“Arc? And you used to make fun of me for coming up with corny names. You should be ashamed of yourself,” V said, lounging in the living room.

Connor threw his arms back in laughter. “We had to protect our identities, and we were young when we picked them. Besides, you have to admit that it’s pretty clever.”

“Fitting? Yes. Clever? Absolutely not,” V said as he admired Connor’s sword resting on the nearby ottoman.

Mr. Au was seated in a fully reclined armchair. Though his face didn’t show it, his eyes were beaming with joy. “It doesn’t stop there. He decided to name the group: The Holy Warriors.”

“I was young!”

“Okay,” V said. “So you’re Arc and Dad is Pops. I get that. But why is Summer Indra? And I’m sorry but you said Trevor goes by—”

“Agni,” Trevor said as he walked down a set of spiraling stairs, Summer trailing behind him.

V sensed Connor’s immediate shift in mood, as if Trevor’s mere presence drained him of his energy.

Trevor’s transformation left V awestruck. That little boy, who was admittedly big for his age, grew into a giant, towering over Summer as they made their way to the worn, faded couch next to Connor’s armchair.

“Agni,” V said. “Got it. So why the names?”

They all shared a cursory glance. “A lot has changed in the years you’ve been gone,” Summer said. “Shortly after your um… death. We started exhibiting certain abilities.”

“Summer has lightning powers and Trevor possesses pyrokinesis,” Mr Au blurted. “My son just showed up in an entirely new body. I don’t think we have to beat around the bush.”

Mr. Au seemed to have gotten more crotchety in his golden years. V stifled a smile. He had already developed a close relationship with the supernatural. This revelation, though surprising, didn’t phase V as much as they assumed it would.

His death and these new powers had to be related, but how?

“Wait,” V said. “Mom told me that her absence caused damage to earth’s physical plane. And—”

“You saw your mother?” his father asked, sitting up straight.

“I did more than that.” V paused for a beat to collect his thoughts. “Actually, now that everyone is here, how about I fill you guys in…”

They sat in silence, enthralled by V’s recounting of the events that took place after his death.

Connor cut V off, just as he was describing his mother’s Ensolian form. “Sound familiar?” he asked, looking around the room.

“Part-timer said his cloak was gold and white,” Summer said. “But yeah, this is pretty similar. So it was an Ensolian that told him about us.”

“Part-timer?” V said, shooting glances at everyone.

“The asshole,” Trevor said.

Connor gave him a venomous glare. “You don’t get to call him that.”

“I can say whatever the hell I—”

Summer placed a hand on Trevor’s forearm while fixing Connor with a look. “Not now.” Though she prevented an eventual blow up, the tension still lingered. “His real name is Melek,” she said. “He’s a demon slayer who came to us eight years ago. Your mom’s true form is close to his description of the being who told him about us. No need to worry. He can be a bit distant, but he’s an ally.”

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“Where is this mystery man?” V asked.

“He’s been out of commission for about two weeks now,” Mr. Au said.

“You’ll probably be meeting him soon,” Summer said. “He paid us a visit a couple of days ago. We told him to take a break, but he lives for this stuff—the only person I’ve met who hates demons more than any of us combined.”

“So he’s a demon slayer, huh. Mom told me that Lucius created an entire order of them. He must be whom Melek was referring to. Connor, I’m surprised you didn’t know right away. Didn’t Lucius give you your mission?”

“A fellow angel gave me my orders, and I was told that they came directly from God himself,” Connor said. “I know of Lucius, but we’ve never had a proper introduction.”

V had always envisioned Lucius as the responsible older brother, but he seemed to take a hands-off approach to overseeing.

“Hold on,” Connor said. “Lucius is your uncle? Does that mean all the overseers are siblings?”

Everyone immediately picked up on the implication. Their collective focuses shifted back to V, awaiting his response with bated breath.

“Yes,” V said. “La’el is my uncle.”

“Was,” Trevor blurted.

Connor scowled. “You don’t know that.”

“Please,” Summer said. “We just got V back. You guys can’t stop fighting for one freaking day?”

“There you go again,” Connor said. “Making excuses for him. Damn it! If this idiot had controlled himself, we wouldn’t be back to square one!”

“Don’t speak to her that way!” Trevor yelled, steam began emanating from his body.

Mr. Au stood up. “Enough.” The room fell silent. He sat back down, locking eyes with V. “We’ve recently been plagued by a serious of stupid decisions. Part-timer killed Aayan after being given La’el’s alleged whereabouts, and Agni here lost his cool while scouting the place. We found a body, but we have no way of confirming whether or not it was him. Our two biggest leads to date have now been reduced to ash. It’s been a tough couple of weeks. Pay them no mind.”

Even though the entirety of V’s ire was supposed to be aimed at La’el, his burning hatred for Aayan never lost its flame. On the car ride there, he ruminated over whether he should reveal his killer’s identity. The logic being that it may detract them from putting everything into stopping La’el, the real threat.

Aayan’s death was all he needed to make his final decision. There was no use in dredging up the past. “So you guys already know that La’el returned in a human vessel?”

“A demon told us,” Trevor said. “It took some persuading, but he eventually revealed everything he knew.”

“Did this demon describe La’el’s new vessel to you?” V asked.

Trevor shook his head.

V sighed. “Mom and I theorized that he’s using my body. An angel named Lance confirmed it. I would have introduced you to him, but he just straight up ditched me.”

Everyone went mute.

“We always knew it was a possibility,” Mr. Au said.

“I didn’t want to believe it,” Summer said.

“We can’t show weakness now,” Mr. Au said. “That thing gallivanting around in my son’s body is not my son. I won’t hesitate. I expect the same from all of you.”

“I know I won’t hesitate,” Trevor said.

“You barely knew V,” Connor said, scoffing. “But you have the right mentality. We can’t fold, not after everything we’ve been through.”

Their resolve was moving. V wondered if he could go through with killing someone wearing the body of one of his loved ones. He allowed the hypothetical to come and go, refusing to further engage in something so painful.

“This Lance, was he the guy in the yellow car?” Connor asked.

“Yeah, he was sent here to train me and let me know when I was ready to face La’el, but you guys don’t even know where he is. Though I’m happy to see you all again, I don’t exactly know why I’m here.”

“Lance trained you?” Connor asked. “What new techniques have you picked up?”

“Well, I can’t command the elements like Agni and Indra over there, but I spent years meditating, oftentimes several hours a day. The benefits of this have been—actually, it may be best that I show you.” V took one deep breath and immediately entered his angel mode. A surge of energy started at his temple before running through his entire body. “Strange,” V said, basking in his serenity.

“What happened?” Connor said while marveling at V’s aura.

“I feel more powerful than usual… and I think I know why. As I was trying to say before, the physical plane isn’t stable at the moment, and Covington is especially wonky due to Mom and La’el coming here of all places. That also must be why Summer and Trevor got those powers.”

“We theorized that their ability to have visions is what allowed for this. That’s the only trait they share,” Connor said.

V exited his angel mode. “So you guys are still having those awful visions, huh?”

“Not anymore,” Summer said. “Soon after your death, the visions stopped.”

“I’m happy to hear that. They did a number on you guys. I still remember when we brought Trevor to Summer’s house for the first time. Trevor, you almost gave Mrs. Kahale a heart attack.”

“Yeah,” Trevor said, his head downcast. “I think that may have been when I first displayed my pyrokinesis.”

“Granny told me about that,” Summer said. “But I got all the blame because we left before I could blow out the candle.”

“How is Mrs. Kahale?” V asked. Though he butted heads with her at first, they eventually developed quite the bond. She reminded him of his mother—who could also be a bit headstrong—but it was never at the expense of her captivating warmth.

“She’s doing well. I spoke to her just yesterday, actually. Her days are now spent tending to her garden without a care in the world. We didn’t want to bother her with any of this stuff.”

“I still feel bad about messing up her plants,” V said.

“Oh my goodness. I completely forgot about that,” she said, laughing up a storm. Trevor lit up, a smile sweeping across his face.

“So you came back as a Vietnamese man,” Mr. Au said. “That’s quite the coincidence.”

“I did it by choice,” V said. “I didn’t really think much of it. It sort of just felt right.”

“What was it like growing up in a Vietnamese household?”

“Strict, bordering on oppressive.”

Mr. Au smiled. “Brutal. My dad was the same way. But as I got older, I understood that everything he did for me was out of love, even if he didn’t express it in the healthiest of ways.”

V glanced at his backpack resting next to him.

“I must say,” his father added. “You remind me of an old family friend. He was also a giant of a man. I mean, Jesus Christ, you’re almost as tall as Trevor.”

“I’d be lying if I didn’t say I love being tall, but I’d settle for Summer’s height if I still had supernatural healing.”

“Hey!” Summer yelled, clutching at her imaginary pearls.

“You can no longer heal?” Connor asked.

V shook his head. “Despite being an Ensolian, both my genetic parents are still human.”

“Fascinating,” Connor said.

“So,” V said. “I’m here now. What’s the plan?”

“I have an idea,” his father said. They all leaned in. “Let’s eat!”