(last chapter has been changed slightly hence the republish x)

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At the head of the long conference table, Ailin sits with a straight back and blank face. Her hands methodically shuffle the papers in front of her, on which she has nothing actually written, before gathering them up to tap into a neat pile where they sit flat for a second before being moved again. The motion soothes her. She finds it hard to concentrate on much else, despite her body having recovered from the beating it just took, compliments of the God of Light and his healing abilities. By now she expected Elise to have appeared. Even if to just roll her eyes, say something insulting, and then disappear again. The wanted message would have been received by her by now, surely.

To her left, the Bunting family sit just as anxiously. Jordan draws a circle on the paper in front of him, going over and over the same line until it cuts through. Then he starts again in a different area. He had been clicking the pen, but one look from his father who sat beside him had him using it for its intended purpose instead. His parents hold hands and sit silently, tight-lipped and worried. Both blamed themselves for, everything and lost in thought, they brace themselves for the worst, because things always get worse before they get better. Don't they?

Opposite them, V is leaning back in his chair. Listening to the chaos at the end of the table, with a mixture of interest and boredom. None of this was doing anyone any good and catching the eye of Mrs Bunting, he offers her a tiny smile which she either ignores or just doesn't see. He worries about them. He worries about Elise. He glances at Ailin and worries about her too. The state that Elise had left her in at the hospital had made him wonder if their President would even make it. Turning back to the shouting god, he wondered what it was that brought them all together this way. Fate or a plan that another god had set into motion years before he had even been a twinkle in his father's eye. Both, everything or none of it. But here they all were, worried for one particularly darling girl, that they couldn't find.

Beside him Zane, Penny and Keiran talk amongst themselves as they are filled in on the attempted attack on Olivia and the chaos that followed. Zane has an uneasy feeling growing in the pit of his stomach. He doesn't like it and knows whatever is going on might not end well. These things rarely do after all, while Keiran wants merely to return upstairs and be with his family. His may worry solely about his wife who is not dealing with the near abduction of their daughter well. Penny puts this all down to another Elise drama, that makes her so much more thankful for her own, boring life and minuscule problems while wondering how Colton will fare among this crazy little family she is now firmly apart of.

No interrupts the argument happening between the Powers and the Valkyrie, at least not until another Kasha demon appears beside Ailin, whispering something none of them in can hear before disappearing as quickly as she came.

"Is it, Elise?" Her mother breaks the silence.

"She was just located in our jail. Apparently-"

"Here? In this building?" Artemis demands.

"Yes," Ailin tells her; the tone of her voice is flat, giving none of her internal thoughts away.

"Did they-" Mrs Bunting doesn't want to ask, and so she stops herself.

"She is gone."

"How does that even work?" Penny huffs. "What happened to the security in this place?"

"It doesn't matter Penny. We are above the powers here, the few we can not break are what-" Apollo hesitated, but carried on. "Cain created during his time here."

"Oh." Penny nods, Jordan too as they understand.

The room falls silent once more.

"I was hoping the wanted message would have her check in or something!" Ailin admitted the defeat heavy in her voice at the latest news. "The look on her face when she came to me. If she hadn't brought me in when she did, I don't know if I would have survived."

Her eyes met Apollos, mutual respect flowed between the pair, and they knew, they all knew, this wasn't anything like the other times they had come together. This wasn't going to be like the other things they have faced. This time was different, and so was Elise.

"We have to find her," Artemis said softly.

Kara pulled out her mobile phone, tapping away quickly as one by one; they all now looked at her.

"Odin. Apparently, they are trying to bring Odin through the portal," The Valkyrie leader frowned. "Why they tried to bring Hecate back to this earth, makes sense now."

Artemis and Apollo shared a look that left the others all wanting to know what that meant. Hades appeared then, Hermes too and the non-powers in the room found themselves no longer impressed, or in awe of the gods that stood beside them how they had been in the beginning.

"Hermes sensed something happening, a portal, something old and we-" Hades started, before looking around and realising one was missing. "The girl. Where is Elise?"

"We can't find her." Apollo sighed.

"Why not?" Hermes frowned.

"She's blocking us, somehow." Artemis bit her lip, looking at her twin. "Hades, it isn't good."

"There are Valkyrie here, obviously not." He narrowed his eyes at Kara who merely shrugged.

"I care for the girl as you do," She started.

"How? You don't even know her!" Apollo snapped, the argument between the Powers and Valkyrie reigniting.

"And you do?" Kara didn't shout or yell, yet the question in her voice cut him deep. "We do not seek to control her or change her. We see who she is, not who we wish her to be."

"I am missing something here, aren't I?" Hades interrupted.

"It doesn't matter, none of this matters. We just need to find her before she does something she won't come back from." Ailin stood, earning all eyes to turn to her way.

"It may be too late," Hermes added, closing his eyes. "I know where she is."

"Hermes?" Artemis said softly, her hand reaching out to his shoulder just as someone started to knock on the door.

Ailin called them in, and the light fae that came in was pale and shaking.

"President, you're needed at once."

"What is it?" Ailin asked.

The fae waved her hand towards the table and from it rose up a pane of glass that suddenly lit up with a map. Zooming in, something flashed on the coast and going in closer, all in the room inched towards it.

"There has been an explosion of activity from Merlin's Cave. We believe a portal has been opened there and we can feel the magic coming from there. It's affecting all of us, those nearby have called in and are going to investigate. We have a team readying to go and set up a barrier to contain this from the civilians in the region. This is almost the same levels as when the Warlocks-"

"Fuck!" Apollo growled, smashing his fist into the table, so it instantly cracked and splintered.

"Merlin," Kara muttered, and Artemis slapped her hand against her forehead.

"How is that wizard is still causing problems for us!" She growled.

"It makes sense. The sacred stones-" Kara thought out loud.

Without another word, one of by one, the powers vanished - all except for Hermes.

"You know all of you cannot face them alone, please, take us too." Kara looked at him, almost begging as the trio with her nodded in agreement.

"How many of your sisters are here?" Hermes asked Kara, casting a cautious eye over Elise's people.

"Enough. We are ready when you are." Kara told him, her sword already in her hand.

"And us. She needs us too!" Zane stood, rolled his shoulders and looked at them expectantly. They all did only Keiran shook his head.

"I can't go, not this time." No one stopped him as he left back to his family.

"I will take you all, but you must stay back until we know what we are dealing with." He instructed, not wanting to argue with them. "She'll kill me otherwise."

Barely a minute later the Valkyrie erupted from Hermes portal with the Kasha among them, yet they all froze as they arrived at the beach as the Powers that got their first had. One by one those not immortal came, and as Hermes shut the passage down behind them, no one there expected to find what they did.

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Any guesses on what they find? Da da daaaaaa.....