"I said, are you sure this is it?" "Keep your voice down!" "We're trying to remain undetected." "That does require a modicum of silence." "Modicum." "Right." "Why are we hiding?" "We're on an island in the middle of nowhere." "And it's a crypt, not the Pentagon." "A crypt potentially containing an elixir capable of prolonging life for centuries." "Such secrets are rarely left unguarded." " Yeah, but why can't we just " " Look." "Keepers of the dead." "Best to be avoided if at all possible." "Right." "I got "I'm going in" and "go around,"" "but what was that wiggly one you did?" "Either we work together or we die." "Let's go." "Okay." "Take the other side." "Draw them away if you can." " You're kidding, right?" " Go quickly, before they " "Ashley?" "Okay, I know this was not on the brochure!" "This is why we don't work with Sylvio." "His intel is hopeless!" "Ashley!" "Go to the crypt!" "Go!" "Mom!" "I'm going in!" "Will!" "This might be my first crypt, but aren't they supposed to hold dead people?" "Are you sure about this?" "I mean, I could go with you, or maybe you could take " "Take the big guy?" "Mom, come on, it's a clean-up job, not a major operation." "I'll be fine on my own." "A humanoid chameleon living under the city is hardly a clean-up job." " It's more of a " " Problem." "Yeah." "Our kind of problem." "One we should have taken care of before we went to Scotland." "I can handle it." "You got your hands full here." "Do you have everything you need?" "Uh, yeah." "Henry wants me to field-test some new stuff." "And, uh, hey, if the gear fails," "I'll just use the patented Magnus charm." "Right." "Well, I just wanted to connect." "You know, we rarely get the chance." "Aw, Mom..." "Alrighty, then." "One nasty chameleon subterranean menace going down." " Ashley?" " Yeah?" "Be careful." "Always, Mom." "See 'ya." "Three not-so-dead women found in coffins." "Just another day at the office." "All three are comatose." "Fortunately, brain functions and vital organs seem to be intact." " So they're normal?" " Near as I can tell." "The scans aren't detecting any physical anomalies, but they can only tell us so much." "I'm administering a time-released stimulant." "It should bring them back to consciousness slowly, with as little physical trauma as possible." "What about emotional trauma?" "That's more your department, I should think." "Until they awaken, we have to rely on more traditional forensic methods." "Now, this fellow..." "Fond memories." "These creatures detected our presence early and possessed unnatural speed and strength." "Definitely not normal." "Not as you would define it, no." "I was about to gather some fluid samples." "Care to assist?" "Uh, I'd love to, but..." "I'd better get back to my office and get the whole head-shrinking operation up and running." "As you wish." "No!" "Hi." "It's nice to see you're finally awake." "I'm Dr. Zimmerman." "Will." "Can you understand anything I'm saying?" "Hey, it's okay." "It's okay." "You're okay." "You're in a safe place." "Okay, okay." "You're in a safe place." "Just relax." "I am Danu." "So you can talk." "My sisters, Tatha and Caird..." "Are they...?" "They're fine." "Your sisters are fine." "You just woke up first." "You're in a medical facility." "We brought you here after we found you in a dark place." "Do you have any idea how you ended up there?" "Creatures..." "They came to our village." "They weren't human." "Yeah, sounds familiar." "They took us with them, and then I woke up here." "Your village..." "Is there anyone there?" "Your friends or family that we can contact?" " Let them know you're alright?" " I'm sorry, I just..." "I can't remember." "Well, it's okay." "You just take your time." "This place..." "It's like nothing I've ever seen before." "There's..." "There's light, but I see no candles." "There's warmth, but there's no fire, no sunlight." "Danu, before you and your sisters were taken, how much do you remember?" "At last mass, we were mourning the loss of our priest to the miasmas." "The miasmas?" "It's a sickness that has cursed many villages surrounding us in recent months." "There is no cure." "So you remember the miasmas." "Anything else?" "Why can't I remember?" "Just give it time." "These creatures exhibit a terrifying propensity for violence." "Physiology appears human in base form, though significant anomalies to the face and torso indicate the possibility of mutation at a base genetic level." "Ugh." "Okay, you need to..." "You need to put a sock on the door or something before you do that." "He's breathtaking, isn't he?" "Yeah, that's one way of putting it." "How are our guests doing?" "Confused." "At least the one who's awake is." "She mentioned a disease that was killing people in her village, called the "miasmas,"" "which translates from the Greek meaning "poisoned air. "" "Plague, actually." "The bubonic plague, specifically." "However, the last reported serious outbreak was in Scotland in 800 A.D." "Meaning?" "She's crazy." "Is that your professional opinion?" "Look, I know there's a lot of things that are outside the realm of our knowledge, blah blah blah." "But logically, if she were from 800 A.D., she wouldn't speak English the way we do." "I'm guessing that linguistics and grammar have evolved somewhat since then." " Some would say "devolved. " Whatever." "The point is that we wouldn't understand her." "Which makes her a very sweet, very delusional woman." "Possibly." "If you have a theory, please, share it with the class." "The liquid we found the three of them in bears similar chemical properties to suspended animation formulae used by southern voodoo cults." "The human body cannot survive intact for 1,200 years." "I don't care what kind of magic bath products you use." "And I agree." "So, these women are either far more than they appear, or, to use your incredibly clever vernacular..." "Crazy." "The question we should be asking is why the keepers were so anxious to stop us from getting into that crypt." "What is it about these women that they don't want us to know?" "We've got evidence of two women and a man out here, and a hell of a lot of 45 mm cartridges." "Round up the keepers." "Mobilize alpha team for a priority one retrieval." "Whoever took our property is going to pay." "Piece of cake." "Why is nothing familiar to us?" "I see myself in the mirror and I recognize my face." "I know Tatha and Danu, but the person I thought I was..." "You're telling me there is no village." "No sickness." "The little I can remember is false." "How can we all not feel completely lost?" "Danu has told us that you insist there were no magicks involved." "That what we suffer is simply a malady." "It's more of an emotional shield." "We found you in a crypt surrounded by monsters." "It's normal for the human psyche to put itself in a safe mode." "We want to accept your diagnosis, doctor." "And we are grateful for all that you've done." "It's just " "You're still not buying it." "The clinical term is schizoaffective disorder." "It's a delusional state stemming from acute post-traumatic stress." "But we are all three suffering from the same disorder." "How is that possible?" "Delusional behavior occurring virally in groups is rare, but it's not undocumented, particularly amongst siblings." "Look, let me put it this way." "There is no logical or physical way that your memories can be real." "And the sooner you accept that, the sooner we can continue to make progress." "Excellent timing." "I'm starved." "They are beautiful." " They truly are." "I've never seen anything like them." "They are frightened." "Oh, yes." "Well, quite confusing, I'd imagine." "Waking up here, no memories." "Believing you're from the Middle Ages." "Are they?" "Well, there's the rub." "I can't quite rule the possibility out." "When Will first entered the crypt, he said he set off some sort of mechanism that drained the coffins of a green-hued liquid, which, thankfully, I was able to preserve." "You think this kept them alive?" "I don't know for certain, but it does contain several key elements that could induce a form of cryogenic stasis in humans." "If they are not abnormals " "I know." "Why guard them so ferociously?" "I want you to concentrate on the sound of my voice." "I'm going to count backwards from five, four, three, two, one." "Danu, can you hear me?" "Yes." "I want you to go back to the last thing you remember before you woke up here." "The creatures." "They're too strong." "We can't escape." "Why are they doing this?" "We've done nothing wrong!" "They're making us drink something." "Darkness." "I want you to go back further." "Find a memory of something that happened before the creatures took you." "Moonlight." "I'm in a field." "It's cold." "I can sense the dead." "Their souls extinguished." "Only we remain." "What do you make of these?" "I found them on the right-hand index finger of each of the three women." "Have you searched the database?" "Not yet." "It's on my "to do" list." "But such distinctive markings generally indicate a connection to a larger collective or group." "If they belong to a society of some sort..." "Then someone will definitely have noticed that they're missing." "Are they pissed at being locked up, or are we getting close?" "Oh, they're here alright." "We're bringing them home." "Am I happy?" "Well..." "I'd definitely say that I'm more stimulated here than in my old job." "Wherever "here" is." "You won't even tell me where you're working." "I told you, the people who run this clinic are totally into privacy." "I'm bound by all these confidentiality agreements they made me sign." "Well, at least tell me what kind of work you're doing." "I mean, is it more forensics?" "Or clinical?" "Or research-based?" "Uh, it's, uh..." "You know, it's a little bit of everything, um, really..." " You know, cutting-edge stuff." " Hold that elevator!" "What's up, new guy?" "I want to eat your face." "What?" "Who's that?" "Uh." "It's a patient." "Patients." "No, this is great, Will." "I mean, I don't know where you're working, or what kind of work you're doing, aside from "everything. "" "You're never at your apartment." "It's like you just dropped off the map." "Well, I'm just putting in a lot of hours at the clinic, trying to get up to speed." "You know how it is." "Anyway, I just..." "I wanted to call and make sure you're okay." "Well, whatever it is you are doing, you sound good." "Well, thanks." "I mean, it's no picnic, believe me." "But, you know, half the time I wonder if I made the right decision, but I am sleeping better." "Ironically." "Will?" "Yeah?" "You're seeing someone, aren't you?" "What?" "No, Meg, come on." "Forget it." "It's none of my business." "Look, I appreciate the call." "Uh, good luck with your new job." "No, hey, wait." "Crap." "Ooh..." "Women." "Can't live with 'em..." "But you can eat them." "All good, Mom." "The city is now minus one ugly, poodle-eating chameleon guy." "Are you hurt?" "No, not a scratch." "I'll redo your bandages when you get home." "But before you do, I need you to look into something for me." "We found these rings on the three women from the crypt." "Pretty." "I've traced it back to an ancient cult known as Cabalis Nocturnum a secret society founded in roughly 700 A.D." "I'm still collating data, but from what I can tell, they were collectors of ancient beings of power." "Well, they had crappy taste in bling, that's for sure." "I have reason to believe that this cabal might still be operating, and I need to know how big a threat they could pose." "See what Squid has to say about the markings, then I want you home." "You got a bad feeling about this?" "Off the charts." "Okay, I'm on it." "Love you." "Love you, too." "Hey." "What's the matter?" "You can't sleep?" "Dr. Zimmerman." "I know Dr. Magnus asked we stay in our quarters, but the views from your windows..." "They are so captivating." "I could not resist." "What do you feel when you look out there?" "I am curious." "And afraid." "Afraid of what?" "When I sleep at night, all I see are dead faces haunting me." "Asking me why." "You want us to remember who we are." "Well, perhaps there is a good reason that we forgot." "Hey." "I saw your light was on." "You mind if I " "No, of course." "You're up late." "So are you." "You keeping watch over the ranch?" "I rarely sleep unless my patients do, too." "How is Danu?" "She's feeling a lot of irrational fear, low self-esteem, raw emotion." "I've seen it before in kidnapping victims held for long periods of time." "They tend to forget they have value and just start seeing themselves as property." "That assessment may be far more accurate than you realize." "How do you mean?" "Have you ever heard of the Morrigan?" "The Morrigan?" "No." "But, then again, I haven't been able to memorize that monster manual you gave me yet." "They're part of an ancient legend dating back to medieval times - three women with supernatural powers whose sole purpose was to destroy men." "So I see we're back to the 1,200-year-old bath products theory." "The Morrigan first appeared during the reign of King Arthur." "Now, according to myth, when the Morrigan appeared on the battlefield," "Arthur's enemies simply began dropping dead, their souls drained of life." "Entire armies were wiped out en masse." "Do you honestly believe that they're witches?" "From the Middle Ages?" "What history would have defined as a witch could have simply been someone with abnormal powers." "Yeah, but they don't have any powers." "You said so yourself when you checked them out." "None that we've yet detected." "Each of them was wearing one of these." "Now, this is the mark of an ancient cabal of collectors who sought and exploited abnormals for their own personal gain and apparently guarded their possessions fiercely." "So, why would this cabal hold the sisters prisoner if they don't have any powers?" "Another reason why I'm not sleeping." "They're not nightmares." "That field..." "All the dead..." "We were actually there that night." "It's more than that." "We were the reason." "Easy, Steve." "Easy." "Ladies..." "I'm pretty sure we have rules about floating and stuff." "Oh, oh." "What say you just come down and we talk about this?" "Crap." "That's quite enough of that." "I had everything under control." "You know how when stuff blows up and I say "man, this is going to cost you,"" "and you say, "Henry, stop being so dramatic"?" "Henry..." " This is going to cost you." "What was affected?" "Well, the central lab, mostly." "Diagnostics, mri systems are gonzo." "Oh, and I think our Internet is down." "What about security protocols?" "Well, redundancies kicked in, so nothing mean and ugly got free, which is good, but our perimeter alarm systems are totally fried, which is bad." "Focus on external defenses." "Leave the lab for later." "Why, are we expecting more trouble?" "Yeah, no, that was a stupid question." "I'm outside." "Witches from the Middle Ages." "Okay, I'm almost there, but assuming their physical forms could somehow be preserved..." "Again, how is it possible that they can speak like us?" "I'm assuming that each of them is a teleaesthetic, enabling them to quickly learn our vernacular of English." "Psychic powers, mind reading." "Well, now we know what this cabal wanted them for." "Yeah, for all the good it's done us." " Ow." " Hold still." "Hey, you didn't know what they could do." "I should have, the moment I connected them with the cabal." "Performed more invasive scans, psychotropic drug therapy " "You're running a medical facility, not Guantanamo Bay." "Cut yourself some slack." "You don't understand." "Assuming the cabal are after them - and we'd be fools not to " "The amount of kinetic energy that they released could hardly go unnoticed." "We're all in imminent danger." "They cannot remain here." "And what does that mean?" "It means that if the legend of the Morrigan is even slightly true, they could conceivably wipe out hundreds, even thousands of lives, given the chance." "We're not talking about a bunch of velociraptors here." "Before their memories came back, they were calm, rational women." "And even when they did let loose with their powers, they didn't kill me." "They just melted my brain a little bit." "And destroyed half my facility." "Well, they've been held prisoner for hundreds of years." "They had a right to be pissed." "It doesn't mean we can't reason with them." "All three will remain under sedation, at least for the time being." "And how long is that?" "Forever?" "How does that make us any different than the cabal who imprisoned them in the first place?" "Dr. Magnus was right." "We should never have been woken up." "You can't stay asleep forever, Danu." "You deserve to be free." "Our purpose is not to be free." "Our purpose is to bring death to the enemies of the cabal." "And you think we're the enemy?" "You took us from our home, away from our protectors." "You were held prisoner in a crypt." "What kind of a home is that?" "If our masters deem it so, then it is so." "No." "That's what they want you to think." "They want you to believe that they're your protectors, but they're not." "They're using your powers for their own good." "They gave us life, they gave us our powers." "Who says you weren't born with these gifts, that this cabal simply found you and forced you to kill for them?" "You asked me how you could all suffer from the same disorder." "This dissociation between what's real and imagined." "It's because somebody planted those thoughts in your heads." "And the sooner you realize those thoughts aren't real, then you'll remember who you truly are." "A thousand men..." "Danu?" "A thousand men marched on Badon Hill that morning." "All were dead before nightfall, all without the touch of either sword or spear." "And now that we are free, more will die." "That is our purpose, Will." "Until now, because you didn't think you had a choice." "But you do." "How can we ever be free after all that we've done?" "Squid!" "Did you bring them?" "Yep." "Yummy snacks." "Get 'em while they're alive." "Ugh." "It's about time." "Alright." " Whoa, whoa, whoa." "You said you have information on the cabal for me." "Well..." "You and your mother..." "You really don't like to attract normal, run-of-the-mill enemies, do you?" "Now, searching the cabal really stirred up the people in my network, got them buzzing like insects." "Dude, most of the people in your network are insects." " That's real nice, Ash." " What did you find out?" "They've been playing the same capture and study game for a hell of a lot more years than your mother and you." "You'd be surprised." "Go on." "Intel has it their mandate " "Was to capture creatures with strange powers, I know." "We got three of their assets on ice." "What are they up to now?" "Everything." "Come again?" "Well, the cabal supposedly died out in the 19th century, but they didn't." "They just went underground." "They started infiltrating businesses, medical and scientific research companies, banks, biotech firms, uh, military think tanks " "All under their control." "Holy crap." "Yeah, I mean, these guys are one James Bond film away from global domination." " So stealing their property " " No, no, no." "Would not go over well." "Word has it they're on the move with, uh, upright bloodhounds with big teeth and claws." "Keepers." "How many?" "Uh, enough to create a real mess." "I mean, whatever it is you took from them, they're coming to take it back." "You mind?" "No, no." "Bon appetit." "Go crazy, go nuts." "Oh, thank you." "Mm." "Well, that is not good." "As long as they're conscious, they are a threat." "As long as they're here, they are a threat." "Danu's psychological state is so fragile right now, any more trauma, any more amnesia, she may never be this self-aware again." "I can get through to her." "I just need more time." "Time is not something we have in abundance, Will." "Listen to me, listen to me." "She has been brainwashed to think this cabal is somehow all-powerful." "I mean, come on!" "Ashley." "We've definitely got trouble incoming." "I'll be home as soon as I can but this is a much bigger problem " "Mom?" "Mom!" "Dammit." "Come in, Magnus." "So, um, nasty creatures with bad dental work have reached the outer perimeters." "I'd recommend a level-5 internal lockdown." "Magnus..." "That works." "We need to get the Morrigan out of here immediately." " Agreed." "Any ideas?" " Near the shoe." "There's an escape tunnel with an exit leading to the river." "I have a safe house just outside the city." "There's a map programmed into this." "Take this." " What are you going to do?" " You wanted time." "I'm going to buy you some." "Where the hell have you been?" " We need weapons." " We need Ashley." "Crap." "Danu, we're getting you out of here." "They have come for us." "But that doesn't mean you have to go with them." "They will never stop looking for us." "We must go with them." "Do you really believe that you deserve to live in a crypt?" "Because if you do, I won't stop you." "You would free us?" "Yes." "But we have to go right now." "I want you to stay and defend the habitats at all costs." "If we fall, initiate level-9 lockdown protocol and seal yourself inside." "Please." "Do as I say." "Where are we going?" "Away from here." " Will..." " Go, go, go!" "Take this." "It's a map." "Follow the purple line." " Will, I " " Go!" "Mom, I'm home!" "Good." "Grab what weapons you can and meet us in the catacombs." "Will's headed to the river gate with the Morrigan." "The keepers are following." "We'll make our stand there." " Henry?" " Hello?" "You heard the plan?" "Weapons, catacombs, check." "I'll see you in five." "Damn it." "Drop it." "Aw, come on." "Keep them coming." "Um, these aren't mine." "Just put 'em on the ground." "Shoot 'em!" "I can't!" "Well..." "That never gets old." "You left the safety on." "Yeah, I'm going to play to my strengths." "You..." "You shoot people." "Okay." "Follow me." "Mom!" "Are you okay?" "I'm fine." "Did you get them out?" "I think so." "If they can read Google maps, they should be well on their way." "Where the hell is Henry?" "Here." "This is a private medical facility." "You are trespassing on my property." "Trespassing?" "You have stolen what is ours." "The Morrigan belong to us." "Hand them over now or we tear this place apart." "I don't know what you're talking about." "My keepers are keyed to find them, no matter where they go." "Your keepers are dead all over my house." "Do you have any more?" "Last chance." "No more games." "Ashley..." "It'll get messy, but just say the word." "Take their weapons." "Stop." "There will be no more killing." "We will go quietly." "But we ask that you leave these people unharmed." "You don't make demands." "You do as we say." "They did not take us out of greed, but out of charity." "We ask you leave them unharmed." "It seems that a taste of freedom has changed their demeanor." "We take back what's ours, you and I have no problem." "These women are under my protection." "They're not leaving with you or anyone else, for that matter." "Then we have a problem." "Danu." "Please, stay with us." "We can protect all of you." "If we stay, none of you will ever know peace." "You have shown us a path, a truth we have never seen before." "And we are grateful for all that you have done." "No." "No, you can't go, not now." "Our freedom must be earned." "In our own way." "We know who we are now." "Put them in separate trucks." "I'd be careful what you do next." "The people I work for aren't the forgiving type." "Neither am I." "Tell them this is far from over." "Now, get off my property." " You think we've lost them?" " You tell me." "I think I needed more time." "I think you've done more good than you realize." "We gave them the choice to be free." "What they do next is up to them."