Deacon's eyes softened as he looked into the light about to embrace them. Unlike them, he could see beyond the whiteness. Through the next two doors, to what laid ahead. In his delicate, calming voice, he spoke, "I'll be leaving you now. The next two realities are the last two, and you'll find that though their paths differ greatly from your world, it is where your souls are the least restless."

"Is that your way of saying our souls are disturbed?" Kuza scoffed.

"Not at all. Having a restless soul is not a bad thing. In fact, I believe it's good to a certain extent. No one should become comfortable in life because that's when life becomes boring. If it's alright with you, I'd like to leave you with a parting gift." He looked to Chris, seeming saddened. "You may not be from my reality, but you're still family to me in a way. I wouldn't want you to meet the same fate that you did in my world."

Deacon turned his hand outward. His fingers were curled into a fist, light shining out through the cracks. It settled quick and he opened his palm to reveal two small vials. One contained a blue liquid with small flakes of ice inside. The other looked like melted gold laced with veins of rubies.

"What are those?" Chris hesitantly asked.

They looked so mystical, like nothing he'd ever seen before. Even if Deacon had been kind to them, he still didn't know if it was a good idea to trust the ghost of a vampire count from a war torn reality. Having the heart of a saint and the patience of monk, Deacon understood this. Nearly everyone was timid around him.

"The blood of a fire dragon and the tears of an ice fairy. Wear these around your neck and they will help your souls to harmonize. As well, they'll strengthen your aura and protect your spirit from parasites." He explained.

"Meaning you won't have to poison yourself again." Chris remarked to him partner.

Kuza glared at him, "Not like I had any other choice, smartass." He shrugged as he reached his hand out. "At this point we have nothing left to lose."

"That's not a healthy mentality to carry through life, but I guess you're right." He sighed.

They wanted to trust Deacon despite their suspicions. There was just something behind his eyes that was pure and loving. He couldn't mean them any harm. As Kuza reached out, he turned his hand to make sure he grabbed the blue vile. It seemed like it would make more sense for the cold one to go to Chris, but if that's the way the weird dimension hoping spirit wants to have it, then so be it.

Kuza threaded the vial onto one of his many necklaces. It rested near his heart, right where it needed to be. Chris did the same as his mate. The heat radiating from the glass made him uncomfortable. It didn't seem healthy for him to have it near him, but at this point, he was so close to death's door it didn't matter.

"Take good care of yourselves, and promise me this one thing. Never stop fighting, for your lives and your relationship." He said.

"Yeah, okay." Kuza muttered.

"Promise me." Deacon insisted. It was the only aggressive tone he'd taken on through this whole journey.

"Um-" He was stunned for a moment. "I... I promise. As long as you do."

Chris grabbed his hand firmly, "I promise. No matter what, I'm not letting go of you. I'll hold you against your will if I have to."

Deacon stifled a chuckle, "That's what I like to hear. The only person you can trust is your mate. No matter what, remember that. Now," He smirked, "Go to Hell."

"Thank you for everything." Chris smiled at him.

Impatiently, Kuza pulled him along. He wanted to get back to the others already. Knowing they only had two more doors before then made him a little anxious. Deacon maintained a soft smile until they were completely gone. He couldn't keep up the act anymore. This entire time, his insides felt like they were being torn apart by rats.

He raised his hand to the nearest wall. Using his unique gift to destroy, he burned a pentagram into the wall. Then, he crossed a circle and line over it; The alchemy symbol for salt. When the two signs were combined, they called on one of the most vile beings throughout any realities. A portal opened up and he nearly fell through it.

His knees hit the ground as soon as he'd reached the other side. Deacon raised his hand to his mouth, blood dripping out. He never would've guessed that even as a spirit he could bleed. The room around him was quiet and still, like a clean pond. Nearly nothing was here except for two other creatures.

One, a disgustingly thin witch in shackles. Her cranberry hair fell over her eyes and spider like lace barely covered her ashy skin. She was pissed, but not at Deacon. It was the creature who once again used her and stood behind her like a puppet master. His long black to silver hair deepened his gaunt face. Regardless, he oozed sex with every breath.

"You've pushed yourself too far." The demon said.

"I would do it a thousand times again to achieve what I did." Deacon responded, "You were right. It was them."

"You gave them the vials?" He questioned.

He wiped his mouth, struggling back to his feet. "Yes. I did lie somewhat. I only told them half of what was in there."

"If you'd like to play by the book of a petty fool to ease your conscious, not telling the entire truth isn't fully lying. They're better off not knowing what's in those vials, or who they truly are. The important thing is, even if we've lost our own Chris, we've prevented ourselves from losing our memories of him."

"I don't understand." The witch humbly spoke up.

"You and I both know that's a lie." He scoffed, "But in case your mind has gotten too fucked again, I'll refresh your memory. Despite the fact that there is literally millions of alternate universes, we all have an original version of ourselves. The source code, if you will. If the source code dies, all memory of that person throughout all worlds is destroyed."

"These sources, they're called Lost Ones. They have no clue that they were the sources but one of Jasper's many duties as the Guardian of the Afterlife is to protect Lost Ones. They aren't safe until they lace their souls, which can take years." Deacon explained, "Has Felix returned yet?"

"No, but I'm not concerned. He can remain on the spirit plain much longer than you. You need to rest. You should be proud of yourself for what you've accomplished today." Jasper extended his hand out to his old friend.

Deacon placed his delicate hand in that of a demon's. "There is still so much more to be done."

"We have an eternity." He responded.

Jasper placed his hand along the vampire saint's face. Their lips closed in on each other, but it was face from a kiss. He consumed Deacon's soul once again, hosting his spirit inside his own body. It was the only way Deacon could regenerate properly. With that over with now, he grabbed Dusk and dragged her back upstairs.

| | |

Kuza wrapped his arms around himself, shivering. Who knew specters could feel temperature? Of course, the cold of their new reality didn't bother Chris in the least bit. They were somewhere underground. It looked almost like catacombs. Without any sort of signs, they had no idea where to go. The passageways all looked identical.

"This isn't creepy at all." Kuza muttered.

"Where the Hell are we?" Chris wondered. He tried to listen or sense something, but he got nothing. It was either pick a random direction or hope something comes to them. Neither made a move, making it obvious what their choice was. Thankfully, they weren't waiting for long.

Out of one of the passageways, shadows approached. They emerged into the light, revealing familiar faces. Kuza, this Kuza, he was much different. Instead of having the look of a lost dog in his eyes, he had strength unlike any of the others. Chris and Ryan walked alongside him. They almost seemed scared of him. That wasn't the right word. It wasn't fear as much as it was respect.

"I'm sorry she keeps causing you trouble." Chris said.

"I'm not going to blame you for her actions, even if she is your daughter. Just make sure you keep a leash on her from now on. If I see her anywhere near the tavern again, I'll clip her wings." He sneered, "I need to get back home and check on my son."

"If there's anything we can help with, let us know. Again, I'm so sorry Mercy hurt him." He looked as stressed as you'd expect a parent to be in this situation.

Kuza stormed off towards another hallway. He knew where he was going, somehow. Even the people who live here have trouble getting it right all the time. As he left, Ricky walked in the room. Massive white wings hung off his thin frame. He approached Chris with a sad look on his face.

"What's wrong? Why was Mike here?" He asked, "He never brings good news."

"Your dear daughter got in a fight with one of the twins and fucked him up pretty badly." Ryan responded, "That's the problem with hybrid kids though. Sometimes, you can't change their programming, no matter how they were raised."

Chris wrapped his hands around his husband's waist. "You're only saying that to make us feel better. Blake's a hybrid and he turned out just fine."

"And your other kids are fine too, because they're only a quarter angel. Mercy, I'm not sure if any of us could ever fix her." He said.

Ricky sighed, "I don't want to talk about it right now. I just came to tell you dinner's ready."

Chris pecked his forehead, "Thanks, Beautiful."

The three of them began to walk towards the same direction Kuza had headed. It had to have been the way out. Chris held onto Ricky's hand as they walked. He seemed so overprotective of him, like his whole life revolved around that angel.

"Something's bothering you." Chris commented as he glanced back at his partner.

Kuza sighed shortly and followed him towards the stairs. "It's nothing. I was just... The me here, he has kids. I never even considered kids because I knew I'd never have them. I never stopped to think if I ever wanted them because it just wasn't an option for me."

"I... I never thought about it either. I mean, we can't reproduce anyways, but I never thought about adopting or anything like that."

He shook his head, "It's useless to talk about. It was a dumb thought in my head. Let's just get out of here."

Chris didn't say anything in response. Aside from their sexuality playing a part, all Lost Ones are infertile. They were genetic mishaps anyways. Why should they be allowed to reproduce? The thought of it was nonexistent for most. It was just another one of those things they had to accept.

The two of them continued up a dim, winding staircase. Finally, they reached an area that didn't look like a cave. It was a gorgeous mansion. They could never dream of owning a place like this. With all these doors, who knows how long it could take them to find the way out. It's not like it was going to bother them to have to stay here for a little while. The place was incredible.

They followed the sound of voices into the dining room. There were so many people, it was hard to believe this was their family here. Strangely, Chris and Kuza could just tell. They knew these were people they loved here. Though the kids were rowdy, they still all cared for one another.

"Now I see." Chris stated, "At first, I couldn't understand how Deacon could say we were happy here, but now I see. We have a family, a home, a peaceful life."

"We don't. They do. We're just unlucky bastards that happen to look like them." Kuza mumbled.

His mate frowned, "I'm sorry. Let's just get out of here."

"Yeah. This is just about as depressing as the realities where we're all dead." He crudely replied.

Crude, yes, but true. This is what Hel truly meant. They had to accept what could've been. In order to continue on living, they must learn to live with the fact that they got the short end of the stick. Death would've been the easy way out.