When Frida finally woke up she found herself bound to a pillar.
"Uh...Wha...What happened?" She said waking up. "Oh man my back. That blade really got me...Hey wait a minute! My wound is...Gone? But how is that possible? Unless...Oh my God am I dead!"
"No you fool you healed yourself." She turned to see Zoe now a full fledged demon floating over her.
"You! Who are you?! And what have done with Manny?! If you've hurt him in body or spirit I swear I'll-"
"Relax I would never hurt the man I love."
"Man you love? Aren't you a little old to be into a fifteen year old?"
"Frida it's me! Zoe!"
"Zoe? What happened to you?"
"I became a full fledged demon."
"How?"
"None of your business. All that matters is you have something I want." She looked down at Frida's chest. "You're heart."
She reached to go inside her chest and rip out her heart only to have her hand burnt by something.
"AHHH! You little bitch! What did you do to me?!"
"It wasn't me! I swear!"
She tried again and again but each time, before she could even touch the skin of her chest something burned her hand. Finally after getting both her hands burned twenty times she gave up.
"Ahh! What are you doing?"
"I told you I'm not doing anything!"
"Well maybe I won't be able to rip out that heart of yours but I bet Manny can."
"You're crazy if you think he'll do that."
"You really think he won't hurt you?"
"I know he won't!
"He really did a number on you didn't he? Can't say I'm surprised, he always was quite the good actor."
"What are you talking about?"
"His little charade, he comes off as this poor, misunderstood, halfling who only wants to accepted but in reality he's a monster. A devil!"
"That's not true!"
"Is it? Tell me did Manny tell you about the day he lost his mother?"
"Yes he did."
"He did? Well did he tell the whole story? Did he tell you about the part where he slaughtered an entire city?"
"What?"
"He was so angry that the council had taken his mother from him, so angry that he wanted make others suffer so he changed into a horrible beast and he killed hundreds of innocent people living in a city nearby. He tore them all apart with his claws like a savage wild animal, no mercy, no one was spared."
"That's a lie...You're a liar...You're a liar! You're a liar! You hear me?! A liar! He would never hurt anyone!"
"Keep telling yourself that but it's true. He killed those people and he will kill again in fact I know who his next target will be. You!"
"I don't believe you!"
"Suit yourself but in the end you'll see I'm right and you'll be dead."
"How Manny could ever love a she witch like you is beyond me."
"Shut up you bitch! Before I loose my temper and kill you myself! You don't believe he's capable of cold blooded murder?! Here! Let me show you!"
She touched Frida's forehead and suddenly a horrible vision filled her mind. The images she saw made her scream and cry, she had never seen such a terrible massacre. Unknown to either of them Tito was watching the whole thing and this was all part of his plan. To give Frida negative feeling of hurt, fear, and sorrow so she would be vulnerable for Zoe to put the shards from the demon mirror in her body so Tito could turn her into a demon and control her. She held up a shard from the demon mirror and brought it toward Frida's eye. But before it could even touch her eye the shard shattered to pieces.
"Wha...What happened?" Zoe wondered.
"No!" Frida cried. "I don't care what you say! Or what you show me! He's not a devil!"
Tito found it rather interesting that Frida was able to break the shard but then again he wasn't too surprised after all she was a heavenly human being, an apostle, a holy woman with the healing powers of heaven and an angel's heart instead of a human one meaning it wouldn't be so easy to turn her to darkness as it would if she was a regular human especially if she was in love with the person they were trying to turn her against.
"Zoe!" Tito ordered in her brain. "Forget her! She's a lost cause! Her holy powers and her love for my nephew prevents me from controlling her! Try to get Manny to join us and then I'll order him to kill her and you two can finally be together."
Zoe smiled at this and vanished.
...
"Frida!" Manny shouted following her scent while running at full speed. His ears picked up the agonizing screams she made while watching the vision. "Hold on Frida! I'm coming!"
He finally made it to a temple, once inside he began sniffing the area for Frida's scent but found that it had disappeared. However he heard the sound of someone weeping. He followed the sound to find Zoe back to her normal self, crying. Her body was covered in scratches, cuts, and bruises.
"Zoe! What happened? Where's Frida?"
"Oh Manny." She wept. "She did this to me."
"What?"
"She used her powers to remove my demonic aura but then she attacked me. She tried to kill me."
"That can't be true."
"It is. She's not like us Manny, she's an apostle."
"A what?"
"A holy being who plans to destroy all demons, spirits, and halflings including you."
"That's ridiculous! Why would Frida want to kill me?"
"Because she thinks you're evil and as an apostle her job is to destroy things she thinks are evil. Regardless if they're good or not."
"No...No! That's not true! She'd never do such a thing!"
"She tried to kill me Manny! She tried to burn me!"
"I don't believe that. You're lying!"
She showed him the burns on her hands.
"No...She couldn't...She wouldn't...At least not unless it wasn't to defend herself. Did you attack her?"
"No! After I captured her she freed me from the dark influence but that was only so I would be weak enough for her to kill me. She's just like every other human in the world. She sees someone who's different and she tries to purge them from our world."
"No! No! Frida's different! She's my best friend! She was kind to me! She helped me! She...She cares about me!"
"That was before she found out what you did to that city."
A cold shiver ran up his spine as the cruel memory of that terrible day. The day his anger got the better of him and he lost control. He turned into a wild spirit and uncontrollably killed all the people living in a nearby city. When he woke up and saw what he did he was horrified.
"How...How does she know about that?"
"Tito told her. You heard her screaming didn't you? That was because he showed her an image of what you did. She was mortified and disgusted. She called you a devil and now she's looking for you so she can kill you."
"It wasn't my fault! I didn't mean to! I couldn't control myself!"
"She doesn't understand that Manny. No human can because they don't know how we struggle. I tried to tell her but she didn't care."
"No! No! No! I'm not listening to this! You're wrong about her!"
"Manny...Face facts. No human will ever truly love or care for us. My own human father didn't want me and every other human in the world hated me! Just like every human in the world hated you. Remember all things they did to us."
Manny's head was filled with memories of human children tormenting him with insults and throwing stones at him, their human parents snubbing him and telling their children to stay away from him, the lynch mobs and hunting parties trying to kill him. It was enough to make him cry but he held back his tears. Zoe sensed his sadness and hugged comfortingly. She brought his lips to hers in a kiss, her lips were so cold and hard like ice but it felt nice. Suddenly he felt something being shoved into his chest which pierced his heart. It was a shard from the demon mirror Zoe had placed in his heart. Zoe's normal facade then melted away to reveal her demon form and she blew another shard into his eye. He hissed in pain but soon the pain he felt from his heart and eye subsided and dark, demonic aura entered his body which transformed him into a demon.
...
"Manny! Frida!" Andrea called.
"Guys!" T.J said. "Where are those two?"
"T.J I'm worried, something's not right."
"Andrea don't move."
"Why? Is something coming? Is it ba-Ahhhh!" T.J was groping Andrea. "You pervert!"
SLAP!
"Sorry couldn't resist." He snickered.
Suddenly a bright light shot up into the sky, exploding and bursting.
"What on earth is that?" Andrea asked.
"I have no idea but I've got a feeling that whatever it is it can't be good."
They ran toward the bursting light, as they got closer to it they could see it more clearly and they saw that it wasn't a light. It was a fire, a red fire surrounding a large demonic looking man with a familiar scar over his eye.
"Oh my goodness!" Andrea gasped. "Is that Manny?"
"Dear God in heaven." T.J said. "He's become a devil."
Then out of no where flocks and flocks of demonic birds came swooping down from all different directions. Andrea quickly pulled at her spear while T.J started cast hexes to destroy them.
"Back! Get back you rats with wings!" T.J said hexing them.
"What do they want from us?"
"They want our eyes!"
"What?!"
"Whoever made these birds took their eyes so they could control them. A demonic bird with no eyes is basically a puppet waiting for someone to pull the string but they're desperate to gain control again so if anything eyes comes near they try to whatever eyes they can get!"
"If they don't have eyes how can they know we're here?"
"Animals have stronger senses than humans especially demonic ones! So with or without eyes they can still sense us!"
"There's too many!"
"We need to make a run for it!"
Meanwhile back in her cell Frida was struggling to get loose. She then remembered that she always kept a hair pin in her hair just in case of emergencies like these. She pulled it from her hair and picked the locks on her shackles. Once she was freed she tried to make her way out, then she heard someone coming. Worried she began running for her life. She ran and ran until WHAM! She bumped right into T.J and Andrea.
"Oh man you have no idea how happy I am to see you guys." She said.
"What happened to you?" Andrea said.
"Zoe tried to eat my heart again but a funny thing when she tried to take it she burned herself."
"She burned herself?" T.J asked. "Are you sure?"
"Everytime she tried to touch my chest something burned her. Is my chest magic?"
"Hmmm...Let me take a look." He said with a pervy grin.
"Oh no you don't!" Andrea said. "I'll check it."
"Be careful, you might burn yourself." Frida warned.
She touched her chest but she didn't get burned instead she felt the sliver locket Frida wore.
"Frida where did you get this?"
"Manny gave it to me. He said that it was a charm that would protect my heart from those who wanted to take it.
"That must've been what burned Zoe." T.J said. "I have heard of special charms that will burn creatures and beings with evil intentions that come near it."
"What relief, good thing I never take this thing off. Thank you Manny. Oh my gosh! Manny! Where is he? Have you seen him? Is he okay?"
"We've seen him but..." T.J trailed off.
"But what? Where is he?"
"I don't know if we should tell you."
"Tell me! Where is he?"
"Alright but you're not going to like it."
They led her back outside and pointed over to a flaming boy changing into a demon.
"Manny!" Frida screamed in horror. "What in the name of almighty is she doing to him?!"
"She's turning him into a devil." T.J said.
"No! Manny don't! Don't! Stop!"
"He can't hear you! And even if he could he wouldn't listen! We're gonna have to kill him."
"What?"
"He's a monster Frida! Once that transformation is complete he'll be more dangerous than his uncle!"
"But if you kill him like this it will send him straight to hell! There has to be another way! Do something! You're a shaman! Can't you change him back?!"
"I don't know what to do! I might be able to help him overcome the transformation but if he's willingly chosen to become a demon then there's nothing I can do. He'll have to be destroyed!"
"No! I won't let you!"
"Frida if he's chosen this then there's no hope for him! You know that!"
"But he doesn't want this! He doesn't understand!"
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because I know him! He's not a devil! He's not evil! He's just sad and scared and angry!"
"But what if you're wrong?"
"I'm not! I won't let him go to hell and so help me God if I have to kill you to prevent that I will!" She screamed with tears of anger coming out of her eyes.
"Frida!" Andrea scolded. "You don't mean that!"
Frida quickly calmed down.
"You're right I don't. I'm sorry but I won't let you kill him!"
"Then what do we do?"
"Let me talk to him. I'm sure I can get through to him, please."
"Alright."
"Andrea! Are you crazy?!" T.J asked her.
"Give her a chance. She might be able to help him."
"Thanks Andrea." She pulled out her arrows and began sharpening them to a point. Once they were all good and sharp she faced Manny from a distance. "Don't worry Manny, I'm coming. I won't give up on you! I promise! I won't let her take you! You hear me Zoe?! I won't let you take him!"
