Well here we are. Finally, the end. Thank you to everyone who Reviewed, or Favorited, or Followed, or all three! It makes me happy knowing that so many people enjoy this fic. I'm just glad I could finally contribute to this wonderful fandom! I hope everyone has enjoyed this, and I hope this last chapter is satisfactory as well. Thanks again for sticking with me 'till the end.

Silence reigned. They sat in the living room, Lovino staring silently off into space while Francis, Matthew, and Arthur glanced worried at him and at each other. Ever since coming down here Lovino hadn't spoken a word.

Everything was ready. They had a bag stuffed with medical supplies and one full of quick potions Arthur had conjured from his house in England. It would take too much time to brew any of them in such short notice. The potion they needed to enter the Dream Realm was clutched tightly in his hand.

They'd moved Ivan, Katyusha, and Alfred's bodies to the living room as well. They were splayed out on the floor, limp, and it was incredibly disconcerting. Arthur—almost obsessively—ran his eyes down their bodies looking for even the slightest wound. Nothing so far.

The tension and silence in the room was weighing heavily down upon them. There wasn't anything to say. They were either going to die, or they were going to win.

Lovino's head snapping up nearly startled Arthur off the couch, sitting right beside Lovino as he was. Before he could recover, Alfred lurched up and gasped.

It made everyone, save Lovino, jump in their seats.

"Arthur!" Alfred yelled, seemingly unaware of where he was or who was in the room with him. "Arthur!"

"Alfred, calm down I'm here," Arthur said, crouching down in front of Alfred and forcing his boy to look him in the eye. The wide-eyed, wild look slowly gave way to recognition.

"Arthur we have to do something—We have to...find them! We can't leave them there he'll kill them!" Alfred rambled on, stringing sentences together faster than Arthur could understand them.

"Slow down lad, what's all this about? What happened?" He put his hands on Alfred's shoulders to help ground him, and encouraged him to take a deep breath.

"...It's Al," Alfred finally said, looking an unsettling mix of miserable and enraged. "He's got Ivan and Katyusha."

Arthur sucked in a breath and looked over at first Francis then Lovino, who just stared blankly back. All their plans depended on Katyusha being able to get them out of the Dream Realm. A new complication presented itself now.

Arthur let Alfred go and motioned for Matthew to come over to console his brother. He stood up and started pacing. Lovino didn't look like much help but he was sure he'd answer any questions asked. He turned to Francis instead.

"What do we do?" He asked first, because he was drawing a blank. "Without Katyusha we won't be able to get out of the realm. But now we can't get in, since Alfred's link was broken and Ivan and Katyusha's are most likely blocked." He looked over at Alfred, who had Matthew's arm around his shoulders while they sat next to Ivan's body. He bit his lip. None of this should have happened. Too much had been revealed to Alfred in so short a time, and Bella's death only proved that Al had no qualms about killing any of them; he seemed to enjoy it even. He knew there was a very real possibility of Al killing Ivan and Katyusha. Katyusha he actually wasn't too sure about. She was a full blooded Demon. As such she'd have an advantage over Al and both Ivans. But he also knew that she reserved her power until it was absolutely necessary she use it. What a bad time to have morals, he thought. As for Ivan, he had far lower of a chance of surviving. And his death would be the end of them. Alfred would be inconsolable, and Al wouldn't have to do much to beat him if they fought. "I wish none of this had happened." He sighed and rubbed a hand across his forehead.

"I know. We all do, and we'd all reverse time without consequence if we could. But it has and we have to deal with it." Francis knew it was harsh to ignore everything else but they didn't have a choice. They couldn't sadden themselves thinking about Bella, and they couldn't distract themselves by worrying about Ivan and Katyusha. The siblings already had a greater chance than Bella at living. It was time to put some faith in them and start thinking of ways to rescue them. "Our biggest problem is definitely getting into the realm. I'm confident Katyusha will rejoin us, so leaving won't be a problem. But getting there..." He trailed off, thinking about someone who might help.

"Tell me about it," Arthur sighed again. Their whole journey had been draining, physically and mentally. He was ready to just go home, make himself some tea, and sleep for a week. "Okay. First thing first. We need a Demon." He looked at Francis. "Is it too much to ask if you know one?"

Francis smiled. "Given our pasts I'd guess you if anyone knew one." He chuckled. "However, I actually do know a Demon."

Arthur blinked. He'd not been aware of this. "Since when?" He asked, a little suspicious. Most Demons only knew humans(or former humans)if they got something out of it. Even being a "friend" cost something.

"You are so cute when you're jealous. But you don't have to be concerned. While I admit she's very beautiful I only have eyes for you."

"How charming," Arthur said flatly, though his cheeks did color a bit. "Do you know how to get in touch with her?"

"Yes, but I don't have it with me. It's in my nightstand."

"Dammit," Arthur cursed. He sighed, again. It wouldn't be the last time. "I'll have to go get it. What's it look like?"

"It's a little plastic fish. Don't worry, you'll notice it."

Arthur looked at him funny but shook his head. He leaned in for a quick kiss before going off to find a potion to send him back to the human realm.

Francis turned to Alfred and Matthew. They were talking quietly, and Francis could see Alfred's hand grasping Ivan's limp one tightly. His heart squeezed in his chest painfully at the sight of his adoptive son so obviously concerned about his love. They quieted down as he knelt beside them.

"Come on, are you hungry at all? You should eat something. I'll make anything you want."

Despite the somber mood around him, Alfred did perk up a little. "Anything?" Francis chuckled and helped him stand.

"Within reason."

He and Matthew took Alfred to the kitchen, Lovino following behind quietly. Alfred noticed him finally as he was about to sit at the kitchen table.

"Lovino...I'm so sorry." Normally he wouldn't dare touch Lovino without permission in fear of getting chewed out, but he was distraught and Ivan wasn't even dead so he couldn't imagine how Lovino must have been feeling right then. He enveloped the shorter man in a hug, not his usual bone crushing ones but a comforting one. To his surprise Lovino only sighed softly and returned it.

They sat down and Francis started preparing a platter of food, adding whatever Alfred asked for that Katyusha had stocked in the kitchen.

Alfred slouched down onto the table. Though his body didn't feel any different, his mind felt overworked. It had felt like days in the dream realm, when really it had only been a few hours. He knew so much and was trying to remember so much that his head felt like it was stuffed to its brink with new information. His eyes closed and he dozed in a light sleep despite his nerves going haywire.

Arthur's return snapped him out of it, and opened his eyes to see him hand something to Francis. It looked like a fish shaped key chain. Arthur sat next to him.

"Do you mind telling us what happened while you were there?" He said. Alfred knew they must have all been curious if he'd been able to learn how to defeat Al or not, and appreciated their patience. He didn't really want to think about Ivan or Katyusha at the hands of that monster but the rest he could fill in.

"I guess the biggest thing is that the Civil War started before I left."

Matthew and Arthur stared at him and even Francis turned from the counter. Alfred shrugged. "When we got there, we met an Angel named Alison. She let us stay with her, and introduced us to a Divine named Chloe, who trained me. Alison had said that tensions in Heaven had been high for a while, and something tipped the scale near the end of our stay. I don't know what."

"How was your training?"

"...Harder than I'd expected, but to be honest I didn't really know what to expect. There are so many aspects I'd never thought about, or would have thought up. I've done it a few times against Chloe but I only beat her once, though I did fight an imp as well." He frowned. "I wish fighting Al was going to be that easy."

"It just might be," Arthur said, shifting in his seat to face Alfred more. Alfred looked at him incredulously.

"There's no way. Al's too skilled, he's had his powers way longer than me. He's even been to his own Heaven."

Arthur nodded. "All that's true, but I've been thinking. He's never had a problem like this. He's never been hunted by a Dark Angel. There would have been no event that would have resulted in him learning about battles between Angels and Demons. I'm sure he knows about them and what happens during them, but whether he's proficient or not in controlling himself during them is the question. He could be as unskilled as you were."

"Well, that'd be great. But I won't get my hopes up. I guess that makes sense though. I mean, Ivan's told me about Angels and Demons a little bit, at least what he knew from Katyusha. I'm sure Al was told by his Ivan too, or someone else maybe. But he's still known about his abilities for decades. I...I don't know if I'll be able to beat him.

Arthur put his hand on Alfred's shoulder, squeezing it tightly. "You shouldn't think like that. I believe in you. Matthew and Francis and Lovino all believe in you, and Ivan and Katyusha do as well. I know you're not one to let people down when they've placed their faith in you."

"Yeah Alfred," Matthew said, reaching his hand across the table and beckoning for Alfred's. He squeezed it in comfort. "I know you'll kick that son of a bitch's ass to hell and back."

Alfred smiled and thanked his family.

Francis set down a plate of assorted foods in the middle of the table. He then sat down next to Matthew.

"With you here, a problem presents itself," he started, setting the fish trinket on the table. "We won't be able to enter the Dream Realm since your link's been broken."

"So what now?" Alfred asked, his words muffled as he barely managed to restrain himself from eating with his mouth full.

"We'll need a Demon to send us there. I'm sure Katyusha will rejoin us later on, so leaving won't be a problem. But getting there is impossible without a Demon." Francis held up the fish. "That's why I have this. I know a Demon who'll be willing to help, but not for free. However, I don't know what she'll want, so be prepared for anything. She's a little unorthodox for a Demon; like Katyusha, she prefers helping or observing humans over killing or corrupting them."

"But, what about me? Won't she be able to tell I'm an Angel? Isn't it better if she didn't know?"

"It would be ideal if she didn't find out, but your presence will be impossible to hide without removing you from this realm entirely. But Demons are not so complicated, if you take the time to get to know them. They are sin incarnate, pride the foremost. If we make a deal and make her swear not to tell, her being won't let her break that promise. And if she does, well, we'll come up with a punishment then. But it's a very tried and true system. As long as we have something she wants."

"If you're sure..." Alfred said, not entirely convinced but having no choice but to go along with it. If it was their only way to enter the Dream Realm then so be it.

"Do not worry Alfred. I've dealt with her many times in the past, and she's more curious about humans than most. Come to think of it, I don't think she's old enough to have been alive when there were Angels. She's pretty young, so she won't be able to tell what you are. Her demands shouldn't be as complex as some other Demon's either, but we'll find out," Francis said, standing up. "Shall we move to the living room?"

Everyone stood up and Alfred grabbed the plate of food. They stood in front of the couches, Ivan and Katyusha's bodies off to the side. "Here goes nothing." Francis snapped the fish in half.

Nothing happened for a few moments. Francis knew it wouldn't be immediate, but suddenly worried that she wouldn't show. But she'd told him once that she enjoyed his company, so she usually answered his summons. Maybe it was because they were in the Medium? He hoped so. He didn't want to think about what they were going to do if she didn't show.

Just as he was really starting to lose hope, she was suddenly there. There hadn't been any warning; she hadn't been there one second, and there the next.

"Francis!" She said, hugging him around the neck. He smiled and patted her lightly on the back.

"Hello my dear Veronique. How have you been?" He'd really like to skip the pleasantries but he didn't want to offend her and make her leave. If it wasn't their tendency to kill everything in sight that made them so hated, it was definitely their temperament.

Veronique straightened up, floating rather high above the ground. She was short, so used her ability to hover to make herself seem taller. It didn't help that other Demon's picked on her for it, and her interest in humans. "I'm so glad you asked! I've been really well. You should have seen the humans I studied last week, ugh, it was so amazing," she said with a smile. She noticed the others in the room and gasped.

"Francis! You didn't mention guests! Are they humans too?"

Francis smiled and nodded. "In a way, yes. This is Matthew, my son. He's like me."

"Matthew, it's nice to meet you!" She said enthusiastically, shaking his hand. He smiled back, a little lost already, but polite all the same.

Francis pointed to Arthur. "This is Arthur."

"Oh, he's told me about you before," she said, shaking his hand rigorously, like she had with Matthew.

"Has he now?" Arthur said, shooting a glare Francis's way. Francis looked away, like the ceiling was suddenly the most interesting thing in the world. "All good things I hope?"

"Yes, very good things, you needn't worry about that." She winked at him and Arthur smiled tightly, though inside he was making plans to have a little talk with Francis about sharing information about him with Demons.

Francis coughed. "Ah, this is Alfred. He is Arthur's son."

"Hi! It's...nice to meet you." Her hesitation was accompanied by an odd look on her face as her brows furrowed. It was obvious, given what Arthur and Francis had just told him, that she was trying to figure out what he was. He looked down at her hand, unwilling to risk touching her and triggering something. He didn't have total control over his powers, after all.

"Uh...It's nice to meet you too," he said with a small smile, but didn't shake her hand. "I'd shake your hand but I'm...sick! Yeah, I don't want you to get anything." He faked a cough for emphasis.

"Well that's nice of you, but I don't think a human sickness can effect Demons. No need to worry about giving it to me!" Despite her words she did drop her hand, picking up on his underlying message of not wanting to touch her, though whether it was because of what she was or what he was, was a mystery to her.

She turned to Lovino. "And you?"

He extended his hand and made an effort to smile. "Lovino."

"Nice to meet you." They shook and Veronique laughed. "So many fascinating humans! Oh I almost forgot! Why have you called me here?"

"You know I wouldn't do it unless I needed something," Francis said. "We've run into a bit of a problem and only a Demon can help us. I hope you'll accept?"

"Francis, you know I'd do anything for you!" She rolled her eyes, and that's when she noticed Ivan and Katyusha's bodies. She gasped.

"Oh my, what happened?" She said worriedly, floating over to them. She knew Katyusha very well, the older Demon having had taught her and watched over her sometimes. Katyusha always accepted her to her house when she wanted to get away from the other Demons. She didn't recognize the male.

"That is a long story, and part of the reason we need your help. They've been captured and are trapped in the Dream Realm. The person responsibly has been causing us trouble for quite some time now. We need to go there and confront him, and rescue our friends. Can you send us there?"

"I can..." she trailed off, leaning back with her legs crossed. "But I want something in return."

"Of course," he said. "Just name it." Please not something crazy.

"I want you..." Oh no, this wasn't going to end well, he could already see the scowl on Arthur's face—"to cook me dinner for the next two months." Oh what travesty, what horrible—what.

"Dinner for two months?" He would question her strange request but this was way better than anything he could have asked for. He didn't want her rethinking her choice, even though two months was a lot of cooking. "I accept."

"We have a deal then." She smiled and straightened out. "I can't wait! I'll come to you, okay? That way everyone can share in your delicious cooking." She clapped her hands together. "Are you all ready?"

"One moment please," Arthur said, grabbing Alfred and dragging the confused boy to the kitchen. They emerged moments later carrying the various packs Arthur, Francis, and Matthew had put together. Everyone grabbed one and stood in a loose circle. "Okay."

"Everyone brace yourselves!" She said as the room melted around them. Alfred caught one more look at Ivan's body, his resolve strengthening.

Please be okay, I'm coming.

Well this was no fun. All they did was sit there and glare. At least, the other Ivan glared. The bitch just stared impassively at them.

Once out of Heaven, and back to the glorious desolation of the forgotten realm, the female had woken up. It'd come as quite a shock, but luckily he'd bound and cursed her already. However, being a full blooded Demon, she was the most dangerous out of the two. She also was able to influence the forgotten realm more than him, which pissed him of. He'd been trapped there for years, she didn't deserve the power she had over this sacred realm. It belonged to him.

They couldn't do much but wait. He had no clue when that pesky Angel would come after his Demons, but it was likely to be soon. And he was ready. Finally, he was going to absorb the energy he needed and save himself and Ivan, and they'd return and destroy the Demon King and his followers, all those responsible for their banishment.

Thinking about it got him in a state of extreme anger, so he took a deep breath and tried to calm down. As much as he'd love passing the time playing with his new toys, he had to be vigilant. He wouldn't be caught unaware again; he'd learned a lesson by not paying attention to his surroundings.

Just as he was about to snap and tell the other Ivan to stop glaring or he'd cut his eyes out, an abrupt and powerful presence flared to life in the distance. Turning, he looked in that direction. He saw the Demon bitch do the same.

He narrowed his eyes. "Looks like your little Angel was come to rescue you. How touching," he mocked, sneering at the Demon siblings. He nodded at his Ivan, who approached the other one.

Ivan could struggle all he wanted, but it wasn't going to change anything. The other Ivan—he knew that bastard couldn't be trusted!—still took his scarf. Glaring with hatred, Ivan simply sat and did nothing, as there was nothing he could do.

After a quick morph of clothes, the other Ivan looked just like him. He wasn't sure how well Alfred would be able to tell if it was him or not. He'd probably be glad to see him and come to him without first checking if it was really him. He wouldn't be thinking right and Ivan worried over what might happen to him. There was still a small chance that the other him was still on their side, but that look in his eyes...he was gone, lost to the Demon within. Ivan shuddered because he knew that look, and how hard it was to come back.

He watched the other Ivan walk away, presumably to Alfred, and Ivan closed his eyes and did one thing he'd never thought he'd do.

He prayed.

Alfred had expected that maybe, since he'd just left the Dream Realm, he'd come back to it feeling like he had after his sessions with Chloe. Like going to sleep with a pain and waking to it still there. But he felt refreshed, at least in body. His mind was still a little iffy, but otherwise he felt alright.

The next thing he noticed after that was the internal tug pulling him towards an unknown location. He felt a massive concentration of energy there, and knew that it was probably Katyusha and Al. How he wished they were still okay.

"Well, here we are! Wow this place looks terrible," Veronique mentioned, hovering a little higher and looking around. "I mean, I know we're Demons, but come on! Who would even treat this realm so harshly." She shook her head. "I'd call them a few choice names if they wouldn't just take them as compliments."

"You mean it shouldn't look like this?" Alfred asked, taking in the darkness and overall morose feeling. Seemed about right to him, considering the realm was controlled by Demons.

"Oh no, definitely not. This kind of darkness is...well its difficult to explain. I can tell it's not from any Demon, but there's definitely a Demon's energy."

That made sense. If Al used Vanya's energy for his own, then it was Vanya's energy she was sensing.

"Thank you so much for your assistance," Francis said, smiling at Veronique. "You can't know how much we appreciate this kindness."

"Oh Francis," she said, trying to dismiss his words but blushing anyway. "You sure know how to compliment. So here," she produced another fish charm from a bag around her waist. "If you can't get out, you know what to do. Otherwise, I look forward to dinner!" She said, and waving, disappeared.

Collectively, they took a breath. Without Veronique, the Dream Realm seemed much darker. It was like the darkness was alive, and yielding for her. But with her gone, it descended again. Alfred was getting real tired of this place.

"Which way?" Matthew asked. Every direction looked the same: dark and scary. Not really appealing in any way.

Arthur answered by turning to Alfred. "Do you feel it?" He asked. Alfred nodded.

"Yeah. They're that way," he said, pointing to his left and thereby answering Matthew's question.

"Can you tell how far?" Francis asked. The darkness was impossible to penetrate with the naked eye. He could see maybe thirty feet ahead before everything started blending together.

"Uh...I don't think so," Alfred said, looking to Arthur. He wasn't skilled enough to judge distance.

"Far enough," Arthur said, looking over to Lovino. "Can you see anything?"

Lovino looked into the distance and shook his head. "No, I'm blind here."

"Spectacular," Arthur sighed, turning to Francis and Matthew. "Strip down, you'll need to change."

"That far huh?" Matthew mumbled, obeying. It was a good thing he and Francis had long ago gotten over being self conscious or this would be really weird. Once bare, they changed, landing heavily on the ground.

Arthur and Alfred gathered their clothes and stuffed them in a bag. Arthur then looped a bag around Francis's neck and one of his legs, securing it in place for the running the wolves would have to do. Alfred did the same to Matthew.

"Are you gonna fly or ride with me?" Matthew asked him, and Alfred grinned at his brother. "What do you think?"

Matthew rolled his eyes and walked up to Lovino, who jumped onto his back without a complaint. Arthur climbed onto Francis and Alfred took his shirt off. He shoved it into his bag and called his wings, his markings surprisingly not lighting up. God it felt amazing to stretch them. It felt sort of like straightening an arm or leg from an uncomfortable position. He'd have to remember to call them out more often. Once limber enough, he slung the bag over a shoulder and looked at the wolves.

"Ready?" He asked. At their nods, he took to the air.

With some effort he managed to stay directly ahead of the others. It took restraint because he really wanted to just let loose. He was faster than the wolves, and wanted to speed through the surroundings, narrowly dodging obstacles. But he knew that getting separated now would be bad for them, and didn't want to risk either their or his safety.

The impossible sensation inside him, the one tugging him towards the horizon, was getting stronger. Even though he wasn't going as fast as he could, the wolves still ran fairly quickly, and their destination was coming up on them soon, he could feel it.

Something caught his eye in the distance: a lone figure walking down below, staggering slightly as if injured. What really drew his attention was the long flowing piece of cloth behind it.

That had to be Ivan! Alfred's eyes widened and he nearly dove straight for the half Demon. But common sense had him slowing down and landing first. He heard the others come to a stop as well.

"Ivan!" Alfred said enthusiastically. He practically tackled the other in his excitement. Alfred pulled away to arms length, his hands on Ivan's shoulders. "Ivan?"

Ivan was looking at him with the strangest look, like he'd never seen him before. That worried Alfred, as he thought that maybe he'd somehow lost his memory. But then Ivan smiled and almost tackled him, enveloping him in a great hug.

"I thought I'd never see you again," Ivan murmured into his hair, and Alfred laughed and hugged his boyfriend back with all his might.

"Where's Katyusha?" Arthur asked as the two broke away. Ivan's expression changed to one of brief contemplation before settling on determination. "She's back with the others. I had to come here alone."

"What are you talking about?" Alfred asked, Ivan's sentence seeming strange to him. He sounded as if he hadn't even tried to free Katyusha.

"I'm not your Ivan."

Alfred stared at him, hard, a surge of shock going down his spine. "Vanya?"

"Yes. I don't want to lie to you Alfred. To any of you," he amended, turning to face everyone. "I came here to trick you all into thinking me as your Ivan, only to betray you when we reach Al."

"I'm guessing that's not going to happen then, if you're telling us this now?" Arthur asked, silently wishing Alfred would take a step or five away from the other Ivan. He could be telling the truth or trying to trick them, as he just said.

"I'd really like it not to," Vanya said, sighing, "But if I don't attack at Al's signal, he'll know something's wrong. I can't even begin to speculate on what exactly he'll do, but you can bet it'll be brutal."

"So we'll play along," Alfred said. "We'll go with your original plan, but we'll have the upper hand when we strike back when he least expects it."

"That does seem like the best choice," Arthur murmured, not entirely on board with this Ivan's plan. He'd never really met the other, and now he was expected to put Alfred's life on the line. Hell, he was expected to put his own life in danger.

He felt a nudge, and turned to see Francis butting his head against him. Though he couldn't talk with Francis when he was like this, they'd been together long enough to be able to read each other. He didn't need Francis speaking to hear his words.

Trust him.

Arthur sighed. The things he did for his family.

"C'mon Arthur, there's no other choice. This is our best option," Alfred said. Arthur couldn't deny that, and he did believe in his son.

"Alright. We'll go along with your plan."

"Thank you," Vanya said, "I don't want this to be any more difficult than it needs to be."

"What now though? Do we need to change back?" Alfred heard Matthew ask, and voiced his unheard thought.

"You can if you want, though I would wait since the fighting's going to start pretty quickly," Vanya answered. "I was suppose to gain your trust by posing as the other Ivan, then betray you once I returned. But we'll have to act like you figured it out and were fleeing from me when you come upon Al. We're not that far from them." He turned to Alfred, resting a hand on his shoulder. Alfred almost flinched back, afraid that their opposite energies would trigger something, but nothing happened, and Alfred sighed in relief. "Are you ready?"

Alfred nodded. "I am."

"Then go, I'll be behind. My betrayal will hit Al pretty hard, and he'll be angrier than he already is, and I'm sorry for that. But it's time to face him."

Unbidden, Alfred was reminded of his promise to help Al return to normal, per Vanya's request. As he and the others started towards Al and the Demon siblings, he couldn't help but feel like Vanya wasn't the only person betraying someone. He really did want to help the two of them, but his mind had been made up for him. Al wouldn't get any mercy. He narrowed his eyes.

I hope you're ready for the fight of your life, he thought.

I hope you're ready to die, Al thought, feeling the Angel's presence draw nearer. He couldn't feel Ivan, which meant he must have been discovered and was repressing his energy to make himself undetectable. Al cursed internally. Was there anything that useless meat sac was capable of?

He clenched his jaw and tried, once again, to ignore the eyes focused on him. How he wished everyone in his life was dead.

If only that Devil didn't look so much like Alfred, Ivan thought, glaring daggers at Al. The Dark Angel was standing in front of them, looking in the direction the other him had gone. Occasionally he'd glance at them and, noticing their stares, scowl and turn away.

If only, oh how lucky Al was that he looked like Alfred. Even with the smug smirks and black wings, it was unmistakably Alfred's face, because as mush as he hated to think it, they were the same person, in a way. His hatred for Al was rivaled by a sadness that Alfred had had to go through this, never mind this one not being his.

Being gagged, Ivan couldn't give Al a piece of his mind, but boy did he want to. Katyusha also couldn't talk, and his anger for Al increased every time she shifted uncomfortably, her bindings obviously too tight.

He noticed her looking at him, and his eyes widened when she pointedly looked in the same direction Al was looking. They were coming.

He flexed his hands and tested the ropes again. If they didn't escape somehow, they served only as a distraction to their friends, especially Alfred, who Ivan didn't doubt would try to ignore Al until he was safe. That is, if he even made it there conscious. There was no telling what the other him would do to Alfred.

It was the first time he'd felt free in a long time. Of course, he'd always technically been free, in the sense that he could do most anything he wanted. The only catch was Al, who would have to okay it like he was some important ruler and Vanya just a lowly servant.

Still, always the better choice to appease Al than try and fight with him(he had the scars that showed how futile an effort that was). Though, thinking about the other Alfred, with his bright...everything, especially his outlook on life, he couldn't help but hope his Alfred lost.

It was time that pompous jackass fell off his pedestal to join the rest of them in misery.

As he leveled out from a turn and lost himself in the sensation of flying, Vanya thought about Al and what he'd have to do. The fool thought he had control, when in reality Vanya's human side had long ago entwined itself with his Demon side. It was impossible for one side to totally overpower the other, in his case. He'd die if such a thing happened. Al didn't know this, but he was actually the reason for that. His human side had grown to weak, and in an act of desperation and self-preservation, he'd merged his sides permanently. It was something he was forced into that he hated every second of, but it made him stronger, in a sense. One of Al's favorite things to do to him, when he was misbehaving, was to draw out his more violent side. But Al didn't know he was himself no matter which side seemed stronger.

By making Al think he was in charge, Vanya actually had control, because Al let his guard down when he was "full Demon." He joked and snarked all he wanted(which wasn't a major change from his default personality), and Vanya remained silent because that was easiest.

But he'd have to keep on playing, at least until they confronted Al. Then he could laugh in the other's face when he revealed himself.

Still, Vanya really hated that everything had to happen this way. And despite his hatred for Al, he didn't want the other hurt.

Alfred could tell they were close. He felt as though he didn't even need to flap his wings; the tug would bring him straight to Al, as if they were magnets with opposite charges.

He frowned a bit, thinking about what Vanya had told him. Though joyous about meeting his friend again, he realized that meant Ivan was still with Al, and that made his blood sizzle. How dare Al betray Vanya like that, forcing him to be like a slave with no willpower. That was something Alfred hated, when people in higher positions used their power to control the lives of people under them. Al was no different, and that just added another tally to his book of "reasons Al has to die."

The distorted landscape below started to level out as they entered a large section of barren nothingness. It was flat a good one hundred feet in all directions, except for a little collection near the center, and standing there with a glare on his face, was Al.

Alfred knew their faces had the same expression. Al was no more happy to see him than he was to see Al. They both wanted the other dead and let it show.

He stopped a little ways away, hovering above the ground while Francis and Matthew growled. Arthur and Lovino got down from the large wolves and stood their ground.

"Let them go!" Alfred called, glaring at Al. He could see they looked relatively unharmed physically, and both had worry written on their faces, Ivan showing, perhaps, a little more anger than anything else.

"No, you don't get to order me around," Al snarled, balling his fists. "If you want them to live you'll come down here and surrender."

"No!" Alfred yelled, also balling his fists. They were more alike than anyone would have thought. "No, it's you who doesn't get to order me around! This is all your fault to begin with. I'm giving you a chance to redeem yourself, even after all the horrible things you've done."

Al didn't move, but his face twisted into a cruel grin. "Is that what you plan to do? Save me from myself, or some stupid bullshit like that? You're dumber than I thought if you think that's going to work."

"I did think that was going to work, but I've since changed my mind. You don't deserve to live anymore."

Al apparently didn't like being told that, as his wings ruffled themselves. But the next thing Alfred knew, he was being tackled from behind, and suddenly he remembered Vanya. They crashed into the ground a few feet in front of Al, and Alfred heard his family shout his name, but he couldn't respond for the wind had been knocked out of him. Vanya quickly had him on his stomach, arms and wings pinned. It hurt, and Alfred could tell Vanya wasn't holding back, most likely to keep Al thinking he was still under his control. And although he knew Vanya was on his side, it didn't stop the adrenaline flow nor the instinct to survive from kicking in.

"Here's what you get for believing there's good in everyone. Now I'm going to kill you slowly while your family watches," Al said, looming over him and Vanya. He tried to wriggle around, testing just how good a grip Vanya had on him, and was disappointed to discover that Vanya's grip was like steel. He tried to lift his head instead, but Al ruthlessly brought his foot down upon him. The front of his face smashed harshly into the ground, and he heard his glasses crack with the force. Thankfully his nose didn't break, but he could feel wetness on his face.

The pressure on the back of his head let up, soon replaced by a hand that gripped his hair hard and brought his face up. The angle hurt his neck, but he had no choice in the matter. It was hard to see through his broken glasses, but Al was crouching in front of him, a smug grin on his face. "I hope you're ready to die."

Alfred would have responded, if it wasn't for Al being blasted away from him. He flinched and felt Vanya's grip loosen, probably because Al wasn't so close. Turning his aching head, he saw Arthur with his staff pointing in their direction. He was both relieved and dreadful for Arthur's actions.

He saw Vanya nod in the corner of his vision, and Arthur nodded back before firing another blast from his staff at Vanya. Vanya dodged, giving up his leverage over Alfred to remain unharmed. He landed next to Al, who was glaring and standing once again. Alfred scrambled to an upright position.

"You're going to regret that, old man," Al hissed. His eyes screamed pure hatred, and the tense state of his wings and body promised a painful and hard fought battle. Alfred swallowed and realized this was it. It was now win or die.

Arthur and Lovino came to stand next to him, while Francis and Matthew hung back, growling lowly. It was incredibly tense as each side stood staring at the other. Alfred glanced over to the side where Ivan and Katyusha were watching helplessly. Turning slightly towards the wolves, Alfred whispered, "Francis, Mattie. Try to free Ivan and Katyusha." He saw them nod and when they moved, he moved.

Using his wings to propel himself towards Al, he attempted a regular punch, putting as much force behind it as possible. Al didn't dodge like he thought, instead bringing a hand up to catch his fist. The force of his fist hitting Al's palm forced the Dark Angel back some, but didn't do much else. Al took advantage of his grip and pulled Alfred close, deciding to go straight to energy use and aimed a jab at Alfred's side. With his other hand Alfred deflected the blow, and with his leg kicked Al away from him. He didn't get a chance to rest as Vanya appeared before him, and he brought his hands up to block the punch aimed at his face. Though it probably wasn't as strong as it could have been, since Vanya didn't really want to hurt him, the blow still sent a shudder down his spine, and he had to dig his feet into the ground in order to keep from sinking to one knee. Thinking quickly, he did drop to one knee, and kicked Vanya's legs out from under him, before jumping away from the two, just as another blast of energy nearly hit Vanya. Glancing quickly in that direction, he saw Arthur and Lovino standing side by side and nodded at them. Vanya looked at him once before stalking over to the mages.

Seeing Al approaching with energy swirling around his fists, Alfred decided that fighting Al physically would be a waste, since their real battle would be all mental. So he brought his own energy out, and shot a blast at Al. Even though he wasn't proficient in magic like that, instead preferring physical attacks, if he could get Al to return a blast of energy, he could get them in the battle they needed to be in.

Ivan's bounds proved easy to break, but Katyusha's were infinitely harder. Try as they might, no amount of biting or scratching could break them.

"They must be cursed," Francis said to Matthew, who nodded in agreement. If that was the case, they'd never be able to free Katyusha without magic. Now if only they could communicate with anyone other than Alfred.

Matthew looked at Ivan, who wasn't even bothering to try and understand them. He instead was focused on Alfred and Al, who were exchanging blows several feet away. Matthew spared them a glance and saw they appeared evenly matched. Alfred kept firing bolts of energy while Al dodged, and Al kept disappearing and reappearing at will, using that ability to force Alfred into defense.

Looking back at Ivan, Matthew shook his head and ran to fetch Arthur.

It was hard, but Arthur held his tongue. Involved in battle as Alfred and Al were, that left the other Ivan to face them. And even though he knew the Demon was suppose to be on their side, he still couldn't bring himself to trust the man, especially since he'd turned to them once Alfred and Al starting fighting.

Like Al, this Ivan could disappear at will. It proved for a difficult battle, as Arthur could only block and use energy for long range attacks. But already a problem was presenting itself. There was no natural energy in the dream realm. Sooner or later, Arthur was going to run out of stored energy, and if it came to that, he'd have to use his own life force. He really didn't want it to come to that.

Lovino was an asset to have, as he was surprisingly skilled at close quartered combat. He probably learned from Bella, Arthur thought. Lovino was able to fight off the Demon when he appeared too close, while Arthur managed to fight him when he appeared farther away.

A running figure in the corner of his eye brought his attention to Matthew, who stopped in front of him and took his sleeve into his mouth. Matthew started tugging him towards Katyusha, Ivan, and Francis. Nodding, he and Lovino started toward them, keeping an eye on the other Ivan as well.

Upon arriving, Arthur knelt down in front of Katyusha and assessed her bounds. They looked like normal rope, but when he touched them, he had to quickly take his hand away or suffer burns. Cursed, he thought.

"Lovino, can you hand me my pack? Her bounds are cursed, and I don't have the energy required to break them."

Lovino looked briefly through each bag before handing him the right one. Arthur pulled out a knife and a potion, uncapping the potion to pour it onto the knife. The knife shone brightly before dimming, and when Arthur brought the knife to the rope, a sizzle and steam came forth. Despite the uncomfortable temperature, he sawed through the bounds.

Finally free, Katyusha yanked away the gag and thanked Arthur. "You're welcome, but what now? I feel like this is too easy."

"That's because it is," Ivan said, and Arthur and Katyusha turned to see Ivan, Francis, Matthew, and Lovino facing the other Ivan and what looked like shadows. They ranged from bipedal creatures holding bows to four legged beasts.

"I thought we could trust you," Ivan growled, more and more of his composure slipping. Their whole situation but more so Alfred being hurt was making it hard to control his more viscous side. The Demon in front of him was somewhat the cause of all that, and as if he didn't need another reason to hate the mirror image of himself, he'd hurt Alfred, and to a lesser degree, stolen an important article of clothing from him.

"You can," Vanya said lowly, "But I can't just switch sides right now, we'll all die."

"Bullshit," Ivan hissed, and started forward. He ignored Katyusha's attempt at soothing him, and Arthur's yell to wait and regroup. As he got closer, one of the shadows raised its bow and shot an arrow at him. Angry as he was, his energy, the more demonic side of him, protected him. A wave of energy suspended the arrow briefly before turning it around and firing it back at the archer, who was hit and disappeared. The others, apparently not completely mindless, stepped back.

Vanya commanded them to focus on the others while he mirrored Ivan's movements, stepping backwards to keep an equal distance between them. Ivan paid no mind to the creatures passing him, his eyes trained on his enemy. He was looking forward to ripping the bastard to shreds.

"I can help you! But you have to let me!"

"Shut the fuck up! Why can't you understand I want this!"

Alfred ducked to dodge a punch and rammed his fist into Al's stomach, regretfully putting only mild force into it. How he wanted to kill this sonuvabitch!

There was blood leaking into his face, and he was battered and bruised. He could tell Al was getting angrier by the second, thus causing his control to slip. His moves were sloppy and heavily dependent on offense. They weren't the hardest things to dodge, but when they hit, whether as a graze or a full on blow, they hurt like hell. And by landing wrong, Alfred had hurt his ankle and had to keep light on his feet or suffer from the weight of his body.

Al wasn't much better, littered with bruises much like himself. The main difference was the broken arm hanging at Al's side. Alfred had broken it when he'd managed to trap Al in a wrestling position, wasting no time and taking the opportunity to break the fucker's arm. He felt no remorse either.

But despite the hatred clouding his vision, he still had to at least try and convince Al to stop and listen to reason one more time. He felt guilty about breaking his promise with Vanya, because if it had been him and Ivan, he knew he'd want the other him to fight tooth and nail to get him back to normal. But he also couldn't just ignore the trouble and heartache Al had caused, and as the saying went, a life for a life.

"You don't know what its like being tortured, or hunted. You don't know anything about the horrors I was forced through. You've just lived your life, totally in peace and happy while I've had to suffer," Al hissed through clenched teeth. He was holding his arm while he and Alfred stood apart, waiting for the other to strike. His healing was slow due to his excessive use of energy, and all it did was piss him off faster.

"You're right, I don't. But it's only been a few years since you've been like this. Don't you feel bad? You killed an innocent girl, you put us all in jeopardy and now you're trying to kill us. Doesn't that bother you?"

Al barked out a laugh, tightening his grip on his busted arm. "Don't make me laugh. I did those things because I wanted to—no, because I enjoyed doing them. You think I care about your little friend, or your family? Did you forget I killed my family when I got the chance? Nothing you say will change my mind, now stand still and let me kill you!" Al jumped at him and Alfred blocked as best he could. But he couldn't keep it up forever, he knew that. Al was giving him no time to switch to offense, forcing him into a strictly defensive position, which tired him out. And by the panting breath Al was letting out, his attacks were tiring as well.

"What about Ivan! He doesn't want you like this!" Alfred tried, switching tactics. He only knew Vanya's side of their story, and so had the impression that Vanya was less of a boyfriend and more of a plaything to Al.

"What about him? It's practically his fault I am the way I am. It was his energy used to change me. He deserves to suffer like I did."

"Don't you think he suffered enough watching you get tortured? Do you think that because he's half-Demon he enjoyed it? He hated it! He hated watching it and he hates what you've become! He—"

"Shut up!" Al yelled, landing a hit with impressive force. Alfred grunted as his poor arms were battered again, and this time his block was broken as he was knocked off his feet, landing roughly on his back a few feet away, luckily in such a way that his wings were left undamaged. The deep ache in his arms hurt like hell, but he shoved the pain to the back of his mind like Chloe had taught him.

"I'm done listening to your pathetic attempts at changing my mind," Al said, words distorted slightly by the energy around him. He hardly looked human anymore, and Alfred would admit he looked terrifying. He wasn't a man, or an Angel or Demon; he was a monster.

Alfred barely was able to roll out of the way to dodge a blast of energy that shot right by him. The air crackled with power and set his nerves on end. Getting hit by that would not be good.

Alfred caught glimpses of the fight between his family and Vanya. From what he could see they were holding out alright.

He saw Al's eyes focus on the fight briefly before he stilled. Energy swirled around his hands, building and building while also condensing. It's power radiated all the way to Alfred, who had to fight the shudders down. That energy felt positively evil. Alfred's eyes widened when Al caught his gaze and smirked before shooting one of the concentrated blasts deliberately past him.

His mind raced because there could only be one reason to do that and someone was going to get hit by a highly concentrated blast of demonic energy and he had to do something or someone would—

But he was frozen to the spot as someone was indeed hit.

It wasn't that the creatures, the shadows, were hard to kill, because they weren't. One low level fire or ice spell, one claw or bite, and they were done. No they weren't hard to kill, but there were a lot of them.

A lot.

The waves were never ending. They came out of the ground, morphing from the shadows around them. They didn't have a true form, for they were mere remains of actual creatures.

It was methodical. Dodge, hit, regroup, dodge, hit, regroup. Already the continuous movements had resulted in Matthew getting impaled in his shoulder by an arrow, Arthur and Lovino both had been bitten by the beasts, and Francis had been both bitten and hit by an arrow. (Arthur had been bitten because he'd been worried about Francis, and his concentration had been broken.)

Katyusha was the only one not injured in their little group. Actually, every time Arthur looked over at her to check how she was doing, she was killing shadows left and right, yet was completely left alone by them at the same time. He suspected it was because of her nature as a Demon. The shadows did live in the Demon's realm after all, and she was a powerful Demon.

He used his staff as a shield and fended off one of the beasts before pushing it back and clubbing it on the head. It sank to the ground and instantly faded away.

He wouldn't be able to keep this up for much longer without seriously harming himself.

Lovino, not used to prolonged combat, was panting heavily as he struggled to fend off each advancing wave. Like Arthur he was bruised and cut up, but even more so. His focus was obviously elsewhere, and it caused him unnecessary pain. Arthur knew that there hadn't been enough time for Lovino to get over Bella's death, and Arthur worried that Lovino would purposely slip up and get himself killed. It gave him an extra job to do that had already resulted in multiple close calls on both their accounts.

Matthew too was about at his end, Arthur could see it in the way his limbs trembled when he stood, how his movements were sluggish with exhaustion and weariness. The poor lad had probably never had to fight so many enemies for so long. The wound on his arm was also taking its toll on him no doubt. Arthur hadn't had time to wrap it, and though they'd brought bandages, the ones applied by Katyusha not too long ago had begun slipping, coating his usually light fur a dark sickly brownish red.

Francis too, much to Arthur's displeasure, wasn't going to be able to fight much longer. His wounds were the most extensive among them all, and it was starting to show just how much Francis was being affected. Matthew had taken up protecting his father, and Arthur too had gradually made his way over to stand protectively in front of him.

He would sneak glanced in between waves of enemies to see how Alfred was doing, and his concern grew each and every time he looked over. The fight, from what he could see of it, looked vicious.

They had to end this soon. If Alfred didn't win, or they couldn't push back the monsters any longer, they'd start dying.

"Do you think I enjoy this?" Vanya asked, standing tall despite fractured bones and a battered body. He was glaring at his counterpart, who refused to listen to reason. Having experienced this before as well, Vanya was doing all he could to not harm Ivan and explain his situation. But the bastard wasn't listening.

"I think I don't care about you or your feelings on the matter," Ivan responded, gritting his teeth. Unbelievably, this other him(who he refused to call Ivan or Vanya)was an equal match in power. Their movements mirrored each other's, and so did much of their wounds. Ivan was getting frustrated very quickly, and much of his composure was hanging on by a thread.

"I don't," Vanya continued, ignoring Ivan's low growl of disapproval. "I don't like this at all, and I don't want it to continue. Why can't you understand that? You would do the same in my position."

"I wouldn't be in your position in the first place. I would have protected him better."

Vanya sucked in a breath and bared his fangs. This infuriating prick was unreasonable, and not above dealing out low blows. There wasn't a day that went by where he thought about their capture at the hands of the King's lackeys. Of course the guilt had practically eaten him alive those first few weeks of captivity, but he'd since grown numb to all feelings save anger, regret, sadness, and love. Because despite it all he did still love Al, and he would do anything to have his Angel back. This asshole was bringing to mind some very unsavory memories that only served to make him angrier.

"Believe me, I wish with everything I have that I could go back and change things, but they happened and now I'm trying to do the right thing here! But I can't do that if you keep rejecting everything I say!"

"I don't need to hear your pitiful story. As far as I'm concerned, you failed in protecting your own Alfred. I'm not going to put the fate of mine in your hands."

"Have you been listening at all? I didn't—"

He trailed off when he happened to look past Ivan's shoulder and catch Al's eye. Al was facing him, lost completely to the Demon within, looking more monster than man. Alfred had his back to him, and was on the ground in front of Al. But despite the vulnerable position, Al wasn't looking at Alfred. Al was looking at him and then...

His body moved before his brain even registered what happened. He disappeared and reappeared right before the blast Al sent their way could hit Ivan. The energy, formed almost entirely of Al's special brand of combined demonic-angelic life force, quickly starting tearing its way through him.

He fell to the ground just as Ivan turned and realized he'd almost been struck in the back. Despite their argument mere moments ago, Ivan crouched down and tried to stop the heavy bleeding from the wound, most of which covered his side. Thick rivulets of blood ran down his sides and started pooling beneath him.

The hands pressing into his stomach and side hurt, but when he looked up, blinking to clear his blurry vision, he could see only the faint outline of Ivan looking up and away from him, back towards where Al and Alfred were. He did not look happy.

Distantly, he could hear screaming, and the last thought he had before sinking into darkness was that it sounded an awful lot like Al.

The sound that was coming out of his mouth...no human could make. It was full of anguish and despair, pain and suffering. And it confused him.

Why would Al care?

Still, Alfred felt tears of anger gather at his eyes. Not only had Al just tried to kill Ivan, Vanya had finally revealed his betrayal by taking the attack himself. And now that it was likely too late, Al was showing concern?

Tears were falling freely down the monsters face. He'd sunken to his hands and knees, angrily staring at the downed Vanya. Alfred took the opportunity to check on his family, noticing that with Vanya injured, the shadowed creatures had stopped appearing. But that was a minor concern once he saw Francis laying on the ground, alive as far as he could tell. Matthew was sitting next to him, offering comfort while Arthur tended to a wound on his shoulder. Katyusha was helping him, and Lovino was staring back at him. He nodded, and looked pointedly to Al. Alfred nodded back and stood up, knowing that it was now or never to start the real battle.

A sound from his side had him whipping his attention back to Al, who was holding one of his hands in his other one. An unstable smile was twisted onto his face.

"I guess I have nothing left to lose," he heard Al mumble, and scrambled to stand and make his way over to him. Just as Alfred felt the ring on his finger break, and the world around him erupted into chaos, he brought his hands up to cup Al's face and initiated a link.

The last thing he felt before transcending planes was a searing pain in his gut.

Ivan covered his eyes to prevent dust from entering them. And despite himself he bent down low to prevent too much of the high powered wind from bothering the other him. He still wanted to see the other dead, but not because he'd taken a hit meant for himself. That meant that his words were true, and that he did want Alfred to win.

When the dust and wind settled, Ivan could finally look up to assess just what the hell was happening. But when he did, he only wanted to look away and deny the sight, to scream and yell and cry.

Shakily standing from his crouch, he paused despite his sudden urgency. The other him was passed out, but still bleeding. He glanced back and force between his counterpart and the horrible scene he wanted to forget before grudgingly deciding to lift the other him's arms and drag him over to the others.

"Arthur!" He yelled when he was close. They'd gotten separated a bit, and with the battle he'd just recently been in, lugging dead weight around wasn't fun. "Arthur!" Still, his heart was pounding and his mind was analyzing the image that would forever be ingrained in his mind.

When he got closer Katyusha met him and helped him take some of the dead weight. Ivan only made sure the other him was still breathing before turning to Arthur and grabbing his wrist.

"What do you think you're doing?" Arthur asked, tugging his wrist back. He was in the middle of sewing up the arrow wound on Matthew's shoulder.

Ivan said nothing, only turned Arthur around so he could see the wrong image before them. It only took a second for Ivan to feel the other stiffen, and when Arthur looked back at him his expression was a mix of devastated and lost.

Without another word, Arthur threw down the needle and ran towards Al and Alfred. Ivan was not far behind.

They could only get so close before a field of energy prevented them from getting farther. One side was white and calm, the other dark and chaotic. And in the middle, standing on his knees with his hands on Al's face, was Alfred.

That would have been okay if not for Al's fist sticking out of his back.

The energy felt like hail, batting at his skin and making him wince. He had to shield his face to see the other side, which was obscured in a thick fog. Helpful as his training had been, nothing could have prepared him for this. The only thing he could see was swirling darkness, and the energy felt so corrupt it was making him nauseous.

He'd ripped away his glasses long ago, so everything was a little blurry, but if he squinted he could just make out the kneeled figure of his opponent. There was also a burning in his gut, though when he inspected it he saw nothing wrong.

The most perplexing thing about all this was the light burn around his finger where that ring had been. He only noticed it was gone because of said burn and the brief feeling of it breaking off his finger, and its disappearance only served to confuse him, because what was the point of it? And why had it burned itself away?

He looked behind him and saw that his side of the spherical...whatever they were in was much like how he was used to it being. It was light, calm, and familiar, not at all like Al's chaos. Looking back over to the man, Alfred stood up and waited.

He was slowly getting use to the energy's harsh effect on him, and finally he noticed movement. Out of the darkness came a figure standing tall, but the broken arm ruined the image. Once feathery wings were skinned and leathery, and any semblance between them was gone.

Alfred could tell something was not right. Al wasn't the same as he'd just been, screaming on the ground in anger, betrayal; he was angry still, that much was a given, but he seemed...resolute. A bad sign for Alfred.

"Where are we?" Came a voice and Alfred was startled to realize Al was speaking. It sounded extremely distorted, like any overly exaggerated Hollywood demon in the movies he'd seen.

Alfred licked his lips and said nothing. What Arthur had mentioned earlier was true. It seemed that Al had never been taught this, probably for the same reason Arthur had given: he hadn't needed to.

Al apparently didn't like his silence, because he growled(really, actually growled)and took a step forward. However, the equilibrium that had been sustained in that moment was broken when Al brought his hand up to try and hit him with a blast of energy. Much to both their surprise(hey, Alfred was new to this too)the energy rebounded, pushing Al back a few steps. Alfred's eyes were drawn to the chaos that was Al's side of their spherical prison. The darkness, moving so much like a living entity, jerked and swirled in anger. Alfred remembered Chloe's training advice and calmed his mind, despite the erratic beating of his heart. He felt his walls slide naturally into place, and for once, actually thought he might have a chance.

"This is where you die," Alfred said, voice shaking slightly as his nerves threatened to get the best of him. Much like Al had just attempted, he tried to fire a shot. And also just like Al, his energy stalled before rebounding on him, sending him to the ground. What the hell? He thought in frustration and confusion.

So Al couldn't attack, and neither could he, but why? He'd done just fine in his training, against both Chloe and the imp. What made Al so different?

"If you think this will stop me," Al said, struggling up from the ground after yet another attempt at killing Alfred, "You're wrong. Your little tricks won't save you."

Alfred bit his tongue and refrained from responding, which he wanted to do. Oh how he wanted to yell and curse and scream his hate, but he kept a tight lid on his mouth and started thinking of alternate ways to attack. If using energy backfired, then he'd just have to go with regular old hand-to-hand.

But advancing was harder than he'd thought. Whatever Al had done just before he'd initiated the link, it was having some weird effects. There was an almost physical barrier around Al's side, and to get close Alfred has to struggle not to let his inner Angel come to the surface. Bringing energy into the equation would only hinder his progress, but it was hard going against his nature, though he was trying his best. The nauseous feeling from earlier was still there, and his skin was becoming numb from the harsh conditions. He could feel his energy buzzing around just beneath his skin, waiting to come out.

He was hoping that Al, who so heavily relied on his abilities, would not be as proficient in physical combat. If Alfred could best him in that way, he'd have a chance of ending this for good. And remembering Vanya's sacrifice to save Ivan, Alfred was no longer worried about saving Al's life, because now there really would be nothing left for the man to live for.

The closer he got the more he had to struggle, but it was obvious from the cursing he was not the only one. It seemed, from what Alfred could make out, that Al couldn't even walk a step without being sent back to the ground. By what Alfred could feel of the energy radiating off of Al, he'd guess that the ring must have been a kind of storage device, and when Al had destroyed it, most likely in the hopes of getting a power boost, it had actually increased his energy output. But when Alfred had dragged them here, all the power that was coming off Al in droves was turned into a hindrance. Alfred, not having that much power, would normally have no problem suppressing it, thus making his experience easier. But the sheer magnitude of Al's energy bouncing around the dome and hitting him made his own want to claw its way out of him, so much so that a few times he had been forced back by his own energy.

Finally though he got close enough to punch Al across the face, sending him to the ground yet again. But even though he'd planned on just using his fist it seemed his body still want to use energy, as he too was forced back some. It was becoming unbearable, holding himself back. His body kept trying to do one thing while his mind kept trying to do another. If he didn't do something soon, he'd have to break the connection and risk facing Al at a severe disadvantage.

One idea did come to mind, the same one he had when he was training with Chloe, though now he thought it would be his only choice. If he let his body do what came natural to it, like when he rescued Lili, maybe he could tip the scales of power so they'd be more evenly matched. It was risky but...he didn't have a choice. So closing his eyes and steadying his breathing, he let go.

He felt like he was having a heart attack. His little boy, his son, had a hand through his body. Hands were not meant to go through bodies. He was pretty sure he might have fainted, because the one second he was staring at his son, and the next he was sitting next to Francis and Matthew, both still in their wolf forms to speed up the healing process. At least there's some good news, Arthur thought as he ran his hands down both their backs. Matthew was almost healed, head held high as he worriedly gazed between Arthur and Alfred. Francis still had awhile to go, and was resting.

Lovino, himself, and the Demon's luckily were also healing thanks to his stockpiled potions. There was someone who wasn't looking too good, however.

The suspicion and doubt about the other Ivan from earlier had disappeared once he'd witnessed the other's selfless act. And now he was paying for it.

Whatever had hit the poor Demon was beyond his knowledge, and from what Katyusha could tell them, that one blast of energy was slowly dissolving him from the inside out. The best she could do was numb the pain, but they couldn't stop it. Ivan, having nothing to do since the barrier proved impenetrable, was, surprisingly, sitting next to his double, and Arthur noticed the scarf he'd previously seen on Vanya around Ivan's neck, stained with blood near the ends. Maybe watching his "enemy" save his life had warmed Ivan up to the other.

But by far, their biggest problem was what they were going to do if Alfred either won or lost. Would he lose? Would he become nothing more than an energy reserve for Al to feed off of? Or would he win and come back to himself, thus taking on the full brunt of his injury? Would it kill him?

Questions swarmed and pushed their way to the front of his mind. And he had no answers. No one did.

He was not used to feeling guilty, or angry, or anything in such degrees of sharpness. For the first time in a long time his emotions were threatening to tear him apart. And for what? The safety of an Angel, the destruction of a deranged half-breed, and the survival of a former enemy? When had his life spiraled out of reality?

Or maybe when had it ever been in reality would be a better question.

For so long he'd been on his own and happy. He worried about himself and didn't look back when he brushed by people. Then suddenly he's got a family. Well, Ivan amends, eyes flicking over to Katyusha, A bigger family.

He doesn't want Alfred to die. He doesn't want Arthur, or Matthew, or Francis or Lovino, to die. His life isn't centered on his two sisters anymore, and he doesn't know when that had happened. But it scares him.

He might never get to tell Alfred he loves him, when he eventually will. He may never get to see that radiant smile in the morning, or those cheeks flush red in embarrassment or pleasure. He might not get to experience the joy that is simply being around Alfred because there was a very real possibility that he could die, right here, right now. And Ivan wasn't ready for that.

"...Have...faith," Ivan heard and looked down. Though his eyes were still closed, Ivan could recognize his own voice.

"It's hard," he allowed, grateful to his double for saving him but conflicted over whether or not to trust him yet.

What could pass as a chuckled forced its way past his double's lips. "Alfred is...strong...mine is...not...at least...not in the same way..."

Ivan looked back up at Alfred and Al. "Are you saying you want Alfred to win? What about the other one?"

A smile tugged at his lips. But instead of speaking again, he held up a trembling hand. Ivan could see it glow a faint black, and grabbed it with his own. Instantly, a barrage of emotions and pictures flooded his mind, and he understood suddenly why his double was at peace.

Though I never gave up, I promised him I'd do whatever I could to keep him safe. If that means letting him die, then so be it.

Ivan no longer knows if those are his words, or his double's.

Al struggled to stand up, his broken arm and foot forcing him to grind his teeth and curse his pain to the world. Something had changed in the little Angel, something that could end up being his demise. He remembers—if he focuses on the foggy memories before he became what he is now—what it was like to give himself to his greater side. The power and ability was beyond comparison.

He never thought he'd have to face it like this one day.

His arms were a mess of black and blue, and his broken one, though slowly healing, was a white-hot point of pain. His foot hurt less, but it was enough to make him stumble. He was lucky his wings weren't damaged.

The anger and hurt from earlier had settled into a steely resolve. Ivan had betrayed him. After everything he'd done to save them, the traitor had switched sides, gone to the "better" version of him. He wondered if the pain of Ivan betraying him hurt more than the pain of realizing Ivan was probably always going to betray him. Was he not good enough? Was he not worth it? Ivan was part of the reason he was like this, infused with two waring energies. Al should have known the spineless coward wouldn't take responsibility.

The only upside to the situation, if it could even be called that, was that by embracing his natural being, Alfred had leveled the playing field. Maybe not in the way Al would have liked, but at least he wasn't hit with his own energy every time he used it. He didn't know much about where they were, only that whatever it was, it happened when Angels and Demons fought.

But this had never happened to him, and he remembered fighting Demons. Was there something different about him? Or was it Alfred?

He'd get no answers out of the Angel, that was for sure. Even if he pinned Alfred down, the other was gone. In his place was a machine with one purpose—get rid of him. The how did not matter.

He dodged rolled out of the way of a fist, and immediately had to turn around and block another attack. And once Alfred's fist hit his arm, he noticed, not for the first time, the fluctuation in the field above and around them. It was slowly becoming brighter, and as it did, he was feeling weaker.

He should be in pain, Al thought, He should be unable to breathe let alone fight like this. I'm sure I didn't imagine impaling him. Had he? He knows he'd aimed for the closest part of Alfred he could. He remembers his hand sliding smoothly through the other's body. So why wasn't he injured?

Another dodge and he landed on his broken foot, cursing and stumbling to the ground. A mistake, as suddenly he was being rolled onto his back and the face of an impassive Angel was staring back at him. One punch to the face and the white grew brighter. Another and the darkness was pushed back. Yet another and Al was going to lose some teeth if he didn't do something. But his one arm was useless, and he was feeling weak despite absorbing the energy stored in his ring.

The hits stopped and he chanced opening his swollen eyes. Alfred was staring blankly at him and had ceased punching him, but wasn't doing anything else. Al was wondered if he could break out of the hold when a familiar and horrible feeling came over him.

It was like an inner shielding of himself, his soul or whatever, had just been ripped away. He suddenly felt more exposed than ever, like his central being was being displayed to the world, vulnerable and malleable. He'd only felt like this one other time in his life.

The painful and invasive sensation of his very being changing was unforgettable.

There was a faint humming in his ears, and the brightness was blinding. It was difficult to see, but he tilted his head back and watched as the white completely overtook the dark.

He started screaming.

The pain was unbearable. His very being was ripping itself apart, his demonic side tearing itself away from his angelic side as if burned, as if it was being rejected. The sensation might have lasted for a few minutes, or it might have lasted for a few years. Al wouldn't have been able to tell the difference.

Memories of being in Hell, of changing, were flooding his mind, making his current situation worse. Old remnants of pain overlaid the new ones, twisting into a seamless mess of torture and desperation.

Despite his wishes, he didn't pass out.

Alfred stared impassively as the process of purifying Al's demonic side tortured him.

He wasn't completely in control of himself, for if he was he'd have turned away.

He watched.

The brightness of the field was noticed by everyone. And if there was one thing they could agree on with confidence, it was that Alfred was either winning or had won. And that was great.

How were they going to heal the hole through his body before he died?

"Just hold on," Ivan found himself saying to his double, even though his words fell on deaf ears. "You're a bastard but you deserve to see him back to normal before you die."

Dazedly, his world starting to spin, Ivan hoped he wasn't seeing Alfred alive for the last time.

The field broke apart in a spectacular display of energy, forcing everyone to shield their eyes. Ivan stepped closer to the shield's previous border while Arthur extracted himself from between Francis and Matthew. Katyusha and Lovino too stepped forward.

Two figures were easy to make out, but only one was moving. The only one seemingly alive was struggling badly to lift himself off the ground. The other was lying on his side, facing away from them.

Ivan's first thought was that, obviously, Alfred was the one moving. He'd clearly won. But as the light faded, he knew that Alfred hadn't been wearing those clothes.

Eyes widening, he turned to look at the other one. His shirt, much more familiar, unfortunately, was stained a dark red.

"Alfred!" Arthur yelled, running towards his son, Lovino following close behind. Ivan would have stayed in the same spot if not for his sister gripping his arm tight and leading him forward. He didn't know if he wanted to go forward.

When they stopped, Arthur and Lovino had rolled Alfred, their Alfred, onto his back. His face was blank, not twisted in pain in any way but perfectly blank.

Devoid of life.

Ivan was sure he had to be dreaming. No amount of yelling from Arthur, no amount of potion forced down his lips, no amount of anything was working. Alfred remained still, the gaping hole near his side a shining beacon of the wrongness of the situation.

Dazed, Ivan turned his head when he heard a scraping sound. Al—Alfred?—the other was dragging himself towards his double.

A hand wiped away the tears that had been falling. He focused on Katyusha and felt more fall as she smiled sadly at him, herself making no attempt to stop the freely falling tears. She nodded at him and turned him to face Al.

Let them see each other one last time. He felt through their connection, and nodded.

As he walked towards Al, it was hard not mistaking them. He no longer looked evil, or mad. He looked exactly like Alfred. And, more importantly, he looked like an alive Alfred.

His eyes were fearful and pain riddled when he looked up. Ivan didn't let another emotion cross his face when he lifted the now restored Angel into his arms and carried him to his double. Once he arrived, he set Al down and stepped back.

Nothing brought on more pain than seeing the love of his life in pain. And it was his fault. He remembered everything.

It was all his fault.

Tears were streaming down his face as he turned Vanya's face towards his. He pointedly ignored the wound on Vanya's side. Maybe if he ignored it, if he didn't acknowledge it's existence, it wouldn't be so bad.

His body was racked with lingering pain and his heart was shattered, but he smiled and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw those beautiful violet eyes focus on him.

I'm sorry, he wanted to say. I'm sorry.

A small smile strained its way onto Vanya's lips. "I...know..." he whispered, taking in the sight of his lover's face. "I...love...you."

Al buried his face in his arms and cried out I love you too as Vanya's body went still. If a few minutes the energy inside him would disintegrate his body until their was nothing left.

Ivan, who was standing silently to the side, felt fresh tears form, his heart aching for these strangers, for their former enemies. Because, no matter how he thought of them, all he saw was Alfred and himself. He didn't ever want Alfred to suffer that much.

"Take me to him." Ivan heard. He didn't say anything as Al looked up at him with red ringed eyes and demanded again, "Take me to Alfred. I'll save him."

Ivan could not say no, not to that face.

He lifted Al back into his arms and walked to the group that had formed around Alfred. At some point, Matthew and Francis had joined.

He set Al down next to Lovino and Katyusha. Arthur, he could see, was no longer tending to Alfred but had his face buried in Francis's fur, his shoulders shaking though no sound came from him. Another jolt of pain shot through him.

Al reached out and lightly touched Arthur's shoulder. "I can save him."

Arthur tensed under the touch and turned around to face Al, shrugging his hand away. His red eyes were scrunched in anger.

"Why?" He said angrily. "What reason have you to save someone you so clearly want dead? You did this to him. You did all of this!" Arthur gestured around. His voice, shaky at first, was nearly a shout.

Al brought his hand back and sucked in a breath. He looked pained when he met Arthur's angry glare. "Its the right thing to do. Nothing I say will make up for my actions. But my actions now can fix things."

Arthur opened his mouth but shut it when nothing came out. He shook his head and turned away, muttering, "Have at it then."

Al swallowed and turned away, blinking quickly to prevent more tears. He was being overwhelmed by seeing not only Vanya die, but his family was alive and breathing again. His father who he remembered killing last, Francis and Mattie...The memories were pressing down on him, raising his guilt and cementing his determination. This one act would make up for a lot of what he'd done, at least in his own heart. They could hate him until the end of time, but he would be happy knowing that he did this one kindness.

He looked at his own face, feeling almost sick at seeing himself near death. He placed his hands over the wound, coating them liberally in blood but not caring because his hands were eternally stained red. His broken arm sent jolts of pain through him but he soldiered on.

After those years of his energies waring with each other, it was hard to control just the purer one. But he scrunched his eyes close and focused, channeling the energy to his hands and started healing the wound.

It was hard and took awhile. The wound was slowly closing, and he was feeling weaker and weaker. He knew that to heal Alfred, he'd have to use every ounce of energy within him, which would thus kill him. It was a sacrifice he was more than willing to make.

The healthy pallor that had faded from Alfred's skin was returning gradually, but, as he noticed, his own hands were turning a sickly pale color. He felt himself slouch more over Alfred's body, his muscles starting to ache, and combined with his previous wounds, he really wasn't feeling too well. Still, he had to continue.

He could feel the last of his strength ebbing, so he turned his head to look at Ivan. "Tell him I'm sorry. And thank you."

"All of you," he continued, starting to tear up again, "Thank you."

Nobody responded by the time he used the last of his energy and faded away in a burst of light.

Nothing was said for a bit. Katyusha sat patiently next to Lovino and Ivan, watching Alfred breath like everyone else. They did it. They were alive. They won.

But somehow it felt hollow.

Slowly, Katyusha reached over Alfred's body and rested a hand gently on Arthur's shoulder. "We should go," she said quietly. Arthur nodded distractedly, eyes never leaving his son. Silently, Katyusha nodded to the others. Closing her eyes, she focused her energy and sent them back to their bodies.

Arthur woke with a gasp.

Time seemed to move in slow motion. His thoughts were light years away, leaving his mind blank. He stared at the ceiling blankly, just breathing and relishing his life, when all of a sudden his thoughts returned to him like an explosion of sound and picture. He sat up, nearly giving himself a head rush, and searched out Alfred. He scrambled on hands and knees to his son's side, the other of which was occupied by Ivan and Katyusha, who naturally weren't effected by the travel between realms.

He could see that everyone but Alfred was awake. Francis and Matthew, as they'd been wolves previous to returning, were struggling to adapt to suddenly being in human form again. Lovino was blinking slowly as he stared out the window, unusually quiet as he'd been since Bella had died.

Arthur cleared his throat and blinked several times to clear away the fog of exhaustion and maybe to prevent more tears.

"What's wrong with him?" He croaked out, wincing at his own voice. He cleared his throat one more time and tried again. "Why won't he wake?"

Katyusha looked Alfred over, noticing that his energy levels were good, he didn't have any severe wounds, and his breathing was normal. By all accounts he should have been awake, but she had an idea as to why he wasn't.

"My best guess would be he's put himself in some sort of coma. The intensity of energy around him for so long must have overwhelmed his body, and it is now trying to regulate itself back to normal conditions. We'll simply have to wait for him to wake up."

Arthur was unhappy with her answer, but didn't voice it. If it was Alfred's doing that was keeping him asleep then only Alfred could wake himself up. He just wished it would be soon. A voice close by startled him.

"Don't worry. He'll wake in time," Lovino said, not quite meeting anyone's eyes. "I want to thank you all for helping to save the world basically. But if you don't mind, I'd like to return home. I need Feliciano's cooking and I'll even welcome the presence of that stupid boyfriend of his. And I need to tell Bella's brother of her d-death," Lovino muttered. He stood up and walked towards the door. He stopped with a hand on the door and turned around to look Arthur in the eye, offering a single nod of reassurance before he disappeared behind the wall.

A clock ticking nearby was the only sound filling the room. Arthur stared listlessly at Alfred before he felt two people come up to him on both sides of him.

"Arthur," said Francis quietly, "There's nothing we can do now. We should all rest."

"How can I rest knowing my son's...knowing he might not..." Arthur put his hands over his face and bent down at the waist until his forehead rested on Alfred's stomach.

Francis rubbed Arthur's back and looked between Katyusha and Ivan. "Matthew and I will care for Arthur. Take Alfred somewhere safe." Ivan nodded and watched with Katyusha as Francis and Matthew led Arthur out of the room.

Once they were gone Katyusha turned to him and pulled him into a hug. No doubt she'd realized that he could have died, and she'd always been protective of her family. He allowed her to cry on his shoulder silently for a few minutes before she pulled back and wiped her eyes, offering him a shaky smile. He returned it with a small smile of his own and hoisted Alfred's body into his arms. He left without another word.

It was only when he'd placed Alfred on the bed that he cuddle up next to the lifeless body and finally cried.

More than a week had gone by, and still Alfred slept. With proper rest they'd all returned to normal, Arthur most notably. He still worried about his son of course, but he was accepting that Alfred would wake up when he needed to.

Didn't mean he liked it though.

Every morning Francis and Matthew would have the large house filled with a mouth watering smell, and every morning Arthur would sit down to breakfast thinking how much Alfred would have enjoyed stuffing his face with the food. It didn't help his mood much, but he couldn't help it. When Matthew and Francis sat down at the table, and later Ivan and Katyusha, Arthur couldn't help but feel it just wasn't the same without his son to add his own quirky two cents to the conversation.

A few more days later and Francis was finally the last to be fully healed. Shortly after it was decided they'd return to the Human realm, while Katyusha would go back to her sister in Europe. There was nothing left to do, and she'd been feeling homesick for a while now. She told Ivan to call her when Alfred woke up, hugged everyone twice, accepted their many thanks, and headed home.

Ivan, predictably, stayed with them. He couldn't leave Alfred's side if his life depended on it. Arthur understood completely; it was the same for him.

They were in a Northern state when they arrived. The chill in the air brushed against their skin and promised more cold weather to come. They walked until coming across a town, where they bought food and rented a car and drove to one of the many residences Arthur and Francis had acquired throughout the years.

The cabin they arrived at wasn't anything to brag about, but it was homely. Arthur lit a fire and Francis washed the sheets. Matthew started chopping would and Ivan, feeling a bit out of place, simply sat on the couch with Alfred's head resting in his lap.

Silence had settled between the four of them. Francis made a quick dinner, which was eaten even quicker. After, they all sat around the fire.

Everyone was lost in their own thoughts. Though they were out of danger, without Alfred there it seemed like they hadn't quite won.

As the cabin only had two rooms, Ivan decided to take the couch, and to keep Alfred's body warm, rested it nestled between him and the back of the couch. It gave him ample opportunity to observe the blond's sleeping face, which by this point he was sure was forever ingrained in his mind. He decided to sleep that night.

When Ivan woke up the fire had diminished and he felt colder. There was the rich smell of bacon and toast in the air.

He figured Francis was cooking again when he turned and noticed the missing body he'd been sleeping with. The dent left in the cushions was still warm.

He let that register for a few seconds before throwing the blankets off and bolting to the kitchen, heart pounding in his chest like never before.

It was a beautiful sight when he entered the kitchen and saw Alfred standing at the stove.

Alfred noticed his entrance and turned, lifting up the spatula in his hand. "Hungry?"

Ivan could have cried.

He rushed forward and, careful not to press Alfred against the hot stove, kissed his boyfriend. He ran his hands everywhere he could, feeling heat and life and knowing that it was real. Alfred laughed when his hands skittered over his sides, and eagerly returned the kiss. When Ivan pulled back, he marveled at the healthy glow in Alfred's face, and, speechless, embraced the blond.

"Ivan, babe, the food's gonna burn!" Alfred said, voice a little strained as Ivan attempted to squeeze the life out of him. Ivan, flustered, retracted and let Alfred continue cooking breakfast.

He spoke with Alfred, committing his voice to memory, particularly the way he laughed and how he sounded when excited. Ivan was content to sit at the table and watch his boyfriend.

It was unlike him, but he also anticipated the other's reactions. When Arthur, the early morning riser as he was, entered the kitchen, he immediately stopped and sucked in a breath when he saw Alfred awake. Alfred, who still didn't know how long he'd been asleep, turned and greeted his father with a wide smile and a cheerful word of hello.

Much like Ivan, Arthur tried hugging Alfred to death. He put his hands on either side of Alfred's face and turned his head this way and that, asking questions a mile a minute.

"Are you alright? Does anything hurt? What do you remember?"

Alfred laughed and shrugged his father's hands away, shooing him towards the table. "Relax Dad, I'm fine, now let me finish or the bacon'll be no good!"

Instead of sitting at the table, Arthur disappeared beyond the kitchen. A few minutes later he returned with Francis and Matthew in tow.

Matthew almost brought them both to the ground. He hugged his brother with all his worth, and buried his face in Alfred's shoulder. Alfred set down the spatula, realizing that everyone was going to interrupt his making of breakfast. He quickly turned the stove off before returning the hug.

He was a little confused by all the enthusiastic greetings, but let Francis hug him as well. He was relieved when Francis's hug was gentler than the others.

Francis helped him finish breakfast and when they all settled at the table, Alfred dug right in. It was on his fourth bite when he looked up and realized everyone was staring at him. "Wha'?" He said eloquently.

"Do you remember anything?" Arthur asked again. Alfred's lack of freaking out was worrisome. Did he not know what had happened?

"Well, yeah, I remember everything."

There was a beat, and when Alfred didn't say anything else, Arthur continued on. "And you're okay with it?"

"Well," Alfred said around his food, "I did kind of black out at the end, but since we're here I'm guessing I beat him." He shrugged like it was no big deal. "Why, did something happen?"

Arthur looked to anyone, lost and shocked at Alfred's nonchalant attitude. Ivan continued on. "Alfred, they're both dead."

Alfred didn't react beyond pausing his eating. He stared at his food before looking up at Ivan. "...Both? How?"

Under the table, Ivan played with the ends of his scarf, wondering if he should tell. But he figured Alfred deserved to know what happened.

"Do you remember the other Ivan taking the hit that was meant for me?" He started. Alfred nodded. "Shortly after, you forced yourself and Al into the final battle, right?" Again, Alfred nodded.

"Right before that happened, Al manage to impale you through your side. His hand went clean through your body."

"O-Oh," Alfred stuttered, looking down at his food in distaste. He pushed it away from him a little.

"When you defeated Al, you two were released from the field of energy around you. Al was returned to normal. You were injured, and unconscious. Despite everything he'd done, I took Al over to the other me and let them say their goodbyes, because shortly after he died. Al then told me that he'd save your life. And he did. He used his own energy to heal you, and in the process killed himself."

"He did that for me?" Alfred mumbled, staring at the table. He remembered really hating Al, and promising to end his life instead of save it. But not only had he indeed returned Al to normal, like Vanya had wanted, but Al had turned around and saved his life. Alfred knew he should hate Al for all of eternity, but it was hard to hate the person who saved his life. He knew that both of them would have a special place in his heart for their more courageous actions.

"I think I need to...to think about this," Alfred said, standing up. He looked like he wanted to say more, but instead shook his head and left the dinning room.

Ivan waited until they'd all finished breakfast(or as much as they were willing to eat given the change of mood), before seeking Alfred out. He found Alfred on the back porch, huddled beneath a large warm blanket.

"I really hated that guy," Alfred said as Ivan sat next to him. Ivan wasn't effected by the cold, but still accepted the blanket when Alfred offered one end to him. He wrapped it around his shoulder and pulled it tight, bringing their bodies close together. "I'd promised myself I would kill him."

"It's not your fault that their dead. They chose their path. I don't want you blaming yourself. Both of them were fully aware of the choices they made to save our lives."

"But—!"

"No," Ivan said, silencing Alfred. "No buts. It's not your fault. Say it."

"...I know it's not my fault," Alfred sighed. "But I still wish things had turned out differently."

"How so?"

"Well, they were like us once, right? And they seemed to really care for the other, even after everything that happened. I think they deserved to be happy again."

"They did get to say goodbye to each other, if that means anything to you."

"Yeah," Alfred said, looking up at the pale gray sky. "I know that I'd want to say goodbye to you."

Ivan smiled and leaned towards Alfred. "And I as well."

They kissed just as snow began falling, and spent the rest of the morning enjoying each other's presence.