Samedi was mixing something in a stone bowl when he felt the presence of Seed and turned as it entered through the door, swaying as if lost in the euphoria of a kill. Seed's face took on more of Charlie's, with blood covering her cheeks, lips, and chin. She licked her lips and hummed as she stepped deeper into the room.

"You've returned quicker than I expected." Samedi's eager smile looked the demon up and down. "Did you kill all of Angel's friends?"

"One has fallen." The demon's voice spoke with Charlie's lips as it looked over at Angel. "Another, however, fired at me, and despite what I am, guns can still kill me. Besides, I wanted to show Angel the blood." In their minds, Charlie struggled to keep Seed from revealing what she'd done to save Shrapnel, and to do so, she had to let it focus on Angel.

"You are truly evil, princess. By all means, tease Angel before you kill him." Samedi smirked. He didn't care about Bible's order now. Removing Angel was the priority now.

Angel tried to move back against the wall, but the pain in his body caused him to cry out and slump back down. He watched Charlie, distorted by the binding spell, stalk towards him again. Seed's black hair flowed around Charlie's face, and her eyes burned with hatred. It spoke—with malice—in Charlie's human voice, "You kept me like a bitch all these months, made me do your bidding, and pretended to love me so you could fuck me and to make me follow your orders. You are an impotent prick. I can't express how much fun I'm going to have ripping your guts out and drinking your warm blood!"

In their shared minds, Charlie wept. She was losing control; the strength of the amulet wasn't enough, and Seed cursed Angel in ways that tore into her soul, as it wanted them both to suffer deeply.

Angel! Charlie screamed as Seed opened its clawed hand wide and reared back, and she knew it meant to rip off Angel's head.

Suddenly, Seed screamed again, stumbled back, and reached up to feel for the amulet around it's neck, which had begun to throb and glow violently. For the first time, it finally realized there was something physical against it's neck. "What is this? What have you done to me?" It grabbed at the amulet and hissed as the amulet burned it's palm, almost as if biting in defense. The pain raced through the demon's soul, and Seed shouted loudly in Charlie's voice. "You will never have control again, bitch!"

Yet, Seed stumbled as Charlie fought from inside. You will never hurt my Angel!

"What are you waiting for, bitch? Kill Angel!" The command from Samedi was enough for Seed to overpower Charlie and the amulet. Seed laughed as it felt control return and moved in for the kill as Charlie screamed in panic in their heads.

"CHARLIE! STOP!"

Seed paused and turned towards the source of the commanding voice to see Cassie leaning against the door of the altar room, wounded and weak. The momentary distraction gave Charlie a chance, and she pushed forward in their minds to grab Seed by the metaphysical neck. Internally, the two began to struggle for control.

Samedi spun upon hearing Cassie's shout. Raising his right hand, his left gripping his necklace, he pointed towards Cassie and began to utter a spell, intent on silencing her. He didn't get the chance.

Catching Samedi's movement, Cassie turned her eyes his way, now glowing a soft aura of green. As if another were puppeteering her, she raised her hand and flicked her fingers towards him, as if dismissing him. Samedi screamed as he was flung by an invisible power, crashed against the wall, and fell unconscious. Cassie turned her attention back and saw that Seed seemed to have control yet again, having won the internal battle with Charlie. With the command to kill in control, Seed reached down for Angel, lips snarling.

The power that Cassie felt inside told her what needed to be done, and she felt confidence—confidence that had not walked with her since they'd landed in Libya—give her hope. With her eyes glowing brighter, she yelled, "Charlotte Morningstar! Remember who you are!" then shouted out the spell she had prepared all those many days earlier when she'd first given Charlie the amulet, now modified to focus on Samedi's binding spell: "Remitto te, Charlotte Morningstar, ex ligatura Samedi!"

Seed paused as it loomed over Angel and tilted its head. Under her shirt, Charlie's amulet once again sparked, and this time it sent that energy downward into the vial below. Inside the vial, the dark orange powder that Cassie had filled that first day burst into flame. Red and gold-colored energy spread outward and coated Charlie's body, then expanded like a wave outward to wash the room in it's brilliant glow. As the energy raced over the room, it's energy was like a tidal wave hitting the rocky shore. It blasted through Samedi's altar, all but obliterating it. The energy swam against the walls and ceiling and destroyed Bible's secret camera. Yet, when the wave hit Angel and Cassie, it bathed them softly and moved on. The explosion of energy pushed Seed's control back down, and it screamed in pain and rage as it was swallowed back into the recesses somewhere deep in Charlie's soul. There, it flailed about before it was locked behind a proverbial black door, which then faded into nothing. Charlie fell to her hands and knees, steam rising from her body, but yet she shivered as if stuck naked in a snow storm.

The room grew deftly quiet. Cassie, with nothing left in her—all her magic depleted and pain taking over—fell against the wall by the door and drooped her head. "Please work," she whispered.

"Ch-Charlie?" Angel opened his eyes after having to tightly close them due to the intense explosion of colored energy that the amulet had released. He swallowed hard. The fear he felt that first night they'd met, returning full force, "Are you okay?"

When Charlie lifted her head, Angel felt his body tense as he stared into eyes of pure white. No pupils, no irises, just white light. Then Charlie began to crawl his way, her body movements jerking spasmodically. He watched her horns recede into the shape he'd always known, her split tails merge back into one, her face seemingly softened into her demon-hybrid form, and her claws clicked on the stone as she edged towards him. When Charlie reached Angel, her blond hair lifted on its own and wrapped around them, shrouding them from everything else. Angel felt her cheek nestle against his, and her warm breath was soft and inviting. Her next words made him cry.

"It's me, Angel." Charlie's voice washed along his ear softly, and he felt her lips brush his cheek in the softest of kisses. "I promise."

Angel wept, and the incredible sense of relief that washed over him nearly drowned him. He felt her hot tears mesh with his as she propped her forehead against his, also sniffling in tears. They felt time stop for a moment.

Samedi, however, having regained consciousness, interrupted that moment. He pulled himself up by what was left of his altar and came to stand in front of it. He looked over angrily at Angel and Charlie against the wall. "KILL HIM, YOU FUCKING BITCH! YOU BELONG TO ME!"

Angel felt Charlie tense against his forehead, and a low growl started in her sternum. Charlie pulled away from him until her face was in front of his. Now, her eyes pulsed, glowing crimson-red, and her yellow pupils thinned to familiar snake-like slits. He watched her lips twitch, one corner lifting in a snarl, and her canine teeth sharpened. She growled louder now, with unfettered rage. Loud enough for Samedi to hear, "I also made another promise!"

With a speed beyond human ability, Charlie stood and turned hard and fast. Angel watched her right arm change color, turning maroon red, with golden lines of energy swirling from her shoulder to her wrist, and grow long—longer than should be possible. As it grew and she spun, the fingers became talons the likes of an eagle, and her voice shrieked like one as well. With a single swipe, Charlie Morningstar tore through Samedi's neck, severing it just above the shoulders. Angel and Cassie watched as Samedi's head flew into the far wall, smacked into it, and burst apart, clumps of brain matter and skull bone spilling onto the dusty floor with an audible splat. Samedi's body stood for a moment, as if frozen in time, before it crumbled to the ground in a bloody pile, with his necklace falling to the side, severed in two.

"Fuck yes!" Cassie whispered from the doorway. "That's our girl!"

Charlie found herself feeling no remorse for killing Samedi, something that had been on her mind for days, and while sometime in the future she may question that, for the moment all she cared about was her family's safety. Charlie's eyes lowered to take in the view of her distorted arm, and she flexed the talons at the end. "Dad never told me I could do this." She concentrated, and her arm returned to normal. Charlie wiggled her fingers for a moment, intrigued.

Angel's sudden coughing caught Charlie's attention, and she ran to Angel. "Hold on, my love!" Charlie flicked her fingers, and the chains snapped under the force of an invisible power. One Angel had never seen her do, before. Angel fell forward, and Charlie caught him and eased him down. "Are you okay?"

"I am now." Angel smiled up at Charlie. "I thought I'd never see you again."

"I'm so-so sorry, Angel. I should have been with you. I am supposed to be your armor!"

"My armor?" Angel winced in pain as he tried to sit up against the wall.

Charlie blushed. "Something I sang about. That I would always be there to protect you, and yet all I ever seem to do is fail."

"You've never failed me, princess. You've done so much and saved so many lives." Angel caressed her cheek, pulling her close. "And you saved me tonight. You are my armor. And, more than anything, I love you, Charlie Morningstar."

"I love you, too, Angel!" Charlie cried as he pulled her into a kiss, full of passion and love. Charlie reached up to pull him closer, but he winced, and she broke the kiss. "Oh, my. I forgot. You're a mess!"

"We all are," Cassie said as she pulled herself up and limped over. "I don't suppose you have any magic left?"

"For my family? Always!" Charlie helped her kneel next to Angel, then closed her eyes. The two watched her body glow brightly as her wings extended from her back and came around to wrap them in a sort of shroud. With power called from her soul, Charlie bathed the three of them in a soft white, almost maternal glow. She opened her eyes as the energies floated around them, "I really don't know how I am able to do this." She began, then added, "I never could back home."

"Charlie?" Cassie looked at her.

"I remember. I remember everything." Charlie smiled. "I don't know how or why, but I have my memories back."

Angel felt his body growing strong, his breaks and bruises fading. "You're whole again."

Charlie nodded softly. "I remember my father. My mother—Lilith—it was her power I felt inside me when I sang on the roof. I remember my friends. I remember the life I had there. I remember… me."

"Somehow, breaking the binding spell must have triggered something and unlocked your memories," Cassie ventured.

"I don't know." Charlie flexed her wings to wrap tighter around them as her power finished healing all three. "But what I do know is that I'm home." Charlie smiled but tilted her head at Cassie. "How did you save me?"

Cassie motioned for Charlie to bring out her amulet, and Cassie took it into the palm of her hand. "I didn't explain everything to you the day I gifted this to you. That was on purpose, so if you were bound, you couldn't tell your master. But the crystal did absorb your energy, as I said it would, collecting a part of you for safekeeping. It was meant to help you keep control of yourself should you be bound."

"It did. Without it, I wouldn't have been able to fight back. I was trapped in the back of my mind when Seed took over and controlled my body. The amulet sparked a few times, giving me a piece of myself back so I could fight it from the inside."

"While I didn't expect there to be something else inside you, Charlie, the amulet still did as I planned." Cassie smiled. "But I never did tell you about the powder. It was one of my rarest and untested, but it was designed to break spells. When I called out the breaking spell, coupled with the moonstone's collected power from you, the powder erupted and did its job. Better than I'd hoped, honestly."

"Amazing, sis." Angel whispered as he reached out to touch the amulet for a moment.

Charlie smiled and embraced Cassie. "Thank you, dear sister. You saved us."

With an equal grip, Cassie held Charlie and sniffled, "I will always be here for you."

As the energy of the healing ebbed, Angel cracked his neck and felt whole again. "So, Charlie, any other tricks you have up your sleeves?"

"Well." Charlie smirked. "I think I've gotten the hang of chess."

Angel grinned. "Well, we do have one last piece to take off the board, and I think it's about time we finish this."

"Hmm. In that case," Cassie took Charlie's amulet back into her hand and closed her fist around it. Charlie and Angel watched green energy flare around Cassie's eyes and saw her hand glow brightly. When the energy faded, Cassie let go of the amulet, and it dropped between Charlie's breasts. "That should give you another—" Cassie stopped talking and lifted her head, her eyes distant.

Angel caught it. "Sis?"

"I feel the others. I feel them through the Ley Lines." Cassie looked to Angel. "I found my power when I fought Rygen, and now I can feel the lines as if they're a part of me. They found the children, and they're getting them out."

"Go to them!" Angel nodded to Charlie, who pulled her wings back and folded them away. The three stood up, and Angel continued, "I'm guessing Brute flew you all here?"

"Yes. The plane's about an hour from here, and I don't think Charlie can teleport all of us."

"I can't." Charlie frowned.

"Then we'll round up Jeeps. We have six who can drive. I'll get things organized with the team. You two go take care of that fucker."

"Oh, we will." Angel nodded and looked at Charlie. "Are you ready for this?"

"Yes." Charlie's eyes pulsed, and her smile showed confidence unlike any she'd felt before. "And I have a plan!"