One morning, a few weeks later, Demona had been enjoying a few hours of pleasant sleep, courtesy of the fairy child's generous gift, when she was sharply awakened. Disoriented, she sat up and looked about. Was it a loud noise that had disturbed her? She didn't hear anything now, but she felt a strange shaking. She looked down at her human hands, which were not trembling. It wasn't her that was shaking, but the bed and the room itself. She got up quickly and looked around the room. The shaking had stopped and nothing looked amiss. Curious, but not particularly alarmed, she returned to her bed and lay across it on her back. Her mind immediately turned to the same concern that had preoccupied her since the child of Oberon's vision had given her clues as to how to break the curse.

It seemed like such an insurmountable task, trying to make amends for a crime she committed centuries ago. She was quite certain the Hunters would not be appeased by any attempt at atonement that fell short of her own painful execution. Inconveniently, her life was not a sacrifice that she was at liberty to offer, even if she'd been inclined to do so. She considered that her actual death might not be necessary. Perhaps, if she merely convinced the Hunters that they had successfully killed her, that would be enough? But how could she ensure they would think her dead when she suffered only the pain from her wounds and no actual damage? She didn't really relish the idea of turning herself over to be mutilated and tortured if it wasn't going to at least be a foolproof plan. Besides that, what was it that Goliath was always saying?

"Death is not the answer. Life is."

Most of the time she found this mantra naïve and even cowardly, but this was one situation where she had to agree with the sentiment. And if blood offerings were Goliath's least favorite problem solving technique, deception came in at a close second. This disheartened her a bit, because as far as she could tell, she was going to need some assistance from him in order to break this curse. How else was she going to get out of the castle in order to find the Hunters?

She supposed she could work on Xanatos, but he seemed pretty solid in his conviction to prove to Goliath that he was a good little scout. Truthfully, she was as well, and no less pathetic about it. Ever since the night in the pool, when Goliath had told her he believed she was strong enough to beat the sickness that plagued her soul, she had wanted nothing more than to prove him right, or at very least, avoid proving him wrong. Several times, she had gone down to join him in the library and had been almost desperate to tell him what had transpired between her and the fairy and perhaps plead for his help in the matter. But she had been too afraid of what his reaction would be. She was going to have to find the courage to tell him though. If she could not get free of the castle to seek out the Hunters, the only other option would be to try to lure them there, which was the making of another nightmare.

Her thoughts were interrupted by another long series of loud, violent sounds, followed by several seconds of tremors. This time she was sure it was the building itself that shook, as vibrations were enough to make the items on her shelves rattle loudly as low rumbling waves seemed to pass through the room.

"What in the world is Xanatos up to down there?" she thought out loud, "It sounds like he might take the whole building down!"

Realizing that she wasn't going to fall asleep again, she thought she might take a book down to read in the conservatory. She rose to get herself dressed in her human clothing, collected the book she wanted and almost walked directly into Xanatos as she turned the corner. Immediately, she sensed something was off. Xanatos was typically the very model of composure, even under great stress. But now there was something uncertain in his face and wild about his eyes. Even so, he attempted to greet her with a smile.

"Oh, you're awake, Adelpha. How are you this morning?"

"I'm just fine, Xanatos. Only the downstairs neighbors have been a bit noisy today."

"Have they?" he exclaimed, emitting the most awkward laugh she'd ever heard from him, "Well we will see what we can do about that. Why don't I take you downstairs where it's quieter?" He quickly took the book from her hand, added a couple others from a stack on the table, and picked up the remote control for her implants. Then glancing around the room, he also grabbed a blanket that was folded up at the foot of the bed. Her eyes narrowed.

"Where exactly are we going?" she demanded.

"Come on! Let's go find out!" he exclaimed with mock enthusiasm. As she followed him down the corridor, he stopped at an elevator that was typically a boundary she was not permitted to cross. Taking his own control panel, and trying to balance it with all the other objects he was carrying, he typed in a few codes.

"Do you mind taking a few of these things?" he asked her, and still skeptical, she obliged.

He finished what she assumed was changing the boundaries on her implants and pushed the button for the elevator.

"That smell, Xanatos," she said suspiciously, "You smell like burning rubber and jet fuel. Have you been near an explosion?" He sighed and avoided eye contact with her. The elevator dinged and they got in.

"There's dust and debris in your hair and all over your clothes. What's happened?" He made an attempt to wipe his hair free of noticeable debris, but continued to ignore her question.

"Was it the Hunters? Did they attack the tower?"

"No," he said simply, staring straight ahead.

"Are we being bombed?"

"It's nothing you need worry about," he explained in an impatient, frustrated tone as the elevator reached their destination and the doors opened to reveal a long, cinder block hallway, with several other elevators, including a freight elevator on the opposite end. He hurried down the hallway and took her on an abrupt turn to the left. Suddenly, she realized where he was taking her and she held his arm.

"Please!" she hissed with sudden urgency, "Do I at least get to know if my daughter and the others are safe?" Xanatos nodded, and took a step back to open the door of the freight elevator. The stone figures of Goliath and Brooklyn were both inside.

"There you are. They're all being brought in as well. Safe and sound, just like you. You needn't worry about any of this. It will only upset you." He gestured for her to follow him and she went to the holding cell she knew was waiting behind a steel, sliding gateway.

"I'm sorry the accommodations aren't as nice as what you are accustomed to," he apologized genuinely, "I'll try to get you out as quickly as possible." Still very anxious, she allowed herself to be sealed in the cell without complaint. Xanatos disappeared behind the closing gate and she shuddered in the weak, unpleasant light in the barren room. What had happened? Xanatos had moved the clan for their safety, so it must have been a significant threat and one Xanatos was unsure he could successfully thwart. Demona sat on the cold, steel floor, pondering what she knew uneasily. Then, realizing there was nothing she could do but worry herself sick, she lay her head down on the blanket Xanatos had brought for her and rested her eyes.

"Adelpha, Adelpha! Can you hear me?" the small voice of the fairy child cried out, easily rousing her from her awkward dosing.

"What are you doing down here?" she asked him.

"I was looking for you," he explained.

"What time is it?" she asked.

"I don't know. I can't read time yet." She rolled her eyes.

"You can tell my fate, but you can't tell time? Is it starting to get dark yet?" His childish face fell.

"Oh, it's gotten very dark!" he told her, "But not from the time. Something bad is happening outside. Everyone is running around. No one is noticing anything. You could go look for the Hunter now and no one would even know you were gone."

"Are you serious?" she asked cynically, "What about the implants? What about Xanatos?"

"He's about to leave. I just heard him say so. He says he is going to do whatever he can to help. And he turned off the boundaries when he brought you down here. All that's keeping you in here is…"

"The electrified, steel gate," she concluded. The boy wrinkled his nose and looked toward the gate. Shutting his eyes tight as if to focus, he raised his hands over his head. A beam of energy flew from each of them and hit the gate, and suddenly it lifted.

Demona's eyes widened in amazement. This boy had a tremendous amount of power. Her own suspicious nature questioned whether she had been foolish to accept his innocent persona so readily. Her opportunistic nature wondered what other tricks he might be capable of.

"Go on," he encouraged, pushing her shoulder.

"What about Goliath?"

"Goliath? He's asleep. What can he do?"

"He's going to wake up. And when he does and finds out I've snuck out he'll be…" She looked down in scorn. It was pathetic, and she knew it. But she didn't want to disappoint him.

"Do you want to stop the Hunter, or not?" he demanded, placing his hand on his hips. She suddenly noticed that he was wearing the typical clothing of a human child, including a pair of dirty, poorly tied sneakers and a hooded sweatshirt with a Mets logo on it.

"Wait. Are you planning on going with me?" she asked in surprise.

"Don't you think I ought to?" he asked, "You are basically lost without me."

"Oh, is that how it is?" she demanded, irritated at the boy's impertinence, "You put on a human child's clothing and suddenly you're a cheeky brat?"

"It happens every time!" he explained as he grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the gate, "You should see what happens when I wear my Yankees jersey!"

She let the fairy child pull her into the corridor, and they made their way toward the public garage, which she figured was the best bet for getting out of the building unseen by anyone who would know to stop them. To her annoyance, she realized that they had to go past the exit to the Xanatos' private garage to get there and it turned out that was exactly where Xanatos was, speaking hastily with Owen inside the security office, before leaving. They stopped short, just outside the window where the security guard was supposed to be, and listened in, trying to get an idea of what was going on.

"Were you able to find any more masks, Owen?" he asked urgently.

"Yes, sir," he replied, "We have over forty gas masks in the building, and boxes and boxes of protective masks. We have nearly a thousand in various locations around the city. We're working on getting them to police headquarters as quickly as possible."

"Well done, Owen. Do you have any idea how many people are still upstairs?"

"Over eight-hundred are sheltering in the lobby and the atrium, most of them Xanatos' Enterprise employees, but some off of the street," he informed him.

"We're going to need blankets and food for them,"

"That's all been taken care of, sir. Our staff is getting prepared to house any more that come in overnight as well. And the team in the medical office are doing everything they can to help the injured that have come in."

"That's why our people are the best, right Owen?" Xanatos replied, trying his best to sound confident as he packed a gas mask and a set of flares among other things in a large backpack. He drew a deep breath and looked around as if trying to remember something.

"If you can get Fox on the phone, please tell her not to come into the city. Alex is safe here in the building and he's going to be fine. All the streets are closed and you can't get anywhere right now. I don't want her out in the street."

"I've not been able to get through to Mrs. Xanatos' phone yet, but I will keep trying. What about the gargoyles, sir?" Xanatos, paused and put a hand to his forehead.

"I had them moved into the storage in the basement, just in case this isn't over."

"And I assume that Demona-

"Adelpha," Xanatos corrected.

"Forgive me, sir. I assume Adelpha is not to be told anything?" Owen asked.

"I promised Goliath I would not tell her anything about the outside world and I didn't. But she's not blind and she's well acquainted with what devastation looks like. I think she already has a good guess of what's going on."

"Sir, what does Goliath fear she will do if she did find out?"

"Who knows what she'd do," Xanatos answered, his tone suddenly becoming inexplicably menacing, "If he thinks she'd launch some sort of revenge campaign on the terrorists, I'm half inclined to arm her myself! She's been a good girl lately. Let her have some fun!" He slowly took a deep breath, as if trying to quell the rage that was evident in his eyes.

"I didn't mean that," he said, not being entirely honest, "It's for her protection as much as anyone else's. She has such a good chance. Goliath just doesn't want to jeopardize that."

"If I may, sir," Owen suggested, "It's going to be almost impossible to keep all of this a secret from her. Leaving her in the dark about the attacks when she's already guessed for herself that something terrible has happened seems a lot more damaging than simply telling her the truth, in this case."

"I must agree, Owen," he replied, "But I promised Goliath, and I'm going to leave him to decide what to tell her and when." He sighed again and his face betrayed a level of emotion she had never seen on him before.

"What I'm far more concerned about is who has to tell Goliath."

"Perhaps Detective Maza is the best person for that job?" Owen suggested. Xanatos nodded.

"Have you heard from her yet?" Owen asked and Xanatos shook his head with pursed lips and tired eyes.

"I don't know where she is, but if she's alive and still able to walk, I'm confident she'll be here before they wake up. Now I've got to see a man about a crane."

"Yes sir." Owen followed Xanatos into the garage, giving them the chance to sneak past the security desk and into the public use garage for the building.

"Terrorists," she muttered to herself as they hurried past scores of cars that wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon, "So, it really wasn't the Hunters attacking the building."

Heading to the first marked exit, they hurried to push open the double door, but found it wouldn't budge.

"Why would the exit be locked?" the boy thought out loud.

"It's not locked, it's blocked. Something is pushed against it from the outside," she placed her ear near the door to hear a cacophony of shouts and sirens.

"Hello?" she yelled, banging at the door, then trying again to budge it with her shoulder.

"Come on," she told him, "We'll try down a level." They hurried down two flights of stairs to the next sublevel and began looking for a street exit, but they only found signs that directed them back up stairs. They did find a metal door with a chain on it and although they had no idea where it led, the child of Oberon tripped the lock with a wave of his hand and they hurried down a dimly lit corridor, which took them around a corner and to another set of stairs, that only went up. Frustrated, they went to turn back around, when they were both startled by a loud, metallic banging that seemed to come from behind the stairs. Cautiously, they went around the back of the cement staircase and found a small door with a red frame. The door was so short, a typical adult would have to duck to go through it and it was heavily barred and chained. Bolted to the front was a yellow, metal sign that read, "Public Works Access, NYC Public Transit Authority, NO ADMITTANCE." This was the source of the banging they'd heard and now the sounds of human voices were also apparent.

"Can anyone hear us?" someone shouted, "We can't see in here."

"Please let us out!" another voice cried.

"Can you open this lock?" she asked the boy and he quickly obliged. Just as soon as she'd pulled the door open, she had to grab the boy and whisk him out of the way as scores of terrified, dirty, and injured people trampled past them and disappeared up the stairs.

"I'm beginning to think this might have been a bad idea," she commented, as she glanced through the door into a brick tunnel with hardly any light.

"We've gotten this far already," he pointed out as he formed a small glowing ball of light. They ventured into the tunnel, which she suspected was a maintenance access for the subway. The other end of the tunnel had another door, which someone had broken the chain on, and once they opened it, they found themselves on a catwalk, adjacent to the subway line. Seeing a bright light not far ahead, they hurried along the catwalk until they walked out onto a platform with relief.

"Now it's just up the stairs and we'll be out!" the boy cheered, but their relief was short-lived. The stairs up to the street were covered with nearly a foot of foul-smelling ash and debris, and nearly every bench in the station and most of the steps were taken up with more terrified people, many of whom were either tending a wound, crying hysterically, gasping for breath, or frantically trying to help someone who was. They slowly made their way up an already established path in the crowd of humanity, and stepped out onto the street.

The street was much worse. The sun was nearly blocked out by the choking, repulsive-smelling cloud of debris. They both coughed continuously as they walked past sights so horrid, she instinctively picked the child up and carried him against her shoulder so he didn't have to see them. Through the cloud, she could see the main entrance to the lobby of the Eyrie Building, which was about three blocks away from them now.

"Adelpha, what is this?" the child of Oberon asked, showing her his hands, "They burn!" She looked at his hands, and indeed, there were tiny red burns forming on them, where he had touched the debris.

"Oh no!" she realized, "It's iron. There's bits of iron in the dust!" The boy's eyes opened wide in alarm and he began to cough violently.

"We've got to get you back inside!" she realized out loud. She tugged the sweatshirt down over his hands and pulled the hood up to cover his mouth and nose, then lifted him again and ran as fast as she could through the ash and filth to the lobby entrance of the building. Fortunately, Xanatos' security team was letting people seek shelter in the lobby without asking any questions. She was about to carry the child inside, when he began to squirm and said, "Wait!"

"You've got to get back inside before you breathe in anymore of this!" she insisted.

"I'll go back in, but you have to keep looking. You've got to find out about the Hunters."

"Child, this is insane! It's a literal warzone out here!"

"I'm telling you, this is where you need to be," he said confidently, "You see, it's not going to happen all at once. It's about the choices you make. The next piece is waiting for you. But you have to be in the right place at the right time." She stared at the child incredulously.

"None of those words make any sense," she complained.

"You'll figure it out," he replied, "Just go." And with that, the young fairy pulled away, and ran to the lobby entrance. She watched him make his way to safety before turning around to face the devastation around her and try to work out which direction led to the right place at the right time.