Hezekiah's POV

The Nexus, Hezekiah's house...

Five days of fun in the sun were well spent in Pacifica Vista as Chance was the one to introduce me to life at the resort. From swimming with dolphins and sharks that were gentled as kittens by dawn and sailing Sunfishes at twilight to hanging out with the local residents and even meeting other guests; I enjoyed every single moment that I never had a chance to do back on Earth when I was fit to be tied at summer camps in Europe. Of course, I did make use of the time alone in my room to view the new timeline when necessary (everyone seemed more at ease there- Dad and the twin boys enjoying a Red Sox game, cake and tea for Mom and the girls, a summer vacation on a cruise ship to Australia); but I knew that life was going to be like that for the family that liked to dance through life without a care in the world.

Like Chance said, it's always the ones who liked to waste their lives away that would soon come to ruin. But I knew that my family liked to get away with everything.

And now, it was back to my home as Louis said that he had some intel about Catalina Slade and her backstory that I needed to know. Of course, I made sure to invite Damon, Chance, and even the other girls of the gang to tag along since they too also wanted to know more about the Brazilian bombshell. "The first time I met her, I felt some kind of bad vibes around her," Carolina commented as she and Eva helped me with setting up a meat-and-cheese platter alongside some other tapa-themed snacks in the kitchen. "It was like I was staring into the eyes of some poisonous snake that was trying to act like some snake charmer."

"Yeah," Eva piped up, arranging some pickled olives in a neat pile on a board. "She came into my house long enough to welcome me to her block and warned me to stay away from Chance. And that was around two years ago when I came here."

"Did either of you spend time with her?" I wanted to know.

"Not really," Carolina replied. "I only went shopping for new clothes for her once- and she only got the nice-looking ones while she delegated the ones from the thrift store. Said that she didn't want to outshine me in any way yet accused me of not being attractive enough for any of the guys here. That was enough for me. Since then, I kept my distance from her while being cordial."

"Ditto for me," Eva said. "She invited me to have dinner once and she kept asking me if I was really raped. I never went back since then. We say hi to each other at times since we're next door, but that's it. She's like...foxy yet snakelike all at once. And all because she wants no one to have Chance but herself."

I huffed a sigh as the girls and I carried everything to my living room. "Well, Louis knows that Chance and I were soulmates," I replied. "That being more so since he and I had...well, let's just say that before my vacation in Pacifica Vista was when he and I spent time in his bedroom."

The girls gasped in shock and excitement. "No way!" Eva exclaimed. "Did you two..."

"That we did, but Chance and I are still figuring things out between us," I finished as we set up the snacks. "And I think that Catalina knows about what happened because of a letter I got from her after therapy."

"I heard about that," Eva commented. "Alvin said that he thought he saw Slade at your house while you were gone to see Thorne. So that explains everything. We got to know her story quick and figure out where to go from here."

The front door swung open to reveal Alvin and Damon (both dressed in causal clothes as the former looked as if he was gaining some muscle) as the boys came inside with Chance following suit just as Louis and the archangels appeared. After greeting each other and serving ourselves, Louis came forward with a lone file in hand. "I just got this from God and Lucifer themselves and they were very surprised with what they learned about Miss Slade herself," the gatekeeper intoned. "And it turns out that Catalina Slade isn't her real name at all."

That caught everyone's attention. "Then what is her real name?" Chance asked, eyes lit in surprise.

"Her real name is Rosalia Valaria Domingue, a former dancer from Brazil and she's been quite a man-killer in a way," Gabriel answered. "She was known as Belo Horizonte's youngest serial killer, started at only eleven years old. But it mainly stemmed from her being sexually assaulted by every male member of her immediate family- her father, two older brothers, and even her paternal and maternal grandparents. The final straw came when her father planned to have her married to her own cousin named Gilberto. She was his first victim when she was eleven. When she came to her puberty stage, she was able to use her beauty to seduce men of various ages and then kill them. Her usual murder sprees happen around Carnival time, but she killed anyone who was considered a handsome man- mainly those like Chance over there."

I turned to Chance who looked as if he was ready to blow chunks. I couldn't blame him. An assault victim turning to crime to gain retribution was enough for any man to be weary of her. "So what happened to her that got her here?" I asked.

"Surprisingly enough, one of the male members of the family that didn't participate in the assault was the one to finally capture her and place her in jail- him being a cop and all didn't allow him to go along with the sadistic family ways," Michael noted. "But Rosalia didn't want to face the families of her victims that she killed, not even the ones in her own family since she killed her father, brothers, and grandfathers. She wanted everyone to remember what she did and how she could get away with it. So she took a knife that she stole from one of the prisoners and slashed her throat before the arraignment could begin."

"Wow," Eva breathed, covering her mouth with shock on her face.

"Quite a backstory that she has," Damon piped up. "She's a man-killer who used a false name to enter the Nexus to avoid hell. But what's her endgame here?"

"We're not so sure about that since we know that she can't kill anyone here in the Nexus," Louis replied. "But something tells me that she wants to use Chance to find herself a suitable bachelor to marry to avoid going to hell."

"I heard that if someone in heaven or in the Nexus is married to someone from hell, then that person from hell would gain immunity from the lake of torment," Alvin noted. "Maybe that's the reason why she wants Chance for herself."

"That's right about that fact, son," Gabriel commented. "But Miss Domingue is now on everyone's watch list and it's more important to make sure that we capture her and send her to her true home in hell. Because in a few weeks in Earth time, anyone who is from hell that ends up in either here or heaven is to remain here. God and Lucifer aren't going to stand for that at all."

To me and Chance, "The both of you are going to be in danger since you're on her radar and all, so it's more important for you both to be by each other's sides at all times. And given the dire situation and all, both brothers have reached a decision about you two."

"What's that?" Chance and I asked in unison.

Michael reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out two ring boxes, opening both of them up to reveal two diamond wedding rings and two engagement rings. "These were made by Christopher the archangel himself," he explained. "They're to be worn at all times, even more so that God and Lucifer have arranged for you two to marry...each other.

"WHAT?!" everyone exclaimed.

Chance and I are going to marry each other for protection against Rosalia Domingue? Well I'll be dunked! This is...wow!

Cumulative word-count so far: 21,871 words.

Well, DAMN! The surprises just keep coming for Hezekiah and Chance.

1.) Catalina Slade is really a Brazilian serial killer named Rosalia Domingue who wants Chance as her husband to avoid going to hell.
2.) It's wedding bells for Hezekiah and Chance!
3.) God and Lucifer (Satan) ships Hezekiah and Chance hard! I might as well pair my boys with the name 'Chanzekiah' myself! What do you think about those egg rolls right there?

Coming up next, Chance and Hezekiah are met with God and Lucifer themselves and our boys talk about a future with each other while Rosalia (Catalina) is fuming about the announcement of the planned nuptials! Stick around, folks, because this story is going to get crazy!

Dedication: LaPucelle08 and rhymeswithfry.

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