Lots of rambling as a result of my skills in moving forward the plot. You have been warned.


"I've located a major surge in angelic energy. It's just outside the city. It means that the angel's been forced to go back to Heaven. He won't be able to come back for a while."

"But the question remains of whether he took Ren with him or not."

"I'm not really in proper condition to be out and about, so Charon will have to help you."

"Why? What's wrong?"

"Just a little issue…"

"With…?"

"We predict that it's wings."

"Oh, good. I thought you were pregnant. Wait, wings? And you didn't think to tell me this sooner?"

"I told you about the whole Raziel thing affecting me and making me more angelic. This is a recent development, and you were tied up worrying about your boyfriend."

"How far are you into the process?"

"You mean how painful is it to grow an extra set of limbs? Pretty. I've got lines on my back and major growing pains. I can barely move at this point."

"Is your brother…Mag-something, that you were bonded to - how's he doing?"

"It's Magnus, and he's fine. I weakened our connection so that he can't feel it. He's got enough on his plate to deal with without having to worry about me."

"You'd think he'd be able to notice something like that. I mean, the way you described your bond, I'd assume that he'd be so used to it that he'd notice if it was missing."

"Like I said, he's tied up right now. Anyway, I'm sending you a map of the city and the location of the power surge. You can go and check it out. I'm sending Charon out to search the city for Ren as well - and by Charon, I mean mostly his minions. Apparently, they're everywhere."

"Yup," Charon called from the background. "If your angel's anywhere out there, we'll find him."

"Thanks again."

"No problem," Shu said. "Not only is Ren important to you, but with this angel appearing…I worry. With his unique story, background and current, along with the fact that Namir somehow got ahold of you back while she was in charge the first time as the Demon Queen - without me remembering once I'd defected, mind you - all brings into question how important Ren really is. I have a feeling that he needs protection, and we need to find him soon."

"You think the Shadowhunters are gonna take him in? He seemed pretty scared of them when he heard they were Nephilim - half angel, half human."

"The Clave is a group of sons of bitches, and I have no doubt that they're going to try. In the end, though, they won't be able to force Ren's hand. They're going to have to try and convince him through kindness, and if that doesn't work…"

"They're going to do a hostage situation."

"And considering he's dating a demon, that's not gonna be too hard to pull off. I may have lost my darkness to Namir, but even I understand that's the easiest way to mess with someone, mess with Ren in particular. Actually, 'mess with' is a light term. It's more like mentally torture."

"So we find him quick and then what? Hide him?"

"Namir found you last time, and that's how you two ended up in her care for the past centuries. I have no doubt that she's going to make this hard on us, if not impossible. In the end, it's really up to Ren what we do. You talk to him, tell him the options left. If we can find a way to hide you guys in another pocket dimension or something - this time where no angels, demons, or even I could get to once the portal's closed - then that might be the best option. As long as Namir and I are split, nowhere is safe from her."

"I understand. I'll call you once I've found him and meet you at your apartment."

"Right. Good luck."

"Bye."

He clicked the red button to end the call before looking to find that he'd gotten a link sent to him showing a map of the city and his current location, along with where the power surge had come from. He flew his way over the city, following the map. It had been a long time since he'd flown, but his wings had been completely healed up, and flying was like riding a bike - once you learned, it was really impossible to forget how. He was a bit wobbly at first, but it didn't take much for him to get back into the groove.

He hoped that the people below didn't take too much notice in him, but he was flying low and close to the rooftops to be close enough to the ground that he could hopefully notice Ren if he was walking back into the city to look for Kan. Considering Ren was wearing all white - because he was an angel and let's be honest, he looked good in white - Kan predicted that he wouldn't be too hard to spot in the mess of colorful yet dull humans.

As he was flying, he passed a hotel. It took Kan a moment to process, but when he did, he stopped in his flight path and turned back to realize that Ren was bouncing up and down on a balcony, waving his arms and shouting things that got caught in the wind.

Kan was quick to turn around and zip over as fast as he could, coming to a running landing as he tackled Ren in a tight hug that would've crushed anyone else.

"Ren! Gods, I thought I'd lost you! Are you okay?! Did that thing hurt you?! How did you get on this balcony?!"

"I'm fine, Kan. He didn't hurt me."

"Shu said it was an angel, and considering our previous encounters, I thought…"

"No, it…it was Ithuriel."

"You're old best friend? The one who…?"

Ren nodded grimly. "Yeah."

"What did that bastard want?"

Ren scoffed. "Forgiveness or something. He said he had convinced the angels to let me back into Heaven."

Kan hesitated. "And you…was it true?"

"Only if I was okay with saying that I was somehow messed up for loving you. He spouted all this nonsense about how I was neglected and so that's why I keep going to demons for love. Sure that's how it happened with…with the first guy, but that's not why I love you! It infuriates me to no end that he would even dare say something like that."

"But, Ren…I mean…he was just looking out for you. All he wanted was for you to get back into Heaven, and he just said what he believed to be true."

"Are you…are you defending him?!"

"I'm saying that…if you have a chance to go back home…he was just trying to help you."

Ren scoffed and threw his arms up. "I don't ever want to go back home! I told you that I'd never go back, let alone abandon you in the process."

"Ren, you went through centuries of suffering and I…it's not going to get any better! There are people out there that want to hurt you or abuse you, and they aren't even the angels! And it's never going to end! We can keep running and running, but Namir will eventually catch up to us, or the demons will capture you to use against me or vice versa with the angels or the Shadowhunters! It's never going to end! A-And if you have the chance to escape all this, then…"

"All this will end with me, because I am not letting that happen. I'm never leaving you, and that is that! I know you want me safe or something, but I'd rather be in constant danger and with you than safe without you! And if you think that being with the angels is going to end anything, then you're an idiot, because with them, they'll just abuse my abilities for the rest of our eternal existence, and they'd never let me go near you again. I'd be miserable, and I'd take an eternity with the Demon Queen over an eternity with my family any day! Because at least during those centuries, I was with you."

Kan had no more argument left in him. He didn't want to have an argument in the first place, only trying to give the benefit of the doubt to Ithuriel, to try and keep the hate out of his angel. Hate didn't look good on him. And all he wanted was to keep Ren safe. But it was his choice. And Kan was admittedly taken off guard at Ren's statement. How was he supposed to compete with that? What was he supposed to say?

"I…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…look, we should get you out of the open. How did you get up here, anyway? Doesn't this room belong to someone?"

He sighed, the energy draining out of him. "I don't know. I just took the stairs and picked a random room."

"But how did you get in?"

"I melted the lock open. The roof was already full of people doing stuff, so a balcony was the best option if I wanted you to notice me."

"Well, we should head back to Shu's apartment. We need to figure out some way to protect you."

"Okay. I hope you know the way."

"Yep."

Kan then grabbed Ren around the waist before teleporting them with his wings. It had been a long time since Ren had traveled that way too, and after being turned to light as well, he was ready to pass out again. Kan realized this, helping set Ren down on the couch and allowing him to relax.

He was going to head to Shu's room, when he heard shouting and saw as Magnus stomped out angrily, waving his hand as his magic activated and tossed a tea set across the room into the wall and shattering it. Magnus disappearing into his room, and Kan saw as Shu sighed at her door and slammed it shut as well.

"What the heck?"


When Magnus pulled himself out of bed, he got breakfast at a lazy pace. He hadn't seen Shu for a good deal of time, and kept expecting her to come and see him. He was really at a loss of what to do, as he wasn't used to her ignoring him - especially in his time of need. Either she was purposely avoiding him, or there was something bad that was taking her attention and she wasn't even in the apartment.

It was then that he realized he couldn't tell.

He concentrated as hard as he could, and he still felt the soul bond. If it had broken, he definitely would've noticed, no matter what his current state of mind was. As he tried digging deeper into the bond, he suddenly started to feel an extreme pain surging through his torso, although it was also numbing, not stinging like some kind of wound.

The pain nearly made him pass out, and he pulled back out of the bond, breathing hard and trying to recompose himself. Was that what Shu was feeling at the moment? How had he not noticed that kind of pain before? They could tell when the other had a paper cut - as the other also got one in the same place or at least felt the phantom pain of it.

Sure, he'd been distracted by his problems and his own feelings, but he'd been in slumps before, and there had been times where Shu's problems and insecurities are what actually snapped him out of his own so that he could help her instead.

He stood from the table in a huff and stomped over to Shu's room, but before he could storm in and demand answers, he heard her speaking in an unfamiliar language.

"OLANI NENNI OVCHO OLLOR MICALZ MOLVI OE GASSAGEN BAB. NOSTOAH OI OIAD SAANIR OIAD NONCP. NOSTOAH OI OIAD GASSAGEN VNIG OL OIAD NOASMI OL Heaven. OIAD GEMEGANZA IPAMIS NOASMI CORDZIZ OL NOASMI." (Made with a very sketchy translator because Enochian is hard. Translation is the first line up at the top of the chapter).

There was a pause as he realized she was speaking to someone on the phone, and Magnus went to work trying to cast a translation spell. After the first few attempts, realizing that the language was older and much harder to translate than normal modern languages, he finally got one that translated the language.

"-a little issue…"

"With…?"

"We predict that it's wings."

"Oh, good. I thought you were pregnant. Wait, wings? And you didn't think to tell me this sooner?"

"I told you about the whole Raziel thing affecting me and making me more angelic. This is a recent development, and you were tied up worrying about your boyfriend."

"How far are you into the process?"

"You mean how painful is it to grow an extra set of limbs? Pretty. I've got lines on my back and major growing pains. I can barely move at this point."

"Is your brother…Mag-something, that you were bonded to - how's he doing?"

"It's Magnus, and he's fine. I weakened our connection so that he can't feel it. He's got enough on his plate to deal with without having to worry about me."

"You'd think he'd be able to notice something like that. I mean, the way you described your bond, I'd assume that he'd be so used to it that he'd notice if it was missing."

"Like I said, he's tied up right now. Anyway-"

Magnus couldn't help but be filled with rage. Shu had been weakening their connection without telling him? If he was hearing this right, this had been going on for a while now, and it might've been the reason Shu had been avoiding Magnus, but he couldn't find a reason why she'd do such a thing. If anything, a distraction from his problems for hers would've been welcome, instead of leaving him to wallow in his misery alone for all this time.

Magnus wouldn't be as angry as he was if Shu and he hadn't been together and bonded for centuries now, countless years of always being there for each other. They'd had the soul bond for basically all of their time knowing each other, and being so close to Shu, being completely trusting of her for so many years, he'd thought that she trusted him more than this.

"I understand. I'll call you once I've found him and meet you at your apartment."

"Right. Good luck."

"Bye."

The moment Shu hung up, Magnus burst into the room. "Why?!"

Charon - remember, a Greater Demon - was startled by the Warlock's outburst, and took a step back.

"Why would you hide this from me?! Why would you just throw my feelings aside like this?!"

"I'll just…go," Charon said quickly, before disappearing into his cloud of smoke.

"Magnus-" Shu began.

"No! You and I have always been there for each other, for all these years, and when you know that I need you, here you are just hiding away from me and leaving me to deal with this on my own!"

"I didn't want to burden you with my problems."

"What makes you think that I'd be burdened?! After so many centuries together, you should know that I don't care what crap you bring to my life! You're my sister! You're my soul bonded sister! Crap is a part of our relationship that I expect! That I'm used to! You've been the biggest pain in the ass I've ever had to deal with, and I've been stuck with you since I was 15! But even after all these years - especially after all these years - I trust you more than I trust anyone! We've had our weak moments, our bad days, and we've seen the absolute worst sides of each other, yet you're still the best person I know. After everything…I don't understand why you'd keep this from me, distance yourself. We've been through all the stupid trials of not trusting each other, trying to keep each other from unnecessary pain, and we've already learned that we need to have complete transparency between us. So just…why?!"

"I…I didn't wish to give you my pain. I…I am compelled to protect you, Magnus, and if that means distancing myself, so be it. There was no need for me to give you my problems to deal with on top of yours."

He scoffed. "Why would you ever…?"

But he cut himself off as he looked down in realization.

"It's the angel thing, isn't it? You're losing…a part of you. You're becoming more of an angel, and you're losing the demonic part of you - the part of you that connects you to me. You're losing the emotional side of you and merely focusing on facts, the logical choice over the emotional ones - no longer affected by the emotional bonds that we made over the years."

She looked to the side in thought. "I-I…I don't…I…I suppose…"

He gritted his teeth in anger, his fists clenched at his sides. He was losing Alec, and now he was losing his sister, and there was nothing he could do about it but hope that someone else would solve the situation.

He stomped out of her room, heading back to his own, waving his hand and blindly tossing something into the wall and smashing it. He'd be able to fix the damage later anyway. The beauty of being a Warlock was that he could smash anything he wanted in his rage without doing permanent damage (except maybe some ingredients for potions could do some bad damage, but he could do more destruction than the average person, at the very least).

And when he slammed the door closed, he went to work, swiping the glasses and drinks he had lined up on the desk into the wall, smashing them all and sending, among other things, liquor flying. He then slammed his fists down on the empty table, feeling just the slightest bit of satisfaction from the solid hit and the slight sting that came from it.

Magnus was tired of being useless. Everything seemed to be spiraling out of control with Shu's darker half. Just when he had realized that he didn't need to choose between the Downworld and Alec, Alec began to spiral out of his control because of her actions. Just as Shu began to gain control of herself and her dark half, she goes off the rails in the other direction instead, and now that dark half of her was free - a package deal.

What was he supposed to do?

Well, that answer was simple yet complicated.

He needed to find a way to take out the Demon Queen.


"So, uh…we clear?" Charon asked, peeking his head out from the bathroom where he'd teleported in.

"Sort of," Shu admitted. "I think Magnus hates me now, and things just got worse."

"Why did you keep this from him, anyway? I mean, I don't know him as well as you do, but considering how close you two are, I didn't think you two were ones to keep secrets for the other's protection."

"We never really have been that way, not for ages. He gave a theory that because I was losing my demonic side, I was losing my emotional connections, being more logical, and losing the part of me that connects us."

"Well, he could be right."

"Perhaps we should ask Ren about it. He is an angel. How'd that go?"

"Kan found him on a hotel balcony and they're arguing, last I heard."

"Arguing? About what?"

"Apparently Ren knew the angel that kidnapped him and was all angry about it, and then Kan was trying to defend the guy, and Ren got angry, something about wanting safety, and then I ditched."

"Have they left to come here yet?"

He looked to the side for a moment. "Uh…well, apparently they're not on the balcony anymore. Just poofed away."

Shu walked out to the living room and saw that Kandai was putting a washcloth on Ren's head while he laid on the couch. Judging by the smashed tea set, she assumed Magnus had passed by but didn't notice them.

"Hey. He okay?"

Kandai sighed. "Not used to all of the angel traveling, but he'll recover."

"I heard you had a fight."

"It was stupid. I didn't want to fight, I didn't want to aggravate him. I should've just kept my mouth shut. Anyway, how are you doing?"

"Sore as hell. Not to mention Magnus found out what I was doing and was not happy about it."

"That explains why he stormed through here so angrily."

"Yeah. He gave some theory that I might be losing my emotional connections because I'm becoming more angelic and less demonic."

Kandai put a hand to his chin in thought. "You know, Ren did say something a while back about that. He theorized that angels have less of a soul, they're born to follow orders and don't let emotions move them. Humans, they're that middle ground where they can swing either way with the right upbringing. And demons, he said, have too much of a soul, understand all of the bad things in life override the good, and so that's why they act the way they do."

"That makes sense, I suppose."

"But if you and Namir split into two parts, demonic and angelic, then where did the human in you go?" Charon asked.

"I guess it split between us. The human aspects were already overpowered by the rest of me, but now that it's been split apart in two, it must barely be present."

"How long have you and Namir been split into two different personalities?" Kan asked.

"As far as I'm aware, ever since I first went off the rails as the Demon Queen. Back when I tried to abstain from all of this."

"The first time?"

She walked over to one of the seats and sat down - if a bit painfully. "I had a few phases of my life. Back after the demons took me and I escaped to the human world with Charon's help, I went through a phase where I hated demons, Asmodeus in particular, but mostly just all of them that had ever tortured me. I went to the angels for help in vanquishing them, and they figured that if I was on their side, that was safer than having me against them. So I agreed to work with them, but they were too heartless in their ways, giving me orders and giving me no room for negotiation. Not all of them liked or trusted me, and I was treated like a black sheep. Everyone hated me - feared me. But in my determination to destroy the demons, and the provocation of the angels' bias, I ended up forcefully taking over Heaven. But I hated the angels, and I realized that there was no way to get what I wanted, to ever be happy with them.

"So I abandoned them and went to the demons myself. And I took down any of them that I crossed paths with. At least, until one of them bowed to me. He begged that I spare him in return for serving me. He wanted me to command him. And I did. And more joined. Soon, I had taken over the demon population, heading back to Edom to become the Demon Queen. By that time, however, my initial drive to kill Asmodeus didn't matter. Killing him wouldn't mean anything to me, wouldn't give me any satisfaction anymore. And he bowed to me with his free will easily. So I ruled Edom for a while, being exactly what he wanted me to be. But I wasn't happy with them, either. I was bored. I was tired of it. The angels would never fully accept me, the demons tried too hard to accept me, and neither group gave me any peace.

"And so I left them, too. I went to the human world and tried to abandon it all. And it did it for a while. I managed to keep out of things as best I could. But eventually, I found there was no real way to leave it all. Both the angels and the demons were trying to gain my affection, hopefully take me back to their side, but I wanted none of it. At least, until I met and was bonded to Magnus. Then, I had no choice but to get dragged back in, support my brother and learn to watch over him. I became less of a warrior and more of just a girl with powers. I learned to act more friendly, I learned to look after my brother, how to be a sister. For once, I actually learned how to live a real life. I learned what it meant to fit in, not be above anyone or below, not be the center of attention.

"And where was Charon in all this?"

"He popped in from time to time, but it was hard for us to stay in contact. I did try, though. I always enjoyed it when he came to see me, when I actually got the chance to just hang out with him and him alone. He helped me build back my life after I'd fallen apart. Of course, there were some rocky moments, and we lost contact for a while."

"What kind of complications?"

"He was wearing your face, for one, and when I found out, I guess I felt hurt that he had to use the face of someone I trusted in order to gain mine. I found out that he was working for Asmodeus as a kind of guard that watches over my actions and pushes and pulls me in the direction he's ordered to."

"So, then, why…?"

"Why are we together again?"

She shrugged.

"The position he's in isn't his fault. If he plays his cards right, he won't have to do much that would offend me. Besides, he tells me when Asmodeus gives him orders to convince me of something, let's me make the decision on my own, but Asmodeus hasn't given him many orders lately. At the absolute worst, he was ordered to give me my memories that he took from me. Sure, I won't be able to tell if he's lying, or if he's taken any other memories, for that matter, but I know that. I know what could happen, I know what it'd be like if he betrayed me, and I've been through that. He can do all that for all I care. When I find out, I'll murder him ruthlessly, but until then, we can get along like friends."

"A mutual agreement?" Kan asked, smiling.

"Basically. I mean, I could get Charon in trouble at any moment as well, but I have no reason to."

Kan gave a small chuckle, looking to Ren for a moment before his smile began to fade. "A mutual agreement was the only way that the two of us had enough trust in each other to live together. Although Ren did force me to sleep on his couch for a while when we first met."

"Do you think he's angry at you?"

He shrugged. "I suppose. I didn't mean to make him angry."

"What exactly happened?"

"I heard about his…former acquaintance, Ithuriel, coming to say that he could get Ren back into Heaven. Of course I love having him with me, and I don't want him to go back to Heaven, but…after everything that he's been through…the prospect of him actually getting a home, not have to worry about being on the run or being taken by the demons or even your darker half…I just want him to be happy, but more than happy, safe."

"And him?"

"I know that he would disagree with me, that he'd sacrifice any amount of safety for something that he cares for, I just…I didn't expect him to be that passionate about staying in this life, staying away from Heaven and with…me."

"Is that really such a surprise? I thought you two were like the power-couple of the millennia."

"I have little idea of the definition of a 'power-couple,' but we were the kind of people that were going to last forever, quite literally. We rarely ever argue, and when we did, it wasn't ever relationship-breaking, and we both hated those moments we refused to talk to each other, regretting what we'd said and wishing everything could be taken back. We didn't have anything but each other, and we couldn't afford to lose that too. Our relationship is more than just love. It's reliance upon each other, a kind of feeling that we need to have the other in our lives because we know everything is ephemeral. With such long lives, knowing you're gonna be able to share it with someone feels good."

"And staying with them feels pretty good too," Ren choked out.

They all looked over in surprise to see him sitting up slowly to rest against a pillow on the couch.

"What's the point of living my life without the one person that makes my life worth living? I just…I don't understand your argument here."

"I don't have an argument," Kan said, shaking his head. "I don't want to argue."

"I know you have good intentions, but never ever think that I'm going to just leave you behind for anything. I don't care if I'm being held at gunpoint. You should know that I'm completely loyal to you. I honestly expected you to be the same."

"I am. Or I was, most likely, before we went through millennia of pure torture."

"I'm sorry-"

"It's not your fault, Shu. Namir is you, sure, but this was always in your blood, and when this first happened, you were still testing things out, trying to find out who you were and where your loyalties were. You understood that things weren't as you wanted, you have your morality now. And we're here. Safe, for now."

"Still. Why would she do this to you? Even the dark half of me loves and appreciates you. You taught us a lot, looked after us. That kind of kindness isn't something she would overlook. It's not a matter of good vs. evil, but rather respect. She is the worst kind of darkness out there, but that also means that she honors bargains, debts, and has things she appreciates. Some say the evilest people have no soul, but I believe-"

"That the evilest people have too much of a soul?" Ren finished.

She looked to him in surprise. "Yeah. They know too much, and they cause chaos for little other reason than just to cause chaos. There's no dramatic back-story that makes them want to be redeemed or try and make people see things their way. It's just their understanding of the futility of…everything, really, that makes them say 'Screw the rules' and cause havoc. And, they're also the smartest about it, since they know so much about the ways of society and the soul. What's the saying? You have to understand a heart in order to break it."

"I like you already."

He shifted uncomfortably, but then winced and laid still, staring at the ceiling.

"Where are we?"

"My apartment," Shu answered. "You're safe here. I've got heavy wards, as well as some symbols that will keep the angels and the demons from finding us or getting in the building. I did my research, trust me."

"I can tell. I can feel the wards for angels right now. Not only are my kinsmen unable to enter, but I am unable to leave."

"Just give the word and I can let you go. I can drop the warding at very quick intervals, so that we don't draw attention every time they go down. I dropped them for a while so that Kan could get in, but I set them to automatically respond to you two and you two alone. Well, also Charon."

"Hello," Charon said, holding his hand up and wiggling his fingers in a cocky fashion.

Ren turned and looked to Charon for the first time, before suddenly jumping up and pressing himself against the couch in a panic, as though trying to back up and become one with the thing.

"What is he doing here?!"

"Whoa, easy, Ren," Kan said, moving to grab him gently. "That's Charon. He's a friendly demon."

"Valak, what game are you playing?!"

Charon looked around, confused. "Sorry, how does he know my name? Have we met before? No…I'd remember you. You smell all…alchemic."

Ren chuckled humorlessly. "I should think you'd remember, considering you got me cast out of Heaven!"

"What?!" Shu and Kandai demanded.

Charon held his hands up in defense. "Hey! Whoa! I don't know the guy! I've never even been to Heaven! I don't know the first thing about him, let alone how you get an angel cast out!"

"Wait, his name is Valak?" Kan asked. "What happened to Charon? They sound nothing alike."

"It's my last name," Charon deadpanned.

"That's what you got out of that revelation?" Ren asked.

Kan shrugged. "Yeah, basically. Susu says he's not a threat, and she can take him out whenever she wants, so I feel safe. Besides, the guy is clearly suffering from memory loss at the moment."

"Ahem," Charon interrupted. "I am a memory demon. A Greater Demon. One does not simply tamper with my memories."

"What about someone higher up than you?" Shu suggested. "Maybe, to keep the whole operation with me a secret, your memories were taken by someone above you."

He looked down in thought. "Well…I suppose that's possible," He admitted.

"Ugh, this is insane!" Ren shouted, holding his hands to his temples like he had a bag headache. "First Ithuriel, then Kan, then this! And let's not forget about Raziel's stupid decision to make Nephilim!"

"What's wrong with them?" Shu asked.

"Nephilim are the most dangerous creatures I know of! Even just one of them could destroy the universe! But, apparently, Razz made some artificial ones that are more stable. Utter BS! Why would he even try such a thing?!"

"Wait, destroy the universe?" Kan repeated.

"Yes! The last Nephilim to be born was terrifying! Look, I'm all for experimentation to take things that would otherwise be deadly and utilizing them to be on our side, but Nephilim are a line even I wouldn't cross!"

"Perhaps they were desperate," Shu said. "The Nephilim that I first encountered easily took out the horde of demons guarding the palace and the dungeon where I was being kept, but then again, the demons wanted them to come into contact with me. After that, I wiped out those Nephilim since one put a sword in my gut."

"Those must've been just the betas, the preliminary tests to see if there was anything to improve. He probably didn't expect them to come back alive. To that end, I can presume that they had a bit of a wrath problem and were sent there to raise hell."

"The one that I met certainly seemed robotic."

"Too much angel in them. Considering the human aspect is one of the things that makes a Nephilim so dangerous, he must've tried leaning things too far to the angelic side. Then he must've done the opposite, leaning it more to the human side. Today you see the results."

"So they're less half angel and more 25% angel," Charon summarized. "Seems reasonable. They weren't very angelic to me."

"Alexander's not that bad," Shu admitted.

"He broke your brother's heart, like, five times over."

"Not on purpose, and they always make up."

"How about you go and help them now?"

"We get Jace back, and they will make up. Might take some time, shoving, and emotional speeches, but they always come back together."

"For now, all our problems lie within Namir," Kandai said. "How do we stop her?"

"The only person who stands a chance at it is obviously me," Shu said. "However, the two of us are completely and equally matched. Neither one of us will be able to overpower the other. It's a stand-off. The two of us can beat anyone who gets in our way, and the only ones that we can't kill are each other. That's what makes her such a problem."

"Can all of us working together overpower her? Maybe some Shadowhunters too? If we have the numbers, can quantity beat quality?"

"The whole point is that she won't let a situation like that come to pass. She's got access to Edom's worst, and possibly more. She's basically got all of Hell under her command. There's no way we'd be able to amass an army larger than hers, let alone have enough survive an encounter to overpower her."

"What if you put her back inside you?" Ren asked. "If we know the process that split you, there has to be a way to figure out a process to put you back together."

"She wanted to put us back together previously, but it seemed that Raziel prevented that from happening, as evidence by my angelic side effects. Quite possibly, his summoning was an opportunity in his opinion. He hasn't been summoned in centuries, and maybe he was waiting for someone to summon him so that he could sever my final connections with her. An overload of angelic energy split the bond this time, and the time before, I assume that my need to get away from all of this and Namir's desire to stay is what separated us as much as it did before."

"In that case, the only way for you two to come back together is for you two to completely and totally agree on your ideals."

"Which is the whole point - we can't. We are meant to be each other's opposites."

"But that doesn't mean that all that you do is completely opposite. Things aren't always black and white, especially when it comes to angels and demons. In most cases, I would suggest a common threat to bring you together. In the end, survival and self preservation is the most basic and overriding instinct that both of you will have."

"And she'll know all of this. Everything I figure out is something she figures out."

"So there's no cheating when it comes to this situation, but - wait, hold on a sec. Go back to what you said sixty seven seconds ago."

"67?" Kan asked.

"Give or take."

She looked down in thought for a moment. "I said she wanted to put us back together previously."

"Well that solves the problem right there."

"She seemed pretty confident that she would be more powerful than me, that even if we came together she'd have nothing to worry about, but in the end, there's really no way to tell. The two of us becoming one means that there's no winning or overpowering involved. Our ideals are opposing, but that's just me seeing and wanting both sides of an argument. It'd be really easy for the me that has both of us inside her to mess around with you, little pranks or comments that would aggravate you, but nothing too offending or harsh. In the end, we're still family and acquaintances."

"Why would she even want to put you two back together?" Kandai asked. "Isn't the whole point that the evil in her wants to be free to do as she wishes without a conscious or good morals to stand in her way?"

"She's not at her strongest without me. It's like a soul bond - stronger because we are one soul that's been split. We don't feel complete without each other, being separate like this. Not only is this about her gaining my power to add to hers, but it's about needing to be whole again, a natural and basic reaction to being apart."

"Great," Charon said. "So, we get you two in a room and have you work out your issues to come together and boom! We're golden."

"More or less," Shu sighed. "But there are always risks. I don't know what it's like to be completely bonded with her into one person. She's been gone from me for so many years without my knowledge, and it gave me a kind of peace. Even if I'll change, I don't know how much. Will I really be good? If she wants us to come together, I worry that she knows something that I don't, a pain that being merged with her is going to give me."

"Well, we don't have a lot of options here."

"I know. The issue now remains whether she's going to play ball or is going to make this hard on us."

The conversation was interrupted as they heard the ringing of a phone. It sounded far away, and they all looked around to identify if it was in the room and just muffled.

"That's mine," Shu realized.

She went back into her room and picked up the phone, seeing that it was Alec. He was wrapped up in the search for Jace, and hadn't called in weeks. He'd only call if he had a lead, or if there was an emergency that required Warlock expertise - and it was unlikely he was going to call Magnus after their fight.

"Hello? Alexander? What's up?"

"We found him."