It was nearing midday when Taylor went to check on Dee Dee. Making sure she was happy, he stood to watch her with a smile on his face for a moment.
And then the smile faded.
He was getting a gut feeling... one that he hadn't had in a long time...
His eyes widening slightly, he backed out of the nursery and closed the door. He leant against it for a moment, debating what to do. He couldn't go out, but he couldn't stay with the kids...
Suddenly becoming very worried, he quickly began to seek out either Ike or Zac.
Zac and Isaac
"Your move," Zac said impatiently.
"Silence. I'm thinking."
"You think too much."
"I think just enough, thank you," Isaac replied, eyes never leaving the chess board.
Zac sighed loudly.
"Time'll go faster if you would quit that."
Zac poked his tongue out at him. At long last, Isaac moved his pawn.
"Ah ha!" Zac exclaimed jubliantly, and moved his bishop to capture said pawn.
Isaac promptly captured Zac's queen.
"What? How'd you do that? Where was that knight?"
"Right there."
"Hmmm..." Zac eyed Isaac, trying to figure out if he could accuse him of cheating, Isaac merely met his gaze.
Taylor
Taylor appeared in the doorway and suddenly stopped at the sight of them.
"Ah... guys?" his voice shook.
Isaac and Zac
Isaac's gaze left Zac, as he turned to look at Taylor.
"Hi, Tay," he said cheerfully.
Zac waved absently and studied the board, muttering something about getting Isaac back for taking his queen. Isaac then caught the look of Taylor's face.
"Something amiss?"
Taylor
"We... we're ah... about to..." Taylor stuttered, looking down at his hands as he fidgetted.
"About to have a situation..."
Isaac and Zac
"You can say that again," Zac said smugly.
He moved his rook.
"Check."
"What kind of a situation?" Isaac asked, turning to glance back at the board.
Taylor
Taylor gulped a little, then looked up again.
"It's coming back," his voice croaked.
"We have... something like ten minutes. I'm so sorry."
He shook his head as tears threatened to spring into his eyes.
Isaac and Zac
"What's coming back?" Zac asked.
Isaac stood and stepped over to Taylor.
"Your alterego?" he asked, tentatively.
Taylor
Taylor nodded, then ran his fingers through his hair.
"I'm sorry," he said again, biting his lip.
Isaac and Zac
"No," Zac denied. "No, no, no, no, no."
"Okay," Isaac said softly, ignoring Zac. "What do we do? My power's outta my control - not that it can do anything to help you. Zac, you can freeze him -"
"That'll only prevent him from hurting anything in the short term. But I can't maintain that forever, and it wouldn't snap him out of it," Zac scrowled.
He was not going to let Taylor kill anyone. It was NOT going to happen.
"Have you got any ideas?" Isaac asked Taylor.
Taylor
Taylor shook his head and folded his arms across his chest.
"I can't leave," his voice croaked again, "but I don't want the kids to be around. And I can't stop it. I can't..."
He hesitated, his mind racing.
"Maybe... maybe I... if I shut myself up I'd only get out."
He shook his head.
"I don't know!"
Isaac and Zac
"Okay, okay," Isaac accepted. "Don't worry, we agree with you. Can't let you been anywhere that you might hurt someone. Tay... look... do you have any idea what has set him off? Okay, this probably isn't the time for such questions, but it's not like Tad's been around."
Zac was too torn to say anything at the moment. One the one hand, he wanted to heed to Taylor's desire for the kids not to be around, and take them out. On the other hand, he should hang around, ready to freeze Taylor, although he would prefer a more permanent solution.
Taylor
"I don't know," Taylor scratched his shoulder awkwardly.
"It's... it's completely random. Like it used to be. I don't know."
Isaac and Zac
Isaac nodded slowly.
"Okay," he accepted.
"Maybe it's reversing back on itself," Zac suggested hopefully. "Like a rubber band."
Taylor
Taylor looked across at him, his face expressionless.
"We could only hope," he said as he looked down again, "but right now, we are running out of time. And I only felt the need to tell you because it feels... more violent this time."
Isaac and Zac
"Fantastic," Zac muttered.
"Okay," Isaac said. "I guess what we'll need to do is call Tanya. Jerk that he is, at least Tad was able to snap you out of it, but we have no idea where he is."
An idea unwillingly occured to Zac, but he dared not say it aloud.
"So, uhh, when should I freeze you? Now, before it kicks in, or when it kicks in?" he asked.
Taylor
"What does it matter?" Taylor shook his head, "I'll only be frozen it time. It'll happen either way."
Isaac and Zac
Zac shrugged.
"Thought it might matter to you," he answered.
Isaac felt he should go for the phone and call Tanya, but he was unwilling to leave Taylor until Zac froze him.
Taylor
Taylor shook himself for a second, before stepping to the side so that he wasn't in the doorway.
He leant against the wall, wiping his eyes before wrapping his arms around himself and sliding to the ground.
"Do it now," he said softly, closing his eyes and leaning his head back.
"I don't want to feel it."
Isaac, Zac and Tad
The doorbell rang.
"Ella'll get it," Zac said, his eyes not leaving Taylor.
He gulped.
"Okay," he said.
A moment later, Taylor was frozen. Zac and Isaac looked at each other.
"Guess I had better call Tanya," Isaac said, standing up.
Zac was quiet for a moment.
"Ike?" he called softly.
"Yeah?" Isaac asked, pausing in his walk to the phone.
"Do... do you suppose we're doing the right thing?"
"What do you mean?"
"Do you think that... that snapping Taylor out of it is the right thing to do? I mean... we can hardly keep going on like that."
Isaac nodded.
"That's true."
"We need a permanent solution."
"Yes... Zac? Did you have an idea?"
Zac hesitated.
"I'm almost afraid to say it aloud, in case... in case..."
"In case you're right?"
Zac nodded.
"I don't want to be right."
"Well, I won't make you tell me," Isaac said. "But I should call -"
"Maybe Taylor needs to run the course of it," Zac blurted out.
"Pardon?" Isaac asked.
"Maybe... maybe what needs to happen is that instead of snapping Tay out of it, we should let his alterego take over. Maybe he needs to, to... vent him. Maybe it's like a sneeze - holding it back isn't going to solve anything."
"Interesting idea," Tad said, walking into the room.
"Tad!" Isaac exclaimed. "Where have you been?"
"Long story," Tad replied.
He glanced at Taylor's frozen form.
"Happened again, has it?" he asked.
Isaac nodded.
"He came down to let us know he was about to... you know," Zac said. "So, he hasn't slipped into it yet."
"I see. Well, I can't snap him out of it unless you unfreeze him first," Tad replied. "And I would suggest that you don't tell Taylor your little thought. But I will mention it to Tanya..."
Zac nodded.
"Why do you care?" Isaac asked, frowining a little.
"You're not the only one who doesn't want me to be here," Tad replied. "Zac?"
Zac defrosted Taylor.
Taylor
Taylor shivered as he 'woke up' in a sense.
When he looked up and saw Tad, he groaned.
"Here we go," he rolled his eyes and hid his face in his arms.
Isaac, Zac and Tad
"He found us again," Isaac said.
"It was hardly difficult," Tad responded.
He watched Taylor, wondering if it were too soon for him to disrupt him.
"I don't know," Zac joked tentatively, "it's not like the fans parked outside are a dead giveaway."
Taylor
"Great," Taylor murmured, his face still hidden.
He was desperately fighting the urge to stand up that was welling up.
Isaac, Zac and Tad
"Aren't you going to do anything?" Zac asked.
Tad looked at Zac.
"I need something to disrupt."
"Hasn't it kicked in enough?" Isaac frowned. "I mean... he's obviously close... can't you disrupt something just before it starts?"
Tad considered the matter.
"Sometimes," he said. "Depends. Usually it's better to wait, then you know you only have to do it once."
He looked at their anxious faces and sighed.
"Okay fine."
He looked at Taylor and disrupted him, honestly not sure if his effort would prevent his alterago, or if it would just block his power for a couple of seconds.
Taylor
Taylor twitched a little and grabbed hold of his head.
"F***ing hell," he murmured, "that wasn't it. Wait."
Isaac and Tad
"There, you see?" Tad said pointedly.
"Sorry," Isaac said.
"Next time, leave it to the experts."
Taylor
"There he goes again, thinking he f***ing knows me," Taylor murmured.
He finally stood up again.
He looked around for a moment, squinting at the light coming in through the windows.
"I need a drink," he said suddenly, heading for the kitchen.
Zac, Tad and Saku
Zac started to get up, then stopped and started at Tad.
"Aren't you going to follow him? Hello? There are children in this house!"
Tad shrugged.
"Who's fault is that?"
"Hi Uncle Tay," Saku voice greeted cheerfully.
"Saku!" and Zac bolted into the kitchen.
Taylor
Taylor suddenly yelled out and grabbed his head, leaning into one of the cupboards.
"Go away Saku, please," he begged, covering his face.
Saku, Zac, Tad and Isaac
"Why?" Saku asked.
"Do as he says, Saku," Zac said quietly, but firmly.
"But I want a - "
"You can get it later."
Saku pouted, and reluctantly left the kitchen just as Tad and Isaac entered it.
Taylor
Taylor cringed for a moment.
"Zac... go and... get the kids to block their ears. I need... to let loose for a second," he said between breaths.
"And it's going to hurt."
Isaac, Zac and Tad
Zac gave Taylor a fearful glance.
"I'll help," Isaac said.
Zac nodded at him, and they ran off to find the kids... and Ella, anbd Kylie.
Tad sat up on the bench and watched Taylor like a hawk.
Taylor
Taylor hit the bench on his side and fell down behind it. He had enough sense with him before he let loose to quickly cover his mouth.
Not that it helped.
He barely noticed when the nearby window shattered.
Zac, Isaac, Saku and Tad
Zac clamped his hands over his ears - not that it helped all that much, whilst Saku followed suit. Kylie shrieked. Ella literally took Dee Dee and flew out the window (there are certain advantages of being an air spirit, even if only half of one). Isaac moved away from Kylie (the experience was bad enough without her input).
Then, just as abruptly, it stopped. Tad had disrupted it and was now shaking his head as if it would help shrug off the remnants of Taylor's scream.
Taylor
Taylor cringed as the world settled back into reality from being just a mess of colours and shapes he didn't recognise.
Then he put his arms on his knees and buried his face in them, trying to hold the tears back.
Tad, Saku, Zac and Isaac
Tad said nothing.
"What was that?" Saku asked.
"Part of the reason why we wanted you to leave the kitchen."
"But... but why? Daddy... what's -"
"Don't you worry about it Saku."
Saku frowned as Zac got up and went back to the kitchen. He met up with Isaac on the way there.
"Everyone okay?" Zac asked.
"Far as I know. Although Kylie's inconsolable."
Zac snorted, and they re-entered the kitchen.
"You okay, Tay?" Isaac asked.
Taylor
Taylor just shook his head before looking up with red and teary eyes.
"I'm sorry," he said again, wiping his eyes.
Isaac and Zac
"Oh, hey, Tay, we don't blame you," Isaac said soothingly.
"Right. Obviously it's all... Rolyat's fault," Zac nodded.
"Who?"
"Rolyat. Taylor backwards."
"Okay... Zac you're weird."
"Well, yes. But somehow it's nice to be able to give Taylor's alterego a name and blame him. So ha! Rolyat's fault! Rolyat's fault!"
Strangely, Zac did actually find himself feeling a bit better about the whole thing by this.
Taylor
Taylor just shook his head and said nothing. After taking a deep breath, he stood and began to make his way to the bathroom.
"It's ok now," he whispered softly as he made his way past Isaac.
Isaac, Zac and Tad
"Okay," Isaac said quietly. "I'm glad you're back."
"And I suppose you think you should be staying here with us?" Zac asked Tad.
"My orders are to keep an eye on these two until further notice."
"And where have you been the last few days?"
"Did you happen to notice we had a tornado?"
"Did you happen to notice that rat you're wearing on your head."
Tad stared at Zac, confused.
"What rat?"
"Oh, sorry, my mistake."
Tad nodded his head slowly, still with the confused look on his face. This must be the weird Hanson. Probably all those children he apparently had were getting to him.
"Anyway, I believe I have a spare room. Taylor on one side - because we all know what a big fan you are of him, and a friend of mine - Kylie," and Zac had a feeling she would baulk at that description if she ever heard it, "in the room on the other side. Come, I shall show you. Ike! Why don't we get back to our game? Was it your turn or mine?"
"Mine."
"Okay. And don't you dare thing of cheating."
"Zac, I don't need to cheat to beat you at chess."
Taylor
Taylor shut himself into the bathroom and went to wash his face.
He soon fell down onto one knee and leant his head onto the basin, attempting to get his head around what was happening.
Why didn't he already know? Was his power really failing him that much?