Gone.

Her daughter was gone.

Demeter trembled in the meadow, whether from grief or rage she didn't know. As soon as she had left Spirit, it had dawned on her that perhaps whoever had sent the false summons hadn't been after her or Spirit. She'd flown back to her chariot and forced her horses to run down the whole of Mount Olympus at top speed. They had barely cleared the base when she reined them into a sudden halt, dropping the reins and leaping off the chariot.

Demeter had burst into the meadow to come upon a terrible scene.

The nymphs in which she had entrusted her daughter with had all been turned to stone, varying degrees of horror and fear on their faces. The meadow itself was a mess. It looked like a tornado had ripped through it, chunks of earth ripped out from the ground.

She'd been barely able to keep her composure as she forced herself to look into each of their faces, sure that one would be her daughter's, green eyes petrified into the dull gray of stone.

The relief she felt when she went through all of the statues and found her daughter was not part of them was cut short when she realized that she had no clue where Maka was at all.

She started to comb the edge of the forest that lined the meadow, letting out a growl of frustration when she found nothing.

The plants around her started to wither, turning a sickening yellow color. Underneath her feet, the grass began to yellow rapidly.

Demeter gasped. She hadn't lost control since she officially became nurturer of the earth. She took a deep breath and swallowed hard, trying to calm herself.

What was there she could do? She asked herself. Searching for Maka as she was right now was almost certainly useless.

Demeter bit her lip as she turned to look at the mountain that was looming over her.

She sighed. There was no other choice.

"Gone?" Spirit repeated.

"That's what I just said, didn't I?" Demeter said through gritted teeth.

Her barging into the palace of Mount Olympus for the second time today hadn't seemed to lessen Spirit's surprise of seeing her here. At least, he'd had the sense to dismiss the crowd in the throne room.

"I don't know why I thought it'd be a good idea to come here." Demeter paced back and forth in front of him, unable to keep still. Her feet itched to be off, searching for her daughter.

But she needed Spirit's help to do that.

Demeter reached deep for patience. "Maka is gone. Kidnapped most likely, based on the scene in the meadow. As her father, it's your responsibility to help me find her." At this, she finally stopped pacing and looked entreatingly at Spirit. "Please," she said, hating that she sounded so helpless. "I won't be able to find her without you."

Spirit was silent for so long that Demeter began to question whether he even heard her. She was about to say something when Spirit finally spoke.

"Hecate!"

Demeter started. "Why are you ca-"

A door on the right of Spirit's throne opened.

"You called?" A soft voice asked. Hecate's earth form, Marie came in.

Demeter understood immediately. She turned to Spirit. "You think Hecate's sky form could have seen something."

Spirit nodded. "It's the best place to start."

"Not bad," Demeter said grudgingly. Spirit turned back to Marie, however, she no longer stood before him but instead a woman with short black hair stood in Marie's place, a stern look on her face.

"What have you messed up this time, Spirit?" Azusa demanded.

Spirit turned from regal ruler into a sulky child. "I've done nothing, you bossy little brat! Stop assuming the worst about me!"

"I will when you stop giving me cause to," Azusa sniffed.

Demeter smiled faintly in spite of herself. Azusa had been one of the very few in Mount Olympus that Demeter could refer to as a friend. Perhaps it was because they both could get under Spirit's skin like no one else.

"What were you hoping I saw?" Azusa was saying, crossing her arms. "A new lady love perhaps?"

Demeter interrupted while Spirit spluttered indignantly. "No, my daughter Maka. I believe she was kidnapped."

Azusa frowned. "Explain."

Quickly, Demeter related how she had left Maka behind and the scene she came upon when she went to fetch Maka. Azusa's frown grew deeper the longer Demeter spoke. When Demeter was finished, Azusa was quiet for a few minutes.

Finally she spoke. "I need to see this for myself. Wait here." Without another word, she vanished in a wave of smoke in front of Demeter's eyes.

Demeter resumed her anxious pacing. By now, Spirit had gotten over himself and talking, half to himself, half to Demeter.

"Do you remember when Maka was born?" he said dreamily.

"Yes, I was there," Demeter said tersely. "And you weren't. I believe you were at a rendezvous with one of your nymphs."

Spirit had the grace to look ashamed. "I didn't know you knew."

Demeter stopped pacing, glaring at him. "I knew everything. It was only because of my gracious generosity that I didn't make it public. Although I don't know why, I'm sure at least half of Mount Olympus knew of your dalliances, whether from personal experience or gossip."

Spirit's response was cut off by the re-appearance of Azusa. Azusa flicked off some dust from the sleeve of her black and white robe. "I have good news and bad news. The good news is that I found out who attacked your daughter."

"Who was it?" Demeter asked breathlessly.

From her sleeve, Azusa pulled a small scale. It was black but it had an odd silver glow to it. "This is a scale from a snake that was formerly part of the Gorgon sister known as Medusa," Azusa said. "From what I saw, it attacked your daughter."

"But why?" Demeter said weakly. "What would they want to do with Maka?"

Azusa shrugged. "As to that, I have no idea. Nor do I have any idea where your daughter is. However…" She reached into her sleeve again, pulling what looked like the shard of a blade.

"Is that what I think it is?" Spirit asked, speaking for the first time.

Azusa nodded. "One of the invulnerable weapons. Blessed by the River Styx."

The phrase rang a bell in Demeter's mind. "Those belong to Hades, don't they?"

Again, Azusa nodded. She held the scale and the shard close to each other. "Notice anything similar between the two?"

Demeter examined them. They both had the same silver sheen. "The snake was in the River Styx? Hades was helping them?"

Spirit inhaled sharply. "It's not possible. The kid's a brat but he would never side with the Gorgon sisters."

Demeter strained to remember what Hades looked like. The stories of him she knew but she wasn't sure if she'd ever seen him, seeing as he hardly ever ventured from the Underworld. What she certainly did recall was hearing he had a proclivity for madness.

Azusa echoed her thoughts. "You know he was somewhat odd, Spirit. The loneliness from being isolated in the Underworld may have caused him to snap. And he's the only one who could have possibly let in Medusa to work her magic."

Spirit shook his head but the expression on his face was wavering.

Demeter remembered the bad news Azusa had mentioned. "And the bad news?" she asked.

"I don't know where your daughter is," Azusa said. "I wasn't in my sky form when she was kidnapped. But that doesn't mean there isn't someone who didn't see what happened."

"And that is?" Spirit asked.

The palace doors crashed open, drowning out Azusa's answer.

A figure dressed in all black stepped in. His red eyes had a slightly eccentric glow to them. He pulled the hood from his head, revealing a shock of white hair.

He addressed Demeter. "I am Soul, also known as Hades. I have your daughter."