"So, he was cryptic and left in a portal? Sounds suspiciously like him." Nora notes looking around the room, "So, he tells the whole town to get out and throws himself into a portal? Anybody seeing the not-logic in that. I believe they call it lunacy."

"Sounds like his father." Troy says cleaning his gun in the corner. He looks up to them, "We need to find his...husband before he gets back. Does no good to re-ensoul him without his actual body."

"I've got an idea as to what to do about the Hybrid thing." Porter says with a prideful tone, "I want to wait for Eva and Charlotte before I say anything definite. Like Grandpa says, we need to actually find him."

"He'll find us." Micah says softly, "It's what he does. Finds people and murders them."

"You did actually kill him first." Jason adds.

"Semantics." Lucas smirks, "So, he rips David out of the afterlife because that works so well."

"Astrid is 'the one who sees' and she couldn't see anything." Porter says with a worried tone. Porter is beyond worried but he trusts Perry. He has no reason not to. It's a genius move but also a risky one. He clears his throat, "David is the main concern. I can fix him."

"There's nothing wrong with me, not with any of us!" David says calling their attention to the door. He smirks at them, moving into the room, "My best Storm from X-Men."

"So much for finding him." Willa says softly.

"I've always liked you. I'll make your death quick. Shall we start?" He says moving towards them.

                                                                                                    -

I step out of the vortex, into what appears to be a heavily wooded area.

I can feel the difference in the dimensions. I honestly never thought I'd say that. This is so weird. I realize it's like the plane I was in. It feels identical, though not the same. This plane feels darker and less peaceful. The darkness and the quiet is comforting.

I feel like I have to keep moving.

I start to walk again and fog begins to move over me. The fog dissipates slightly and I see figures moving through the trees. I realize what this place is. I've felt it before. I've heard of this place.

Purgatory.

The figures are lost souls stuck on this plane, unable to move on. Though, the biggest misconception is that Purgatory is just that. It's also a byway towards the afterlife. A connecting plane. Souls not only get stuck here, but they pass through it for peace.

I realize that five figures stop in front of me.

As the fog rolls back, I see them clearly.

Kai, Portia, Finn, Alan and Grandmother.

My heart skips a beat.

"I wish I had time. I just don't." I say softly.

"We know why you're here." Grandmother says warmly, "And you've come to the wrong place."

"He's not here?" I ask, "Where is he?"

"Not gone." Finn says quickly, "Not truly."

"You're scaring me." I move towards them and they begin to fade. I stop in my tracks, "Are you illusions?"

"No," Alan says, "Your body upsets the balance. This place is meant for souls. Your presence here complicates the magic."

"So, what? One of you has to know where he is." I say as my eyes bounce between them. They land on Portia, "You know."

"In a far darker, far more insidious place." Portia says with fear etched into her face, "You can't go there. You can never go there."

"The Nowhere man."

"He's not a man. He is the Prince of lies. The deceiver. The corrupter." Grandmother hisses, "You must turn back."

"You have to know that's not going to stop me."

"Yes, we do. But know that where you're going, we cannot follow." Finn's voice is strained, "I know he means much to you, but if he's there...there may not be hope."

"You may be treading on darkness for no reason." Kai adds, "I know you want to save everyone, especially him, but descending into the seven circles—it's not something you can just do. It has consequences. He may not even be David anymore."

"He's not going to stop. It won't change his mind." Alan says with a look of pride on his face. A look of worry follows, "The place you're going is deep and has many lies. You will see things that aren't real. Things that can never be real."

"But there are things, in the darkness, that are very real." Portia says grimly, "You've moved so far away from darkness. To march into it..."

"I don't care!" I shout, causing the figures around to stop moving. I stare at them, "I know him, the Nowhere Man, the Prince of Lies. I know him well. He can't hurt me, not anymore."

"You straddle the line of idiocy and bravery." Grandmother says angrily, "He can twist you, use you and when he's done, there will be no more."

The fog disappears completely and a darkness begins rolling in. I know the darkness, it's the darkness I seek. I can see the other souls fleeing, running to find shelter. I turn back to the souls of my fallen and they nod to me before disappearing.

I turn and march into the darkness.

Finally into the abyss.

                                                                                                      -  

Charlotte, Eva and Parker traverse the desolate town in search of gear for the babies.

Charlotte uses her powers to short-circuit video cameras and open doors. They two have moved from store to store before landing at a small antique shop on the far side of town. While they don't find much baby supplies in the stores, they do find two antique wooden cribs, a changing table and a pair of rocking chairs.

Parker loads the furniture into his truck while the girls stay in the store. Eva watches Parker leave and Charlotte notices as she turns from her and runs her finger over a marble-topped table.

"So, it's scary, huh?" Charlotte asks with a low, tempered tone.

"Yeah, I'm worried about Perry. He just—do you think he's on his medication? It seemed so erratic."

Charlotte turns to her, "Not what I meant." She smiles and moves over to Eva, "You're in love with Parker...again."

"Not love. Infatuation."

Charlotte stares at her, "You admit it? That you're infatuated with another woman's husband?" She asks.

"I never said I was proud of it! I just realized that being close to the supernatural life is different than immersing myself in it, you know? I love you and Perry but I don't envy you. Being a vampire was...it made me realize exactly how much I want to be human. How much I treasure it."

"Human? Thanks."

"Not what I mean." She sighs, "A normal life. A life that doesn't include darkness and gloom. I spent so much time away from this life and while I love being back and being with the two of you, I just don't want this forever."

"I feel that way, too." Charlotte confesses, "I want normal sometimes."

"So, where does that leave all of us? Going in separate directions? It didn't last." Eva laughs, "It never does."

"Can we talk about the real injustice here?" Charlotte asks. Eva stares at her and she speaks, "David and Perry are having kids before us. Some days, I wonder if it's better him than me."

"Yeah, I'm really not in the mood for stretch marks."

The two of them laugh as Parker returns. He eyes them suspiciously and the two stop laughing.

"What's going on?" Parker asks.

"Nothing." They say at the same time.

                                                                                                        -    

Something I never expected happened.

As I walk into the darkness, I'm glowing like a beacon. I can feel the darkness is pushing against me and the strangest feeling is that I feel the light in me pushing back. I can feel flickers around me, light the way as I go.

The souls seem to take notice of me. Apparently light is jarring when you live in constant darkness.

I hear a voice in darkness, babbling. My heart jumps as I realize whose voice it is, who I'm actually hearing: David. I begin move towards the voice and realize that I hear my own footsteps, as if they're running over cement.

A cold chill runs the length of my body as everything goes silent.

"Dave! Listen, if you can hear me, you have to give me a sign."

There is only silence.

"David Gilbert, I swear I will light this whole place up and alert every evil thing here."

Immediately after my declaration, the babbling starts again. I move towards it, coming upon a crater. I can hear the babbling clearly.

'All ye who enter, abandon all hope'

I move into the crater without hesitation. As I pass the initial caveat, flames shoot up and dance around it. I stumble forward, stopping as a pair of hands grab my shoulders. I'm startled by David's sudden appearance. By his appearance.

He has been stripped bare with only a layer of dirt and grime acting as clothes. There are scars all over his body and his eyes are coal black. He looks to be straining, as if he's in pain. I can see him being ripped apart.

"You—you shouldn't be here. Are you real?" He asks.

I nod and latch onto him. I thought I wouldn't see him again, not like this. I can feel my body melting into him and then it occurs to me that I'm not hugging a physical body, I'm hugging his soul.

He's incorporeal, which means something is off.

David pulls away and looks around, "You're stupid and irrational. This is irrational! You have to—ugh!" He begins to convulse as he steps away from me, "I can't—he's here, in here with me. Inside of my soul."

I stare at him, realizing that the Nowhere Man has found a way out. I expected as much. I cannot leave him here and he counted on that. I may posture but deep down I knew I'd come here. 

He did too.

"I know." I say angrily, "You're coming with me, we'll figure this out later."

"No! You're—he can't leave! We can't do that. I can't do that."

"Trust me."

"I do but not now. Not now."

"What are you saying? We don't have time for this. The strain of being here is starting to mess with my mind." I say clutching my head.

The force I'm exerting by just being here has begun. The strain is bearing down on me. The light in me is pushing back but the strain of it has begun to exhaust me. My physical body isn't supposed to be here and certainly not this long.

"You have to leave here...without me."

There's a peace of me that knew he'd say this, that we'd both think it when we came to this point. Even with my resolve, I knew that our morality would be an issue. There's a part that's heartbreaking, but mostly...

I raise my hand and a force wave takes him off of his feet. I can feel the anger rise in me as I stare down at him, "I came here for you! I'm not leaving without you. You want to stay here, in Hell? Tough. You didn't let me stay dead and I won't let you either."

"You wished—"

"I know, more than you, what I wished for. I was there, I felt it." I say angrily, "But life is rare and precious." I gesture towards my stomach, "They are worth fighting for! I should be worth fighting for! I came into Hell to save you!"

He stares up at me, his eyes reverting to their natural state, "I'm not strong enough."

"You want to be strong, please get your ass up before being here kills me." I say extending my hand, "We figure this out together. You once told me that we're in this together, that if we can't—I can't do this without you."

He stares at me and me at him. A moment passes as he grabs my hand and I pull him up.

We are going home.

                                                                                                          - 

The bodies of the gang litter the Gilbert house.

The only fighters left were Nora and Lucas, both of whom lay outside the living room, in the broken glass of the sliding doors. Porter crawls to the sofa and leans against it. His eyes fall to a lifeless Troy, whose trachea has been ripped out. His eyes then fall on Willa, whose neck has been twisted so far around and whose face is frozen in fear.

David walks over and lifts Porter up by his throat, squeezing tight, "Hey big brother. That protective thing you did for Perry always annoyed me. You didn't like me. Must have been like a pill to see me screwing your brother. I'll make sure he sees you first." He smiles.

Porter smiles.

"I like that you're excited for the great beyond."

Porter brings his palm up, shoving it against David's face. David drops him and stumbles back with a smile. As David moves towards him, Porter tosses a potion at his feet that knocks him back. David again moves toward Porter but stops when he realizes that he's not moving faster than he expected. Porter smirks.

"What—did you do?!" David asks, "Why do I feel different? Feel..."

"Human? Side effect of the cure." Porter laughs, "Now you're just like the rest of us."

"Good." Lucas says as they turn their attention to him. He punches David hard, causing him to fly over the sofa and crash into the wall, "I've wanted to do that for so long."

"Good on you." Porter says moving towards the others.

He stops as a flash blinds him and Portia stands in front of them. She surveys the damage and her eyes fall on Porter and Lucas.

"Never send a man to do a Goddess' job." She says throwing her hands into the air. The two sink to their knees, their noses and ears begin to bleed. She smiles triumphantly, "You made the most promising war zone but left no heroes, no warriors. And now I crush you."

I hear her voice from the other side. I hear her gloat about how she's the one who finally beats us. I don't need a gateway to open as I reach through reality and pull her soul from Portia's body. She screams as she falls through the dimensions, all the way to Hell, I hope.

I fall out of the air into what I can only describe as my worst nightmare.

My house is filled with corpses.

A figure stands from behind the couch, surveying the room. His eyes widen as he mumbles the same quote over and over. The same one from Hell. Lucas and Porter prepare to fight him again but I rush in front of them, holding them back.

"It's him."

Both men noticeably relax and take a deep breath as they look around the room. The door opens and our attention turns to it. Eva, Charlotte and Willa walk in and their eyes widen as they see us.

Parker's eyes move to Willa's lifeless body and he pushes his way to her, grabbing her head in his arms. He shakes her, hoping she'll wake up.

She won't.