Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Enjoy, chapter 11 of,

RIDE TO HELL

The Spirit of Vengeance rode out of the hospital the same way he had entered, the wheels of the transformed chopper crushing the stone steps that led to the entrance, the boy holding onto to his side as tight as he could while they made their way out of the area.

"Listen, I know who you are, Uzumaki, and I know you want answers." Lucas said, looking back at the hospital behind them. "Just get me away from here, and I'll tell you whatever you wanna know!"

The wraith didn't bother to ask how the kid knew his name, only grunting in response as the kid held tighter, closing his eyes and making sure the fire from the wheels and engine didn't touch him.

"How fast does this bike of yours go?"

"Faster than hell."

"Well, I don't know about you, man…"

The boy cracked one eye open, relieved to see they were a fair distance from the building as the bike accelerated and sped out to the path ahead.

"But it ain't hell I'm worried about…"

He muttered, warily glancing at the statue of an angel that stood over the gates that was shadowed by the moonlight.

The hospital was a wreck.

Azumi gasped, white as chalk. Her eyes and her mouth were frozen wide open in an expression of shock, staring at the debris left behind by… whatever that was that had caused it.

"Oh my god... did we… did anyone…" She was at a loss for words. "Did anyone get his license plate number?!" The woman asked, yet no one answered. She turned to her superior, the older nurse supporting a scowl as few shards of glass had nicked her in the arms and face. "The police are on their way, aren't they?"

"No police." Her superior gruffly answered her, fishing out a key hidden by a necklace as she turned to another nurse. "Hanami, round up the girls."

"Yes Ma'am."

Approaching a statue of an angel, the old woman inserted the key hidden by the stone robes of the angel. "Tell 'em we're going code red."

A small click, and the statue split apart.

"Time to show our Lord Zadkiel how much we love him."

Guns, grenades, swords with blades made of pure light and gold, and various other weaponry coated with holy energy were stored within the hollowed-out statue. The broad woman grabbed two shotguns and threw one to another nurse.

"Everybody, grab all you can." The older woman ordered.

Azumi watched in shock and slight fear as her fellow nurses took the weapons without a word while she stood there, dumbfounded and confused.

"Azumi, go bring the car around." Her superior said.

"I-I'm driving?!"

The older nurse rounded to face her. "No honey, I am." She cocked the shotgun. "I'm sure you're a fine driver and all, but come nightfall and the people around here get…

She glanced at a statue held by the end of the hallway, that of a sculpture of a devil being crushed under the foot of an angel.

...tricky."

By the time he woke up, he felt the streams of sunlight fell through the thick wall of trees, filling up every space between the leaves with warm light.

He rubbed his eyes, groaning as he looked around from the tree trunk he used to support himself as he slept. Uzumaki was nearby, reverted from his skeletal form as he sat on a rock protruding from the dirt as he tended to the bonfire that kept them… well, him warm. He didn't know if Uzumaki would really need it, but he didn't dare ask.

"How long was I out?" He asked the blonde.

"Eight, nine hours." The whiskered teen responded. They were at the outskirts of Kuoh, far from the hospital and decided to rest here.

glancing at the kid's chest, seeing the familiar red color that had been etched like the assassin.

"That mark on your chest… what does it mean?"

"That's… his mark. They branded me with it."

Lucas grimaced. "The one they call the new morningstar. He of the ineffable Sefiroth. Chief of the Order of Dominions. Lord of the Black Host… Zadkiel."

Naruto narrowed his eyes.

"Tell me everything."

The boy looked down. "It started when… I died." He began. "My heart stopped. Paramedics said I was dead for less than a minute before they brought me back, but to me, it felt like an eternity."

"I remember a white light and for a moment, I thought… I knew that I was entering Heaven." He looked up at the sun, recalling the angelic feel. "But then they took me away from the light, bringing me down to a space of gray."

Lucas turned his gaze towards the blonde, eyes wide, and lips trembling. "He and his legion of men, Malakim Assassins, they brought me down and forcefully tried to brainwash me to become one of them." He explained.

"I wasn't alone. His men discreetly collected and stole souls from Purgatory, and the dead are made to labor. If someone dares refuse, their soul is torn to shreds and scattered to the winds of eternity. A fate that dwarfs whatever hell's harshest torture."

He took a faraway glance at the nature that surrounded them. "I was lucky though. Turns out, it wasn't my time to die. The paramedics resuscitated me." The boy touched the mark that was branded to his skin, still feeling the pain that they had done. "But Zadkiel, he sent his earthly minions to find me, and keep me quiet."

The kid huddled to his feet, scooting close to the fire. "That's what I know."

Naruto glanced over at him. "So the nurses back there, they're the servants of Zadkiel?"

The black haired boy nodded. "They certainly are…" He snapped his head in shock when the former exorcist stood up and started to approach the motorcycle.

"H-Hey, wait! What are you doing, you can't go back there!" Quickly, Lucas stood up himself, and ran to the blonde, grabbing his arm in alarm as he blocked his path.

"If they're his servants, than they can tell me more." Naruto grunted.

Lucas was eye wide, filled with fear and unease within. "L-Look, I don't know what Zadkiel's planning, but it's huge, something that can affect the supernatural world!" He pleaded with the blonde, who didn't looked convinced.

"But for now his plans are deadlocked! Zadkiel can't do whatever he needs to do without Heaven's Greatest Weapon at his disposal!" The kid's head turned up, staring at him right in the eye.

"You. The Spirit of Vengeance. You and the others just like you!"

Naruto stared at him incredulously, before he narrowed his eyes.

"What others? What do you mean Heaven's Greatest-"

Lucas grabbed him by his shirt, desperation in his voice. "Listen to me! When he makes his move, you need to-!"

The gunshot cracked into the air as loud as thunder and the kid collapsed to the ground with a scream. Naruto whipped his head to the side, his eyes glowing as he glared at the greenery behind him.

"Have it now, my vixens!" The old broad's voice echoed in the forest. ""Make them hurt! Make them bleed! Hippocratic oath be damned!"

The blonde hoisted up the bleeding boy who groaned from the pain. Blood soaking into the kid's hospital sleeve, radiating outward.

The rumbling of tires hit against the rocky terrain, nearing the two. Naruto growled as he caught glimpse of white through the leaves and bushes. "Fine. Let's finish this, once and for all." He glowered.

"No, wait…" Lucas protested weakly.

The black haired boy looked up to him, distressed and desperate. "Please, don't let me die, Uzumaki." He pleaded. "I-If I go back there, Zadkiel will tear my soul to bits. Please… get me out of here."

The former exorcist glanced at him, then to the side-mirror of his bike, the sounds of vehicles rushing to their spot.

No other choice then.

Lucas shut his eyes as he tightened his hold on his saviour, ignoring the irritating feeling of cracked and chapped leather as the transformed teen drove, through the canopy of trees, passing and going straight through an RV, creating a brand new hole to the van, fire trailing behind them.

The hellish cycle twisted and turned as it rounded corners in angles and speed impossible for a normal bike. If it weren't for the situation they were in, the kid would admit that it was the coolest thing he ever saw.

He sucked in air instinctually as the wraith pulled on the handlebars and they flew in the air, landing roughly within the crops, burning the plants at their way.

"Whatever happens. Do not let go." He warned him. Lucas nodded, slightly unsettled at the calm, yet deep and menacing voice that emanated through the skull, a stark contrast from the blonde's gruff and rough one.

Another gunshot rent the still rural air, and Lucas screamed in fear when the burning chopper suddenly twisted and the two were forcibly thrown from motorcycle and onto the dirt.

The Rider held his arm as the women went down from their vehicles and approached him, brandishing weapons made of light, and some with gold that radiated with holy energy stronger than the regular light blade.

The skull glanced down at the golden bullet that hit his arm.

"I actually felt that." The wraith growled. "Which one of you bitches shot me?!"

He stood up, and grabbed the blackened chains wrapped on his chest. One of the nurses holding a golden sword rushed at him with a roar.

The Rider dodged under a measly swing and brought a hand on her neck, the woman giving out a choked gasp, and slammed her to the dirt with force, cracking the ground and sending the blade flying.

He sent a devastating blow to another nurse that rushed at him with a golden mallet, sending fresh ripples of pain through her torso, and sent her flying. His other hand grasped his chain and lashed out on another, eviscerating the assassin in seconds.

Just as he turned around, he felt the stinging sensation as another one sent a blow to his face with a golden knuckle. Unlike light blades, that he could shrug off handedly, this one hurt. Way more than the usual weapons that stray exorcists used when he hunted them down.

Before he could retaliate, all of them rushed at him at once, catching him off-guard as they raised their weapons down on him one-by-one. They forced him into a kneeling position, a light sword leveled at his neck, as the old bitch walked towards them with a golden needle.

"You see this needle?" She gestured towards it, the sunlight reflecting of it. "This needle, like our weapons, are more than just light blades. Forged and blessed by Zadkiel himself, especially made for the likes of you." The woman admired the needle. "Inside the syringe is a single drop of the same fiery rain that Zadkiel himself used to napalm Sodom and Gomorrah."

"So imagine the fire of a thousand Hiroshimas, but injected directly into your bloodstream." She explained. "It will hurt like you cannot believe, I assure you." The bitch smirked. "But you'll live. At least, so long as our master still wills it."

The old nurse readied the golden syringe as she leaned forward, glaring at the former exorcist. "Now bend over and let me jam this in your bony little ass cheek, punk. Or else we break your arms and legs." She threatened.

"The rest of you, find that brat Lucas." She ordered the others. "The master wants him alive. But nobody said we couldn't cut out his tongue, just for giggles."

The broad glanced at the flaming bike and scowled. "And one of you drag that blasted motorcycle out of here and sink that piece of junk to the bottom of the nearest mudhole."

The wraith's skull snapped up to the woman. "Nobody…"

"Touches my ride!"

And then there was an explosion. It was as though a fist of orange flame had decided to punch it's way out of the skeleton, blowing the women away. Crops burned. Smoke and fire rushed out. Clanging of weapons echoed in the field, stabbed into the ground as the nurses, burned and dead, lay.

Within the pile of bodies, the older nurse groaned in pain, third-degree burns around her body as she laid with the corpses, injured, but not dead. "Wha… what… was that…?"

Naruto stood up from the black smoke, a scream tore out and the blonde looked to the side to see Lucas, completely unharmed, cowering in fear, scratching his body in a frenzy.

"Oh God! I'm on fire! I'm on fire!" He screamed.

"You're not on fire, kid." The former exorcist assured him. "The flames only burn the wicked."

The roar of the engine that his chopper held tore between the smoke, and he straddled it as the black haired boy looked up in relief.

"Now get your ass up and let's get going."

Naruto didn't how many hours had passed since then, but he didn't stop driving as they passed through the country roads. The sky had long since darkened from light blue to familiar black by the time he had entered the mountain side. The bright, glow of the morning had since tapered off into a softly falling mist that accompanied the blackness which forced him to switch the lights on.

The night brought an unrelenting darkness that wrapped their eyes and mouths, burying them beneath a starless sky. The air had thickened, the temperature dropped and nowhere was there a comforting sound.

Lucas groaned in pain, the blonde gave a quick glance to his side. The bullet wound was small. Somewhat ragged around the edges but yet the kid was profusely bleeding. The exit wound must be on his back somewhere.

Poor kid. He didn't deserve to be caught in all of this.

"You're bleeding like hell, kid." Naruto remarked. "We gotta get you back to Kuoh."

"Did we… did we lose them yet?" The black haired boy murmured weakly.

Naruto looked at his side-mirror, and he groaned in annoyance when he saw various jeeps and motorcycles driven by their assailants. Even from here, he could see the snarling visage of that old broad.

"Not quite."

By the time they had reached an intersection, along the cracked, road mixed with dirt and asphalt, there had been the sound of loose mud beneath the tires, yet as he drove further, Naruto didn't hear the sounds of vehicles following them.

He turned his head to the side, narrowing his eyes when the jeeps remained stationary behind them just at the start of the intersection.

"They stopped."

Lucas looked back. "What? Where…" His eyes widened in fear, and sheer terror was plastered on his face.

"Oh God…"

He grabbed the arms of the blonde driving and shook him. "Oh my God, we gotta get out of here now!" He screamed. "We have to get out of this roads-LOOK OUT!"

Naruto switched his eyes back to the front, and his own eyes widened, immediately he switched gears, and the chopper stopped short as it skidded in the road. Embedding the dirt and stone path with tire tracks. Then he felt it.

A spike of energy around them, demonic energy.

"Stray devils…"

Creatures, varying in sizes big and small, grotesque with bodies that looked human, but conjoined and twisted with various bodies of animals, their howls and growls filling the dark midnight sky. The contorted figure eclipsed the moon.

They surrounded their new prey as one of them stood on its knotted haunches and stopped as it's wrinkled face stared at them. It gave off an aura of pure hate and evil mixed with hunger expressed in its dull black eyes.

"We gotta get out of here, Uzumaki!" The boy urged the teen hurriedly as the monsters crept closer. "These things will tear us to shreds!"

The boy expected the blonde to accelerate. Yet he didn't. Naruto was silent, holding his head low, then spoke.

"No."

Lucas looked at him in disbelief and horror.

"No, I don't think so."

Naruto's eyes glowed fiery red as he tightened his hold on the handlebars of his motorcycle. "I'm don't know what the hell Zadkiel wants from me, but I'm getting tired of getting chased around." His skin started blistering, melting as he growled. "From here on out, all of you are DEAD!"

He ignited in a fiery ball of yellow flame, billowing outwards, filling the area around them and fading into smoke through the air destroyed by the blast wave. The noise had reverberated over the forested area as efficiently as a thunder clap.

"Anybody who doesn't want to get run over… better clear off the road."

The Rider's first and final warning fell on deaf ears.

The first of the devils lashed out, swinging a claw in hopes of scratching him. The wraith caught the offending appendage easily, and with a deafening snap, ripped the arm off.

The beast howled in pain, only to be silenced, its head supporting a brand new hole in its face, courtesy of the charred skeleton throwing its own arm so strongly that it ripped through the devil's head.

The Rider roared and twisted the handlebars and accelerated, removing a hand from one of the bars and summoned a blade as the devils chased after them. He swung and managed to nick one devil, a man that had scales for skin, right in the neck, slicing through the tendons and bone, decapitating the devil as it collapsed, run over by the others.

More monsters fell as drove, the wraith swung wildly, yet efficiently. Lucas shrieked in shock when one devil that had its lower body cut off, but still alive, attempted to climb over the motorcycle, but was pushed off by the boy as the teen driving impaled one more and threw the body to another.

"Hold on." The skeleton warned his passenger.

The marked boy held wrapped his arms on the former exorcist once more and gritted his teeth as he felt the wind whipped by as they went faster. He cracked one eye open, and looked back at the trail of torn off limbs and dead body behind them in relief when he noticed that that they were starting to lose them.

His relief was cut short when he screamed and brought his leg closer to him when bullets whizzed past them. Rumbling of motorcycle engines were heard from behind, and more bullets sailed.

A nurse on a motorcycle pulled the trigger of her weapon and more bullets fly out of the chamber.

The Rider growled, and the sword disappeared in a flash of fire. Replaced shortly by a double-barreled shotgun. The charred skeleton swiveled it. Without even looking back, fired a round at the assassin.

The woman screamed and fell of the motorcycle as the front tire suddenly blasted off to the side, falling to the ground. Before she could even get up, the stray devils had already latched on to her, and she could only screech as she was torn to pieces.

The transformed teen revved the chopper and sped ahead, ramming into devil and cut through its midsection like butter. Despite its torn body, the monster did not relent, and latched on to the skeleton's leg and onto his shoulder, attempting to bite him.

He growled and tried to shake the monster off him.

Before a sudden force hit him right on his jaw, and sent him swerving off the road. Lucas gave a shout of surprise as he was thrown off. The chopper flipped, the Rider along with it as he tumbled and crashed into a shed that was long abandoned.

The wraith was up within seconds, hearing the scream of the kid and growled lowly. He looked around, and saw the glinting of metal that reflected of the moonlight through the impromptu entrance he made.

The black haired boy backed away from the approaching monsters, and tried to kick away one that went to try and grab him. The devil snarled and gripped the limb as it extended.

Pulling him roughly, the devils gave leers as they closed in, their hunger focused and one of them, a man that looked to be conjoined with a lizard, bared its fangs and prepared to-

"HEY!"

The leather wearing skeleton walked out of the shed, the cold metal of the scythe he held glinted and gave it a dangerous edge in the hands of the wraith.

"You wretches may figure that your pathetic excuse for an existence couldn't possibly get any worse… but believe me… it can." The Rider took a step forward. "Now. Hand over the boy."

One of the monsters barked out a laugh. "You're just as whiny as my bastard of a master. Makes me more glad I ripped him and his other servants apart!" He boasted looking proud as he did despite his grotesque appearance.

The half-man, half-lizard devil looked away from his fear-stricken boy, yet still tightened his hold, his voice animalistic and scratchy.

"You may look like a demon, but you've got the stench of an angel on you, no doubt." The monster concluded. "So why not piss-off back to your cloud and diddle your harp like a good little heavenly whore?"

The Rider's flames flared.

"See now… that was the wrong thing to say."

The flaming bike roared and he swung his leg over the seat and accelerated the handlebar as his other arm holding the scythe reared back.

"Tell 'em when you lots get back to hell that the Ghost Rider sends his regards!"

Before any could respond, the wraith mowed them down either by the front of his bike or by scythe that carved through the monsters easily.

"Uzumaki! Over here!" Lucas called out as he tried to stand up. "Over he-hey!" There was no chance to do anything else as another monster, this time, the devil had the lower body of a horse, grabbed him by the scruff of his hospital gown and galloped away.

His skull turned and watched as the monster galloped and he growled. "The day I can't catch a dead horse…" He revved the engine and the bike responded in kind, the flames licking off the tires whipping to the opposite direction as he chased the devil.

"Is the day I rot in hell."

A good distance away, the old woman watched the ongoing chase with keen eyes at the safety of her vehicle, surrounded by the closure of tall trees. Her hand reached to the compartment nestled in-between the driver and the passenger seat and brought out a ringing phone with an unknown number.

She clicked it, and brought it to her ear.

"Where are you?" The youthful voice in the other line asked.

"Uzumaki is on the highway. We're sticking close." She gruffly replied, steadily forwarding the vehicle as she did.

"He still has the boy with him?"

"Stray devils got 'em. Uzumaki's giving chase."

A pause.

"The others will soon catch up to him. You and your nurses must follow the plan exactly as instructed, do you hear?" The caller said. "Zadkiel won't tolerate failure, I assure you."

The old nurse frowned, glaring at the phone. "Who do you think you're talking to, kid?" She started. "You may be the master's lieutenant, but I've been serving him far longer than you." She reminded, bite in her tone.

"Good. Then I'm sure everything will go off without a hitch."

The woman looked around and narrowed her eyes, before bringing her attention back at the phone. "Where are you?"

"Don't worry about where I am." The voice assured. "I'm close, I'll be around when needed."

Another pause, this time longer than the first, and for a moment, she almost thought her contact had hung up on her.

"Hello?"

"Tell me… how does Uzumaki… how does he look like? Is he…"

"He's hell on damn wheels is what he is." The nurse scowled. "One of the toughest sonuvabitch I've ever had the displeasure of chasing down." She growled. "Are all Ghost Riders like that?"

"No. No they're definitely not."

A click, signifying the end of the call.

"Come and get it boys! There's plenty of hellfire for everyone!"

The Rider roared out as he swung the scythe into the direction of every devil in front of him with deadly accuracy and precision. Chopping off arms, decapitating heads, and bisecting bodies at the relentless horde that seemed determined to get him.

"UZUMAKI!" Lucas shouted, instinctively held on to the arm of the half-man, half-horse as they approached the road nestled between a small rocky valley.

A mass of monsters grouped within the road, their forms shadowed by the moonlight, blocked by the mass of land at each side of the pathway.

They readied themselves as they let the devil holding the boy pass them, preparing their assault on the flaming skeleton that neared them, their victory assured as the wraith had no chance of getting through them, not with their numbers.

Only for the hellish cycle to leap into the air.

The beasts watched in shock as the Rider rode on the rocky surface of the valley horizontally without any trouble, speeding past their defenses, and eventually landing just short of the end of the valley.

Lucas, despite his fears, looked confused when the former exorcist just stood there in the middle of the road, not grabbing a sword or a chain, or anything that the kid had thought the teen would do.

"Uzumaki…?" He trembled with a quiet voice.

Within the black and charred eye sockets of the Rider, two bright orange orbs glinted for a split second, and then opened his mouth.

A blinding flash came and the torrent and lancelike ray of red-orange fire shot out and encased the middle of the valley, spreading towards the monsters in seconds and they knew no more.

It was a split second before all the devils within the path were incinerated on the spot, not even having enough time to scream out, or howl their pain, no. What was only left was ashes and dust and black smoke misted the valleyway, the only evidence something ever happened there were the scorch marks that now decorated the rocks.

Lucas fell down with a thud as the devil that grabbed him collapsed into ashes.

The kid stayed on the asphalt out of shock as he curled into a fetal position. "Oh God, please tell me I'm not dead again." He bemoaned to himself.

The revving of engines alerted him to his saviour as the chopper rolled up to him.

"Told you before, kid, the fire only burns the wicked." He reminded. The charred teen turned his skull around. "We better get a move-on, those bitches might be onto us right about now."

Despite their advances, the nurses had caught up to them slowly as they neared Kuoh, the cities' buildings' lights shined over the distance which indicated that they were near.

Relief washed over him however, it had been a full hour and there looked to be no crazy women in white on sight.

But it looked like that wasn't the only thing they had to worry about.

From the side-mirror, through the inky black-blue night sky came down winged beasts that looked just as determined to get them like the nurses. Thankfully, the stray devils that flew after them were only two.

Lucas' saviour let out a low growl, and with a pane-shattering roar, the powerful machine shot out from between their legs, and the hellish motorcycle sped up in command.

"We're nearing Kuoh!" The kid informed anxiously, his eyes glancing between the side-mirror and the front as he prayed to whatever was watching them that they'd enter the city safe.

But as they'd neared, the boy's heart sunk to his stomach.

The sight of the familiar white jeeps and uniforms coming down the road of the city entrance made the kid want to puke. On the left side, two other jeeps joined the fray as a bus came out from the right all at the same speed.

From the inside of the jeep that led the others, the snarling visage of the old broad was ingrained deep into the boy's mind.

Each vehicle were neck and neck, and the bus driver couldn't even let out a scream before the jeeps and the bus clashed.

The jeep dips down, and the motorcycles flew as another jeep started to spin. Nurses on the motorcycles were ejected from their seats harshly and crashed into the bus, ending their lives instantly while their comrades stuck in the jeeps continue to roll and flip. Pieces of the body and windshield break off of the cars when one jeep and a motorcycle collide. Dirt was thrown everywhere and debris scattered the road.

The engines of the fiery machine roared and Lucas widened his eyes.

"Oh…" He started when they neared the body of the now bus which front was wrecked.

"My…" The Rider suddenly pulled, and the front of the chopper angled upwards.

Then they collided.

By now he would have thought to have crashed into one of the cars, or thrown into the street for the nth time of the night. What he didn't expect was to feel soft, cushion underneath as he miraculously landed onto one of the seats of the bus.

"...God?"

The Ghost Rider grunted, as he and his bike cut apart the body of the torn vehicle. He would have expected the boy behind him to be screaming by now, but was met with total silence.

"Lucas, don't you die on me, kid." He suddenly realized the additional weight behind him was gone.

"Lucas?"

He whipped around, and the boy was not there.

"Damn." The teen couldn't help but curse.

He held the handlebars, and struck the foot peg down with a boot, then stood up.

He swore if that kid was dead…

There were some nurses and strays in this town that'll suffer.

"What just… what just happened?"

As he caught his breath, the boy looked around, and noticed he had somehow landed within the bus. He held his heart and tried his best to steady it. At least now he was safe-

"Lucas?!"

He froze, and he looked to his side and saw-

"Oh God!" He screamed and backed away, hitting the cold metal side. "You're one of them! The nurses!" The boy fruitlessly held a hand out to defend himself.

Azumi looked distressed. "No, Lucas! I quit that horrible place, I prom-"

"No! You're not taking me back!" He shouted. He found his footing, and felt the cool metal flooring of the vehicle as his arm held to the bisected side of the bus and booked it.

"I'm never going back!"

"Lucas stop!"

His feet met the asphalt, and he ran as fast as he could, never minding where he would go, just away from here and from all of this. Distance was all that mattered, and he'd sooner kill himself than let any of those crazies get him. A plan formed in his head, if he could, he'd lay low for a while, then find Uzumaki, and warn him, it was the least he could do for the guy that risked his life for him.

Eventually, he stopped short of an alleyway, making sure to go inside the small path just to make sure that they couldn't see him.

The boy walked along the rough cobbled streets that caused his feet to ache. The buildings were tight together and loomed over her, like a forest of stone. When he looked up, the roofs were so close together that he could only make out a sliver of the black sky that was mirrored by the tiny stream of light from the streets that trickled along the cold stone ground.

He doubled over. His feet hurt and not to mention, sore. He had never ran so fast in his life. Knock the wind right out of him. The lack of breath will keep him incapacitated for a time. Lucas had no choice but to fight to re-inflate his lungs while the fire and crash just outside was still in hearing range.

Footsteps clacked against the concrete and the black haired boy froze.

He turned around, but the street light that shone just outside had shadowed whoever managed to find him. He squinted his eyes, still in a daze and out of breath.

"U-Uzumaki?" He uttered.

"Lucas, right?" An entirely different voice came out when he had expected the one of his savior.

As he gained a closer look, his eyes widened in terror and fear as he backed away fast, only to trip on garbage that was haphazardly thrown on the ground.

Despite that he tried to stood up, but a broken glass managed to nick him right in the leg, and he could only cower once the figure came closer and he recognized the mark on his arm.

"Oh my God, you're-"

"Yes, I am." The man's voice was calm and collected, as if the chaos outside was not a bother. "And I'm here to talk with you about your future…"

He took a step forward.

"Or lack thereof."

Debris was everywhere. Jeeps were tumbled over each other, while the bodies of nurses were pinned by the collapsing frames of the motorcycles and the steering columns of the off-road vehicles. The asphalt and concrete had risen from the previously smooth road and the front part of the bus stood, being wrapped around a jeep, creased and ripped as easily as brown paper.

The groaning of metal and shattered window panes were scattered across the road, the bodies lie like dolls over the street, limbs at awkward angles and heads held in such a way that they cannot be sleeping.

Good.

The Rider took steady and strong steps, walking through the chaos, and grunted in annoyance when the old woman, despite all that, steadily crouched, snarling at him.

Stubborn old bitch.

He watched her grab a pistol that laid on the side. "Come along then, you boney punk." She spat out, a teeth coming along with it as she held the firearm. "Let's put this puppy to bed." She growled, and he couldn't help but to agree.

As he approached, he heard footsteps to his left and then a nurse skidded out of the smoke, wielding a light blade and charged at him.

"Die! For Lord Zadkiel!" She declared.

The Rider didn't even look at her as reared his fist back and backhanded her as she reached him. Enjoying the crack that accompanied the thud as the woman laid down, her head at an awkward angle.

On the ground, another nurse retrieved a pistol and tried to aim despite her trembling arm.

"Zadkiel… w-wills…"

She didn't get to say much more as she burned to death.

The wraith grabbed the chains he had wrapped on his body, ignoring the screams of the now dead assassin.

"This is for hurting my girls, you bastard!" The old broad shouted, blasting round after round from her pistol.

The chains acted on command, and immediately blocked and struck the light bullets as it came close to him as he neared the undeterred woman.

When he came close, he didn't hesitate and struck her with the fist that had his chains wrapped around the knuckles, knocking teeth out as he did.

"YOU!"

The fiery chains quickly wrapped around the old hag as she fell to the ground. The Rider grabbed the chains and pulled, hoisting her up as glared daggers at her.

"I've just had enough of you and you're band of bitches."

"Bite me." She glared back, and spit at him.

The liquid sizzled and evaporated as it landed came in contact with the flames engulfing his skull.

The rustling of metal turned his head, and he saw two stray devils trapped under the rubble, their wings having been impaled by the rotors of the jeep that was embedded deep into the street.

He would deal with them later.

Bringing his attention back, with his other arm, he grabbed her by the cheeks, pushing hard into the soft flesh as he spoke.

"You better start talking or I swear I will drag you deep into the pits of the Underworld and string you by the neck." He leaned forward, and watched as the woman recoiled at the heat of his flames. "So start by telling me where the boy, Lucas is."

The old broad snorted. "That's easy enough, genius. Try turning around."

Sure enough, the boy was there, scrapes and bruises around his legs and arms as his hospital gown looked worse than before. However, the boy held a pistol that he had took from a dead nurse.

Something was off with him.

"Lucas?"

"I know I promised to help you, Uzumaki…"

Then he turned the gun on himself, the barrel directly in line with his temple. The boy's hand was steady, his eyes calm, yet still held the hidden terror in his eyes.

"But there's been a slight change of plans…"

The wraith dropped the old woman, and approached the boy slowly.

"Don't be a fool, boy. Put the gun down." He urged, steadily walking towards the boy with caution.

"No, this is the only way, don't you see?" He said, a sick small smile forming on his face. "The only way I'll ever be free of Zadkiel."

"Kid, listen to me, don't-"

Tears trailed down the black haired boy's eyes as his hand started to shake.

"Y-You can't beat him, Uzumaki. You have no idea what you're even up against. Zadkiel's going to win in the end. There's nothing you, or the archangels can do." He shut his eyes for the last time.

"I'm sorry." His finger lifted and touched the trigger.

"We'll be safer in hell."

"No! Wa-"

The gunshot cracked through the street and the Rider recoiled. The boy's body collapsed, now supporting a bullet hole in his head as the gun clattered to the ground.

"Guess this means all of this was for nothing, huh, Uzumaki?" The bitch snidely remarked as he stood silent.

Then he rounded to her, grabbing the chain that held her and lifted her up.

"All right, Lady, you're going to tell me everything about Zadkiel and all of this surrounding him, starting with his interest in me." He pulled the chain tighter and growled.

The woman chuckled, then laughed, before it turned to full blown maniacal laughter.

"HAHAHAHA! Y-You don't even know where that spirit of yours truly resides, do you, punk?!" She said between laughter, which only served to agitate him more.

"What? What are you talking about you senile old bitch?!"

She stopped, and gave him a cold smile. "Do you really think that heathen Mephistopheles could be able to bond you with such a powerful angel, Uzumaki?" She asked him, and started to shake her head. "No, no he couldn't, so he instead reached out and asked my master to do the heavy lifting for him. The heathen provided the curse. Master provided the power." A cruel smirk replaced the smile.

The Rider stood silent, at a loss for words as the teen inside tried to process what the woman had said. Only to feel the burning heat within him, and the stinging feeling of the spirit inside him.

'W-What is she implying?! Tell us more!' Zarathos shouted inside him, and Naruto grabbed the old woman more roughly and shook her.

"What are you getting at? Tell me!"

"Heh. Don't think so. That's all you get." The nurse gave a sick grin, and she started to crumble. "I believe my master is calling me home."

"No…"

With that, she disappeared to ashes.

"No no no…"

'Z-Zarathos?! What are you-' Naruto asked only to be washed over by the sheer pure rage and hatred as Zarathos took control.

"ZADKIEL!" Red. Zarathos saw red as he screamed the flames around him coiling and twisting, bending to his will at the rage inside him toppled over and mixed in with his hatred.

"ZADKIEL! TO THINK YOU SIDE WITH HIM! ENFEEBLE! INSUFFERABLE!" Zarathos roared as he swung the chains wildly. "YOU COWARD! TO THINK YOU HAVE BETRAYED ME TOO! COME DOWN HERE AND FACE ME!"

The Spirit of Vengeance stopped, and looked at the blackness that was the sky.

"I KNOW YOU HIDE HIM, MICHAEL, GABRIEL!" He shouted to the sky. "I SWEAR ON FATHER HIMSELF, I WILL TEAR THE GATES OF HEAVEN APART UNLESS YOU GIVE HIM TO ME!"

"ZADKIEL!"

The flapping of wings caught his attention, and Zarathos turned his host's skull to the side and watched as one of the heathens charged at him, a singular claw that protruded from the arm out and extended.

He merely brought a hand out and the chains struck out and grasped the devil, wrapping around his torso as he struggled. The Spirit of Vengeance approached and grasped the thrashing devil.

"But for now, you will be a replacement for him." Zarathos muttered.

"You worthless beast." He tightened his hold over the choking devil and leaned closer. For a moment, the eye sockets flashed red. "Look into my eyes."

A moment passed.

Then came the scream.

Horrid, devoid of hope, and incoherent. The true sound of terror and despair. It reverberated through the debris and wreckage and rubble, a screech that even a deity would recoil at.

"Do you feel it, you heathen?" Zarathos asked, the response being more screaming. "Every pain and sorrow, everything! Feel it! Do you realize now that you're just a speck in the dust? Dirt on my boots? You are nothing!"

The spirit released his hold on the devil, watching as the thing slumped to the ground, unmoving, and eye wide, the orbs that used to be there replaced with molten and the color of charcoal. Before the body decayed like the rest of the ones that experienced his stare.

"Rot like the beast you are."

He tugged on the chain once more, pulling it as the other stray devil came out of the wreckage, bounded by the chains. Terrified and frozen in fear after getting a glimpse on what the other devil had gone through.

He approached his host's bike, and swung a leg over the seat and revved the engine with one hand, the other still holding the chain that held the only thing left alive in the carnage.

The wraith veered, turning the chopper around as he gazed at the sights of holy blades embedded into the vehicles, the golden and light swords' hilts nowhere to be seen, only the blades that stuck out, waiting for someone to ram in it.

It didn't have to wait any longer.

Zarathos revved the engine once more, and sped straight towards the swords, dragging the devil with him as it screamed.

The stray could only jerk his head to look at the incoming blades as he struggled to escape the chains that only seemed to tighten. His screams turned to pleads and begs that only fell on deaf ears.

The Spirit of Vengeance drove through the holy blades.

And the heathen knew no more.

Review. Constructive criticism is also good, give suggestions, advice, etc. Anything really.

See Ya.