"We apologize," Carter said quickly, fascinated by the fact that he was talking to a Goddess, "What would you us to address you as?"

Arcadia studied them for a long moment, and struggled to think clearly. She knows them, this mortal inside me. They were her friends, "Arcadia will be fine."

"How about a body snatcher?" Skeeter asked.

"How dare you speak to me that way," Arcadia replied, "Do you know who I am?"

"Yeah, you're helping take over all the worlds," Carter replied, "Somehow I don't think that you'll be much help locked in that cage."

She paused, and phrased her next question carefully, "Why do you not wish it to happen?"

"Why?" Jimmy asked, "The death, destruction, this King's ego and power trip, not to mention that maybe everything was designed this way for a reason!"

"The King," she whispered, "Before . . ."

"Before what?" Carter prodded, looking at the small crack appearing in her armor, "Arcadia?"

"He, in the woods," she trailed off, "Let me out of this cage!"

"Nope," Carter replied, "We're here to help you!"

"I don't need your help!" she cried, as she summoned all the powers inside her and threw at the metal bars.

"Oh, we didn't tell you?" Skeeter said, as he watched her crash back into the wall, "This cage is magic proof."

"Zakan will come for me!"

"Good, then we'll be ready for him," Jimmy said.

5555

"Arcadia is gone!" Zakan yelled, "I can't sense her."

"She can't be gone," the King argued.

"She was upset this afternoon," Zakan replied, "She wouldn't say why."

"Arcadia is very sensitive," the King sighed, "She will be back."

"I'm not leaving her out there alone. I will find her."

5555

"How do we reach Max?" Jill asked, "That thing . . . It looks like her, only with a lot more hair."

"She mentioned the King and the woods," Jimmy said, "And looked lost for a moment, torn about what happened."

"Maybe Arcadia and the King don't have the best relationship?" Carter said, "I say we use that. Did you see the ring on her finger? We need to get her to remove it. It protects Arcadia from people who wish to harm her."

"And how do you suppose that we do that?" Skeeter spat, "God, I want to kill her."

"Kill Arcadia, kill Max," Carter replied, "She isn't evil. Just misguided at this point."

5555

Arcadia stared at the confines of her cell with contempt. Lock me in a cage, she thought, no wonder we're taking over this world too. These ones will be the first ones changed. Shaking her head, she heard a voice scream deep down inside her.

"Would you just be quiet?" she breathed, "You've annoyed me enough today."

"You leave them alone!"

"They've locked us in a cage."

"You have my body. Now you want to destroy my world?"

"Make it better."

"Why? So you can be worshiped universally? You're a fraud, Arcadia. You say that you love mortals and humanity, and this is what you do? You let Zakan kill that woman today. If you had just listened to her, instead of screaming, she would still be alive!"

"Shut up!"

"And who are you yelling at?" Skeeter asked, as he came back into the hallway, "You royal goddess, or whatever the hell you are."

She whirled around to look at him, "Stay away from me!"

"Or what? You'll blow yourself into the wall again? I'm not afraid of you Arcadia."

"You should be."

"Big words from someone locked in a cage," Skeeter snarled.

"Skeeter, not like this," Carter said, as he joined them, "Arcadia."

"Let me out," Arcadia demanded.

"That won't happen anytime soon," Carter admitted, as his gaze fell on the ring on her finger, "That is a beautiful ring. What if we make a deal?"

"I don't make deals with humans."

5555

"She is nowhere in Ital," Zakan spat.

"She is a Goddess," the Queen said, "She could be anywhere."

Zakan frowned, "She was upset about that woman. Not acting like herself."

"Who was she acting like?" the King prodded.

Zakan gritted his teeth, "The mortal."

5555

"They'll figure it out soon enough," Jimmy said, "And come for her."

"She's so strong," Jill said, "When she tried to blow up the cage . . . I could feel the power inside her."

"She isn't Max," Jimmy said, "That's what I keep have to reminding myself of."

"Isn't she? At least partly?" Jill asked, "The part that we're trying to save?"

"We're ready," Skeeter said, poling his head back in, "Carter wants to try it before Zakan and the others figure out where she is."

They followed him back into the cell room, and Jill just stared at Goddess in the middle of the room. Please, she prayed, let this work.

"Arcadia," Carter addressed her, "Tell us about the King. What he did to you."

She just glared at him, and tried to gauge the likelihood of blasting her way out of the cage.

"Who were you yelling at earlier?" Skeeter added, "Hearing voices?"

"The King," Littleton added, "You don't like him?"

"Tell them!" the voice screamed, "Let them know!"

"Shut up," she whispered.

"You can't get rid of me."

"I know, I've tried."

"The all powerful Goddess failed. Guess what else you're going to fail at?"

"Get out of my head!" Arcadia screamed.

"Not yours!"

"Who is she talking to?" Jill whispered, as she watched the torment cross Arcadia's face, "What's wrong with her?"

"Max!" Carter yelled, over Arcadia's tormented scream, "If you're in there, fight dammit! We're so close!"

"No!" Arcadia screamed, as she threw all her energy at the bars again, "No! I won't go back!"

"Get the hell out of my body!"

"Oh, you're not going back," Carter snapped, as he opened the jar, "Not to any void where you can get out again."

"No," she hissed, "I won't allow it!"

"Come on, Max!" Skeeter yelled, "Don't let her win! Fight your way back!"

Arcadia turned her head skyward, "Zakan!"

"He can't hear you!" Carter yelled.

"No!" she screamed, as she ripped the protective ring from her finger, and threw it at the bars, "Carter! Do it!"

5555

"That mortal questioned everything," the King said.

Zakan frowned, "She wouldn't have gone back there. I could sense her if she did."

"Unless she doesn't want you too," the King said, "Arcadia."

Zakan rose to his feet, "I will go."

5555

"No!" Arcadia screamed again, as she lunged for the recently discarded ring before Skeeter snatched it up, "I'll kill you all!"

"Leave this body unwanted spirit. Leave this world," Carter began, as he opened the jar, "Goddess Arcadia! Leave this body. Leave this world. Tes, set, fahn jun. Tes, set, fahn jun. Tes, set, fahn jun. Tes, set, fahn jun. Tes, set, fahn jun. Tes, set, fahn jun. I command you! Leave this body!"

"No!" Arcadia screamed again, as she felt herself being ripped away, "No!"

The group huddled together as the golden light was pulled out and flowed into the jar. Carter slammed the lid shut, as he turned his gaze to the collapsed body on the floor .

"Jesus Christ," Jimmy finally said.

"Now what?"Skeeter asked, "She's out cold."

"She isn't dead?" Littleton asked.

"No, she's breathing," Jill said, as she watched her chest rise and fall, "I should check her."

"We don't know if it's Max or not," Carter said.

"It was her in the end," Skeeter said, "She knew you, said your name, after she threw the ring."

Carter nodded, "For a few seconds at least . . . I wonder if it was the first time since . . ."

"I guess she wanted it badly enough this time," Jill said, "We can't just leave her in there."

"We have to until she wakes up," Carter said, "There is only one way to know, and we can't do it while she is unconscious."

"And what if someone finds her? How do we explain that? She's been gone for five years, and suddenly she shows up, locked in a cage?" Skeeter asked, "And what if this army and Zakan shows up?"

"I've sent everyone home. We'll stay," Jimmy said.

"What about Zakan?" Jill asked.

"He's next," Carter said, "After we confirm that all of this worked. He'll be harder than Arcadia was."

5555

"Arcadia," Zakan breathed, as he arrived on the earth world, "Where are you?"

I can't sense her here, he thought, as he watched the mortals walking around. Why is she hiding? She is my beloved, she wouldn't hide from me.

"No," he hissed, as he thought of her reaction to his killing of the woman this morning, "She wouldn't let that happen."

Turning his gaze skyward, he knew were to try to find her.

5555

"Kenny, what's happening?" the woman mumbled in the cage, "I can't hold on!"

"She's waking up," Carter breathed, "Look, listen."

"Can't breathe," she continued to mumble, "Kenny . . ."

"Look at her," Jill said, "The robes, the hair, they're all gone. She's . . . she's naked."

"Where am I?" she mumbled, as she struggled to come out of her fog.

"Max?" Jill asked softly, as the other woman opened her eyes, "Max?"

She looked at them bleary eyed, and tried to make sense of what was happening now. Shivering slightly on the cold floor, she pulled her legs up to her bare chest silently.

"You must be freezing," Jill continued, at her friend's confused expression, "Here, take this blanket."

"Jill, we don't know," Jimmy began, as he watched Max watching them silently, "Why isn't she saying anything?"

"It has to be disorienting," Skeeter said, "We're not going to hurt you. Do you know where you are?"

"You're home, you're safe," Carter said, "Don't be afraid."

"This isn't real, you're not real," she finally whispered, as she backed toward the far wall of the cage.

"It's very real," Carter said carefully, and wondered why sheer terror was in her eyes.

"No," she moaned, as she turned her head away.

"Max," Jill tried, "We're hear to help you."

"It's a dream. It's always a dream," she whispered.

"Is she all there?" Skeeter asked, "She looks so lost."

"Wouldn't you be?" Littleton asked, "After all of this?"

"It isn't a dream," Carter stated, "It's over. Arcadia is gone."

"Arcadia," she breathed, as she forced herself to focus.

"That's right. Arcadia," Carter continued, happy to get some sort of response from her, "She isn't coming back."

"Arcadia," she repeated, as stared back at the people watching her, as the reality of what happened hit her, "You know about Arcadia . . . That means . . . No, no, no."

"It's okay," Jill said gently.

"No . . . Zakan . . . Too late."

"We're going to stop them. They can't do all that they planned without Arcadia," Carter said.

She shook her head, "How . . ."

"How what?" Jimmy asked, as she wrapped herself in the gray blanket.

"If . . . this is real? How? How am I here? Arcadia, she wouldn't, couldn't . . . Couldn't breathe, it was so dark there . . . trapped," she trailed off.

"I researched it for a long time," Carter said, "Before even attempting it. Marbruk tried."

She cut him off with a angry hiss, "Marbruk!"

"That got her attention," Littleton said under his breath.

"Marbruk," she repeated, "He left us there! He promised us, then he left us there with them! Why didn't he stop it?"

"That's our girl," Skeeter said.

"He died," Carter supplied, "Trying to bring you back."

"Died?" she asked, as she sunk back on the floor, "He didn't abandon us?"

"He wanted to bring you back. He didn't want this to happen," Jill said quietly.

"Can you tell us what happened?" Jimmy asked quietly.

"Kenny," she whispered.

"We'll get him back too," Carter said.

She shivered, "How?"

"The same way we did with you," Carter said, "There is one thing first. This cell, part of the spell in fact, can only be opened by a human. Not a Goddess. Why don't you give it a try?"

She looked at the door warily, "Okay."

"What if she isn't?" Littleton asked.

"Then we'll deal with it," Jimmy said, as they watched their old friend make her way toward the cell door, "Watch."