Arias and Deirdre left Troi's cabin and headed for their own. As they passed the RV, Arias looked through it quickly, locating the box of CD-ROMs with his penetration vision.

"To sleep in a bed again," he said. "After so long in Limbo I have no doubt it will be a sound sleep ... once we sleep."

Deirdre smiled at that and leaned close, giving him another gentle kiss.

Arias paused there for a moment, returning the kiss and holding her in his arms beneath the starry sky.

She rested her head on his shoulder, letting him hold her, just enjoying the warmth of his body against hers...

It was one of those times when Arias was able to stop being a Healer first. Tomorrow he would Heal. Tonight, he wanted only to love and be loved.

Then the stillness of the night was shattered by an inhuman cry.

Deirdre didn't even make a sound, her mouth opened in surprise her eyes went wide in shock and pain. For an instant of pleading, she stared into Arias' eyes, then collapsed into his arms.

When she started to fall, Arias saw there were several long gashes on her back.

"DEIRDRE!!!!"

When he looks up he saw soaring overhead, now on the updraft of her pass, a creature that looked half bird half human....her hands are human like but the fingers end in long talons.

Wynter came running up. "It...is....the Dawn! they....have....found...us!"

Zur burst out of Troi's cabin and ran towards Arias. Before he could reach him, though, he was grabbed from behind by a dark skinned, extremely muscled youth in a red tunic. "Move and I'll break you." he growled.

Zur went stiff, concentrated, then vanished from the youth's clutches, reappearing next to Arias.

The dark youth shouted something unintelligible and lunged forward, to be intercepted by Wynter.

Arias had begun to call upon the Green, but Zur's appearance shut him off from it as if a switch had been thrown. Doing the only thing he could, he picked up Zur and Deirdre, then started running towards Troi's cabin, where his healer's bag was stored.

As he ran, pulling Zur along and carrying Deirdre, a darkness enveloped them. This was not the darkness of normal night--this was a cold inky blackness that cut off even the starlight.

"I might be able to disperse this," Zur said, trying to pull his hand free of Arias' grasp, "unless you have another idea?"

Meanwhile, Keiffer noticed the dark youth and the flying creature. Reaching out with thoughts and feelings, Keiffer sought the winds.

"High winds predicted this afternoon," he said, sending gusts of wind at the flying beast.

The bird-woman laughed. "You think to frighten me with winds? I am Falcona, of the Warriors of the Dawn. I am at home in the skies!" Her speech had a definite Mexican accent, and her still human face (though crowned by feathers instead of hair) she did not appear to be much older than Keiffer himself.

"Well...it was a thought," Keiffer said with a sneer. He reached out for the electricity of the sky and sent a bolt of lightning at the woman.

She swerved out of the path of the lightning bolt, and shook her head. Then looping up and around, she dove towards him, talons extended.

After Keiffer attempted his hit with lightning, he started churning up hurricane force winds for the skybound villainess.

Her wings were keeping her aloft, so far, but the force of the winds was slowing her down considerably.

"Excuse me." said an unfamiliar voice.

Keiffer glanced down at this, though keeping one eye on Falcona in case she tried to swoop attack him again.

Leaning against a nearby tree was a boy, midteens, with Oriental features, in the same tight red tunic as the bird-woman and the dark skinned youth. He tossed a small glowing sphere between his two hands, about the size of a tennis ball. "It would be advisable for you to cease. Or I shall be forced to release this, and you would find the result most regrettable."

"Bite me," Keiffer said, as he leapt back and up into the air. Anyone that approached him that was not on his side received, free of charge, a lightning bolt.

Falcona, meanwhile, was still fighting the winds, but continued struggling to reach Keiffer with her talons. "You cannot stand before the Dawn!" she cried. "The Dawn shall rise, even as the dawn rises in the east!"

Keiffer called the rains down on Falcona as she fought the winds he'd given her. She found herself in her own private hurricane as he twisted the winds around her, rain slapping against her body.

"Been there, done that," Keiffer snarled. "I'd rather wear polyester, bitch!" Keiffer let loose with a torrent of lightning bolts.

She was being forced back now...even her powerful wings couldn't keep up against winds and rain this intense, though she still struggled in defiance. "I will rend your flesh for this!" she screamed in fury.

"Temper, temper," Keiffer scolded. "Just because you can't have your way, you have to go and have a temper tantrum."

Keiffer launched a lightning bolt at Falcona.

"You may be at home in the skies, Falcona, but you can think of me as your Aerial Landlord. Time for an eviction."

Keiffer launched a couple more bolts of lightning at the bird woman.

* * *

Back on the ground...

"No," Arias said. "I haven't."

"Then put me down--you can find your way, right?" Zur asked.

"I'll put you down, but I'm not stopping." Arias spoke curtly, and put Zur down onto his feet without slowing. He moved on from memory because he had to get to his kit and stop Deirdre from bleeding to death.

Zur invoked a simple light spell, hoping that that would be enough to disperse this unnatural darkness. It wasn't magically caused, he knew that much--but still...

He raised his hands.

Arias' back was to Zur. He wasn't worried. Inside his mind, something dark and locked away began to beat at the cage which imprisoned it.

Zur brought his hands together and a burst of light shot from them outward, into the blackness....which vanished a moment later, to reveal the three of them where they'd been before, but now a short distance in front of them was, kneeling and holding his head, a teenaged boy with MiddleEastern features, clad in a bright red tunic.

Arias knew his craft, and nothing would stop him from reaching Troi's cabin. Nothing. Without the Green, it was a race against time, and from the flow of blood from the rends on Deirdre's back, it would be a short run race either way.

Deep in his mind, every drop of Deirdre's blood bent the bars of imprisonment a little further.

Between Arias and the cabin suddenly a girl, hardly older than Deirdre, appeared. She was clad in red and had snow white hair. She gestured as she saw Arias. "My name is Crystal." she said. "And now you will see why.." then a wall of the aforementioned substance appeared across the path, blocking Arias' way.

"I have no -time- to waste on you, youngling," he said, sounding very un-Arias like.

Running full tilt, Arias leapt over the crystal wall and kept running without breaking his stride, ignoring Crystal as he raced for the cabin.

Crystal leapt for him as he went by, carrying Deirdre. However since they were moving so fast, her hand only brushed against his clothing for an instant before he was out of her reach. He felt an odd sensation there. "I'll put you in my collection...!" she calls out.

He reached the cabin and opened the door.

He froze on seeing Troi lying on the bed, Wendy sitting next to her, both staring with faces pale at the red clad youth who stood about halfway between the bed and the door. The blond haired boy smiled coldly as Arias entered.

"Took you long enough. Now the question is, are you going to surrender, or do I have to get rough?" He stepped over to the two on the bed and his green eyes narrowed.

Wendy was clearly struggling, but something was preventing her from moving. Troi, hampered by her advanced pregnancy, couldn't get up.

"The Dawn will be pleased to learn of the child you carry." the boy said to Troi. "As for you--" his hand shot out and he gripped Wendy's face in a finger-splayed pattern. She screamed...

Behind the young man, Arias saw his healer's kit. Without a second's hesitation, he crossed the room and slammed his palm onto the young man's chest, just above his heart with a combination cardiac strike and shove. Putting Deirdre down on the bed, he reached for his kit.

"WHHUFFF...!" the young man gasped as Arias' blow struck him. He lay there for a moment, gasping.

Reaching into his kit, Arias injected the young man with a strong sedative before he can recover from his stun, then turned his attentions to the ladies to assay their injuries.

Neither Troi or Wendy seemed visibly injured, at least not physically, though Troi was holding her head and moaning. Wendy also looked like she'd been through the wringer, but was trying not to show it.

Deirdre was still unconscious, and the cuts on her shoulder and back weren't as deep as he'd first thought. Apparently Falcona had not struck with sufficient force to sever anything vital, though it had come close.

Arias smoothed a healing salve onto Deirdre's wounds. It wouldn't be as fast as the Green, but it worked to stop the bleeding and speed her natural healing rate. He checked the fallen young man to make sure he wasn't under or overdosed, then examined him for physical damage from the blow, as some humans break more easily than others. The boy had a few bruises, but apparently nothing was broken.

"Troi? Wendy?" he said, checking for coherency. From his kit he put some phials into his shirt pockets.

Wendy nodded. "I--I'm all right." she snapped back. God that had hurt...had that kid been taking lessons from the dark eyed man or something? "He must be a TK, or something like that. He just came in and waved his hand--and I'm on the bed and can't move. I think she tried to do something and he got her too." indicating Troi.

Troi moaned again. "Fire--in my mind--I touched his thoughts and he--he turned it back on me..." she rubbed her head.

"He is -not- doing anything like that again for the present," Arias replied. "Wendy, can you reach Maxwell's laptop? Maybe ... alert him?" He handed Troi and Wendy each one of his anesthetic bombs. "This contains a sleep mist. It's very easily broken. Just throw it at whoever you need to affect, and it will break on impact. The cloud it creates will allow for a near miss, but no more."

Wendy nodded and took the vial. "There--there's a phone at the main building, I saw it when I was out walking earlier. I could use that to reach the celphone in the laptop. The trick would be getting there unseen--assuming they haven't cut the lines." She looked at Arias. "You're a teleporter, aren't you--you could 'blink' us over there, right?"

"Not right now. I have been ... disabled somehow. All I have is my knowledge and my nature. If I could teleport still, I would go and retrieve Maxwell myself."

Arias reached out to Troi, and gently massaged her temples in an attempt to ease her pain. He wasn't all that familiar with her species, so he didn't want to risk trying to induce a endorphine release.

"I'm glad neither of you were more seriously injured. There is a ... avian outside, as well as a young woman who can induce crystallization. A young man who can create darkness is also outside. Troi, can you tell if there are any more in the area?"

Troi nodded...."There's at least two more. One--one is fighting the pale one. The other is searching the cabins... I--it's hard to reach beyond that, it still hurts...though your touch is helping..."

"Don't push yourself. Is the one who is searching coming this way?"

"He...might be...cannot be sure."

"Wendy, the remaining sleep phials in my kit are similarly marked, study it now, in case there is need in the future."

She nodded and looked, biting her lip. This was all her fault, she knew--but what else could she have done? She wondered why the Dawn had sent these kids, though..."Do you think I should try to get to the phone?"

"Their numbers are not great, and they do not fight as a group. No. I don't see the use in it, they are too far away to be of assistance. You would be safer here, and could help to defend Troi."

Arias moved towards the door and looked out, a phial in his hand and wondering how long it will take the white haired young woman to attack.

Crystal walked towards the cabin. "Surrender, and I promise it won't hurt, it'll just be like going to sleep. I'll only touch you..." she smiled at Arias. He'd make -such- a handsome statue, if they let her keep him. So would the green haired girl he'd been carrying...or maybe even both of them together. Now -there- was a thought...but she had to reach them first.

"I will not hurt you whether you surrender or not," Arias replied. "But I would think of you more kindly if you -did- surrender to me."

"Why should I? We are to bring you to the Dawn." Crystal replied.

"It saddens me that we are on opposite sides."

"Then join us." she smiled. "and we won't be."

Arias waited until she closed to within less than eight feet, then he pitched the phial to the flagstone at her feet. While he waited, he strained his hearing in case someone was approaching him from the other direction. He did not like the way this organization took advantage of the young, and hoped that he could help these victims see reason.

Crystal jumped backward in surprise as the phial shattered at her feet. However she didn't get back far enough to clear the gas and sank to her knees, coughing...then a moment later, she lay crumpled on the pavement, sound asleep.

"We -will- help you," he said.

As she fell, a blond boy burst from the forest running directly towards Arias. He was moving so fast that he would appear as a blur to normal human eyes. It took him only a few seconds to get up to where Crystal is.

Arias stepped up to where the sleeping girl lay as she collapsed, drawing another phial as he did so. He did not throw this phial. When the boy arrived, he simply broke it in his own hand, reinforcing the mist which still lingered in the air.

"The Dawn shall rise!" shouted the speedster as he flung himself towards Arias, but the mist was already beginning to take effect and he sank to the ground, his outstretched hand coming to rest only a few inches from Arias.

A dark haired boy with Oriental features appeared on the steps of the adjoining cabin, with him was a red haired girl. They saw Arias, then their fallen associates. The girl launched herself into the air, flying towards him, while her outstretched hand sent a burst of heat towards Arias.

As she approached, Arias feels the heat from her power getting closer. It couldn't affect -him-, he knew. But a moment later there was a cracking in his pockets, then a cloud of vapor burst forth from them and spread outward.

The girl coughed as it reached her and faltered, dropping her flight she landed. She walked slowly and attempted to send a burst of energy towards Arias, but her aim was off as the mist got to her, and she, too, went down.

The boy, seeing the cloud of vapor heading his way, ducked back into the cabin he'd come out of.

::Damnation,:: Arias thought.

Moving quickly, he picked up the fallen by his feet and then collected the third. Taking them inside the cabin, he gave them the same sedative injection he'd used on the first youth. As he retrieved his injector, he also took another phial from the kit. He knew his mist was potent, but wasn't sure how quickly the youths would be able to recover.

"There is one more outside that I can see," he said. "But I have lost sight of the avian. Troi? Can you help?"

"I...think she is retreating. It is hard to be sure, the pain...but Keiffer is dealing with her."

"Hopefully they will not attack here with their fellows present. I hope the others are faring well."

"Wynter..?..is hunting the strong one." Troi replied, struggling to maintain her telepathic scanning over the lingering effects of Psion's attack. "The....the shadowcaster is down...and Zur...NO! there is... there is another...ahhh." she clutched at her head.

"That's enough of that. You rest. Wendy, keep watch over things here. If any of them move, inject them again." Quickly he pulls out a scanner and sets it for the most basic of functions, hoping that part of them will still work. "This will beep if there is a change in their vital signs. It should alert you should they start to overcome the sedatives."

Wendy nodded, silently thanking circumstance, fate, whatever, that Troi wasn't up to trying to read -her- right now. Her own abilities tended to block that to a degree, but not completely...."All right...and for, for whatever it's worth..be careful..."

"You could be in more danger than I, but I am depending on you to keep these people out of the remaining combat."

Arias then went outside to look for the Oriental. He tried to call on his penetration vision, just in case the effect has faded. He couldn't see him, but he did hear a moaning from the direction he'd last seen Zur in.

He didn't want to get too far away from Deirdre, but he couldn't leave the others to their fates if they're injured. The Oriental concerned him. He had been very close to their cabin. He could have scanned for him, but it was more important that Wendy have some kind of warning.

So he ran, heading towards the sound but glancing at the cabins as he passed by, looking for signs of someone inside. The sedatives worked well, but he knew better than to put too much trust in any one thing.

Zur staggered towards him, his face white, barely able to keep on his feet. As he saw Arias he reached for him. "*cough* w-watch out--girl--t-touched me...*hack*" he sinks to his knees and begins retching rather violently.

Coming into view behind him was a tall girl with coppery hair. She saw Arias and shook her head. "You're really cute, you know--I'd really prefer it if you surrendered now. I'd rather not play with -your- chemical reactions...but I will if I have to."

Arias stopped and examined Zur briefly.

The nausea seemed to be the result of an imbalance in Zur's systems, the cause of which didn't seem to be any visible injury or illness. more like, as the girl said, a chemical reaction gone haywire, or made to.

He looked back at the girl, giving her a basic once over. "I'm sorry we had to meet like this. I think you and I could have some pleasurable times, if circumstances were different. I would wager that you have a very pleasing smile." He had to get closer before he could release his mist, and closer still to use the sedative.

"If the truth be known .... you're already affecting several of my chemical reactions." As he smiled, he palmed the phial and pocketed the injector, appearing to empty his hands. "I might be ... persuaded, to surrender."

::This one is dangerous.:: he thought.

"But why did you have to do that to my friend?"

"We were warned of his--magics?--and could not let them be used against us. Shadow forgot that, it seems." She took a step closer. "But there are--other reactions--I can affect, too. Some could be...quite pleasurable."

"-You- make the proposition appealing, but I think your comrades would hold a rather large grudge against me now." He moved closer still. "I put them down rather hard, but they'll live. The more reasonable course would be for you to come to my side of things. Then we could go wherever we wanted and do whatever pleased us." His eyes sparkled. "And I know we could find many pleasurable things to do. But time is short, for I'm certain that another of your number intends my friends harm, and I can't allow that. You have to choose and choose now."

"It would be far more reasonable for you to come with me." she replied, taking another step towards him. "The Dawn shall rise--and we are of those made to serve that purpose. You could be of assistance."

"Me? Oh, I doubt that very much. I'm not like the others. I don't have any -impressive- powers like theirs ... or yours. What could I possibly have that they'd want? All I want from them ... is you."

A few feet away, the stomach-wrenching spasms had subsided. Zur still felt weak as a baby, but he could look up, just in time to see the girl reach to embrace Arias..."N-no..." he gasped out..."d-don't let her..."

Even as Zur tried to cry warning the girl's hands came to rest on Arias' shoulders...she leaned closer as if to kiss him.

Arias put his arms around her and crushed the phial in his hand as he did so. If she was in a position to be kissed, he kissed her.

Her eyes went wide as she felt the mist touch her, and begin to take effect. She just had time to realize that whatever reaction she'd been trying to induce in Arias hadn't kicked in before she, too, was out like a light.

Zur stared. "She--she touched you--and--?!?" he whispered incredulously.

Arias injected her with the sedative, lifted her gently and turned to Zur. "Let's say I know some things about chemical reactions, too. We must get back to the others. Can you bring the other one?"

Arias injected her with the sedative, lifted her gently and turned to Zur. "Let's say I know some things about chemical reactions, too. We must get back to the others. Can you bring the other one?"

Zur made it to his feet, though he still felt weak. "I...I can try. Whatever you did...helped somewhat." He moved slowly over towards where the shadow-caster lay and struggled to pick the boy up.

Just then, a small, glowing sphere landed near them, tossed from the direction of the cabin into which the Oriental boy had run.

It rolled to a few feet short of Zur, lay there for a moment, then exploded, knocking an already unsteady Zur back off his feet but fortunately not injuring him any other way.

::So he's sought cover,:: thought Arias. ::Good. I only hope they haven't sent for reinforcements.::

He moved back to Zur and lifted him up onto his shoulders. "Just hang on to my hair," said Arias.

He was going to have to come back for the darkness caster, but he squatted down and injected him with the sedative, just to be safe. Keeping a keen eye out for the Oriental boy, Arias ran back to the cabin where the others were hopefully still safe.

::I find it difficult to believe that the avion flew away. The others seem so ... dedicated. And where are Wynter and Keiffer?:: He offered up a silent prayer to the Green that they were safe, and continued on.

* * *

Falcona had flown out of sight, driven back by the winds and rain, which had in the end been too much even for her strong wings.

Taking a look-see downward, Keiffer saw a dark skinned muscle-bound youth and Wynter chasing each other through the wilderness. Near the cabins, Arias and Zur were standing near two unconscious red clad figures, then something knocked Zur off his feet...a mild explosion.

Keiffer looked for whatever caused the explosion, but didn't see them. If it was the boy he'd seen earlier, he must be inside one of the cabins.

* * *

Inside Troi's cabin, Wendy checked the scanner and sedatives yet again. Not that she didn't already know the readings were accurate, but it was something to do besides standing here wondering who would come through the door next.

Deirdre was still unconscious, and Troi had, for the moment, closed her eyes, though the slightest sound brought her looking around again.

Then there were the six red clad youths laid out on the floor. She knew who they all were, of course, though this was the first time she'd actually come face to face with them. Part of the Dawn's elite strike force, the "Warriors of the Dawn" they were known as. She even remembered seeing their files in the Dawn system.

Psion...Shadow...Crystal...Hermes...Heatwave...and Chemo.

That was six. The Oriental Arias had mentioned was a boy, and he'd said something about an avian, too, hadn't he? Those would be Blaster and Falcona.

Which left 4 of them unaccounted for, unless they'd added someone to fill out the team--the Dawn had planned for the cadre to consist of 13, after all, but the thirteenth--the thirteenth had never finished the training. The thirteenth was in SF right now, with Barbara...and Max.

Max.

She bit her lip as her thoughts went to him. She'd actually enjoyed seeing him again, it made her feel--different, somehow. When he'd been talking about their plans she'd found herself wanting to believe them, wanting to think that their wild scheme to bring the Dawn down could actually have a chance.

It was even more of a surprise that there was a part of her that wanted that, too, despite everything--she knew what the Dawn had done to so many, and at least -some- of what they had planned--though even the dump from their computers hadn't cracked their deepest secrets. If they had any agenda besides simple world domination, only the higher ups knew it, and they weren't talking, or recording...but Max still felt they could be stopped, as did Barbara apparently...the others, too.

NO! she put her hands to her head and leaned against the table, suddenly at war with herself as her sense of reality reasserted itself. She -had- to stop this--this flight of fancy. She couldn't afford to think this way, the Dawn was just too strong, too deeply rooted--they'd never hurt it, not in any way that really mattered.

Look at herself. She'd been through the Apocalypse Program, she thought -that- had been hell. Then the Dawn had come for her and like a fool she'd fought back, but they'd still gotten her, in the end. It was as inevitable as the rising of the sun, that the Dawn would win. She just wished she could silence the voice inside that kept whispering denials... the best she could hope for was that Max and the others wouldn't be hurt the way she'd been, she told herself firmly.

So why wouldn't that inner voice shut the hell up??

* * *

Crusher ran through the scrubland, casting glances every so often behind him. That white skinned guy was -still- on him--what was the dude, a cat or something? he sure moved like one.

And what the f--- had happened to the others? He'd heard things going boom over near the cabins, so that meant Blaster--and the screeching from overhead was Falcona...but there'd not been a peep out of Psion since he'd headed for the cabin that the red haired guy and the green haired girl had come out of just as Falcona had made her first dive pass.

Wynter came steadily onward. This one was of the Dawn and had threatened those he had promised to protect. That was enough for him, he would stop him any way he had to.

Then a wall of ice formed in front of him....a moment later it surrounded him. He would get out....it was too slick to climb, and nearly twice his height...but he could break it. He began karate chopping at the cold hardness.

Then the ice thickened even more, it was hard to move at all now, but he had to keep trying he would not give up...

Outside the ice wall Crusher stopped as he felt the coldness so close behind him, it had just missed trapping him as well as the white guy.

"'S about time, Frost!" he snapped as Frost stepped into view. "What was you waitin' for?"

Frost only shook his head. "Come on, we have to get to the others, or we're all in deep. I don't know who they've got up there--someone we weren't briefed on--but he's taken out almost everybody."

"Damn." Crusher replied as they hurried away--"Let me break the dude first," he glanced back towards where Wynter was still trying to batter his way out of the ice cage.

"There's no time. I made enough ice that it'll take him a long time to break out of that, if he can at all. Also enough that we'll be done here before it melts enough to be a problem." Frost urged the other boy on.

It was only a few minutes of Frost urging Crusher on before they reached where the remainder of the cadre was waiting. There were only two there.

Crusher looked at the dark haired boy and the blonde girl, then back to Frost. "This's it?? this's all we've got?? Man oh man..."

"I don't think so...Blaster's still hiding in the end cabin. And Falcona's on the way..." said the girl.

Her words were borne out a second later as Falcona landed beside them.

"Take them all." she snapped. "but when we do I want the windmaker."

"We'll get them." Frost replied. "But we have to reach the others first." He nodded at the blonde girl, "You've the best chance of the five of us of doing that."

She nodded and smiled coldly.

* * *

A few minutes later...

Inside the cabin, Wendy heard the creak of footsteps approaching the door. She brought the stunner up praying it would be Arias returning... or that she'd be fast enough to use it, if it wasn't.

The figure that stepped through, however, was definitely not Arias. It was a tall dark haired man, with the darkest eyes Wendy had ever seen. He simply looked at her, reproachfully. "You continue to stand against us." he said quietly. "Have you -still- not learned the folly of that course?"

(oh god no of all the people the Dawn could have sent--) she cut the thought off. she should've -expected- he'd show up. The old helpless feeling came back with a vengeance. Those eyes...there was just something about those eyes...she wanted to move oh god she wanted to but she just couldn't..."d-don't hurt them--p-please..." she managed to get out though her voice was only a tiny squeak.

"Oh, that is hardly what we have in mind." he said gently, stepping closer to her.

Troi had come awake and saw what was happening. Her head still hurt but she could also see something else. "W-Wendy..." she whispered. "it--it's *not* real...it isn't..."

The man smiled coldly.

Wendy didn't hear Troi. She couldn't see or hear anything but the dark eyed man before her.

"Come to me, child. Come to me, where you belong."

She took a step forward, then another.

An instant later the 'man' had pulled her into an embrace, then pulled the stunner from her limp fingers and dosed her with it.

A moment after that, the 'man' vanished, to be replaced by the blonde girl. She glanced at Troi and smiled, then turned to the door and opened it, letting in Frost, Falcona, Crusher, Blaster and the other boy.

It was all Troi could do to not start crying. She was not used to being this helpless--she couldn't even reach anyone telepathically right now. And with Barbara in San Francisco...! She didn't want to think what'd happen now...to her baby...or the still sleeping Deirdre and now Wendy.

Even if she could've used her psi abilities at full strength she couldn't reach Arias' mind anyway...could she reach Keiffer, though? or Wynter??

It hurt like hell but she'd have to try...IF they didn't decide to put her out too...

"Good work, Masque." Frost said. "Looks like she..." nodding at Wendy, "really fell for it."

"Hey, that's what I do best, isn't it?" Masque replied. "Though she saw through me, not sure how." nodding to Troi.

"Doesn't matter." He looked at their six unconscious teammates. "OK. start trying to bring them 'round. And Falcona, you take watch outside."

Falcona nodded. "The windmaker's not here." she sneered. "So he must be outside somewhere...I'll -get- him..." she went outside and launched herself to circle the campsite.

Arias thought about Deirdre but did not speak. His pulse tripled as he looked on. He had three mist phials and hoped that Wendy or Troi had had the sense to use theirs, even if they would succumb to the effects themselves. Inside the building, the vapor would hang longer, unaffected by the wind outside.

"I can do little against her," he said. "Unless I can hold her. I do not think she can harm me. Perhaps I can lure her lower."

Looking at Falcona, Arias tried to teleport to her, phial in hand.

"Come out down there--we know you're there!" shrieked the avian. "Come out or we'll have to start hurting people." Her tone implied that that was a prospect that wouldn't really bother her...she swooped lower, trying to spot them.

She saw the red haired pale man and dived towards him, talons extended... "Where's the other one--the windmaker??" she shrieked. "Bring him out!!"

Arias gave her the most offensive gesture he had learned from humans and kept moving towards the cabin. He held a phial palmed and his other hand was relaxed, but ready to grab her if she came close enough.

Her dive brought her ever closer...in another second she'd have him.

His clothing caught, tore...but strangely enough his flesh did not.

Arias' free hand grabbed the raking talon and held on tightly. His other hand brought the phial up and broke it against her face. The crystal casing fragmented and scored her skin, allowing direct penetration of the concentrated fluid held inside. He would take no chance that her airflow would shield her from the mist. Her momentum jerked him around, but he held on.

She fought to gain lift but couldn't with the weight and then the phial's contents began affecting her. She cried out her fury oncethen sagged limply and fell like a stone.

Arias, hanging on, managed to land and catch her as she succumbed to the contents of the phial. He pulled the crystal shards from her skin and injected her with his sedative. He knew the talon was at least fractured, possibly broken, and he was doing her a service by keeping her unconscious.

Moments after she passed out, her body seemed to blur slightly, flowing almost like melting wax, then reforming, resolidifying.

A moment later what lay before him was a completely human girl in her early teens, with dark hair and skin, definite Hispanic features. Her left leg is broken much as the talon was.

"I'm sorry," he said, and draped her over one of his shoulders. "I'll splint it as soon as I'm able."

Arias looked back to where he last saw Keiffer, then turned and continued on. He had two phials left, and possibly twenty more doses of tranquilizer. He ignored his shredded and partially crystalized clothing, trying again and again to get his penetration vision to function. At the same time, he tried to access that part of his mind which might have been called empathic. Fear and anger were both powerful emotions, and he frequently felt them from others, mainly before the Green would summon him away, but sometimes it occurred at other times.

Arias sensed Troi, and Troi only.

::Wendy's out of the fight,:: he thought. ::This is very bad.::

Concentrating, he tried to send her a burst of reassurance. He didn't know -why- she hadn't used her phial, but the fact that she is still conscious tells him that she had not.

::-Think-, woman!:: he thought, angry at himself for lacking the telepathic ability to deliver even a -simple- message. ::I put it in your hand myself.::

Whatever was waiting for him, Deirdre was in there, and he had to go to her.

Keiffer saw Falcona go down. He flew down towards Arias.

"How many more, Arias?" Keiffer called down, eyes scanning for any others in red tunics.

"Two that I know of. One is an Oriental fellow who pitches explosives, and the other is ... well, Troi said that Wynter was chasing someone. I think everyone else is in the cabin, but I can't sense Wendy anymore. I think something may have happened to her. I'm going to advance and pitch these mist phials into the cabin and close the door. If you two could help me contain them...?"

Arias continued to advance towards the cabin, preparing to do that very thing.

The doors and windows are closed. As Arias approaches, the ground rumbled slightly, then a trench opened between him and the cabin.

Out of it came a massive, hulking, only vaguely humanoid figure that seemed to be made of earth.

"Come no further." it rumbled.

"I must," Arias replied, then he promptly attempted to leap up onto the roof of the cabin.

The earth figure reached up with one massive arm and attempted to seize hold of Arias as he leapt overhead.

* * *

Troi scrabbled among the bedsheets, silently praying that the red clad youths wouldn't notice her movements. What could she have -done- with it? It must've slipped her grasp while she'd slept... and having two extra people in the bed now didn't help. And reaching for Wendy's was out as well, the girl called "Masque" had searched her when she'd placed her on the bed and taken it along with the injector AND the scanner.

She felt about with one hand, keeping the other on top of the sheet to hold it in place and watching their 'guests' lest one of them turn towards her.

Just then a slight moan from Deirdre came awake and tried to focus, expecting to see Arias standing over her or sitting beside her. She blinked a couple times, trying to clear her eyes...her back still hurt though not as much and--and where was he? She started to sit up, but a hand grabbed her arm.

Deirdre's eyes widened. Troi?? "Where's...."

Troi's hand shot up and pressed over her mouth. ::Don't talk--just look. That way...:: came the silent message.

Deirdre, confused, did as Troi asked--and saw the red clad youths. ::What--who--?::

::They are of the Dawn.:: Troi sent back, tightening her hold on Deirdre's arm, although she wasn't sure she'd be able to really hold her if the other girl bolted. ::They have Wendy and ourselves--but not the others, not yet...I cannot reach Arias' mind but I think he is all right. Please--stay with me...:: she added, feeling Deirdre's fear...

* * *

Arias evaded the earth-man's grasp easily, his leap carried him well clear of the other's reach. The figure howled in rage/frustration as Arias landed on the roof.

Inside, Frost, Crusher, and Masque looked at each other. They'd seen Falcona go down, then heard Terrayne's bellow...who could that be on the roof? the windmaker Falcona had mentioned, most likely, they didn't have any other fliers.

Keiffer looked down at the Earth-man. Gathering his will, Keiffer launched lightning at the being's legs.

The earth-man screamed as the bolts hit him, the heat was drying him out too much, but he had to stop the windmaker, he had to. Then another bolt hit, and another.

A few more bolts and he sank into the trench he'd emerged from...

"And good riddance!" Keiffer shouted.

Arias didn't know what the earthen man could do, so he thought it would be best to stay off of earthen surfaces. The roof looked to be made of normal materials, so he didn't delay any longer than he had to. He remembered the layout of the room and knew that the bed was not beneath him. Holding his last two phials in his hands, he held them loosely and punched both hands through the shingles and wood, letting the impact break them and then opened his hands.

::I hope Keiffer and Zur can handle the earth fellow,:: he thought. ::Maybe the distraction will give the others inside a chance to act. Deirdre should be able to use her powers to keep the mist from her if she's alert, maybe Troi as well. Why didn't she use her phial?::

They'd all heard someone land on the roof, and that that someone was not likely to be Falcona, so they were ready. They'd moved back and the minute the roof cracked open Frost created an ice wall to shield them from the falling debris.

At this range, his empathic sense was much sharper. He held his hands in place, feeling the liquid evaporating from his hands, and tried to sense the feelings of those inside. He was glad the windows and doors were closed, knowing that the mist would be very potent contained as it was.

But even as the mist started to descend, one of the boys gestured, and it turned into a frozen cloud in midair. A moment later, a wall of ice formed beneath him.

Though it couldn't harm him, he could feel the coldness wafting from below, and saw the slick whiteness beneath. He fell to the floor, landing on his feet just outside the ice wall, seeing the three inside glaring at him.

Inside the ice wall, the musclebound dark skinned boy lunged forward, his fists shattering the ice as he leapt towards Arias.

"Crusher--I'll take him. You get to the girls..." Frost yelled.

Arias had not accounted for the weakness of the roof. He thought to just punch his hands through, but things had not gone that way. The mist was still spreading, and knocking down their own ice wall only exposed them to it.

::No, you don't!:: Arias thought and sprang head on towards the lunging youth. He hoped that the mist would have -some- effect, being in a closed room, but did not rely on it. He didn't know if Troi and Deirdre were still conscious, but he spoke as he moved towards Crusher.

"Control the mist," he said sharply. "Troi, give Deirdre your phial."

"I'm gonna -break- you, mister." growled the boy as Arias closed with him, even as Troi scrabbled desperately among the sheets--what had happened to it? she asked herself again.

Deirdre took advantage of Troi's distraction to pull herself free of Troi's hold. She concentrated on throwing it at the strong one, she had to stop at least him before anything happened to Arias..

::It's a liquid,:: he thought. ::She'll know what to do.::

The chilled air emanating from Frost's ice wall had frozen the mist into crystallized form...but it was still partly water and that was enough. Deirdre flung it at the red clad youths as hard as she could, a chunk of it struck the dark youth on the arm even as he grabbed for Arias.

The youth grimaced as the crystal struck him, his hand closed on Arias' collar and then the reaction kicked in...he sank to his knees, then was out of it, but he managed to pull Arias down with him.

Zur came through the door, he was still weakened somewhat by Chemo's attack, but he had to do something...the blonde girl heard and turned towards him...she smiled.

A moment later Zur's face went blank...he walked towards her, and she pulled him into an embrace much as she had Wendy. One hand around his waist, the other coming up to use the injector she'd taken from Wendy. Zur went down a moment later.

Frost, meanwhile, saw Crusher go down and began hurling ice spheres towards Deirdre, which she then tried to fling back at him seizing control of the water in them.

Arias struck a nerve in Crusher's arm, making the hand open. He then looked at Masque and moved quickly towards her, his own injector in hand. His eyes sought out the spot on her neck which would be most effective. Just as he reached her, he switched the injector from one hand to the other, hoping to throw her off.

Masque stared at him. Hard. Her eyes narrowed in puzzlement. "I can't reach you--why?" she wondered.

"Arias...help...." Troi moaned, trying to shield herself and Wendy from the flying ice projectiles.

Knowing he was going to regret it later, he grabbed Masque's hand and pulled her off balance, but his other hand slapped the injector to Frost's neck.

Arias heard Troi's moan, and turned away from Masque. He pressed the injector against the first spot of bare skin he saw on Frost.

"I'll tell you in just a moment," he replied.

Masque let out a cry as she saw Frost go down. She backed up towards a gaping hole in the floor, out of which emerged the earth-man Arias had seen outside. He was moving slower than he had been, but he still managed to scoop up Masque and sink back into the pit.

"I think it's almost time to go," said Arias. He tested his penetration vision, looking for where Frost went. He lifted Frost and moved him towards the bed and away from the hole in the floor. Then he went to his bag and gave Wendy and Zur the fast counter to the sedative. It would take a few minutes for him to awaken, but it was far faster than the others. "Troi, can you sense the one in the ground?"

"They...they are heading outside. With the other--the one who--m-makes bombs...Keiffer! they are after Keiffer...!"

He looked at Deirdre, putting his hand on her cheek. "Again you've been hurt. What a grand adventure I've taken you on."

She managed a smile. "I'm all right. And don't you -dare- start blaming yourself for everything again..." she reached up and put her hand on his, then with her other hand--ignoring the ache in her shoulder, she pulled him down enough to give him a kiss.

"Not everything, just for taking you for a walk in the moonlight." he replied after the kiss.

He wondered about Wynter as he picked up his equipment.

Wendy began to come around then. "wh-what..." she sat up slowly, rubbing her head. She blinked, tried to focus...the last thing she remembered had been the man with dark eyes and-- "Arias?" she whispered, as the identity of the person standing nearby registered. "But---?!?"

"Keiffer requires assistance, I think," said Arias. "But I believe we nearly have them routed. They fled from me once, perhaps they will again."

Taking some phials from his kit, Arias looked at Troi. "Can you point me in their direction?"

* * *

Keiffer saw the Earth man again, with a dark haired boy and a blonde girl.

Then things went blurry for a moment, and then they apparently disappear, leaving David standing there. "Keiff?" 'he' says, the voice sounds like David's. "You've got to stop this or they'll hurt me again."

"That would not be in their best interests, David," Keiffer called to the image of his brother. "If they hurt you again, that would make me angry. They've never dealt with me when I've been angry...it would be in their best interests to let you go. Tell them that. Tell them if they hurt you, I will destroy them. They won't be able to escape my wrath. They will lose."

"You have to stop." 'David' repeated, walking towards Keiffer slowly. "You can't keep them from getting what they want. All you'll do if you try is get me hurt again, maybe even killed. P-please, Keiff...don't..." He gazed pleadingly at Keiffer, his arms outstretched towards him.

"What would you have me do then, David?" Keiffer snapped. "Let them win? Let them turn me into one of their elite killing machines? Is that what you want? Do you want me to be one of their fucking zombies? Get out of here, David, if that really is you. The David I know would be standing here beside me. I have a war to win."

Arias headed out that way, trying to get his location sense to work again. He listened to the sounds of the night, and looked for signs of passage.

"Keiff..." 'David' pleaded, taking another step towards him.

Arias got about ten feet from the cabin, he saw the earth man, Masque, and the explosive tosser standing in a trio, facing Keiffer. Masque walked forward towards Keiffer, her arms outstretched.

Keiffer seemed to be staring at her but didn't appear to notice the other two.

Arias advanced in a rush, heading towards Keiffer. He let his empathics carry his suspicion and his alarm, hoping it might shock Keiffer out of whatever his mind was wrapped up in.

At the last instant, he slapped Masque, trying to break her concentration.

Keiffer saw 'David' ripple and vanish, and the three Dawn youths were again standing in front of them. Terrayne (the earth man) let out a roar and grabbed Arias, just as the other boy threw a glowing sphere at Keiffer, which landed in front of him and exploded, sending him backwards.

His arms pinned, Arias tries to teleport them both to the lake.

Keiffer sat upright, the sheer rage showing on his face. Keiffer concentrated on forming a funnel. The wind whipping in a spiralling column of wind and intense pressure. He sent the funnel at the sphere tosser. The bits of dirt and dust would leave their mark on his body. The Dawn would pay dearly for what they had done.

The Oriental boy gritted his teeth, determined not to cry out. He tried to throw another sphere but the wind knocked it off course...then the dirt was battering him too much to focus for a third attempt.

Masque waited till Keiffer was concentrating on Blaster, then dodging the funnel, ran forward, scooping up some small rocks as she went she hurled them at Keiffer trying to break his concentration.

Keiffer launched himself into the air, as he did, he fired a non-stop barrage of lightning bolts at Masque until she stopped moving or left.

She crumpled as the first bolt struck, twitched....then lay there, still breathing but just barely. there are burns on her arms and legs where the bolts had hit.

* * *

Arias exerted his strength, trying to break the bear hug he'd been caught up in. Tilting his head back, he slammed it into Terrayne's forehead.

"You'll have to do better than -that-" Terrayne growled. "In this form I have the strength of the earth itself!" The arms tightened.

"As will you," said Arias. "But I should tell you that you've crushed some rather potent antibiotics with this antic. Picture their effect as they penetrate your earthen body, killing every living thing. Can't you feel them soaking into you? Spreading ... like poison throughout your very being. Within a minute, perhaps even seconds, you'll be nothing but sterile .... barren ... -dead-... earth."

Arias wasn't sure if the antibacterial compounds will actually have any effect, but he used his storytelling skills to make it sound like a certainty.

Terrayne howled his rage.

"You have my sympathies."

* * *

Inside what remained of the cabin, Wendy and Zur were trying to get everyone out of the building. It had creaked and shaken as Terrayne had launched his attack outside, and they were worried about it collapsing on them.

Deirdre couldn't help with her wounded arm, but she had to do -something-. Getting to the porch, she saw Arias in Terrayne's clutches and screamed.

A moment later a volume of water splashed over both of them.

Terrayne, already weakened (more than he'd wanted to let on) by Keiffer's earlier attack, howled even louder as parts of his earth form became muddy. This caused his hold on Arias to loosen, and Arias was able to pull himself free, though some of the mud clung to him.

"You...will...pay...for this..." rumbled Terrayne as he sank into the ground. "The Dawn--the Dawn shall rise..." with that he was gone.

Arias picked up the injector from where he'd dropped it and turned to Masque. He moved quickly, and ran towards her.

Catching her up in one arm he pressed the injector against her with the other and kept moving, to prevent the earthen one from pulling her into the ground as he'd done before.

Deirdre caught up to Arias as he began to move towards Masque. "Are you all right?" she asked, completely ignoring the fact that her exertion had caused the cut on her shoulder to start bleeding again, though not as severely as before.

"Yes. Are you feeling better?"

He saw that Keiffer appeared to have his situation in hand, although the magnitude of the young man's rage disturbed him. But then he saw Keiffer rise into the air and gather the fury of the storm.

"Don't kill them!" he shouted. "Or you become as bad as they are!" Seeing the deep burns on the fallen Masque, Deirdre knew Arias would need his kit. She ran back to the cabin to retrieve it.

Keiffer returned to the Oriental boy, Blaster, and started raining lighting on him too.

"The Dawn is finished!!"

Blaster went down after only a couple of strikes, though he did manage to gasp out "You--cannot--stop--the Dawn...!" before he passed out.

Arias saw the flashes of chain lightning and heard Blaster fall.

Deirdre came running back, the kit clutched in her good arm. "Here it is..." she said quickly, handing it to him. "I knew you were going to need it."

The Otherworlder looked towards Keiffer. "Why don't you charge the ground? Perhaps you can force the earthen one to surface. Or return to the cabin, in case he decides to try to retrieve his comrades?"

"Consider it done," Keiffer said. He started launching bolts of lightning into the ground, hoping to churn up the earth-dweller.

His eyes returned to Deirdre. "You've reopened your shoulder. I can smell the blood running fresh. Help me, but do not use that arm. Right now, she is worse off than you."

"I'm sorry..." she whispered. "And of course I'll help." she managed to smile, a little, by way of trying to reassure him. Then she moved to assist him, keeping the injured arm against her side...it wasn't easy working with only one, but she'd have to, she knew that.

Arias went to work on the two electrocuted young people.

More of his healing salve went to work on the burns. While he had it in hand, he retreated Deirdre's open cuts and then covered all of the injuries with artificial skin. The translucent sheets pigmented to match the color of the skin they were attached to, holding in the salve and helping to keep Deirdre's wounds closed and the burns safe from further damage. Arias immobilized Deirdre's arm with a basic sling and chest band.

"Twelve hours, Deirdre," he said. "I think we should pack up and move to another location. If the earthen one got away, he could lead others to this place, if others are not already on their way."

After treating both of the electrocution victims, Arias moved them one at a time, back to the RV.

* * *

A few minutes later..

Arias looked at the trench around the partially-collapsed cabin, and the cabin itself as he scanned the area with his equipment for signs of the missing assailant. "I don't know -what- we can do about this."

Deirdre nodded. "But what about Max...?" She looked at Arias. "What is he going to say when he sees all this..." she waved with her good arm at the ruined cabin. "He might send -us- away."

"Troi, without stressing yourself, can you tell if the earth mover is still in the area?"

"I don't think so," she replied after a moment.

"I don't think this area is safe any longer. We should leave as soon as possible. I ... never learned how to drive a vehicle like yours. Can anyone else here operate it?"

As their 'guests' are moved into the RV, Arias rechecked each one to make certain that they are still being under the effects of the injections.

"What are we going to do with these people? Conventional facilities will not be sufficient, and they might be victims, like Susan." He looked at Chemo in particular. "I think they might be helped, or at least evaluated by Professor Xavier."

Wendy turned away. On the one hand, she was glad they'd beaten these--but on the other she couldn't help but wish they hadn't. Now the Dawn would only try harder, send even more against them. And in the end the result would be the same as if they'd never resisted at all. The Dawn would get its way. they always did. "Perhaps.." was all she said aloud.

Arias's hand came to rest on Wendy's shoulder. "You seem troubled. Don't blame yourself for being deceived. By her behavior, I think that young woman was very confident that her powers could affect anyone, so they must have been potent. Zur was also affected by her, so don't consider yourself deficient. By working together, we managed to defeat almost their entire cadre, and without killing anyone. I think that's worth feeling good about, don't you?"

"You...you just don't know them, Arias. Not the way some of us do. This--" she waved a hand at the fallen youths. "this is only the beginning. Failure is not a word in their vocabulary....to them this'll just be a delay." she said bitterly, cutting herself off before she could say more and say too much.

"Since we have won this day, we can allow ourselves the belief that we'll win the next as well. The future is not without hope."

Wendy sighed. If it made Arias feel better to believe that, for now anyway, she couldn't bring herself to really take that from him. The Dawn would do that themselves, soon enough. And what was more troubling, there was, she realized, a part of her that -wanted- to believe him.

But then the memory of Dark Eyes returned and she thrust that inner voice away. She couldn't afford to think that way. She just couldn't. The Dawn owned her and they would own the others too...that was just the way it was.

(but it doesn't -have- to be that way) whispered the voice within, before she forced it again into the depths...she took a deep breath.

"Now if we could manage to have Wynter step out of the woods.... Has anyone seen him? Zur? Keiffer? I did say that Troi tracked him in..." points "...That direction."

Wendy looked at Arias for a long moment. "While they're doing that--" she took a deep breath, "do you think it's safe now--I could go see if the phone lines are still working, and try to reach Max..." "These people aren't going anywhere. I'll go with you, just in case. It wouldn't be wise to travel alone so soon after an attack."

Meanwhile, Keiffer and Zur were both searching the area around the campground for any sign of Wynter.

Keiffer flew above Zur as they searched for Wynter.

Eventually, Keiffer, you see what looks like a huge white pillar sticking up from the ground. When you approach it, it's revealed to be an extremely large mass of ice, with Wynter frozen inside...

"Wow..." Keiffer said, staring at the pillar.

Zur looks at it, then at Keiffer. "It'll melt, but with this much ice it'll take a long time. Any ideas?"

"Time for a heatwave," Keiffer grinned at Zur.

Using his control over the weather, Keiffer attempted to raise the temperature in the area of the ice pillar.

As it rose, slowly, the ice began melting faster. There was already some water at the base of the pillar: as Keiffer's power heated things up, that puddle grew larger.

Zur watched as Keiffer worked...then noticed something else. "Umm...Keiffer.." he nodded at Wynter's still-frozen shape. "Look at how he is--" indicating Wynter, whose position inside the pillar was clearly mid lunge in a definite martial arts attack stance..."if he comes out of that the way he went in he might not realize we're not whoever did this."

"What do you propose? We leave him here until he melts naturally? I'm willing to take my chances."

Zur shrugged. "Just be careful, that's all I'm saying." The pillar melts faster and faster as the temperature around it continues to rise.

Suddenly there's a crack as the remnants of the pillar split in two and Wynter fell forward, momentarily disoriented. He recovered almost instantly though and lunged towards Keiffer as if to karate-chop him... his eyes filled with a cold rage at the Dawn he'd been fighting...

Zur scrambled back, yelling "Wynter--wait...!"

Keiffer instinctively pulled a wall of high winds around him, hoping to repel anyone attempting to get at him.

"Wynter, it's Keiffer," he shouted, preparing to use the winds on Wynter if necessary.

Wynter's blue eyes blinked, focused on Keiffer, then he checked his lunge, though the momentum still carried him forward a few steps. When he came out of it he looked around. "Where...did the, the strong one....go...the Dawn, they are...they are here...must get to the others..."

"We captured them all but the rocky guy," Keiffer said. "You didn't return, so Zur and I came out to find you. The Dawn agents are tied up back at the RV."

"Tied...up...?" Wynter stared at him. "This...this must not be....they are *Dawn*...." He paused, remembering something, "Come...let us go. But tell me..." this as he started back for the cabin..."is there...is there one...a boy....who....who looks like....Barbara?"

* * *

A few minutes later, Wendy was setting up the camcorder as Max had asked her to.

Once the Warriors were all laid out in a row, she panned the camera over the entire group, making sure to get a clear view of each face.

She didn't know what to think. Here were eleven of the Dawn's best troops laid out cold...but the Dawn wouldn't accept failure, she knew that. Part of her was excited that they'd actually beaten these, but another part couldn't stop worrying over what the Dawn might send next. They would -not- give up, of that she was sure.

Deirdre and Troi watched as she filmed the group, but it was Troi who noticed something first.

On one of them...Crystal...the rising-sun badge suddenly began to glow. Then another...and another...until all eleven were shining brilliantly. Then all eleven Warriors simply winked out of existence.

Deirdre's mouth dropped open as she watched, she and Troi exchanged looks then she turned to Arias. "What...what are we supposed to tell Max, now?"

Wendy swore. Why hadn't she thought of that--she hadn't realized the badges could be teleportation devices. Had Psion's attack scrambled her brains -that- much??

Troi couldn't help but be relieved they were gone, after the way Psion had turned her mind almost inside out...her head still hurt, though admittedly not as much as it had at first.

Apparently distracted by something the whole time, Arias shook his head as he took in the scene. "They escaped.. There's nothing more to say."