She fell forward, into his arms, and for a brief moment, she felt nothing but joy. But then the infrasonic sound went over her skin, peppering her with goosebumps. She yelped in fear and pain when she hit the hard wood of the bower floor, landing on her already bleeding face.

Lionel stood above her, swaying gently. She panicked, and backed away on her knees, standing up. Bradley stood behind her, caught her shoulders, and she started to hyperventilate.

"It's okay, Celia," he said, gently. His voice was friendlier than she'd ever heard it.

"Calm down, chick," the other soldier said, and she jumped when she realized it was Jesse. She had assumed it was Mayer. What the hell was Jesse doing in Detroit?!

Lionel stood, doing nothing. Adam wiped his face, chuckling. Echo didn't echo, and Celia stared at her. She just sat with her eyes wide, frightened, hands hugging herself tightly.

"Bradley, hold her," Adam said.

"No," he answered.

For a moment, the High Ferrule kept wiping his face, then paused and slowly turned his good eye on Bradley. "Mayer, shoot Bradley."

"Sorry, man, he's dead." Jesse nodded and held up the gatling laser, and a sharp whining noise started up.

"Protect me!" Adam shrieked, and dashed backward. Lionel moved in front of the ghoul and Jesse jerked the gun upwards, before releasing the trigger. Lasers shot out of the barrel into the ceiling. Celia shrieked and Bradley caught her, as she was going to throw herself at Jesse.

The laser rifle came out and Bradley aimed it at Lionel, one hand on the weapon and the other holding Celia back. "This is the unknown," he said to Jesse. "All shots uncalled."

A rumbling noise came through the Concourse and the ceiling shook. Celia looked up and crouched, covering her head. Clattering bits of metal and tinkling glass fell around them, one large piece sinking into Lionel's bad shoulder. He didn't even flinch.

"Landis really did it." Jesse reached out to pull Celia behind him. "The whole place is gonna blow. We gotta go, chick! C'mon," he said, moving away from the group.

"No!" she shrieked. "No! I can't leave him!"

"Jesse, I need your help," Bradley said, keeping his rifle on Lionel. "I really don't want to have to shoot him."

"Man, you people," Jesse moaned, and took the gatling laser off his back. He stretched his legs and then ran without stopping, straight into Lionel, who turned to catch him, but was knocked back just enough that Bradley got a clear shot.

The laser sparkled, almost, as it crossed within an inch of Jesse's back and directly into the remaining eye of the High Ferrule. He glowed, briefly, then dissolved into ashes and crumbled to the floor.

Lionel growled in rage, and picked up Jesse, slamming him to the ground. Jesse grunted and coughed, the visor on the power armor cracked. Lionel began to slam his foot repeatedly into Jesse's head, and Jesse threw his arms out to stop him, trying to grab onto his leg.

Celia didn't think, she just threw herself at Lionel, trying to pin his arm down. Tears streamed down her face. "Stop!" she screamed. "STOP!"

Lionel grabbed her hard, by her shoulder, seizing her upper arm and slamming her to the ground. Stars exploded in her head, and she regained her sight just in time to see him lifting a foot to stomp on her. Bradley shot him, then, and she rolled to the side. She sobbed, holding her shoulder. Lionel's leg went limp at his side, and his head swiveled to stare down Bradley.

"I told you," Jesse muttered, and coughed, and it sounded wet. "The gimp's gone feral."

Something happened, then, and Lionel stopped, wavering, his leg collapsing under his weight. "Goddammit," he said, weakly, landing on his hand and knees.

"Lionel," she moaned, feeling the scalp on the back of her head start to bleed.

An explosion tore through the roof, then, and she watched as the pieces of the array began to fall down onto them. Jesse swore loudly, moved himself over Celia, and she curled up underneath his armor, her head to the side.

"Lionel!" she screamed.

He looked up at her with his wonderful starry eyes, and smiled, and a piece of rebar violently erupted from his throat.

The roof caved in on them, and a cloud of black dust billowed out from the Temple, as the building began to fall apart.

She came back to the tomb, to Rock. He grinned, ecstasy writing itself onto his face. The Rabbit cajoled him, brought him a story. They sat in the Sepulchre, his head in her lap, looking up at her with a shining eye, seeing her face in pain.

She told him Rapunzel, given away by her parents, locked into a tower, and never saw anyone but the evil enchantress who kept her there. The king's son―"Rock, Rock!" he cried, closing his eye in pleasure―came to the tower, and found her, and visited every day. He wanted to take her away from the tower, make her his bride, and Rapunzel wanted it, too. But the enchantress found him out, and she cut Rapunzel's beautiful long hair right off her head!

"Rock," he growled, curling his fingers in anger.

The Rabbit told him that the enchantress laid a trap for the king's son, and knocked him from the tower into thorns, blinding him. He grieved, for she had banished away Rapunzel, and he wandered for many years in lament, unable to find his love. Eventually, he came to a desert, where he found Rapunzel living with their son and a daughter. Rapunzel cried in joy to find him, and her tears fell onto his eyes, healing his sight and his broken heart.

And Rock was glad to hear that the story ended happily.

But the Rabbit cried, anyway.