It seemed to take months. Months before any sign of the fog came. During those months was a period of peace, for the most part. Some areas seemed to keep up the occasional violence and misunderstanding. Nothing new going on. Life carried on.

Danielle looked at her reflection in the pond. It was clear by the size of her stomach that she was pregnant. She hated it. Waking up sick, carrying the extra weight, all the looks and points from other deer. It was nothing she wanted to do so soon, so against her will. And what's more, it wasn't even with the one who she wanted to be the father. Well, technically he was, but not in mind. It was not out of love. Not at all.

She spat at the reflection, waking the water ripple a bit before settling again. Clock had an opposite view on it, but he could never dwell on it because of his fear for the future. Clock actually wanted this fawn to come. As if it didn't matter how it came to be, he still wanted to take care of it with her. Either way, he made the mess. He wasn't going to run away from something like this.

Danielle trotted back to her mate and sat down carefully. “Cloooock...” She leaned against him, which made him tip over a little due to the weight of the small fawn along with her large antlers. “This sucks.”

“I know... I'm really sorry you feel so bad.” He offered his daily apology once more.

“Ohhhh quit it.” She smiled, kissing him on the cheek. In truth she was finally getting used to it. She was finally able to block out the other thoughts she had of the fawn. The thoughts she never shared with Clock, since she knew how he felt about it. She didn't know what he would say.

“... It kicked me.” Clock said plainly.

“Yeah, it'll do that...”

“I wonder how long it's been...”

Danielle let out a playful scoff, “I wouldn't worry, it won't be for a while... I think.”

Clock nodded. It seemed to soon to him anyway. Something was wrong though. Today didn't feel normal. The tempurature was cooling. There were clouds building along the horizon, and he heard thunder rolling in the distance. He looked up above the treetops for a moment. “Do you think that storms headed for us?”

“Storm?” The doe looked in the same direction. She only saw sky. “I don't see anything.”

“Huh? You don't see those big dark clouds over there?”

“No...”

“But you heard the thunder, right?”

Danielle paused, “No...” This started to worry her. He wasn't seeing illusions recently. She didn't want to think of it, but her mind always trailed back to that horrible conclusion. Was the calm before the storm ending?

***

It seemed Danielle was wrong. There actually was a storm brewing in the distance, and the day after it came to them. Rain was pouring down on the forest, not too light, but not too heavy. Occasional flashes of lightning were seen, along with the few rumbles of thunder. It was nothing to worry about. No real shelter was needed, no real fear was stricken in the young ones.

Clock and Danielle stayed near the pond, hiding under one of the larger willows. Tropa had decided to take advantage of the rain and go for a walk (she normally couldn't leave the pond because her skin would dry out). Danielle, however, didn't like it under the tree. It didn't seem to keep her dry enough. She tugged Clock away from the drooping leaves and led him over the the Old Oak. But once she called him to come inside, he seemed to hesitate.

“Danielle, I... I don't wanna go in there...”

The butterfly doe turned around, “Huh? Why?”

“I.. dunno, I j-just...” a bolt of lightning struck nearby, sending a loud clash of thunder. Clock jumped and started to tremble horribly.

Danielle went back outside, “Clock it's okay, you'll be safe inside.”

“N-no!” He shrunk away from her, still trembling.

This definitely wasn't normal. But from the way he sounded, he was possibly going to change into Owen, the cowardly personality. But even Owen had trust in her. No matter what she did, Clock still inched away from her.

“Clock please, it'll be okay...” She tried to calm him down.

“G-get away from me!” He cried, turning around and running away at full speed. A bright trail of light followed behind him.

Danielle stood there, not knowing what to do. Many thoughts ran through her head as she stared at the trail of light till it disappeared. Clock never feared her. Maybe he saw something? The weather always seemed to give him delusions. She couldn't help but wonder what he saw. His mind was so strange, it could have been anything. Nevertheless, she went back into the Oak, hoping he would be okay. What could she do?

***

“Wake up Danielle. You must wake up now.”

That voice seemed so urgent.

“Now Danielle! There's no time left!”

“What do you mean?...”

“You've had your time of rest. You must wake up. He's here. Hurry!”

He's here...

He's here?

Danielle's eyes snapped open, only to see everything enshrouded in fog. Her heart sank. Her blood ran cold. She could barely lift her head, she was frozen with fear. He was here. She didn't think it had been that long, but after thinking it over, he had been gone for months. She forced herself to stand up, feeling that pang of nausia hit her again. She swallowed the feeling. There was something more urgent to tend to.

The doe ventured out into the open fog, looking around but barely seeing anything. Though she did see something strange on the Twin Gods Hill. Something that wasn't supposed to be there. With shaky steps, she made her way over to the hill. There was a crowd. Danielle pushed her way through, making her way to the top of the hill.

She was not surprised. There, standing in the middle of the hill, was Nero. But something else did surprise her. Something she never thought she would see in her life. The statues.

They were gone.