But then a tank of water caught her attention. Angel became confused. She turned to Hellboy.

"Umm?" Angel began to ask.

"Yeah, that's Abe's home."

She turned back to admire the opulent tank. She noted there were three podiums facing the glass with each housing a large tome book. She opened one and her eyes widened at the language in it. Hellboy leaned against the armrest of the couch, watching her peruse through the book. He could hear Abe rummaging around above. He knew Abe heard them below.

Angel closed the book and looked up. "So…where is Abe?"

Just as she asked the question, footsteps began to descend on the metal, winding staircase that she hadn't noticed in the first place. She turned to the sound and words stuck in her throat. When Hellboy had said that he was like them, she wasn't expecting this. Abraham Sapien descended the spiral staircase. He wore black pants and a black shirt. He chose not to wear his neck apparatus as he didn't want to make Angel nervous. Angel watched as he stepped onto the floor and headed to them. Once he met them, Angel spoke.

"Holy…shit…you're blue."

Hellboy snickered and Angel realized she spoke out loud. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment as Abe smiled at her. His wide eyes blinked at her with mirth.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to say that out loud," Angel said as she cupped her hands on her warm cheeks.

"I've gotten worse reactions than this. Trust me, anything you say can't be any worse than what I've heard," Abe said.

"If you're sure…Hellboy said you were like us but…I didn't expect this."

Abe smiled again at her response as he rounded them to his three podiums. He lifted a book before he spoke again.

"Nobody ever expects us to look like this. We've learned to let comments roll off our backs."

Abe picked up another book off the second podium and stacked them on top of each other. Hellboy nudged Angel as Abe passed them to put away the books. Angel looked at him.

"Don't even worry about it. We're used to it," Hellboy said.

Angel nodded in reply. Hellboy turned to Abe.

"So, with that out of the way. Blue… tell her what you told me about her bracelet."

Abe pulled out a book from the large bookshelf and turned to them. If he had eyebrows, one would be raised right now. He set the book down on a table and walked to them. He crossed his arms as he looked at Hellboy pointedly.

"You haven't explained it to her?"

Hellboy's skin took on a deeper red hue as he scratched his head. He shook his head.

"Really?" Abe asked.

"No."

Abe sighed in annoyance. He knew Hellboy very well, that sometimes he can be a thick idiot. He looked at Angel. He brought up his hands.

"May I?" He asked gently as he looked down to her bracelet.

Angel brought her arm up and Abe took it in his hands.

"Your bracelet was made with Dark Magic. HB said that your father had a Dark Priest, right?"

Angel nodded wordlessly.

He continued, "The bracelet is a chain designed to contain your power. To hold it in and if it were to be released, it would cause pain."

"I already knew that. I let it go sometimes to get relief from the itch," Angel said.

Abe nodded, "How long have you ever let it stay out?"

She shrugged as she pulled her arm from Abe's hands. "Just enough to get relief, no more than a minute. It's too much pain to keep it out longer than that. I haven't even tried. What would happen if I did?"

"It'd kill you," Hellboy chimed in. Angel looked at him.

"He's right. It would just burn you up."

Angel looked down at her wrist as Abe continued.

"If Hellboy tried to touch you with his hand, it'll burn you too. Just breaking the bracelet could kill you. It's too powerful."

Angel was silent as she fiddled with the bracelet.

"So…I could die?"

"I can't guarantee it. None of my books mentioned too much about your situation. You could die but you could also live."

Angel looked up at Hellboy, "This is why you didn't want to tell me this? Cause you were too afraid to lose me?"

"Yeah," Hellboy nodded. "You became important."

Important?

She let the word linger in her head.

"You…thick…headed idiot."

Both Hellboy and Abe looked at her in surprise.

"What?" Hellboy asked.

"You fucking bastard. You didn't want to lose me? You were only thinking of yourself," Angel began to rage. "I have been trapped in a cage all my life and the one chance to finally be free, you take that away. I never had a choice Hellboy! You took it."

Hellboy was speechless. He wasn't expecting Angel to rage against him. Angel stepped back from them. She turned away but Hellboy set an arm on hers. She reacted harshly by whipping her arm away and pushing at him, at his chest. It barely moved him, but he stood still.

"Angel," Hellboy said.

"No! No. You don't get to say anything. You destroyed any chance of freedom I had," Angel said, staring into his yellow eyes. "I like you Hellboy, I really do, but…you…".

Angel trailed off, unable to speak anymore. Emotion choking her. She left him behind with Abe as tears welled up in her eyes. Hellboy was still speechless but as he processed what she said, he realized the impact of his actions.

Fuck.