Banksy's life did not flash before his eyes as he plummeted towards the dark ground below. He did not have any profound realization, nor did he have any clever, parting thoughts.

All he had was crippling fear as he rushed to his impending death. Lilith's horrible spider legs wrapped around him, the sharp appendages tearing through his clothes and gouging his flesh as she struggled vainly against the fall, screaming the entire way down. It hurt, but he found he didn’t much care. The cuts weren’t that deep, and it wasn’t going to matter in a few seconds anyway. Maybe he could have survived if he had jumped feet first. It was unlikely, but it would have been possible. Instead, he was hurtling headfirst towards the very unforgiving ground below.

He closed his eyes as her shrieking voice became too much for him. Instead he focused to the wind, listening as it rushed past his ears, letting it wash away the sound of Lilith's screams.

When his body came to a sudden stop, he couldn't stop the scream that escaped his lips. He screwed his eyes shut tighter and waited for the pain, but it never came. Instead he only felt the painful grating as Lilith's leg slipped away from his body and heard her scream fade before coming to an abrupt stop.

Banksy opened his eyes and promptly screamed again.

He was still in the air. He was still very high up. The wind rushed around his body, but he did not move at all. Clamping his mouth shut, he managed to keep from shouting out again as he began to descend, this time at a much slower rate.

xXx

The explosion on the roof had drawn Makina's attention. Blue eyes, alert she watched as Banksy tackled some horrid beast off the rooftop and flung them both into the air. Her hands went to her mouth as she watched them begin to fall. There was no possible way he would survive the fall!

"Makina! Catch him!" Lexi was already on her feet and running.

"What?" Makina yelped.

"Catch him!"

Makina hesitated, but only for the briefest of moments before she swept her hands up. The air around her whipped around as she directed the currents into a snaking hand that rushed across the grounds. With a flick of her hand she sent the channel of wind straight up, weaving around the monster and gathering beneath Banksy.

She dropped to one knee as Banksy's body connected with the air, the sudden force echoing through her body. Eyes closing shut, she forced more power through her body. She felt the air swirl around Banksy, slowing his momentum. Her nose wrinkled as she felt the hard outline of whatever he had taken off the roof with him. Her fingers wiggled and the wind was directed between the two, pushing the intruder away from Banksy.

She waited a moment longer, her eyes still shut tight, as she carefully felt around the mortal in the embrace of her wind. It was only when she was absolutely sure, did she finally crack open her eyes, confirming what she already knew.

She had caught him.

Breathing in relief Makina slowly lowered her hands, gradually allowing Banksy to come down towards the ground. However, even with his momentum reduced Banksy's weight, combined with the distance, quickly proved to be too much and Makina was unable to hold onto the magical connection.

Makina wasn't overly concerned however, as Banksy would only be dropping a few feet or so. More than survivable. His scream followed by a loud curse assured her that he was fine and Makina fell onto her backside, letting out a deep sigh. A small bead of sweat slid down the side of her face and she wiped it away with disdain.

"How barbaric," Makina sniffed before letting out a soft giggle. She started to work her way back to her feet when the hairs on the back of her neck sudden stood on end. Her entire body went tight as an unfamiliar smell drifted along the wind.

A dangerous smell.

She was not alone.

Wide eyed, Makina spun around. Her gaze moved wildly from side to side, scanning the dark tree line, but she saw something. Swallowing hard, she lifted up her hand defensively… but nothing happened.

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As quickly as it came the smell vanished, and along with it the unknown presence. Makina waited another beat before quickly returning to her feet. Her eyes never left the trees as she hastily retreated back, stumbling the entire way before she turned tail and chased after Lexi.

A pair of dark eyes, unwavering, watched her go before fading into the night.

xXx

"This is bullshit," Banksy groaned as he pushed himself into a sitting position, sucking in a pained breath as he did so. Through bleary eyes he looked over at the prone frame of Lilith. Her face had returned to normal and with it her body. Banksy felt a pang of sadness in his chest as he stared at her deathly pale face. A feeling that quickly morphed into fear as her eyes flicked open, revealing a pair of bloody red pupils that were focused squarely on him. More eyes soon flowered and Banksy suddenly had a much greater sympathy for any fly that had ever been caught in a spider’s web.

With slow, agonized movements she began to lift herself up before falling back down. One arm reached out towards him before slamming against the ground. Her fingers dug into the dirt as she let out a gurgling cry and pulled herself towards him. Her features continued to morph and a few legs sprouted from beneath her dress, though a few were clearly broken.

"Oh, come off it," Banksy breathed as he unsteadily made his way to his feet. He only managed to stay up for a few seconds before he crashed back down. Cursing, he tried again, this time managing, but only just.

He took a single step forward as Lilith came closer and cocked back his leg. With a grunt he booted her in the face with all of his remaining strength.

Lilith was sent rolling to the side. Her many limbs struggled grotesquely before she ceased moving completely. Staggering over to her Banksy spied a large rock on the ground, just a touch larger than his hand. With a furrowed brow he dropped down to his knees beside her and grabbed the stone. It was heavy in his hand.

Moving painfully slow Banksy reached out and grabbed Lilith by her shoulder. As soon as he made contact, he felt a jolt run through his hand. Shocked, he pulled away before slowly returning his hand to Lilith's shoulder. There was no doubting it.

He could feel it.

"Why?" Banksy murmured as the stone slipped from his hand and landed with a loud thump against the ground.

Lost in his thoughts he did not notice Lilith's hand moving until it was swinging up towards his throat, far too late for him to escape. His eyes widened and he began to pull away when a band of shadow shot out and caught Lilith by the wrist. The line pulled taut and slammed her arm back to the ground. More shadows burst from the ground around Lilith, completely restraining her suddenly trashing form.

"Get back," Lexi ordered as she drew a knife. Spinning it in her hand she moved to deliver the finishing blow.

"Wait!" Banksy yelled. "Lexi don't kill her!"

Lexi's blade halted only inches from Lilith's throat. Muscles tense, she slowly turned her head towards Banksy for an explanation, but she did not pull the knife away.

Warily, Banksy made his way back. Looking at Lexi he held out his hand. Lexi's eyes narrowed before she slowly pulled the blade from Lilith's throat and handed it to Banksy. He turned back to Lilith, holding the knife gingerly.

"She's moving too much," Banksy said, more to himself than Lexi. This, however, did not step Lexi from suddenly stepping forward and delivering a swift punch between Lilith's eyes. Her movement came to an abrupt stop.

"Well, that works," Banksy said as he took in a deep breath and quickly cut through the Widow Black's dress, starting at the neckline and going almost down to her navel. Gritting his teeth, he pulled the fabric apart and sucked in a sharp breath, above him he heard Lexi do the same.

"Is that?" Lexi leaned closer.

"A keyhole," Banksy said as they both stared down at the keyhole that had been embedded into Lilith's chest, merging seamlessly with her pale flesh. Hesitantly Banksy reached out and ran his finger along the smooth metal. It was warm to the touch and radiated with magical energy.

"How?" Lexi said.

"I have no idea," Banksy said as he began to pull his rings on. "But we're going to find out."

Again, his moved his hand to the lock. As soon as he made contact Lilith woke, her eyes flicking open, but she did not struggle. Instead she slowly turned her head to look at Banksy. Tears began to stream from her dark eyes.

"Please," Lilith's voice came out a whisper. "Kill me.

Banksy's faltered. "What?"

"I'm so tired. Please, just end it. I beg of you. I don't want to fight it anymore." Lilith's eyes closed and she fell back against the ground. When Banksy's hands made contact with the keyhole she did not stir. Slowly, he closed his eyes and allowed the magic of the rings to begin to intermingle with the magic of the lock.

It was like nothing he had ever seen before, but at the same time it felt so familiar. Almost like a melding between many different spells. Definitely a blood lock along with something else he couldn't quite understand. It was too jumbled up for him to be sure and yet….

"I think I can crack this," Banksy said after a few minutes. He opened his eyes and looked up to Lexi, giving her a weak smile. "You might want to step back, though."

Lexi's hand fell to her belt and landed comfortably on the hilt of a knife. "Why?"

"Because I have no idea what is going to happen when I do."

Lexi frowned. "Then perhaps you shouldn't."

"No, I really shouldn't," Banksy said before he plunged his fingers into the keyhole and his world exploded into a flash of pure white light.