[Jaykobell]

It was a typical day in Terrace Park. The sun was shining in the sky, the clouds covered it only now and again, and children were playing around with a huge variety of pets. Squeals of pleasure, joy, happiness, and pain, were heard throughout the park, as little kids played and fell. Worried parents patching up a child's knee, or chatting while keeping their eyes peeled for anything suspicious.
Nothing, really, let out that not only pets and humans were enjoying their day in Terrace Park.

The park was fairly huge, so if one bothered to look, they could find a quiet spot, away from everyone else, and away from the squeals of excited children. Only the birds could be heard, singing happily overhead, the trees covering the sun, and a small river running nearby, the flow rhythmical and soothing. It was like being all alone in a small wood, away from others and from society... away from the busy modern life.
Enjoying that little corner of Terrace Park were three young men, all three clearly different... yet sickeningly similar.



The first one was dressed in all-white, with hints of black. Despite his young age, his hair was a pure snow-white color; not only that, it didn't seem to look like hair, either, instead sharing a strange resemblance to that of an animal's fur. Short hair, and red eyes shining blood red. "If you think about it," he started as he sat down on the small hill, the terrain going downward towards the small river, "this is extremely reckless." He stretched a leg forward and let the other bend and spread his arms further back. "Vincent, are you even listening?"



Vincent, the second one, was similar to the white man, but the palette was switched around, going from all-white to all-black. Short black hair, identical in appearance, but slightly different in style. His eyes shone blood red as well, but his portrayed more malevolence and carelessness than the white man's.
He was enjoying the river, his legs bent like a frog's as he looked closely at the shining water running quietly. When the white man questioned him, Vincent looked over his shoulder, displeased. "What's your point, Dexter?" he retorted irritably as he got back up and turned around to face him. "They find us everywhere, so what's the point in hiding in a freakin' apartment all day? I want to be outside, damn it."

"You can't just do whatever you want," Dexter replied back, gesticulating as he talked. "It puts all of us in danger when you rush headfirst into things." When the black-haired man shrugged and huffed, Dexter gritted his teeth and huffed himself; the two seemingly just saying "fine" at each other.

It was a long story; and one that didn't really make any sense, even to them. Born and living as the same unique entity, and then suddenly finding themselves separated and transported into a world completely unlike their own. Not only that, because of their status of "wanted" criminals, the three were constantly hunted down. It was a puzzle that was impossible to solve, at this point in time...

"Laurence," Dexter eventually inquired, looking at a nearby tree. "Can't you tell him he can't just do whatever he wants?"



Laurence was the final "piece," and a strange blend of the first two. While not very colorful himself, he wasn't only white or only black, instead sporting both colors with some hidden, dark hues mixed in both colors. His hair, while a bit longer, was identical to Dexter's and Vincent's. His eyes were no different, and they sported the same blood red color. He was sitting down under a tree, leaning against the truck nonchalantly. His arms were crossed and resting on his crossed legs; a sign that he was relaxing, but that he was still alert.

When Dexter inquired for his advice, Laurence opened an eye to take a quick look at them before simply sighing. "You think about things, Vincent does the things you think about..." He tilted his head slowly, seemingly not seeing any problem with their quarrel. "Let him do what he wants. When it comes back to bite him, then you're free to rub it in his face."

Dexter grinned with satisfaction while Vincent rolled his eyes and scowled. "Tsh! Say what you want; if you want to be stuck in a humid, messy apartment, be my guest and go right back, princess," he complained before turning around and getting on his knees to take another look at the river. There wasn't only water here; in the water, potential treats swam. Scales shining under the clear water, and the smells oozing out from underwater. Fish!

While Vincent had fun staring at an excessive amount of natural water, Dexter lay down on the grass and folded his arms under his head. The clouds drifted lazily in the sky, and he sighing softly. When it comes back to bite him, eh...?

It always came back to bite them. But the three of them were a trio; and going somewhere without the others tagging along was awkward, even worrying. They were logic, emotions, and the brain; although within three bodies, they were still recognized a single entity.
Cerberus, the demonic three-headed dog.

[Thunder]

Adey, Azrael, Souseiou

Souseiou growled to himself as the people around him stared. At first, he had considered taking his Fallen Luhna form to better disguise his identity as an angel, but he would have been obviously different anyways. In both forms, he had one white wing and one black, whereas most of the angels from his world had wings of the same color, and other Fallen Luhnas did not have such wings either. His hair was also split into black and white, and one of his eyes was a duller blue than the other. Black, in his world, was only seen on the wings of fallen angels, but he wasn't quite a fallen angel. He didn't like to think about it.

Souseiou's two companions were plainer. Adey, the human girl, had bright green eyes, long blonde hair, and was dressed in a purple shirt, navy jeans, and purple canvas shoes. A frown crossed her face. It appeared that she had a headache and kept massaging her temples. Azrael, the boy, was decked out in his usual hoodie, boots, and skinny jeans, all colored black. A clump of brunette hair masked one of his dark brown eyes, while the visible eye had a mischievous sparkle to it. Despite his normal, boyish appearance, however, he had a secret. He was a Reaper, and not just any Reaper...he was the leader, the Head Reaper of the Parallel World.

They were here at Terrace Park because Adey sensed some kind of demonic aura. This sense was the only unusual ability she seemed to have, and whenever she was near a powerful demon, she would suddenly feel ill.

"We're getting close," Adey muttered, gazing at their surroundings. "But I don't see anything strange. Other than us, I mean."

"Your reactions are oddly strong," Azrael mused, as he walked alongside her. "I can't imagine that the demon prince would have enough power to give you headaches. True, he's the son of two powerful demons, but he's still young, and should not have fully developed his abilities." The Reaper then turned to Souseiou. "And you? Do you feel anything?"

"A slight buzz. I think it's coming from the direction of that river." The angel pointed towards the flowing band of water nearby. "I don't see a demon, but it may be disguised. We should have a look."

With that, the three of them advanced towards Cerberus.

[Jaykobell]

In a feeble attempt to catch a fish or two, Vincent was awkwardly trying to swipe one using his arms. Which, needless to say, didn't work well at all; not only that, it was rather strange to see a human man trying to catch fish his bare hands. Relying on canine instincts wouldn't get the black Cerberus anywhere. Still, he insisted on fiddling in the river.
Dexter simply watched, the urge to kick Vincent into that river growing by the second. With his back facing him, kicking the black dog in the water would be easy as pie...
Meanwhile, Laurence was relaxing under the tree. As the most relaxed, and the most logical, he was often considered the "leader" of their little pack. He gave advice, took the decisions, and quite often took it upon himself to protect to other two Cerberus. Instead of relying solely on his logic or his emotions, he weighted both and took a decision depending on which road was the best. It was a tiring job considering Dexter and Vincent were opposites, as they were supposed to be. It was hard to convince one with a concept he didn't understand.

As the three were enjoying their free time, something started clouding Laurence's senses. His eyes flew open as he sensed powerful auras nearby, ones he hadn't felt before. None of them had sensed anything out of the ordinary when they arrived here, so had they found them? Getting up, Laurence walked over to Dexter and took a look around, until he noticed a small group of three walking towards them.
Dexter, sitting on the grass next to him, looked up at the half-half Cerberus and tilted his head confusingly. "What?"
Now on edge, Laurence was keeping his eyes on the three strangers. "Playtime's over," he told the white Cerberus, taking a few steps ahead. "I don't know what or who they are, but something has found us."
Now on edge himself, Dexter got up quickly and took a look in the direction Laurence was facing, only to confirm Laurence's words: a group of three, with powerful and strange auras, was walking towards them.

Overhearing the discussion between the two, Vincent left the riverbank and joined back with them. He put a hand to his hip and growled, a rumbling sound resonating in his throat, similar to that of an angry dog. "Chew toys. Strike them before they strike us!" And without waiting for a response, the black Cerberus ran off to clash headfirst with the three strangers.
His growl grew deeper as he ran, and his body slowly started to change. His nails got longer and sharper; his ears started getting pointier; his canines grew; his eyes changed to look more like a canine's; and slowly, his body was enveloped in a dark, malevolent substance, and out of it came a pitch-black wolf with eyes as red as blood. He ran towards Adey, Azrael, and Souseiou, aiming not for a single one of them, but for the whole group in general. Mouth opened and howling like a battle animal, the huge wolf was only getting closer.

Meanwhile, the other two had remained behind, unable to stop Vincent's impulsive move in time. "Vincent!" And while authoritative, Laurence's sharp order hadn't been heard by the wolf.
"By the Almighty, they'll counter if you ambush them!" Dexter cried out after the black wolf, flailing as he watched Vincent run away, helpless. "Can't you count?! That's one of you against three of them!"

But no matter what they would scream after him, so was Vincent's way: act first, think after.

[Thunder]

As the group approached, the three men suddenly became very agitated. Souseiou narrowed his eyes. Their behavior was rather suspicious, and as he got closer, the faint buzzing got stronger. The one by the riverbank went to join his companions, and they began hissing inaudible words to each other. Suddenly, one of the men, the one who was at the river, began rushing towards Souseiou, Adey, and Azrael.

"Crap!" Souseiou snarled. He reached towards his hip, pulling out a handgun from a holster attached to his waist. "Get back, Adey!"

Adey, who had been too preoccupied by her headache, looked up just in time to see the man morph into a shadowy, demonic dog. She gasped and hopped back a few steps, so that she was behind Souseiou and Azrael. The half-fallen angel was already running towards the black wolf, gun outstretched, ready to shoot. Azrael, however, stood there for a moment, looking at the wolf in curiosity.

"I don't recognize these fellows," he muttered. "If they're indeed so powerful, I probably would know them, if they were from the Parallel World."

"Azrael!" Adey hissed, punching him on the shoulder. "Do you want me to become dog food or not?!" The Head Reaper stared at her for a moment before laughing and stepping in the direction of the wolf.

"Don't worry, m'dear," he chuckled. "I'm on it." A purple mist began billowing out from his right hand, elongating into a slender shape. Then, with an invisible gust of wind, the smoke blew away to reveal a scythe, painted black, with a silvery, steel blade. Azrael twirled his scythe once before rushing up to join Souseiou in the counterattack.

[Jaykobell]

The warnings and comments of his companions weren't enough to force Vincent to stop. Although he felt like it would be more logical to follow Laurence's orders, Vincent did not think with his logic, but with his feelings. And his feelings were telling him to get those guys before they got him.

For now, it seemed like the weird half-half guy with the gun was the first opponent. The wings automatically meant angel in Vincent's head, and so his determination got stronger; demons and angels didn't mix to begin with. The gun, however, was rather unsettling; they were similar to bows and arrows, but they were trickier to avoid. An arrow was bigger and much easier to see; if not slower than a bullet. He would just have to watch his steps and be careful.

As he neared Souseiou, Vincent opened his mouth and got ready to take a bite out of the half-fallen angel. His saliva dripped on the grass, and the blades slowly started withering away. With a piercing howl, the black Cerberus leaped and aimed to bite the hand holding the gun.

[Thunder]

Souseiou got ready to shoot, but then the wolf's jaws neared his gun hand. Swiftly, he pulled his hand back, but not fast enough to avoid some of the wolf's saliva. A couple drops splattered his hand, creating a burning sensation wherever they touched. Souseiou let out a hiss of surprise and dropped the gun on the ground. He sprang back, looking down at the skin on his hand. Where the saliva fell had turned bright red, similar to a rash. The half-fallen angel swore under his breath and reached for his waist again. This time, he pulled out a combat knife, his back-up weapon, but unfortunately he wasn't as good with knives as he was with guns. He also had the disadvantage at close range.

Seeing that Souseiou was hurt, Azrael jumped in front of the angel. He could hear the wolf's companions calling for him to stop. Perhaps this one is just impulsive, the boy mused. He decided to take a more defensive course of action and try to talk some sense into the demon. He held out his scythe, ready to parry if need be. "Wait!" he called to the wolf. "You are not the one we're seeking."

"Hello?" Souseiou snarled at Azrael. "This guy is attacking us! We're in danger!" But the Head Reaper only laughed.

Meanwhile, Adey stood to the side, watching the fight awkwardly. She felt so useless in these kinds of situations, and sometimes she wished she could do more. However, she still felt relieved at not having to risk getting her limbs torn off by a crazy dog demon.

[Jaykobell]

While he'd missed the half-Fallen's hand, some of his saliva had splattered on his hand, making it enough to burn Souseiou. The demon dog grinned with satisfaction, especially when the half-Fallen dropped his gun to the ground. Although, his smile disappeared when he noticed Souseiou had something else up his sleeve. Ugh, Vincent could only fight at close-range, so a knife was going to put his whole attack strategy in jeopardy... if he even had any strategy beyond "bite until he dies."

However, things took a strange turn when the second guy took action, this one wielding a scythe. But Azrael hadn't moved or even attempted to strike Vincent; instead, the Reaper had only jumped in front of his companion in order to... protect him? Vincent stopped in his tracks right in front of the Grim Reaper, poisonous saliva still dripping from his mouth. The Reaper told him they weren't the ones they were looking for...? But of course, the half-fallen angel disagreed, and really, their conversation looked like a farce. The black Cerberus snarled with annoyance at the two, but that was when he saw a fatal opening: Adey. She was a little ways away, but... he could still reach her, being on four paws and them being on two legs!

And all the way back, Dexter and Laurence had been figured out who Vincent's next victim was, but they had also heard Azrael's words. But before they could muse on that, they had to stop the black Cerberus from doing something he would, ultimately, regret...

While Azrael and Souseiou were busy arguing and laughing, Vincent took the opportunity to take a sharp turn and to aim for Adey instead. Alone and away from the two, she was the perfect bait for him to use. And for a moment, it felt like the Cerberus was going to close in on her and bite her until she was no more than dog food.
But Vincent was stopped in his tracks a good couple of feet away from Adey; not even close enough for his poison to reach her. Biting through his fur and flesh, at his neck, was another demonic-like wolf, sharing the same appearance as Vincent, save for the colors and the size. Upon realizing he was being grappled and seized, Vincent yelped, and the second wolf swung into a full circle before letting go of the black Cerberus, sending him flying. As the wolf was slightly bigger and not completely white, the one who'd interfered wasn't Dexter, but Laurence; and even though he was a demon and they were, seemingly, angels, he had felt the need to protect Adey.

With his back facing Adey, Laurence snarled at Vincent. "Cerberus protects, Vincent," the wolf spoke, his speech slightly wrapped, as would a demon's voice be; his mouth also didn't move in sync with his voice. "Attacking innocents is the complete opposite!"

The black Cerberus snarled back indignantly. "She's with them, Laurence! If you don't watch your back, she'll stab you while you're not paying attention, and the other two will finish the job!"

From both sides, it seems like dialogues were coming and going, both parties wondering just what they were supposed to do, and arguing that one had to attack before the other. Laurence growled softly, and he slowly turned to Azrael and Souseiou. "We won't attack you anymore if you don't attack us back," the middle Cerberus proposed, lowering his head as a sign of respect, and also of apology.
Dexter finally caught up to the two, the only one still in his human form in the little group of three. He was panting and blinking at the scene, whereas Vincent was growling deeply and indignantly.

[Thunder]

Azrael was ready to guard against the wolf's attack, but it suddenly changed direction. He glanced over to the side and realized that it was now headed towards Adey. The girl's eyes grew wide in alarm at the sight of the demon dog.

"Ah ah ah," Azrael tutted, shaking his head and moving towards Vincent. "She is off-boundaries, I'm afraid." Souseoiu, meanwhile, raised the arm holding the knife, as if to throw it at Vincent. However, neither of them got to react, as suddenly another wolf appeared, biting down into the first one's neck. This demon swinged the black wolf in a circle and then let go, sending the attacker flying away. Souseiou narrowed his eyes in suspicion, but lowered his arm. Azrael let a small smile creep onto his face, while Adey was simply standing there, thoroughly confused.

What does he mean? she wondered, listening to the blue-ish wolf address the black one. "Them?" she thought aloud. "Who's them? What the hell are you talking about?" Her headache was not helping her irritation at almost becoming dog chow.

"Don't worry, Adey," Azrael said, walking closer to her and Laurence. He now turned to the wolf and gave a small bow of respect and thanks. "My friends here sensed a demonic aura, but you are not the target we're looking for. We won't harm you." Now Souseiou also approached Laurence, although he remained stiff and wary.

[Jaykobell]

Vincent growled irritably when Adey played "dumb;" at least, in his eyes. "Who else would 'them' be, you dimwit?" he replied sharply with bristling fur, although the black Cerberus didn't move or lunge. Laurence had ordered to stop attacking, and he would obey... against his own wishes, of course. It was the most reckless, senseless thing to do! Trusting angels and whatever else those guys were!

Laurence's ears twitched when Azrael, and even Souseiou, approved of his words and trusted them. He raised his head slowly and nodded in acknowledgement. He then moved to the side so that both men could reach Adey, just to prove that he wasn't trying to keep her hostage in the form of wanting to "protect" her.
It also seemed like they were looking for somebody. They had approached the three Cerberus because of their demonic auras... were they looking for demons? "Are you looking for other demons, then?" They didn't know any specific demons, really, but they did hunt for demons, themselves.

Dexter, still the only one in his human form, crossed his arms and looked at the newcomers questioningly. "So... You're not after us?" he questioned, confused at the logic of this whole scene. If those guys were angels — or it seemed, with Souseiou's wings — then why were they not attacking? Maybe they weren't their targets, but... they were still demons. They were some of the most powerful demons, as well. "Logically, any 'righteous' person would go after any demon," he continued, trying to get more out of them; maybe they would slip and admit it, or maybe they would explain they really weren't after the three of them. "So why are you not attacking anyway?" There was a short pause. "You do know who we are, right?"

"And if they don't know, we'll just have to show them!" Vincent snapped as he bared his white teeth into a snarl. Still, the black Cerberus didn't move an inch, simply remaining tense and ready to counter.

[Thunder]

Adey glared back and Vincent when he spoke and let loose with an equally sharp reply. "I'm not the dimwit here, dimwit!" she spat. "We were just walking along, checking things out, and you attack us when we weren't even going to attack you..."

"That's enough, Adey," Azrael said, moving to her side and placing a hand on her shoulder. The girl grumbled irritably. "I know you're upset, but it looks like we just got into a little misunderstanding."

"'Little' is an understatement," she huffed. But she zipped her lips and said no more for the moment. Azrael looked back up at Lawrence, nodding at his question. "Yes, we are looking for a few other demons. In particular, there's a young demon prince who has fled from our world for whatever reason. It seems that he has come to this world, but so far we've had no luck."

"So you are not our targets," Souseiou concluded. He walked over to where he dropped his gun and picked it up, stuffing it back into the holster on his belt. "And I don't know who you are." Here, he narrowed his eyes at Vincent. The burn from the demon's saliva was still there. "Dunno about Azrael over there, though." The half-fallen angel waved a hand at the Reaper. "He probably knows more famous demons and stuff than I do."

"Most likely," Azrael said, "but I can't say that I've met you three before. I'm Azrael, as previously mentioned, and these are Souseiou and Adey." He gestured towards his companions, neither of whom were quite in the mood to say hello after the small fight. It was rather strange how their "grumpy" expressions seemed nearly identical.

[Jaykobell]

Vincent growled and let some of that poisonous saliva drip on the grass when Adey replied back. "Say another word to me and I'll chew you until there's nothing left!" he barked, even the noises coming from him being wrapped. Losing his patience quickly, the black Cerberus started moving towards Adey, just one paw going in the right direction.
Upon seeing that, Dexter quickly latched onto Vincent's neck to keep the Cerberus where he was. "They won't attack us if you don't attack them," he reminded the irritated dog. "And you're still outnumbered, so how about you think for once."
Shortly after he got grabbed and lectured, Vincent shook his head to force Dexter to let go, pushing the human on the ground. "And how about you shut the fucking hell up!" The black Cerberus approached Dexter, butting his huge canine forehead against Dexter's head, the two of them just battling it off with glares, growls, and grumbles.

While he glanced at them a few times, Laurence seemed to be almost immune to the childish quarrels of the other two, and instead, he focused on the three strangers. "A demon prince?" Of course, being the hell-dog Cerberus, Laurence knew about hell and how it worked; but never had he heard about a prince. However, it made more sense when Azrael mentioned "their world." "So you are from your own dimension... How peculiar." That was probably why they weren't after them to begin with. They had nothing to do with their problem or their story, or the supposed conspiracy.
When Azrael introduced himself and his two friends, Laurence did the same as he bowed his head slightly a second time. "As you are not after us, and since you do not know who we are... My name is Laurence." He turned his head towards the other two. "The black dog is Vincent, and the white one is Dexter." He then turned back to Azrael, and figured he would speak to him more so than the others, as he seemed to be the leader. "Although we are three different entities... We used to be a single being. And even now, we consider ourselves to still be part of a single soul. We are the guardian dog, Cerberus."

[Thunder]

Adey began moving backwards as Vincent approached, but then the still-disguised demon dragged the wolf back. She breathed a sigh of relief and returned to her original spot, although a little closer to Azrael in case another conflict arose. "Thanks," she said quickly to Dexter. By then, however, the two demons had started growling at each other, so she was uncertain if he heard.

At Laurence's words, Azrael blinked in pleasant surprise and began thinking about what sort of world the three dogs came from. "Intriguing," he mused. "I can't say I've heard of such entity-splitting back in my world. Everyone had their own soul. But you're a guardian, you say? Would it be too prying to ask about what you guarded?"

As the Reaper chatted with Laurence, Souseiou was staring at all three of the demons. Weird, he thought to himself. They're supposed to be one person, but they seem to like arguing the hell out of each other. Many times, Souseiou felt like he was against himself. Whenever he tried to judge what sort of action to take in a situation, part of his mind would always disagree with what the other part was thinking. Whether it had to do with his "half-fallen" status, he wasn't sure, but suddenly he felt a strange sense of connectivity with the dogs.

[Jaykobell]

Even though they were arguing like children, both Dexter and Vincent could certainly hear the voices around them. When the two heard Adey thank Dexter, they both glanced at her slowly, putting a halt to their quarrel. It seemed like being thanked wasn't a very common event for them.
They also heard Azrael's response to Laurence's introduction. Dexter blinked in surprise, while Vincent just stared at them with disbelief. "What? Are you joking? You don't know what Cerberus's job is?" the black dog inquired, raising an eyebrow. "You're all much stupider than I'd thought, then," he shamelessly added, caring very little about whether his comment was rude or not.

Laurence scoffed, whereas Dexter simply rolled his eyes — at least their "stupidity" was enough to keep Vincent's temper under control. "Cerberus is the three-headed guardian dog of Hell... We guard the gate that leads to Hell itself. We also prevent those in Hell from escaping... Even as the three-headed Cerberus, we had three very distinct personalities... However, they were a lot more washed out. All three personalities were more like a huge mix, resulting into a single, dominant personality encompassing all three of us. When we split..." he turned around to take a look at the other two, "... the three personalities took shape. Dexter encompasses our logic, and Vincent represents our emotions. As for me, I'm something in-between." Which was why he was considered the "leader" of the three dogs.

"In the end, we have no clue what split us into three different entities," Dexter added as he approached the group, leaving Vincent to stare stupidly on his own. "But without us to guard the gate leading to Hell, it's a piece of cake for demons to escape and invade this world. Angels are hunting us... we're hunting the rogue demons... and the angels are also hunting the rogue demons. It's a vicious, endless cycle," he continued, moving his arms in a circle to show the "cycle." "We're not against our kin per se, but our duty is to protect and to guard the gate. Those demons escaping means that we're not doing our duty; sending them back is the best we can do until we figure out what happened to us."

[Thunder]

Adey and Souseiou both sent a leer in Vincent's direction at the comment about stupidity, but said nothing. It was interesting that while the two often ended up quarreling on their missions, they could still have such similar reactions during moments like this. Azrael, meanwhile, was listening to Laurence and Dexter with much interest, nodding his head and letting out "mms" of contemplation.

"That is most interesting," he remarked, after both of the demons were done talking. "Yes, I have to say that I've never heard of such an incident like yours back in our Parallel World. I wouldn't have any theories for you, unfortunately." The Reaper frowned for a moment, and placed one hand on his chin as if thinking of something. "Hm...I feel obliged to help you out with this case, if you ever need it." Now Azrael was smiling, and he turned around to Adey and Souseiou. "What about you two?" he asked them. "Would you be opposed to helping these three?"

"Do they want help?" Adey grumbled, casting a glance over at Vincent. 'Cause I feel like that guy over there would just throw a fit at that offer...

"What about our mission?" Souseiou growled, stepping up to Azrael. "We still haven't found Prince Reven. Shouldn't we be focused on that?"

"Well," Azrael sighed, "this is only if Cerberus would like some assistance." He turned back to the three demons. "Do you?"

[Jaykobell]

When Adey and Souseiou glared at him, Vincent did the same. No words were needed; only some powerful stares from both sides.

And then, the conversation continued, this time with Azrael replying to their story. To both Laurence and Dexter, it was baffling that someone hadn't heard of Cerberus; it was an extremely common legend, especially around Halloween. Perhaps it was because those three didn't come from this world, but rather from their own plane, which they seemed to call the "Parallel World"...

"Help us?" Laurence repeated like a parrot in slight disbelief. They hadn't attacked the three of them, but that didn't mean both groups had to help each other out... And no, not even. They hadn't said anything about Cerberus helping them. This was a one-way deal. Too baffled to make a reckless decision on his own, he turned to Dexter and glanced at Vincent.

"Well that's... surprising," Dexter replied after he saw Laurence looking at him. "Why would you help us? Logically, there's nothing in it for you," he pointed out as he tilted his head to the side and crossed his arms thoughtfully. "And you have your own issues, right? Why put your problem aside to help with ours?"

"They're trying to outsmart us, that's why," Vincent suddenly growled, narrowing his eyes in the direction of Azrael and his companions. However, it felt like the doubt in his eyes was starting to deminish... but something else was showing in his red eyes as well. "Why, exactly, should we trust you? I bet you're going to turn us in the moment you learn something important about us."

The expected result would've been Dexter or Laurence telling Vincent to keep quiet, but surprisingly, Dexter agreed. "Admittedly..." he added after Vincent was done speaking, "... you seem to be way too friendly. Trusting you right away would be too reckless."

Laurence growled thoughtfully and quietly to himself before turning to Azrael. "Vincent words it rather harshly... but he has a point. In our situation, trusting the first ally that appears would be too dangerous. Likewise... you don't have to trust us. We would appreciate the help... but we can't afford to trust too easily."