Nyx, Nyx's children, Sabretooth, Mordred, Logan and Mouse
Nyx shivered as she slipped through yet another dimension. It was getting colder as she fled, deeper and deeper into the darkness that enclosed the worlds. The life out here was strange and unfamilar, even when she could recognise it as life. Eventually, she knew that even as a goddess, she had gone too far and she turned to run back the other way, back into the light.
Skipping like a stone across the rippling dimensions, Nyx landed in a Sunnydale that might have been. Vampire inhabited and deadly quiet streets, all the humans cowering inside. She could feel him here, the Master. Not dusted by Buffy, and his Childe, Darla, with him. Step through again, and once more the pit.
She screamed, caught for a moment, with her paw trapped inside hungry dark, before she could flee again. But the PAIN!
~*~*~*~
Five pairs of eyes snapped open, and five mouths wailed the same word. "MAMA!"
~*~*~*~
Sabretooth roared awake, one hand curling protectively around Victory. "What's wrong?" He asked her as gently as he could.
"Mama, mama, mama," she sobbed. "She, oh, she hurts. She's running."
"Nyx is smart, she'll get out of it, you see," he tried to soothe her back into sleep.
~*~*~*~
Faolan howled. Runrunrun! Don't stop, mama, don't stop!
What's the matter? Mordred roused out of sleep and walked over to the cot Faolan had been given to sleep in.
She walked into a trap, a mouth and got bit.
"She'll be alright, you know." Mordred had great trust in Nyx's ability to keep living. He lifted Faolan out of the cot and into his arms before lying back down in his bed, small body curled into his and shaking with silent sobs.
~*~*~*~
Kanika scrambled into Logan's bed, reeking of fear. He woke up and curled his arm around her. "What's the matter, darlin'?" He asked in a gruff voice.
"Mama." She hid her face against his chest, and Logan stroked her hair. "Bitten, caught, darkness, oh..."
"Bad dreams?"
"*Not* a dream," she negated flatly. "Mama stepped into something and it doesn't want to let go."
~*~*~*~
Serafina screamed, eyes burning gold. "LET MY MAMA GO! MAMA!" Her heartbroken wails echoed through the hotel.
~*~*~*~
Saku whimpered in fright. "Mama, pwease, oh, help mama...it's gonna eat her, run, mama, run..."
~*~*~*~
Mouse sat up in bed, crying out in pain as she covered the Claim tattoo with her free hand. "Nyx!" She then watched in horror as great toothmarks appeared around her wrist and started to drip blood onto the sheets. "Oh god..."
Zac
"Saku?" Zac asked in concern.
His son's cries had woken him from an otherwise peaceful sleep.
"Saku?" he asked again, stifling a yawn. "Saku, what's wrong? What's wrong with mama?"
Saku
"Ohohohoh," Saku whimpered, hugging himself tight, crying with fear. "Mama, oh, it's gonna eat her! Dark, with tee-eeeethhhh..."
Zac
Zac reluctantly sat up and made his way over to Saku. He put his arms around him.
"Don't worry," he said. "It's only a bad dream."
Nyx, Logan, Sabretooth, Mordred and Nyx's children
Saku pushed at Zac, frowning through the tears. "*Not* a dream. Truth." Maturity glimmered in his brown eyes.
Nyx hissed and scrabbled at the *thing* holding onto her hand. Oh Re, that *hurt*. Dark around teeth, and there wasn't anything to it except teeth and maw. "Let bloody *go*... Die, dammit!"
Saku swayed slightly, mewing. Suddenly his own wrist sprouted teethmarks, hollow indentations blossoming blood, and he wailed in pain, cradling his hand. "Owowow..."
~*~*~*~
Faolan whimpered and almost seemed to crawl inside Mordred's skin.
~*~*~*~
Sabretooth sat up as he caught the scent of blood, and lifted the wailing Victory into his arms as he went quickly to the medicine cabinet. "What the..." he bit back the curseword, "is going on here?"
"It's biting mama!"
Sabretooth cleaned out the teethmarks and wrapped a bandage around them as Victory continued to sob quietly.
~*~*~*~
"Dada!" Kanika wailed, her quick healing facilty making short work of the bite marks.
"What's happening to mama?" Logan asked her gently as he tried to soothe her.
"Something dark, something wrong with great big teef, rawr!"
Zac
"Okay, unless I'm the one dreaming, that kind of thing does not happen in dreams," Zac thought to himself sleepily.
"Okay, Saku, I believe you," he said, picking him up. "I think there's a first aid kit somewhere..."
In is effort to find it, he picked up a cloth (someone's shirt?) and used it to put some pressure on Saku's wrist to stop the bleeding.
Nyx, Wesley and Mouse
Saku whimpered, breathing in quick little pants.
~*~*~*~
Nyx snarled in frustration, and extended her claws. A horrible gurgle came out of the slimy wet mouth, but the teeth stayed embedded in her wrist. "Die, dammit! I need to run!"
~*~*~*~
Wesley woke up to hear Serafina wailing and got out of bed sleepily to go to her. "Serafina...what's wrong?"
Serafina cradled her wrist and sobbed. "Mama, it's got mama and it won't let go."
~*~*~*~
Mouse eased out of bed and went to find a first aid kit. "What the hell have you gotten yourself into, Nyx?"
Zac
"Ah ha," Zac said, finding the kit.
He started cleaning up the wound.
"Now... what's wrong with mama?"
Mordred
"It's biting her, and it won't let go, and it won't die..." Saku winced, tears rolling down his cheeks. "She stepped through and it bit her. She's trapped, and she needs to run..."
~*~*~*~
Mordred cradled Faolan, the little boy's quick healing making short work of the gashes. Soothing and cradling with his mind, Mordred tried to seperate the part of the link that was hurting Faloan from the rest of it.
Zac
"I see," Zac replied.
He wished he could think of something to say that would help Saku.
"Well, your Mama is a very smart cat. I'm sure she get out."
Nyx, Nyx's children and Mouse
"It *hurts*," Saku said, eyes shimmering with tears and pain.
~*~*~*~
Nyx snarled and headbutted the thing. Again, and again, and again. "Die, dammit!" The soft skull bent, and then crushed under her blows. She couldn't use her magic, she couldn't. That would be like a beacon, lighting up the dark for Glory to find her. Finally, finally, she felt it die, and the mouth slurped open. She cradled her wrist, and then dove through another portal.
~*~*~*~
All of the kittens sighed in relief, and the wounds healed up miracously.
~*~*~*~
Mouse eyed her wrist in disbelief. Well. But she could still smell the blood...
~*~*~*~
Saku licked at his wrist, retreating into catlike behaviours. "She killed it."
Zac
Zac let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding.
"That's good," he said. "Not hurting any more either I see. Do you want to sleep in Da's bed tonight? Just this once?"
Saku
"Pwease," Saku said softly. Oh, he missed his mama so much, and all his littermates. He needed touch tonight, just to remind him that he was loved. He scrubbed at his wet eyes with his hands.
Zac
Zac's heart went out to Saku. Poor kid. He picked him up and carried him over to the bed, and got in.
"Night, Saku," he said. "You have good dreams now."
Nyx, Nyx's children, Mouse, Sabretooth and Wesley
Saku snuggled in and closed his eyes tiredly. His wrist still hurt a bit...but he could ignore it. He sniffled again slightly, then fell asleep.
~*~*~*~
Mouse crawled back into bed after washing her wrist clean of blood. She'd explain to Taylor about the blood in the morning...if he believed her.
~*~*~*~
Kanika sighed and closed her eyes. Logan stroked her head as it lay against his chest. Keep running Nyx.
~*~*~*~
Wesley put Serafina back to bed, and she rolled over into sleep almost immediately. He left quietly to go to his room.
~*~*~*~
Faolan sobbed for a moment. She escaped.
Then that's good, right? Sleep now, whelp.
~*~*~*~
Victory sighed happily. "She's alright now. I'm tired."
"Ok, ok." Sabretooth walked back over to their bed and lay down, cradling her. She made a little noise of contentment, then fell asleep. He stayed up thinking a bit longer.
~*~*~*~
Nyx ran faster, eyes and ears more alert now. She stumbled slightly, she needed to sleep. She found what she thought might be safe, and curled up to sleep.