Lyle nodded.

"Yeah." he said.

"I think you're right." he agreed.

He then thought about it, and how she had called Angela 'Ms Edwards'. He'd sworn he'd heard Erica refer to Angela by her name several times in the past to several people before. But he wasn't involved in any of those conversations, so he dismissed it as mishearing it.

They made their way to the med wing, and he sighed.

"...um..." he mumbled, looking around for someone to talk to about this.

He smirked as he could see her breaking.

Slowly.

But it was there.

"Heh." he chuckled.

"You demons aren't as indestructible as you think." he said.

"Not as clever, either." he went on.

"It was a cinch to spirit you away when your guard was down." he then taunted her.

The man just roared with laughter.

"Of course I'm not perfect!" he said.

"But at least I'm better than YOU lot." he told her. "You've done SO much to degrade yourself, it's only natural that it would come to this." he went on.

"And is this is a plan, and there are people tracking you, good luck to them." he continued.

"We have... special precautions... in place, to make that nearly impossible." he informed her.

"Only those that we allow entry will find this place, and they will soon be absorbed into our ranks." he continued, before pausing.

"Like that Fyrane escapee." he said. "...or that necromancer you seem to have feelings for..."

He just chuckled.

"Cold." he said.

"But fair." he shrugged.

"As for what use you'll be... well... we know you're not on good terms with Hell." he told her.

"However, we DO know that you're on good terms with some that ARE in good terms with Hell." he went on.

"Long story short, you'll be point zero for a converted demonic army." he chuckled.

"One that will exterminate the filth on this planet."

He just sighed.

"That's ONE goal, anyway." he said.

"But..." he went on, looking around, before leaning in close.

"You'll also be useful in manipulating that Erica girl." he told her.

"Your mana should be quite handy in changing and manipulating HER'S." he continued.

"Basically, you'll be making a fine guinea pig even BETTER."

He just sighed.

"Your will is strong, I admit." he said.

"But you WILL be broken." he told her.

"SHE will make certain of that." he assured her with a growl.

"For now... enjoy a slightly higher dosage." he finished, as the thorns injected more poison in her.

This time it burned AND stung at the same time."[/b]

The male looked towards them, and sighed.

"I admit, her resolve is impressive." he said.

"...but she's weakening." he went on.

"Slowly... barely... but she's weakening. I can see the cracks." he assured them.

"She should be fully broken within the week, I would say." he continued.

"Might need to ramp up the process, though."

The male grinned as he saw this happen.

"Heh. Very nice." he said.

"THAT should speed things along nicely." he commented.

- - - -

Ash just sighed as he made his way to the security checkpoint at the Unit. He was stopped by Jake, who identified him.

"Reason for being here?" he asked.

"I have something to tell Zeke." Ash responded.

Ash was then let in, and was told that Zeke was probably in the medical wing, getting treated for injuries sustained from a recent mission. The Fyrane then made his way to the medical wing, where he did indeed find the nephilim.

"You're looking for me?" Zeke asked. "Why?" he asked further.

"...Lilim's gone missing." Ash told him bluntly.

"Excuse me?" Zeke muttered.

"She and I were assigned on tandem missions, and she never met up with me when she was supposed to. And all efforts to contact her have been futile." Ash explained. "So we can only assume she's missing." he reasoned.

"I already told Dani about this, but I know Lex needs to know. But I also know he's not the easiest to get ahold of, so I thought I would tell YOU, so you can tell HIM." he reasoned further.

"That... is fair enough." Zeke admitted.

And sure enough, as soon as he was done in the medical wing, he made his way to the house that Lilim and Lex shared, pounding on the door and ringing the bell, until a sleepy Lex answered the door.

"...yeah, Zeke?" he asked groggily.

"Uncle Lex, Aunt Lilim's missing." Zeke told him right away.

"...I'm sorry?" Lex muttered, now FAR more awake.

Zeke stepped into the home and told Lex what Ash had told him... and to say this did not sit well with Lex would be understating it.

"SON OF A-!" he yelled, slamming his fist into a nearby wall. He then hung his head slightly, and bit his lip.

"Does anyone else know about this?" he asked Zeke.

"Ash, Dani, myself, and now you." Zeke responded.

"......" Zeke was silent, before shaking slightly.

"...damn it." he cursed quietly.

"We'll do all we can to find her, I promise." Zeke then assured him.

Lex didn't say anything in response, and just grabbed his phone, sending a text to his sister.

Lilim's missing.

"....." both Zeke and Lex were silent, before Lex just gestured to the nephilim.

Zeke sighed, and relayed the info to Aimee.

"....so yes, she's missing." he concluded.

"We're going to be doing all we can to find her." he said further.

"...damn it all." Lex muttered.

"How could this happen...!?"

Lex just sighed again, and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Anyway, I have things to set in motion." Zeke told them.

"Mom, Uncle Lex, I'll see you later." he finished, before disappearing from where he was.

Lex was still silent, before his hand clenched into a fist.

"I swear, if something happens to her, I'll..." he started to say, his voice filled with anger, but trailing off.

"I'll..." he continued, his voice wavering slightly now.

"...I don't know..." he then admitted quietly, the anger replaced with sadness.