War returned shortly after, carrying the water that he'd promised, and in that time it seemed that neither Angel nor Demon had made an appearance… which was all well and good, but after a while, Death began to grow restless. He hadn't been in favor of resting to begin with, and the fact that they were being so sedentary was making him nervous.

"I'm going to scout the tunnels," he said for the third time since they had stopped, and this time neither War nor Sarah said anything to deter him. Death looked back and forth between the two before letting out an exasperated groan.

"Is something the matter, Death?" War asked patiently. Death clenched and unclenched his fists.

"I can't believe we're just sitting here while Azrael and Uriel are battling the hellbirds in Eden," he snapped, "all because the human is tired."

"I didn't choose to be tired, you know," Sarah snapped. "If you're suddenly so concerned about the angels, then why don't you go to Eden by yourself? I'm sure you'll be more than capable of handling it without War, and if you are not, then I'm sure I'll find my own way there eventually!"

"You wouldn't last a single day on your own," Death quipped. "You're just slowing us down."

"Perhaps a night's sleep might amend that problem, preferably one without your constant arrogant input!"

"That's enough!" War snapped, and both Death and Sarah fell silent. War grunted irritably. "I've had enough of your quibbling. You're worse than Strife and Fury."

Death grunted, crossing his arms. "Fine. I'll let the human sleep. But then we move out."

Sarah turned away stubbornly. "Alright."

"Very well," War said conclusively, gesturing for his brother to follow him to a higher level of the cavern. "Death and I will guard you while you sleep."

"Hmph," Death replied. "Just don't make any noise, human."

"I'll be sure to keep the screaming to a minimum," Sarah replied sarcastically, leaning back against the stack of leathery pillows and turning towards the wall. She heard the crunch of gravel fade behind her and she sighed, letting her breath flow out of her slowly as she shut her eyes against the smell of the moist cavern walls around her. A breeze wafted through the cave and she shivered, reaching for a leather tarp that sat crumpled at the bottom of the hammock and instinctively pulling it over herself. As she began to fade, she wondered how long it would take before she and Death finally got on each other's last nerves.

Distant voices wandered into her mind as she drifted off, muted snatches of conversation between War and Death, likely plotting what their next move would be. But she didn't let that bother her. As she focused on her own breathing, eventually those voices turned into nothing more than threads in the fabric of her dreams as she peacefully navigated the events that had transpired during her short time on Earth. However, even after she'd fallen into a deep, restful sleep, War's voice remained with her, gently calling her name and guiding her into the morning.

/

She awoke alone, her body stiff from having remained in the same position the entire night. Carefully unwrapping herself from the leathery tarp, she glanced down to her bedside and saw another pitcher filled with water, from which she took a long, hard drink. She yawned, peacefully stretching her arms overhead as she looked around. Everything looked pretty much the same from the previous night, and as she fingered the pendant around her neck she began to wonder just where those two Horsemen had gotten off too.

Suddenly, her intimate thoughts were interrupted by a large booming noise echoing from somewhere deep within a tunnel on the other side of the cavern. Squinting her eyes in concern, the girl got up as a strong wind suddenly began to pick up around her, ruffling her skirts and causing the hairs on the back of her neck to stand up. Her heart started to pound as she heard the clanging of armor traveling on the wind, and as her breath quickened she could hear the heavy trod of footsteps hurrying in her direction. Suddenly, two figures appeared at the mouth of the tunnel looking rather bedraggled.

"Run, Sarah!" War commanded, pointing his sword in the direction of the path that snaked its way upwards to her immediate left. Gasping, Sarah grabbed the gourd with the water and began to bolt along the stone path, careful not to trip on the myriad of broken pots and weapons that had been left over from the last battle. Still slightly disoriented from sleep, Sarah had barely made it halfway up the side of the cavern when she began to make out a swarm of strange, two-legged demons chasing after her two companions.

Oh no! she thought in alarm as War and Death hacked and slashed through the crowd in an attempt to make it smaller. In the back of the crowd, a demon pulled out a strange weapon that resembled a candelabra, and aimed it at Sarah's small figured scampering up the path.

Sarah yelped, jumping forward as the bombs collided with the rock face behind her and exploded in a rain of fire. She cried out as her bare knees scraped against the jagged rock, but she inhaled bravely and stood, continuing on until she reached a new hallway with a gate that was activated by a lever. She ducked into the entryway as two more bombs came flying towards her, narrowly missing her location. Looking out as the demonic gunman reloaded, Sarah realized that the demons were attempting to push the Horsemen right beneath two large stone pillars, where a dozen more of them were waiting to topple them over.

"War!" she shouted. "Death! Come quickly before they bring the cave down on you!"

The Horsemen looked up at her frantic waving, and with a determined nod, finished off the demons they were occupied with and began bolting for the gate. Seeing their plot, the gunman attempted to launch a bomb to destroy the small footbridge that led up to the gated hallway, but was suddenly struck down by a well-aimed rock that Sarah had sent flying from her perch high above the rest of them.

"Filthy demon!" she spat, hurling another rock at them, and then another, thwarting what attempts she could at hindering the Horsemen.

Finally, War and Death arrived at the top and Sarah wasted no time ushering them into the new hallway. With a heaving pull, she tore at the lever until the gate began to fall.

"This way!" she said quickly as the hissing and snarling of the demons grew closer. "It's a rudimentary gate and won't hold them for very long!"

"You think we don't know that?" Death snapped, but Sarah ignored him as they arrived in another cavern, this one with an exit clearly displayed. In the distance, Sarah could see the glowing blue portal rising up into the brown, ashen sky like a beacon.

"The portal!" she exclaimed, but War shushed her.

"There's no time to marvel at it now," he said. "We are indeed close, but we still need to cross the ashlands. Death, take Sarah onto your horse, or the ashworms will have their fun with her innards."

"Why me?" Death complained, but Sarah was relieved to see that the ground beneath her was shaking with Despair's arrival.

Death mounted first, and then with a strong tug brought Sarah up to sit directly in front of him. She hunched down, her legs hanging over one side as she positioned herself firmly between Death's arms. With a loud cry, War spurred both horses into action just as the demons began crowding around the corner.

Sarah held onto Despair's saddle tightly as the Horsemen galloped towards the portal. She kept her eyes steady on the blue plume of light as the thundering hooves of the horses against the ash filled her ears. It seemed like an eternity before they'd crossed the entire field, and once they did, War was once against quick to bark out orders.

"Brother," he said, grasping his sword as the horses disappeared back into the realms from which they were summoned. "Take Sarah onto your back and scale the wall up to the portal. I will meet you there once I can determine that there is no more danger down here."

"But…!" Death complained before letting out a pained whine.

"I'll scale the wall myself if it's too difficult for you, Death," Sarah said with a smug grin, to which Death replied with a huff and a strong yank of her arm.

"No need to be so violent!" she protested, almost wishing it was War that would hold her, and not this brute who obviously wanted nothing to do with her. Nevertheless, she allowed him to place her on his back, and grasped onto his neck tightly as he began to jump between the two walls that would lead them up to the cavern. They'd made it about halfway up when War flew past them, reaching the top effortlessly with the help of two large black wings that had sprouted from his back.

"Are you kidding me?" Death grumbled under his breath, and Sarah let out a chuckle as they arrived at the top as well.

"Sarah," War said to her as they began to head closer to the portal. "Are you sure that Uriel and Azrael are battling the hellbirds in Eden?"

"Of course I'm sure!" Sarah replied, crossing her arms in slight annoyance at being constantly doubted. "If I weren't sure, then I never would have sent us on this ridiculous quest."

"Very well then," War answered, drawing his Armageddon Blade. "Let us see what damage these beasts have wrought."