I found myself walking down the corridor as scientists rushed in and out of the break room. My body felt heavy with anxiety as I made my approach. It took quite a lot for Terra to become shaken. She wouldn't panic for just any simple problem. Catastrophe had struck the city. As I entered I saw what looked be a breaking news footage broadcast. My heart raced as it all become abundantly clear. Things were looking more than grim. From the aerial view of a news chopper was a clear picture of a lone mansion engulfed in flame.

"And we are broadcasting this live from the Arcturus Estate where the fire has grown out of control. The police have blocked off the Estate Bridge leading to the Arcturus Estate while firefighters do all that they can to contain the blaze-!"

Just then, the flames flared up and shrapnel flew towards the news chopper. The report continued on despite the difficulties. We all kept watching in total silence as the report continued while the cameraman zoomed in on what looked to be a survivor.

"The firemen have managed to rescue a single survivor! She seems to be unharmed from what we can tell and- Oh shit!"

Just then, the firemen were blasted away by bolts of flame. It was Nina. The break room bustled with noise. Panicked and anxious voices muttering in unison as I stood in the back of the room, dismayed by it all. We were running out of time. We had to move to stop Nina before things got worse.

*****

Katelyn had made her way to the back of the warehouse she and her friends called home. Waiting for her there was Reaver, who wore a slight concern upon his brow. Katelyn too, wore a sullen expression that thickened the air with tension. There were feelings present that had been bottled up for far too long, and recent events forced them to the surface. Katelyn's emotions were written on her weighted visage like a message in a bottle floating in an uncaring sea of abandonment.

"What's going on, kid?" Reaver asked the silent girl in the friendliest voice he could muster.

"Reaver… I don't know what to do about Nina."

Reaver let off a slight groan as he sat down on the wooden crate he leaned against. His glare was stern yet caring as he spoke softly to young Katelyn.

"I don't think there is anything we can do for her Katelyn…"

"I can't stay here, Reaver. I love her to death, but I can't do this anymore. All the people she has killed…"

Reaver immediately stood up from his perch and locked Katelyn in an embrace. Katelyn could hardly hold back the tears any longer. Watching her friend careen into a further state of madness was heartbreaking. The introduction of that Regis character only made matters worse for the poor girl. Reaver held Katelyn close to his chest as tears soaked through his jacket. His hand stroked her soft brunette locks as she sobbed. The gentle petting did little to soothe her as she only sobbed more and more as a flood of emotions poured forth from her mouth.

"You're right, but you'll have to decide for yourself what you are going to do next."

A steady stream of tears continued to flow, but settled down slightly as Katelyn started to think about what exactly it was she wanted to do. Ultimately, the answer was there all along. Katelyn did her best to thank Reaver, but there were few words she could say. The poor girl ran. She ran for dear life beyond the one she felt trapped in. She would find someone she could trust more than one of her closest friends. She would do everything in her power to save Nina.

*****

For a moment, I felt like I could continue to just sit and watch as the city imploded in on itself. A part of me thought that my battle with Nina was over and I didn't need to get involved. I could have just rode out the storm and let it pass right over my head. But it was only a small fraction of myself that thought that. In truth, my blood began to boil as I watched her assaulting fire fighters head on. Something about it all didn't feel right. It felt out of character for Nina. There truly was something shrouded beneath the veil of chaos that had been lifted over our eyes. In that moment, I felt that desire to seek answers return to my veins as my blood boiled with frustration. The encouraging face of my mother fresh in my mind. Seeing Nina lay waste to countless innocents was more than enough reason to return that lust for battle to my once aching heart. Genesis saw my lack of hesitation as I bolted for the door. His eyes told all. I growled under my breath and readied my hand to strike as I stopped beside the swordsman. Genesis kept his own hand grasped firmly around the leather bound grip of his sword.

"I am not letting you stop me."

"I thought you didn't care about this city?"

I turned and faced Genesis with anger starting to return to me. Everything that bastard said always seemed to get me riled up.

"You're right… I don't care about this city, or the people in it. But I met someone who changed my mind a little bit. Someone I want to make proud."

Genesis did not respond, he just kept looking at me with those unwavering eyes of his. Eyes that had seen countless scenarios of similar account play out. Genesis knew what was going through my head all too well. He knew exactly what to ask me in that time of high tension and panicked undertones.

"What the hell do you think you can do?"

"I'm heading out there to fix this mess." I responded all gung-ho.

"One man can't make a difference in this, Heaven. We need to let this play out."

"Then was Terra wrong!?"

Everyone turned to face Genesis and myself as my voice resounded through the break room.

"Maybe she lied, and you don't want to protect this place after all. You only seem to care about your damned secrecy. We aren't different at all, we both want to see this place burn down just so we can live in peace."

Genesis grunted loudly as he shoved me into the wall. I could feel his strength as he pinned me there, his emotions clearly the driving force behind his actions. This marked the first time I ever saw Genesis act out of emotion.

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"What's wrong, Genesis? Strike a nerve?"

"You have no fucking clue what kind of world is out there waiting for you, for any of us."

I pushed Genesis off of me, the crowd stepped back as he stumbled.

"Stop lying to us, Genesis! You're scared aren't you!?"

Genesis growled and threw a punch my way, which I dodged easily.

"And when in the fuck did you get so bold!?"

I threw a punch right back at Genesis, he too easily dodged the strike.

"I got a long way to go before I can pick myself back up. Consider this my first step."

Genesis looked me dead in the eyes before I turned my back and headed for the door. That day was to be the first of many blood soaked days. All it took was me opening a single, insignificant door to turn the tide of events forever.

*****

Zipping across the Estate Bridge was a fleet of ECPD cruisers on route to respond to Nina's latest attack. Lazarus, Syrah, Phillip, and Damien were the ones in charge of organizing the defense of the Estate. The lights of the bridge flew past in indistinguishable blurs as the light of Nina's blaze grew closer. Damien and Philip could hardly contain their anxiety about the almost inevitable battle looming on the horizon. Knots tied themselves around each other in a cesspool of anxiety swelling within the pit of the officers' stomachs. Damien was the first to address this ever growing notion of worry as he turned to his brother, who drove the cruiser they occupied.

"None of this feels right…" Damien muttered in an almost shaky tone.

"You're right about that… This whole day is bizarre," replied Philip before taking a deep breath. "I just hope it doesn't get too bad."

In that moment, it was like the Devil himself had been eavesdropping on the conversation. From parts unknown, a single shot rang out into the air and before the two could react, their vehicle flipped over dramatically. It landed onto the road with a thud like a war drum before sliding forward on the pavement. In that moment, chaos unleashed itself upon the confused officers as they stopped halfway across the bridge. Damien and Philip rushed out of the wreckage slightly bruised. Damien had blood pouring down his face from shards of glass that cut open his scalp. Officers rushed to their aid, but just as one came into the view of the hidden assailant, he dropped dead. A bullet was wedged between the eyes as the thunderous sound of a sniper rifle rang out through the bridge. Damien and Philip were completely beside themselves as they watched what was earlier, a moment of peace, descend into an abyss of maddening confusion as cops scrambled to cover. The chief detective and the deputy rushed behind the wreckage as gunfire rang out from seemingly all sides.

While Hell's gates had opened up right in front of Damien and Philip, Syrah and Lazarus sat in a vehicle at the very back of the bridge. The two simply looked at each other with a nod. A hidden knowledge confirmed amongst the two of them.

"Has Regis found it yet?" Lazarus asked as he stared ahead at the crowded bridge.

"He has moved into the Estate. I haven't received confirmation that he has found it."

"We better get moving then. We can't let this go awry."

Syrah nodded and the two calmly exited their vehicle. Syrah gripped her peculiar container tightly in her hand as Lazarus doled out orders.

"Go and be their 'symbol of hope.' I'll catch up to Regis."

"Right."

*****

A single voice cried out to me as I powered through the hallway of the Ark. I didn't want to stop, but the more she spoke the more I felt inclined to.

"Heaven! Wait up!"

I turned around to face Terra as she did her best to catch up with me down the hallway. I wasn’t really in the mood to talk about anything with her, but the more she pestered, the more I couldn’t just ignore her cries. She panted for air as she stopped in front of me, her expression was one of worry and regret. I could expect what she was going to say. Once she had finally composed herself she stared me down with a straight face. She bit her lip slightly before finally taking a breath to speak her mind.

"I’m sorry Heaven…"

"Don’t be," I said with a sigh, albeit a brooding one.

"I shouldn’t have said the things that I did. I just assumed you were just like the rest of us," Terra said in her defense.

"It’s fine…"

Terra tried to speak but found that no words could escape her lips. Her eyes trailed downward as her chin dipped. Her face was staring down at the pristine white floor of the Ark. Her eyes held lingering uncertainty and regret for the things she said to me. Finally she spoke, in a much softer voice than normal.

"Most of us, I guess except for you and Nina, came from broken places. When Lockhart took me in, my parents were already gone. I was just a little girl at the age of ten when it happened. My mother had convinced herself of the delusion that Dad cheated on her. My father was sick of her constant nagging and her affair with a beer bottle. Dad grabbed the gun he kept in the bedroom after finally having enough. He tried to shoot, but he couldn’t do it. Mom butchered him with a knife from the kitchen the second he hesitated…"

"Terra…"

"Then Mom turned to me… She obviously had been drinking a fuck ton. I could smell the beer on her breath. I guess in her drunken rage she saw me as just a reminder of the horrible man she couldn't believe she married. She wanted me gone too… I picked up Dad’s gun and fired. I didn’t even look. I just closed my eyes and screamed as I held the trigger down. Two rounds hit my Mom right in the chest…"

Terra’s hands were shaking. The sensation of a hot firearm’s kickback was still fresh on her palms after all those years. It was a feeling she never got used to. Instinct kicked in and I placed my hands around her own to help her calm down. She let off a single sniff as she tried to keep her feelings in check.

"Anyway… Lockhart found me in the police station after it happened… I’ve been here ever since. It’s like that for a lot of us. Hell, Genesis was an orphan before all this happened. You probably think we're crazy for choosing a life like this over the lives we had. The thing is, this life, as terrible as it can be sometimes, gave us some things we never had before. Those things are worth fighting for, even killing for."

My heart felt heavy. I wasn’t ready to just go to war, but Terra at least put things into perspective for me. At the very least it made me understand what kind of lives the Demons lived. They all had one thing in common, desperation. Every one of them was desperate to keep living, so much so that they would resign themselves to this life of secrecy and conflict. I never felt so distant than at that moment. I was the only one among the Demons who wasn’t clinging on to life. At the same time, Terra was a great person who made the best of her circumstances. It was about time I started to work towards that myself. I started to walk again while Terra still stood motionless. The weight of her past was catching up with her again. Genesis approached Terra as she stared on at my fading body.

"You okay?" Terra asked in concern.

"I'm not the one you should be asking that question."

Terra looked down the hallway and could barely make out the colors of my clothes as I disappeared behind a corner.

"Is he..? We aren't just gonna let him die alone are we?"

"That depends, how did your training go?"

Terra lowered her head a little.

"I am getting better at keeping my Gate open. As for the Second Seal, Goose said it will take some time before I can use it effectively."

"Good. We are going to need all the power we can get."