Tei... if you can hear me, I want you to know that I mean what I'm about to say next. I love you and it's more painful than the loss of my family. Please, please stay away from the rest of my family who's left or... or I'll never, ever consider forgiving you or... coming back to you. Sleep, my love.

The old Nephilim's bright orange eyes snapped open. He'd been through this process before, so he didn't panic like the first time. He knew now he had to wait for the rest of his body to wake up.

"Ohhhhhh shit." He heard a young female squack. "It's happening, it's happening, he's waking up." He didn't recognize the voice. It wasn't his love's. Her final words floated through his brain and it only made him feel happy.

She would come back if he left her family alone. They could start over and live the life he always wanted them to have. One free of humans and angels and Archangels and demons.

Just the two of them.

"Lynn?" He called out with all his strength as he felt his throat wake up. The ceiling he could only see above him was dark brown, as if wooden.

"She's not here," the same voice replied.

"Where is she?" Teivel demanded. He was almost ready to lift his head up to look around. He had a good feeling he was lying inside a house somewhere.

"I couldn't tell you exactly," she continued. "But I hear reports she likes to screw demons now."

"What?" He didn't like that sentence one bit. Not. One. Bit.

"As in, she's got a demon boy toy she keeps around. Honestly, from what I hear she keeps a whole flock of weirdoes with her." The girl continued to create more questions than answers for Teivel.

"Where am I?" He decided to ask as a way to ignore his anger, feeling he could control his neck again. He craned his head up to get a look at his surroundings. He confirmed he was lying on a floor of a home he didn't recognize, not even from Lynn's memories. The floor and walls matched the texture of the ceiling.

The girl who was talking was sitting cross legged on the ground across from him, by the door. Teivel gave her a brief lookover. She could be Lynn's age, with dark brown hair that she held up in a ponytail. Her eyes were blue and were hard to see under her thick bangs.

What he noticed the most was that she seemed unafraid of him, despite her mild panic over him waking up. "This is one of Crowley's hideouts. Heard of him?"

"I have." Teivel couldn't wait to regain control of his arms and legs so he could get up and strangle the girl. He'd put that fear right into her face.

"Awesome," the girl groaned as she got up with only one hand. "Now... I've got a decision to make, so will you hear me out?"

"I have no other choice right now." Teivel admitted, feeling the lower half of his body was less numb than before.

"Fair enough," she nodded. "So you're Teivel right? The infamous angel killer from the Nephilim War?"

"I am Teivel," he confirmed.

"Shit, homie," she gawked. "I think half the world's afraid of you."

"Good."

"You're crazy too I heard, besides being some psycho killer. You're crazy obsessed with that Lynn girl."

"I am not obsessed," Teivel growled. "We belong together."

"Homie, I think she disagrees," the girl shrugged. "But we're getting off topic, Crowley's constant monologuing might have rubbed off on me. I'm Angela Everlyn, but-"

"Angela Everlyn?" Teivel repeated. "You're joking."

"I go by Gel," she continued. "You see this pager here?" She pulled out the small device from the front of her jean pocket. "I'm supposed to push this button when you wake up, and it goes out to four people. Then you've got a second war on your hands."

"Push the button. No one can defeat me." Teivel threatened.

"Didn't Lynn defeat you? Isn't that why you were sleeping?" Gel reminded him of his final moments beforehand.

"She... had help," Teivel decided. The last remaining heir of Merlin turned against him. He ought to go strangle him after this Gel girl, but he almost wasn't worth it.

Gel rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure. So listen homie. I can either push the button to rain down hell, or..." She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Or?"

"Or I don't push the button, and give you a headstart out of here before they find out you're awake." Gel offered.

"Why?" Teivel found this human girl to be so confusing. What were her intentions?

"I've been forced to watch you pretty much the whole time you've been out," Gel admitted. "Crowley has control over me even though he ruined my life."

Teivel could move his arms and hands again. He was able to sit all the way up. Now to wait for his legs. "What has Crowley done?" He asked to pass the time.

Gel sighed. "My family's dead because of him. Also because of him, I can't join them. He won't let me die."

"You want to die?" He just needed to control his legs again and he could kill two birds with one stone, relieve some stress while relieving that girl of her life.

Perfect.

"If I let you go, will you... you know? Kill me?" Gel requested.

"Sure."

Gel seemed to almost gleam. "You mean it? Or are you lying to me like you lied to Lynn?"

Teivel glared at her. Gel started glaring back. "Well then, you should know there's a demon outside who's been wanting to see you."

"I don't actually know any demons," Teivel remarked.

"He says he knows you," Gel said simply. "He said if you didn't believe me... what the hell was it, I'm supposed to tell you something about the friend of Lynn's who looks like a princess?"

Teivel nearly jolted. The friend of Lynn's who looks like a princess was none other than Megan. What demon today would know that? Unless it was...

"Bring him in." Teivel instructed.

"If it promises my death, sure," Gel abruptly turned and kicked away the salt line at the door before unlocking and opening it. She pushed open the white screen door and called out, "Homie says you can enter the club."

What a strange girl. What was even stranger was who he saw enter the house, wearing the same meatsuit after all these centuries. He was tall with hateful green eyes and light brown hair that was now much shorter to match the modern times. Teivel understood well because he had done the same thing. "Rylie?"

The ancient demon grinned. "You're a son of a bitch, Vellie."

Teivel frowned. "You're not wrong."

Rylie snorted from laughter. "I've been waiting for you to wake up. I've got a proposition for you."

"And I've got a death sentence before your proposition," Gel rudely interrupted. Rylie looked down at her, raised an eye and smacked her so hard she went across the bare living room.

"She wants to die. She most likely enjoyed that." Teivel admitted.

"For real?" Rylie spat. "She's just one of Crowley's slave humans anyway. I'm surprised you haven't choked her out yet."

Teivel could start feeling his legs, ignoring Rylie calling out his dark desires. "What's your proposition, Rylie?"

"Let's team up," he encouraged. "You know I always wanted to before, but Michael had me on a leash so I was forced to be on their side. But that was a long time ago, Vellie."

"It was." He agreed.

"You want your little hybrid girlfriend?" Rylie suggested. "I know she stays with the top two people I want dead."

Teivel didn't care who he wanted dead. "Where is she?"

"I can't locate them," Rylie admitted, turning his gaze over to Gel as she got up with another groan. "But I think you can."

"Lynn is untraceable if I don't know her exact location," Teivel hated to say it. He even went through it for six months, searching the entire world for her after the trench-coated angel stole her from him. The worst six months of his life.

"That's where I think you're wrong," Rylie held up a finger. "Think about it. You've got a sick thing for the hybrid girl right? Why is that?"

"What do you mean why?"

Rylie scoffed. "You're a Nephilim, Vellie. Did you imprint on her?"

Imprint?

Teivel had to recall memories. "Isn't that what happened with the princess and-"

Something started happening. Teivel felt a surge of all kinds of things run through him and for some (good) and odd reason it all consisted of Lynn. Her thoughts, memories and emotions felt burning in his brain.

And then Teivel could see her - his love - as if she was standing in the house with them. But she wasn't here and he wasn't there, yet he was seeing her clear as day in his mind. Something seemed to tell him that he was seeing her in the present time in this very moment.

She was standing in a kitchen he didn't recognize. They had never been to any house with a built in breakfast bar. Her dark hair looked shorter than when she kissed him goodbye and it was pulled up into a bun, not a braid. Teivel felt a twinge of sadness over that.

Lynn turned around at the bar to cook on a stove. Teivel could even smell the bacon she was frying up. She was speaking to someone possibly sitting at the bar, but he could only see her. She had dark lines under her green eyes which he finally figured out was makeup. When did she start wearing makeup?

He didn't like it.

"Aw shit," Rylie groped.

"What happened?" Gel asked, bravely rejoining them while rubbing her sore cheek. "Why are his eyes glowing like that?"

"I may have awakened his imprint," Rylie rightly guessed. "Give him a minute and he'll know exactly where his woman is."

"What's an imprint?" Gel wondered as Teivel started breathing heavily, looking down at his hands as if Lynn herself was sitting on them.

Rylie sneered. "I don't know why I'm telling you anything, but think of it as a celestial mark he puts on someone when he meets them. It happens at random and only one time, and he can't control who it happens to. But once they imprint on someone, they'll always know where they're at and all that fun shit."

"Sounds like a celestial knockoff of some Stephenie Meyer story," Gel joked.

Rylie raised an eye at her. "Are you one of Crowley's collar slaves?"

"Unfortunately," Gel reached down to pull her jean leg up to reveal some kind of black collar around her ankle.

"You might be important to him then if he keeps you on a leash," Rylie deduced. "That asshole thinks he killed me, so I'd love to get back at him. Hey Vellie, Crowley's the one who tried to hide your woman from you for a while after you took your nap. He didn't want anything to do with the two of you ever seeing each other again."

"Too bad for him," Teivel replied, lowering his hands and looking back up. "Rylie, are you willing to serve me like I served my father?"

"Holy SHIT," Rylie almost squeaked. "Of course Vellie. I know you can kill me without even having to look at me. What do you have in mind?"

Teivel looked at Gel. "Are you interested in using her?"

"Sure, against Crowley maybe," Rylie nodded. "We going somewhere now, Vellie?"

"So... am I dying now or am I getting forced along with you guys? This isn't our agreement, Teivel." Gel scowled.

Rylie snapped his fingers. A moment later Gel's ankle collar came crumbling off. Gel widened her eyes and looked back and forth from her ankle to Rylie. "Holy shit!" She gawked. After a brief moment she tossed the pager to the ground. "I've decided just now. Rolling with you guys sounds better than playing babysitter for Crowley." She promptly stomped on the pager with her shoe.

"We leave now for New York," Teivel announced, a plan quickly forming in his mind. He knew where his love was, and he knew how she felt. Right now she felt normal, at peace. She really did end up liking to cook after all.

She would be cooking for him again before he knew it.

Brooklyn, New York

"What's here, Vellie?" Rylie wondered.

"A Nephilim I want to deal with lives here. Drew Copperfield."

"No way Vellie, he's one of the ones I want dead!" Rylie gawked. "He's part of Lynn and Megan's little gang-"

"Megan Scott?" Teivel realized.

"I guess it makes sense you know them," Rylie made their connection to Lynn. "But the cripple Nephilim really lives here?" He stared up at the tall apartment building. "Vellie, I know you could probably rip all his limbs off, but are you sure you want to do this now?"

"He's not here," Teivel said as he zapped them inside the building and into a specific apartment. "We're not here for him."

"Oh my God!" The voice of Jane Copperfield shrieked. "What is going on here?" She demanded from her tiny kitchen. "Drew?" She called out.

"She's his mom?" Rylie realized. "This is gold, good thinking Vellie."

"Can you stop calling me that?" Teivel asked, stepping into the kitchen.

"What are you gonna do to her?" Gel found herself asking out of concern.

"So you prefer to go by your weird ass name of Teivel?" Rylie wondered as Jane widened her eyes. Gel gulped as she went ignored. Teivel found it pointless to tell him the only name he wanted to hear was when Lynn called him Tei.

"You're Teivel?" Jane gulped. "You're supposed to be asleep."

"I was never supposed to sleep," Teivel argued. "I'm supposed to be with my love, and you're going to help me make sure she returns to me." He didn't waste another moment as he lunged at Jane, causing her to scream.