Everyone was a hot, sweaty mess a few hours later when Elisa finally allowed herself a sip of water.

The kids were sitting as far apart as they could, probably to avoid the body heat, Elisa mused. Elisa was sitting, her back propped up against a wall near Fox so that she could keep an eye on her.

So far, so good… or as good as could be expected, Elisa thought.

She was just beginning to drift herself when the first rumble began sounding, but as it gained volume, she snapped back to attention.

She scrambled to her feet, and ran to the little window. She couldn't stick her head out, but she did have the two flares left.

Hurriedly, she loaded the second cartridge and aimed it upwards.

This time, in her haste, she did lose her grip on the gun. She almost cried out as she felt the jerk and the small gun tumbled from her fingers to land on the ground below her with a solid thud.

Instead, she sat still and listened as the rumbling noise seemed to stop for a moment, then began to rapidly gain volume.

Elisa closed her eyes and thanked whatever deity was watching out for them.

It was the sound of vehicles, and quite a few of them, judging by the volume and the now discernable vibration under her feet.

Elisa hurried to the side cargo door, and waited impatiently as the engine noise cut off only to be replaced by voices. She didn't understand the language, but it was the most beautiful sound she'd heard in a long time.

There was a scraping noise as a patch of daylight began to appear as someone swept their arm over the sand and dust covered elongated window.

There was more shouting, and more scraping, and finally, the door itself began to move.

With a loud groan, and not a small amount of sand blowing in, the sliding door was opened and several faces peered in.

An old man, his skin darkened from the sun and weathered with age, said something to her.

"I'm sorry," Elisa said, her voice a little hoarse from the lack of water. "I don't understand."

The man stopped, nodded, and shouted something over his shoulder.

"Thanks, mate," a man's voice said, and… it sounded familiar.

Then the face appeared, and Elisa gaped at him. "Dingo?"

"Well, there's a face I never thought I'd see again," he said jovially, then looked around the helicopter. His gaze moved from Elisa, to the young pair on one side, the two stone gargoyles on the other end, and stopped to land on Fox. "More than one, I see."

Fox groaned and turned her face away from the light.

"I see you're in trouble here," he said. "We can get you all some help." Turning to take something from someone out of Elisa's sight, Dingo returned holding multiple bottles of water. "How about we start with this?"

Elisa took the water, then turned to her children. Liam was firmly in place in front of Nayeli, prepared to keep her hidden from sight as much as he was able until they knew if these people were friends or foes.

"It's alright," Elisa said, handing Liam the water bottle. "They're here to help us."

Liam nodded, taking the water, but not moving from his post.

Elisa sighed, then uncapped a bottle to take a drink. "Thank you, Dingo."

He gave her a nod, then waved to the others outside. There was the sound of multiple engines firing up, as three old pickup trucks and one jeep came into view.

"We have a place, not far from here," Dingo said, holding a hand out to Elisa.

"Help Fox, first," Elisa insisted, nodding to the woman who was still lying prone on the floor.

Dingo nodded, then leaned out to say something else in that strangely almost musical sounding language.

A group of people came forward, a professional grade backboard held between them, and Elisa had to wonder how many times they had done this. Rescuing people.

She helped roll and secure Fox onto the board with a head and neck stabilizer, and watched as they expertly lifted her into the back of a large SUV. The newest looking of the vehicles sported a large red cross on it, similar to those one would find on any medical transport.

Knowing that Fox was being taken care of, Elisa turned to Dingo, "Can we talk for a moment?" Elisa asked, quietly.

"No need to whisper," Dingo chuckled. "Most of those here don't speak English, and those who do are going with Fox to translate."

Elisa nodded. She turned to her children, and said, "I'll be right outside, guys. Give me a minute."

She stepped down from the helicopter, not far as the sandstorm had basically blown enough sand around them that there was now a convenient 'ramp' down, and looked at the man who had once been an enemy of the clan.

"I have a slight problem," Elisa said. "I have two children in here with me, and one is a little… unconventional."

Dingo nodded. "The young one who is awake during the day?"

Elisa blinked at him, and he gave her a sarcastic grin when he said, "We get the news here, same as the rest of the world. It is how the clan here knew that the rest were making themselves known and decided it was time to do the same."

Elisa sighed. "We were wondering," she admitted. "It came as a bit of a surprise when two clans we didn't even know of came out of nowhere."

"Two?" He frowned. "Who was the other?"

"Ireland," Elisa admitted. "We had representatives from all of the others in Manhattan, and they'd been there a while."

Dingo nodded. "Well, we are prepared to offer help and sanctuary for you all today, and we will have someone here tonight to direct the two that you have with you to our location. For now," he nodded to the helicopter, "how about we get you and the children to safety?"

Elisa still found herself hesitating, knowing that accepting sanctuary elsewhere meant leaving Goliath and Bolin, but she had the kids to think of. She finally nodded and turning, she leaned in just enough to see Liam and Nayeli. "What would you say about getting out of here?" Elisa asked with a smile for the kids.

Liam looked at her warily, but finally moved so that Nayeli could see and be seen. He took Elisa's offered hand and stepped out first, then offered his hand to Dingo. "Thank you," he said solemnly.

Dingo shrugged. "It's what we do," he said. "Here in the outback, we take care of each other. We won't leave your gargoyles unprotected," he promised. "We'll have a few of the tribes rotate out so that there is always someone here, keeping watch." He started to say something else, then gave a small involuntary jerk as he spotted Nayeli stepping from the craft.

Liam turned and realized the problem. He forgot sometimes just how much Nayeli resembled their mother until something reminded him.

In this case, with the two females standing so closely together, it was hard to not see the resemblance.

"Well, now," Dingo said, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck. "Didn't see that one coming."

Elisa sent him a look, and Dingo shrugged. "I saw the pictures, but in person…"

Nayeli tilted her head and took in their rescuer. "It is nice to meet you," she said, offering her hand to the tall man. "My name is Nayeli."

Dingo took her wrist and shook in the traditional warrior way that made Nayeli grin.

"I'm Dingo," he introduced himself. "And I know that there are quite a few gargoyles here that are anxious to meet you."

Nayeli gave a small sigh. "The prophecy?"

"The prophecy," Dingo confirmed. "I heard about that. But have no fear. You are all welcome here."

Liam and Nayeli sent their mother a look and Elisa gave them a reassuring nod. "Now that Fox is taken care of, how about we go find some shade," Elisa said, raising her hand to shield her eyes from the sun. "And maybe somewhere to get some actual rest."

Dingo gave them a smile. "I know just the place."