~The Aftermath, Part 2~

   Ai. A voice appeared out of nowhere as I slept. Like a whisper in my ear, except it wasn't in my ear, it was in my head. Ai! I groaned and rolled over in bed, not wanting to deal with whatever it was. I outstretched my hand, feeling around for Nolan laying beside me.
   Then I opened my eyes.
   And immediately closed them again, tears welling up as the brick landed on my chest again. He isn't here.
   AI!
   "What!?" I yelled, clenching my eyes shut, trying to push all the bad feelings away.
   That was when the whisper in my head became a recognizable voice.
   I need to talk to you, come see me.
   Liliana. The only one left alive. The only one left unharmed in all of this.
   Well, I suppose that's not true. Her two best friends are both dead, both returned to their spots on the metaphorical thrones in Heaven. Even if she knows their souls are safely back in Heaven, she's probably mourning the loss of their human lives along with everyone else they knew on Earth. She's been left alone there, without friends to survive the rest of high school with.
   Wow, I had never really thought about how this might affect her. And now she needs to talk to me. Could it possibly be just that she needs someone to talk to? No, I feel she would have asked Adri if that were the case. Why me? What's going on?

~The Aftermath, Part 1~

   'Your job has been fulfilled, protector. You did well.'
   But I didn't do anything. I allowed her to be killed, I didn't protect her at all. Even seeing it coming, I couldn't stop it. I couldn't do anything. These abilities you gave me went to waste. I failed.
   'No. You take the title of protector too literally. You never could have protected her human life, that was destined to end. But you protected her heart, protected her from breaking under pressure. You were given your abilities so that you might become involved in the situation, so that everything was not kept from you. You were able to be there as a confidant to Adriana, trusted adviser and trusted friend. You were there to protect her sanity, her well-being, and her heart. You did well.'
   What happens now?
   'Now you must fulfill one last mission.'
   What is it?

   My wake was sudden, but calm. My head didn't pop off the pillow and I wasn't in a cold sweat. My heart beat slightly faster than normal, but my breathing came fine and my body didn't shake at all. This vision didn't scare me. No, this brought a smile to my face.

~Chapter 42~

   "Whoa, there are way too many crying people in here." Ladies and gentlemen, Miranda has arrived. Yes, yes, I know, no one really knows much of me. Here's my little bio: I'm sarcastic, rude, and not afraid to tell you the truth, but I do it all in a cute, lovable way. Like a dog or something. I died when I was 76 years old, but when our soul is reborn in Heaven we're reborn in our optimum age, soooooooo I get to be 19 again! Whoo! Anyway, back to the seriousness. I'm sure you're dying to hear what happens next. Haha, dying. Get it? Ha...okay, I get it, I'm not funny. Gosh, tough crowd.

   The dirty look I got from Adriana in that moment mirrored the dirty look I was getting from Caleb beside me in the door way. Ai and Bubblegum Head, though, were too busy crying. Oh jeez, that's a lot of blood. Oh jeez...that's Nolan.

   I sighed and softly placed my hand on Ai's shoulder. She jumped from the human contact- or angel contact?- obviously having forgotten that the world was still going on around her. Her head snapped up at me, eyes wide in distraught, rivers rushing down her face. She looked at me for only a second, and then her attention returned to her dead boyfriend. Or undead? He was already dead right? So now that he died as a dead guy, what does that make him?

   "Alive," I whispered as it dawned on me. Caleb, who was now helping up Adriana on the other side of the room, looked up at me in confusion. Adriana on the other hand, was already nodding. "Nolan is alive now." Ai sniffed and wiped her eyes, though more tears only appeared soon after. "You'll see him again." Ai looked up at me and tried to give me a smile, but it was only a crumpled mockery of one. She wasn't ready to smile again yet. And how could she be? Her love just undied.

   "Daisy on the other hand..." Adriana whispered. Daisy! Right! That's her name! The girl was still crying on the devil, new white wings folded down behind her.

   "It's okay," she whispered. She picked her head up to face Adriana, and despite the tears still escaping her eyes, she kept a strong composure as she spoke. "I loved Kris, and that made me blind. He played me the same way he played Caleb, with carefully woven lies and misleading information. But when he pushed you off that fountain, Queen Adriana, it was like putting on a brand new pair of glasses. The man I loved long ago died, and the tyrant of Hell replaced him." Daisy took a deep breath to prepare herself for the next statement, but it wasn't enough. Her voice still cracked when she said it. "Kris needed to die." She looked down at him again as a fresh wave of tears crashed on shore.

   Using Caleb's shoulder, Adriana made her way to Daisy and knelt in front of her. She placed her hand on Daisy's shoulder and looked her square in the eye. "Daisy, I can not thank you enough for this sacrifice you have made. You have not only saved my life, but the lives of a million angels as well. Truly, thank you." Adriana respectfully bowed her head and Daisy nodded in return, though the small smile on her lips came no where near her eyes.

   "I hate to ruin the beautiful moment and all," I interjected, "but Adriana, you're kind of dying."

   Adriana, who had been gripping her side this entire time, replied with, "This? Oh please, I've survived worse."

   "Yeah, yeah," Caleb said. He swept her legs up in an effortless motion and began to make his way toward the door. "You still need to get fixed up." As Caleb walked out of the awakening room, he turned to me and said, "we should leave them alone for a while. Let them mourn."
   So we walked away. Away from the room of bloodshed, death, and awakening. Away from the place where the final blood was spilled, ending this long-fought war with one short-fought battle.

~Chapter 41~

   The moment must have only lasted a few seconds, but it felt like hours. With my eyes closed I waited. And waited. And waited. But nothing came.
   Then I opened my eyes just in time to see Kris fall.
   There was a dagger in his heart and the arms which had been used to plunge it there were still wrapped around his shoulders. In his last few moments of life he collapsed back into her arms and she cradled him as he laid down on her lap. Tears were falling from her eyes and a look of pure confusion was in his.
   "Dai...sy...?" He whispered.
   "I'm sorry, Kris," she whimpered in a trembling voice. She brushed the hair off his forehead with a shaking hand. "I couldn't let you... It's not right." Her black wings were still folded down behind her from her journey here, but I saw a shimmer in the roots stemming from her back.
   Kris opened his mouth as though he were going to say something else, but his breath was taken first. Daisy hugged his head as she cried, rocking back and forth, and she kissed the top of his black hair. "I love you, Kris... I'm so sorry..."
   It was then that the shimmering I saw spread slowly from her roots. A white glow stemmed from feather to feather, eventually changing her demon wings into those of an angel.

~Chapter 40~

   Yes, this is most definitely the infamous Kris. His fighting skills are impeccable. He moves swiftly and cunningly, hitting exactly where he wants. Exactly where I would break down- if, that is, if I was any other.

   But every strike I counter, every hit I block. And in his anger, his technique isn't at it's best. He's rash and he's throwing too much of his strength in. If I can just hold out, he'll wear down. If.

   As Kris lunged at me again and again I continued to dodge and block. That is, until the earth shattering scream interrupted everything.

   Her voice was completely uncontrolled, ripping through the air in one long agonizing breath as it screamed, "NOLAN!!!!!!!" I quickly spun around to see Ai enter the awakening room, oblivious to everything around her except the now lifeless Nolan on the ground in a pool of blood. Tears streaked her face as she fell on her knees beside him, shaking him, screaming for him to come back.

   Kris chose that moment to strike. Having been distracted, I wasn't able to block him in time and he landed a rather deep slice in my side. I doubled over in pain and he easily knocked the sword out of my hand.

   "Now, Queen Adriana, it's time for you to leave." I tried to move myself back away from him, but with a simple step the gap between us was closed again. Kris raised his sword and I closed my eyes, waiting for the blade to come.

~Chapter 39~

   "You damn angels and your love," spat Kris as he approached me with the freshly bloodied knife. Nolan lay drowning in his own blood on the ground. I had begun pushing myself back from the demon but I knew a wall would hit my back soon. "I had the perfect plan. Kill Caleb in hate, turning him into a demon. Get him to kill you in hate, turning you into a demon as well. Then kill you both in your demon forms. You know what happens to demons when they die? They're gone. Forever. Done. Bye Bye." My back pressed against the wall and he lunged at me. I rolled to the side, causing him to just barely miss my neck with his hand, and I stood up, getting behind him. "The dear King and Queen of Heaven would have finally been out of the picture for me to have my success. But no! You have to go and have your light, pure, beautiful," he spoke the words as if he were sick, "love." Then he laughed as he took his eyes off me. Nolan chose that moment to kick my foot. "Love. Love! What a ridiculous notion to base an entire empire off of! Love! Ha!" I looked down at Nolan. Though he was choking and struggling and had already resigned to death, he managed to indicate to me the sword which was in hooked in his belt. Unfortunately, Kris looked back to me at that moment. "But love isn't going to save you this time. Perhaps I will have to wait yet another 14 years to do it, but I swear I will. I will taint your seemingly impenetrable heart, Adriana, and kill you the moment I do it. That darkness which was festering in you in that moment will bring you to Hell, not Heaven. And as you awaken, a demon, not an angel, I will end you once and for all." He approached me slowly, dagger raised and pointing to me, eyes wild.
   "You are mad," I whispered. This angered him and he screamed as he lunged at me once again, this time knife first. I ducked down and, as the force of his momentum took him past me, and grabbed the sword from Nolan, spinning around to face the recovering Kris. As I pushed him back, he threw the knife to the ground and unsheathed his full length sword, the same one which had once killed me.
   "Your dear Caleb isn't here to beg for your life this time, Adriana. I must admit I am a little excited. I have never fought against you," he said as he raised his sword.
   "I think you'll find that while my husband was good, I am great," I replied with a smirk.
   Kris raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?"
   "Oh yes. Even he knows my sword fighting skills far surpass his."
   "Well then," Kris said, "show me."

~Chapter 38~

   "Adriana?"

   I looked at the boy sitting next to me. He was worried and tentative. "Nolan." I looked around me. I was in the Awakening Room. It's where everyone wakes up...

   ...in Heaven.

   "I died."

   He nodded. "I had a feeling this might happen."

   "Kris killed me."

   He nodded once again.

   "Caleb?" I was surprised to find that the strength I had once displayed as Queen had all rushed back into me upon waking in Heaven once again.

   "I don't-" He never finished that sentence. How could he? With blood gargling every word he tried to say. With a knife having slit his throat.