A/N: This is it! The last chapter. I feel like this story shouldn't have been so short, but at the same time, it really didn't need to be longer. Sure it could have covered more of the backstory or had more go on modern day, but I think these 26 or so thousand words are pretty much what Erwin and I wanted from the start. A big thank you to him again for helping make this story what it is.

Please review and let me know how I did with the end here. I know this story was more horror than anything, but I feel like it didn't need to a heart-wrenching ending as is typical in horror. Maybe its more of a thriller than horror? I was considering a different ending where many of the characters are left dead, and the surviving character is left with the fact that they were no better than the demon at the end of the day, but I figured there's no purpose. The same idea can be conveyed without that, and I hate sad endings.

I do have another alternate ending which I may post as an epilogue though, as it seemed quite a fascinating idea, but it ended up being too bulky to actually write, and the same epilogue may also have some stuff covering the aftermath. Also, look for my new story in the 'Enigma Project' series, the sequel to 'The Culprit From Hell' called 'A Case of a Curse,' my plan with it is to be comedy through and through, with a supernatural premise of course.

Sorry for the long note! Anyways, enjoy!

...

Nick and Judy had given up trying to figure out what was going on with this caracal. After using their first names out of nowhere, talking like she was from formal high society, and escaping from the interrogation room, she had them completely stumped.

"Well, I should probably start by saying that my name is not 'Abby'... my name is Elizabeth Felis. Now, I would like to keep talking but I have to deal with… that," she said, pointing to the insanity outside. The three simply stared at her, and she took that as permission to do her duties. She walked over to the doors and the towering crowd of mammals cleared to let the small cat through.

She pushed a door open, and as she stepped out the blood rain flowed around her in the air. Even the ground where she walked was being cleared of the horrible liquid. She walked about twenty feet from the doors before she stopped and looked down at the ground, trying to focus. She stood there for a moment, a still figure in the constantly moving rain. She then lifted her head slightly, her eyes still closed, and brought her paws up in front of her.

The bubble of clear air around her started growing, and after just a few seconds it was three times the size. She started to lift off of the ground, and a burst of energy emanated from her, clearing the air of the rain. Soon enough it had found the clouds, turning them white again. The circle of white in the sky grew until all of the darkness was gone. She remained levitating, just floating there, bathed in the light. Then it started raining pure, clean water.

As it fell, it cleansed the city of the blood, dissolving it as it mixed. A few of the bloodied mammals from the precinct walked outside, watching the stains disappear as the rain fell on them. Elizabeth slowly returned to the ground and smiled at the mammals who were enjoying the return to normality, their crimson dye being bleached away. She walked back into the precinct and went up to Nick, Judy, and Bogo.

"So that's cleared up, but we're not done, we have to find The Order and stop them from completing the ritual," she said, to no effect. The three stared at her completely dumbstruck. She understood that this was probably a shock but she needed them to get to work, so she started snapping.

"Come on here, look alive!" She said. Bogo fainted, and the thunderous noise of his body hitting the floor finally shook Nick and Judy out of it.

"Are you an angel?" Judy asked. Elizabeth was a little taken aback by what seemed to her like an odd question.

"No, I'm just a mammal like you. I've been hunting this cult for many years, and I've acquired a few... abilities along the way. Just an hour or so ago I found a powerful conduit of energy, one that can lend me enough strength to overpower Him. We must stop them before it's too late," she said with urgency. Judy looked over to Nick and he was shocked as well.

"Well, what… what do we do?" Judy asked her, looking for guidance.

"We need to find where they're hiding," Elizabeth said, confusing Nick.

"Wait, didn't we just raid their hideout?" He asked.

"Yes, but there's another location, where their higher level leaders are. I don't know where exactly but I know it's close to Sahara Square. It's still in Savannah Central, and it's a church, or a chapel, or something," she replied. The two figured that, as confused as they were, now was the time for action, not contemplation. Judy took out her phone and searched for churches in southern Savanna Central.

"Do any of these ring a bell?" She asked as she gave the phone to Elizabeth.

"Now that I look, I think I know where it is… but that can't be right… no, it has to be this other one…" she said, confused.

"Which ones?"

"It's either this smaller church, the 'First Presbyterian Church' or… its Saint Wolfherd's cathedral…" She said, not very confident about her second choice. It didn't take Judy long to convince herself it was the former, and Nick couldn't help but agree. There was no way this obscure cult had worked their way into the largest and oldest church in the city.

"We gotta get to this church… let's go," Judy said, beginning to head to the garage. Nick watched her walk away and then turned to Elizabeth.

"I guess that means it's time to go," he said. Elizabeth nodded and began following. Their paws and claws clicked and padded along the floor as they walked through the empty hallway. Judy opened the door to the garage and they stepped through, Elizabeth trailing as they lead the way. They raced through the parking garage and found their cruiser, Flinging their doors open. Judy hopped onto her seat while Nick let Elizabeth get onto the seat in between them.

They were all in and Judy put the car in reverse and stepped on it, flying out of the spot. The tires screeched as she turned, the car drifting, and once she was pointed in the right direction she sped out of the garage, drifting out onto the street with another screech. The sirens were on but Judy was going too fast to give anyone time to pull over, so Judy weaved through the traffic.

"Jesus carrots, don't get us killed!" Nick yelled, trying to hold on to anything he could. Elizabeth had grabbed onto him for lack of any other support.

"Well we gotta hurry don't we!?" Judy shouted back. The sky was turning dark again, not as dark as before, but it was clear that it wasn't over. The sound of thunder filled the air as faint orange flashes came through the clouds. Judy continued swerving around cars, and the speedometer was maxed out.

"Can you tell us more about what we're dealing with here?" Nick yelled, figuring that they didn't have much else to do aside from holding on for dear life. She struggled to respond given Judy's insane driving.

"The cult, the Order... they use rituals and sacrifices to appease him, and in turn... he gives them supernatural assistance with their… carnivorous activities. They are very hard to track, but… at the end of the day, they're still mammals. You guys can handle the members while I deal with him," Elizabeth said, straining with the movements of the car.

"Who is 'he'? Some sort of demon?"

"Well, I don't want to alarm you two, but to my knowledge… it seems like he is the demon, some sort of ancient evil," she said, panting. I gotta deal with Satan himself? Man, I didn't sign up for this shit… Nick thought. Judy was about to clarify that she had heard correctly when an enormous roar filled the air. Suddenly the car lifted off of the road and crashed back down.

Nick slammed his snout into the dashboard, the airbag only having deployed on Judy's side. Judy nearly broke the brake pedal as she slammed it down, and the car began hopping up and down on the road, being tossed like a toy. Elizabeth watched as Nick tried to stop his blood from getting everywhere, the car violently shaking. Each collision with the ground slowed them more and they eventually reached a stop, a horizontal stop at least. Judy held on to the steering wheel as the car rocked side to side, up and down. It was a massive earthquake.

Pieces of the buildings around them fell to the street, stone and glass raining from the sky. The earth in front of them split open, and a car began falling into the pit. The other side of the road started lifting, and was more than ten feet higher when the gap closed violently as their side slammed into the wall of rock. The falling car was absolutely flattened, along with whoever was in it. The buildings along the line where the earth split crumbled to the ground.

Judy turned to look behind them as the skyscrapers downtown swayed. Two of the largest buildings brushed against each other, sending debris flying. A smaller skyscraper began to collapse completely, leaving a column of dust in the air. She was too distracted by the buildings to see that Nick's nose was bleeding profusely.

Nick tried to contain it rather unsuccessfully, and Elizabeth pulled his paws away, wrapping hers around his snout. She closed her eyes and Nick felt the cartilage shifting around inside his nose. It was incredibly uncomfortable, like having an insect inside his nose, but at least it didn't hurt. Elizabeth tried to concentrate and keep her grip while the car rocked.

After just a few seconds the shaking started to die down and they were left in their battered cruiser, a wall of rock in front of them, debris and wrecked cars all around. Elizabeth took her paws off of Nick's snout and he sat there with a very odd expression on his face. He looked like he was about to have a seizure. Oh no... I didn't think he hit it that hard... Elizabeth worried.

Then he sneezed.

"Gah! Oh!… Wow that felt weird!" He said. Judy looked over, and the sight of Nick covered in blood startled her.

"Jesus, what happened?"

"Hit my snout, she fixed it," he replied simply. Judy just shook her head in confusion, not even bothering to clarify how Elizabeth 'fixed it.' She took out her phone to check where they were but, unsurprisingly, there was no signal. She tried to put the car in reverse but when she hit the gas the engine just revved. She sighed.

"We better be close, cause it looks like we're gonna be on foot," she said. The two nodded and they all got out of the car, looking around at the devastation. It was horrible: cars flipped, fires, glass and stone everywhere. And the bodies... the blood… the limbs of evidently dead mammals sticking out from crushed cars and ruble, dead bodies sprawled out on the sidewalks; victims of falling stone and glass, blood running out of mangled cars. Nick and Judy felt a need to help anyone who was injured or trapped, but they knew they had to escort Elizabeth. As horrific as this was, it seemed like it was just the beginning, and they did not want to know what came after.

The three climbed the rock wall and reached the top, standing on the bifurcated street, nearly fifteen feet above the other half. They jogged to the nearest street sign, which had been partially crushed, and struggled to get a look at where they were. After a brushing the dust off they determined that they were in luck, and it would only be a few more blocks to the church. They began running through the street, sliding over the hoods of cars, trying not to injure themselves on the absolute mess of rubble that was on the ground.

They could see the church ahead, still standing, and put the rest of their energy into reaching it. When they got to the doors the officers plowed through them without hesitation, drawing their tranq guns. They immediately started yelling frantically into the congregation. The sight of the fox officer covered in blood shocked most of the mammals to the point of unresponsiveness. Elizabeth cautiously stepped in behind them, and she could immediately tell something was off.

"Everybody get on the ground! NOW!" Judy yelled, furious. Some of the mammals began to get off of the pews but most were too horrified, and the priest simply stared at them. Suddenly Judy felt a paw on her shoulder and turned to face Elizabeth.

"This isn't the right place," she said. Judy felt the anger drain from her as it was replaced with concern. Nick looked over, not having heard what Elizabeth had said.

"What?" Judy asked with a hint of sorrow, Nick awaiting the clarification as well.

"I can't feel anything wrong here, and besides… there are prey mammals in the congregation Judy," she said. Judy lowered her tranq and Nick did the same. Ugh, that was so stupid… these poor mammals, Judy thought. She looked at the crowd of terrified mammals and apologized.

"We're so sorry… please, keep praying… it's needed now more than ever," she said. She didn't know if praying would do any good, but she had faith. They all turned and walked slowly through the door, Nick turning back briefly to apologize quietly.

"Ugh, so stupid, those power mammals. Elizabeth, are you sure they're in this area? The only other option is Wolfherd's Cathedral..." Judy asked.

"Well, there are rumors that they had to do with the founding of zootopia... its possible they have a hideout in the cathedral," She responded. The sky had gotten darker since their entry into the church, and orange lighting bolted across the clouds. That is not a normal lightning color… Judy thought.

"We have to get there, fast," she said, thunder shaking her body.

"Well, we're all pretty quick on all fours aren't we?" Nick said, dropping to his natural stance. It's the best we got right now… Judy figured, doing the same. Elizabeth brought her paws to the ground and after a quick nod they all started sprinting.

Judy hopped along, jumping a few of her body lengths every leap, springing off of rubble and cars. Nick was having a hard time getting past some obstacles but his size made him faster than Judy on flat ground, meaning they stayed rather close together. Elizabeth, however, was faster and more agile than both of them, racing ahead. She stopped when she realized how far ahead she was.

"Keep going!" Judy yelled, panting. She hesitated for a moment but continued running. Judy and Nick couldn't see her anymore and they were getting concerned. The thunder and lightning was getting more intense, a reminder that their time was limited.

"Nick, we should try to find someone who can carry us," Judy said as she jumped over obstacles. Nick agreed, and as they moved they scanned the area for able mammals who could help them. Only seconds later, the perfect pair stepped out of a broken down car. It was a Thomson's gazelle and a cheetah, and they looked young, fit, and uninjured. The officers quickly sped over to them, garnering strange looks given the fact that they were on all fours.

"Woah, are you two ok?" The cheetah asked, staring at Nick's blood covered paws and shirt.

"Yeah, we're ok, but we need your help. We need to get to St. Wolfherds cathedral ASAP, could you two carry us?" Judy asked. The cheetah gave them an odd look and turned to his friend. They nodded at eachother and didn't bother asking why, given the circumstances.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures," The gazelle said as he dropped to all fours along with his friend.

"Great, thank you!" Judy said as she got on top of the gazelle, Nick climbing onto the larger cheetah. They immediately took off and were easily going three times as fast as the two could. They weren't even breathing very heavily, and Nick could tell they weren't ordinary mammals.

"So, you two must do this a lot?" He shouted over the thunder and wind.

"Well… That's a funny way to put it, but yeah… we're both track athletes," the cheetah said, continuing to sprint, leaping onto cars. Judy's gazelle was also showing off his leaping skills, jumping over entire cars with ease. The prayers worked, this is a miracle, Judy thought. They were slowly catching up with Elizabeth, and they could see her in the distance, along with the cathedral.

The cathedral was definitely the right place. It was in pristine condition compared to the rest of the earthquake-ravaged city. The clouds swirled above its peak, and bolts of lightning made continuous contact with its highest point. It was an ominous sight to behold but they weren't deterred, they had a job to do. Lightning began striking all over the city, and they could only imagine what was coming with it.

Elizabeth was leaping onto cars, sliding across the hoods and roofs. Under the roar of thunder she heard the clicking and padding of two mammals behind her, and paused on top of a car to see Nick and Judy riding a gazelle and a cheetah. She smiled at the sheer badassery she was witnessing just before lightning struck right next to the four. The cheetah kept moving for a moment before realizing the gazelle has crashed.

Elizabeth began sprinting back just as Judy was standing up. Nick knelt next to the gazelle, pressing down on his leg. Judy walked back and took over applying pressure for a moment while Nick took off his belt.

"What's wrong?" Elizabeth said as she skidded to a stop.

"He's got some shrapnel in his leg," Judy responded, continuing to press down. Nick had his belt off and wrapped it around the young male's leg, tightening it like a tourniquet. Judy took her paws off to get a better look now that the blood flow was reduced, and jumped back when she saw something squirming in the wound. The gazelle propped himself up on his elbows in response to Judy and started screaming at the sight.

Nick was beside himself with terror and Elizabeth wasn't faring much better. The cheetah was shocked for a moment but immediately reached down to grab the evil thing, the love for his friend beating out his fear. His claws grasped the creature and out came a horrible insect-like beast, its many legs replaced with smooth tentacles. He held it, in shock, unsure what to do. Almost immediately he started yelling as its legs started to burrow into his paw.

Elizabeth snapped out of her shock and grabbed his paw, feeling the scorching heat of the hellspawn burn her pure paws. The cheetah, luckily, didn't have to feel this, but what he was going through wasn't much better. Elizabeth focused on the creature and her paws started glowing a bright blue. She felt the evil melt away, black smoke escaping between her fingers.

The two officers were still not used to Elizabeth doing this sort of thing, and they looked on, amazed. The cheetah and gazelle had their jaws agape, absolutely astonished. Elizabeth released her grip and gave a small sigh of relief. The cheetah looked at his pristine paw, free of injury and demons.

"Holy shit!" He said.

"Heh, your welcome," Elizabeth replied.

"Me next!" The gazelle said, straining in pain, but giving a slight chuckle. Elizabeth gasped, kicking herself for being so slow, and placed her paws over his wound. It was only a few seconds before his leg was back to normal, and Elizabeth lifted her paws again.

"Well, at least that's over... what the hell is going on?" The gazelle asked. Elizabeth wasn't sure how to respond, not wanting to waste any time.

"Uhhh… world's ending, I can stop it, but I must get to the cathedral," she said. The two simply stared at her, and she couldn't wait any longer. She turned to run to the cathedral and the officers followed, leaving the cheetah and gazelle in the middle of the road, confused. It wasn't long before the three were in front of the massive stone structure. They all looked at each other as they stood before the doors, the thunder roaring around them.

"Looks like this is it," Judy said.

"I'm ready as I'll ever be," Nick said.

"let's go," Elizabeth said. Nick and Judy pushed open the doors and pulled their tranq guns to find a small group of predators and a large, red, scaly beast. The demon looked at the three, confused for a moment, but then he felt Elizabeth's presence.

"Oh I see, the puny police patrol and their channeler friend have come to slay the beast! Oh, woe is me, whatever shall I do… Ah yes, I know, KILL THEM!" He roared, fire coming out of his mouth with the last words. The group of predators started advancing toward them, and with the first two shots Nick and Judy took down a lion and bear. They didn't have time to reload as the rest of the predators advanced, one of which, a cheetah, was going straight for Elizabeth.

He pounced onto Elizabeth and was inches away from biting her head off when Judy landed a flying kick right to his head. He immediately rolled off of Elizabeth, disoriented. Judy then focused on the other mammals while Nick hit the cheetah on the back of the head with his flashlight, assuring he wouldn't get back up.

Nick turned around just in time to stop one of the wolves from hitting Judy with a candlestick while she choked another wolf. He sprinted towards the wolf and leaped up to bash him with the flashlight. The metal cylinder struck with authority and the wolf was knocked out, Judy's wolf falling unconscious as well.

Nick was then pounced by a naked and hairless wolverine, and the strange feeling of skin made him think it was the demon. His fear-induced adrenaline rush allowed him to throw the wolverine off his back. When he saw what had attacked him he was incredibly confused, and didn't notice that Lewis had Judy in his grasp.

"Kill the cat!" Lewis said to his last two available followers. The hyena and coyote immediately went after Elizabeth, and she began backing out of the front doors. She was walking backward through the cathedrals granite forecourt when the hyena grabbed her by the throat. She was panicking, unable to focus to channel energy, and it left her defenseless against the two. The hyena slammed her into the solid door of the cathedral.

"Looks like your little show is over kitty cat!" The hyena cackled.

"It's too bad we were ordered to kill you, we could have had so much fun," The coyote said. The coyote then had his head smashed into the door by a flying cheetah's foot

The hyena looked over in shock and screamed immediately after, throwing her head to the sky, her body shuddering. She looked down to see two horns sticking out of her abdomen, almost touching Elizabeth. She dropped Elizabeth and fell forward, sliding off of the gazelle's horns.

"Just in time huh?" The gazelle that had carried Judy said, blood covering his horns. Elizabeth simply responded with a whimper, not really the biggest fan of violence herself. She looked over at the coyote, whose head was a slightly different shape than before, the cheetah standing above him.

"I think we better get in there and get to work," the cheetah said, limping slightly as he walked into the cathedral. The gazelle helped Elizabeth up and they ran into the cathedral.

Judy was in Lewis' grasp when she saw Nick get slashed by the wolverine's sharp claws. Lewis was busy saying something to taunt her, and she took the opportunity to grab his jaw. She tried to hyperextend his jaw but it just kept opening. Oh, you fuckin weirdo! She thought, her trick being quashed by the Tasmanian tiger's strange jaw.

He started closing his jaw, so Judy tried the other direction. She could feel the crunching of cartilage and bone as she forced his upper and lower jaws away from each other perpendicular to their normal range of motion. He immediately dropped her and curled up on the floor, holding his head. She bolted over to Nick, giving the naked wolverine one of her famously powerful flying kicks.

"Nick!" She said as she hit the ground just after the wolverine.

"I'm alright, just a little scratch," Nick said as he uncovered the gashes on his arm. Elizabeth ran in with the gazelle and cheetah while Judy helped Nick up, and they regrouped in the middle of the room. Strangely enough, the demon was sitting in a pew, simply watching.

"Wow, you all have caused more injury and death to other mammals than any of those mammals! Well, except Lewis, he's quite a specimen… Oh poor Lewis, look at the number you did on his jaw, Judy! Well done! You know, it's funny, you all just contributed more to my strength- AHHHH!" he said, being cut off by beams of light erupting from Elizabeth's eyes. He shielded himself and his scaly skin started to smoke and burn in the light.

The four around Elizabeth shielded their eyes as her entire body began glowing. She opened her mouth and what seemed like a solid piece of light slithered out, her body dropping to the floor, motionless. The others couldn't see, due to the blinding light, and at Judy's command, they ducked under the pews.

The demon was roaring and screaming, flames pouring out of him, and the light approached. He backed away from the encroaching light, his flesh baking and peeling away. He collapsed onto the steps in front of the podium and the light spread out into a web, entrapping him. Nick peeked out over the pew to see the demon squeezed out of existence by the light.

The room was pitch black, and after a few moments waiting in silence the other three crawled out from under the pews while Nick took out his flashlight. They immediately grouped up around Elizabeth while Judy checked her vitals. Seconds went by as Judy felt for her pulse, and she shook her head, saying 'no' quietly under her breath. Nick could feel tears welling up in his eyes as Judy placed her ear over Elizabeth. She said something else that they couldn't quite hear and lifted her head off of her.

"I think she's alive, she's on the edge, but she's alive… Come on gets get her out of this place," she said. The cheetah scooped her up and carried her out onto the granite plaza in front of the cathedral. He set her down on her side and was immediately embraced by his gazelle friend.

"Holy shit, we did it," the gazelle said. They both laughed, Nick and Judy also embracing. The males split apart and sat down, Nick and Judy sharing a longer hug than the two.

"What a day," Judy said.

"Yeah, jeez… talk about wanting to go home," Nick replied. They shared a short laugh and separated. The cheetah was lying on his back and looked over, smiling.

"So, is this just another day in the life for you two? Cause if so, I think I'm gonna have to change careers" he said, laughing.

"Well, when we're not doing paperwork, parking duty, and patrol, we feel like we're saving the world, but this? This is a whole other level," Judy replied, also laughing. They all shared an excited, relieved laugh, and Elizabeth woke up in the middle of it. She lifted her head up and put a paw on her head, grunting.

"I don't think I need to ask, but it went well right?" She said, grimacing. Judy and Nick immediately crouched down next to her, concerned.

"Yeah, everything's fine, what's going on with you, do you feel ok?" Judy asked.

"Ugh, it's my head… I'm not really surpri-" She started, being cut off by a violent wretch. Nick and Judy gave her some room and she coughed and gagged, vomiting out a glowing blue liquid all over. She was about to collapse into it face first but Judy saved her and put her on her side, facing the other direction.

"What the hell are we supposed to do? Take her to a hospital?" Judy asked rhetorically.

"Yeah, I don't think they know how to treat whatever this is… or if there are any still standing…" He said, being reminded of the ruin the city was in. Elizabeth started waking up again only seconds later. Oh here we go again, Nick thought.

"Ugh, what happened… oh ew, ugh! What am I covered in? Where am I? Am I dead?" She said, tired sounding but quite cognizant.

"You're ok, you're outside of St. Wolfherds Cathedral. Do you know your name?" Nick asked.

"Oh Christ, what happened to you!" She said, staring at his blood stains.

"I hit my snout, I'm fine, don't worry about it, we gotta make sure you're ok. Do you know your name?"

"Yes, I'm Elizabeth Felis… What happened? Am I under arrest?"

"No, definitely not. You pretty much just saved the world. What's the last thing you can remember?" Judy said.

"I saved the world? OH! Oh, I think… I think I can connect the dots. Last thing I remember I was drowning in the tunnels under the library. I think I somehow got to the conduit, then to the police station, and we made it to The Order's main hideout, then sent the demon back to hell, right?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Judy said, not sure about anything before the police station but figuring it was right.

"Oh, thank god…" She said, lying down. "Now, what am I covered in?"

"You just vomited it up, God only knows what it is," Nick said, garnering a glare from Judy.

"That's nice… Why is the city in ruin?"

"Huge earthquake. That's when I hit my snout, you healed it," Nick said.

"Oh, good… the snout thing, not the earthquake, that's bad," she said. there was a pause in the conversation, and they all remained silent, exhausted. Nick and Judy sat down on the stone and waited for Elizabeth to feel ready to walk. As they sat, a thought kept building in Judy's head, until she could not keep it inside anymore.

"You know, what the demon said, about us causing more pain than him or anyone else... He was kinda right wasn't he? I mean, we beat and killed all of those mammals, you saw what I did to that thing's jaw," She said.

"Come on fluff, he's the great deceiver, the root of all evil, you can't listen to him," Nick reminded her. She nodded, but the thought wasn't gone from her head.

"She's not completely wrong," Elizabeth said. Nick's looked over and his ears perked up, Judy looking at Elizabeth too.

"He, the demon... He's not evil. He gives people choices. Sure he influences and deceives, but that isn't evil. It's the choice to give in to him that's truly evil. Evil isn't some monster, or individual, or cult. Evil consists of the choices made by those too weak to sacrifice and too stubborn to change... who would rather cause suffering than experience it. That's what started this... Someone was hungry and wanted to eat meat because it would be easier for them, and the demon gave them a choice... and that was all it took."