The afterlife was a lot more like the living world than people would've expected. There were neighborhoods that ranged the gamut of good, bad, and ugly. Where Chris and Kuza had found themselves, it was as dirty as Detroit and as bright as Las Vegas. Here, ghouls did most the hard lifting. Money was nonexistent but there were other rarities that interested people. In death, everyone has something to find.

Kuza let the hotel room door slam behind him. He didn't have much of a care for those around him. Besides, there probably wasn't many people around. Most folks, they had somewhere to go; Family to find, agendas to fulfill. Those that were a little lost in life, they ended up in places like this. Truly, even someone like Mike was searching for a loved one. That's what brought them here, after all.

"Are you almost ready to go?" He called through the bathroom door.

"Yeah." Chris replied as he opened up. He shut off the light, walking over to the bed to get his jacket. When he realized his mate was staring, he asked, "What?"

"You cut your hair." He responded, stating the obvious.

While he was out running errands, Chris took the time to clean up. Even though Kuza knew about it, it was still a bit of a shock. To see his hair slicked back in a deathhawk, spikes along the side of his head, and black lipstick contrasting against his pale skin, it was definitely a shock. He'd spent so much time focusing on surviving the past couple of years that he never bothered to cut his hair or put on makeup.

"Do you not like it?" Chris hesitantly replied.

Kuza smiled briefly, "No, babe, I love it. You look good. I'm just not used to seeing you like this."

He pulled his fire dragon closer until their hips touched. With his thumb, Chris gentle traced over the deep scar below his eye. "Good. I'm not used to seeing you like this, either, but I like it, a lot. You look sexy."

"Yeah?" He smirked, "You think so? I was just hoping that letting my scars show would make me look tougher. Plus, I can't be focusing energy on cloaking. I have to protect you."

"You don't have to protect me, Mike. I can handle my own."

"Just because you can, doesn't mean you have to." He said, "Please, don't fight me on this. If we get into any trouble, it'll most likely be my fault anyways."

Chris knew what he was thinking without him saying it aloud. Still, he had to ask, "You're worried about running into Demon's Card?"

"Them, or really any of the other crime guilds and mobsters I pissed off in my past. A place like this, I know they'll be around, and it's just a matter of time before we run into them." He opened up the black case he'd carried in with him, revealing a few new friends. Kuza picked up a black revolver, loading the chamber. "Hope for the best, prepare for the worst."

He snickered, "So, that's where you were."

"I lost Ryan's Arcadia when we crossed through the gate. Without it, I need a weapon I know how to use, and for me, that's a gun." Kuza placed his pistol inside his leather jacket. He picked up three pocket knives from the same box, slipping two into his jeans and offering the third to Chris.

"That's all you're giving me?" He deadpanned.

"Yes, and for emergencies only. You're a healer, not a fighter. I'm not doing this to be an asshole, okay? I just don't want to see you get hurt."

Chris sighed, "I understand. Just don't do anything stupid."

"I can't make any promises, Babe." He pecked his cheek, catching sight of the clock, "C'mon, we should get going."

☤ ☤ ☤

The bright bulbs of a casino sign spelled out "The Lucia". Colors of white and blue decorated the entire establishment. Though everything here was darker, in several meanings of the word, it wasn't much different than what Earth once was. Essentially, it's a relaxed anarchy. Chris and Kuza walked through the front doors of the casino, being greeted with the smell of fresh water and perfume.

Perfume coming from the cocktail waitresses, of course. They seemed pretty happy for being doomed souls working against their will. The water smell, it was coming off of a massive fountain in the center of the floor. It was made of marble, just as most the floor and pillars were. Sections of royal blue carpet designated the gambling areas. For now, they skipped past it to find the bar.

As they walked down the marbled path that cut through craps and poker tables, they passed by many interesting looking individuals. A shorter gentleman, maybe it was even a woman, accidentally bumped into Chris. He glanced back to see someone dressed in all black, only large green eyes visible. With a soft voice, he murmured, "I'm sorry."

Within a split second, someone much taller was right behind the young one. He too was completely covered from head to toe. A black cloak covered nearly every part of him, a mask pulled over his mouth, just below pastel pink irises. He placed a firm grip on his companion's shoulder.

"It's okay." Chris replied to the smaller, seeming a little off-put in his tone.

Kuza glanced back at two briefly as they pulled away. He stared maybe a little bit longer than he should've. Once the mysterious beings were out of earshot, he asked, "Everything okay?"

"Yeah," He responded with a bit of a shiver, "Guy just gave me the creeps a little bit."

"You're probably going to feel that a lot down here. I doubt a place like this is filled with good, wholesome souls." He said. It came out a little more ominous than he probably intended.

The two continued to walk until they reached the bar. They took a seat, waiting on the creature behind the counter. He was dressed almost like he belonged in a quartet. His face wasn't as pretty, though. It was burned to a crisp. You wouldn't think they'd want someone so nasty working in customer service.

He made his way down to their end of the bar, asking in a hoarse voice, "What can I get ya'?"

"Jack and Coke and a virgin Collins." Kuza answered.

"Comin' right up."

"So, you're ordering for me now?" Chris asked teasingly.

"If I'm going to let you dominate me in the bedroom, I have to make up for it in social settings. Don't worry, you'll like it. I used to drink them a lot when I played cards because I never wanted to be drunk when I played." He explained.

"But you have no problem being drunk now?"

Kuza grinned devilishly, "I won't get a chance to drink even a forth of it."

The comment honestly went over Chris' head at first. He was distracted by the bartender coming back with their drinks. After he got a second, though, he did realize exactly what Kuza had said. He looked over at him, about to ask, but he didn't even get a chance to. Kuza drew out his pistol and nailed the guy sitting on the other side of Chris, whom was halfway through drawing his own gun.

He made another shot to a woman at the end of the bar, then to an onlooker. "Get behind the bar. I'll handle this."

"I don't-"

"This isn't the time to argue." Kuza sneered.

The look he got on his face, it was like he was a totally different person. In all honesty, it scared Chris. Sure, he'd seen Kuza fight Sullen, but he didn't act this way. A bullet cut through them and just barely missed either, instead shattering the untouched glass of whiskey. The second shot that fired hit the bartender and turned him to dust.

Innocence cleared out, but there were very few who ran. Almost everyone in that casino wanted to come for Kuza. He wasn't scared, and that was the truly nerve-wracking part, Chris had decided. He was in over his head to ever think he could deal with this. For the time being, he did listen to his spouse, taking cover behind the counter.

Where Kuza came from, they used to say, once you learn how to kill, you'll never forget. It didn't matter that he'd only killed a few mindless Sullen in the past few years. The fact that he'd been wasting away with little life contact meant nothing. Within a split second, it was like he was right back in the thick of it. He hadn't forgotten how to fight, how to shoot, how to survive.

When his current clip ran out, he tossed the gun back behind the bar. He took one of his pocket knives and swiftly sliced it across his neck. Then, threw it like a dart. It cut across the face of one gunman before nailing another in the head. He took advantage of the opening to take cover himself. His venomous blood on the blade quickly overtook both men hit.

Chris looked over at him like an annoyed wife. He offered over his gun, "Drop something?"

"Thanks, Babe." He grinned. His back fell against the back of the bar beside his lover while he reloaded.

"Who are they?" He asked.

"Northern Star." Kuza answered before popping up out of cover to shoot a few more down. He got back down when they fired back. "When they were alive, they were a pretty nasty crime guild. Not as bad as Demon's Card or Hera, but they were up there. I had a feeling we'd run into a few old guilds but I wasn't expecting it this soon."

"If we get out of this alive, you're making me a chart of all your enemies so I can keep up." Chris responded.

He snickered as he jumped back up to fire off a few more shots. Not a single one missed. For being in essentially a one against fifty fight, he was surprisingly joyful. "I won't let you die, Baby. If I was worried about being overwhelmed, we would've ran."

"You're fucking crazy." He scoffed. Chris looked closer at his mate when he sat back down. He leaned over him, reaching towards the cut on his neck.

Kuza quickly stopped him before he touched it. "Don't. It's venom."

His eyes doubled in size, "You're managing to do all this while using your Arcadia?"

"I told you, I won't let you die." He smiled, somewhat drunk off the pain. His chest was heaving from heavy breaths. Now that he's taking a break, it is catching up to him. Kuza slammed the butt of his gun against the bar to create a loud thud, then yelled, "But it would fucking help if someone stopped playing chicken!"

"Do you really think this is the time to be challenging them?" Chris said.

"I wasn't talking to them." Kuza responded, as if Chris was the fool. His mate stared at him blankly, not sure how exactly to process his words, and he simply laughed.