Leila and Gwen
Leila crept up the path to Mordred and Gwen's house. She reached out with her telepathy and located the room where Faolan was, then located where Mordred and Gwen were, then finally, where the two babies were.
She climbed up the side of the house and peered into Faolan's room. She began to weave his dreams into nightmares, then went to do the same to Eavan and Bryant.
She then jumped down and crept around to the living room window, where Mordred and Gwen were watching TV.
She grinned evilly and brought their fears to life, and entwined them.
Mordred and Faolan
Faolan ran panicstricken through the halls of his grandmother's temple. Smoke filled the hallways and he could smell the blood on the air and hear the cries of the dying. He rounded a corner and came upon the snarling body of his dead mother, his sibs lying in a bloodied and crushed heap next to her. Crackles of magic still flared through the air, his mother's last ditch attempt to keep her children alive, black fur matted and dulled with blood, mouth frozen in the last rictus of a protective snarl as her internal organs lay over the floor.
Faolan threw back his head and howled.
Mordred looked down at his chest in shock and then slowly crumpled to the floor. Gwen smiled at him as he stared at her with uncomprending eyes, feeling the last sparks of electricity flare through him.
"The marriage vows said until death do us part. Lover."
Gwen
Gwen's breath caught in her throat as she looked at Mordred, feeling her heart wrench as she saw the hatred in his eyes.
"You're a freak. Simple."
"No, Mordred, please..."
Gwen looked around in panic as the doctors surrounded her.
"Oh God, no..."
Faolan and Mordred
"Heeeeeere, kitty, kitty, kitty," a female voice singsonged and the click of high heeled shoes rang out in the now silent halls.
Faolan cuddled up to the dead body of his mother and shuddered.
He whimpered slightly in his sleep and kicked the covers off his bed.
Mordred smiled tightly as he raised a glass at Gwen's remarriage...to Gunn. It had been five years since she'd divorced him, and he barely got to see the twins at all. Major holidays and occasional weekends.
Leila and Gwen
Leila pouted.
"Not playing the way I want them too... I'll fix that."
She waved her hand and weaved Gwen into Mordred's nightmare, taking the character that he was imagining.
"I suppose you want to see my children?" Gwen asked, raising her eyebrow.
"Mama, Dad, who's this man?" Eavan asked.
Faolan and Mordred
Faolan cowered into the soft fur of his mother's side, hardly daring to breathe.
A perfectly manicured hand with bloodred nailes picked him up by the scruff of his neck. Glory smiled at him as he hissed and hit out with feeble claws.
"There you are, kitty."
Sweat poured off Faolan's body, soaking the sheets and his form shimmered from one to the next.
"They're my children as well, cariad," Mordred spat.
"And seeing as how you so graciously sent me an invitation to the wedding, I thought I might as well turn up. Just to be polite. So, tell me, how's the demon hunting business these days?"
Gwen
Eavan hung tightly onto Gwen's hand.
"Mama, why is this man so mean?"
Gwen bent down to look her daughter in the eye.
"Why don't you go find your dad, ok?"
Eavan nodded and skipped off to Gunn's side.
"Demon hunting's going well... least it's a job. Tell me, how's the unemployment going?"
Faolan and Mordred
Faolan clawed at the confines of the sack, breath coming in uneven pants.
This time, Vortigern didn't show up and rescue him.
This time, Faolan wailed as the sack hit water and began to sink.
Faolan choked in his sleep.
Mordred frowned uneasily.
"Least you could do is tell them the truth, Gwen," Mordred said bitterly.
"Gunn is *not* their father. And me and Fao are doing fine. He's lurking around somewhere, probably near the fishpond. I'm working at the mansion for now."
Gwen and Leila
Gwen let out a short laugh.
"Tell them the truth about you? Ha, I wouldn't hurt them like that. Wouldn't disappoint them. Besides, I left our memories dead and buried."
Leila flicked her fingers out and brought some of Gwen's fears to the surface.
Being evil was so deliciously fun.
Faolan and Mordred
Faolan cowered, anger, hate and fear crashing in on him in waves. He screamed for the pain cascading over his mind, form flickering madly as he tried to cope with the onslaught.
Fur sprouted, withdrew, fangs dropped, muscles shifted and the sheets were now damp with sweat and ripped in places.
"I could unbury them for you," Mordred said, reaching a hand towards her face.
"Always be a pleasure to help. And I'm seeing a judge about getting more visiting rights. Pretty hard to keep up the facade that Gunn is their daddy when they're seeing me every weekend, and for school holidays."
Gwen and Leila
Gwen recoiled away from Mordred's hand.
"Don't touch me."
Leila flicked and let the fear rise.
Faolan and Mordred
Faolan flew backwards and crashed into the wall, mouth bleeding. He shifted and ran for it, a stone striking the ground behind him.
"You used to beg me to touch you..." Mordred mused.
He traced the skin of his throat softly where a black metal studded dog collar had had pride of place.
"Or don't you remember that either?"
Gwen and Leila
Gwen sneered.
"I've been trying to forget."
Leila picked through Gwen's fears.
Ooh, Mordred hurting her physically?
Let's try this one on, shall we?
Mordred
"I'm sure you have, love, sure you have," Mordred drawled.
"After me, anyone else would have to be a disapointment."
He turned and grinned nastily at Gunn who had come up behind Gwen.
"Didn't see Angel anywhere. Spike and Vortigern wanted to come, but well...they decided that coming to see my ex-wife get remarried was something bound to upset Vort's creative muse."
Gwen and Leila
Gunn wrapped his arms around Gwen's waist, and she turned to kiss him softly.
"Angel's here, around, lurking."
Leila frowned.
"Bo-ring," she hummed to herself.
She changed the scene to Gwen's fear, with her strapped to a table, and Mordred simply standing above her, watching.
Mordred
Mordred watched the scene, rooted to the spot. He couldn't move...and couldn't bring himself to care, except for a small corner of his soul that was screaming.
Gwen and Leila
Gwen screamed in pain as the scapel cut her stomach open.
She turned pleading eyes onto Mordred.
"PLEASE! OH GOD!"
Leila grinned.
She should've bought popcorn.
Mordred
Mordred railed inside his mind, face blank as he looked down at Gwen. Dammit, he should be doing something! But he couldn't.
Leila and Gwen
Leila found a thread in Mordred's mind... his fear of his inability to help the ones he cared about.
And she brought it forward.
"HELP ME! MORDRED PLEASE!" Gwen screamed.
Mordred
The wolf howled crazily in his mind and Mordred tried to reach her, tried to help her.
MATE! NO!
He couldn't, he couldn't, he couldn't. He couldn't even close his eyes or turn away. All he could do was watch.
The wolf threw itself forward and then bounced back, whining and pacing.
Gwen and Leila
"Please, Mordred, please help me, please, I need... please, Mordred, don't do this... please..." Gwen pleaded, tears spilling over and sliding down her cheeks.
Leila frowned, what would make this worse?
She grinned and flipped out all of the bad incidents between Mordred and Gwen.
Mordred
Mordred flew backwards, jerking as electricity ran through his body.
He gasped on the couch, hand moving slightly.
He looked up at her and watched her heart break as the last fuzziness ran from his mind.
He tried to get up and cried out weakly in pain as his arm refused to support him. He had to find out what had happened to Gwen whent he car had been crashed into.
Gwen
"Looks like I'm in the wrong room. Sorry about that."
Gwen's tears rolled down her cheeks, as she stared in open mouthed horror.
Where was Mordred? He'd take the pain away... she couldn't feel her legs... there was pain, so much pain... why did her back hurt?
Mordred
Mordred moaned slightly.
""Gwen, oh my god, Gwen...what's happened to you?" He whispered in horror.
"Sshhh, she's sleeping," Gwen scolded Mordred.
His head thrashed slightly.
His body pulsed as the electricity ran through his body. But he'd saved Gwen. That was the important thing.
Gwen
Gwen choked back a sob.
Memories of her time with Mordred were racing through her head, a million miles per second, and she was struggling to forget. The way he used to look at her, the way he said her name, when he told her he loved her...
Gwen whimpered and hid her face in her hands.
"Ye're never comin' back, love. Why do I keep trying to pretend ye came back? Woulda died already but they locked me powers away and they're keeping other means from me. Why am I talkin' fer? Ye're no here." His voice was hoarse and broken.
Mordred
"Oh, oh GOD!" Mordred yelled, sitting up, panting and sweat soaked from the nightmare. He looked at Gwen, and found he'd only traded one for another. "OH GOD! GWEN!"
He 'ported them both to the medlabs.
"BEAST!"
Gwen whimpered.
"My back..."
Her hands clawed weakly at her back.
"Owwwwww."
Mordred sucked in a breath, eyelids twitching.
She was about to go back when a bolt of lightening shot from the sky and hit her, sending her flying into a tree.
"Damn..."
"GWEN!" Mordred's head snapped up and he howled her name before teleporting. "Gwen, love, I'm sorry, so sorry, please, be alright, please, hell, I'm sorry, I love you, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." He picked her up, tears running down his face.
Gwen and Leila
Gwen took a step back. She wriggled her fingers, and sent a bolt of electricity shooting past him.
"You wouldn't've said it if you didn't mean it a bit."
Gwen whimpered again, crying freely now.
"Neither would you." Hurt and jealous anger in his eyes. "If you're gonna do stuff like that, hit me at least." It hurts less then my heart. He spread his arms wide, inviting the shot, twisted grin on his lips. Oh, this was too famaliar. I love you, Mordred. Step on the footpath. Shock as he came to her house too early. Love you. Didn't mean it. I love you! Running into the rain. Thunder rolling and the lightening lighting the skies. So, the electricty works in too.
Mordred and Faolan
Mordred's eyelids flickered, revealing hints of gold.
He was very close to wolfing out.
SAM!" Frodo's panicked voice screamed.
"MR FRODO!" came Sam's voice.
Mordred howled, then dropped forward, sword clattering to the ground. He took off, four feet striking the cobblestones rapidly.
"Aiya!" Arwen exclaimed. (Oh!)
Vortigern took off running after his twin, flares of light sprouting from his shoulderblades. He hissed slightly with the burning pain.
"Mordred!"
The wolf ran past Gwen, snarling as he caught up to the two hobbits.
Sam held Frodo, his face white with shock. Frodo was wounded, and the babies were nowhere to be seen.
"DA!" Faolan's terrified voice entered Mordred's mind and the wolf howled in indescision.
Gwen and Leila
Gwen angrily kicked the glass bottle in front of her feet, smiling with demented delight as it broke. She bent down and retrieved a shard of glass and cut into her arm, over and over and over and over, until even the rain couldn't wash away the blood anymore because it kept coming. The pain was endless, but what the hell did that matter? She cut savagely, over and over, until she couldn't feel anything. She looked at it, a mess of blood and skin, the bone almost showing. It was almost unbearable. But she deserved it.
"Oh God..." Gwen whispered.
Leila chuckled evilly and brought up their nightmares from when they were children.
Mordred
Mordred walked tiredly up to his and Vortigern's attic bedroom, hand rubbing at his wrist. Something was wrong. Something was off. He rubbed harder, a burning itching sensation building up behind his skin. The feeling spread up his arm until he was nearly scratching his arm bloody.
Then he opened the door.
A knife dangled from Vortigern's hand, blood running down onto the floor. His twin's face was pale with bloodloss.
"VORT!"
Gwen and Leila
"Honestly, I should be thanking you. Your gift to the school was quite generous. We've already invested a portion of it into the accommodations for Gwen's... special needs."
Gwen shuddered.
"Now, this won't hurt... very much."
Nameless faces with cruel smirks.
Needles.
Scapels.
Poking her, prodding her, taking blood, cutting her open, everything was blurry, sparks flickering from her blood, from her skin, she was so dirty, a freak, someone to be scared of, experimented on, treated like the thing she was, she had no feelings, she was an it, not a person, a filthy mutant.
"No, please, God, no."
Mordred
Screaming inside his mind, beating down and oh god, it hurt. Blazing agonising pain and he couldn't shut their voices out, he was stuck with them inside his head forever and ever amen and they wouldn't shut up and he didn't want to know. He didn't want to know what they were thinking. People were nasty vain and cruel so few actuallysayingwhattheythoughtanditwentonandonandonandon...
Mordred's normal telepathic sheilds started to buckle under the stress.
Gwen and Leila
Gwen couldn't move, she was paralysed with fear, and they didn't care... her parents, just helping to tie her down, helping the people hurt her, why, oh God, why?
Leila hummed for a second, then flicked up their worst fear as kids.
Mordred
Mordred laughed and turned to Vortigern.
"Pretty good, hey?"
Vortigern smiled slightly and nodded, then he slowly started to fade from sight. Mordred could only watch as his brother disappeared.
Gwen and Leila
"NO GOD, PLEASE NO!" Gwen screamed as she was thrown into the darkness.
Hearing sounds, sounds she couldn't identify, her cries echoing in the darkness, all alone.
No one to help her.
Leila flicked her hands and entwined Mordred and Gwen, making them relive their car accident.
Mordred
"Never been," Mordred said cheerfully. "But if you like it, I bet that I will as well..."
Suddenly, as they reached the crossroads of a street, a car came out of nowhere.
It hit the side of the Chevy, and Mordred went flying through the windscreen to land with a crack of breaking bones.
He hit the ground and slid along it, gravel raking the side of his face and sending further jagged sparks of pain inside him racing up his spine. Glass hit the ground along him and he could feel it embedded in his face and in his hand.
Gwen and Leila
"MORDRED!"
Gwen screamed as the car hit her side and she felt her legs crush under the dashboard. She raised her hands instinctively shielding her face, the glass shattering and flying into her body, cutting her face and arms.
A sharp stabbing pain in her back and then it all went black.
Leila grinned evilly.
This was more like it.
Mordred
Mordred tried to get up, head swimming with pain. He cried out weakly as he felt his ribs move, sending shooting pains up inside. His arm was broken and hung useless by his side.
Nevertheless, he tried to get up.
Blood running down his face, clouding his vision with red. Shirt torn to shreds and waving in the slight breeze, flecked with spots of red against the white silk, where it wasn't black with road dust and embedded gravel.
Gwen and Leila
Somewhere in the back of her mind, Gwen could feel the pain. She felt so disconnected to her body, like she'd died and was just watching the scene play out... then suddenly, the pain came crashing down upon her, and she cried out weakly.
Her hands reached slowly for her back, and she could feel the large shard of glass embedded into the base of her spine, could feel it cutting the nerves, could feel the blood pour all over the seat...
Leila thought for a moment, then flipped them forward into the hospital, but worked their fears to make them think the other was dead.
Mordred
Mordred came to slowly, blinking his eyes to bring the white circles above him into focus as faces.
"Wha..."
"Don't try to talk," Vortigern said, looking pale and worried.
"A car crashed into you."
"Where's Gwen?" Mordred asked slowly.
"Don't talk, try to rest," Vortigern said.
"Dammit, where's my WIFE?!"
Gwen and Leila
Gwen opened her eyes slowly, wincing in the sudden light.
"Gwen?"
She turned her head painfully to see Spike.
"Where's Mordred?"
A long pause.
"WHERE THE F*CK IS MORDRED?"
Mordred
"Mordred, calm down," Vortigern said, putting his hands on his twin's shoulders and forcing him back onto the bed.
"Don't lie to me," Mordred spat.
"Don't try and fob me off. Where. Is. My. Gwen?!"
Vortigern and Spike shared a glance and Mordred felt the sudden knowledge slam into him like a sledgehammer, robbing him of breath.
Gwen and Leila
"He... he didn't - "
"No, don't... don't, please, no!" Gwen yelled, tears falling from her eyes, feeling her heart break itself into pieces. She looked away from Spike, couldn't stand him to see her, couldn't...
"They said he hit the ground at such a - "
Gwen cried harder, half hearing him, hyperventilating... needing Mordred to make it better, but he was gone.
Mordred
Mordred listened numbly, face white as a sheet as Vortigern started to explain.
"She...they couldn't get her out of the car in time. If someone had called earlier...she died in the ambulance."
"Who?"
"What?"
"Who hit us?" Mordred said coldly, staring up at the white ceiling.
"Because I am going to hunt them down like dogs and gut them with a rusty knife."
Gwen and Leila
"He... they said it was quick - "
"But they don't know... they don't know if it was or not... they don't... can you just leave me alone, please?"
Gwen waited until she heard Spike's retreating footsteps, and pulled the tubes and needles from her arm. She sucked in a pained breath and pulled the covers back, and pushed her legs over the side of the bed, only faintly conscious that she couldn't move them.
She tried to stand on them, then fell, her eyes shut tight, tears of heartbreak and pain pouring out, as she screamed out a long, woeful wail.
Mordred
"She died without regaining consciousness," Spike said.
"Merciful and quick, like."
"You don't know that," Mordred said.
Spike looked grim and sad at the same time.
"Trust me, it's an easy way to go."
Gwen and Leila
Leila cackled evilly.
Oh this was better than the movies.
She flicked her hands and intensified the fear, and scarpered.
She'd be back.
Faolan and Mordred
Faolan sat up in his bed and screamed at the top of his lungs.
Eavan and Bryant woke up and started to wail.
Mordred sat up with a choked gasp, and he could still feel the tears running down his cheeks.
Gwen
Gwen lifted her face from her hands.
She glanced at Mordred for a brief moment, then ran upstairs to tend to the kids.
Mordred
Mordred followed her and stopped outside Faolan's door as the kitten clung to him, claws extended to grip the fabric of his jeans as his small body shook.
"S'alright," Mordred croaked, then cleared his throat.
"S'ok now, Fao."
Gwen
"MAMA! DA!" Eavan and Bryant screamed.
Gwen winced slightly as she threw the door open and went over to the cot, lifting Bryant out, then lifting Eavan.
"It's ok, sshhhh, beautiful ones, it's all ok..."
Mordred
Mordred winced slightly as Faolan climbed up his body and crouched on his shoulder, mewing and whimpering with fright.
DEATHPAINSORROWGRIEFPAINPAINHATEAGONYHATEFEARFEARFEAR!
"S'alright, shh now," Mordred soothed as he walked into where the twins and Gwen were.
"Here now. We're all here. All together. All safe."
Gwen
"It's ok, it's all over, it's ok, we're ok... see, there's your da," Gwen said, nodding at Mordred.
"Scared."
"I know, I know, but it's ok now, see, all ok."
MOrdred and Faolan
Mordred came over and smoothed sweatdamp hair from Eavan's face.
"See? I'm right here," he soothed.
Faolan's claws gripped deeper into his shoulder as the kitten mewed in fright.
Gwen
Gwen put Bryant back in the cot, then Eavan, and left her hand in there, the twins grabbing hold of her fingers and not letting go.
She reached up to Faolan.
"Hey, it's ok, we're all ok."
Mordred
"Dead, dead, all dead!"
"We're here...what did you see?" Mordred asked gently.
"MOther DEAD! Cold! Blood, blood, blood! Smoke everywhere, burning and the Lady!"
Gwen
Gwen sighed and lifted Eavan up again as she started to cry, she lifted Bryant out and went to sit in the armchair in the room.
"It's ok... shhh, Eavie..."
Gwen looked at Mordred with worried eyes.
Mordred
Mordred carefully sorted out the cascade of images Faolan had sent him, face more and more angry.
"We find out who's doing this and kill them."
Gwen
"Agreed."
Gwen sighed.
"I don't want to let the kids out of our sight tonight... can we set up their beds in our room?"
Mordred
"Yeah," Mordred said in a clipped voice.
He put his hands on the cribs and 'ported.
He 'ported back to Gwen and took her arm, before going to their bedroom via his talents again.
"Right..."
Mordred rubbed his eyes tiredly.
"Fao can sleep on the end of our bed. He does that often enough, anyway."
Gwen
Gwen put Eavan and Bryant back into their cribs and tucked them in, then went to sit on the bed.
"Alright..."
She lay back against the pillows.
Mordred
Mordred crawled in next to her, Faolan curling up on the end of the bed.
"We'll find out who it is," Mordred said softly, then kissed her gently.
Gwen
Gwen kissed him back, reaching for his hand under the covers.
"Yeah," she agreed sleepily.
Mordred and Faolan
Mordred squeezed her hand back gently then drew her further into his arms in the position they normally slept in.
"Night all."
He kissed her affectionately, then closed his eyes.
Faolan was already asleep.
Gwen
"Night."
Gwen closed her eyes and went to sleep.