That word. That one word that she had said.

'Mistress'. To hear Erica refer to Vanessa Encrae as 'Mistress' caused a massive rage to boil up from within him. Seeing her like this... pleading that he didn't help her because of Vanessa... it caused such fury deep within him.

His eyes filled with anger, and his teeth gnashed together, as he looked off to the side.

"...she is not your 'Mistress'..." he told her.

"And I will do anything and everything for you, Erica." he said further.

"I love you."

At that moment, Gabriel could feel it. He could sense it. Erica was... broken. Vanessa had broken her. For now, anyway. She was not the woman that he knew she was. Because of what Vanessa did, it seemed like their relationship was... in dire straits. At the very least, there was a rocky road ahead of them. And the crushing despair he felt inside his heart was causing some very old feelings to resurface. But they were buried under seething, roiling rage.

He still had enough wherewithal to send for help, though. Whether or not the two of them could go back to what they had didn't matter now. What mattered was that she needed medical help. He took out his cell phone and called the one person nobody thought he would call; Zeke.

"You. Get to Erica's house NOW." he ordered, his tone promising trouble if Zeke wasn't there within the next few seconds. Thankfully, he was. He appeared just inside, and raced over towards where they were, halting abruptly when he saw Erica.

"What the...!?" he exclaimed, as Gabriel looked at him sharply.

"She needs medical attention. Take her to The Unit's medical wing, and let it be known that ANY Erica that ANYONE sees, that ISN'T this one, is an imposter." the archangel told the nephilim.

"An... imposter...?" Zeke asked, unnerved, which didn't seem to help Gabriel's attitude.

"You're not getting her medical attention. Why." he stated, almost darkly, to which Zeke responded by rushing up to Erica.

"Hey, I'm here Erica. It'll be all right." he assured her, kneeling down to her level, as Gabriel started to think about the imposter that was working with Vanessa... who had caused such pain.

Zeke let out an exclamation when he caught that glimpse, and Gabriel looked over towards him.

"What happened?" he asked.

"She... that... I..." Zeke stammered, almost panicked, before shaking his head to mentally slap himself.

"She... she needs help, yes, but... but it's going to be serious professional help. Help that very few people can give." he went on.

"...stop speaking in vague statements." Gabriel growled.

"I'm pretty sure I glimpsed something akin to The Ancient Ones." Zeke clarified, which caused Gabriel to look suddenly stunned.

"...no..." he whispered, looking at Erica again.

Gabriel's pupils shrank when he heard that.

"That book..." he said quietly.

"Book?" Zeke asked.

"Ezekiel, I should convene with the other archangels ASAP." Gabriel responded. "I want to pummel this imposter into the ground, but I think this might take precedence over that." he told him.

"And you need to get her help from... damn it, that Siren conduit is missing-" he then said, as yet ANOTHER piece fell into place. "DAMN IT!" he cursed loudly, looking at Zeke again.

"Get that conduit that works in Media Relations to look at her." he told him. "She needs, effectively, exorcising. On a MUCH grander scale than ANY demon, angel, or GOD." he declared.

Zeke and Gabriel looked at each other when she said what she did.

"...ignoring the 'Mistress' comment..." Zeke growled quietly, looking off to the side, with Gabriel sharing a similar look of disgust. "...it seems like Vanessa got way in over her head." he commented.

"Seems it." Gabriel replied.

"And while it couldn't have happened to a nicer person, this is information that is even MORE alarming." he stated.

"We need to get her healed, we need to rid her of those influences, and she needs to have her head on straight so that she can properly tell us where they might be." he went on.

"..." Zeke was silent, before looking at Erica.

"What can you tell us about where she is?" he asked her.

"Erica!" Zeke exclaimed.

"...she is being held back." Gabriel stated. "...those that still remain under her influence... they CAN speak of her secrets." he said. "However... when they try, they are given a taste of pain. Immense pain. And the pain they suffer is just a taste of what's to come, should they continue to speak." he went on.

"That alone compels them to stop speaking." he continued.

"That's... that's horrible..." Zeke responded.

"That is Encrae." Gabriel replied. "So Erica is gravely injured, she is feeling the influence of omni-dimensional beings, and has some of Encrae's mana within her, still." he summarised.

"She can he helped though, yes?" Zeke asked.

"Her physical injuries can be tended to, the right person can remove the omni-influence from her, but Encrae's mana is an entirely different matter." Gabriel lamented.

"Erica!" both males exclaimed, as they saw her fall unconscious.

"She needs to be secured! NOW!" Gabriel barked. "Like this, she has NO free will, and Encrae can puppet her easily!" he exclaimed.

Zeke just nodded in response, before looking at Erica.

"She... uses demonic mana... not much can counter that... but other demonic mana!" he realised.

"Azazel might be able to disrupt it and stop her from using it!" he went on.

"Do it! Now!" Gabriel commanded him, which caused Zeke to nod and lift Erica up in his arms. He then tried to teleport away, but it was stopped, and he stumbled back with Erica.

"...that damned contract stops you from taking Erica away." Gabe growled, as Zeke grabbed his phone and dialed the first contact that he saw 'Callimachi' on.

"Damn it." Zeke cursed.

"Sorry, Lunet, I thought I dialed Azazel's number." he said.

"Whatever, can you contact him? He needs to be at Erica's home. NOW." he told her.

"I don't have time to explain, but please. Call him and tell him to be here NOW. Erica's life and well-being may very well be on the line with this, and I am NOT exaggerating." he said further. "I'd say Cain works as well, but you said he's busy. Anyway!" he continued.

"I'll fill you in later, I promise."

Azazel looked over towards her, and nodded.

"Right, I'll head there-" he started to say, before Lunet interrupted.

"Just drop everything." she said. "Zeke said her life and well-being were on the line." she added.

That had been enough for Azazel, and he disappeared from where he was, appearing in Erica's home. He looked around, sensed her and the angels, and raced towards where they were, rushing into the room.

"....what the hell!?" he exclaimed.

"If she used her demonic mana to try and escape, can you interrupt it and stop her?" Zeke asked.

"Yes, most certainly." Azazel confirmed.

"Good." Zeke responded. "Do that. I'm getting a medic here, and getting Levi here." he added, as Gabriel shook his head. He then looked to the entrance of the house, wondering if the imposter would show up.

Gabe was silent for a moment.

"I know the truth now." he said.

"It won't last long, I can feel your damned manipulation clawing its way back into my brain." he told her.

"But while I HAVE this clarity..." he then went on, cracking his knuckles. "I am going to make sure YOU regret what you have done to Erica." he told her further, as Zeke stepped forward.

"And if HE doesn't make sure we are rid of you forever, I will." he added, brandishing his sword now.

Azazel, meanwhile, just held onto the real Erica, using his own mana to disrupt hers, whenever it was activating for teleporting.