They were in Gibbs' kitchen.
Ducky and Samuel sat at the table, while Gibbs was seated off to the side, dragging a sharpening block up and down the waves of the blade.
Maura paced a little, as they discussed the plan.
When Gibbs had bought the blade from the pawn shop, for seven hundred dollars, he couldn't wait to touch it. He picked it up, feeling how right it felt in his hand, and a subtle warmth ran through him.
He'd wanted to go right to Tony's apartment and have Maura open the mirror…but she refused. She insisted that they needed a full plan, as this was not just about Tony, it was about keeping everyone safe. She begged for just an hour, to get things straight.
Gibbs listened, while sharpening the blade, imagining it slicing the bastards in half. He hoped the curves in the blade would hurt, gutting them like fish. He wanted them to pay for what he'd seen them do to Tony.
Samuel had his several books out, ready to offer up anything he could to help. Ducky was patiently watching Maura pace.
"We need…space," she said, while she slowly walked the length of the kitchen. "I want the protection symbols drawn around the mirror. And a large one, on the surface of the mirror, and on the wall behind it, before I open it, to keep them in. It has to be destroyed with them in it. I don't think they could get out for long, or too much further than the room, as per the magic keeping them in there to begin with. All of us need to have our protection symbols."
"Salt," Samuel said plainly.
"Yes," she said, glancing at him. "The perimeter of the room closed with salt. An you should carry it as well," she told Gibbs, who gave her a glance. And nod, and went back to sharpening.
She slowed and faced Gibbs for a moment, as he looked up at her again.
There was something in her eyes as she said, "If you fail…I will close the mirror, with you and Tony in it, and then destroy it."
Ducky gasped, and Samuel's mouth hung open, but Gibbs just looked at her, and smiled a little.
"I know."
Some kind of understanding passed between the two of them.
She swallowed, eyes misting, and took a breath as she turned and continued slowly pacing.
"You can't mean they would be trapped in there…indefinitely with those…monsters?" Ducky was incredulous.
Gibbs answered softly, for her.
"There's no other way, Duck. If I can't get him out…with this-" he suddenly held up the sword as the bronze blade made a 'whoosh' sound, and it's ruby eye gleamed, "then I'm going down with him. It's Tony…" his voice caught a little in his throat, "it's Tony, Duck."
Ducky nodded, mouth set in a grim line. He understood.
"You can do it man, that thing is badass," Samuel grinned and pointed to the sword.
Maura smiled. "I think we have a real chance to succeed. We…Gibbs, was lead to the sword. I feel certain of that, and we received the guidance to find it…"
"I hope so, my dear." Ducky rubbed his eyes under his glasses.
"But…" Samuel fingered through the pages of one of his books, "we have to shatter the mirror, and then take the whole thing, and burn it."
"And Tony's place doesn't allow for enough room for the symbols…" Maura began.
"Or the demolition," Samuel said.
"Then we'll bring it here." Gibbs didn't even look up from the comment, his focus was still on the blade.
"The basement?" Ducky asked.
"Yep. No boat down there right now. Plenty of room, Duck."
Maura smiled. She felt hope.
And then she stopped pacing again, and frowned a little. She glanced worriedly at Gibbs, and then looked at Ducky. "I think we need to talk about…Tony, and…what kind of shape he may be in…coming from…there."
Gibbs stopped sharpening, and he took a deep breath, now also looking at Ducky.
The M.E. nodded, looking down for a moment, thinking. Then he shook his head and looked up at Maura. "I would think physically, he would need immediate fluids, likely a blood transfusion to …compensate for…what they may have taken…and…" he looked a little paler now, "I think also, antibiotics, and sedatives. Just in case. I can't imagine that mentally he is going to even understand what's happened to him. We can only guess at what they…what they've been doing to him…"
The sound of the blade sharpening resumed.
Maura nodded, and sighed shakily. "Can you get the necessary supplies?"
"I would imagine we should get him to a hospital as soon as possible," Ducky said, clearly disturbed in thinking of doing anything else.
"And what then, Ducky, after they give him blood and fluids, and he talks about being in another world with demons, who left bite marks on his body?" Maura stared at him. "What then? They lock him up for being crazy?"
"We can't Duck. Unless he needs emergency surgery, he stays here. And we need you to do it...to take care of him," Gibbs said, almost pleading with Ducky. "Get Palmer to help you get it together, while Sam and I go get a rental and haul that bitch of a mirror over here. Just…try not to let him know what's going on…Ziva and Abby are already about to jump out of their skins at me. We can tell them the truth…tomorrow." If I even have a tomorrow, he thought.
He sighed. "Alright Jethro. But if I think he needs to go, I will call an ambulance."
"Okay, Duck. But only if it's that bad. Set up the guest room. He can stay in there."
"And destroying the mirror?" Maura turned to Gibbs.
"Once I'm out, with Tony, I'll do it. But…if we don't make it…Ducky can do it. I have a sledgehammer that should do nicely. Then we can burn it in the back yard. Along with some leaves. Neighbors won't mind."
"Someone should go with you," Ducky said worriedly to Gibbs. "I can't just sit by and wait like that. I'm coming with you."
"No, Duck. You need to be ready, waiting for us, to take care of Tony. Besides," he smiled ferally, "I won't be alone." He held up the sword again, and Ducky could swear he saw the ruby eye glowing…
An hour later, Gibbs and Samuel were trying to get the mirror out of Tony's apartment. Gibbs wrapped it carefully in blankets and taped it. He hated touching it. It made him feel sick. He was hoping Samuel was stronger than he looked. Otherwise Gibbs would have to knock on doors to find a neighbor willing to help or make extra money.
His cell rang.
"Gibbs."
"Hello Gibbs" Ziva greeted, while he could hear traffic noises in the background.
"Ziva."
"We spoke with several people at the Metropolitan Museum today about the Sword of Apollyon. It seems they have the illustration of it in their records, but could not tell us anything we did not find on the internet ourselves, nor give us any idea who may have had possession of the item before Tony's family."
Gibbs hesitated to respond, thinking about how he wanted to handle Ziva and McGee. "Okay. Any leads on other experts in New York you can talk to?" Guilt tugged at him again, but at this point, in for a penny, in for a pound.
On the other end of the line, Ziva was narrowing her eyes, feeling a strange suspicion that Gibbs had sent them on a fool's errand."
"They gave us a list of other museums and auction houses that the item might have history in, but nothing solid, and we need to get to out computers to work on it."
"Ok," Gibbs said, now impatient to get off the phone. "Come on back to DC. We'll regroup in the morning."
"But-"
"In the morning, Ziva," he said, and hung up, hoping in his heart he and Tony would get to see them again.
"You have a talent for brutality," Ladon said to Harkos, as he looked at Tony, shivering on the altar.
"It seems ready," Euryale said, running her hand along Tony's side.
He wasn't looking at any of them now. He was too weak to move. His body was covered with sweat, and smears of his own blood. Harkos had made sure to make him feel the pain as he held Tony down like a rag doll. At one point, he finally cried in agony as salty sweat from his back made it into his ass. It burned like fire, as the motion of the cock raping him pushed it inside his bruised hole. Tony was then pulled up, still impaled on the unforgiving organ, and they all three drank from him. He cried out hoarsely, as he was suddenly wrenched by an orgasm, and was wracked with gasping sobs until he began to see spots again in his vision, and Harkos finally spilled into him.
Now he wasn't sure he even existed. Images of Gibbs naked with Maura still seemed to tease at the edges of his mind, as did echoes of the horror he saw in the chalice. It was all blending, shifting like shadows. He felt so empty and cold…as if the inside him were the hull of an abandoned ship, locked in ice after having gone too far into arctic waters.
He could barely formulate thoughts. Maybe they'd finally sucked the life out of him. He knew, what they wanted from him. And he felt like there almost wasn't any him left to fight with. He had nothing to go back for.
But he didn't want them win.
"Yes," Ladon said, with a little smile, "we can begin the final ritual. It has been drained enough, and is ready to receive our command."
"I will take it to the dark water and cleanse it before we begin," Harkos said, reaching for him.
Ladon nodded, and Tony closed his eyes, not wanting to look at the dark haired demon.
He felt the sway of the arms holding him, as they tromped through the woods, and then the sound of Harkos walking into the water with him.
As he was half let down into the blackened lake, he murmured, "Not gonna work..."
Harkos raised a brow, "It will obey, in the end. It must."
Tony smiled, opening his green eyes a little, as Harkos washed the water over his body.
"And who ...do you obey? Why.. can't you get out of here..."he shuddered, "...out of here... yourselves?"
Tony saw the expression on Harkos' face change, looking murderously angry, eyes burning with hate. And then through the fog over his mind, he got it.
"It was one ...of us... wasn't it?" He started to laugh, though weakly.
"Imagine that..." he said, "powerful you, getting...t-trapped ...in here... by one of us weak, pathetic... humans..."
Suddenly, Tony was plunged underneath the dark water, with two hands squeezing around his neck.
As he began to lose consciousness, with his body struggling for air, three words came to his mind, with some degree of grim satisfaction.
Screw you, assholes.
