A ringing in Denzyl's ears woke the demon. Denzyl looked around to find himself lying next to Devyn who was unconscious. The demon quickly placed his fingers on Devyn's neck and checked for a heartbeat. Denzyl released a breath of relief as he felt a steady pulse and stood to his knees as he surveyed his surroundings. A moan sounded from a spot twenty feet to the demon's right. Denzyl looked to see Kilo sit up and rub the back of his head where the demons had rendered him unconscious.

Denzyl brought Devyn's head to rest in his lap as Kilo's head snapped up and swiveled around in desperate search of the one who was no longer present. Denzyl concluded that Castyr had been taken by Hades when he saw Kilo's face fall. Tears moistened the angel's eyes as he hung his head. Denzyl watched, though, as Kilo lifted his head back up and looked around before releasing a deep breath. He seemed relieved.

The demon observed Kilo as a smile came to the angel's lips. He must be talking with his star. Denzyl turned his focus to the man in his lap as the angel conversed with his star.

Kilo's heart raced as Castyr's voice sounded in his head. Kilo, are you awake now?

Where are you? Are you alright? The angel responded as he inquired about his star.

I'm fine. Aklys is making sure I don't die. He shoved some painkillers down my throat. He's an odd demon.

Don't worry. I'll find you. We have the link.

Yaaaaaaa. Why do you think I had us connect in the first place? It was in case something like this happened.

Mmm. My smart star. I love you, Castyr.

I love you, too, Kilo, but you better hurry your butt up. I don't want to have all my light drained out of me when I am only a hundred-and-sixty-four! I am too young to die. Plus, I still have a whole list of places I want to visit.

Don't worry. We will go to all of them. I promise.

Okay. Good. A small pause followed before Castyr said, Aklys is giving me funny looks. He might be wondering why I am smiling after I have just been captured. I gotta go.

Stay safe, Love.

I love you!

I love you, Castyr. Kilo let out a sigh as the star withdrew from his mind. The star's presence was still there, but it was not as strong as when the two were conversing. Kilo's heart pinged with pain as he saw Devyn unconscious in Denzyl's lap. The star stood to his feet and walked over to the demon and human.

"Will Castyr be alright?" Denzyl inquired of the angel when Kilo reached him

Kilo's voice was firm as he answered, "I'll find him. Even if I have to burn all of Hades, I will find him."

A short nod came from Denzyl as the demon approved of the angel's valor and determination to find his star. Denzyl's attention was immediately drawn to the human in his lap as a small moan came from Devyn. The human's green eyes snapped open when he became conscious, and he hurriedly sat up and looked around.

"Oh no! Castyr! He was-" Devyn's voice was frantic as he searched for the star.

"Don't worry. We'll find him," Denzyl assured the human softly as he rubbed Devyn's lower back.

The human looked up at the demon and nodded. "Okay." Devyn calmed himself and regained his composure. Being frantic would change nothing, and Devyn trusted Denzyl when the demon said they would find Castyr.

Denzyl helped Devyn to his feet and interlaced their fingers as a blue flash suddenly blinded the three. The angel, demon, and human covered their eyes as the flash pulsed from a spot roughly ten yards in front of them. A growl left the demon's throat as his eyes flashed red. "What is it now?" Denzyl snarled as he stepped in front of the human. The irritation and willingness to kill to protect Devyn were evident in the demon's voice. All Denzyl wanted was to be with Devyn somewhere safe and warm. This was definitely not how the demon had imagined his day to go.

The three looked toward the source of the blue light to see a man standing in the center of the area of origin. The man slowly opened his eyes and shook his head before staring around in a daze. He had golden tan skin and dark brown hair. Kilo squinted his eyes and took a step closer to the bewildered man. The man seemed familiar to the angel. Devyn tossed the empty gun aside and advanced behind Denzyl as the three cautiously approached the new figure.

The man's eyes grew wide when he sensed the three approaching him. Wings the color of rich chocolate emerged from the man as he prepared to flee.

"Wait!" Kilo called after the man as he moved to take flight. The man slowly turned around, his blue eyes staring at Kilo in trauma and confusion. "I think we've met before," the purple-eyed angel stated. The man just stared at Kilo as if the black-haired angel was a lunatic. "The Transport Tower on Earth fifty years ago," Kilo began. "Weren't you with an angel named Ilios?"

The man looked at Kilo in shock as the angel said the name 'Ilios.' "You know Ilios?" The man inquired with a deep voice. "Is he alright? Where is he?" His expression filled with concern as he inquired about the white-winged angel who was Castyr's commanding officer during the star's fifty years of training as a combat sniper.

Kilo studied the angel before taking a shot at figuring out the man's identity. "Are you Rae?" The purple-eyed angel inquired as he recalled the officer who fought with him in the Transport Tower and kept the demons from following Castyr, Miren, and Ilios onto the transport.

Much to Kilo's relief, the man nodded in response. "How do you know me?" The man remained cautious, but he was less terrified. His true demeanor of strength and integrity was beginning to appear.

"I am Kilo, the angel who fought with you in the tower."

The man's eyes squinted as he observed Kilo only for them to widen when he recognized the young angel. "You are! How did you get out?" The man inquired about Kilo's escape from Hades. 

Devyn and Denzyl remained silent as they watched the reunion between the two angels who had met fifty years ago at the First Battle of the Transport Tower. The human relaxed as he realized the new, mysterious man was not an immediate threat.

"A silver-winged angel helped me escape," Kilo answered when he recalled the night he broke out of Hell. A silver-winged angel with silver-blue hair and honey-golden eyes had found Kilo and transported him out of Hades. Kilo was not aware how the angel had fared after transferring him out of Hades as the angel had been recaptured by demons just as Kilo was transported.

Ahh. So that's how Kilo escaped. Devyn had begun to fit the pieces together. When Castyr and Kilo told Devyn and Denzyl their story, Kilo mentioned he had had help getting out of Hades, but he did not go into much detail. It must have been this silver-winged angel who got him out.

"Me, too," the man responded, much to Kilo's surprise and relief. If the man was also helped by the silver-winged angel, then he must have survived.

"Was he an *Actaeon?" Kilo inquired as he recalled the special type of angel who saved him from Hades.

What's an Actaeon? Devyn wondered as he continued to listen to the interesting reunion.

Rae nodded in confirmation. "He was." It was not long before the blue-eyed angel inquired about his partner. "What about Ilios? Is he..."

"Ilios is in Heaven," Kilo informed Rae of Ilios's status. "He won back the transport tower and returned to Heaven."

Rae's brows furrowed as he processed Kilo's response. "Won back the tower? What do you mean? What happened?"

"The Transport Tower had been overtaken by demons. Ilios won it back in a bloody battle and reclaimed Harlim."

And that is when Kilo found Castyr again after those fifty years of being separated. And those fifty years were when Denzyl and I were in the crypt. Devyn commented to himself as he thought back on the angel and star's story.

A breath left the chocolate-haired angel as he turned his gaze to the ground. "How long has it been?"

"It's been fifty years."

Rae looked at Kilo in shock. "Fif-fifty years?" The angel took a moment to process the startling information. "Where am I?"

"You are on Earth."

Devyn and Denzyl looked back and forth between the two angels as they stood silent and observed the conversation. Devyn's heart went out to the blue-eyed angel. He had just escaped the torments of Hades to find out it had been fifty years and that demons had maintained control over Heaven's Transport Tower during those fifty years until his partner fought a bloody battle in order to reclaim it.

"Earth. Okay." Rae bobbed his head a few times as he adjusted to his location. "Oh, one thing." Rae made eye contact with Kilo as he said, "The Actaeon told me there is a mole in Heaven. Heaven has been compromised."

Devyn raised his brows at the sudden information. Heaven has been compromised?!

Kilo hung his head as he took in the news. "I had guessed as much."

Devyn looked to the black-haired angel as Kilo calmly agreed with Rae. Something fishy is going on. "So, Heaven isn't safe?" The human spoke up. Kilo turned to Devyn and nodded in confirmation. "And this...angel, er, Rae was teleported here or something by an...Actaeon who told Rae there is a mole in Heaven?" Devyn summed up as he tried to process the new information. Kilo nodded silently, verifying the human's conclusion.

Rae's eyes suddenly flashed golden as he smelled Denzyl. The fright of being transported to a new, foreign location had worn off, and he was becoming more aware of his surroundings, thus realizing there had been a demon standing just ten feet in front of him the whole time. "Why is there a demon here?" Rae growled as he scanned the three, his guard raising to high alert. Devyn immediately stepped in front of Denzyl as the demon's eyes flashed red in response.

"It's okay, Major. He is not a demon from Hades," Kilo stated as he tried to calm the angel.

"It does not matter where he is from. He is a demon!" Rae would have drawn his sword from his back if it were not for the fact that a scar peeked out of the angel's shirt and ran up his back. This signified that his sword had been cut out of his back during his time in Hades.

"He saved Castyr and me," Kilo defended Denzyl. "Major, please."

Rae looked back and forth between Kilo and Denzyl a few times until his eyes eventually returned to their stunning blue. Rae continued to study the demon apprehensively as Devyn's breathing slowed to its normal pace. The human was ready to put up a fight. Devyn refused to move an inch until Denzyl nudged the human to step behind him.

Devyn watched as Denzyl stood in front of him and bowed to the blue-eyed angel. "I am Denzyl of Sendrum." Kilo's respect for the crimson-haired demon rose as he saw Denzyl extend a greeting with peace.

Rae's eyes widened as the demon bowed his head in respect. No demon had ever attempted to be at peace with angels. "Rae," the angel responded cautiously before relaxing his body in a sign of peace. "I am Major Rae Lyndem of Heaven's Division of Defense." The tension that had built suddenly slowly waned as the angel and demon came to a truce. "So, uh, why are we out here?" Rae inquired as he gestured to the vast fields surrounding the group.

"Castyr and I were going to go back to Heaven...but..." Kilo's voice trailed off as his eyes swelled.

"Castyr was taken by Hades," Devyn answered for the purple-eyed angel in a soft voice.

"Castyr...the star? The one that was with Ilios?" Rae inquired as he recalled the small, silver-haired boy that Ilios fought to protect at the First Battle of the Transport Tower.

Kilo nodded before asking, "Did you and Ilios bond with each other?" It was common for angels to bond with their partners to create a strong connection and improve their partnership.

The angel nodded before hanging his head. "We did bond, but I have kept it off. I did not want him to go through any pain."

Kilo understood Rae's decision. He would have done the same but hoped that Castyr would not cut him off completely during this time of separation. Kilo would gladly take the pain if it meant he could still feel his star's presence. "Maybe you should open it up and contact him," Kilo suggested to the blue-eyed angel, whose eyes lit up at the thought of finally hearing his partner's voice after fifty years.

Rae smiled at the suggestion, revealing dimples in his cheeks. "I'll do that."

"But not here," Devyn interjected. "Let's get somewhere safe."

"Back to the company?" Denzyl chimed in quietly as he inquired of the human beside him who looked up and nodded.

Devyn smiled up at Denzyl softly before agreeing, "Back to the company."

Actaeon - An ancient type of angel who specializes in weapons, particularly archery. An Actaeon can summon any holy weapon if he/she knows the name.