Leaving, as it turned out, was going to be more complicated than just walking back out through the hole we had made with Tabbris’s wings. I hadn't noticed it during the fight, but there was some sort of red glowing shield around this entire room. The thing even covered the hole in the ceiling. According to Rico and Harris, the shield had been set up by multiple Committee people putting an awful lot of power into it. It was an automated thing. As soon as we were in here, being unauthorized personnel, the shield triggered. It was strong enough that even Tabbris wouldn't have been able to shoot through it with a single doomwing blast. It would take a few of those. If she was an adult who had fully grown into her wings, it'd be one thing, but she was still young. And I had to tell her to stop apologizing for that. We would find another way out. Right now, we needed to make sure everyone was in one piece.

  Oh yeah, and naturally, my teleportation wasn't working. That was cut off, along with presumably any other transportation powers. Because of course it was. I would've been shocked if preventing teleportation wasn't literally the first thing they did to secure this place. But it was still annoying.

  So, the rest of us compared notes on what shape we were in, making sure to stay away from the tube to avoid setting anything off. As much as we wanted to grab Gaia and get the hell out of there, having all of our memories completely annihilated and being left as a vegetable really didn't sound good. While Hecate went to work, I tried to focus on seeing through the eyes of the ghosts that had been sent after Percy and the others, but I was still cut off from my Necromancy. It was still going to take longer for that to come back, dammit.

  Since I couldn't check on the others, I decided to focus on the ones who were right here. The next minute was spent making sure Avalon, Marian, Aylen, and Miranda were in one piece. We were all beat up, and would need some healing time. Especially Miranda, who would have been in even rougher shape if it hadn't been for an ability she’d picked up somewhere that allowed her to heal herself somewhat by creating duplicates who weren't injured, and then reabsorbing them.

  With the help of Locke, who switched in temporarily to use her healing smoke power, we dealt with the worst of the injuries that were left. We didn't have enough smoke to completely fix everyone back to normal, but we were all on our feet and as ready as we could be.

  Standing next to Avalon while the other girl was staring very intently at Hecate, I reached out to squeeze her arm. I really wanted to tell her it was going to be fine, that we were about to get Gaia back, anything encouraging, but I knew better than to jinx it like that. Instead, I just silently stood there and gave her a slight nod when she briefly glanced my way. I saw the smile that appeared when she realized I wasn't going to say anything comically dangerous.

  Aylen came up to the other side, but she didn't say anything about that either. She just announced, “I've tried a few different ways to get a look out of this room, but nothing works. Can't get any communication up either. They really went all out on making sure anyone that gets locked in here can't leave again.”

  “Yes, they did,” Harris put in from the other side of the room where she had been conferring with Rico. “Even we weren’t allowed to know the full details about it. I suppose the reasoning is obvious.”

  Marian, holding one hand against a burn mark along her side from an attack that had also cut through part of her clothing there, grimaced. “This is so far beyond the rules. We’re always supposed to have a way out. Dad’s rules, always have a way to leave.”

  Forcing myself to wink casually that way, I pointed out, “Well, then it's a good thing we do. That's why your grandpa and Laein are out there, remember? We'll just have to wait and let them do their thing.”

  Miranda nodded. “Besides, you've got the goddess of magic in here with us. And, pretty soon, we'll have Gaia too. If those guys on the outside, and these ones in here can't open this room, I won't have to worry about being trapped, because I'll just die of shock. Let's have a little faith.”

  Marian was staring at the so-called goddess of magic right then. Her voice was a little tense. “Yeah, well, remember what they said about what would happen if any of them showed up here? Now they’re here, and they’re part of the Committee too. I'm pretty sure that means we're about to have company. You really think Teach and the others are gonna be able to keep them distracted now that that alarm has gone off? Any second now, we're gonna end up surrounded by Ruthers and company.”

  Before any of us could say anything about that, Hecate spoke up from where they were standing. Their voice reached all the way over to us, magically brought right to our ears even though they were speaking softly. “Don’t hand me a failing grade, of course the alarm is delayed. Looking ahead was prudent, as I brought a dear student. While we work here, using all that we know, she is causing the alert to be rather slow.”

  I blinked a couple times at that before glancing to the others with a shrug. “Well, there you go. The alert’s delayed, somehow.” I felt a tiny bit of my anxiety about possibly being ambushed by the Committee in the next few seconds shift over. It didn't disappear, it just joined its companions in obsessing over what was happening with Percy, Shiori, and the others. If they were hurt, or worse, while I was stuck in here… No, absolutely not. I wouldn't think about that. I wouldn't consider it.

  Avalon’s hand found mine and squeezed. She knew what I was thinking just as much as I had known her thoughts. The two of us exchanged glances, and I felt some of that tension ease out of me entirely. It would be okay. It would be all right. I just had to believe that and stay calm.

  Extra, who had come back in so Locke could go back to the Archive to hopefully speed along the recovery of her healing smoke, spoke up. We really don't think Hecate would have come in here without having a way out. And they said to get ready to run, remember? I don’t think they were invisible in here the entire time, because that would’ve risked letting that alarm go off. So, they came in after the lockdown happened. If they came in, I think they probably have a way back out.

  Tabbris agreed. Yeah, yeah! And tell them if they need any extra energy for it, I can let them siphon from my wings. As much as they want.

  Deciding not to interrupt Hecate just yet to ask if they needed anything, or if they had a plan to get out of here in the first place, I instead took a moment to check on Eurso and the sharks. They were roughed up, especially Sherman, who looked like he was barely conscious in that little magic water bubble. Extra switched out with Locke once more, so the latter could use just a little bit more of the healing smoke. Enough of it had come back by that point to help my buddies here. I made sure they were swimming properly, and that all of them, including Eurso, knew how much I appreciated their help. Then I sent them back to the pocket dimension to get some rest.

  By that point, it had honestly only been a couple minutes. But it felt like hours. It was all I could do not to throw my arms up and ask Hecate how much longer this was going to take. With every second that passed, I kept getting more and more anxious. And now I didn't have taking care of anyone in here to distract me from that. All I had was the voice in my head reminding me of how dangerous this was, and how easily the whole thing could still go horribly sideways. Damn voice.

  Hey, don't blame us, Extra put in. We're trying to tell you it's gonna be okay.

  Uh huh! Tabbris agreed. I bet if you count to five, you'll feel better. Let's do it now!

  She immediately started counting, so I gave a quick mental shrug and did the same. We counted to five together, but I didn't feel the tension getting any better in the process. If anything, counting off those five seconds just reminded me that we were that much closer to being caught.

  But then, right after we finished counting, things changed. There was a sudden cheerful chiming sound, followed by a hiss as the pod began to open.

  All right, I demanded immediately and incredulously, exactly how the hell did you do that?

  Tabs gave a soft, mental giggle. Those hand signs you just saw Hecate making weren't part of a spell. It was sign language. They were counting down. So, I figured it was probably worth a shot, you know?

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  I was already telling my little sister just how amazing she was while joining the others in rushing that way. Avalon nearly lunged at the tube, but stopped herself right next to where Hecate was standing. “Is it safe? Did you disable the defenses?” Her voice was sharp as she gazed intently at the tube as it continued to very slowly open. This thing had a flair for the dramatic, that was for sure.

  “She is not entirely cured, but yes, her safety is assured,” Hecate informed us. “Unfortunately, we have no time for her to fully awaken, before this place becomes godforsaken. Lest you wish a Committee bout, you must carry her out.”

  Right, so it was going to take awhile for Gaia to wake up. I really shouldn't have been surprised about that in the least. If nothing else, the Loyalists would have wanted to make absolutely sure that, even if Gaia came out of that, she wouldn't be able to fight back or do anything in the time it would take to move her somewhere else.

  So, Aylen brought out a floating gurney, before she and Avalon carefully lifted Gaia out of the tube and laid her down on it. I immediately felt my heart and stomach twist. Gaia looked so thin and barely cared for. She was being kept alive in there, but it was obvious she wasn't getting everything she needed. That was probably another intentional thing to keep her too weak to fight back whenever they needed to take her out of there. Suddenly, I wanted to kill some people all over again. I almost felt like it would be a good thing if the Committee showed up, so I could tell them exactly what I thought of them.

  Telling myself that was beyond idiotic, I instead looked at Hecate. “We were really hoping you had a way out of this place, because it turns out they really don't want us to leave.” My head nodded toward the shield around the room. “And it really feels like we've overstayed our welcome at this point.”

  Meeting my gaze for a moment, that ethereally attractive, yet androgynous face studying mine from under that hood, they replied, “I am humbled by your trust. And I will show that it is just.”

  With that, they walked up to the shield and reached into their cloak before coming out with what looked an awful lot like a simple ballpoint pen. Clicking it open, they leaned down, touched the pen against the shield, and then proceeded to draw a literal doorway right there on it. After it was drawn, they held the pen up and clicked it again. Just like that, that part of the shield disappeared, leaving an opening to the other side. They turned and raised a hand for us to go.

  We didn't need any other invitation. We all went right through that opening. As Gaia was carried past, Hecate reached out to gently brush their fingers through her hair. For just a second, I saw their face harden, eyes flashing with a dangerous thunderstorm of anger. It said a lot about just how much they cared about Gaia, and suddenly, I was back to almost wishing Ruthers would show up again. Not for me to demonstrate my displeasure, but so Hecate could do it.

  The good news was that as soon as we were out of that chamber and back in the tunnel my ghost had used to find this place, I could feel my Necromancy once more. Instantly, I reached out to check on Seth, feeling that rush of fear just before making contact.

  They were okay. They were alive. Well, not in the case of Seth and the other ghosts, but still. Actually, he and a couple others were all that were left of the thirty I had sent out there. The Heretic who had grabbed Percy had done a number on my ghosts. But Percy herself, Cerberus, Shiori, and Asenath were okay. Pretty beat up and exhausted, but okay. They were all slumped around some boxes and crates behind the supermarket I used to buy deli sandwiches from. I spoke through Seth to let them know we had Gaia and were coming out. I assured them we would come that way and that they should just stay there.

  By that point, we had gone all the way through that tunnel, up through the pool area, and returned to the hallway upstairs. I glanced behind us to say something to Hecate, but they weren't there. A quick check all around, including some help from a set of ghosts, revealed no sign of them at all. They had disappeared again.

  Before I could focus too much on that, we turned the corner back to the big room with all the treadmills right before the front foyer where we had left my dad and Laein. When we had gone down that hole over there, the door had been sealed shut. But now, it was open, and the two of them were standing there looking just as anxious as I felt. As bad as it had been to be in the midst of that while we were saving Gaia, I couldn't imagine how it would have felt to have to stand there and wait to find out what happened.

  No sooner had we appeared, than Dad raised a hand and called out. “This place is doing its best to shut itself down completely, so we should really leave.”

  Laein was less subtle. “He means this whole damn building is about to close in on itself and fall into a pocket universe that none of us have a way out of. So move your asses and get the hell out right now!”

  We didn't exactly need that much encouragement to run. Together, all of us rushed out of there. On the way, I could see the hastily-drawn spells those two had put up all over that front foyer, apparently to delay that shift into the pocket dimension as much as possible. Still, now that they mentioned it, or maybe because they had stopped erecting more spells to stop it, I could hear the building groaning. Hell, I could feel the energy all around us. Something big was definitely coming. It was time to skedaddle.

  We raced out of that place together. With the front wall down, we didn't even have to go one at a time. We didn't exactly have the seconds to spare for that. We spread out and hurled ourselves clear, landing haphazardly in the parking lot beyond just as a loud crack filled the air. Turning over, I watched as the building seemed to collapse in itself until it was about the size of a dollhouse. Then it just vanished.

  Well, Locke muttered, that was kind of close.

  Before responding, I set up and looked around to see what was going on out here. The battle had clearly been pretty intense, but it was over now, and the Camelot people were still standing. Well, enough of them were, anyway. There were bodies littered around the place, Some of whom wouldn't be getting up again. At least it looked like they gave better than they got. This place was a war zone. I had absolutely no idea what the Bystander Effect was going to do about any of this, or why the entire place wasn't completely surrounded by cop cars. Hell, even the National Guard. Someone out there must've done something to stop any Bystanders from noticing what was happening. It was the only explanation.

  Gwen was suddenly standing in front of me, offering her hand. “Hey, looks like you got her out of there. Good job.”

  Accepting the hand up, I shook my head. “We couldn't have done it without Hecate. They showed up right when we needed them. But what about you guys? What about…” I trailed off while glancing toward the motionless bodies lying around.

  Gwen exhaled and lowered her gaze briefly. Then she looked back to me and carefully replied, “Everyone made their choice. They wanted to be here to help get Gaia. None of them would have changed that choice, even if they knew what would happen. I know, because I asked them before this happened. And you'll know when you bring them with us. Everyone here told me they wanted you to do that if it came down to it.”

  Well, what could I say to that? Extending one hand, I focused on all the dead I could feel over there. I summoned all of them, every last dead person. I'd sort out the ones who wanted to be there from the ones that didn't when this was over. I even took the ghosts of the Seosten-aligned people in the process.

  Of course, things still couldn't end that easily. Even as I was doing that, and some of the others were talking about an extraction, a new problem presented itself. Namely, the enormous Seosten gunship that abruptly appeared in the sky over our heads. The thing was big enough to basically cover the entire city, blocking out the sun and covering us in darkness. And no sooner had it appeared, than the thing projected a force field all around the parking lot. Then a dozen or so starfighters began flying circles around the place, making it clear they could open fire at any point.

  That was when a group of people appeared in a beam of energy sent down from the ship. There were thirty of them. Twenty-nine were heavily-armed and armored soldiers of all shapes and sizes. Each of them looked ready to turn this town into a smoking crater.

  Meanwhile, the last guy was someone I really didn't want to see. Not that I especially wanted to see any of these guys, but still. It was a very old Seosten, even by their standards. His face was thick with wrinkles, and he had lost most of his hair, leaving only a few wispy white strands. It was Metatron, the guy in charge of Seosten operations on Earth. He took a few steps forward and looked us all over before scoffing. “Right, that is just about enough of that. You won't be taking the witch anywhere, and now all of you will surrender.”

  Gwen stepped that way to meet him. If she was at all worried about the troops he had backing him up, or the giant ship overhead, she didn't show it. “What happened to the truce? I think you've gone a bit beyond stretching it.”

  Metatron looked at her like she was a bug he was being forced to have a conversation with. “My opinion on the subject notwithstanding, our general truce remains. We are not invading, and we will not put this planet under our heel, much as I would like to. This is about preventing the witch from bringing back the dragon king. This is about ensuring our war with Camelot itself remains finished. And you, the so-called queen, will just have to learn to live without your husband. Or your sister-in-law.”

  Gwen, in turn, drew both of her swords and stared him down. “We're leaving here, and we're taking Gaia with us.”

  Metatron gave a soft, humorous chuckle. “And how do you think you're going to do that with these ships in your way?”

  “What ships?”

  That wasn't Gwen’s voice. And as it came, the starfighters abruptly stopped circling. They all flew down, spreading out around the parking lot before turning over. Their cockpits opened, and the pilots were dropped out to land roughly on the ground. At the same time, that giant gunship rose a bit and turned so it wasn't blocking the sun anymore. The shield it had been projecting disappeared. And we could all see more glowing beams of energy as its entire crew were transported down, evicted from their own vessel.

  Yes, the voice that had said that was Gaia. She was sitting up on the stretcher, looking at Metatron as every single starfighter, and the main ship itself, proceeded to train every weapon they had on him.

  “I do thank you and your pawns for the hospitality you've shown this year,” Gaia assured him.

  “But I'll be checking out now.”

  Joke Tags: It’s Nice To See That Gaia Didn’t Waste Any Time Showing The Seosten Why They Were Right To Be Afraid Of What Could Happen If She Was Around To Fight Them With Camelot