The bell jangled wildly as Alice shoved through the door angrily, shaking bits of ice out of her hair. The warm air made her fingers tingle almost immediately.

Maya stared at her in shock as she stomped in, "Alice, what were you doing? Who was that woman you were talking to?"

"I have no idea," Alice snapped, "she didn't say anything...well, that's not technically true. She said lots about this thing," she reached around the desk and jerked the bottom drawer open, pulling out the glass box she'd hidden there. Maya watched her as she flipped the top open and they both stared at the silver dagger on the cushion inside.

"What did she say about it?" Maya asked in a hushed voice.

"She said, to keep it on me at all times," Alice stared at it, leaning forward to look at it more closely. She felt the necklace sliding out of her shirt, and tucked it carefully back behind the fabric, remembering the strange reaction the twist of bone had the last time it had gotten close to the dagger. "I don't know how I'm supposed to keep it on me. It's not as if I've got dagger sheaths lying around. And I can't exactly just tuck it into my boot without slicing my ankle."

"You think they would have included something in there, in the box I mean."

"Maybe," Alice took the sides of the blue velvet pillow carefully and lifted the cushion, taking care not to flip the dagger off it. Sure enough, there was a brown leather sheath on the bottom of the case, attached to a belt with a silver buckle, "Ah, that makes more sense."

"Are you going to wear it?" Maya said.

Alice glanced back out the window, her stomach churning nervously, "I think....I think I might." The sidewalks were nearly empty now, only a few stragglers left behind, but she couldn't seem to shake the jittery feeling that the woman had caused. She'd kept repeating over and over "she's coming". She must have meant Athena. Somehow the woman knew that Athena was coming. But when? If the woman was insistent on making vague predictions, couldn't she at least have said when she was coming?

She looked up abruptly, "I think we should leave now."

"What?" Gabriel had just walked into the room, a bagel in one hand and a cup of tea in the other, "now? I've just got my dinner. The warp will have me feeling all woozy."

"Hang your woozyness," Alice snapped, "we're going. Now. Go tell the other's to brace themselves, they've got about five seconds." She laced the belt through the belt loops of her jeans. The dagger rested in the small of her back, and her sweater covered most of it. She didn't want to admit it to herself, but the strange woman had really unnerved her. " I don't think we should..." she paused as the bell jangled over the door, glancing over her shoulder in mild annoyance. The annoyance turned to real irritation when she saw who it was.

Abby was wearing a green knit cap over her chestnut curls today, and she peered nearsightedly at Alice and said cheerfully, "Oh hello, I was wondering if you had some of those fun dancing shoes..." she paused, "something the matter? You look very preoccupied."

"I'm afraid we're leaving," Alice said firmly. The last thing she needed was the annoying woman bothering her while she was trying to get the heck out of town. "I'm afraid I can't sell you anything, because the shop is closed now."

Abby frowned, "that's not very polite, you know."

Alice ground her teeth together and tried not to snap at her, "sorry, but we don't have time to argue about this, I'm leaving now.

She turned, and felt a pang of anger when Abby reached out and snatched at her wrist, "don't walk away from me!"

Alice whirled on her, nearly sputtering with rage, "You irritating woman! I've completely lost patience with you!"

Abby's face twisted, anger making her look suddenly vicious. To Alice's surprise, the woman ripped the gold framed glasses from her own face and threw them on the ground at Alice's feet. The glasses shattered with a crack.

Abby's eyes seemed to grow suddenly darker, "I've given you so many chances, Alice. I've been your fan, your friend, offered to be your mentor, and you practically spit in my face."

Alice could feel her mouth hanging open, she started to stammer something, but the words shriveled in her throat. Abby's form seemed to be stretching, growing taller in front of her eyes. Was she hallucinating?

Abby's voice grew louder, and there was a guttural snarl to her words now, something almost inhuman, "it's so disappointing, Alice. What is it with you? Do you think you're better than me? Is that it?"

Alice just continued to gawk at her. Her arms felt numb with shock and she didn't seem to be able to move. Something was happening to Abby, a thin silver network of threads glimmered over the surface of her skin, and suddenly Alice could see a second face underneath, different features, wide blue eyes and a full mouth. From behind the counter, Maya gave a started shriek as the woman who was Abby dissolved, revealing a much taller woman in a draping white gown. Her hair was still curly, but now it was piled on top of her head, a shade lighter and decorated on both sides with a gold headdress.

Everything was suddenly painfully clear, and Alice probably would have smacked herself if she wasn't frozen with fear at the moment.

"Athena?"

"What clued you in, love?"

"Alice?"

They both turned to see Altair in the doorway. When he spotted the new and improved Abby his eyes went wide and he took a step forward, hands balled into fists as if he were ready to charge at her.

Athena gave a low, throaty chuckle, "oh, my dear boy, please try something." She stretched out one hand and Alice grimaced when she heard the fingers crack, "this human form hasn't loosed blood in simply ages," she laughed again, "it's been at least a day."

Alice held up one hand as Altair stepped forward, warning him to keep back, "what do you want, Athena?"

The goddess pressed one finger against her red lips, adopting a thoughtful expression, "well, let's see now. What do I want? At first, I wanted to kill that horrid little witch that thinks she bested me in my weaving competition. Shakira, Shara...something like that," she waved a hand dismissively, "but I changed my mind. I don't care about her anymore, she's insignificant to the network."

"What does that mean?" Alice growled, "that's not an answer."

Athena took a step closer, and Alice suddenly found herself face to face with the goddess, her breath caught in her throat, heart pulsing in her ears. Athena's voice was a low rumble, "but now I want you. I want your power, I want your essence, Alice."

"What does that even mean?" She desperately wanted to back away, but her muscles seemed to have turned to water.

Athena's smile was more of baring of teeth, deadly threatening with a hint of smugness in it, "My dear girl, I don't know what it means. When I have you, I'll know what exactly you are..." Alice flinched as Athena suddenly whirled around, flinging her arm up, and there's was a cry from the doorway. Alice turned to see Shakra, dark hair flying as she was shoved back against the wall. Her back hit the edge of the doorframe and she groaned and slumped sideways.

Athena laughed, watching Altair bend over the fallen sorceress, "Oh, you silly girl. Not a spider anymore, are you? I think you were better as a crawly thing."

Alice ground her teeth together, locking her arms at her sides so she would fly at the goddess. Suicide was no way to help her friends. She looked up from the sudden bang of a door from the back room. Gabriel and Azura appeared in the doorway, and Gabriel gave a dismayed yelp and ran over to stand in front of Maya.

Athena ignored him and continued to stare intently at Alice, "You're so very interesting."

Alice felt a shock through her body as Athena stroked one long, red nail down her cheek, leaving a stinging trail behind. She felt a trickle of something warm and wet run down her cheek.

"I wonder what you can do."

Alice gritted out through her teeth, "what?"

"I have a proposal for you, darling," a wicked grin pulled on the corner of her mouth, "we shall have a contest. We shall see who can weave the best spell."

It felt like there was a boa constrictor around her middle, slowly squeezing the air from her lungs. "What if...I say no?"

Athena shrugged happily, "then I'll kill everyone you love. You know, friends" she gestured at the rest of them, "and your family. I'm sure you have family somewhere, they won't be hard to track down. Humans are so funny that way, they leave such messy trails behind them, even when they think they're being secretive."

It felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room. She wanted to lash out, to reach up and grab as much magic as she could and suck the life right out of Athena. Only...she couldn't, could she? It wouldn't go the way she wanted it to, Athena would brush her away like an insect and then kill everyone she loved.