"I CANNOT SEE! I CANNOT SEE!" Daimon screamed over and over in the most hysterical voice I've ever heard, and I've been hysterical myself in the past. Remember the basement?

It was bright, so Daimon couldn't be blamed for being scared. Eventually my vision settled and I saw the source of the brightness: the sun. No more blue moon in the still dark.

Earth.

"I CANNOT SEE!" Daimon continued, so I looked up at him. He was looking around as if blind. His eyes were red and full of tears. Of course! It's unthinkable how long it's been since he's seen the light.

"Daimon?" I tried to say through his sheer panic. I place my right hand over his hand that was holding my left hand. "Can you hear me? I'm right here."

"Where?!" He screeched. "Sister, I cannot see you! Mel? Colby?" He sensed my touch of his hand.

"Daimon, close your eyes," I instructed him. When Grandma suffered her anxiety attacks, my human mom always had a trick she used that worked to calm her down. After another moment, Daimon listens to me. "Good. You feel my hand over yours?"

"Yes."

"And you feel that you're still holding my hand?" I asked next. The first step is to distract them, usually with easy questions.

"Yes."

"Good. Now tell me five things you can hear." I continued.

Daimon squinted even with closed eyes. "I hear your voice," he started. "I hear... birds talking and water flowing." He looks straight up but his eyes remain closed. "Something is roaring above us. I do not like it."

I also look up to see a plane flying by through the mess of trees that surrounded us. "It's an airplane. It's normal up here."

"Airplane?" Daimon repeated.

"What's number five?" I asked him.

He seemed more relaxed than before. "The breathing of the Nephilim and the imposter."

"...is he talking about us?" I heard Drew ask.

"Sure is." My pen pal Megan confirmed with an irritated grunt. I looked at them both apologetically before finally getting a good sense of my surroundings. We're in the woods or something close to it. A house stands behind Megan, Drew and Cas, who were all staring at me along with Mel and Colby.

"I have only seen pai be the one to calm him down," Melgreth admitted. "That was... good."

Colby looks around. "Where are we, anyway?"

"This is my safe house, in Michigan." Megan answered him, pointing at the house behind her. "Cas wants you guys to stay here for a little while."

"Oh?" Mel said slyly, checking out the house while playing her short brown hair. "All of us, huh?"

"Well, Cas only prepared us for Lynn's arrival," Megan admitted. "We weren't expecting anyone else."

"What is a safe house?" Daimon asked me with eyes closed super shut. He was terrified to open his eyes again, I could sense it.

"A place that isn't where we just were, and it's safe so nobody will bother us." I explained to him.

"A sanctuary?" Daimon assumed.

Megan scratched the top of her head. "If it makes you feel better, sure. It's a sanctuary."

"It does not make me feel better, imposter of the princess." Daimon spat at her.

My blonde friend pouted at my brother but once she realized he couldn't see it, she turned and stormed into her sanctuary. Drew sighed. "I guess I'll do it." He whips his cane around and follows Megan inside, but stopped at the door. There's a salt line below him, and he uses his good foot to clear some away.

"What a sweet little boy, thank you." Mel praised Drew, happily letting herself inside.

"Little?" Drew repeated. "I'm sixteen years old."

Melgreth laughed. "And I am over nine-hundred years old."

"Seriously?" Drew said in wonder as Colby came in next. Did Drew just say he was sixteen? He was fifteen when we had our awful adventure with Gabriel and the Gods. So how long-?

"You'll get used to her," Colby told Drew. "I'm Colby by the way." He introduced.

"Drew Copperfield," he said back. "You're a demon too?" He wondered. I actually never knew Drew's full name until now.

"Unfortunately," Colby shrugged. "Why? You got it out for us?"

"Not you, but I... I had a very bad encounter with some once." Drew admitted quietly, motioning at his bad leg.

Meanwhile I looked at Cas outside. "You really want me to stay here, they have to stay here too." I requested. "They're my people. You know what I mean?"

"I do." Cas shocked me with his answer.

"Thank you for looking after them, Drew and Megan I mean." I said next. "Okay Daimon, lets get inside and get you some sunglasses."

"What are sunglasses?"

I sighed. "Walk slow and careful, okay? Follow my lead." I guide him into the house. "Is there a basement? I need a dark environment for right now."

"Yeah, and it's finished too," Drew said. "This way." We followed him into the kitchen where he pointed at a door that wasn't the back door. "Down there."

"Thanks," I lead Daimon to the door and I opened it. I catch a light switch on the right and flip it, revealing a faint yellow glow from the bottom of the stairs. "Daimon, on your left is a stair railing, like the one from our house. Can you grab it?"

He bravely extends his left hand out and gripped the railing. "Good, now we're going down, be careful." We slowly make it to the bottom, and I check out the basement. There's a leather sofa with a TV across from it, and a pool table on the other side. The carpet is grey and fuzzy. "There's a couch we're gonna sit on, here we go." I get us both seated before I proceed to free my left hand from Daimon's death grip.

"Is it time for the sunglasses?" Daimon wondered, squinting less.

I chuckled. "Yeah, I'm trying to think of what would look good on you." I end up going with aviators, snapping my fingers to make a silver pair appear. "You wear them on your face like someone does with glasses so they can see."

"Are they for the sun?" Daimon guessed.

"Correct, they're special glasses to protect your eyes from the sun and other bright lights." I explained, plopping the aviators over his nose. "Okay Daimon. You can open your eyes, slowly if you want. You'll be able to see."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

Now I can't tell when he opens his eyes since the lenses aren't see through, so I stared at him with a smile until he starts looking around the basement. "Are you okay now?" I asked him.

"Yes," he said, staring at the pool table. "Where is Mel?"

"Upstairs, do you want me to get her?"

He nodded as he turned back, noticing the basement windows. "Are we really back on Earth?"

I got up from the sofa. "Yeah, we are. Just stay here and relax, I'll send Mel down here." I reassured, exiting the basement. Back in the kitchen, I see Colby checking out a breakfast bar. Whoa! That's so neat. Left of the bar was a blue sofa facing the living room. I remember passing by it just minutes ago with Daimon.

"Is he gonna be okay?" Drew asked me suddenly. "The guy who couldn't see?"

"Yeah, I think so. We all need some time to adjust." I said simply. "Mel, are you still in here?"

"Yes my Lady, what do you need?" Mel's short self stepped into the kitchen to join us.

"Can you go down there and be with Daimon?" I pointed at the basement door.

"Of course, I want to check on him anyway." Mel hurriedly trotted over and headed down the stairs. Now I look at Drew Copperfield before I nearly threw myself at him for a hug - our first one I think.

"Where's Cas and Megan?" I asked.

"Cas left, he's good for that," Drew sighed. "And Megan is probably in her room, confused as much as I am about the whole princess thing. Also why did that woman call you my Lady?"

"Never mind any of that," I shook my head, pulling away. "I'm going to talk to Megan, but before I do, I have another question."

Drew shifted his weight on his cane. "What's up?"

"How long have I been gone?" I asked with a small gulp.

"A year." Drew replied simply. "It's 2011."

I placed my fist over my mouth. "I guess I'm sixteen now, too." I decided quietly, while applying the time laws of Hell. I spent one-hundred twenty something years with my Domain family. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

I'm kidding, I never want to return there.

"Guess what I found?" Colby popped up from behind the breakfast bar with an unopened bottle of liquor.

"I knew Megan didn't get rid of it!" Drew scowled. I pardoned myself from them, since I knew Colby was gonna repossess that bottle as his own, and head up the stairs to find Megan. There are several doors down the hallway before me, but only one was closed, so that's the one I chose. I knocked lightly and waited.

"Come in." I heard. I turn the knob quietly and enter the room. Megan was sitting on a bed, hers I'm assuming. It was next to a window that would have revealed a great view, if it wasn't blocked by the many trees and branches hanging down.

"Hey you," I said to her, closing the door behind me. "Mind if we talk?"

"Sure," Megan motioned for me to sit on the bed with her. I wanted to be respectful so I sat on the opposite end, while trying not to block her television. "You okay?" She asked me.

"That's a complicated question for me to answer right now." I admitted with a half smile.

Megan brushed over some of her side bangs. "You have a lot of questions, don't you?"

"Yeah, if that's okay." I nodded.

"Sure! I'll do my best to help you." Megan said warmly. "We're still friends, right?"

"Since 2003," I confirmed happily and she gleamed at me. "But first I wanted to say sorry about everything my brother said to you." I began. "I have no idea what he was talking about though, I promise."

Megan's blue eyes widened. "That guy is your brother?" She acknowledged. "That was JD?"

Holy shit, she actually remembered my letters to her. "No, no. JD was my human younger brother. I didn't know about this brother until I went to Hell." I explained.

"Oh I see," Megan said, looking less confused. "Cas told us what happened to your human family. I'm so sorry."

I shook my head. "Thank you. My sister survived, and she's going to be traumatized forever. More than me, at least."

Megan nodded. "Cas sort of said you and..." She stopped and looked at me nervously. I knew who she meant.

"T." I named for her.

"Got it, T. He said you and T were together or something."

"Or something," I sighed. "Did you know that you've met him already?"

"I did?" Megan said in small shock. "When? Wait a minute, was he the creepy guy who came up to me after school one day asking about you?" She realized.

"Yes."

"NO WAY!" She gasped. "I can't believe I got that close to him without knowing he needed an ass whooping!"

My fists returns over my mouth to hold back a laughing snort. "Do you use your powers a lot now?" My interrogation began.

Megan nodded. "I was kind of forced upon it. Demons and agents of Raphael invaded my school so Cas swooped in and saved me, telling me I'm the Chosen One, picked personally from God himself to protect the planet from evil."

"Tell me you're joking?" I said playfully.

"I wish I was. Raphael wants me dead and he's causing problems." Megan continued. "That's mostly why we came to get you out."

"Raphael?" I realized. "First Lucifer and now him?"

"Raphael wants to restart the Apocalypse and have it end the right way." Megan announced. "So we've been trying to fight back."

That situation sounds intense. "What happened after Cas saved you?"

Megan grabbed her TV remote to lower the volume. Her slight distraction allowed me to notice her shirt, confirming the police box I saw earlier. What's up with that anyway? "We recruited Drew, which was easy once we convinced him we were connected to you."

I felt myself blush which Megan grinned at. I wonder if she was low-key attracted to him too. "Then Cas set up this house for us," she continued. "We hunt sometimes but we trained like hell to learn how to open that weird barrier that kept you trapped."

"I'm very thankful for Cas," I realized aloud. "He's done so much for me and I feel like I haven't been able to do anything back for him."

"I know how you feel." Megan said with an easy sigh.

"What about your family?" I asked next. "Are they okay with you being here?"

Sadness was now apparent in Megan's eyes. She glanced down at her lap before looking out the window. I began to fear the worst and prepared my apology until she said, "I had Cas erase all traces of my existence to them, and had them move away so they'd be safe."

"You mean he erased their memories of you?" I said in horror and she nodded, still looking away. "I'm so sorry. That had to have been a tough decision."

"The hardest one I've ever made yet," Megan looks at me again. "Was it easy for you to put T to sleep?"

I shook my head slowly, afraid of what I'd accidentally say and have Colby or even Drew hear me. Speaking of, Colby is the one who broke the silence. "Dibs on this room for me and Lynn!" He yelled out in the hallway.

"You can't help who you love, I say." I admitted quietly. Megan looked at me as if I'd given an announcement that shattered the world. "What is it?" I asked her, but she just shook her head. "Are you sure? You said it yourself, we're still friends. Just like our old letters, you can talk to me about anything. I won't tell if you won't."

Megan bit her lip. "Got time for a story?"

"Absolutely. Mel's looking after Daimon, and Colby can wait. He's more patient than he lets on, trust me." I reassured, shifting my legs up onto the bed and sitting cross-legged.

"Okay. Well..." Megan took a deep breath. "A little while after we first moved in here, Cas found out that this ancient ass demon named Rylie was trying to collect the Elemental Tablets."

I remember Raquel talking about the tablets. I remember Sachiel, the angel who guarded the Water Tablet. I remember Mel talking about the tablets once, over a century ago in the Domain so I can't recall what she said.

"Cas asked Drew and I if we would help try to stop Rylie and preserve the tablets. We said yes of course, and then Cas enlisted some help from Heaven, this group of angels called The Powers."

"The demon hunters," I easily remembered Raquel's extreme sarcasm. "Their leader scares the crap out of me."

"Oro?" Megan guessed. I nodded. "Well, don't let him scare you anymore. He's dead."

"He is?" Was she for real? Fireball was truly dead? "What about Exarp and the lady with silver hair?" What the hell happened that their leader died? Was this ancient demon super strong?

Megan gulped. "Exarp is dead too. Luna's alive."

Luna must be the lady angel. "Oh no! Exarp too?" I said, feeling sadness. "Is someone going to take his spot?"

"You mean his position in The Powers?" Megan asked back.

"No, as the Counselor," I clarified. "Oh no." Did Angie, my vessel, know Exarp was gone? This is awful, just awful. "Never mind. What happened to them?"

"Rylie was revealed to be working with Crowley, and then Crowley killed him." Megan answered.

"Sounds like something Crowley would do." I shrugged. Strange guy for being the King of Hell.

"Then Oro admitted that they were secretly working for a Goddess, who wanted the tablets for herself. The Goddess tried to kill me and Exarp-" Megan stopped herself.

"He saved you." I nodded. "You ended up liking him, didn't you?"

Megan cast her eyes upon her closed bedroom door before facing me again and nodding. "I feel silly about it because I didn't know him for very long."

I held out my hand to her in an act of comfort. "Something I've learned from my time in Hell, is that love knows no boundaries."

Megan extends her own hand out, so I gently hold it. "You're one of my people now. You and Drew. I'll help you guys with whatever you need me to." I said to her earnestly.

"Thanks."

"Now tell me. How did Oro die?"

"Oh, I killed him after Exarp died. I flew into a rage, blaming him." Megan said bluntly.

"And Luna?" I wondered.

"I guess you could say she switched to our side at the end." Megan said softly. "I haven't seen her in a while."

Someone knocks on the bedroom door. "Babe, you in there?" Colby asked. "If you two are making out, can I watch?"

Megan had a wild look in her eyes. "Welcome to the family, Megan." I said with a nervous shrug, attempting to smile.