This is really more like the FIRST ending of Heartless, I even went back and used a lot of the original dialogue. I doubt any of you read the first draft, and I hope you didn't, because it was bad. But if you did you may recognize some of this. I definitely like this ending better. Let me know if you agree.

"Why don't you carry away my heart,
You have stolen and left here broken,
Why don't you carry away my heart,
Already taken."

-Wounded, Shane & Shane

The demon stayed home for the rest of the day. He thought about calling Luke and seeing what his friend was up to, but he couldn't bring himself to pick up the phone. His thoughts kept going back to the human, and what he needed to do.

Xerex was a little surprised when Kari showed up at his door later that day. But in a way he was glad, he needed to talk to her anyway. He let her in, still not particularly happy about what he was about to do. He shook his head, he didn't care. He was a demon. With a little effort he filled his mind with the apathy that came so naturally before she had shown up.

He turned to say something but was caught off guard by an emotion. It was not his, but it was more familiar than most of her emotions. It was something sad, but it was deeper than sadness. It left a bittersweet aftertaste in his mouth. He wondered what he should say. Kari wondered if he was even going to ask about, or notice, the bruise on her face.

"I don't want you coming here anymore," He said, keeping his face blank as he said it.

A look of shock flickered across Kari's face, but only for a moment. It was replaced with something like disappointment. She looked down at the floor. It felt as if they were playing chess, each of them trying to guess what the other would do next and how to react to it. "Why not?" Her voice was soft. The whole room was cast in a golden glow from the sunlight, it made the whole moment seem more surreal.

Xerex couldn't look at her, "Because I no longer want to be in your company." The words came easily enough. He thought back to how his life had been around her. She was annoying, she was too emotional. She irritated him beyond belief, and she was a human. He had been trying this whole time to get away from her. When he had dumped her off with Luke, even she had known that he had no intention of coming back. Thinking these things made it easier for him.

Kari felt her mouth go dry; she scrambled for something to say. At the same time she wondered why she even bothered. She searched his face for any sign of emotion. His face was carefully blank, he looked as expressionless as when they first met. "But-"

He snarled. "But what? I'm a demon, I don't like being around people, I'm tired of being around you, it isn't that hard to understand." He took a step closer. "We were stuck together, and for the purpose of keeping us from killing each other, I agreed to your little game of pretend. I played your game, I pretended to be your friend. I said the right things, I acted like I cared, you didn't really think that I meant any of that, do you?" He laughed, "Come on girl, get real. Why would I ever really care about you? I don't have to stay close to you anymore, and I don't intend to."

Kari flinched at his words, taking an involuntary step back. "You don't mean that."

Xerex could feel the hurt she was experiencing like a subtle throb in the back of his mind. "Yes actually I do, it's about time you stopped playing around in the world of demons little girl, before you get killed. You think you're stronger than you are, you're convinced you can handle yourself. But last time you tried to do that, you got caught. You barely even managed to keep from being killed."

The look on Kari's face went from hurt and confusion to anger, "I'm not weak. You said yourself that I can-"

Xerex laughed cutting her off, "You can what! You can't call forth the scythe by yourself; you don't know how to fight. You have some meager power, more than a human should have I admit. But you can't even use it. Go ahead, use your power, and show me how strong you are?"

Kari was shaking, she took another step back. "Why are you doing this?" there was doubt in her eyes, begging him to prove that he didn't mean this, begging him to take it back. Part of her still didn't believe him, and he had to destroy that part of her.

Xerex slammed her against the wall, hard enough to really hurt her. She gasped in pain and shock. His fangs were out and his eyes fierce, "You make the mistake of thinking I care. The only thing I feel is hate. I can't stand you, if you don't leave I'll kill you, and this time I swear I'll make sure you don't survive. I never want to see you again. Go find yourself another pet demon to protect you, I'm done."

He felt her anger and hurt turn into fear. He hadn't ever really noticed when she stopped feeling those cold stabs of fear around him, but now they were back stronger than ever. Good, he thought, fear me, hate me, and do whatever it takes to get away from me. He watched her open the door, she looked close to tears. He didn't let himself look away, you don't understand, he thought after her, all I can do is hurt you, it's better if you hate me. He was surprised when she looked back, "I trusted you, I believed you were something that you aren't. I guess I should have listened to my sister, you're nothing but a monster."

He smiled at her, "You're right, that's all I've ever been. It's all I'll ever be." She slammed the door behind her and was gone. Even as she left her fear remained, along with that other feeling that he didn't recognize. He didn't let himself block them out, he deserved this.

When Kari got back home her sister had all of her things packed. "Are you sure you don't want to come back with me to the human realm?" She asked, looking up at her sister.

Kari looked around. "Maybe I will come with you." At her sister's look she quickly interjected, "I'm not going to stay. I just want to see mom again," and she needed time to think.

Her sister sighed, "I don't know why you want to stay here, what is there to come back to?" The question hurt.

What was she going to be coming back to? The only person here that she cared about had just told her that he never wanted to see her again. She thought back to her life in the human realm, she had nothing to go back to there either. "I don't belong there Kira." Even if she could only have her heart broken here, this was her home.

She shook her head, "If you say so." Kari smiled at her. She clipped Cerberus's leash on and followed her sister to the cab. She was surprised when they were dropped off at a familiar place. When they went inside Kari realized how it was familiar. "This was the closest doorway." Kira explained, walking up on the stage that Kari had accepted the scythe on.

She looked around the room, that day was nearly a year ago now. It seemed like so much longer than that. She felt like it was a lifetime ago that she had stood on that stage, the scythe in her hand, and a demon standing in front of her. The room was exactly the same, untouched since her last visit. It was as if it had been waiting for her to return.

Kari pointed to the stairs she had walked down each day. "That's the door we need to take," Kira followed her gaze and ran over to it, excitement evident in her face.

"Well what are you waiting for? Let's go then!" She rushed up the stairs with her belongings in tow. Kari followed at a slower pace, the demon puppy at her feet. Kira was already outside when Kari got there. She pushed the heavy door up, crawling up into the empty dumpster. Everything looked the same, it didn't seem right that the world around her hadn't changed. When she had changed so much. She handed Cerberus to Kira and then climbed out herself, letting the door swing shut behind her.

As soon as the metal door hit, her head swam. She stumbled and fell, her ears ringing. She felt like something in her had been pulled taught, close to breaking. Kira was saying something to her, but she couldn't understand it.

She pushed her sister away and turned back to the dumpster. She pulled the door back on impulse, but instead of the spiral staircase, only the pavement beneath the dumpster was revealed. Kari frowned, running her hands over it, searching for some kind of trick. But there was none. "Kira, the doorway is gone."

The pain that the girl had left him in had still not subsided. Gabriel was slumped heavily in a chair, a demon brought him a tray of food. The food did not look appetizing, but he needed to keep his strength up. Alex hadn't been his only pawn, it would have been foolish to bet it all on such an unstable creature. He looked up suddenly, a change in the realm brought to his attention. To his subordinate's surprise he started laughing, the demon looked up. "Is something the matter master?"

He grinned, meeting the demon's gaze. His hood was back, revealing his frightful state. His face was that of a young man's, much younger than he was. But the skin hung off in folds, unable to cling to the bone and muscle. Sores littered his skin and he had a papery yellow pigment. "She left," he cackled. "The girl left without the proper preparations." The demon just gave him a confused look. He shook his head at his ignorance. In his day such mistakes would not have been made. "If the grim reaper leaves this realm without first making sure they are prepared. They must be accompanied by a demon, and bound to something in the world, an anchor I suppose you could say. If they do not do this, then it throws this realm into chaos. She has destroyed the doorways and trapped herself in the human realm." He laughed again, leaning forward. The laugh turned into hacking coughs. The coughs wracked his shoulders and his whole body convulsed. When they finally subsided he was out of breath, and leaned back again.

"But isn't this a bad thing? We need her for your plans don't we?" The demon questioned, shifting closer.

Gabriel waved his questions off with sore covered hand, "We can take advantage of this chaos, besides she'll find a way back one day, trust me. Those who are truly of this world can not be rid of it so easily."