Alfred tucked the rosary into his pocket, wondering if he should be taking any of this seriously. It could just be old superstition about an old asylum, or it could be something more. He walked back into the room and took a look at his brother. Mathew was paler than ever, his skin was almost white. His lips were pale and barely moved as he breathed.

Alfred walked over to Arthur and said, "How is he doing?" The older man ran his hand over his hair slowly. He responded, "He's getting weaker. There is nothing wrong with him, but he's still fading." Alfred sat down in the open chair next to the other blonde. The feeling of being completely helpless started to overwhelm him. His twin brother was dying and there was nothing he could do about it. He turned to Arthur and said, "This may be the wrong time to ask this, but I want to know who hired us. He should be paying for Matthew's treatment, however long it lasts."

Arthur sighed and said, "He's a Russian oligarch who wanted to move here to get away from everything." Alfred was struck by something strange in this explanation. He pointed it out, "Why would an important person like that hire a small firm like ours?"

The other shrugged, "When there is a chance for such a big payoff, I don't ask too many questions. The money would have done us a lot of good." Alfred clenched his jaw and said, "So, we were too desperate to say no?" The other nodded sadly. The younger shook his head as he realized that his brother had paid the price for their dire straights. He said, "So, what's the name of our employer?" Arthur looked hesitant, but he said, "Ivan Braginski."

The mansion lay on the very edge of the mortal realm with one foot in Hell. The gates were made of black iron; they formed the twisted shapes of stylized flames. Dark hedges lined the path up to the mansion. A pair of lesser demons, who were looking straight ahead, flanked the gates. Both turned to look as Gilbert approached the gate. Both bowed deeply to their commander.

The gates swung open with a massive groaning of hinges. The albino walked straight through the gates and down the path to the front gates. When he reached the front door, it immediately swung open. The front entry way was tiled in black marble. Massive columns flanked the door, and reached up several stories to the high ceiling. The ceiling was painted in the same Renaissance style as the Sistine chapel, but the difference was that these paintings celebrated the sins. They showed lust, gluttony, pride, envy and wrath in the same beauty that Heaven glorified virtue. Gilbert knew that his own fall from grace was depicted on more than one wall. The bedroom that he shared with Ivan was the only one with the painting of the first consummation in the Garden of Eden on the wall. A large chandelier made of red crystals hung from the middle of the ceiling, casting the red light of thousands of burning candles.

The albino walked confidently through the halls following the sound of distant hysterical screaming. It sounded like some sinner was being punished. Gilbert soon reached the back of the house, where the audience chambers were. Ivan was sitting on a red velvet couch on a raised platform, lazily gesturing at the man who was writhing on the floor in front of him. This particular patch of floor was painted with a giant inverted pentagram. The mortal was a lanky man with a series of scars crisscrossing his face. Gilbert instantly knew that the man was a solider who had chosen to betray his companions and became a mercenary. He seemed to be in unbearable agony, which was only to be expected if Ivan was truly punishing him.

The devil looked up as he heard his lover's footsteps. He smiled as he fixed his gaze on the albino, "Ah, I was wondering where you were." Gilbert smiled and said, "I was having a little fun watching your manipulation come to fruition." Ivan sat up slightly, his attention piqued. He smiled as he said, "Did you enjoy returning to your old haunt?" Gilbert took a few more steps towards his lover, stepping over the writhing mortal as he did so. He spoke, "I wasn't there to enjoy it. I was very successful though."

There was a black hellhound lying on the ground right in front of the couch. The dog looked like a German shepherd, but it was much larger and completely black. As he walked closer, Gilbert reached out and scratched the dog behind the ears. The long black tail started wagging back and forth rapidly, thumping against the floor. Ivan's blonde eyebrows went up, "Oh, and how successful was that?"

The screams of the mortal were becoming an annoyance. Gilbert pulled a knife from his belt and with a single flick of his wrist threw it at the man. It lodged itself firmly in the mortal's jugular permanently silencing him. The bright red blood poured out, pooling over the floor. The albino then turned back to his lover and pulled a thin chain up from around his throat. On it was hanging a vial filled with glowing light.

Ivan's violet eyes went wide, "Is that what I think it is?" Gilbert pulled the necklace off and handed extended it to the other. He spoke with triumph in his voice, "It's a perfectly pure soul. I stole it from one of those contractors." As Ivan held the vile up to look straight through it, Gilbert sat down on the couch next to his lover and put his hand on Ivan's thigh.

Ivan spoke again, "It is perfect, I see no marks of sin." The albino leaned closer and spoke in the other's ear, "A perfect soul to be perfectly corrupted." The devil took the vile of soul in his hand and said, turning with a smile to his lover, "As it is written. Only a pure soul and the total corruption of Hell can create the antichrist." The other nodded and finished the statement, "The mortal man who will bring about our reign on Earth." Ivan ran one hand up Gilbert's leg and put the other hand on the albino's cheek. Their foreheads touched. He smiled softly and said, "And now we have the soul to do it."

Gilbert put his hand on the other cheek and said with a smirk, "So what do you say, Lucifer, shall we make a baby?" Ivan laughed and pulled his lover into a kiss. When he pulled away, he said, "I would love nothing more, Samael." The albino smirked and pulled himself into the other's lap. He reached over and freed the vile from Ivan's grip. He pulled the stopper out of the vile and put the glass to his lips. The soft sweet soul flowed freely from the confining bottle onto Gilbert's tongue. Once it was completely out of the vile, the albino dropped the piece of glassware, which smashed on the floor.

Ivan grabbed the albino's chin and forced their lips together. Gilbert opened his mouth and let the other's tongue into his mouth. He tasted the tongue, but he could also taste the savory bitterness of darkness flowing into his mouth. He concentrated his own power on the soul, which was currently struggling between their two tongues. Ivan's hands both went to Gilbert's butt, which he grabbed aggressively. The albino gasped, which allowed Ivan's tongue to plunge deeper into his mouth. The power between them was now intoxicatingly thick. Slowly, the soul stopped struggling as it was inundated with the strength of Hell. Once it stopped moving altogether, they disengaged their lips. The soul remained floating in the air between them, no longer trying to flee the presence of evil. It had gone from pure shining light to completely black.

Ivan smiled and admired the newly corrupted soul, "Now, my love, finish the process." The albino reached up and took the soul in his hand. He responded, "I will send this back to its original owner." He opened his hand and gently blew on the soul like he was blowing a kiss. The black soul flew off in the direction of the hospital. The albino giggled slightly, "I hope his brother appreciates the change."

Alfred took a hold of his brother's hand. He said, "Please wake up, Matty. Please, for me." He closed his eyes and bowed his head, starting to pray for the first time since he was a child. He didn't actually believe in any of this, but if it was able to bring his brother back, he was willing to try anything.

Suddenly, Matthew's hand tightened on his own. His head jerked up and his eyes met a pair of violet ones framed in blonde hair. His brother was looking at him with a faint smile. Matthew breathed shakily, "Were you just worrying about me, Al? I never thought you would do that. How long have I been in a coma?" Alfred lunged forward and hugged his brother, saying as he did so, "I'm sorry I slapped you. I'm sorry I mocked you. Just don't ever do that again. Don't you ever try and die on me."

Mathew pulled off his respirator so it was easier to talk. Arthur put his hand on Alfred's shoulder and said, "Bloody Hell, Alfred, he just woke up, you shouldn't be so physical with him." Alfred was far too excited to do anything else. He felt Matthew's arms shaking slightly as they wrapped around him. As Alfred leaned even farther forward, the rosary the doctor had given him fell out of his pocket onto the bed. Matthew only glanced at it for a moment. He said weakly, "What happened to me?" He looked from his brother to Arthur as though he was searching for an answer.

Alfred finally released his brother, but kept his hands on the other's shoulders. He said, looking directly into his twin's eyes, "Don't you remember anything?" Alfred wondered if he actually wanted to hear the answer. He had suspected all manor of things, but Matthew could tell him what actually happened. The other twin shook his head, "I remember getting to the asylum, you telling me to not be afraid, and then walking into a big room and having everything go black." Alfred let out a disappointed breath. He had wanted a certain answer.

Arthur pulled a little more forcefully on Alfred's shoulder, "Give him some space to breath." Alfred finally nodded and let go of his brother's shoulders. He said, "I'll be right back, Matty. I'm going to go find your doctor." Arthur nodded and said, "I'm also going to leave. I have to call our employer and tell him that we will by no means continue with this job." Matthew nodded faintly, "I'll be fine by myself, you two can go."

Alfred suddenly leaned forward and kissed his brother on the forehead, "I swear I will be right back." Again, the younger twin nodded. Alfred smiled one more time and then turned and walked out of the room. Arthur waited for a moment and said, "I'm so glad that you're awake again." After that, he also turned and left, taking his cellphone out of his pocket as he did so.

Once they were both gone, Matthew easily sat all the way up in bed. He started by pulling the IVs out of his arms. He then picked up the rosary from the bed in front of him and looked at it. He smiled and in a single motion, threw the rosary against the wall. The cross broke into several pieces. The red beads shattered into millions of sharp pieces. A smirk slowly curled across Matthew's face.

A/N: The end! I hoped this was scary or at least a little bit suspenseful. Leave a review if you loved it. If you didn't, please be constructive about what you think could have been better. For the record, I really enjoyed writing this story. If you really loved the story, I reckomend going back and reading it all again I guarantee you that you will see new things.