I stepped off Hawk's mom, and into the desolate little ruins that were the gateway to the Necropolis and looked around in awe. "My parents always told me stories about this place, but I had no idea what to expect until now."

"But these are just a bunch of abandoned ruins, there is nothing special about that." Ban said from beside me and I groaned.

"Obviously, you don't see how important this place is to our people, this is the gateway to understanding everything we are. You see, for a banshee to truly understand and be able to do their duty, they have to visit the Necropolis at least once. Until then, we know the basics, but it's a bit like singing the words of a foreign song without understanding the lyrics, it just isn't as powerful."

Everyone else followed us and King smiled gently at me, "I think I get it, the reason you are so excited to see this place, in particular, is because this is your last step before you finally understand your purpose." I nodded and walked through the village towards where the gate was.

"Hey, you're back!" A voice called out and I saw two souls step out and wave to the other sins. My jaw dropped and I ran over to them, "Are you two the gatekeepers?" I asked excitedly and they smiled at me.

"Yes, we are; everyone's been expecting you, Janis." I gaped and the little girl giggled, "Your brother told us that you would be on your way, it sounded like something serious happened when he was pulled out of the spirit world." I sighed and nodded, then stood and walked to the gate, but was stopped by a hand pulling my dress.

"Miss Janis, could you talk to your brother for me while you are here? He keeps hitting on me, and while my soul is older than his, my form is only seven years old; it's kind of creepy." She made a face and I laughed.

"I'll see what I can do, but I might not be able to do much, he's always been the worst flirt I've ever known." She groaned but nodded and faded away with her brother.

I turned back to my friends, who were all staring at me as though I had grown horns, "What?" I asked in confusion.

"Who were you talking to?" Ban asked.

"Oh, that! I was talking to two souls who serve as the guardians of the gate, they seemed like they knew you."

"Was it a little girl and a boy?" King as curiously.

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"They were here last time we came to the Necropolis, we fed them and everything." Ban said casually and Elizabeth gasped.

"You mean those two sweet kids were just souls!" She looked slightly sad and I walked over to her and put my hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah, they were dead, but don't worry about them, they are some of the happiest souls I've ever met; besides, it seems like they've been dead for several hundred years, so they are just fine." I turned away and addressed the whole group, "I'm sorry to ask this, but could you stay back until I've opened the gate? I don't want any of your memories of the dead to send us to the wrong part of the Necropolis. Once I've opened it, hurry and enter, because it'll close quickly."

Without waiting for a response, I headed to the gate area and sat down. 'How do I do this? I don't want my own memories of the dead to let me enter as a guest, I need to enter as a banshee.' I remembered that the Necropolis was spilt into two parts, the place where the souls go, and the place where the living can go to see the souls. There was something specific I needed to do so that I could get through as a banshee and go to where the souls lived.

Suddenly, words popped into my head that I was sure I had never heard before in my life, but I trusted what my instincts were telling me and spoke them out, "Fosgail an geata a 'bhàis agus cothrom a thoirt do sheirbhiseach gu dol a steach troimh." (Open the gate of death and allow your servant to enter through.)

A bright light engulfed me and a wind picked up, whipping my hair around and I simply stood and closed my eyes to avoid getting dirt in them. The storm became more furious and the light increased until the point where I was sure I would go blind, then everything stopped. I slowly opened my eyes and saw a gorgeous scene before me. The sky was a deep blue and there were cherry blossom trees surrounding us, in the distance was a city with tall buildings (The picture at the top).

"Where the heck are we?" A voice came from behind me and I turned around to see everyone else looking around in wonder.

"This is the Necropolis." I said simply and started to walk towards the buildings.

"No, it's not. We've been to the Necropolis, and it was green and filled with giant crystals." A voice that was distinctly Diane's came out and I sighed.

"That's because the way you entered is considered to be the visitors' entrance. You see, there are two sides to the Necropolis; where you went, where the living go to see their beloved deceased and the actual Necropolis. The only people who can get in here are the dead and banshees; congratulations, you are the first non-dead, non-banshee being to have entered in here, perhaps ever."

A figure appeared in front of us, "Banshee, why have you brought these outsiders into the realm of death?!" It proclaimed in a loud voice and I shrank back slightly in shock then stepped forward.

"My name is Janis, the Hydra's sin of deception, and these are my comrades who have sworn to help me restore balance to this realm. I bring them because I have complete trust in them, I could not do this without them." The being before us seemed to swell with anger, and I  prepared myself to summon Durendal, just in case.

As the tension reached its peak, a wonderfully familiar voice called out, "Oh, calm down Jasper, I told her to involve them in this; so, if anything happens, it's my fault. Am I understood?"

"Lord Jonas! I was not expecting you! Of course, I understand, I apologize for the misunderstanding." Jasper continued with his apologies, but I could no longer hear him, my gaze was glued to my brother, who I had seen killed in front of me twice.

I took a step forward numbly and whispered, "Jonas? You're okay." A tear slipped down my cheek and Jonas just smiled and approached me, gently wiping the tear away.

"Well, if by okay, you mean dead, then yeah, I'm perfectly okay."

"Shut up." I said then threw my arms around him as I assured myself that the Goddesses hadn't completely taken away my only family.

"Just as exuberant as ever, I see he murmured as he returned the hug, "By the way, Mom and Dad wanted to be here to greet you, but they were busy in the royal palace and the Queen wouldn't let them off."

"Huh?" Everyone behind me was obviously very confused, so I turned around.

"Right, guys, this is my brother, Jonas, and to clarify what we were talking about earlier; when a banshee dies, their soul is automatically chosen to work for the Queen of Death, Hel.

"Exactly, I was asked to rule over the Necropolis specifically, I suppose you could call me the Prime Minister here. Our parents were asked to be the Queen's counselors, which is a huge honor among the dead."

"Huh?" My brother and I turned to each other and laughed.

"Well, I suppose it would be easier to show you, wouldn't it? Come with me." I walked along-side him and everyone else trailed behind, "Jasper, would you please make up rooms for our guests, they'll be staying the night.

"By my Lord, no living banshee has ever had the energy to stay for any great length of time in the realm of Death, especially not with others; I doubt they'll be here much longer." Jasper cried in irritation and Jonas calmly called over his shoulder.

"I think you are underestimating my sister's strength Jasper, just do as I say." The man bowed and ran away.

"So, you're a Lord now? My, you sure have moved up in the world!" I teased and he smirked at me.

"Right? I was almost asked to be another advisor at the palace, but unfortunately, Queen Hel was slightly offended by a suggestion of mine, so she sent me out here where she wouldn't have to deal with me."

"What did you do this time, Jonas? I swear, you are always getting into trouble." I grumbled.

"Oh, it was nothing major, I simply inquired on the possibility of making a palace harem and she just started sending me this death glare."

"No? Really? I wonder why..." (Please note the sarcasm.)

"Oh hush, it was a brilliant idea, she simply overreacted."

"Jonas, from what I've heard about the Queen of Death, you're lucky to be alive, let alone in a position of royalty after pulling crap like that." I said factually, but before he could retort, Elizabeth approached us.

"Lord Jonas, where are we going?"

"Why hello, you pretty thing," He leered and I punched his arm, "Ouch! Janis, I may be dead, but I still have feeling in my arm."

"I know, stop being a creep, and I'll stop punching." I said simply and he shrugged.

"Fine, whatever. We are going to see evidence of the unbalance in this world, then you are going to talk to Queen Hel, she's requested your presence."

"Oh, okay, thank you very much, Lord Jonas!" Elizabeth said happily.

"Wait... Queen Hel asked to speak to us?" I said, completely shocked.

"Well, it's more that she's requested to speak to you, but your friends were allowed to tag along."

I quietly absorbed this new information and almost missed Meliodas approaching my brother, "So, Jonas, what can you tell us about little Miss Janis? I'm sure you have some really good stories!"

"Oh, I have some that you wouldn't believe!" Jonas' grin turned a bit maniacal and I stopped and turned to glare at him.

"Don't you dare, Jonas, you may be dead, but I can still kick your butt." He gave me a challenging grin and turned to his rapt audience.

"Well, there was this one time..." I zoned out as he stared a storytelling marathon about every single one of my embarrassing experiences, groaning at the obvious joy that my friends took in my humiliation.

***

"...And then everything fell out! We were all running around and she was just sitting there, staring at it while it spread through the room!" Meliodas and Ban were snorting with laughter while King, Diane, and Elizabeth were chuckling politely. Gowther just followed behind looking confused while making comments like, "Oh? Was that meant to be humorous? Should I laugh too?"

Me? I was beet red and doing my best to ignore the ribbing that Jonas, Meliodas, and Ban were dishing my way. Oh, the joys of being around those who knew my past...

I put up my hand, signaling everyone to stop, "Jonas? Is this where we are going?" In front of us was a building that was split in two, and the halves were slowly disintegrating.

"Yeah, this isn't the only case, there are several areas where this is happening, we are trying to slow the process down, but nothing we've tried has worked. I suppose that this is something that can only be fixed from the world of the living." I looked at Jonas and noticed how serious he was.

"I wish I didn't have to ask this, but what exactly can I do? I really don't understand why this realm is breaking down, and so I have no clue on how to help."

"That's why Queen Hel wants to see you." Jonas said, as he ran his fingers through his long hair, "I wish I could help you more sis, but your best option is to go to her because I can do absolutely nothing."

I thought for a minute then nodded, "You're right, point us in the direction of her castle, and we'll be on our way."

I was surprised when he laughed, "You forget sis, I'm a Lord here. I can do much better than pointing you in the right direction." He snapped his fingers and our surroundings glowed green before we found ourselves in an opulent courtyard.

"Because of certain orders from the Queen, I can't go in with you, but I'll be in here when you come out to take you back to the Necropolis for the night"

"Okay, See you then." I walked forward with the others on my tail, then I stopped and turned back around, "Oh, and Jonas?" I said sweetly, "The little guardian girl at the gate of the Necropolis would like you to stop hitting on her, and I agree. No matter how old her soul is, it's weird to hit on a seven-year-old girl."

If I wasn't mistaken, I saw a slight blush appear on his cheeks and he just grumbled and walked away, muttering under his breath about interfering sisters. "It appears my job here is done, let's go and meet the Queen, shall we?" I asked, and together we walked through the doors of the palace.