Chapter XII

"Blood makes you related, loyalty makes you family."

-Unknown

The initial shock had yet to wear off.

But of course, finding out your girlfriend's biological father is the guy who put you in a coma does that to you.

Mitchel could feel his heartbeat thrumming madly. Part of him felt completely terrified. What if Andrea became like him? What if she too grew evil and tried to kill him? What if she already was plotting to?

Stop it. This is Andrea you're thinking of. Don't you dare think about her like that. You know she would never do that to you.

The voice was right. Mitchel knew Andrea would never do anything like that to him. She was a kind and benevolent soul. She had no idea that she was related to that scum, and Mitchel almost wanted it to stay that way.

Almost.

"You see the predicament I'm in, right?" Caleb said, bowing his head.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't still tell her. She deserves to know who's blood she carries in her, even if that person just so happens to be the enemy. They all deserve to know." Mitchel said, turning towards the teen.

Caleb was only a year or two older than him, and yet every time he looked at him he saw a grown and mature adult sitting behind those eyes. Perhaps it was because of everything he'd had to do in order to protect his family. He sighed, clenching his fist. "I- I know, but- but I don't want to hurt her." His voice slowly devolved into a sob.

Mitchel felt his eyes beginning to burn as Caleb started to sob. "I don't want to hurt my little sister. I love her so much! God, I love her so much! She's my little sister, and yet- and yet the one thing that I know she has to know is the one thing I know that could break her! I can't do that to her, she deserves more! She doesn't deserve to be related to that monster! He's caused so much pain, and I- I can't tell her that she shares blood with him!"

Caleb was in hysterics now. Tears stained his face and clothing, and his face was turning red from him trying to rub his tears away. His eyes were already swollen and red. Mitchel couldn't say anything. He barely knew the guy, and now he was breaking down in front of him. So, he did the one thing he knew how to do.

Mitchel gently pulled Caleb to him, wrapping his arms around him. Caleb stiffened slightly. Carefully, Mitchel began to use his powers. He didn't do it often, as it wore him out, but this was a situation in which it was needed.

A warm, yellow glow began to emanate from him. He watched it gently wrap around Caleb, and he slowly began to calm down. His breathing began to slow and return to normal. He slowly stopped shaking and his sons began to vanish. Mitchel tightened his grip on him. "I don't know how to calm people down. So I used my power. It, uh, it's calming you down, and it might feel weird."

Caleb said nothing, instead he simply wrapped his arms around Mitchel. "Thank you. I didn't- I didn't know angels could do this..."

Mitchel nodded. "I could do more as well, but you're not wounded so I can't really heal you completely."

Caleb slowly unwound his arms from around him and sat back. His face still betrayed his pain, but at least he wasn't in hysterics. Mitchel sighed. "You still need to tell her, Caleb. She deserves to know. How would you feel if you were in her place? Would you rather hear it potentially from him, or from your brother, someone you love and trust?"

He debated it for a moment. Then, he nodded. "You're right, Timothy. I had better tell her myself."

Mitchel felt a weight lift off his chest. He did it. He managed to convince him. Mitchel looked up towards the heavens, closing his eyes. Thank you, God.

Caleb slid off the truck bed, his feet crunching the gravel beneath them. Mitchel got off as well, trying not to fall over upon landing. He looked up at Caleb, who was staring off into the forest. Mitchel frowned. "What are you looking at?"

Mitchel turned to where he was looking, only to see a strange figure stumbling out of the forest. As soon as he saw them, a large gust of wind blew past him. The sound of metal clanking on the ground was heard. Mitchel looked at Caleb. His eyes had a bluefish hue to them, and he held his weapon, chains, in his hands. He tightened them, clearly getting ready to fight.

Two more figures stumbled out of the forest. The first figure looked at them. Mitchel frowned. "Can you fight, Mitchel?" Caleb suddenly said, not tearing his eyes away from them.

Mitchel nodded numbly. "I have a blade that I can use."

"Perfect."

Mitchel let his blade slide out of his sleeve. Caleb didn't even flinch. Or notice, perhaps. Mitchel was too nervous, staring ahead at the figures.

Suddenly, one of the figures appeared in front of them. A female. She had pure white wings with golden tips that fluttered for a moment behind her. Mitchel's eyes went wide before he fell to his knees. No way.

Caleb went to say something when suddenly the woman snapped. His body went stiff. She glanced at him, frowning. "A monster hunter? How strange. What are you doing here?"

He couldn't answer, but his eyes held an intense malice in them. The woman sighed, looking down at Mitchel. Mitchel kept his head bowed. He watched as the two other figures feet appeared in his vision. They walked up next to her. Not angels.

"You can stand, you know. You don't have to bow down to me."

Mitchel shot up, straightening his back. He slid his blade back up his sleeve, folding his arms behind his back. The woman blinked at him. Which one was she? It took him a moment to recognize her. He bowed his head slightly. "Faith, it is an honor to meet you."

Faith smiled. "I wasn't aware you had woken up."

"Only a few days ago." Mitchel said, nodding. He glanced over at the other men next to her. "Who are they?"

Faith looked back at them. She sighed. "They're here to help take down Lucifer."

Mitchel blinked. His chest tightened. Oh no. He had risen. That's why they wanted his blood. That's why he was stabbed. Mitchel couldn't stop his body from shaking. His posture relaxed and he quickly wrapped his arms around himself. He felt his legs go out and he fell to his knees. The world around him faded away.

Oh god. Oh no. Lucifer. Oh god.

Suddenly, a sharp pain flared on the top of his head. Mitchel looked up, only to see one of the men standing above him, his hand poised in a way that showed Mitchel he had just hit him. Faith groaned. "Crius, what the hell..."

"He needs to pull himself together. Lucifer, as far as I know, is an enemy that you must not be scared of. From what my brother has told me, he feeds on fear. It makes him stronger, and his adversaries weaker. We have to make sure that the fear that those who are going to fight him is diminished." The man, or Crius, said.

The other man gently pulled Mitchel up. Mitchel, upon standing, backed away from them. He didn't know them, why were they doing this to him? Mitchel glanced at Caleb, who was still frozen. He looked back at Faith, who was busy folding her wings back into her back. She glanced up upon feeling his gaze. "Yes?"

"Can you unfreeze him?" Mitchel asked, looking at Caleb.

Faith blinked. She glanced at Caleb and then looked back at Mitchel. "Why? He's a Monster Hunter."

"Yes, but he's my friend, and my girlfriend's brother." Mitchel said, trying not to show his anger. Who knows what she'd do if he did.

The archangel frowned. "Fine. I'll trust you."

She snapped, and immediately Caleb's body jerked forward. He managed to stop himself from hitting the ground. Caleb straightened himself up. He tightened his grip on his chains, hatred still burning in his eyes. Mitchel looked at him, shaking his head. Caleb frowned. But, he eventually nodded. He muttered something under his breath. Mitchel watched as his chains flew into the palm of his hand, vanishing.

"You, Monster Hunter, do you have a reason to be here?" Faith asked.

Caleb was great at hiding his anger. Mitchel wouldn't have known how angry he was had he not seen it glinting in his eyes. "My little sister is here, I'm not leaving."

The Crius guy frowned. "What's wrong with him being here, Faith?"

Faith sighed, crossing her arms. "Monster Bu tees are notorious for hunting down the supernatural, even though they're all half-angel."

The other guy nodded. "I've been on the run from them for a while. They don't know what we are, but they've been chasing our kind as well."

Caleb scowled. "The only reason we did that in the past was because you hunted down humans. We only intervene now when supernaturals like you threaten the existence of humans with no idea that you even exist!"

Mitchel had never seen him so angry. He could almost feel the anger seeping out of him in waves. Faith sighed, shaking her head. "Whatever you say, Monster Hunter."

The other man looked at Caleb. "Is your sister a Monster Hunter too?"

Caleb shook his head. "She's one of the Daevas, and is you even threaten any part of her, Faith, then I will not hesitate to break the treaty we have."

Faith sighed. "Just great. This is perfect."

Mitchel frowned. "What's wrong with Andrea being a Daeva? Is it because she's Xezal's blood?"

The arch angel shook her head. "No, it's- it's something else."

Crius sighed. "You should tell them."

Faith looked down, her face contorting into a frown. "It'd be better to tell everyone. Everyone involved in the prophecy."

Mitchel frowned. "P-prophecy?"

Caleb sighed. "Alright. Mitchel, give everyone a call. I'll round everyone up inside the house."

Mitchel frowned as he looked at the rest of them. They walked into the house, leaving Mitchel standing alone. "Wait, what do you mean 'prophecy'?"

****

And so there's that.

What do you think? What does Faith have to say about the Daevas? What about them being related to Demons?

There's also been more insight into the Hunters, which I think is important. I'm also thinking of doing a spin-off on the Monster Hunter Society, which I feel is something that has a lot of messed up history and is in need of more light.

In fact, I think I'm going to start working on it soon.

I'll give more insight into that later.

Anyhow, I hope you are enjoying these daily updates! I'm trying to get this finished. It's been like two years and honestly I need to finish this. I feel bad for keeping it unfinished for this long.

I'll see you guys later!

-Paige