AN: Thank you guys! I promise the storyline will start to pick up soon, I just wanted to make sure I had all of these details out of the way first! I had to go to bed right after typing this up, so no edits or read-throughs! - Dee

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[SPRING, FULDA GERMANY : 5 YEARS POST-CANISBAY]

After Fergus was summoned to hell to pay for his end of the deal, Gabriel and Teodora hid out in various places for a few months, staying together in case of an ambush. But Gabriel soon wore tired and restless of being "cooped up" and needed to "stretch his wings for a while." Teodora returned to the mundane, using small bits of grace in short spurts to heal the sick. She avoided crossroads demons and the like, keeping her distance with anyone who had a death sentence on their head. She closed the door to her small wooden cabin and sat at her desk, looking over the map laid out before her.

"You're a hard woman to find," voiced a man from the corner. She jumped in instinctively, her wings arching behind her.

"How did you get in?" she asked, raking her eyes over the sigils on the walls. She could tell the man was a demon. Focusing on the snarled, red-eyes in the corner, she waited for him to move.

"I paid a boy in town to sneak in and mess up a few of your sigils," he answered, running a finger down the slick wooden beam beside him. He was ragged looking, haggard, more or less a drunk from town.

"What for? Who are you?"

"I have a couple of different names now. You probably know me best by Fergus McLeod."

"Fergus?" she asked, cautiously, scrunching her eyes up as if it would help her see him past his vessel. "Is that really you?" He smirked and bowed his head.

"Aye, lass," he mumbled. Teodora smiled, but it fell quickly.

"I am so sorry…" she started, bowing her head in the same fashion.

"For what, pet?" he asked quietly, closing the distance between them.

"This wasn't supposed to happen to you." He shrugged and glanced down at her map, placing a hand on the edge of the wrinkled paper.

"It wasn't your fault, Teodora. I understand how everything works now and your situation." She watched him, uneasy about a demon in her cabin. The human he once was had spent 600 years in hell, she wasn't sure what he wanted besides revenge. Revenge for his death and the empty promise of safety and protection. "I am not here to harm you," he told her calmly. "I only came to tell you thank you."

"What I did hardly constitutes for a thank you, Fergus."

"I actually go by Crowley now."

"Crowley? Why Crowley?" He smiled and slightly shook his head at the angel.

"I just liked it. And I needed a new persona for my new job."

"Which is?" Crowley held his arms out, bowing.

"The new duke of hell."

"Congratulations," she spoke, not really sure what he wanted to hear or what to even say.

"Thank you." He smiled and plopped down on a spare throw she had on the floor. "There was a lot of chaos when I first arrived. A lot of madness since Revius was killed and a majority of his children, but I managed."

"You're happy like this?" She was careful in her phrasing, not wanting to offend him. All she could see was the anxious Scotsman begging for help the night she met him. She couldn't see him in this new light, confident, cocky, and happy. Happy to be a demon – it was off putting.

"For now," Crowley answered with a smile. "And you have nothing to worry about. I'm not angry at you. Just let me know when you may need help, I'll be there. You threw yourself into a line of fine for me and I wouldn't be where and who I am without you. I will repay you in any way I can."

"No strings attached? Because you know I don't have a soul to collect, right?" He laughed lightheartedly.

"Yes, I know. No strings attached. A special gift, me to you." She smiled, happy to have a friend in her corner, even if he was a demon. Crowley stood and stretched out of habit. "I really should be going, I have a long line of deals to collect tonight. I'll see you around, eh?" Teodora nodded. "Call if you need me, love." And with a wink and a snap, he was gone.

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DECEMBER, SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA : 2 YEARS AGO

Crowley stood in a short line of customers inside of a bakery on the outskirts of West End in London, tapping his foot heavily on the linoleum. He was on his way to take Addison food, regardless of the fact that he knew she didn't need it. It was a comfort for her at this point. He knew that he needed every bit of comfort and trust with her for his plan to work out. He rolled his eyes and sighed loudly as an elderly woman before her changed her order five times. "This is the perfect hell and I damn near spent six centuries being tortured there," he muttered. The man waiting behind him, thinking Crowley was just being funny, agreed whole heartedly. Crowley smirked at the man and turned back around. After twenty minutes more, Crowley had obtained a fresh blueberry scone and was rounding the corner to pop into Seoul from the alley, until a tall, thin black man popped right before him.

"Sir, we need you," Lannister ordered, saluting Crowley.

"For Lucifer's sake, Lannister, stop saluting me, I'm your boss, not your damn Colonel," he barked, scanning the streets for any gawkers.

"Sorry, sir." Lannister dropped his tight stance, but kept his head raised, focus on something off in the distance.

"Just come on with it. What do you need? You I'm busy."

"Yes, with the operation, sit," he spoke, repeating Crowley's words from earlier in the day. Crowley exhaled slowly, his lip snarling.

"Well? You going to just stand there all day or what?"

"We were curious, what would you like us to do while you convert the nephilim, sir?" Lannister wasn't a very old demon, he only had a little over fifty years under his belt, but he had a lot of potential when he wasn't stuck in his old military ways.

"Who's curious?"

"The boys." Crowley had recruited demons of all ages to help him in his conquest. He was going to need help anyway within the next few years as hell was opened and Lucifer released from his cage. Everything was already falling into line, the Righteous Man had made his deal with one of his crossroad demons and – he just couldn't be happier.

"I made that very simple, if I do recall. Stay away from Seoul and me," he commanded. "I don't give a bloody fuck what you lot do with the rest of your time."

"But, sir – " Crowley growled, his face turning red. "We are just worried. We know you have an attachment to her. How easy is it for you to trick her like this? And how can you go about getting her pregnant without all of the extras?" Crowley had devised a plan years ago, while Addison was still in diapers… he was going to use Addison for a shield against Lucifer, and use any and all deception to get her pregnant. It had been said that the child of a demon mixed with any amount of grace would produce the most powerful antichrist in the world. He knew that after Addison had destroyed Lucifer that hell would need a new king – and Crowley was more than prepared to fill that role. His child would rule him, keeping him in power for all of eternity.

"Have you morons forgotten that I am a demon?"

"No, sir, we just…"

"Get out of my face before I splatter yours across these bricks, Lannister," Crowley warned, squaring his shoulders. Lannister removed himself from his sight, leaving Crowley alone as he had requested. "Fucking hell," he cursed. "I really need a better interviewing strategy." Within two seconds he went from London to Seoul, just outside of Addison's room. He knocked twice politely and stepped away. He could have popped into her room, but he knew this was just another way to gain trust.

"Who is it?" Addison asked cautiously from the other side of the door.

"It's me, love," Crowley answered, unable to hide his smirk. He could hear her sigh heavily. She yanked the heavy steel door open a hair and allowed him to let himself in. When he walked in the rest of the way he found her coiled up in bed, only a black sports bra and jeans on. Her hair was a mess on her head, her curls wild and untamed. He caught himself staring at the dips of her collarbones. Quickly, he handed her the paper bag with the scone and a small paper cup of coffee.

"Oh my god! Food!" she squeaked, tearing into the bag. She bit a large hunk of the scone off before taking a careful sip of coffee. "Thank you!" Crowley smiled his welcome, giving her tiny nod.

"How'd you sleep?"

"How could I sleep?" she choked, looking at him confusedly. "Between the gun shots, random shouting in some foreign language and what not!"

"It's not that bad around here." Crowley gestured to her tiny room and sank into a spot at the foot of her bed.

"I guess you'd think that if you weren't being forced to live here," she spoke. Her look changed from confused to pointed. Addison took a long gulp of coffee and crunched the cup up in the hand.

"You'll be home soon enough," he told her. He snapped to procure a calendar and television for her. He had only provided her with the basics at first: a bed, shower, toilet, sink, and a few dressers that doubled as side tables. The hygiene area was separated by a tall wooden partition and that was all she had except for the four large concrete walls surrounding her.

"Great – Korean television, I can hardly wait," she sang sarcastically.

"Believe it or not, I am sorry you have to be here, you know? I'm only trying to protect you."

"Just tell me what we're hiding from and I'd stop being so difficult. Is it actually demons?" she asked. Addison stared at him, her green eyes searching him for any nonverbal cues.

"For the second time – who told you about demons?"

"The who isn't the issue, Crowley." Crowley had fought for years, almost every year she had been alive and under his care, to keep the supernatural away from her. There was no way she knew about anything of that nature. Her parents were proofing the hotel room they were staying at when he laced it with hex bags, but he didn't know why. "Just tell me, Crowley." He sighed.

"Yes, demons are real," he admitted, not open to sharing much more. He knew this would help him in the long run, but he could only go so far to keep from jeopardizing himself.

"What else is real?"

"Almost anything you can think of, love." She smiled and curled a blanket over her shoulders.

"So those men were demons?"

"Somewhat… all of the who and what's important matters later. You'll learn about the monsters, creatures, and witches of this earth as we train and send you out to fight. But we need the basics first."

"We're going to train here, in this prison cell?" Addison asked, smirking ever so slightly.

"No, Sherlock," he quipped back, grabbing her arm. The pair landed in a flat, open field with an ocean bordering one side, a forest along the rest. Crowley snapped. A large boulder silently fell before them. He snapped again and changed her wardrobe into something more suitable for movement – black running shorts and a black racer back tank top. "Break this rock down," he ordered her, pointing at the boulder.

"With what?" she asked, glancing around for tools.

"Your hands."

"I can't! That's impossible!"

"You really have been around humans for too long." He crossed the few feet of space between them, placing his head just over her right shoulder. "You need to quit thinking like a human. You are not a human. You are above space and time. You are not affected by disease, pain, or death. You've been trained to be a human and I'm here to un-train it. You don't even need to eat, breathe, or sleep. You only did those out of habit because your parents did and that's what they taught you. Just relax and open your mind. Your natural instinct will come through on its own." She shook her head in disbelief.

"Crowley, there is no – "

"Just try it first," he insisted, cutting her off. "Close your eyes," he whispered. She did so hesitantly, focusing on the growling part of his voice. "Focus on a small ball of white light." She opened her mouth to ask why and he predicted it before she even spoke. "Don't ask why. Just do it." Addison exhaled forcefully and obeyed. "Let the light wash over you slowly, let it fill you up." The tingling in her back returned, heat rushing down her body. "Hit it when you're ready," he whispered again, his mouth less than an inch from her ear. With a long breath in she reeled her fist back and into the boulder, a large cracking sound echoed around them from the blow. Addison fell forward as the rock crumbled around her.

"Are you fucking serious?" she yelled, looking in horror at the newly formed gravel. Crowley laughed and picked up a smooth egg sized rock at his feet. He spun it in his hand, pleased with the results. "What kind of joke is this? What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything, love. I'm afraid that was all you." He smirked at his golden ticket to royalty. "I bet you can knock one of those trees down."

"Knock a tree down?" Anxiety filled each of her words.

"Yes, but actually – no. Wait. Why don't you rip it out of the ground for me? She rose slowly to her feet. "And break it in half while you're at it," he added, throwing the rock into the water. "Go on with it," he barked, waving her off, as she stared helplessly at him. Crowley procured a glass of Craig as she marched across the tall grass. The second the liquor hit his lips, he snapped the glass away as three of his men approached him from the shoreline. All of their eyes were trained on Addison yards away. "What in the hell are you doing here?" he growled. He teleported to a foot before them, ineffectively blocking their view of his nephilim. "I thought I made myself clear." He scowled at Lannister in the middle.

"Sir, this is urgent," Lannister stammered. Addison pulled the tree out with ease and tossed it aside as she noticed the three new men. Crowley turned to watch her and cursed as she walked towards them.

"Like what? What the bloody hell is going on? Something better be seriously happening or I'll kill the three of you. I mean – hell better be freezing over or whatever the term is…"

"There's trouble with the men, sir."

"Men? What men?" Crowley snapped.

"The girl's parents…" Lannister started.

"What?" Addison asked, panicking, making eye contact with Lannister as she stopped a few feet behind Crowley.

"Thank you, Lannister," Crowley muttered, angrily.

"Crowley what's wrong with my parents?"

"They're surrounded by ang –" Lannister started.

"Angry men – the ones looking for you," Crowley finished.

"Well, let's go," she ordered, dusting her hands off.

"No."

"What the hell do you mean, no?"

"Exactly what I meant when I just said it. No," he replied, snapping the men away.

"And who are you to tell me no?"

"Someone who doesn't want to see you die!" Crowley bit back.

"These are my parents, Crowley," she whimpered, on the verge of tears.

"If you go there now, all you will find is their dead bodies and then they'll slaughter you – just like they did your mother." Crowley stopped talking abruptly after he heard himself say what he had. The words hit her deep, the expression written all over her face.

"Excuse me?" she asked slowly.

"Your mother," he repeated. "They – these men at your parents right now – they killed her."

"My mother is dead?" Her voice became a soft and quiet shell of itself – hollowed.

"Yes, love. I'm sorry. She died the same night I dropped you off at your parents."

"You were there?"

"Yes." Tears rolled from her eyes all at once, streaking down her cheeks. They matted her dark lashes together. She breathed in and out in deep ragged breaths. Crowley tucked her head against his chest and kissed the top of it. Her emotions about it were much more than he had expected.

"Will they kill my parents either way?"

"More than likely." He knew he couldn't give her fake hope. They would either smite the men or obtain them as vessels. They were both men of God, he knew the minute Tyrael and Zachariah told them they were angels of the Lord that Addison's chances of seeing them again were slim to none.

"Why can't we show up and kill them, Crowley?"

"They're much too powerful. They would rip the both of us to pieces. You need training. After your training, you can take on as many as your heart desires, easily."

"Will you please teach me everything I need to know to do that?" she asked, burying the side of her face deeper into his chest.

"I plan to my love," he whispered, smiling as he combed a hand through her hair.