Sebastian must've gone for a long time now because when he opened his eyes; the gloomy cavern was no longer there to welcome him. The expanse of the earth was still the same, cold and smooth. But he no longer was trapped in that disastrous cavern. Above him spread the vast sky and circled the cold yet gentle winds. The earthy trapped smell of the cavern was gone and Sebastian enjoyed a lungful of the fresh mountain air.

He tried to move but the pain wouldn't let him. There was no dark infinity suppressing his essence, there was no sinister Cross to support his torn self, yet the injuries on his body still prevailed, making him battle the agony endlessly.

"Sebastian!"

As soon as he'd failed in his first attempt to sit properly, something fell on him with the agility of a tiger – Pamela.

She wrapped herself around him, crushing him from all sides, while tears of relief rolled along her cheeks.

"Oww." Sebastian yelled and realizing he was in no shape for a bear hug, she quickly pulled herself from him and helped him lean against the stony wall that stretched behind them.

"Where are we?" Sebastian asked.

The earth beneath them was still stony and cold. Few meters away from where they were, the stony plane gave in to a cliff the fall from which would not only shatter one's bones but also cause destruction to the cellular level. And beyond that there was nothing. Tall and mighty mountain ranges snaked for miles; but from this distance they seemed like little lines of broken hills. The stony wall against which he rested was a part of a much wider bigger structure – Behemut's Ruins, the actual ruins.

The tall palace which once reached the skies was now fallen, its towers broken and crumbled, its pride injured and shattered.

But one could still imagine how grand the palace once must've been. Few towers still stood high, aloof from the rest of the structure while some, still quite intact, had fallen horizontally, not much damaged. The tower that had fallen behind Sebastian was one such. Beautiful carvings adorned every inch of it. Some were still intact while some, eroded by the heavy winds and rains, were faded almost completely.

"Somewhere still in the Ruins. When you were passed out, we decided to carry you out of that wretched cavern. We could've walked another mile, but man, you're heavy!" She said.

"Where's Laura?" Sebastian asked.

"Sitting by the pool." She said.

"Pool?" He asked.

"It must've rained here heavily yesterday; a big wide pool has formed not far from here. And, yeah, you should really take a dive. You smell like...like blood. But before that..." Pamela said.

"Sorry Pam, now's not the right time. And don't worry about it; it's been taken care of. Instead, find a way out of here. With Delroy gone missing, dozens of demons should be on their way. And that angel guy, who was he?" Sebastian said.

"Once you make up your mind to tell me everything about Thanos, ask me then. Now, as you said, we need to get out of here." Pamela said.

"Fine. Never it is then." Sebastian said.

"What do you think of yourself, Seb? First, without informing any of us, you and that stupid old man try to trick the master of trickeries and risk all of us. Then, you let your hero juices flow and summon powers of the dark, not truly understanding the consequences. And when I ask how you got off easy from a treacherous being like Thanos, you wave away the question just like that, like us knowing doesn't matter. Like we don't matter at all." Pamela shouted.

"It's not that big a deal." Sebastian said.

"Not a big deal? How could you even say that? Dude, you're literally dancing in pain all day long. And you know when people twist and turn like that? When something's really messed up with their psyches. Now you can act as if I'm a bad head ache or tell me what exactly did Thanos do with you so that we can figure out a way to reverse it." Pamela said.

"Listen, Pam, I know ..." Sebastian began but he soon had to shut his mouth as Pamela suddenly threw water at him. By the looks on her face, she must've been waiting for this opportunity.

"What was that?" Sebastian said. He was clearly annoyed.

"Holy water." Pamela said, looking intently at him, studying him so carefully as if he was a newly discovered species. Then she sighed with relief.

"Okay, so you're not a demon." She smiled.

"Is that it? Or do you want to slice me with silver or pour a gallon of salt water down my throat." He said.

"I do but we don't have any resources here. But there won't be any need anyway; the C.T. was a positive." She said.

"C.T.?" Sebastian asked.

"Conversation Test." She said acting like it'd suffice the query.

"The Conversation Test?" Sebastian wondered what weird techniques she used to test a person of being demon.

"The one I did before holy water. It's a special technique. I immerse you in a conversation and since I know you well, I can guess your responses to my speech and if those guesses are wrong - Dang, I'd push you off the cliff." She said.

"You'd decide the lives of people based on some guesses? That's just insane!" He said.

"Not really. I'm Pamela and my guesses always align with the truth." She said.

"Shut up." Sebastian said.

"And what the hell is this!" He suddenly shouted. He just noticed that he'd been wearing a white shirt which wasn't on him previously. It was Delroy's shirt.

"I might've borrowed it from Delroy. He wouldn't bother; he's gone." She said.

"I know whose it is but why the hell did you do that?" Sebastian yelled. He was already unbuttoning the shirt.

"Because you were like below the absolute zero and the cold winds weren't helping. So if you don't want to thank me, fine. At least don't be a dick!" Pamela said.

"It's freakin' Delroy's shirt!" He shouted and was done with the unbuttoning.

"Yes. A shirt. Not his underpants!" She said.

"And don't tell me you don't need it. You were freezing, dude. Besides, you think you can just walk to Laura in this state. You look like you've just been through my grinder and your clothes are even worse. Hello, there are some dressing manners you need to follow while dating." She said

Sebastian had known Pamela for all his life and never did she fail to surprise him. When a thing as big as Thanos happened not more than few hours ago, she was worrying about silly clothes. He was just glad her brain worked in mysterious ways and he could keep Thanos' deal a secret for some more time.

"Fine, I'll keep it. After all I can't see my aunt in that filth." He said pointing at his old torn and bloody shirt which lay few feet away from him.

As soon as Pamela heard him, all joy left her face and it grew as sullen as it was when Sebastian was still unconscious.

"What happened?" Sebastian asked.

"Nothing." Pamela replied promptly, trying hard not to show any sign of sadness.

"Pam, tell me what happened. It's about my aunt, isn't it?" He said.

All of it now made sense. Pamela was acting strange on purpose, wasn't she? And that's why she didn't insist on knowing what happened with Thanos. Was she trying to divert his attentions from the recent happenings to silly dating manners only to avoid the bitter truth of his aunt?

"I'm sorry, Seb. I'm so sorry." Pamela broke into tears.

"Pam?" Sebastian said.

"Where's she, where's Aunt Jane. Why aren't you saying anything?" Sebastian said.

Pamela said no word. Her silence was the answer. But he refused to accept it. Thanos had promised that everyone was safe. Everyone.

Pamela's eyes grew wetter. She hugged him.

"No, that can't happen. I was promised she's safe. Where's she?"

Only until few minutes ago Sebastian had thought that this physical torture must've been the greatest pain he ever had felt. Now he wasn't so sure.

"I'm sorry, Seb." Pamela said.

Sebastian looked at her.

"You're lying. Isn't this one of your terrible jokes? Pam, don't make such bad jokes." Sebastian said. His eyes had started to moisten and the ache in his heart simply kept on growing.

"I wish I were." Pamela cried. She rested her head against his. Few minutes of silence passed. No one uttered anything. The silence was the unspoken conversation of their saddened hearts.

Feeling loss was something not very unfamiliar to Sebastian. His entire life was a consequence of various losses, some small ones, and some heartbreaking ones.

"You know what oath the venators had to take when they pledged their souls to the Throne?" He said after a while.

"It was a big tiring oath, so big that I had to rehearse it before the ceremony at least a dozen times! Many asked me to reconsider my decision. A venator's life is not easy; it's full of perils and loss, they said. And the oaths ascertain you never live a pleasant life. Some even said that death was sweeter than a venator's life. But I was a fool then. I thought they were jealous of me that I was chosen and not they. When I pledged before the Throne, it did not take me more than a minute to take the oath. I never flinched even once before I got to the last part. Among all others only the last one was truly painful." He paused.

"Forget relations old and new. From today on only the Throne will be my family. I have no other family, I slaughter those fake relations. For I am a chosen servant, I am a Venator of the Throne."

"Those were my exact words. They filled me with emptiness while others clapped for my heartlessness and I became emptier than ever. I was a Venator. I had no real family. I had no one and nothing to lose. I was, by all means, free, bound to the Throne, yes, but free." He said.

Very little of what he said made sense to Pamela. Yet she didn't let her focus dwindle.

"That time I'd no heart; my past had already killed it long ago. And what my uncle and aunt must've felt then never reached me. That time I didn't really care about feelings. I was a real douchebag." Sebastian said.

"But I'd never truly meant what I had said then. I joined the ranks partly because I considered myself as a burden to my uncle and aunt and mostly because I wanted to respect Aunt Jane's wish." He said.

"She said that the only way to get over with the past was to have a present and a present where one regretted or repented over the past was not having a true present. Find a new purpose, son, or else you'll stay the same child you were when your uncle brought you here, a messed up child." His eyes were now distant as he went deeper in the memories.

"She just wanted me to have a meaning to life, a purpose and I thought being a venator would suffice that need. And I did become one. To make my present I made myself forget all my past and eventually, as my heart got further involved in the bloody business of a venator, it eventually died. I watched people die all the time. I dealt with the pain of losing friends and one day I'd grown so heartless that I could shed not even a tear for a friend's death. I thought I had finally become a true venator, one who could face any loss with a smile." He said.

"But now I don't think I do. I feel it. I feel the pain of losing someone. And I can't control it."

"It's okay, Seb, it's okay. Pain demands to be felt and no one can control it." Pamela said.

"Stop quoting Fault in Our Stars." Sebastian said.

"I'm not. I added the 'no one can control it' part. And how the hell do you know about that movie. Wow, to make you watch a super emotional film like that, Laura does have total control over you." She teased.

"I once saw you watching it few months ago. And you weren't crying then. That's when I decided to be your boyfriend." He said.

"And why exactly is that?" Pamela asked.

"Because that was an indication that you're tough and you would handle the loss when the time would come." He said.

"Wow, you thought about our relationship to that extent. I believed you're only, you know, using me just like...I was using you." Pamela said.

"What do you mean?" Sebastian abruptly sat up straight, alarmed.

"Well, research can be overwhelming, you know, and sex is the best stress reliever. You didn't figure it out? God, you are really as dumb as you look. If I really loved you, you think I'd simply accept you turning up at my house with another good looking girl that ain't your sister? I'd freakin' kill you and throw your ashes in some volcano!" Pamela said.

Sebastian said no word. Perhaps Fates had decided to torture him to death today.

"Shit! That was a pretty harsh thing to say to a guy whose aunt just fake-died, wasn't it?" She said.

"Fake-died? What do you mean?" Sebastian asked.

"Remember I told you about my most special demon test, the long tiring Conversation Test?" She said.

"You mean Aunt Jane is alive and all this was really your bad joke?" Sebastian was furious.

"If my body wasn't aching, I swear I'd throw you off that cliff right now." He said.

"It was necessary. See, when one deals with ancient beings like Thanos, the victim is not usually demon. So the holy water test was just time pass, I knew you were you. But that doesn't mean you were 'you' you, your psyche could've been modified, or worse, destroyed. Under normal circumstances, I'd have taken a peek inside that dumb brain but I didn't have any resources. So in order to confirm you were normal, I had to make up this lie and test you the boring way. But this was kind of fun, right?" She said.

"Fun? Fine, let's have some more fun. Why don't I tie you upside down and hang you by that cliff? And you call this testing through guessing? Heck, you don't even know whether what I just said is true or not; I never let stuff like this out. You were just messing with me for not telling you about Thanos or about this stupid plan, weren't you?" He said.

"That might be partly correct, yes, but I was really testing. I do know how you really feel. You may not confide your secrets to a living person but you certainly talk to the dead about it." She said.

"What do you mean?" Sebastian said. It wasn't him she was testing, it was his patience perhaps.

"Okay, I'll explain but please don't be angry." She said and let out a big sigh.

"Every Thursday, at 11 pm sharp, you used to visit the nearest graveyard and do nothing but stare in the dark. But sometimes you murmur your fears and, well, I liked seeing this side of you so I kept sneaking on and realized you were just a big fraud and you actually cared a lot about people close to you. Just that you believed having a heart was a burden since it can easily be used against someone." She said.

"You spied on me!" He was furious.

"Only one time. Okay, two times. Fine, almost every time. But it was necessary. I was going to be your girlfriend then and I was simply doing a background check." She said.

"Background check? We've known each other for all our lives!" He shouted.

"Have we? You never shared anything about you. Your life had been a greater secret that Area 51 and you think I'd let Mr Secrecy walk into my life so easily. I had to make sure I wasn't sleeping with some psycho. And why are you so embarrassed about the fact that you were never a cold heartless venator but a simple human being; I ain't talking about that time when I saw you doing the guy stuff in the back seat of your chevy. Oops, did I say this out loud?" She said.

"You know about that too!" Sebastian was now mad with rage and as red as a tomato.

"Let me sum up. You spied on me for dozens of times. You disrespected all my privacy. Heck you even used me! What kind of a girl are you?"

" I'm Pamela."

I really need feedback for this chapter. As you see, the chapter's a bit odd and the event doesn't seem very natural. But we all know how weird Pamela can get. Even so, if this chapter seems exceedingly weird, please let me know.