An: Hey all! There is a little CW on this chapter and I don't want to spoil the surprise so if you are worried and need to know, scroll to the bottom I'll post it very obviously. I promise its nothing explicit, just a bit of an emotional ride. For those of you ready to tackle this chapter, read on my friends! I will see you all at the bottom!
The lobby was spacious considering how cramped the rest of the rooms and cubicles they had passed earlier had been. The floors were white tile, the walls also light in colour, like an egg shell or ivory. It made the space feel and look more open and inviting.
The long dark brown reception counter popped in the otherwise bright room. There were a few posters and pictures on the wall, but it was nothing special, stock photos and corporate advertising.
Dolion stood facing the door the three came through looking stoic, though one eyebrow was raised at Alastor who had decided not to bother with the human look, having to duck through the doorway.
Dolion adorned his usual navy suit, shoes polished and hair slicked back. It may have been the lighting but Ellen could swear he looked older, more weathered.
"Well, the troublesome trio have arrived." He took a quick glance at his watch before returning to the three. "And 5 minutes early. No doubt your doing, Alastor. Time appreciation is a thing this era doesn't seem to uphold anymore."
Julie scoffed at the comment and Ellen bit her tongue. She was normally the one to be a stickler about timings, but there was no point correcting Dolion.
Alastor stepped forward, his eyes narrowing slightly with a small indifferent hum. "So what exactly is your plan here?"
He momentarily looked down to his clawed nails. "I believe it's clear this 'exchange' is a ruse so why don't we call this what it is, hmm?"
Dolion took a single pace to his left watching Alastor seemingly satisfied when he followed, a single step to the side to keep the man in front of him.
"Cutting to the chase. I can respect that, you're a man that values your time. Very well." Another step to the side had Alastor mirroring him again, a slow circle starting, both keeping an equal distance between the two, eyes boring into each other.
"I'm not too concerned about my well being. I've done my research," Dolion continued calmly. "You are no threat to me, hardly a concern and that little miss of yours-" His chin jutted to Ellen "- She is a model citizen. Quite smart if her education reports have anything to say about it. Very unlikely I will find my demise by her hands. She is too good for that. Her friend, Julie is it? A bit more of a wild card, terribly loyal, however also unlikely to be my demise. So the better question would be, what is your plan?"
He paused the slow steps, a smug look on his face. "It's clear my well being is safe, what I don't like is the meddling. It seems you won't just leave me be, and I have to wonder if that means I'm onto something here."
Dolion vaguely waved at Alastor's presence. "A simple fix really." He pulled a gun from his pocket casually pointing it to Ellen.
"See I'm not afraid to do what is necessary to make sure I get what I want. Are you?"
Ellen held her breath, but remained still. She knew Alastor would keep both her and Julie safe, but the sight was still unnerving. The two girls continued to watch the slow dance the men made, each step confident with purpose.
"And what exactly is it you want, hmm? Eternal life? Power?"
Dolion chuckled, eyes narrowing slightly at the demon. "Why not both?"
Ellen could hear the lightly mocking tone in Alastor's voice as he responded, "Well I suppose I could assist in that. For a price of course."
Ellen couldn't stop fidgeting with her hands, the nerves getting to her. While everything to this point was meticulously planned, there was only so much they could do. They had no way of knowing what Dolion would do or how he would react.
A loud 'bang' had her flinch. Dolion had moved his aim to Alastor.
The demon just chuckled, taking off his monocle, cleaning it on his sleeve with a relaxed grin stretched across his face. "I do believe I mentioned that I can not be killed, though I suppose I should have known you wouldn't have taken my word."
"Humph. So you are indeed a demon."
Julie snorted, arms crossed her chest, only Ellen could see the slight panic in her eye, though her voice betrayed none of it. "Yeah, a powerful one, so just surrender now and we can cut all this bullshit. It's three against one."
Dolion's gaze flicked to Julie for a moment before taken another step, Alastor still mirroring him.
"Power is a tool-" He waved a dismissive hand. "-used to lead those not smart enough to wield it."
"Power tends to corrupt," Ellen countered, eyes narrowing a bit. "No matter how much you think you have, your demise will still come, Dolion, like to all those before you and all those that try after."
He stopped his steps, an amused smirk pulled across his teeth. "I suppose you really believe you will be the one to do it?"
Ellen's eyes shied away, unable to keep her gaze locked to his. She was supposed to, but she wasn't certain she was ready.
In a blink she was shifted into shadows, moved to the other side of the room as a gunshot echoed out again, Dolion's laugh following it.
It seemed Julie was behind the reception desk, whether she dove there herself or Alastor shoved her, Ellen didn't know. She quickly pulled the gun from her hip, fumbling it for a few seconds before she solidified her grip. She made sure to flip the safety off.
She heard Julie mutter rather loudly that what Dolion did wasn't fair, aiming for the unarmed. He only laughed in response. "My dear, nobody smart, plays fair."
"Alastor plays fair," Ellen mumbled under her breath annoyed. She didn't realize he was still beside her until he let out a pleased hmm. "As a gentleman should."
Before he could see her heated cheeks he slipped back into the shadows. With her eyes locked on Dolion and Alastor she quickly moved to the reception desk with Julie, the only real spot to hide in cover. Dolion was trying to line up another shot, while Alastor was playing defense, blocking and obstructing his view.
"This guy is a grade 'A' asshole."
Ellen just nodded, poking her head around the corner just in time to watch the gun that was in Dolion's hand slide across the floor. She wasn't sure how Alastor had managed to knock it from his grip, but in the end it didn't really matter. It seemed it was now or never.
She stood quickly, arms out across the top of the desk, pointed at Dolion, who upon seeing her, froze in place, eyes watching her. The gun shook in her hands. She had him in her sights. All she had to do was pull the trigger, easy. She could do this, that was the plan. He raised his hands in surrender, eyes watching her carefully.
"You sure you can handle that?," Dolion asked mockingly.
Julie peered over the countertop, glaring at him. "She's fired guns before, asshole. She's probably a better shot than you."
"Julie!," she hissed at her friend. While it wasn't likely true, she didn't need her egging her on. She was stressed enough as it was, she didn't need Julie making wild claims.
Ellen swallowed thickly. She just needed to squeeze her finger and this would all be done. She had killed before this shouldn't be so hard. How many sinners had she torn apart in Hell? Heck she even killed two with a frying pan for heaven's sake! This was nothing! Except…she hadn't really killed them had she? She could even argue it was self defense, but this? Dolion stood, unarmed, not really a threat to her, this wasn't self defense, this was straight up murder. But that was the plan wasn't it?
God she wished Alastor could just skewer him. Maybe it wouldn't be as bad if she still had access to his power, tearing him apart seemed a lot more brutal but at last it felt more normal. Normal? She had a means of murder that was normal now?
Dolion took slow steps, Ellen following him with her aim. She didn't know where he was going, there wasn't anywhere else in the room to hide.
Dolion chuckled a knowing smirk sliding onto his face. His hands fell to his side, posture relaxing a bit. "You can't do it."
She steeled herself, trying to get her hands to stop shaking. Was he baiting her into shooting him? Who does that?
He laughed again, shaking his head in an almost disapproving manner. "Just as I thought, you are not a concern. You may think this is three against one, but if none of you can pull the trigger I still stand undefeated. Pathetic really."
She watched him turn away, back to her, not even worried. Ellen lowered the gun with frustrated breath. Fuck! A few angry tears slipped down her cheeks. She had him and she chickened out! Gah! Dolion was right, she was pathetic. What were the chances she was going to get another shot? Had she just blown this whole thing because she couldn't pull the stupid trigger? Even Dolion was laughing at her. Stupid!
"Ellen?!," Julie cried out in frustration.
With whatever will she had left she raised the gun again, eyes narrowed, watching as Dolion took casual steps back toward the gun he had lost. He needed to die, he deserved it. Her mind kept screaming at her to pull the trigger, but her body wouldn't respond, frozen in apprehension.
The second he bent down she fell down to her haunches, elbows on her knees, head falling into her arms, hands resting on the top of her head. She had blown it.
"Alright, my turn."
The gun was pulled from her fingers and before she could stand, Julie moved from behind the desk with a look of determination on her face.
"Hey dickhead! You still think you're getting away scot free?"
Ellen's eyes widened as she moved to stand beside Julie, but froze when Dolion turned, gun aimed at her.
"Now, now ladies. You two are far enough away you both can't be saved." His eyes flicked between the two before turning to Alastor. "I think we both know how this is going to end."
The sound of a gunshot echoed around the room and Ellen wasn't sure who had fired. Her eyes pressed closed, not daring to see what had just happened. Arms wrapped around her tightly and her heart skipped a beat. She braced for the pain, the shock. If Alastor came to her aid, it was she who got the bullet.
A pair of hands held her face, a forehead pressed to her own.
"Darling, are you alright?" Alastor's voice was barely above a whisper, his warm breath feathering across her face.
She was afraid to open her eyes. She didn't feel hurt. She slowly opened her eyes to find dark red ones staring back at her. The two looked down to find there was no sign of injury. Alastor must have got it. She finally let out the breath she had been holding a smile pulling to her face. He didn't have a scratch on him either. The grin spread across her face. It must have been Julie, she shot Dolion, they were done, they had done it.
A dark chuckle had her stomach knot in a second. Maybe Alastor had deflected the bullet, but then why would he be laughing? She slowly peeked around Alastor to find Dolion just staring at her with a smug look.
"So predictable." He loosely waved their attention to their left where Julie stood, eyes wide, a red stain blooming on her chest. The gun she had in her hand clattering to the floor.
A scream ripped from Ellen's throat as she wrenched herself from Alastor's arms sprinting to her friend, unable to fully register what had just happened. Julie crumpled to the floor harshly just before she could catch her.
"No! Julie no, hang on." She slipped, falling hard on her knees but she didn't feel it. Ellen pressed her hands to Julie's chest trying desperately to hold in whatever blood was left. The world around her became blurry as her eyes filled with tears.
She barely registered Dolion leaving, exclaiming the end of this little rivalry. With Alastor unable to kill him and Ellen clearly not capable, there was no one to get in his way anymore. She didn't care at the moment, her mind scattered looking down at Julie on the floor paling by the second.
"It's okay I-I can…" Her words failed her as sobs choked her from making any coherent sentences. She could fix this, she had to, there was no way-
"Ellen-" Alastor sat on his haunches beside her, his voice soft, too soft, for her liking. "-she's no longer with us."
She shook her head, refusing to listen, Julie wasn't gone. Her hands were still pressed to her friend's chest in an attempt to lessen the bleeding. If she could slow the bleed then she could buy herself some more time and then she could put a plan together. Yes she just had to keep her hands pressed tightly to the wound. She could figure it out.
"Look at her Ellen."
She shook her head again, lips trembling, her sobs shaking her as she re-focused on the patch of red that had seeped through Julie's shirt and her own hands. "She's okay," she whispered, nodding her head ignoring the fact there was no pulse under her hands and the sound of her breaths had been non-existent for a while now. She could still fix this, she just needed to get thoughts together, get past the panic. Why was she panicking? Even when she was close to death she was calm, had her thoughts together. She needed to be calm, she needed to, she needed to…
"She's okay," She repeated, her voice cracking, her lip quivering as she tried to contain her sobs. Her tears dripped off her chin onto the stained fabric. She couldn't bring herself to believe otherwise. Julie had to be okay.
"She is gone, my love. At rest."
Ellen finally sat back, but still refused to look at her friend's face, her gaze stuck on the stain, the red blurry blotch slowly increasing in size. "No she can't, she was just… she… It's all my fault." Her voice cracked again, the events of the last few minutes flooding her mind. It didn't have to end this way, she could have prevented this. Her eyes wide, she turned to look at Alastor, her body trembling all of a sudden freezing.
"I had a clear shot, if I had just taken it…"
Ellen could feel the guilt building in her gut, a fresh wave of tears blurring her vision. It was all her fault. She should have told Julie it was too dangerous to come along. She should have taken the shot earlier. She should have told Alastor to focus on Julie, she would have been fine. This was her fault. She let this happen. She got her best friend…
She took her sleeve and whipped the snot from her nose that had started running. Eyes letting her lashes flick the tears aimlessly as she tried getting her vision back.
"Ellen, you need to look at her."
She shook her head. "I can't," she managed to choke out. "If I look…" her throat closed, refusing to finish the sentence. She didn't dare utter the words aloud. She couldn't bear to hear them echo around her in the deafening silence that had at some point encompassed the room.
"...You will see she is gone," Alastor finished for her.
Her eyes darted to him, her body shaking unable to register how fast it all happened. It was seconds. Mere seconds and that was it. Her gaze moved down to her hands to find them shaking covered in blood. It only added to the guilt. The blood was on her hands. Her stomach lurched at the realization. She had unintentionally killed her best friend and no matter how hard she tried to reason herself out of it, rationality was something she had no grasp on at the moment. It was her fault the only thought circling her mind was 'I did this. I killed Julie'. A shuttered breath escaped her. "No." A fresh batch of tears slid down her face.
Her eyes moved back to Alastor and with a reassuring nod she turned to look at Julie, her stomach knotting instantly.
It almost didn't look like her anymore, her face far too pale, eyes open wide but unseeing. No spark of light, no twinkle of joy, no sign of life. She was gone.
She hadn't realized she had been trying to hold her emotions back until she no longer had the strength to hold them, like water breaking through flood gates. Her sobs turned to gut-reaching screams echoing in the air, the tears flowed unrestricted, staining her front. Her nose ran, certain it too probably became a dribbling mess running down her face, but she felt none of it.
At some point she had leaned on to Alastor for support. Maybe he had moved to support her; she wasn't too sure. She tried to draw on the familiar smell, the soft fabric of his jacket, the warmth. It all felt so distant, like a hazy memory she couldn't quite remember.
She wasn't sure if she had experienced pain like this before. If she had, her mind refused to remember at the moment. She felt broken, out of control. Her body and mind weren't hers anymore, both lost to the grief, to the pain.
She had avoided looking at Julie's face, in fear of confirming the worst but now that she had seen it, she couldn't pull her gaze away, trying to memorize every detail, every line. She was scrutinizing the colour of her cheeks that now no longer looked right, the pale complexion that no longer seemed to resemble Julie. She didn't deserve this. She still had so much she wanted to do. She was supposed to find a nice guy and have kids. She was supposed to go to New Zealand and Australia. She hadn't even made it to thirty yet. Later this year was supposed to be the big milestone, the big party, and now…
"We must go. We can not stay here much longer."
Her eyes widened, turning to him in shock. "What n-no. We can't leave her here like this."
"We must." He stood holding a hand out to help her to her feet, his shadow scooping up the gun and slipping it into the void. She remained still, body refusing to move.
"No she-" She turned back to her friend, her chest feeling even heavier. "I'm not leaving her here."
Arms wrapped around her waist, it was at this point it seemed her mind reconnected with her body fighting him as he did, refusing to be pulled away from Julie. With him being much stronger and taller, the effort was fruitless in her broken and compromised state.
"I'm afraid I must insist," he grunted, now using tendrils to secure her better.
At a later time maybe she could look back and laugh at how ungentlemanly this action was, being picked up like a toddler throwing a tantrum. It would probably be the only time she could recall ever getting such a reaction from him. But for now all it did was spark panic, she instantly kicked and flailed wildly, screeching hysterical. This couldn't be her fleeting memory of Julie, she couldn't leave her here to be discovered whenever someone happened by to find her. She wouldn't let her go; she hardly accepted she was truly gone.
"No you can't!" Her screams tore at her throat as another round of tears slipped from her eyes, blurring the world around her. "No! We can't leave her. Please! No! We can't-!"
"We can not stay, there are others here, minutes from storming the place and we can not be seen here when they do." A tendril was thrown over her mouth to muffle her screams as he slipped the two of them into shadow, leaving Julie behind.
AN: CW Character Death! Hey All! So I have had this chapter in the bank since like August last year and I have finally gotten to it. I really want to know if anyone shed tears reading this because.. *PHEW* I sure did, almost every time I read through it to edit. It was really hard to write, while balling my eyes out, but you made it through!