a/n: I've already written 6 more chapters, but I'm not really going to post them unless there's a high demand... so, comment more and stuff. Be proactive readers /(•.•)/

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A laugh as haunting as the Joker's somberly sounded from the back of the casino. Several Northern Star soldiers turned around, realizing a bystander had remained to watch the carnage. Sat at the bar on the other side of the center fountain happened to be the same creature Chris had claimed gave him the creeps earlier.

He hooked his thumb on the under side of his mask and lifted it just enough that he could take a drink from a glass of rum. No one dared to shoot him because they weren't really sure who's side he was on, if any. People like him, they tend to fall into the background here. Just a shadow that no one paid much mind to.

The mystery man slammed the now empty glass onto the bar top. "Really hoped in six years, you'd learn to clean up your own messes, but," He sighed as he stood up, "Guess I have to do it for you, again."

He pulled his cape off and threw it in the air as a distraction. It was no different than a matador flashing a red cloth at a bull. He then did a series of back flips to help himself avoid bullets before his feet landed perfectly on the edge of the fountain. Those who apposed him hesitated, curious to see what he was going to do.

The water behind him began to bubble. With the cape now gone, his real clothes were visible. Multi-buckled boots reached his knee, which explained why he was so damn tall. Scarves and a thick leather belt were wrapped around his waist, holding up ripped black jeans. A baggy dark shirt led into silver cuffs on his wrists. The front was cut low, revealing very telling tattoos. Telling to anyone smart enough to know what those markings were, that was.

He ripped his mask off to reveal his poorly shaven face. Black locks fell along a gaunt face. Feathers and beads were worked in to his long hair as well. As he spoke, his eyes changed from pink to a glowing yellow, "I can smell you're nervous. It's a mistake to sweat around me."

His voice was deep, accented with something hard to place. Whatever it was, it was sexy as Hell. There was something about him that just oozed sex. With a simple smirk, small explosions sounded throughout the room. Each droplet of sweat turned into a grenade, blowing off faces, arms, legs. It didn't take long before every single one of them was dead. He killed more gunman in sixty seconds than Kuza had in ten minutes.

Speaking of, he and his mate had dared to come out of their cover during this exchange. Kuza picked up the glass of Jack and Coke that was half broken and sipped carefully. Chris glanced over at him with concern, but he just sighed. There was no point in arguing with his destructive behavior. He picked up his own drink, which thankfully wasn't filled with broken glass.

"You're right, that is good." He said.

"I told you." Kuza responded like a smart ass. He looked forward at their savior, offering up an equally as shitty grin.

"Wipe that smirk off your face." The man scoffed, stepping down from the fountain. He approached the bar slowly. "You're alive."

Kuza shrugged, "More or less."

"No, I mean you're actually alive. You're flesh and bone, which means you shouldn't be here. The living aren't permitted in the land of the dead."

"It's a long story, but basically we found the gate to the underworld and convinced bitchface to let us in." He explained. "You're the one I'm surprised to see here. I thought when unlaced Lost Ones die, they stop existing."

"They do, but Silver Water Spirits are an exception to that rule. I got a pass, I guess you could say." He replied.

Hearing that information, it ignited a certain light in Kuza's eyes. "Does that mean Dex is alive?"

"I don't mean to be rude," Chris softly interrupted, "But would you mind giving some kind of introduction before continuing?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry. This is Deysa. I've told you about him before. He saved my ass a few times, but I guess so have you now." He chuckled, looking over to his old friend, "My mate, Chris."

"Never thought you'd ever get bound. Especially, the way things were when I last saw you. And, to answer your question, yes, Dex is alive. I just can't find him. That's actually part of the reason why I'm here. I've been chasing leads, trying to track him down. There's a lot of bad things that happen here, a lot worse than it ever was on Earth. He's been leading a crusade against a lot of the people we used to fight. He's made himself hard to find for his enemies, but that means his allies can't find him either. In the process of tracking him down, I've also been busting slaves out from places like this. That boy you saw with me earlier, he was one of them."

"You can complain all you want about all the times you've had to save me, but you can't deny that you love saving people, no matter the circumstances. You've always been that way." Kuza said.

Deysa brushed off the comment by changing the subject. "We should get out of here. Their numbers have grown a lot since the last time you had to fight them."

"We have a hotel room at a place on the edge of town. We can go there and talk more." He responded while walking out from behind the bar, "You want to save anything off these guys?"

"It's not worth it. Weapons are insanely easy to get down here. Maybe a little too much, if you ask me. Did you cross over alone?" He asked.

"No, Devin and her mate were with us. They decided to go looking for Casper and Elliot. We had three gypsies with us too, but they went to go settle down somewhere, for whenever the rest of us find what we're looking for."

Desya glanced back at him while they walked. "And what are you looking for?"

"Old friends." Chris answered, "Ricky and Ryan, two lost ones that had laced right before they died. We actually saw them cross over, but they were pretty far ahead of us, to say the least."

Kuza shivered out of disgust, "Ugh, please, let's not talk about that."

"You know if you say that it's going to make me want to know more." Deysa replied.

"It'd be a cold day in Hell before I told you about that shit." He glanced over at Chris, threatening, "And I swear, if you tell him, I'll kill you. I don't care if it'll kill me too."

He chuckled, "Alright, Babe. I swear I won't say a word. That reminds me, though, I wanted to ask you, what happens when people die in the afterlife?"

"Bitchface, as you called her, only punishes utter stupidity. There's no other rules here other than don't be a fucking dumbass. She considers dying the stupidest thing you can do. So, souls are locked up in a prison where they're tortured for awhile before being released. It's better than just being erased completely, but I doubt it'll work that way for you two. You truly haven't died yet, meaning those kind of rules don't apply to you."

"What he's saying is you need to be more careful." Chris said with a smirk.

Kuza glared at him, half tempted to slap him. He could give his wifey looks all he wanted, he knew Chris was right. With a shameful sigh, he replied, "I know. It's only a matter of time before we run into some bad ghosts from my past. Northern Star, the only reason they were every a threat was because they had big numbers, but their members were weak. You saw what Deysa could do. He's one of the post powerful Lost Ones I've ever met, but even he couldn't stand a chance against Demon's Card. The even scarier thing is when you realize... Those are the people Ryan killed single-handedly."

Deysa stopped walking to look back at them. For the first time since that night, he actually looked scared. It was an emotion he rarely ever wore. His voice dropped to a raspy murmur, "Are you serious?"

"Yeah, at least that's what I've been told. I... Wasn't supposed to tell anyone that, though. I'm sorry." He responded.

Chris wrapped his arm around his shoulder and kissed his temple. "It's okay, Babe. I doubt it's going to hurt much for him to know. Plus, you didn't tell him the important part. We're almost to the hotel. I'll heal you both up when we get there."

"His Arcadia is the ability to heal himself and others." Kuza clarified, "His Arcadia makes him a good physical healer, but it's his heart that makes him such an amazing emotional healer."

He couldn't help himself from smiling and stealing another kiss from his fire dragon. Kind of funny how they managed to have such a rough relationship yet love each other so dearly. It's almost like some people are meant to live life on the rocks. Deysa was someone that knew that maybe a little too well. After all he'd seen his old friend go through, seeing him happy gave him a content feeling.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but after what you did back there, I'm curious... What's your Arcadia?" Chris questioned.

"It's... Complicated..." Deysa hesitantly stated. He was one to speak with his hands a lot, throwing his palm out as he added, "I don't really like gettin' into all that science-y stuff. But, basically, I can turn water into a bomb."

"His is a lot like mine in the way it works. We can change the chemical makeup of a substance to make it something deadly. Deysa can change oxygen into a gas that reacts violently with hydrogen. He has enough control over it to focus on the oxygen in water, and create instant detonations. The Silver Spirit part of him has the ability to control water as well, but you didn't get much of a chance to see that today."

He shrugged, "I could've used the fountain, but using their sweat was easier. Plus, it would'a been a shame to ruin such a beautiful fountain."

"Oh, I forgot to mention, he's a bit of a hopeless romantic." Kuza grumbled.

Chris snickered, "Reminds me of Devin. I hope her and Vinny are doing a lot better than us. And wherever Ricky and Ryan are, I hope they're okay too."

That name, it burned in Deysa's mind. It'd been so long since he'd seen her, but he would never let himself forget her beauty. He stayed quiet for a moment before daring to ask, "Devin... She has a mate now?"

"Yeah, his name is Vinny. He's a little shit, and a fucking idiot, but he's a lot stronger and smarter than he leads on." Kuza answered.

"Oh... And she loves him?"

Chris gave his partner a side glance and raised his eyebrow. Someone doesn't just ask that, especially with such a melancholy tone. Kuza pursed his lips as he felt the sting of the past. He simply muttered a "Yeah, she does." before dropping the subject. As happy as he was to see his old friend, he knew it would lead to a lot more pain. Those with yellow eyes only bring misfortune. They can't help it. It's just the way they were born.