The dark before the dawn

[Prophet]

Interview Room

Cameron watched as the rest of the group went back and forth, desperately unhappy with how the conversation was going. He knew there was going to be tension and he knew there was going to be hurt feelings, and to be quite honest, he really wasn't sure what to do. He felt justified in the way that the way that the team had acted, but he understood where Delilah was coming from, and when Cameron returned to Los Angeles before the Viper Caper, when tensions on the team were so high..DELILAH had been the one who had his back, taken him under her wing and supported him. He could always talk to Delilah in a way that he really couldn't with the others. He didn't have to worry about coming across as arrogant or "regressing" into his old ways with her. She had always let him speak his peace in the way he needed to, and then later told him what she really thought about it.

Prophet decided that the conversation Delilah was having with the others was an important one for her to have, and any more opinions would just add to the tension. It pained him to watch Morgan and Delilah go back and forth the way that they did. They were best friends, and the LONGEST relationship in the Six. They had grown up together, seen each other through the darkest of times. He really felt that Morgan had done the right thing, that they ALL had, and to see two best friends with such hurt feelings towards each other just didn't feel good in any way, shape or form.

"You guys..."

But his words fell on deaf ears as the women continued culminating with Morgan walking out of the room with Blaze fast on her heels. He gave Delilah a concerned glance. More than that though, he had realized that during this conversation that his sister...was GONE.

She was COMPLETELY closed off to him. He couldn't sense her or feel her in any way and he could tell that she wasn't even on the ISLAND itself. She had left. She hadn't done something like this in a VERY long time and she NEVER shut down the sibling bond that they shared unless it was of DIRE importance. All at once she was back and he could sense her, but still she wasn't in the room.. and with the way things were going, he was VERY WORRIED. Alison had done something, and that something was BIG.

Morgan and Blaze re-entered the Interview Room.

Morgan: Delilah, listen...I want to say...

Alison: You said enough...All of you, have said enough.

She appeared before them. This was not Alison coming to the group as their friend and comrade, but as Harbinger, The Keeper of Time. This meant news, and based on the events of the night.. Cameron felt like it could only mean one thing...something he didn't want to think about.

 

[MorningStar]

Aerie - Infirmary Interview Suite

Delilah, listen...I want to say...

Spellbinder started to speak, but Delilah – sorry now for how harsh she had been with Morgan – tried stopping her, to tell her there was no need for her to explain.

“No, Morgan, let me…”

But then Alison interrupted them both.

All of you, have said enough. You have always been welcomed into my home. This "WAR ZONE" as you call it. But surely you must know that for people like US...ANYWHERE we live, love...EXIST can become a war zone.

“Oh Alison, you know I wasn’t insulting Aerie…”

She saw Maxim enter the room behind Alison, and smiled at him. He moved to her side and she happily took his hand and gave it a squeeze.

“How is Alexia doing? I’ll be in there with you to see her really soon.”

She turned to Alison, disregarding her stern demeanor.

“I actually wanted to talk to you about that Alison. What are our options here? Some kind of spell to block Alexia’s powers until she is older. What you call it? Binding, right? Or do I need to wear one of those collar thingies whenever I hold her? Just tell me what I need to do and I’ll do it.”

She smiled over at Alison, expectantly.

Her eyes flicked to Maxim’s grave face. She noticed he had been crying. HE had been crying. Well, she knew he was in love with his daughter as much as she was but…something…

“Maxim?”

Something was wrong.

“What’s wrong?”

She looked from him to Alison and back. A mix of fear and horror washed over her face.

“What did you do.”

 

[Bishop]

Aerie - Infirmary Interview Suite

He followed Alison obediently, as she had directed him to. He didn’t feel alive. Every step was excruciating. He didn’t want to feel like this anymore. He was empty inside, cold.

And there was Delilah, smiling as if nothing was wrong. How could he tell her? How could he destroy her like he knew it would? Spellbinder had been right about him, he was a monster.

He went to her. She squeezed his hand and he almost lost it. He kissed her cheek, just like he had done to Alexia minutes before. He kissed her goodbye.

“How is Alexia doing? I’ll be in there with you to see her really soon.”

He opened his mouth but no sound came out.

She was asking Alison about ways she could be with the baby. She didn’t know they had already discerned that none of that would work. That NOTHING would work. He was suddenly angry. What good was all this magick and powers and mutant shit if it couldn’t even help a mother to be with her child?! It was all bullshit, all of it.

“Maxim?”

She was looking to him now, for an answer. She suspected something. Motherly bond, or years reading faces as a cop, he didn’t know. But he knew that she knew.

“What’s wrong? What did you do.”

If he was a monster, then he had better just play the part as written.

“Darlin’, I…”

He knew it was probably the last time he would get to call her that.

“I had to send Alexia away. Just for a while…she’s, she’s with Ororo, someone I know you trust to care for her. Her powers…there was nothing that could be done. We looked at everything, I swear, baby. She was going to KILL you if you went near her again. I knew you wouldn’t be able to stay away from her. So I did it. I did it to save you.”

He gulped.

“It’s only for a little while, until she can control it, and then you can be together…we can be a family...”

 

[MorningStar]

Aerie - Infirmary Interview Suite

“Darlin’, I…”

She still held out hope, in that moment, that the feeling she had that something terrible had happened was just overreacting, or hormones, or something. But it was worse than she could even have imagined.

“I had to send Alexia away. Just for a while…she’s, she’s with Ororo, someone I know you trust to care for her. Her powers…there was nothing that could be done. We looked at everything, I swear, baby. She was going to KILL you if you went near her again. I knew you wouldn’t be able to stay away from her. So I did it. I did it to save you.”

Delilah forcefully let go of his hand, taking a step back away from him.

“You couldn’t…”

Her voice was so small, and hurt.

“It’s only for a little while, until she can control it, and then you can be together…we can be a family…”

“We.”

“Will.”

“Never.”

“Be.”

“A.”

“FAMILY!”

She screamed the word “family”.

Her bottom lip curled, quivered.

“How could you? How could you?”

Tears washing her face. Then the anger.

She doubled over, her hands balled into fists with the effort of yelling at him.

“GET OUT! GET OUT OF HERE YOU FUCKING BASTARD!”

Standing up straight, pure anger now on her face, MURDER on her mind, her eyes only seeing him.

“You took my CHILD and you think I will just forget that?! I will NEVER forgive you you son of a bitch!”

She raised her right hand in the air, glowing green with photon energy.

“I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU FOR THIS! NEVER!”

She “threw” her hand toward him and the photon blast hit the wall next to his head, blasting a hole through it and taking large chunks of the wall with it. She lowered her arms to her sides.

Her mouth was curled into a snarl as she laid her gaze upon Bishop. She had stopped yelling but her tone was as icy as Morgan Victoria had ever been.

“If I ever see you again I will kill you.”

With one last look at Delilah, Maxim turned on his heel and walked out, without saying a word.

Delilah slowly turned towards Alison. Her normally blue eyes were glowing bright green as her energy levels escalated.

“You! Did you help him steal my child from me? ANSWER ME!”

 

[Harbinger]

Interview Room

:: Harbinger stands tall. Silent. How many times had she been in a position like this before?::

:: Bishop had always been so insufferable. She watched as he was brought down low and CRUSHED. He was always so certain of himself and his view of the way things were. Now here he was...utterly powerless in a situation that he willingly had helped to create. A situation that, in a moment of painful realization and desperation, he turned to the one person he had routinely DISMISSED and judged.::

:: Alison's face continued to HARDEN as she stared, WITHOUT BLINKING,at Bishop and Delilah.::

:: She couldnt help but think BACK...::

:: A closer view of her colbalt blue eyes...::

<<FLASH!>>

<< Six months ago. THis VERY same place. Hecate had just revealed the true nature of Delilah and Bishop's relationship, why it ALWAYS would end in tragedy and betrayal....and that Delilah was PREGNANT!>>

<< The Six are stunned. Delilah is stunned...ANGRY at Hecate for telling this to EVERYONE. In SHOCK. Harbinger steps forward...>>

Delilah, this is your chance. You've been cursed for millennia. Moving from life to life forever vexed by a curse...forever linked to the fate of that....man over there.


It's a far better thing that you've found out about this....all of it...HERE...with US...from Hecate. At least you know that WE'RE standing with you, now that you've returned to us and Hecate is offering you the chance to break this curse and cycle now. There's no guarantee you will carry this knowledge with you in your next lifetime and there may not be an opportunity such as this here.

:: Even THEN, Harbinger knew.::

<<FLASH!>>

I....I think you should let Hecate break the curse. This is your chance to free yourself and cast him out!

Take US out of the equation.

There's no guarantee that something else wont happen later on in this life...OR the next. While it is true that the souls of those who are close to one another will travel in the same astral circles from one life to the next, WE will not be the ones doomed to face another tragedy because of an unwitting association to one man. It will be YOU.

We...I...and I can speak for Morgan too...SHE wouldnt want you to WILLING carry a burden that you dont deserve. One that will HURT you. One that WE can't do anything about!

::But Delilah hesitated....REFUSED. She would not ask Hecate to break the curse, knowing that it would terminate her pregnancy. It was a descision that VISIBLY disappointed Harbinger, Spellbinder and Persephone.::

::But the most ominous confirmation of what Harbinger was already beginning to SEE regarding this pregnancy came from Hecate herself...::

<<FLASH!>>

<< shaking her head with disappointment at Delilah.>>

You REALLY should learn to listen to Harbinger. But you'll learn soon enough.

<< and on that note, Hecate gestures. Thunder crashes and chimes sound off. with a flash and swirl of energy, she vanishes, leaving them to reel from what has happened, what was learned and the choice Delilah has made.>>

....I warned her. HECATE warned her. She made her choice.

:: CAMERON, her BROTHER, "hears" her voice. Her COLD...UNFORGIVING voice via their psychic rapport as siblings. Even as MorningStar, after having cast Bishop out of the infirmary and the mansion, now confront's Harbinger.::

Delilah slowly turned towards Alison. Her normally blue eyes were glowing bright green as her energy levels escalated.

“You! Did you help him steal my child from me? ANSWER ME!”

:: The large, red Garnet Jewel of her Time Staff suddenly began to hum with a higher pitched tone and glow with a quicker intermittent pulse. Those paying attention would know that Harbinger was already "LOOKING AHEAD". She was prepared for any act of violence or aggression on Delilah's part and she would DEFEND herself but she had NO wish to HURT Delilah. The woman had been hurt MORE than anyone she cared for deserved to be. But she would NOT be abused...not for doing what she's ALWAYS tried to do with her precognition, PROTECT and KEEP her loved ones ALIVE::

YES.

:: Harbinger said with a pointed and cold tone as she did not move, not even an inch, when Delilah turned torward her, facing her with those glowing green eyes and the ANGER radiating from her as strongly as the light she channeled::

I helped Bishop SAVE YOUR LIFE.


:: She wasn't Morgan or Karen. She wouldnt plead for understanding. She would not ask for forgiveness. She would do what she'd ALWAYS done...the thing that Bishop, Delilah and others in this room had at one time or another criticized her for...making the choices...taking the actions that others were unable or UNWILLING to take in order to PROTECT those who mattered to her the most.::

 

[MorningStar]

Aerie - Infirmary Interview Suite

Delilah asked Alison if she had helped Bishop. Harbinger looked back at her, no compassion in her face, no sympathy, no apology. Cold. HEARTLESS.

YES.

Delilah collapsed to her knees. Her hands went to the floor. She kept her head down for a long minute.

Damn her marble heart…damn her…

She raised her head to look at Alison, still on all fours, broken. Her voice came out very softly, the pain, the betrayal tangibly saturating it.

“Why would you…do that?”

I helped Bishop SAVE YOUR LIFE.

She pounded her fist on the floor.

“You hate Bishop, Alison, you hate him. Why would you listen to anything he said? Why would you do this to ME?”

She sat back on her haunches.

“We could, we could have find a way, a solution. WE’RE THE SIX – we always find a WAY!”

Then she put her head in her hands and sobbed.

 

[Harbinger]

Infirmary- Interview Room

:: Alison's colbalt blue eyes follow Delilah's every move. She remains still and seemingly cold. But inside, beneath her posture and presentation, she feels AWFUL for the pain she's caused her dear friend. How could she stand here, watching...HEARING Delilah's cries of distress? She HAD to. Bishop could not take it...ALISON would. It was the least she could do...::

....

:: A part of her wants to drop her time staff, kneel down and try to pull Delilah up. Take her in her arms...try to MAKE her understand. But she knows she can't. Not only because she's the LAST person Delilah would want touching her, but because she HAS to remain steadfast in her descision to help Bishop SAVE Delilah's life.::

My hatred...my MISTRUST of Bishop does NOT outweigh my care and concern for YOU.

I did what had to be done. The ONLY thing that could be done to SAVE YOUR LIFE.

She sat back on her haunches.

“We could, we could have find a way, a solution. WE’RE THE SIX – we always find a WAY!”
Then she put her head in her hands and sobbed.

We find a way to preserve this world...and to protect each other.

:: She continues to speak evenly but making sure she's heard...::

I found the way to make sure that you may LIVE even when time threads leading to/from you show you DYING in child birth.

BISHOP found the courage...the WISDOM to understand what was at stake. YOUR LIFE. HE is the one who asked ME.

My vision showed that HIM being here is what made the difference in saving your life, NOT the goddesses.

That is why you are here now. A choice that he made...that NO one in his position should have to make...in order to save you.

I took NO pleasure in this, Delilah. But you MUST know that I will ALWAYS do what must be done...not only to safe guard this world...but to protect YOU.

 

[MorningStar]

Aerie - Infirmary Interview Suite

We find a way to preserve this world...and to protect each other.

Delilah scoffed.

“’Protect’ us?”

Delilah stood up very slowly. Her clothes were dirty from being on the floor and her face was tear-stained. She lowered her head, narrowing her eyes to slits as she STARED Alison down.

I found the way to make sure that you may LIVE even when time threads leading to/from you show you DYING in child birth.

"I would rather die than be without my child! Did you ever think of that? Did you even THINK about ASKING me?!"

BISHOP found the courage...the WISDOM to understand what was at stake. YOUR LIFE. HE is the one who asked ME.

Her face twisted into a sneer.

“Oh I have no DOUBT that he is the one behind this. That lying, scheming ASSHOLE. But I wouldn’t have expected you to be so STUPID as to go along with him!”

My vision showed that HIM being here is what made the difference in saving your life, NOT the goddesses.

Delilah almost laughed.

“So first it was the goddesses who saved me, then Ava, then Morgan, NOW Bishop? Would you make up your mind who I am supposed to THANK for saving me?! Cause being here is SO MUCH BETTER than the alternative!”

That is why you are here now. A choice that he made...that NO one in his position should have to make...in order to save you.

"You know, you all should really like Bishop. You should be BFFs with each other. He should be 'one of the gang' already. Because you ALL act the SAME! You all think you can make decisions FOR me and RUN MY LIFE!”

I took NO pleasure in this, Delilah. But you MUST know that I will ALWAYS do what must be done...not only to safe guard this world...but to protect YOU.

She shook her head.

"Oh you LOVE it and you know it. Lording it all over the rest of us. [in a high-pitched mocking voice] ‘Oh, I’m Alison! My powers are so terrible! I see everything before it happens but I don’t do anything about it!’ Yeah, you do what needs to done. IN YOUR OPINION. Funny how no one makes you do anything YOU don’t ALREADY want to do! YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST DO WHATEVER YOU SEE FIT TO AND RUIN PEOPLE’S LIVES! My daughter is an orphan now BECAUSE OF YOU!”

Delilah wanted to put her hands around Alison’s throat. The ONE thing that should have been sacred to her – to them all – she had completely disregarded. Doing THIS without even talking to her about it…that was a new low even for “do-whatever-she-damn-well-pleases” Alison. She just could not even wrap her head around the fact that someone who was SUPPOSED to be her friend would even THINK about doing this to her, let alone ACTUALLY doing it. And WITH someone she SAID she hated and who she wanted DEAD.

“You give me back my daughter, Alison. NOW.”

 

[Rampage]

"Oh you LOVE it and you know it. Lording it all over the rest of us. [in a high-pitched mocking voice] ‘Oh, I’m Alison! My powers are so terrible! I see everything before it happens but I don’t do anything about it!’ Yeah, you do what needs to done. IN YOUR OPINION. Funny how no one makes you do anything YOU don’t ALREADY want to do! YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST DO WHATEVER YOU SEE FIT TO AND RUIN PEOPLE’S LIVES! My daughter is an orphan now BECAUSE OF YOU!”

Delilah wanted to put her hands around Alison’s throat. The ONE thing that should have been sacred to her – to them all – she had completely disregarded. Doing THIS without even talking to her about it…that was a new low even for “do-whatever-she-damn-well-pleases” Alison. She just could not even wrap her head around the fact that someone who was SUPPOSED to be her friend would even THINK about doing this to her, let alone ACTUALLY doing it. And WITH someone she SAID she hated and who she wanted DEAD.

“You give me back my daughter, Alison. NOW.”

An ORPHAN? Your daughter most certainly is NOT that. What she is in fact, is very lucky.

Nicolas stepped forward, placing his hand on Alison's shoulder and stepping in front of Morgan, who seemed ready to pounce to Alison's defense. With his off hand he patted Morgans hip as he went past, hoping she would take the hint to trust him.


Your daughter was born in the only hospital on the planet that would have suffered her to live peacefully after she was born to a seemingly very healthy woman who suddenly died just as she exhibited the dark energy she is possessed with. That is a death sentence for a baby...likely the reason why we THINK that metahumans exhibit powers almost always at adolescence. Most likely many of us exhibit at birth and are summarily executed or experimented upon by MYSTECH or certain others that are surely out there until we die. But not YOUR daughter. Lucky her.

Then, rather than curse her with being marked as a child that killed its own mother, she was found a home where she will be both cared for and properly trained until she could safely be returned home. Her FATHER, Bishop, found a way to to look past his hatred for Alison and she for him, and found a way to save your life and guarantee your baby girl the best possible chance at a safe, happy existence. My past feelings for him are well documented, but I can only admire him for throwing away the love of his life AND his own chance to raise his daughter in order to save you. Had he been selfish and only thinking about himself and the baby, he could have just given her to you and waited, then taken the baby. He could have made his life much easier. But he made a more courageous call, saved you, and lost everything.

I know a LOT about being responsible for my mother's death. I would not wish that upon anyone, much less your daughter. To know that every breath you take is at the cost of the one who loves you like no other. I would DIE to change my mother's fate; I live with a guilt that could crush mountains. Do you want THAT for your little girl?

Nicolas searched Delilah's face as he spoke. He was not angry or hard, really just sad and grim.

Look Dee...I know you want your daughter and you would rather die holding her than be without her. I swear to you I understand and if I knew of ANY way it could be different, I would go get her myself. Ororo would gladly release her. No matter what it took, the people in this room would do it. But I can tell you, her touch is your death right now. Not forever. Just now. She is safe and you two WILL see each other again. But today I am hoping you will just understand, no matter HOW unhappy you may be.

 

[Silver Swan]

Interview room

[Sharon had watched, silently. She noticeably had remained in the full manifestation of her Silver Swan persona and kept her silver eye mask on. Almost as if the battle, the DANGER had not truly passed.]

[ Indeed, things went from tense to downright bitter and hostile. She could HEAR the quickening hearts, the drawing of breath, all of the subtle body sounds associated with negativity and conflict.]

[Harbinger confirmed what she & Bishop had done. It was a shocking thing for them all to hear and yet...it made SENSE...]

[The precog remained steady, even as Delilah became more and more harsh and withering in her responses to her. Spellbinder was about to step forward and surely rebuke Delilah, when Nicolas took the point and Morgan held back.]

Your daughter was born in the only hospital on the planet that would have suffered her to live peacefully after she was born to a seemingly very healthy woman who suddenly died just as she exhibited the dark energy she is possessed with. That is a death sentence for a baby...likely the reason why we THINK that metahumans exhibit powers almost always at adolescence. Most likely many of us exhibit at birth and are summarily executed or experimented upon by MYSTECH or certain others that are surely out there until we die. But not YOUR daughter. Lucky her.

There are cases where mutants exhibit their powers at birth. My son was one example. Nicolas is another. Everyone in this room knows the scope of Mystech, how far and deep their reach was.


[She moves in the midst of them all]


I stayed here in order to protect Delilah, Bishop and the staff in the event of any physical danger from Circe’s attacks manifesting in the Infirmary.


I presided over the birth of Alexia Morgana.


The moment the baby was born; there was an immediate manifestation of her mutant power, dark energy. It was completely involuntary and beyond the baby’s conscious control.

As she took her first breaths & cries of life, the dark energy was all about her…and Delilah. It covered her body. When the temporal distortion from the battle above ground affected the infirmary as well…the baby’s power VAPORIZED three medical personnel.

[She saw the pained look on Michael’s face. She saw the look on Harbinger’s face.]


I ordered an immediate evacuation of the room and handled the baby myself, knowing my invulnerability would protect me. By then…


…Delilah had already…expired. There was nothing I could do. Not knowing if the baby was a threat to EVERYONE in the infirmary at that moment, I had to act to ensure more lives werent lost.


When the temporal fields of the Infirmary were restored, I quickly placed the baby in the nursery, in a specially designed isolette. All tests showed that the baby was physically FINE. HEALTHY. And by then, the dark aura about her body had vanished. She had her normal, natural appearance.


I confirmed to Bishop that the baby was in fact a mutant.

A short time after that, just before the VORTEX that had threatened to pull this entire place in upon itself appeared, DELILAH was miraculously REVIVED and her body showed no signs of having given birth or anything related to the trauma in the delivery room. She was restored to full health and vigor. She informed us that Hecate and Athena had done so, in order to tip the personal scales between them.

[She looked at Delilah]

I couldn’t have been more RELIEVED to see her alive. To know that I would NOT have the undesirable task of telling Morgan, The Six, that Delilah had been lost.

However, there was a 2nd episode.


Bishop brought the baby to see Delilah. Delilah held the baby for her first time and within SECONDS she began to flat line before Bishop’s eyes. I had been called away to contain a radiation burst resulting from the tremendous forces bombarding the mansion’s structure and foundation, but I heard him…I heard the baby. I heard Delilah’s heart stop…AGAIN.


I arrived and this time, as I took the baby away, I placed a POWER NEUTRALIZER COLLAR on Delilah and instructed Bishop to place the baby back in the isolette. I then activated a POWER DAMPENING FIELD. THIS SEVERED the link that the baby had formed between herself and her mother.


As nearly as I could determine, the baby’s power is the exact OPPOSITE of her mother’s and of course she has no control of it at this stage. Furthermore, she was reaching out to her mother for sustenance.

It is instinctive. Only the baby didn’t require traditional, physical “nursing” as it were. She was drawing on Delilah’s LIGHT, her LIFE FORCE.


The reason her power vaporized the 3 medical personnel was because it was a involuntary release of execss energy that had been stored in her tiny body. She had been feeding off of Delilah in the womb, which is why the pregnancy had become so difficult. But there was no way to know that until after the fact. Once that initial power outburst had subsided, it became clear Alexia’s power has no effect on other super powered beings OR non powered baseline humans like Bishop.

Her power is uniquely tied to her mother’s…and unfortunately, there is no way around that…not with any ACCEPTABLE option that I could come up with.


[She said without wavering.]


Delilah can’t be in the same room with the child or the same thing will happen…every time. She will drain you of your light…and your very life force, Delilah. She has no conscious control over her power at this stage and her need for sustenance is too great to be suppressed…to do something like that whether it be through technological, psionic or magickal means would be cruel and inhumane to the child…tampering with her life…before she’s even begun to live. THAT is mystech’s way and legacy. Not ours.


[Speaking without any hesitation, the mutate continues…]


Delilah…I’m a mother too. As I told you earlier…BEFORE I became the Silver Swan…I was a MOTHER and I was the mother of a mutant child whose powers manifested at birth. It earned him attention from Mystech. They killed my husband in Arklay mansion and ripped my son from my arms…despite my best efforts. Had I been Silver Swan THEN…the outcome would have been decidedly different but that’s all history now. MY history and it is that history…those memories…that cause me to have true sympathy for you now.

[She looks at Harbinger and Rampage]

Consider their motivation, Delilah. Harbinger is not your enemy. NOR did she take the course of action she chose lightly. Her power of precognition is a gift that is rare and even among the Amazons it is considered unique and special. BUT I do not envy her that gift.


To have your child taken from you…there’s LITTLE that can be said to make it sound “better”…or “appealing.” Malice and Mystech planned to take my son from me and stopped at nothing to achieve their goal. Harbinger, at Bishop’s behest, took Alexia away…for her safety AND yours. HE could not raise her on his own and IF you had DIED while with the baby and he took it then? Well…is there any doubt who among those in this room would have hounded HIM to HIS death?


UNLIKE myself and Kyle, Delilah. Your daughter is in good hands…the BEST POSSIBLE hands for someone of her special nature. She has a FUTURE ahead of her, one that includes YOU.

[She looks down at her armoured fist, clenching it]

Still…It is hard to look ahead…when the darkness at hand is so encompassing…so NUMBING. To be a mother and to have your child taken…it does something to you. To have no hand in what happens in such a defining moment…

[She knew where Delilah was. She understood. BUT her clarity of mind also saw that there was no other way and that AT LEAST this was done out of necessity and thought for safety of the child and mother, for their FUTURE.]

You may not think so now, But Harbinger is not your enemy. She’s given you the best possible chance and she has obviously foreseen the cost of doing this and decided your LIFE and the baby’s LIFE are more important than any loss she may suffer now.
As an Amazon, nothing more could be asked of a woman.

[Looking back]

BUT As a mother…I don’t know if I could understand that now.

THAT is something that only TIME will tell...but thankfully now...you and the baby BOTH have TIME.

[Still, Sharon could understand ALL TOO WELL the vacuum in Delilah's SOUL right now.]

 

[Prophet]

Minerva's Mansion - Interview Suite

Cameron watched as Delilah ad Alison went back and forth, and then listened as Sharon and Nicolas added their opinions as well. As well as he was able to control his natural gift of Empathy, there was pit that was DEEP in his stomach and it was named Delilah. He could feel everything, and rather than shut it off, and look as mechanically as the others seemed to be doing, he allowed himself to feel it. He needed to understand just exactly what she was going through in order to better understand HER position.

No matter the true emotional feelings of the others, in this instance it was very much EVERYBODY versus Delilah at this point. People could talk until they were blue in the face, but what he was feeling from Delilah at this moment told him that she was not going to listen, and he honestly felt like she didn't HAVE to right away. Alison KNEW that this was going to be a life altering conversation for the two of them. She had done what was necessary, and he knew his sister had already weighed the options. He trusted her opinion and felt that her decision was the right one, at least for now.

"Yeah because being here is SO MUCH BETTER than the alternavitve!"

That's when Cameron saw it in his mind. Delilah...Athena and Hecate standing in Athena's Parthenon. He had seen what their offer. Become an Amazon, break the cycle, be given new life, or return to her life in The Six. He saw her dignified choice to return to The Island of Aerie and to her friends at The Six. To know now that she had come back to "life" feeling betrayed by her lover, her best friend and to lose her baby all within the span of a couple of hours? Well he most certainly couldn't argue with her feelings. They were valid.

Cameron walked over to Delilah and grabbed her hand, squeezing it tightly and placing his other arm around her shoulder, in contrasting to Nicolas coming to Alison's shoulder. He waited until Sharon was finished speaking before gathering his own thoughts.

"Look..these opinions..while VALID...they are of no use to us right now. This conversation is between THEM..."

[gesturing his head towards Alison and Delilah]

"Delilah has given birth to a baby girl that she cannot touch, lost her life and feels betrayed by a friend as well as her lover...all in one night. Anything WE [gesturing to everyone else] say is of NO consequence. NEITHER of them need our help or opinion right now..."

He looked at his sister, speaking to her via their sibling bond.

"If people keep talking to her Alison, she is going to explode. She is already bordering on VIOLENT. I can feel it. Say whatever else is necessary, and I will take her with ME..She won't "see" anything with all these other voices...

Cameron looked at Delilah and squeezed her with his arm. While he agreed with his team about what happened, he WISHED there could have AT LEAST been a way for Delilah to say goodbye. And WHENEVER Cameron had the chips fall beside HIM? Delilah was the friendly ear that had listened. She had been there for him, and looked after him, in much of the way that Alison had when he returned to Melrose Place. He would make sure that she DIDN'T feel alone. He would be there for her as she had been there for him.

 

[Arsenal]

"Delilah has given birth to a baby girl that she cannot touch, lost her life and feels betrayed by a friend as well as her lover...all in one night. Anything WE [gesturing to everyone else] say is of NO consequence. NEITHER of them need our help or opinion right now..."

Actually Delilah has an issue that causes her to be currently separated from her child. Now the STAFF, they are DEAD. THEIR lives are actually truly LOST. THEIR children? Orphans for real. Hecate and Athena will not send them back nor will anyone in this room apparently even give a real shit that they were vaporized. If there is anyone who deserves your thanks Delilah, it is them. If you want to see a real orphan, come with me when I tell their families that they don't even have a BODY to bury.

Mike paced as he spoke. The loss of the staff clearly hit him harder than perhaps even Karen realized.

I get it Dee. You are upset. FURIOUS. But all of this wishing you had stayed dead shit is a stream of piss in the face of people who really did die and AIN'T gonna EVER be back. You WILL see your child if it is at all possible because the most powerful people in the world will see to it. In more than one world for fucksake!! Take a moment and remember THAT. Because like some other people in this situation, you OR the baby could just be dead. Plain and simple. At least now you have some hope. THEY don't have SHIT.

 

[Spellbinder]

Interview room

<< Morgan and Blaze stood together, arm in arm. Morgan’s mind CHURNED with emotion and distress. She couldn’t BELIEVE what was happening. What she was HEARING! She and Blaze exchanged looks of dismay and silent agreement on several things that were said, but for Morgan, watching Delilah, who was on the verge of psychotic RAGE episode both baffled and ANGERED her. As her attacks on Alison became increasingly harsh and withering…>>

THAT’S IT!

<< She “says” to Blaze as she prepares to step forward and rebuke Delilah and also question Alison, but Nicolas silently asks her to stay her hand at the moment and she does so. Nicolas, Sharon and then Michael speak. Among their comments were nuggets of wisdom from similar experience, sympathy and/or EMPATHY and something that Delilah herself had often chastised the team over…the baseline HUMAN casualties that were sustained and how THEY were never coming back.>>

<< Michael finished and Morgan finally pulled away from Blaze.>

Cameron…


<< She looks him directly in his eyes. Her violet eyes betray a SWIRL of emotion. She will not be denied. She moves past him, right to Delilah and Alison>>


Delilah, I’ve known you FOREVER and yet, as I stand here tonight…I don’t understand what I’m seeing, what I’m HEARING.

All I know is, the girl that has ALWAYS been and ALWAYS WILL BE my BEST FRIEND…my SISTER…is attacking someone we BOTH love and cherish…for SAVING YOUR LIFE.


Listen…I have no power in this situation and I’m HEARTSICK as I watch you SUFFER. I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO TO HELP YOU!

<< she SCREAMS as tears well up in her violet eyes>>

You stand here….and you talk to Alison as if she were a member of the SISTERHOOD

<< Momentarily FORGETTING that ISIS was still in the room >>



I DON’T UNDERSTAND.

<< she throws her hands up as she turns away for a moment.>>


I haven’t understood ANY of this since the caper with Black and Bianca.
Hecate TRIED to FIX what she unintentionally set in motion with you when YOU asked HER to take away your guilt over killing Bishop! She revealed the CURSE that haunts you and Bishop. It was the ONLY THING that could help US understand why you chose to DROWN YOURSELF over that pathetic WRETCH of a man who was out to DESTROY US. She told us you were pregnant. She gave you a chance to SAVE YOURSELF, to BREAK that curse and to FREE yourself from ANYMORE heartache, betrayal and LOSS that is DESTINED to come to you as long as are linked with him.

HECATE gave you a chance! She gave you a chance that NOBODY IN THIS ROOM ever got when dealing with the darkness and curses that afflict them. But YOU….you SQUANDERED IT to carry a pregnancy by a man who destroyed your life MORE THAN ONCE and then this pregnancy DID THE SAME THING.

You…choose NOT to. You CHOOSE NOT TO SAVE YOURSELF! I will NEVER understand that! We…no…YOU wouldn’t be facing this moment RIGHT NOW if you had JUST CHOSE THE RIGHT THING!


What could WE do? NOTHING. What would you have LET us do if we TOLD YOU? NOTHING!

POWERLESS is what we’ve been through this WHOLE THING.

But to listen to you know…even if they… if *I* had the power to do anything…I’d STILL be wrong in your eyes.

If Alison HADN’T warned us…if she HADN’T done what she did…you’d be DEAD..AGAIN.

ALISON did the RIGHT THING. It didn’t take a precog to know what YOU would do. For goddess’ sake you thought NOTHING of DROWNING yourself in the Aegean sea while Ava, Alison and Haleigh were in Alison’s STUDY.

It’s like you don’t even VALUE your life and all the GIFTS and CONCESSIONS you’ve been given. Things that people like SHARON NEVER GOT with her child. Things that those MORTALS who DIED in this infirmary tonight will never get. Things that some of OUR fallen teammates and allies will never get!

You CRITICIZE us…and you claim we’re trying to control your life? Are you out of your mind!?

You’ve been OUT OF CONTROL for MONTHS!

You DROWNED yourself in the waters around this island and when Ororo BARELY managed to revive you, you got UPSET with her? Hecate and Athena give you your hearts desire and suddenly they’re the worst beings in the universe. They REVIVE you to try to set things RIGHT with you and here you stand now saying you’d rather throw that GIFT, YOUR LIFE away!?


YOU chose to have this baby, KNOWING that there would be consequences because of yours and Bishop’s curse. You should’ve let Hecate BREAK THAT CURSE! But NO…even when you’re given the chance to SAVE YOURSELF you throw it away and now you want to berate Alison for doing what had to be done to save you!?

What the hell is wrong with you? ANYTHING that has been done for you in this entirely TWISTED AND HORRIBLE situation, you’ve only found the BAD in.


What do you want us to do? Just STAND BACK and let you DIE because that’s the only way to prove to you how we feel about you? Are you INSANE?

You’re ALIVE. Your baby is ALIVE and SAFE. She wasn’t TAKEN AWAY to some MYSTECH LABORATORY. YOU’RE NEVER going to have to do what SHARON had to do to her own son. YOU will have more options…more HELP than SHE EVER got.

But YOU DON’T CARE about that do you!? ALL you care about is this RIDICULOUSLY RIGID and unreasonable idea you have in your mind that NOTHING CAN EVER HAPPEN unless YOU approve of it while at the same time, you will do the most STUPID THINGS that put YOUR LIFE in jeopardy and the people who love you THE MOST SCRAMBLE to try to help you, to SAVE YOU and you turn around and SHIT on us for WHAT!?


I don’t know who you are at this very moment and I’m SURE right now Alison is the worst person in the world to you but I’ll tell you something…I would have done the SAME THING and you could get in my face all you want, but as long as I know YOU’RE ALIVE and I was able to do something to keep you safe and at least give you and your baby a CHANCE?? OH WELL, I’ll be every “CONTROLLING DIVA BITCH” and whatever else you want to call me.


I dont know what to do here...and I HATE THAT. I can't fix this...I can't do ANYTHING for you and I'm SICK about it. I feel like I've FAILED you...AGAIN.

But I want you to know that I'd rather you be ALIVE and HATE all of us in this room and...NEVER SPEAK TO US AGAIN...just as long as you're ALIVE.

You don't need us apparently...we just keep getting in the way despite our best efforts to love you and do what comes naturally when doing for FAMILY. You can contact Ororo yourself...ask HER...see what SHE tells you. I suppose then you'll berate her as well.

 

[Harbinger]

Interview Room

:: Alison stared at Delilah. Suddenly her view of Delilah changed...it was as if she was staring at Delilah from the long end of the barrell of a GUN.::

Cameron walked over to Delilah and grabbed her hand, squeezing it tightly and placing his other arm around her shoulder, in contrasting to Nicolas coming to Alison's shoulder. He waited until Sharon was finished speaking before gathering his own thoughts.

"Look..these opinions..while VALID...they are of no use to us right now. This conversation is between THEM..."

[gesturing his head towards Alison and Delilah]

"Delilah has given birth to a baby girl that she cannot touch, lost her life and feels betrayed by a friend as well as her lover...all in one night. Anything WE [gesturing to everyone else] say is of NO consequence. NEITHER of them need our help or opinion right now..."

He looked at his sister, speaking to her via their sibling bond.

"If people keep talking to her Alison, she is going to explode. She is already bordering on VIOLENT. I can feel it. Say whatever else is necessary, and I will take her with ME..She won't "see" anything with all these other voices...

:: Alison felt Cameron's hand and "heard" his thought call.::

...Did it ever occurr to you that SHE is the problem? You werent there the night Hecate revealed the truth about the curse that haunts her from one life to the next. You werent there to see the shock and HORROR that some of us felt when she chose to KEEP the baby she was then carrying. I tried everything I could to persuade her...but it was HER choice.

:: Morgan is now screaming at Delilah::

Listen to Morgan. Listen to what she is saying. Delilah doesnt even take note of the fact that NONE OF THIS would be happening had it not been for HER and HER CHOICES.

...it was HER life & SHE MADE HER CHOICE. We didnt stop her. And NO ONE gave her a hard time for it!

We did what any FAMILY would do...we tried to be there...tried to HELP and what do we get in return? The VENOM and RAGE of an UNTHINKING woman who truly believes that this whole thing was orchestrated by Bishop and Myself for WHAT?! As if we...as if *I* had nothing better to do than to come up with some new inventive way of HURTING HER!?

NO, Cameron. This woman has thought NOTHING of placing her own life in peril MORE THAN ONCE, leaving us to SCRAMBLE to try to save her...from HERSELF and for this...we...*I* am the worst person in the world? I think NOT! She thinks NOTHING of the MULTIPLE "2nd chances" she's been given DESPITE her own actions. "2nd chances" that people who WERE on my staff will NEVER have. Don't forget...when this is over and you all have left...while she is raging about what a monster I am...*I* will be contacting the families of those LOST tonight.

:: Squeezing his hand::

BUT...I already knew what would come of this and I can take it. I will be the horrible witch she believes me, all the while knowing that I did what was necessary to preserve her life so that she, in turn, can help The Six continue to achieve its destiny...more importantly so that she can LIVE to see her daughter one day, WITHOUT consequence to herself or her daughter. SHE may not be able to see the value of HER life and that she WILL one day be reunited with her daughter right now, but *I* see it. And that VISION is enough for me to look BEYOND the unpleasantness...the PAIN of THIS moment at hand.

Let her rage...it doesnt change anything. What's done is done.

:: She removes her hand from Cameron's and steps forward and places a hand on Morgan's arm::

Morgan, that's enough. Please...calm yourself. Screaming at Delilah will change nothing. There are NO enemies here. Only broken hearts and vortexes of rage.

:: She says calmly but firmly as she looks at her truly distraught friend and then looks at Nicolas, signaling him to gently take hold of Morgan and pull her back::

Delilah, this is enough.

You've said more than enough. You've made your feelings and judgement, clouded as it may be, quite clear.

I accept your anger and scorn. I knew this would come and there was no avoiding it. Whether you want to believe it or not...I do NOT take pleasure in this moment...but YOU
must accept the REALITY of the situation.

For MONTHS, you have made YOUR OWN CHOICES.

This totally flies in the face of your claim that WE try to run your life, A life that you have REPEATEDLY placed in jeopardy, if not flat out THROWN AWAY, by your OWN choices and actions.

YOUR choices have determined the life you have had up to this point...

All we have EVER done is try to HELP YOU but you won't see that. You seek to assign blame, not unlike HALEIGH in HER less enlightened days.

Yours has been a cycle of self harm and defeat for MONTHS and it is IRONIC, considering the CURSE that vexes you and Bishop, that BISHOP was the one to make a HARD CHOICE to BREAK that cycle. He did it for YOU.

Your daughter is ALIVE and has a chance and though you refuse to see or HEAR me at this moment, you WILL see her again, when the time is right...when it won't COST YOU YOUR LIFE.

There is no further need for any debate OR discussion from ANYONE in this room, INCLUDING YOU, Delilah.

What's done is done. I will not reverse course.

:: She said with a resolute tone. She spoke with finality, as the Harbinger.::

 

[MorningStar]

Aerie - The Infirmary Interview Suite

Delilah seethed as they tried to tell her how she was wrong. Like they knew what she was going through. Like they knew ANYTHING.

She had stayed facing Alison the whole time. But when Sharon started to talk about her daughter’s birth, her eyes slid to Silver Swan.

As she took her first breaths & cries of life, the dark energy was all about her…and Delilah. It covered her body. When the temporal distortion from the battle above ground affected the infirmary as well…the baby’s power VAPORIZED three medical personnel.

Delilah’s eyes closed just a second longer than normal. She swallowed. She hadn’t known about the three staff members, but she couldn’t think about that now. All that mattered now was getting her child back.

Sharon’s words gave her pause, as she talked about being relieved to see her return to life. But it was like losing her child all over again to hear her say there was no alternative. No alternative to taking her child away? That was unacceptable. She KNEW Sharon. Sharon would never have stopped looking for a way for her and Kyle to be together if she was in her place.

UNLIKE myself and Kyle, Delilah. Your daughter is in good hands…the BEST POSSIBLE hands for someone of her special nature. She has a FUTURE ahead of her, one that includes YOU.

If Delilah had begun to listen to Sharon, this caused her anger to flash once again.

“The best possible hands to raise my daughter are MINE!”

THAT is something that only TIME will tell...but thankfully now...you and the baby BOTH have TIME.

Even though Sharon’s words were hopeful, they caused a wave of despair to wash over Delilah. For to her, it felt as if they had NO time. In truth they had had NO time together at all. How could she be thankful? She knew she would never see her daughter again. Her bottom lip quivered and tears once again ran down her cheeks.

She blinked and looked up as she felt Cameron take her hand and put his arm around her shoulders. She felt herself calming. She took a few shaky breaths.

Actually Delilah has an issue that causes her to be currently separated from her child. Now the STAFF, they are DEAD. THEIR lives are actually truly LOST. THEIR children? Orphans for real. Hecate and Athena will not send them back nor will anyone in this room apparently even give a real shit that they were vaporized. If there is anyone who deserves your thanks Delilah, it is them. If you want to see a real orphan, come with me when I tell their families that they don't even have a BODY to bury.

I get it Dee. You are upset. FURIOUS. But all of this wishing you had stayed dead shit is a stream of piss in the face of people who really did die and AIN'T gonna EVER be back. You WILL see your child if it is at all possible because the most powerful people in the world will see to it. In more than one world for fucksake!! Take a moment and remember THAT. Because like some other people in this situation, you OR the baby could just be dead. Plain and simple. At least now you have some hope. THEY don't have SHIT.

Delilah’s eyes narrowed as she shrugged out of Cameron’s grasp.

“Mike?”

She smirked as she looked upwards and made air quotes, mocking.

“’Arsenal’.”

She took two steps towards him, looking on him with contempt.

“Why don’t you just shut the fuck up, human. Maybe if your friends hadn’t brought me here against my will, those three staff members would still be alive. So you want to blame someone, look around the room. But the only reason you are here is because you are Karen’s current boy toy. You are a security guard – and not a very good one it seems. You are not a part of this. So why don’t you just sit in the corner and be quiet like a good little boy while the adults talk.”

Morgan broke in with more of her sanctimonious bullshit.

Delilah, I’ve known you FOREVER and yet, as I stand here tonight…I don’t understand what I’m seeing, what I’m HEARING. All I know is, the girl that has ALWAYS been and ALWAYS WILL BE my BEST FRIEND…my SISTER…is attacking someone we BOTH love and cherish…for SAVING YOUR LIFE.

“Hmm…surprise surprise. You side with Alison. What ELSE is new? I don’t know why I would expect YOU to understand. That would require FEELINGS.”

You stand here….and you talk to Alison as if she were a member of the SISTERHOOD.

“Sometimes I WONDER.”

Delilah turned away, crossing her arms angrily over her chest, stewing as she listened to Morgan.

“You will never understand, Morgan.”

She turned back to face her oldest friend, her voice dripping with anger.

“How dare you tell me what I should have done. I was given a CHOICE. I was, not you. But I forgot – no one is allowed to try to be happy except for YOU. No one is allowed to make their OWN decisions.”

She glanced at Nicolas.

“You run around with a man who SLEPT with one of your closest friends and god knows who else, but I am not allowed to fall in love with someone who doesn’t meet your exact specifications? At least Bishop and I are under a curse. What’s Nicolas’ excuse?”

Her focus returned to Morgan.

“Maybe I WANTED a child. Maybe I WANTED a life with a man that I loved and loved me. Maybe I wanted a chance to be NORMAL.”

She took a slow step towards Morgan.

“That’s right. It’s always my fault, isn’t it? Why don’t you tell me some more how I’m so terrible and everyone else has had it so much harder than I have. Tell me again how I’m throwing away GIFTS and being ungrateful.”

She turned to Alison with mock enthusiasm.

“Oh thank you so much for stealing my child, Alison! At least I’m not dead!”

The anger returned to her face as she looked back at Morgan.

What the hell is wrong with you? ANYTHING that has been done for you in this entirely TWISTED AND HORRIBLE situation, you’ve only found the BAD in.

Delilah pointed to the ground, gesturing as she spoke.

“I’ve spent my life finding the good in things, in people, in all the TERRIBLE things that have happened to me, to US. What has that gotten me? NOTHING. I am DONE with it. ”

You don't need us apparently...we just keep getting in the way despite our best efforts to love you and do what comes naturally when doing for FAMILY. You can contact Ororo yourself...ask HER...see what SHE tells you. I suppose then you'll berate her as well.

“If she refuses to give me back my child, then yes, I suppose I will.”

Delilah, this is enough. You've said more than enough. You've made your feelings and judgment, clouded as it may be, quite clear.

Delilah looked once again to Alison, who had finally decided to speak for herself after allowing her fan club to go first.

“Because the only way is YOUR way, right?”

I accept your anger and scorn. I knew this would come and there was no avoiding it. Whether you want to believe it or not...I do NOT take pleasure in this moment...but YOU must accept the REALITY of the situation.

Delilah took two quick steps toward Alison, her voice biting.

“I don’t give a shit WHAT you accept, ‘Martyr Alison’. Don’t you DARE tell me to just accept this! You may be able to tell THESE people what to do, but not me, NOT ANYMORE!”

For MONTHS, you have made YOUR OWN CHOICES. This totally flies in the face of your claim that WE try to run your life, A life that you have REPEATEDLY placed in jeopardy, if not flat out THROWN AWAY, by your OWN choices and actions. YOUR choices have determined the life you have had up to this point...

Delilah blew up at this, throwing her hands up in the anger, incredulous.

“MY CHOICES SHOULD DETERMINE MY LIFE ALL THE TIME! NOT just when YOU agree! For fuck’s sake you overbearing, selfish bitch! It’s my goddamn life and I’ll do what I want with it – that is NONE of your concern!”

All we have EVER done is try to HELP YOU but you won't see that. You seek to assign blame, not unlike HALEIGH in HER less enlightened days.

Her face twisted into a sneer, pure hatred on her face.

“I assign blame to the people who brought me here and STOLE MY CHILD FROM ME! If THAT is what you call help, DON’T EVER HELP ME AGAIN.”

There is no further need for any debate OR discussion from ANYONE in this room, INCLUDING YOU, Delilah. What's done is done. I will not reverse course.

There was a pause where everything was eerily quiet. Delilah didn’t move a muscle. It was as if Alison herself had frozen time…

And then MorningStar lunged at Harbinger.

“I’LL KILL YOU YOU POMPOUS CONNIVING BITCH! GIVE ME BACK MY DAUGHTER! YOU’RE DEAD TO ME, YOU HEAR ME? DEAD! GIVE HER BACK TO ME! GIVE HER BACK!”

 

[Prophet]

Minerva's Mansion - Interview Suite

Actually Delilah has an issue that causes her to be currently separated from her child. Now the STAFF, they are DEAD. THEIR lives are actually truly LOST. THEIR children? Orphans for real. Hecate and Athena will not send them back nor will anyone in this room apparently even give a real shit that they were vaporized. If there is anyone who deserves your thanks Delilah, it is them. If you want to see a real orphan, come with me when I tell their families that they don't even have a BODY to bury.

Mike paced as he spoke. The loss of the staff clearly hit him harder than perhaps even Karen realized.

I get it Dee. You are upset. FURIOUS. But all of this wishing you had stayed dead shit is a stream of piss in the face of people who really did die and AIN'T gonna EVER be back. You WILL see your child if it is at all possible because the most powerful people in the world will see to it. In more than one world for fucksake!! Take a moment and remember THAT. Because like some other people in this situation, you OR the baby could just be dead. Plain and simple. At least now you have some hope. THEY don't have SHIT.

"Oh God..She's gonna kill him right NOW!"

Cameron thought as he listened to Mike speak. He scrunched his nose up a bit at the man's words. It almost seemed like an insult to the entirety of The Six. Cameron wasn't very sure how he felt about the man's words. Yes, there had been human lives lost, and that was a tragedy in itself, but these people KNEW what they were signing up for, and if The Six wasn't capable of performing the impossible on a regular basis, FAR more innocent and "human" people would be dead. To rationalize the casualty of the few against the salvation of the many was something Cameron didn't care to do. For him to say this to Delilah however, was a slap in the face because he KNEW that if she WERE to be in her right mind (which based on what he had seen, she was not), she ALWAYS had kept The Six in check. She would have been devestated by the loss of the staff, because they were helping HER and her DAUGHTER.

But Delilah was not herself at this moment. She was a woman LOST in the wallows of pain and depression, and this really wasn't a new feeling for Delilah. Cameron sympathized with her.

Cameron....

AND THEN? Morgan Victoria began. And she didn't stop. She clearly laid out what a LOT of her teammates were feeling with how Delilah was acting. She was to the point and snappy, but the sentiment was laced with love and compassion for Delilah as a person. Morgan had been very vocally worried about Delilah ever since her attempted suicide and with the events that follow, it only FURTHERED her grief. Morgan was making a lot of sense.. Scratch that, she would be making a lot of sense to a person who was ready to HEAR and deal with it, but she was not. However, listening to Morgan's words, he himself had doubts that she would EVER be able to deal with the decisions that Delilah had made for herself.

The thing that perplexed Cameron the most was that Morgan was operating under the assumption that her and Delilah were far more similar than they WERE. Some people can handle nearly destroying the world with their bare hands and return to society, and some (Delilah) can't. In her early years, Morgan was SO CLOSED off to the rest of the world, to her own emotions outside of rage and anger. He found an ironic contrast in the women. Delilah was a "bottler". She was tough, no doubt about that, but she was a person who tend to "go with the plan" and keep her true emotions to herself and when you deal with women as assertive as Alison and Morgan, that's usually the best option. Delilah had been brewing these feelings for quite some time, and there was something under the surface that told him that this conversation was a long time coming, and not just about the task at hand. This situation now was simply the straw that had broken the camel's back.

His Sister made contact with him via their sibling bond.

:: Alison felt Cameron's hand and "heard" his thought call.::

...Did it ever occurr to you that SHE is the problem? You werent there the night Hecate revealed the truth about the curse that haunts her from one life to the next. You werent there to see the shock and HORROR that some of us felt when she chose to KEEP the baby she was then carrying. I tried everything I could to persuade her...but it was HER choice.

:: Morgan is now screaming at Delilah::

Listen to Morgan. Listen to what she is saying. Delilah doesnt even take note of the fact that NONE OF THIS would be happening had it not been for HER and HER CHOICES.

...it was HER life & SHE MADE HER CHOICE. We didnt stop her. And NO ONE gave her a hard time for it!

We did what any FAMILY would do...we tried to be there...tried to HELP and what do we get in return? The VENOM and RAGE of an UNTHINKING woman who truly believes that this whole thing was orchestrated by Bishop and Myself for WHAT?! As if we...as if *I* had nothing better to do than to come up with some new inventive way of HURTING HER!?

NO, Cameron. This woman has thought NOTHING of placing her own life in peril MORE THAN ONCE, leaving us to SCRAMBLE to try to save her...from HERSELF and for this...we...*I* am the worst person in the world? I think NOT! She thinks NOTHING of the MULTIPLE "2nd chances" she's been given DESPITE her own actions. "2nd chances" that people who WERE on my staff will NEVER have. Don't forget...when this is over and you all have left...while she is raging about what a monster I am...*I* will be contacting the families of those LOST tonight.

:: Squeezing his hand::

BUT...I already knew what would come of this and I can take it. I will be the horrible witch she believes me, all the while knowing that I did what was necessary to preserve her life so that she, in turn, can help The Six continue to achieve its destiny...more importantly so that she can LIVE to see her daughter one day, WITHOUT consequence to herself or her daughter. SHE may not be able to see the value of HER life and that she WILL one day be reunited with her daughter right now, but *I* see it. And that VISION is enough for me to look BEYOND the unpleasantness...the PAIN of THIS moment at hand.

Let her rage...it doesnt change anything. What's done is done.

:: She removes her hand from Cameron's and steps forward and places a hand on Morgan's arm::

"Alison. I never said ANYBODY was the problem. I just stated that I personally feel that THIS display didn't need to happen like that. All of these people around. I KNOW that YOU can handle it..but to be honest.. I'm not sure that Morgan and Delilah CAN. These wounds run deep..."

He squeezed Alison's hand back.

"I understand both sides of the equation and my abilities allow me to experience the full rush of emotions and their true ties to what is going on.. and I sympathize with all parties. I however, will not engage the situation like this. No matter my personal opinion, we at the end of the day are a TEAM, and no matter how childish she may appear to be acting...we did none of this to hurt Delilah. SHE is not a monster either. She is HURT and in PAIN. She doesn't see things clearly and she hasn't for awhile...but I know this. After this? She will need someone to talk her feelings out in a clear and concise way, without fear of judgment. She has always given that to me and I intend to give that to her. SOMEBODY has to remain "on the fence" in order to preserve the sustainability of the team..."

Alison soon let go of her hand and retorted to Delilah. She was ever the Ice Queen, but in this instance she needed to be. He knew it hurt her to do this, and she KNEW it was the right thing to do..but she also knew Delilah's response would be throttling. As cold as she might like to be portrayed, Alison was a highly compassionate person and Delilah's words DID affect her.

With Alison's last words, Cameron could sense a SURGE of ANGER and RAGE coming from Delilah as she snapped back with FEROCITY, promptly giving each of the people who had chosen to respond their come uppings. She held back not at ALL, and while it was breathtaking to watch...THIS needed to stop. She was beginning the process of burning bridges because she was MAD and THAT was something this group could NOT pertain. They were FINALLY settling into a place of peace, and THIS was ALREADY going to ignite new wars.

"I'LL KILL YOU YOU POMPOUS CONNIVING BITCH!"

Cameron's eyes widen at her words. She was going to ATTACK!

"NO! Done! We're DONE!"

Cameron lunged at Delilah, effectively restraining her arms behind her back, much like Delilah would have done to a perp in what seemed to have been like a lifetime ago. SHE was the one that now had to be read their "Miranda Rights" so to speak.

He began to drag her out of the Interview Suite, and while she was still struggling to gain free from his grasp, She DID seem a little more calm.

"GIVE ME BACK MY DAUGHTER! YOU’RE DEAD TO ME, YOU HEAR ME? DEAD! GIVE HER BACK TO ME! GIVE HER BACK!”

Her words resounded, and ECHOED. BOOMED down the hall as Cameron drug her away. As they rounded what seemed like many corners, Prophet stopped.

"Shh...Dee...Calm down. Shh..Come on now..."

He whispered softly to her as her incredible anger had now surged into a WAVE of sorrow. She broke down in his arms, crying and sobbing with every word as Cameron embraced her tightly, slowly sliding down the wall with her. Soon the two were on the floor, with Cameron essentially cradling the remnants of a broken woman.

"Breathe babe...just breathe with me okay? You don't have to talk. Just in...and out.. In and out, Delilah..."

He kissed the top of her head and held her tight. He could have calmed her emotions, He could have let this subside with his power, but he knew the price of not feeling the totality of your feelings, and as much as it HURT him to see her like this...she needed to feel all of it. Cameron just wasn't sure how much more she could take.

 

[Spellbinder]

The power of goodbye

<< Morgan’s face contorted with disbelief, resentment and INDIGNATION. She really did NOT know who this woman before her was.>>

<< In her days with Valiant, in the earliest days of the SIX, Morgan would have SAVAGELY attacked someone for speaking to her like that. And yet, in this moment, Morgan found herself immediately pulling back. It was as if the FLOOR had dropped out from under her and Delilah’s relationship at that very moment.>>

<< Even as Firebird had moved close, prepared to stop Morgan from assaulting Delilah OR vice versa, Alison suddenly moved into action again, SILENCING Morgan. Again, curiously, Morgan did not resist. Something had been burned away in her as Delilah’s red hot anger poured out of her mouth in such a way that even a DRAGON would be given paused >>

“speaking” to Morgan via their sibling psychic rapport
“oh Morg!...."

no…forget it. Forget me. It doesn’t matter. Nothing I do or say matters to her. It never did. But THAT doesn’t matter anymore. This isn’t about me. I am not a factor in this.


<< Although not an empath, Blaze DID have a depth of perception that was something MORE than “normal”…even Mystech in her own native timeline remarked on that. Now, The fire elemental looked absolutely crestfallen as she watched, FELT Morgan CLOSE HERSELF OFF. The only thing WORSE than hatred, was indifference. Did Delilah know what she was doing? What she was saying?! Of course not. She was out of her mind with grief. Who WOULDN’T BE?>>


<< But Blaze wasn’t the ONLY ONE who sensed things were spiraling out of control and FAST. Blaze and Nicolas held on to Morgan, who curiously did not attempt to move away from either of them. Alison spoke, with finality. This was the way it was going to be and there was nothing anyone could do about it.>>

<< Morgan found herself somewhere “else” in her mind.>>

where is….the LIGHT?

<< she “asked” as she stared blankly before shutting her eyes tightly & tears streaming down.>>

<< At that moment Alison spoke with a finality that had become one of her haunting trademarks. Anyone who was on the RECEIVING end of her decree often hated her for what she’d “seen” coming for them or what she’d done to PREVENT the vision from coming to pass. BUT it never changed the fact that this was the way it had to be.>>

<< Delilah could not see her baby. But it wasn’t FOREVER like she thought, just NOT NOW. >>

<< It was EASY for someone ELSE to understand the LOGIC and necessity of it, but Delilah was the mother. NOTHING ELSE mattered to her. It was just as Isis had said…a baby changes everything…and EVERYONE. There wouldn’t be a away to make her understand and to try would be pointless. ALL of this was pointless. >>

<< Morgan “heard” Blaze “EXCLAIM” with dismay as Delilah ATTACKED Alison. She suddenly snapped BACK to the present and to those at hand as her violet eyes blnked away another falling tear and she cried out.>>

NO!

<< Cameron grabbed and restrained Delilah as Blaze and Karen BOTH steadied /restrained Alison. The precog didn’t show any immediate sign that she’d retaliate or even take action other than to raise her Time Staff out and BLOCK Delilah’s approach.>>

<< Silver Swan gets between the two groups, making SURE that nobody will get past her from either side ISIS wraps her arm up under Nicolas, keeping him close to her as even SHE can’t help but betray a look of shock.>>

THAT. IS. ENOUGH!

<< Cameron drags a screaming, enraged Delilah out of the interview room and Morgan IMMEDIATELY follows.>>

Morg! DON’T ! Don’t you HURT HER!

<< Morgan doesn’t look back>>

I’m NOT going to hurt her. I'm NOT a monster!

<< quite the reversal from the days in the aftermath of the inferno when she truly DID believe she was a monster & it was DELILAH who kept reinforcing that she wasn't>>

I NEVER wanted to hurt her. But THIS is ENOUGH.

I’m taking her and Cameron away from here. NOW.


Look at what’s HAPPENED! She won’t STOP until she FORCES Alison to RESPOND.

Morgan is right. There is nothing more that can be said OR done here. SHE is the best person to take Delilah and Cameron away from here. The rest of us will stay behind.

<< The demon sorceress strides into the hall without hesitation, following the screams, following the rays of light. Following the sound of Cameron’s voice. She finally reaches them. But she does not insert herself in the midst of them. She stands tall and silent…watching Delilah melt into Cameron’s arms. She didn’t recognize THIS Cameron EITHER. How things had CHANGED among them ALL since the earliest days of the six…>>

<< She spoke to Cameron, as the leader of the Six.>>


<< in an icy voice>>

Cameron, I’m taking us three away from here. Now.


Enough damage has been done….

in more ways than one…

And there is nothing more that can be said or done that will help this situation.

<< She did not move any closer to them. She knew down to her soul that she couldn’t help Delilah and even if she COULD, Delilah didn’t WANT her help. Something about what was said this time…it changed EVERYTHING for Morgan. Even now, she could almost FEEL her own “heart” turning BACK into ICE…the way it had been in the aftermath of Valiant. Cameron felt it too. This didn’t bode well…but as with so many OTHER tragedies and traumas in the Six, the effects and consequences would reveal themselves in due time.>>

<< In the twinkling of her violet eyes, a stepping disc opens, underneath all 3 of them and they are GONE.>>

<< NOT to Melrose Place, but to NEW YORK. The PARTHENON. The private floors that Cameron had designated for them. The fact that Morgan did NOT take Delilah HOME to Melrose Place was telling.>>

Keep her here. At least for now.

Take care of her, Cameron. Be there for her in whatever way she needs. There is nothing more I can do…none of the rest of us can or even SHOULD do anything. In her eyes…we’ve done too much.

If you need my mother, you know how to reach her and she’ll come and assist in whatever way necessary. Please keep me posted.

<< She could see Prophet staring at her in disbelief as she stepped back, clearly preparing to leave them.>>

You heard what she said. WE …mainly ALISON have done her more harm than good.
If the only thing I can do NOW is to REMOVE any source of continued PAIN from her, then THAT is within my power and I have done it.


Your sister did what had to be done.

Bishop and Alison saved her life and one day she will see her baby girl…and it won’t be the death of her. That’s it.

Goodbye.

there’s no greater power….than the power of…GOODBYE.

<< and with that, Spellbinder teleports AWAY. She does NOT return to Minerva’s Mansion OR Melrose Place.>>

 

[Harbinger]

Minerva's Infirmary

There was a pause where everything was eerily quiet. Delilah didn’t move a muscle. It was as if Alison herself had frozen time…

:: Many times before had Harbinger warped temporal fields to speed things up OR slow things down. But even for a temporal, telekinetic, precognitive witch, there are some moments that defy imagination and expectation::

here it comes...

And then MorningStar lunged at Harbinger.

“I’LL KILL YOU YOU POMPOUS CONNIVING BITCH! GIVE ME BACK MY DAUGHTER! YOU’RE DEAD TO ME, YOU HEAR ME? DEAD! GIVE HER BACK TO ME! GIVE HER BACK!”

...just take it...

:: She'd seen this moment. Even before she and Bishop had left her executive study. She'd seen ALL the ways it could go. She could have done ANY NUMBER of things to STOP Delilah in her tracks in the name of "SELF DEFENSE". But in that moment, the precog simply turns to FACE Delilah's white hot rage head on.::

:: Evenly planting her high heeled boots on the floor to ensure her balance, Harbinger brings her Time Staff up to her chest, holding it out horizontally to PARRY Delilah's thrust. She doesnt push BACK. She doesnt use any of her powers against Delilah. She's caused her more than enough pain and she does not wish to ADD to that. BUT she will not allow herself to be abused either.::

:: Delilah screams. Her face, her eyes...she looks for all the world like some terrifying, enraged bird of prey, with ALISON as her target.::

:: The precog remains stone faced bracing herself even as Blaze and Karen move to either side of her while CAMERON takes hold of and restrains Delilah and SHARON steps between them to act as a wall and make room for the chance to control the situation::

:: Alison suddenly found herself engaging in an odd sort of REFLECTION in her own mind's eye. She was unconsciously, reflexively BROACASTING it to her brother, Nicolas, Karen and Persephone.::



Bishop was WRONG. He said she would forgive me.

*I* am the precog. *I* knew better. I knew what this would cost me.

But better the pain of this loss...than to BURY another loved one. I saw Morgan and Sharon's deaths and I could do nothing to stop them.

But for Ororo, the seige perilous and a mad act of mystech...BOTH of them would still be dead. I was powerless then. I was NOT powerless now. I saved...her life. I SPARED her daughter the anguish and BURDEN of EVER having to live knowing that SHE would have caused her mother's death.

I can live with whatever comes because of that and more importantly...Delilah WILL live to see her daughter again.

:: Everything that occurss is just as it should be....for better or for worse.::

:: Morgan follows Cameron and Delilah, taking t hem away from the Mansion and as t hey leave...The marble hard exterior of Harbinger begins to CRACK as she VISIBLY shudders and bows her head::

Oh Alison...

:: Alison pulls away from Karen and Blaze. ALL of them. She turns her back to all of them as well.::

Don't worry about me.

I was damned the moment I "saw" THIS...9 months ago...in this VERY PLACE.

Alison, don't shut us out...don't feel like you have to...

:: Alison's back stiffens up as she shuts her colbalt blue eyes tightly and grits her teeth. She doesnt turn to face ANY of them, instead, she holds a hand up for SILENCE from Blaze::

NICOLAS. Go and see to Bishop. Provide him passage off of Minerva's aerie back to where ever he wants to go.

I have nothing more to say to him.

CURSE HIM!

:: With his permission, she went to extraordinary measures to save Delilah's life and to give Alexia Morgana a chance. Many times before had she made hard choices and done hard/harsh things for a greater good and often she was misunderstood or even reviled for that, for her methods. Methods that some in the Six had come to understand but others clearly had not.::

:: It was one thing to be berated and persecuted by some enemy, stranger or someone that it was EASY to write off. It was quite another to be reviled by a CLOSE FRIEND...a FAMILY MEMBER. A person whom all you wanted was to HELP.::

:: PERSEPHONE steps forward, RIGHT behind Alison, placing her hands on Alison's shoulders::

: Don't you do this, Alison! Don't you close yourself off...close US...ME out. Don't make the same mistake that I did when I lost my MoE family! We are HERE and we UNDERSTAND why you did this. You can't get through this alone!

::Cameron and Blaze had been right....the marble hard precog DID have a heart...and it was now CRACKING.::

She spoke as though she didn't know who I was. Who WE were.

::She thought about something HALEIGH had once said regarding Delilah::

Morgan...and the rest of us...we always knew Delilah for who she was...where she stood. Haleigh once said that Delilah was a LIGHT to us in more than one way.

But perhaps...

:: Alison's shoulders square up as she tightens up...trying to REPRESS the grief that is seeping through the cracks in her "marble" armour.::

Perhaps she never knew ME...US. Never understood...never really ACCEPTED.

Even now...a rift forms...GROWING with each moment...each breath and heart beat.

A BLACK HOLE forming in her soul from the pain of this loss...a loss that is TRULY regrettable...but ultimately NECESSARY and also TEMPORARY.

:: She slowly turns to face them all...looking as cold and PALE as she did the night she confronted Nicolas on Aerie, just an HOUR before she and Persephone FELL into a stepping disc and were carried across time and space.::

And as we know...NOTHING...not even LIGHT can ESCAPE a black hole.

I'm....so...tired...


I only wanted to...


:: The mental TOLL of the past 24 hrs was finally making itself apparent. The precog was mentally WEARY and soon...she was in Persephone's arms...held in her embrace as she weeped. It was a truly RARE moment...almost BIZARRE. but no one here looked upon this as some kind of novelty or event to revel in. The precog had just SACRIFICED her friendship with Delilah to save her life.::

:: Karen and Blaze gather around Alison as Persephone holds her in her arms::

Alycia, Michael...come with me. There is little we can do. Our hearts ALL ache for Delilah and Alison. But this...is a pain that Delilah will HAVE to recover and move on from if she is to have ANY hope of seeing her daughter and being everything that Ororo will no doubt teach Alexia about Delilah. And ALISON. She will need time to recover from this...but she did the right thing. She knew the risks...the cost and sacrifice necessary to save the life of a friend and she did what was required. It is just what an AMAZON would have done and Harbinger has prooven her honor more than once.

Michael, as chief of security for this island and mansion, you will contact the families of the fallen. Alycia and I will provide you with support and assistance. Nicolas, do as Alison asks...go see to Bishop and see him OFF of this island. Let us leave Alison with those who can BEST help her right now. There is NO shame in acknowledging pain, fatigue and anguish. Only a FOOL would attempt such a thing and Alison may be many things...but a FOOL is not one of them

 

[Firebird]

A bad dream

They’d won the battle…but they’d lost SO MUCH MORE in the span of 2 hours than they had in the last 12 hours. It was one huge clusterfuck and nothing could fix it.
Blaze felt heart sick. For Delilah. For Morgan. For Alison. For the little baby that had come into this world through no fault of her own and was now a deadly threat to her own mother. It was all just horrible.

She stayed sharp and calm because she KNEW Morgan would need her backing. She watched as Morgan UNLOADED on Delilah. So many things that she said were things that MANY of them- particularly Alison and Ava had felt. Blaze, while confused and disappointed by Delilah’s choices, accepted the fact that they were her’s to make. What she DIDN’T accept was Delilah’s implication that The Six trying to help her time and again when those choices ended in disaster was somehow WRONG.

But sadly…what was even more apparent was that some people just couldn’t be helped or saved. She’d seen it in her own timeline with HER Delilah. Bishop was a polarizing force there too. He was a threat to The Six and he got what he deserved, but he also was indirectly responsible for the implosion of the team, the destruction of Delilah’s friendship with Alison and Morgan AND Delilah’s subsequent betrayal of the team in a way that no one could imagine. Love was a fucked up thing and evidently even when a person was cursed for more than one lifetime, love…or something like it, STILL prevailed over logic and even self preservation.


Blaze kept cool as she intently watched everything and everyone with her apple green eyes but this whole thing made her head AND heart hurt.
Morgan was pulling away from her in a way that was ALARMING. She felt it in their psychic rapport. Delilah was out of her mind with grief and rage.

No one in the room could blame OR begrudge her but she was most certainly making sure to go in for the KILL as she lashed out and Blaze had FELT this “retreat” from Morgan in HER time, the night that Alison and Morgan cast Delilah out of the Six and Illustra.

they’re doing it again…despite the different time and place…it’s happening AGAIN and there’s NOTHING I can do!

The fire elemental looks crestfallen as Delilah then ATTACKS Harbinger.


Blaze’s apple green eyes widen with horror and her mouth opens in shock.


dear goddess…please HELP DELILAH. HELP US!

Morgan was moving “away” even still and Blaze was almost transfixed by what was happening, forgetting for a moment to keep an EYE on her sister as SHE began to follow after Cameron and Delilah.

“Morg! NO! Don’t you HURT HER!”

But no, Morgan was NOT going after her to attack her. But rather take her away from her for her sake. But in a few moments, Blaze realized THAT was not much better either…

"This is supremely fucked up."

Doesnt anybody pay attention!? doesnt anyone LEARN ANYTHING from the other timelines that they see!?

"Alison..."

Alison FINALLY begins to come apart in spite of her BEST efforts to push everyone away. Persephone takes Alison in her arms and Blaze, along with Karen rally around the precog.

“Guys….”


Blaze quickly interrupts as Sharon begins to lead Alycia and Michael out of the Infirmary and Nicolas, along with Dominique prepared to exit to find Bishop.

“Morgan…she’s gone.”

Well of course she’s gone. She teleported Delilah and Cameron away…

“NO. I mean she’s GONE. “

“I…I can sense it through our psychic rapport as sisters. “

Blaze looks at them all before resting her apple green eyes on NICOLAS.


“She teleported Cameron and Delilah to The Parthenon and she left them there. She said GOODBYE to Cameron and Delilah. I…FELT this from her …MY Morgan in MY timeline the night MY Alison and Morgan cast Delilah out of the Six over BISHOP and what he tried to do to Sharon.“

“After she left the Parthenon, she didn’t return to Melrose Place…and she’s NOT coming back here. She’s left EARTH.”

"She’s teleported to LIMBO and …."

Dear Hecate…I sense it too. She’s withdrawing from Blaze. From ME.

Blaze pauses for a moment…blinking back tears and inhaling deeply for a moment, then exhaling…

“…She wont respond to my thought calls. All I get from her is that “the light is gone…” and SHE is not coming back. “

She looks at Karen, the Nicolas.

“My sister has decided that she needed to leave this place…this WORLD because she thinks she can’t do anything right and she’s not fit to protect us anymore. She's lost any sense of certainty that she had before and she's going to the one place where she can truly ESCAPE...”

"I...what are we going to do!? Delilah is all but LOST to us! I SAW MY Delilah leave The Six, HER family in the midst of VIOLENCE AND ANGER too! We CAN'T lose her...

 

[Shadow Weaver]

Minerva's Mansion

<< Karen gasped with shock as Delilah delievered a withering attack upon Michael. As a doctor, a psychotherapist. She'd SEEN MANY "adjustment reactions" before...but there was ALWAYS something about watching a LOVED ONE go through it, ESPECIALLY when it was directed at YOU that not even a clinically trained and credentialed therapist could shrug off. She stands with Michael, her arm wrapped up under his and she holds on to him close. Michael's a strong man. A soldier. He's seen grief in his time in the battle field just as SHE has seen grief in her time as a doctor in a hospital and private practicing psychotherapist in her office. It manifests in many ways and it is as powerful and hard hitting as any hurricane force wind or photon blast. She weathers Delilah's onslaught right beside Michael. Visibly dismayed but keeping herself as objective as she can, calling on ALL of her skills and training. If ANYONE needs that understanding right now, it's Delilah. As Alison issues her final word, things degenerate quickly. Delilah attacks Alison. Karen quickly moves away from Michael to Alison's side. She knows these girls better than most and ALISON, while certainly COLDER than most, can ALSO be given over to HEAVY HANDED actions/reactions and even if she were to defend herself...with as much emotion that is charging this room there could be unintentional injury or worse. Karen does not want that for ANYONE. To her relief and Alison's credit, the precog remains steady, though it was obvious that the witch is clearly BATTERED by the torrent of anger Delilah delivers to HER as well.>>

<< Morgan reacts, IGNORING both Blaze AND Karen's mental calls. But her movements are not what they feared. Yet it soon becomes clear that Morgan's actions are a sign of just how MUCH was burned away in her tonight from this. Karen ACHES for her daughter...AND her surrogates. But even a mother can only do so much...Karen knew that, so did Sharon. Delilah, sadly had not had the chance to LEARN that yet.>>




Blaze, honey...we can't KEEP Delilah if she doesn't want to stay. As much as it PAINS me to say this...perhaps it will be for the BETTER if she DOES...LEAVE at least for NOW, to have time to RECOVER. To be so close to the source of this trauma and loss and to be close to US...though we love her dearly...is not what she needs at this time. This was a very deep, personal, PRIMAL part of her life. FEW things are more primal to a woman than her child and the curse that haunts Delilah has once again made itself painfully apparent in a way that I cant even fathom enduring...


In her rage, She pretty much DISMANTLED her friendship Morgan and she completely disowned Alison. She's in GREAT PAIN. Who WOULDN'T BE in her position?! and while one HAS to grant that in trauma like this, a person can and often WILL lash out...the OTHER side to it is that sometimes what REALLY lies beneath FINALLY comes out in moments like this. The has been...mutual resentment between Morgan and Delilah since Bishop FIRST darkened our door step.

With the revelation of their CURSE, This LATEST chapter in his saga has done nothing but plunge us DEEPER into a darkness that PREDATES ALL OF US. And it is as my daughter said...WE are POWERLESS to do anything about it and anything that we TRY...she will not accept.

We...Morgan...Alison COULD have just let her go off with Bishop. Alison could've chose to say NOTHING and Delilah would have died...and Bishop would have been left alone with the baby. We wouldn't have known anything. Perhaps...as terrible as it may sound for me to say... That is what Delilah truly wanted. Moments like this...REMIND ME why I do NOT envy Alison being a precog.

But for Alison or Morgan to stand by KNOWING that Delilah would die and do NOTHING? It would take nothing short of POSSESSION to force them NOT to act. Sadly, in a situation like THIS, ANY intervention or help would not be well received by Delilah. the psychotherapist in me understands this. the MOTHER in me understands this...but it does LITTLE to soothe my heart as I stood here powerless to do anything to help Delilah or to keep her relationship with Morgan and Alison in tact.



ALISON did the right thing and it COST her. She knew that it would but she went ahead with it. That kind of risk transcends her being a precog. THE SIX have become intimately familiar with sacrifice.

But now is not the time to analyze that or anything else. CAMERON has Delilah and we must trust him to do for her what he can. While WE must help Alison. She can barely STAND right now and she needs our help!

My daughter....she is resorting to the one ULTIMATE defense mechanism she conditioned herself to call on when she reached a breaking point. She went to LIMBO, a place where SHE will be safe and thus the EARTH will be safe...from another INFERNO. It is better for her to be where she is NOW. It is better for Delilah to be where SHE is now.

Tonight is...

<< Karen grimaces with a pained expression before reversing her train of thought>>

Come along...let us help Alison to her bedroom. There is no need for us to remain down here in the infirmary. none of us.

<< Karen, Ava and Blaze help Alison out of the interview room, heading toward an elevator to take them back to the upper floors of the mansion.>>

Michael, you LET Sharon and Alycia help you with those contacts. Once we have seen to Alison being stable in bed, I will join you.