When Desmond came to he found himself laid out on the floor, back to a wall. It felt like he was coming up for air after holding his breath for a long time. His eyelids fluttered open and he was greeted by darkness.

Slowly he pushed himself up and looked around. He realized he had barely made it inside the room before he'd… fallen asleep? His head felt fuzzy, like it was full of cotton and it was hard to think.

"What happened?" he asked himself softly and pushed himself to his feet, having to use the wall to support himself. He looked around again and was once more met with darkness. He went into Eagle Vision, his head pounding. It cleared some of the dark fog but not nearly enough. He shook himself a bit, standing on his own, and looked through his dark vision.

The shadows receded but the darkness lingered. He could see at least. The room he was in was barely bigger than the Faceless cell he'd been in. On opposite sides of the room were two cots. He recognized D2 in one of them, sleeping under some covers with his mouth open, nearly snoring. In the other cot was another man that Desmond took a step away from when he recognized who it was. They were lying on their side on top of the blanket, their eyes wide open, unmoving and staring at nothing. There was a strange scar in the middle of their forehead, that weirdly enough reminded Desmond of a stab wound. But none of that was what concerned Desmond the most.

What concerned Desmond the most was that the man was Daniel.

"The Rat," Tiamat's voice brushed against his mind and he twisted around to locate her. "A mindless little vermin." Desmond found Tiamat in the center of the little room. She was seated in an extravagantly plush chair, and she didn't look like how Desmond remembered her. She was older, in her sixties he had to guess, her hair was still mostly black and she had wrinkles etched into her face. And her eyes. They were the color of ice. But not like Cain's ice blue eyes. No, Tiamat's were white as though rage had bleached her iris of color, leaving only a slightly darkened ring of grey around her pupil.

"Tiamat," he said aloud. She put her finger to her lips. "Uh, like this?" he made the thought and it was a lot harder than he thought it should have been.

"It will suffice," she said with her mind. "You did well, stadalla. Better and faster than I expected. How do you feel, deary?"

Desmond was taken aback, "You don't know?"

"I know. But do you know?"

Desmond thought on that. The most important thing he noticed was that the gaping hole in his chest he fed his guilt was remarkably smaller and didn't feel quite so heavy. He felt… good. Desmond couldn't remember the first time he'd felt good, like actually good and not just attempting to feel okay.

"I feel great," he said.

Tiamat smiled a bit. "Of course you do deary."

"So, I did the first part, have you thought about me taking my clone?"

"Yes," she said. "You may take him, because now I know you won't abuse him."

"What?" he asked, confused.

"You hated yourself. He is you in a different body. You wouldn't have done it on purpose I'm sure, but you would have taken your own self hatred out on him. Now you won't. So you can take him. On the condition-

"Another condition?" Desmond sighed.

"Yes," she said, "Unless you'd like to return to Cain empty handed?" Desmond said nothing, he just sort of pouted. "My condition is you free me."

Desmond blinked, "Free you?"

"Yes," she said.

"…Now?" he clarified.

"If you can. If not, I understand," she said. "But when you enter the Unnamed and hold its power in your hands, then you must free me."

Desmond hesitated, "How do you know what the Unnamed can do?"

She smiled again, "Because deary, its how I became a telepath."

"What?" he asked nervously.

"Before the fall of our kind the city of Atlantis existed, and at its heart was the Unnamed, a structure older than even us. Anyone who went into the Unnamed never came back out. We tried animals and humans and every master of sikaz there was. Sometimes the animals returned, more often they did not.

"For thousands of years people tried to get into the Unnamed, to find its secrets. Our civilization grew more advanced. Eventually we created synthetics. First animals, than humans. We were surprised when the synthetic humans could enter the Unnamed and return alive, though close to death, as though they'd aged to the brink of their life spans. But they said there was nothing there, that the Unnamed was empty.

"Proeathans don't know the when to stop. Surely it was just because humans had just weak senses that they saw nothing. Just an empty landscape as far as the eye could see along with the bones and bodies of the proeathans and humans who'd come before them. If a synthetic animal and human could withstand the Unnamed—"

Desmond's eyes were huge, "Why couldn't a synthetic proeathan?" he asked.

Tiamat smirked, "Indeed. Why not one? So they tried," her smirk melted into a smile. "I have seen what lays inside the Unnamed. When I entered I barely knew a single sikaz, when I left it I was a functioning telepath and telekinetic. The only one of my kind in hundreds of years, and the only proeathan to ever do both.

"So I know what I mean when I say you will hold the power of the Unnamed."

But Desmond knew what they could mean for him, if he could just bring Tiamat with him. "I need to speak with Cain," he said, "I'll see if we can just take you now."

She smiled and was quiet for a moment, "He's outside," she said.

Desmond turned and yanked the door open. Cain was standing at the edge of the darkness. "Desmond," he said and he honestly sounded relieved to see him.

Desmond went over to him, "I can take the clone. But is there any way you can think of that we can take her?"

Cain's eyes narrowed, "No," he said.

"I mean it Cain. She could help me-

"No," Cain said again.

"Because you can't, or you won't?"

"Both," Cain said. "Mars' people are expecting three people, not four. She can't come."

"But-

"What is the point of making a plan if you won't stick to it?" Cain asked. "You made a plan, follow the plan. Go get your clone, Tiamat is not coming."

Desmond blinked at Cain and knew he was right. There was no way they could bring her. "Right," he said and retreated back to Tiamat's cell. "Sorry I-

"I know," she said. "Take him, and remember our deal."

"I will," Desmond promised.

"Wake up Desmond," Tiamat said aloud and Desmond looked at his clone. D2's eyes opened. He buried his face in the thin pillow and Desmond heard a muffled 'no'. "Be mindful of the rat," Tiamat said in his mind again.

Desmond nodded and went over to D2's cot. When he went to grab his clone's arm he had to dodge a punch. D2 lurched out of his bed to tackle Desmond but Desmond was a better fighter. He had more practice. They scuffled on the floor for a minute before Desmond had D2 pinned and whining in pain from having his arm yanked up behind his back. Tiamat looked down at him with a look similar to sympathy.

"Don't fight me," Desmond said softly.

"Fuck off," D2 growled.

"I know you hate it here. We're getting you out of here."

"For a horrible reason I'm sure," D2 hissed when Desmond put more pressure on his arm.

"Keep resisting and I'll just break it," Desmond said.

"You wouldn't."

"Try me," Desmond said seriously, "I don't have time for games Des."

"Tiamat-" D2 said and looking up at her pleadingly. Desmond guessed they had a telepathic conversation. Then D2 hung his head and stopped trying to get away. "Fine," he whispered.

Desmond let him go slowly and got to his feet and hauled D2 to his feet as well. As he did he looked across the cell where Daniel was still lying, his eyes wide open like he'd been watching the entire thing, but not moving. "What about him?" he nodded at Daniel.

"The rat Chronos keeps here to watch me, make sure I don't do anything stupid," Tiamat said with her mind.

"Wouldn't this be considered stupid?" he asked, gabbing D2's arm roughly. D2 was looking at the floor.

"Chronos doesn't care about the failure they made," Desmond tried not to wince and glanced at D2 to see if Tiamat was broadcasting to him. She didn't seem to be. "Its if I get… overly ambitious and make someone come rescue me," she said. "Otherwise he doesn't care, so long as I stay here."

"Right," Desmond thought slowly.

"I would leave now, the noise you made might wake him."

"Okay," and he tugged on D2's arm, "lets go," he said quietly. D2 went along meekly. "Don't look so upset," he said once they were outside, the door between Tiamat and them.

D2 looked right at him, "She told me why you want me," and Desmond swallowed uncomfortably. "Fuck you."

"You got him," Cain said as Desmond pulled him into the light.

"Yeah, and he swears worse than me," Desmond said.

Cain looked between the both of them, "Cloning is so upsetting in sentients," he said. "I'm sorry," he told D2.

"Sure you are," D2 snapped.

Cain frowned at D2, "Lets go, our numia is waiting," and he turned around. Desmond pulled D2 along but he barely had to.

The way out of Apollo was much the same as getting to Tiamat. "Hey Cain," Desmond said as they neared the end of their journey through Apollo towards the hanger.

"Yes?"

"How long was I in there?"

Cain didn't answer right away, "About five hours," he said.

"What? Seriously?" Just five hours? It had felt like life times to Desmond.

"Yes— ah, here we are," and they arrived at the hanger. There were lines of numia in the hanger, waiting to go. It was mostly empty of people save for three proeathans standing by a numia about the size of a private jet near the end of a line. They wore red and orange; Mars' people. As they approached the proeathans turned and then started pointing behind the three of them urgently.

"Aw hell," Desmond said when he looked over his shoulder.

"Go," Cain said and pushed Desmond forward. Coming down the hall was Daniel and behind him were several decked out proeathans. Well, he guessed the Adjatevs knew he wasn't still in his pod now.

Desmond dragged D2 with him to the numia where the proeathans spoke to him rapidly but Desmond just blinked at them. He had no idea what they were saying. Eventually he and D2 were just shoved up a boarding ramp. Desmond looked back at Cain to see what had happened.

He didn't know why he'd even felt the need to be worried. They were all already dispatched, though at this distance Desmond couldn't tell if they were dead or not. Cain was walking quickly towards the numia and apparently knew the language of the Netall. "You'd think he'd stay dead," he heard Cain mutter to himself as he went up to the cockpit. Desmond put his clone in a seat, strapping him in. D2 seemed to not give a fuck and just slouched like he was sixteen. "Desmond," Cain called from up front.

"Yeah, commin'," and he left D2 and went up to the cockpit.

"Sit. If Daniel's there they know we're trying to leave. They're going to want to close the hanger doors," Desmond sat and the numia hummed to life as Cain put his hands on the yoke. The numia lifted up off the ground gently and turned. As it did Desmond could see the proeathans Cain had handled. They were all down, but someone was getting up. Desmond paled a little. It was Daniel. He was standing, but his neck was the wrong way around on his body.

"Oh god," Desmond said, staring even as the man twisted his head right way around. "What'd they do to him?" he couldn't take his eyes away if he wanted to even as Daniel walked towards them, gun raised, shooting.

"Something unsightly," Cain said, pressing a few buttons and then the numia streaked forward, jolting Desmond back into his seat. As they flew out of the hanger Desmond perceived them attempting to close. But they'd started too late.

Cain took them up at nearly a ninety degree angle up above the clouds before leveling out. "So… we did it," Desmond said.

"Yeah," Cain said and reached over ruffling his hair, "Finally came up with a plan that worked."

"Oh fuck off," Desmond batted his hand away. Cain didn't smack him for that, the immortal just looked amused. "Won't they try and come after us?"

"They'll try," Cain agreed, "a few might. This is one of the fastest numias in Apollo and our friends in Apollo are currently making it very difficult to figure out just which one is us," and he nodded out the window. Desmond looked and his eyes widened in surprise. Three numia rose up on either side of him.

"Decoys," Desmond said.

"Mhm," Cain said.

"How hard was this to plan?" Desmond asked, since he hadn't been privy to this part of the plan of their escape.

"I didn't get you out until I knew we had an escape plan ready," Cain said. "The Adjatevs only have the man power in Apollo to chase some of these numia and I'm sure Chronos knows it. They'll have to pick the ones they think is us."

"Elegant," Desmond said.

"Sometimes my ideas are," Cain said.

"So we're headed for Demeter?" Cain nodded. Desmond looked back into the cabin of the numia. D2 was still slouched in his hair, looking at the wall. "He'll need to be swept for bugs."

"Both of you will," Cain said and Desmond scowled at him a bit but knew Cain was right. "We'll do that as soon as Altair's done yelling at us for skipping out on them."

"Uuhg, right," Desmond said and raced the right way around again. "Long time to think of an excuse though," he pointed out. Cain just chuckled.