"When I find you, I'm not even going to toy with you," Abigail yelled as she swept her eyes over the sanctuary of the church. Theresa was hiding underneath the pulpit, clutching to her chest a bottle of vodka someone had stashed there. If, by some miracle, she made it out alive, she would need every drop. Preferably off of a stripper's abs.

Abigail blindly fired again and Theresa instinctively cringed. She had to run out of bullets sometime. Right? Or someone would hear the gunshots coming from a fucking church. She didn't dare call 911 and give away her position.

"And it's not just the people that you killed, Theresa. It's all the other things you did. You cost me my happiness. I tried to replace him with Chad and Cameron and Ben. Even EJ Dimera. EJ DIMERA! But none of them were Austin. He left me and I've been treading water ever since and you come along like a fucking shark and shred even the smallest of hopes that keep me from drowning."

Theresa blinked because nothing Abigail was saying made any damn sense. Bitch was crazy.

"All the things... All the people I've sacrificed are worth it, Theresa. They have to be worth it. I'll stop you. None of it will be in vain. It can't be. IT CAN'T!"

The shotgun went off again and the portion of the pulpit just above Theresa's head disappeared. She bit on her hand to keep from screaming. That was way too close. Just hiding and waiting wasn't going to do it. She needed to act and soon. Death was starting to look less painful than listening to Abigail rant about boring shit like being a slut or whatever. Theresa just did not care.

"Where are you hiding? The door didn't open. I would've heard it," Abigail said before kicking something that sounded like wood. "And your catacomb has already sealed itself. Why don't you come out and play like a big girl, Theresa? At least Carrie had the guts to face me. She was a real Brady. But you? You're a slut and a whore and a joke, just like that dead sister of yours. She deserved what she got for using her vagina to hypnotize JJ. Poor JJ, though. He didn't deserve it. None of them did but Eve. And you. You deserve this Theresa. You've had it coming your whole miserable life."

Abigail passed by the pulpit, but didn't look at Theresa. Gripping the vodka bottle by the neck, Theresa took the opportunity to strike.

The first blow knocked Abigail to the ground, her shotgun skittering away. The second shattered the bottle. Before Theresa could drive the jagged remains into Abigail's back, the other woman knocked her off.

"NO! You do not get to kill me, you foul harlot. Not today. Not any day!" Abigail ranted as she rose to her feet. "I am the good guy here. You are the evil sinner WHORE!"

"I never fucked a man who was engaged," Theresa replied before punching Abigail in the face. "Well, not that I know of."

Words no longer existed for Abigail, who instead let out a guttural screech as she leapt at her nemesis. They slammed into the wall directly behind the pulpit. Theresa head-butted Abigail, punched her in the throat, and threw her to the ground. Then she used her few precious seconds to prop herself between the wall and some tacky ass crucifix stature.

"Bye, Bitch!" Theresa screamed as she braced herself against the wall and used her feet to push against the crucifix, toppling it.

The statue fell onto Abigail. Exhausted, Theresa sat down beside her fallen enemy.

"I... kill..." Abigail gasped as she tried to reach out to Theresa.

"Yeah, sure. You'll kill me. Whatever. Listen, I'm leaving this town and never coming back. So congrats: you won. But first..."

"All the people I've sacrificed are worth it, Theresa. They have to be worth it." Abigail's voice echoed across the empty sanctuary before Theresa pressed the pause button on her phone's screen.

"I think Hope Brady will appreciate this. Goodbye."

Days

Hope played the recording on the phone for the third time. Theresa was innocent. Abigail all but confessed to killing everybody. How had she been so wrong about everything?

"Jenkins, put in the call to have the manhunt on Theresa Donovan called off. Shit. Why didn't we realize that this was all a setup? Poor Abigail. She's so lost without her father that she killed the rest of her family." Hope put her glasses on and looked out the window of Jenkins' squad car. They'd been headed to the Dimera mansion to question Chad when the call came in about the shooting at the church.

"I really hope she can get the help she needs. It's so heartbreaking to see such a promising young woman potentially throw her life away."

There were unanswered questions, but when Abigail woke up they'd learn what they needed.

"Where is Eric?" Hope wondered aloud as she took her glasses and rubbed her forehead. "Where is Nicole? I don't think Abby was involved, Jenkins. Everyone else was found, but Eric never was. Maybe the first victim having his picture was a red herring. Maybe he was the bait Abigail used to lure Serena out. I just don't know."

"Let's just be glad we managed to solve this one, Ma'am. We stopped your poor niece from killing anyone else."

"I wish we could prosecute Theresa for driving her to it, Jenkins. I really do. Abby just doesn't deserve it. But we can't stop. Nicole Walker is still out there and she probably has my nephew Eric. She needs to be brought to justice."

"And she will be," Jenkins assured Hope as they pulled up to the police station. Hope was going to hand the phone with Abigail's confession to the evidence department, and then she was going to find Nicole and end her reign of terror.

Days

The sun rose and Chad stretched. Will was back in his bed, sleeping where Theresa had just the night before. But something was off. The sex was as great as ever, but Will was too easily dominated. Theresa had fought back and even managed to win; Will just took his beating like a good boy. Chad found himself missing the challenge.

"Wake up," he ordered as he kicked Will's leg. "We need to talk."

"Oh?" Will yawned, then rolled over so that he was perched on top of Chad. "Since when do we talk sans clothing?

It took all of Chad's willpower to keep his brain functioning as Will licked his way across Chad's torso.

"Look, all I'm saying is..." Chad felt himself start to buck against Will and immediately thought of Paige Larsen in a bikini. As his libido cooled, his senses started to return. "Will, we're equals, right?"

Then Will laughed and wrapped his hands around Chad's throat. "What makes you think we're equals? Because I let you hit me? Because I let you fuck my ass? Because I gave you John Black? We aren't equals, Chad. You did everything I said without question. I did everything I wanted. We are anything but equal."

Chad couldn't reply. He couldn't breathe. All he could do was lie there as Will ground his ass against Chad's crotch. It was as arousing as it was terrifying.

"I own you. If I want your dick, it's mine. If I want you to kill someone, they're dead. Do you understand, Little Boy?"

Nodding, Chad slapped at Will's arm. The other man eased off his throat, then bent down and kissed him.

"I understand," Chad said after they broke apart, rubbing his neck. "We aren't equal. But I'd still... I want to know why you had me seduce Theresa Donovan. She's a serial killer."

"That is no longer my concern, and by extension it's no longer yours." Will sucked on his finger, then pulled it from his mouth and wrote his name in Chad's chest hair. "Now, do you want to talk or do you want to put my mouth to better use."

Fighting the urge to succumb, Chad barely held Will at bay. "I said I'll stand by you, but I feel like I deserve to know what's going on."

"I told you that you would regret those words." Will sat up and held out his right hand, his left on Chad's chest. "Are you sure you want to know?"

Chad nodded. Will snapped his fingers.

Days

Eric had become used to that which wasn't Will arriving with no warning. However, when he arrived on top of Chad Dimera, both of them naked, he had to admit that he was surprised.

Marlena still said nothing. She just sat in her cage and watched.

"This is it, Chad. This is everything. This is where it begins and it ends." Not Will dragged his hands though Chad's hair, pulling him up into a kiss. Eric felt a pang of something he couldn't quite name.

"What the hell just happened?" Chad panted after he and Not Will broke apart.

"Hell is more appropriate than you realize," Eric scoffed, drawing the attention of the man and the thing pretending to be a man.

"Will? What is..."

Not Will climbed off of Chad and strode to Eric, who did his best to keep away from the thing in his nephew's body.

"Surely you remember the good Father, Chad." One of Will's legs slid between both of Eric's. "We've been spending a lot of bonding time together, as men are wont to do."

"You're fucking your uncle. We have done some messed up stuff, Will. Some really messed up stuff, but that takes the cake."

"This is NOT Will, Chad," Eric said as he tried his best not to melt while Not Will sucked and chewed on his earlobe. "Es Él Diablo."

"Español, Padre? Muy caliénte." Will's hands began exploring Eric's body and his resistance was gone.

Chad interrupted them just before they kissed. "What. The. Fuck."

"Do you have objections? Would you like to join?"

"ENOUGH!" Everyone looked to Marlena as she finally spoke. "I will tolerate a lot of things, but my grandson with a Dimera? NEVER!"

"Not your call, old woman," Not Will said lazily, snapping his fingers and gagging Marlena. Then he turned his back to Eric. "Now where were we?"

"You were done."

A fingersnap echoed through the dungeon and suddenly Chad and Not Will were both clothed.

"You?" Not Will laughed and released Eric. "You come into my domain and make pronouncements?"

Eric looked over to Nicole, who was standing above her bed. No, she was floating and holding both of her hands out. She snapped both fingers and the bed flew to the corner. She remained in the air.

"This is your domain, but you are not their master. Mankind has free will."

"Holy Mother Mary?" Eric whispered as Nicole looked to him and smiled. Her eyes glowed green and put his at ease.

"Not even. I told you, Father. I'm not Satan. She isn't Mary, Magdalene or of Nazareth. Our kind doesn't work like that. And her powers are nothing compared to mine while we are here."

Holding his hand in Nicole's direction, Not Will snapped his fingers and she fell to the floor.

"Why would you even challenge me here? At least on Earth you would hold the advantage. But here, none are my equal."

Nicole rose to her feet, a smile on her face. "You know that to be untrue."

"What the fuck is going on?!" Chad yelled. "Why am I wearing parachute pants, a turtleneck sweater, and a rubber ducky ascot?"

"This host, she likes it," Nicole answered before smiling at the thing in Will's body. "And you? You will leave this man's body now. It is your only chance."

"You wouldn't bring the Void here. It's as much of a danger to you as it is to me!" For the first time, Eric heard fear behind Not Will's bravado.

"I already have." Nicole snapped her fingers and the hospital bed flew away from the corner.

"Ciara?!" Eric gasped before he felt Not Will clutch onto him. He didn't think he'd ever seen his nephew's face grow so pale.

"You would really end us all? This abomination is not a toy!" The thing that wasn't Will pointed his fingers at Ciara and snapped, but nothing happened. "You have doomed us all!"

"Hello," Ciara said to the assembled, fingers playing with the braids in her hair. Her eyes were locked on Not Will. "It feels like I haven't seen you in a thousand years."

When Ciara smiled, Not Will screamed. She stepped out of the corner and Will's fingers snapped again, sending the bed flying at her. She just held her hand up and it vanished.

"This isn't over," Not Will threatened. It snapped his fingers one final time and Will's body collapsed to the floor.

"It may not be over, but I'll watch over you. Always remember that," Nicole said to everyone. Then she snapped her fingers and everyone was suddenly in the middle of the park.

"Where did you guys come from?" Brady asked when he saw the crowd. He stood up from the bench and helped Eric to his feet. "Have you seen any unicorns?"

"Not now, Brady," Eric said as he ran to Marlena's side. Helping his mother to her feet, he saw both Nicole and Will lying on the ground. Ciara stood over both of them. "Can you take Ciara home?"

"I can take my own daughter home," Hope said as she and another cop walked onto the scene. "Jenkins, take Ciara to the squad car. I'm going to find out what's going on here."

"Aunt Hope, what are you doing here?" Eric asked as picked Will, holding his nephew in his arms.

"Someone called me about Brady. You know why I'm here, Brady. Hand it over."

"But I need it to hunt unicorns. If I give the homeless guy unicorn hair, I can use the port-a-potty to teleport to Heaven and visit Melanie! Will told me that I would need it to see her."

"Give me the knife, Brady. You should know the rules. Especially after what happened to Johnny's eye."

"Brady!" Marlena gasped. "Who gave you a knife? That's something so irresponsible that even Nicole wouldn't do it."

"It was Will," Brady pouted as he gave the blade to Hope. "He told me I would need it."

"And if Will told you to jump off a bridge, would you do it?" Marlena crossed her arms and tapped her foot on the grass.

"I'm sorry." Brady kicked at the ground.

"Brady, why don't you go to the squad car and wait for me? Ciara and Jenkins are there. He bought me a sandwich for lunch, but you two can split it."

"What kind is it?"

"It's a surprise," Hope said with a smile. "Go on. Jenkins and Ciara are waiting."

"I love surprises!" Brady exclaimed before running off.

Then Hope looked to Marlena and Eric. "Now what exactly happened here?"

"Will was possessed by the devil and held us prisoner." Eric jostled the man in his arms and Will started to stir. "We're pretty sure that he's been exorcised, though."

"Oww. My head," Nicole groaned as she sat up. "The last thing I remember was Abigail Devereaux shooting me."

"Quit blaming other people for everything, Nicole," Hope snapped. "Where have you been?"

"She was with us." Marlena answered.

"So she worked with Devil Will to hold you captive? I knew it!" Hope snapped her fingers and Will sprang to life in Eric's arms, throwing his arms around his uncle's neck in a panic.

Will and Eric looked into each other's eyes and something passed between them. Then Will spoke. "You can... I can stand."

"Right," Eric nodded, squatting so that Will could stand on his own. "How much do you remember?"

"Too much," Will whispered. Then he looked to Hope. "Nicole didn't help me. She summoned Ciara, who chased the Devil out of me."

"I did?" Nicole was wobbly on her feet and held her head, as if trying to remember. "That's right. There was... Ciara."

"You put my daughter in danger? Nicole Walker, you're under arrest for the charge of child endangerment."

"NO!" Nicole cried, stumbling forward and grabbing Hope's arm. "It wasn't me. I possessed by this benevolent spirit. I think she called herself Gaea..."

Hope pistol whipped Nicole in the mouth. "You all saw! She tried to attack me. We're adding that to the list of charges."

"But I... Gaea..." Nicole sobbed as Hope put her in handcuffs.

"JENKINS! Get your ass over here!" Hope screamed at the top of her lungs. "Nicole Walker, you have the right to remain silent..."

Days

The moment they had returned to Salem, Chad bolted. He wasn't sticking around for Will to remember what happened to John Black, or the other things Chad had done. No, Chad knew he had to get out of country. It was a good thing Dimera money always managed to speed things up.

When he found his seat on the plane, there was already a woman sitting by the window. He hadn't had time to charter a private jet. Eventually, he would set up a proper flight to Kristen's private island, but until then he just needed out of the country.

"As I live and breathe. If it isn't Chad Dimera."

"Theresa Donovan," he sighed as he sat beside her. He'd read a report on the cab ride to the airport clearing her name. "Sorry about yesterday."

"But not the night before, I hope," Theresa purred as she leaned over the armrest and into Chad's lap.

"You may not be guilty, but you sure as hell aren't innocent," Chad mused. "At least I'm not the only one who felt the need to get out of that town."

"Uh huh. I'm tired of all of those people. So, where are you headed?" Theresa asked before leaning back into her own seat.

"Same place as you. At first. We'll see from there."

"We?"

Chad relaxed back into his seat. "Are you a member of the Mile High Club?"

"I have a lifetime membership," Theresa bragged. Chad grinned lewdly.

Days

"This place is so empty," Will said as he and Eric walked into his apartment. "Sonny is in the hospital because of me. You heard Adrienne. And I... She's trying to take Ari from me. I did abandon her."

"Sonny is in the hospital because he got drunk and hit a cop with a car. You'll get your daughter back, Will."

Nodding, Will saw a knife in the sink and touched his throat. Poor Abigail. She was struggling with her own demons, but the one inside of him led her down a dark path. All the horrible things he did...

"Did you see what happened to Chad after we came back? I lost him in the confusion."

Eric shook his head. He had completely forgotten about Chad.

"This is... This is weird, isn't it? I'm sorry about everything I did. God, I'm gonna say to a lot of people. I did so many things to so many people."

"It wasn't you, Will. It was that thing. That thing inside you was responsible," Eric argued. "And I... I have to accept blame as well. You couldn't control your actions, but I could control mine. I should be the one apologizing to you."

It was Will's turn to shake his head. He reached out and grabbed Eric's forearm, but both men pulled away as if burnt. "Sorry, I just. That thing... All of those men. I was cheating on Sonny before it... This whole thing started because I was unfaithful."

"It came for me first, Will," Eric reminded him.

"And you were too strong to resist it. I wasn't." Will retrieved a glass from the cupboard and filled it with water from the faucet. Eric noticed that his hands were shaking. "If it ever comes back, it'll try for me again."

"It won't." Eric reached out and took the glass from Will before he could spill it, and he kept holding Will's hand even though his body felt like it was on fire. "I won't let it."

Will looked into Eric's eyes. He felt that same pull he had all those weeks in the dungeon, but this time it wasn't shameful or dirty. Eric searched his nephew's eyes, just to be safe. All he saw was Will.

"People will talk. You're my uncle."

"They always talk. And everyone is related in Salem. It was bound to happen sometime."

"I raped you."

"That wasn't you," Eric reminded him, touching Will's cheek with the back of his hand. "And EJ raped Sami and they still got married eight hundred times."

"Don't do anything you don't want to do."

And Eric didn't. When he kissed Will, when the fire in both of them flared to dangerously high levels, it was because he wanted to do so.