Chapter Twelve

Ace slowly wakes up, resting in a bed. He sits up with a dazed and confused look on his face. Not exactly sure where he is, he tries to stand up. He goes right back down to sitting on the bed. He's too sore and tired to try and investigate his surroundings. Suddenly a familiar voice echoes throughout the room, coming from the dark hallway, behind the open door. 

"I hope you like the place. I put it together last minute." says the echoing female voice with a cackle to follow. Another voice follows hers.

"The price doesn't matter too much, when a God is paying the bills." says a male voice form the same place. 

"Where am I? Who are you?" yells Ace trying to get a response out of the voices.

"Calm down now." says the male voice, getting closer.

"We don't want you to use all of your energy." says Emerald as she gets to the doorway with Matt right next to her.

"Where's Raven? Where's April?" asks Ace in a panic.

"They will be dealt with." says Emerald with a laugh. 

"For now, why don't you just go back to sleep." says Matt, as he swings a pipe at Ace's head, hitting him and knocking him out.

April and Raven are running through the woods like two bats flying out of Hell. April is using her powers to move objects out of the way for them, but to drop them back down right behind her and Raven. Raven has her Demon Blade drawn in the event something were to pop out at them. Raven isn't carrying her sword and shield like usual, and her coat has been ripped. 

"This way!" yells Raven over the loud noises of the forest, pointing to a different path.

"Alright! Let's go!" yells April, running right behind Raven. 

"Go left!" yells Raven going into the darkest part of the forest.

"Left where?" yells April, trying to see where Raven went.

"April can you hear me?" yells Raven trying to find her, but the darkness makes it impossible to see the hand in front of your face. Hearing also becomes difficult because of the mass destruction going on in the forest. Trees are collapsing, animals are screeching, and the wind has become so strong it feels like they are in the center of a tornado.

"Raven!" April calls out. She continues the call. Again. And then once more. Then she sees a figure emerge. A large, muscular, tall one.

"Enough of your running brat." says Snake, throwing her shield.

"Leave us alone!" yells April, swaying her hand, moving a large rock into the shield throwing it off course.

"What's a matter? Raven isn't here to protect ya?" asks Snake, with a slight giggle. 

"Hey, cyclops!" yells an old raspy voice from behind Snake.

"Who are you?" asks Snake.

"Call me Ruth." says Ruth emerging from the darkness. 

"April run!" yells Ruth causing a distraction for April to get away by taking Snake's attention. 

After running and running for hours on top of hours through the pitch black April finally sees a light. A bright red light, coming towards her, quickly. The light is growing the quicker she moves. She stops dead in her tracks. From a full a sprint, to a dead stop. Fire. It was in that moment, that April realized the growing light, was fire. A burning blaze, coming towards. Fire doesn't care who you are. April knows it doesn't. But where can she run? She goes forward, she gets burnt to a crisp. She turns to run, she'll run into Snake again.  Suddenly she is grabbed and hoisted over a shoulder. Through the darkness she can't tell who it is. After a few minutes of running April sees light, real light, not fire produced light. She gets dropped on her behind and sees Ace's face standing above her.

"Ace!" yells April, jumping up to hug him.

"Stay here. I've got to find Raven." says Ace, turning back into the forest.

"Ace! Don't go back! It's dangerous!" yells April. 

April sits there waiting for a while. Watching more and more of the forest catch on fire, tress engulfed in the fire falls and hit the ground. The once dark forest is now a bright, ball of light. Raven comes running out of what is left of the tree line.

"April!" yells Raven hugging her, checking her to make sure she is unharmed.

"I'm fine, are you okay? Where's Ace?" asks April.

"Ace? I haven't seen him since we got split up back at Ruth's cabin." says Raven, now looking terrified.

"We have to go back and find it!" yells April trying to run back into the forest being stopped by Raven.

"You'll get burnt alive in there." says Raven holding April back. 

"We can't leaved him!" cries April.

"April, get some damn sense will you? We have to go!" yells Raven turning April away from the forest and running.

As April and raven are leaving they see someone walking toward the fire.

"Sir!" yells Raven, looking for help.

"Sir! Can you give us directions?" yells Raven again, running towards the man with April at side. The man finally turns. It is the Reaper who took Mr. Stanton on his way.

"You guys again." says the Reaper.

"Why, why, why are you, why are you here?" asks April, stuttering. 

"I can't reveal my work to anyone outside the business." says the Reaper.

"Ace." cries April putting her hands into her face. 

"Listen to me buddy." says Raven, grabbing the Reaper by the shirt and lifting pulling him toward her.

"Why the hell are you here?" says Raven pulling him closer.

"Stanton." says the Reaper, pulling himself from Raven.

"Stanton?" asks Raven.

"Ruth." explains April.

"I heard a sword went through him, then the fire got him." says the Reaper.

"I can't believe it." says Raven taking a side step to look at April, using her hand to cover her mouth. 

"Hopefully after I get Ruth, I'll never have to see you two again. Unless you decide to ruin their children's lives too." says the Reaper waling into the burning forest. 

"So there's a chance Ace made it?" asks April.

"It doesn't look like it. Reaper's are assigned by family. Just because we didn't see his Reaper, doesn't mean he made it." says Raven, hugging April by the shoulder.

"Just remember, protecting you was his job. And he did just that. He took you out of peril. He died, doing what he was born to do." says Raven kissing April on the forehead.

"I just can't lose anyone else." cries April into Raven's chest. 

Ace sits up in the bed replaying in his mind the events of the burning forest. How he saved April. Then Snake's shield hitting him. Hard. Emerald's long claws on his throat. Then Matt picking him up and bringing him to this stupid cabin. He knows April made it out, but has no idea about Raven, or Ruth. Ruth, the man who saved his life, now more than likely dead in Ace's eyes. Ace doesn't even think about if April knows if he made it out.

"Why did you save me?" asks Ace.

"You could be useful." answers Emerald from the other room. 

"Wouldn't I be better off dead to you?" asks Ace.

"It could be arranged, but no, you wouldn't." answers Emerald still in the other room.

"So what happened?" asks Ace.

"Well when you guys went to visit that old man in the cabin, we started a fire. Outside the place. You guys scattered when we attacked you as you ran out. The fire spread out, and so did you guys." says Emerald with a cackle, walking into the same room.

"Look, this doesn't have be a bad time for you." says Emerald, realizing Ace is upset.

"Oh really? I have one job in my whole life and now it's probably done." says Ace, starting to cry. 

"Okay, don't cry. I don't handle crying well." says Emerald.

"I'm sorry." says Ace wiping his eyes.

"Look this can be easy. You'll see Matt and I aren't really that bad. Snake is a little rough around the edges. But Matt and I? Well." says Emerald.

"Just two lovers, trying to survive?" asks Ace, with tears still in his eyes.

"We aren't in that kind of love. But we do love each other. I would die for him, and he would die for me." explains Emerald, wiping the tears from Ace's eyes. 

"Why do you do what you do?" asks Ace.

"Bounty hunting? Well it's just what I'm good at. I never really had friends besides Matt and Robert." says Emerald, now starting to tear up herself.

"Robert?" asks Ace.

"My friend, he was killed by my sister Raven." says Emerald.

"I miss him. He really was just a good guy." continues Emerald, chuckling afterward.

"I can't believe this, I'm just crying over someone who's been dead this long." says Emerald explaining her tears. 

"I was there that day." says Ace, now wiping Emerald's tears.

"That was you, in the rafters, saving April, all of it?" asks Emerald.

"I'm afraid so." answers Ace.

Emerald leaves the room. She doesn't seem angry, or as sad. Ace hears a door open. Then he hears her walk back down to the room of the cabin.

"The door's open." says Emerald in a faint tone.

"What?" asks Ace.

"You, go. Before I change my mind." says Emerald.