Christian
Christian sighed as he threw a stone across the water of the lake. Watching it skim the water before sinking to the bottom, he lowered himself onto the ground.
He might as well leave the state tomorrow. Maybe go to New York, or maybe Washington, Michigan... the possibilities were virtually endless.
Astrid & Blakesley
Astrid yawned slightly as she took the collar off Blakesley.
"I'll get your damn puppy. Let me do my job."
She hooked the collar in her belt and jumped into the air. Blakesley pursed his lips slightly as he watched her fly off, unhappy with the situation.
Astrid landed neatly near Christian, eyes already angry.
"You touched what was mine. Ruined her training."
Christian
Christian raised his eyebrows, glancing up only for a moment before looking back out at the lake.
"Well good evening to you too, Queenie," he said.
"You said I could use her if I wanted to. Just took you up on that offer."
Astrid
Astrid snarled, stalking across to him and wings rustling.
"That was a one time offer."
Christian
"Well you never said that at the time now, did you?" Christian said lazily, leaning back on his arms as he looked up at her.
"So what's up apart from you being pissed for no reason?"
Astrid
"No reason?!"
Astrid threw her head back like an angry horse, black hair flying.
"You impudent child!"
She let her hand fall to the hilt of her sword.
"That would be reason enough, but I have other business with you this night."
Christian
"Sorry Queenie, but it's past my 21st birthday. Technically, I'm an adult."
He looked her up and down, before sitting up and leaning on his spread knees.
"What do you want?"
Astrid
"To me, you are a child," Astrid informed him coolly as she walked closer, getting in reach of him.
"And the answer to what I want...is you."
She lunged, snapping the collar around his neck.
"Blakesley wishes your acquantice once more."
Christian
"What the f**k?!" Christian exclaimed, scooting away from her and backing off a little.
He felt the collar with his hands, before trying to knock her out with his telekinesis. He flinched - not making a sound - as the electricity hit him.
"You know, this asshole is very impatient," he raised his eyebrows, rubbing his neck.
Astrid
"Impatient? Annoying."
Astrid unlooped a coil of rope from her belt.
"We will be collecting your orginal forthwith. Blakesley wanted to be sure of you first."
She went to grab him and tie his hands behind his back. As soon as she touched him, a wave of electricity jolted through her body and she flew backwards, skidding along the ground, wings dragging and ruffling.
Christian
"Woah," Christian's eyes widened, himself having been thrown back several feet.
He looked down at his hands.
"Ok, that so did not happen to me."
He looked up at her again, then bolted.
Astrid
Astrid got back onto her feet and leapt into the air, flying quickly after him. She Called and hands grabbed Christian's ankles from out of the earth. Quickly letting go and a thin screeching coming from under the ground before larger stone hands swiped for him.
"Grip ham, dwellers i jorden!" (Grab him, dwellers in the earth!)
One hand grabbed Christian's ankle firmly and Astrid laughed.
Christian
Christian cursed, almost tripping in his rush.
He quickly stole a dagger from his pocket and severed the wrist of the hand. Shaking it off, he continued running.
He was just a few blocks from Isaac and Taylor's apartment.
Astrid & Chelsea
Astrid frowned, wings beating powerfully. She saw a flash of red hair.
Chelsea got up from where she was hiding and smiled faintly at Christian, face so beaten that she was nearly unrecognisable.
"Do run. I'd hate for this to be a waste, Christian."
She threw a control to him and then ran away down the street.
"Demonic possessed, white under black, red over blue, Valkyrie fallen, evil ascendant, and it shall all coming falling down, down."
Astrid hissed in fury and wheeled to follow the girl who was singing prophecy.
"Nothing is nothing, born to a woman by metal and lightening, a child with no father, three strand to one, defeated shall be the Rising Sun, white hawk to fly free of clinging dark."
Christian
Christian caught the control, and immediately deactivated the collar before dusting it.
He watched after them for a split second before starting to run again. He made it to the apartment complex less than a minute later.
Going up the stairs three at a time, he slammed through the stairwell door and headed down the corridor toward the Hansons' room. He tried the door handle, and found it locked.
Concentrating, he used his atom manipulation on it, before barging through.
"TAYLOR?!"
Taylor's head snapped up from the piano in the next room.
Isaac
Isaac walked in to see Christian standing there.
"What the heck are you doing here?" Isaac asked. "And more importantly, why'd you break in instead of knocking at the door like normal people? It's called being polite."
Isaac strode over to the front door to fix the lock and close it again.
Christian and Taylor
"Isaac! Where's Taylor?!" Christian demanded, beginning to look around the apartment.
Taylor stood from the piano and emerged from the doorway.
"Christian?" he frowned - a cross between surprised and worried.
"Taylor!"
Christian went to grab his shoulders, but stopped himself - remembering what had happened earlier with Astrid.
"Taylor, you have to get out of here," he insisted, "now."
Isaac
"Taylor's not going anywhere without me," Isaac said firmly. "Now. What. The. Heck. Is. Going. On?"
He gave Christian a dark look as he stood infront of the door with his arms firmly folded across his chest.
Taylor & Christian
Taylor's eyes widened and looked at Ike.
"Isaac this is serious," Christian frowned, before turning back to Taylor.
"Blakesley's coming. He has Astrid with him. If they find you, you're gone. Astrid got a collar on me just a moment ago, so don't think they don't mean business. They're after us now. And you have to go. Get out the back or something. You have to trust me!"
"Blakesley?" Taylor backed off.
Isaac
"You didn't need to tell me it was serious," Isaac muttered. "C'mon Tay, we'll go out the window. I can use my kinesis on you if you don't want to use your atom manipulation to climb down the wall."
He started over to the window, paused and glanced back at Christian.
"What about you?"
He would have thanked Christian for the warning if it weren't for the fact that he wasn't entirely sure that he could trust him.
Taylor & Christian
Taylor looked between them, his mind in a whirl.
"You can't go out the window. She can't see you. If she spots you that's it, you're gone. She works directly for a God for crying out loud," Christian insisted.
He ignored the question about him.
Isaac
"Oh does she now?" Isaac asked sardonically. "Personally, my thought had been that - as you're in such a rush - she's practically right on top of us and she probably has all the exits blocked or watched by now."
Christian
"Think about what you said Isaac," Christian fumed, "if she was here and watching, I wouldn't have told Taylor to leave. I'd be standing to protect him. But she is on her way here now, so if he doesn't leave, he's going to be trapped. Want that?!"
Isaac
"Then how about you quit arguing with me about how we leave and let us leave?" Isaac asked. "Geez."
He paused.
"Although, on the flip side it has given me time to pack," he grinned, a couple of bags floating into the room.
Taylor & Christian
"F**king hell," Christian grunted, running his fingers through his hair.
He made his own way over to the window and looked out.
"Too late. She's coming."
He looked up at Taylor.
"You have to go out the back. And you have to go now."
Isaac
"Go on Tay," Isaac said, passing a bag to his brother. "I'll stay here and try to stall them."
Then he looked from Taylor to Christian.
"What about you?" he repeated his previous question.
Taylor & Christian
"Love you," Taylor whispered as he gave Ike a quick hug, then darted out the door.
Christian hesitated, watching him leave.
"You can't hold her off on your own," he insisted, looking back at Isaac.
He cracked his knuckles.
"So let's kick some ass."
Astrid, Chelsea, Blakesley & N621
Astrid threw Chelsea down at Blakesley's feet, red eyes glowing with anger. The girl groaned, curling in on her stomach as Astrid kicked her hard.
"Watch this Kitten."
She walked into the building and then up to where she knew Taylor and Ike had their apartment, heels snapping briskly on the floor. She unsheathed her sword and swung it down at the doorknob. The metal screamed, breaking under the edge then she kicked the door open. To put it mildly, she looked pissed, long scratchmarks running down one side of her face and still dripping blood.
"Not happy, puppy. You gave my Kitten all these delusions of grandeur, just when I'd got her to heel as well."
Blakesley glanced at Chelsea, who'd fallen into unconsciousness with Astrid's last kick, blood trickling down her forehead, then tapped at his keyboard.
Location- Query?
Report - Hanson House. Query - further instructions?
Instructions - Remain stationary for now, but remain ready for further instructions.
Answer - Acknowledged.
Taylor
Taylor had headed for the staircase, and begun to run down.
He made it to the outside door and ventured out into the alley. He closed the door behind him before trying to decide which way to go.
Tapping his fingers against the bag hung from his right shoulder, he began down the laneway.
Blakesley & N621
Blakesley got to his feet silently, fingers tapping gently at the keys as he ordered N621 to leave the house and come to where he was. N621 left the house and shifted into something more suitable for speed, muscles growing and changing as she hit her stride.
Soon, an immense white cat padded up the street, fur shrinking and disappearing as she shifted into her human form. She pulled the shirt over her head and buckled the skirt she'd stolen around her waist. She knew what her part was and went into it immediately.
"Hey, yo, you alright?"
N621 knelt beside Chelsea and gave the girl's shoulder a little shake.
"Jesus, girl someone f*cked you up good."
She looked up.
"Someone call an ambulance. Hey, man, ya gotta cell?"
"Not quite the type you have in mind..."
Blakesley grabbed her arm, twisting up behind her neck.
"Nina."
"Leggo of me, fool!"
Kick, miss on purpose, cry out as the taser hits your neck.
"AH F*CK!"
Taylor
Taylor ran into the street the very moment that this happened.
He stalled in his tracks as his eyes widened and the bag fell to the pavement.
N621 & Blakesley
N621 went limp and hit the pavement like a wet rag. Cursing inside her head as she grazed her cheek.
Blakesley turned, smiling, taser in one hand.
"My, my, who you do run into on the streets at night. I was just going to use her as bait for another time, but here you are."
Blakesley reached down and grabbed the back of her shirt, hauling her onto her feet. She was limp against his side, blood showing dark on her white skin.
"So, another street rat, Taylor? How predictable you're becoming."
Taylor
Taylor's head started shaking.
"Let her go," he demanded, clenching his fists.
N621 & Blakesley
N621 let her eyelids flutter.
"Ahh..."
Blakesley put the taser against the soft skin of her neck, still smiling.
"How long do you think it will take until she suffers irreparable brain damage?"
He pressed down on the trigger and N621's body jolted, fingers curling and uncurling.
Taylor
Taylor turned his head to the side a little keeping his eyes on the taser, knowing he was going to regret what he was about to do.
He dusted it.
He leant down and quickly grabbed the bag before backing off a few steps.
Blakesley & N621
Blakesley smiled slightly, still holding N621 against him.
"In the bag near the other beaten girl, there are a few collars. All you have to do, is put one on. And you'll save her life. Well, Nina's life. The red head belongs to Astrid, and she doesn't like people playing with her toys."
Blakesley pressed down carefully on a key nerve on N621's neck.
"You have twenty seconds until the blood stops flowing to her brain."
Taylor
Taylor gulped as one of his eyes twitched.
Taking a deep breath, he sent a rather large atomic shock creeping up Blakesley's arm - inevitably making him let go.
Standing his ground, he kept his eye on all three.
Blakesley
Blakesley stumbled slightly, letting her body drop.
"You have ten seconds," he informed Taylor coolly.
Taylor
"Or else what?" Taylor's eyes narrowed.
His fingers were squeezing and letting go of the strap of the bag, showing the nerves the rest of his body wasn't.
Blakesley & N621
"She dies," Blakesley said, shrugging slightly.
N621 almost whimpered, eyes sliding open and gasping for breath. One hand clawed weakly at the ground as her lips turned blue.
Taylor
"Then you'll have nothing to blackmail me with," Taylor shrugged.
It killed him to do it, but he backed off further.
Blakesley & N621
"There's always Mouse," Blakesley said.
N621's mouth gaped open, as she obviously tried to breathe and couldn't. Confused pain filled her eyes as she stared at Taylor.
"Five seconds."
Taylor
Taylor frowned and closed his eyes, fighting with himself.
Giving in was out of the question. Nina was going to die unless he negociated. But Blakesley never negociated.
Nina was dead. That was basically it.
He was sure he'd get over it.
He set himself in the midset that she'd already died, and opened his eyes again.
"Not if I get to her first."
He turned and bolted.
Blakesley & N621
Blakesley tsked and bent to unstop the bloodclot. N621 gasped in a breath, chest heaving before she rolled over onto her stomach and gagged on bile.
"Shift secondary form and return to primary objective."
N621 nodded, shifted and raced off, a streak of white fur against the ground. Blakesley tsked as he picked up a gun from the ground and sighted on Taylor's back before squeezing the trigger a few times in succession, spreading the trank darts out in a vaguely fanlike motion.
Taylor
Taylor heard the gun fire and almost tripped as he stopped his rush. Panting slightly, he turned to see that one of the darts was caught in the bag that Ike had given him. One had become lodged in a fence. The other...
He covered the scratch on his arm with his hand and closed his eyes, hoping it hadn't been enough.
Gulping, he leant back against the fence - hidden from sight by the surrounding bushes.
Blakesley & Chelsea
Blakesley wrapped his fingers through Chelsea's long red hair and hauled her to her feet.
"Wake up. I need your eyes."
Chelsea moaned, then started moving as he pushed her in the direction Taylor had fled. One arm dangled by her side, obviously broken, the other one she wrapped carefully around her ribs.
"Who is Kitten looking for?"
"Male, full Dathrian, power of Tongue, 21, second eldest, telepathic scarring," Blakesley listed.
Chelsea nodded, eyes sliding open faintly from beneath bruised lids to survey her surroundings.
"He stopped...here."
She turned, eyes studying the traces around her as she struggled to narrow them down.
"See, the dart in the wood. Sedative, strength 10-10."
She glanced up at him, before looking closer at the imprints on the air and magnetic field.
"He is near."
Taylor
Taylor gulped again, before lifting his arm above his head. He knew this would slow the blood flow, so however much tranquilizer had hit him would at least be slowed down.
He drew in a shaky breath, listening for what was going on around him.
Chelsea & Blakesley
"Sorry, I really don't wanna do this," Chelsea murmured as her talent homed in on Taylor.
"The bushes."
She pointed with her good arm. Blakesley squeezed the broken bones of the other and she bit back a squeal of pain, eyes tearing.
"Good girl."
He got the gun and fired it into the bushes a few times.
Taylor
Taylor heard the dart gun fire, and jumped as the last dart hit the fence a foot to his right.
He opened his mouth, but managed to keep himself quiet. Hopefully that meant that Blakesley didn't think he was there.
It was about all he could hope for at the moment.
Chelsea & Blakesley
"You missed, Master," Chelsea said in tones dripping with sugar sweetness.
"So, go fetch him," Blakesley said, hitting her openpalmed over the ear.
Chelsea winced at the ringing in her head and limped carefully to the bushes Taylor was hiding in.
Taylor
Taylor closed his eyes as he began to feel dizzy.
He knew it was the sedative doing its work, but also knew he'd be awake for another minute or two yet.
He opened his eyes again when he heard Chelsea's footsteps.
Chelsea
Chelsea looked down at Taylor, regret in her eyes.
"Please believe me when I say I'm sorry," she said softly through bleeding lips.
"But it gets worse for me when I don't do what they say."
Taylor
"And it'll be any easier when I'm back with him?" Taylor frowned.
"Forgive me for saving my own hide."
He slipped past her and around the corner. Finding himself in another laneway, he began trying to open the nearest doors.
Chelsea
Chelsea limped after him, cursing softly in English, then progressing to Yiddish. Calling down plagues on his descendants, and wishing his forefathers to the ninth circle of hell.
"Oy vey."
That seemed to finish it, so she nodded slightly as she walked up to Taylor and tapped him on the shoulder.
"I can do this for a while, y'know. But Aryan Nazi just gets pissed. Which is when the electricty comes out."
Taylor
"I DON'T CARE, ALRIGHT?!" Taylor yelled, backing away and acting like he was holding himself back from hitting her.
He took a deep breath to stop himself doing something rash.
Then he turned and ran.
Chelsea & Blakesley
"God, I wish I had a more useful power."
Chelsea stubbornly continued after Taylor, bitching to herself in Yiddish.
"[If I was Logan, I wouldn't be in this damn mess in the first place. They'd be dead. If I was the prof, I'd make 'em think they were like, babies. Serious mindf*ck. If I was Cyke Fearless Leader, I'd blast the bastards. Hell, iffin I was Gwen, I'd shock them till they died. Live, survive, for I do not yet have numbers tattoed on my arm. Grandmother, why does this happen?]"
She paused, looked around and then continued to walk after Taylor.
Blakesley stepped out of the shadows, punching Taylor in the gut and snapping a modified collar around his neck. One that would simply control his atom manipulation, rather then his primary power.
Taylor
Taylor coughed and almost choked as he collapsed to his knees, then onto his side.
Wrapping his arms around his stomach, he tried to catch his breath.
"Please don't do this," he gasped.
Blakesley & Chelsea
Blakesley looked down at him, tilting his head to the side slightly.
"You can not stop me. Kitten."
Chelsea hurried her step, almostt crying with pain.
"Go see what's keeping your mistress."
Chelsea nodded and turned to find Astrid.
Taylor
Taylor groaned, then coughed again.
"Why now?" he asked in a husky voice, "I can't... I was just starting to get help..."
Blakesley
"I need you to help test something an associate of mine is building," Blakesley said, smiling.
"He calls them the Sentinels."
Taylor
Taylor worked on catching his breath, before looking up at him.
"And what is that?"
Blakesley
"You will find out in time."
Blakesley moved to put handcuffs on Taylor.
Taylor
"No! Don't!" Taylor half groaned, grabbing onto his stomach tighter.
But although the sedative was not strong enough to knock him out, it was certainly strong enough to weaken him substancially.
Blakesley
Blakesley wrenched Taylor's hands up and cuffed him.
"Still so difficult..."
Taylor
"I don't want to break!" Taylor exclaimed with a frown, pulling his hands back once they'd been cuffed.
"I don't want... I'm just in the first stages of getting my life back on track and you just show up and ruin everything."
Blakesley
"I know."
Blakesley smiled, teeth gleaming in predatory amusement.
Taylor
"Yeah well f**k you," Taylor cursed, before growling.
He looked over to a pile of trash cans, wondering if he could get something to cause a distraction long enough for him to bolt.
Blakesley
Blakesley put a hand on Taylor's shoulder.
"Let's go, shall we?"
Taylor
Taylor's heart skipped a beat, before he looked over at the trash cans again.
He called out in rat, before two suddenly darted from the shadows and latched their teeth into Blakesley's ankles.
Taylor rolled away from him before getting to his feet and backing off.
Blakesley
"Hades!"
Blakesley kicked his feet and dashed one into the wall, breaking its skull. He stomped down on the other one's back, listening to the bones break with a grim smile.
"Tsk. And just when you really need a cat..."
He shook the dead body off his leg and grabbed Taylor's arm.
"I suggest not doing that again."
' Taylor
"And what the f**k is gonna stop me?!" Taylor exclaimed.
He gave a couple of hard tugs on his arm to try and get Blakesley off.
Isaac
Isaac gulped as he saw Astrid. So... they meet again. He last remembered seeing her at the New Years Party at the beginning of the year.
"You again," he said before he realised.
Blakesley
Blakesley grabbed Taylor's hair, then swung them both to send the other man's forehead into a wall. Hard.
"Because you have annoyed me sufficently tonight."
Christian
Christian glanced at him, before grabbing hold of her with his telekinesis and slamming her against the brick wall.
"Forgive me for breaking up the little reunion," he raised his eyebrows as he stepped around her.
Taylor
Taylor cried out as his head hit the wall and covered the gash with his hands.
"Jesus," he cursed, his legs collapsing from underneath him.
Astrid
Astrid hissed in anger, eyes flaring into red light.
"Ergerligt barn." (Annoying child.)
A flick of her hand and flame blossomed in the doorway, shining with an eerie red, unnatural light.
Blakesley
Blakesley hauled Taylor back up onto his feet.
"Let's go. I want to see how Astrid is doing."
Taylor
Taylor cursed under his breath as the blood started running down the side of his face.
"You're going to regret taking Christian in," he insisted, his eyes looking somewhat wild.
Blakesley
"I haven't yet."
Blakesley prodded Taylor in the direction he wanted the alien to walk.
Isaac
"See, now that's not very nice," Isaac said. "Plus, it's also illigal. You can go to jail for arson."
He wagged a finger at Astrid as he telekinetically started filling some pots and bowls and such with water to put the fire out - assuming this wasn't some sort of magical fire that would only go out when Astrid willed it.
Taylor
Taylor grunted and closed his eyes for a second before shaking his hands out - splattering the blood from them.
He blinked to try and rid himself of the dizzy feeling as he wiped his hands on his shirt.
But he wasn't moving.
Astrid
"You can also go to jail for murder, but that hasn't stopped me yet," Astrid growled.
She flicked her fingers again and set Christian's foot on fire.
Christian
"Now who's the f**king child?!" Christian frowned, taking some of Isaac's water to put it out.
"That was extremely childish, Queenie."
He threw her again so her head hit the wall this time - inevitably in the hope of knocking her out.
Blakesley
Blakesley pushed Taylor forward a few stumbling steps.
"Don't make me demonstrate the capabilites of your collar already..."
Taylor
"I already... know what it can do," Taylor grunted between breaths.
He looked up the street, realizing they were going back to the apartment.
"She's... she's with Ike?!" he suddenly exclaimed.
Isaac
Isaac started putting out the fire with one train of thought, then pushed it to the back of his mind. Taking note of what Christian was doing, he put the rest of his telekinesis to work helping him to knock Astrid out.
Blakesley
"Quite," Blakesley drawled.
"Worried? She only wants to eat *your* heart."
Astrid
Astrid hissed like an enraged cat, then flipped off the wall, wings spreading in dark arcs.
"You are neither needed or wanted," she told Ike.
"Keep thyself removed, or die."
She unhooked the collar from her belt, stepping, teleporting to appear behind Christian and clamping it around his throat.
Taylor
"Eat my..." Taylor looked confused for a moment, before his eyes widened.
"That's Astrid?! The woman with wings?"
Christian
"F**K!" Christian yelled, ducking forward.
The pendant flung out of his coat as he spun around to face her, glowing an eerie red.
He clenched his fists as his mind raced, looking through some of the information it held to see if he could find a way to use it. His eyes lightened substancially as he did this.
Isaac
"You are after my brother," Isaac replied. "I don't take kindly to people to threaten my family."
He pushed her head against the wall, trying to grab enough of a hold on her wings to stop them from interferring.
Blakesley
"Why, didn't you know?" Blakesley said.
"Astrid Frejdatter, former Champion of Light, Valkyrie of Asgard...and so on, ad naesuam."
Taylor
"How the f**k would I know?! I've only met her once!" Taylor exclaimed.
He cringed as he held his head again, hoping that Isaac wouldn't get too involved.
Astrid
Astrid's wings beat wildly, and she kicked out at Ike, before pointing her hand at him and firing a stake from a hidden crossbow in her coat sleeve.
"I said, stay out of this."
Isaac
Isaac just managed to grab the stake in time. It was then he decided he was doing too much telekinetically. Fortunately by this time most of the fire was out, so he decided to drop the water.
"And I say, leave my family alone," Isaac replied.
Blakesley
"Lucky you," Blakesley said dryly.
"I, on the other hand, have to work with her."
Taylor
"Oh yeah, I'm just full of luck these days," Taylor scorned.
"Guess I'll be seeing a lot more of her then, won't I?"
Blakesley
"Unlikely."
Blakesley peered up at the apartment.
"Astrid is muscle. She doesn't have much to do with the labs."
Astrid
Astrid flicked her fingers gracefully, biting into her lip and then spitting blood at Ike's feet.
"Søvn," she ordered. (Sleep.)
Isaac
Isaac stared at her for a moment and was about to make a comment about how spitting blood was rather disgusting and probaby unhealthy, but the words escaped him. He stumbled backwards, then fell to the ground into a deep sleep.
Taylor
"Thank God for that?"
He looked up at the apartment window as he shook his hands out again. He gulped a little as he watched the shadows moving around.
Christian
Christian pulled himself out of the pendant - so to speak - when he knew something had happened.
"Oh great," he murmured, spotting Isaac's limp body.
With a huff, he folded his arms and looked up at Astrid.
"So now what?"
Chelsea & Blakesley
"[Lucky you, indeed,]" Chelsea said dryly in Yiddish, walking up behind them.
"Master, she is near finished now, one thinks."
"Good..." Blakesley murmured, looking up.
Astrid
"You come with me, or I castrate you," Astrid said cheerfully.
She bared her fangs at him.
Taylor
Taylor whickered, before taking a step back and looking around where he was.
Any chance to get away from them was worth it, so he kept his ears peeled.
Chelsea & Blakesley
An answering whicker came out of the dark and Chelsea let the hurrok rest his head against her shoulder, predatory eyes fixed on Taylor.
So what, little brother?
"She has to bring that thing with her," Blakesley murmured in disgust.
Christian
Christian raised his eyebrows.
"Well then my sperm will be useless to old Kaleb, won't it?" he smirked.
"But... I get the feeling you couldn't anyway."
Astrid
Astrid whirled, kicking him in the small of the back, heel landing squarely.
"Let's go, puppy. I still have a Kitten to punish. Busy, busy."
Taylor
Taylor jumped back from the hurrok a little, not expecting an answer in that particular tongue.
I guess help is out of the question?
Chelsea
The hurrok stallion whickered in amusement.
Little sister has asked my aid. So, no.
Chelsea rubbed her fingers through his mane and the hurrok sighed, lipping at her hair.
Ah yes, just there, Kitten. Mmm.
Christian
"Well I'm sorry for affecting your schedule," Christian raised his eyebrows as he rubbed his back.
He stretched his back, and heard the crack as it slipped into place.
"Oh yeah. I'm not going anywhere I don't have to, and even I know you can't kick me all the way."
Astrid
"I can just spell you there."
Astrid fingered the amulet at her throat, eyeing him carefully.
Taylor
Taylor whined like a large dog before dropping into a sitting position. Keeping his eye on the window of the apartment, he silently prayed for his brother to get out of this somehow.
Christian
"Well maybe I can spell me out of there," Christian tilted his head.
A line of red - almost like a lazer - flashed across his eyes for a split second as the pendant worked around him.
Astrid & Ashtoreth
"Ashtoreth!" Astrid exclaimed.
Ashtoreth appeared, looking faintly irritated as she waved a hand at Christian to stop him moving.
"What is it?"
"A new magic."
Ashtoreth's eyes went to Christian slowly, then she walked over to him.
"A pretty trinket."
Christian
Christian watched them with interest as they puzzled over it.
One of the very first things he learnt of the pendant was that only he could remove it, and if a way was found around that - he'd die. It was linked exclusively to his own mind force.
Ashtoreth
Ashtoreth looked at him shrewdly.
"So, I cannot remove it. Well. I can however...blanket it."
She put her hand over the pendant and her eyes glowed like flames.
Christian
Christian suddenly felt a wave of dizziness wash over him, and felt himself swaying alarmingly.
Letting out a groan, he suddenly collapsed.
Ashtoreth, Astrid & Blakesley
Ashtoreth looked down at Christian, and raised an eyebrow.
"I may have to tinker with that more..."
Astrid bent and picked up Christian's limp body, putting him over one shoulder.
"Indeed, milady."
The two went down the stairs to where Blakesley was watching Taylor and the softly moaning Chelsea, taser in one hand as he tapped it against his leg. Astrid's eyes gleamed with barely restrained berserk rage as she looked at Taylor, the red embers of her pupils gleaming in the dark.
"Kindly restrain your homicidal impulses towards my experimental subjects," Blakesley snapped.
Astrid hissed at him, exposing brilliant white fangs.
"But when you no longer need him, his heart is mine to take."
"Disgusting..." Blakesley said in distaste, edging away from the winged woman.
"Children, children," Ashtoreth tsked, looking at Taylor.
"Well, how interesting you are, young star child..."
She walked over to Taylor, finger trailing down his face softly.
Taylor
Taylor gulped and shifted backward slightly as he looked up into her eyes.
"Who are you?" he asked quietly, keeping his eyes away from Astrid.
Ashtoreth
"Tsk, tsk, little star," Ashtoreth said, nail flicking along his cheek and nearly cutting him.
"Impertinent little one. You may call me She Who Must Be Appeased, Merciless Defender, She who Outshines the Day, the Burning Sun...or merely, Ashtoreth."
Taylor
"Ashtoreth?" Taylor barely breathed.
A look of confusion crossed his face, but his eyes never left hers.
"Why?" he asked simply.
Ashtoreth
Ashtoreth smiled at him, and ran her fingers through his hair softly.
"Because you and the girl are so pretty when you cry."
She frowned, eyes flaring into flames.
"Even if those miserable cats have hidden her and her whelps from me for now."
Her eyes gleamed with malice.
"They made her forget you. Wiped her memories clean of you. Because you hurt her, and they didn't bother to think of a better solution."
Taylor
"But... I didn't..." Taylor stuttered, his eyes darting as they lowered.
"That was you."
Ashtoreth & Astrid
"Not always, little star. SOmetimes it was purely you."
Ashtoreth half closed her eyes, almost feeding off his emotions.
"I was not the one who made you push her away into despair near death."
"Milady?" Astrid said softly.
"Should we get going?"
Aye, let us eat sky!
The hurrok pranced on the spot, arching his neck and shaking out his mane in a proud display.
Let us hunt.
Taylor
"I didn't want to hurt her," Taylor bit into his fist, his eyes to the ground.
"You would have made me hurt her if I hadn't... pushed her away."
He closed his eyes, trying to stop himself from rocking back and forth.
Ashtoreth
"What I induced, was in there in yourself already," Ashtoreth corrected.
"Besides, she makes a perfect little victim. Always comes back for more. Such tragic brown eyes..."
She smiled wistfully.
"And didn't you already let Blakesley kill your other little love? What was her name...Nina?"
Taylor
"I don't think I loved her," Taylor closed his eyes, forcing himself to keep the tears at bay.
"After doing that to Mouse... I've started to question what exactly love is again."
Ashtoreth, Astrid, Blakesley & Chelsea
"Poor little star."
Ashtoreth stood, teeth shining against her dark skin in a brilliant smile.
"Astrid, let us go."
"Aye, milady."
She disappeared into the darkness to put Christian in the van. Blakesley picked up his bag and then gave it to Chelsea.
"Go wait in the car."
Chelsea nodded and then left.
Taylor
Taylor winced slightly, before putting his right hand over the gash on his forehead again. Ducking his head down, he leant his elbow on his leg as he shivered from the cold.
The two mainly responsible for wrecking his life of late standing over him like some kind of jury.
"Where's Ike?" he stuttered finally.
Ashtoreth & Astrid
"Astrid made him sleep," Ashtoreth said, watching Astrid return sans Christian.
"He will wake up with a headache, but otherwise be fine."
Astrid came back, petting the hurrok affectionately. He whickered and bit at her hair before grooming her wings.
"The other is secured. Do you have need of Kitten, milady?"
"Not at the moment, my hawk."
Astrid smiled, hand roughing up the hurrok's mane.
Brother of the sky, will you bear this one on your back with me?
For you, little sister mine, I will. Even if he does smell like prey.
The hurrok snapped his teeth in Taylor's direction, fangs gleaming as he whickered an evil laugh.
Taylor
Taylor jumped back from the hurrok again, slightly losing his balance from the hand cuffs.
"Christian gets the van and I get... that?" he raised his eyebrows.
Ashtoreth, Blakesley & Astrid
"I need to concentrate on his pendant," Ashtoreth said coolly before leaving for the van.
Blakesley followed her more slowly.
Astrid grinned at Taylor as the hurrok tossed his head.
"Why, little star? Afraid? Riskal is a good hurrok, and he doesn't bite...much."
Taylor
Taylor's eyes darted between them, before he managed to lift himself from the ground.
"Please, Blakesley..." he began, shaking his head.
"Reconsider your situation here. You don't need me. I'm sure."
Blakesley & Astrid
"Why? Would you rather be dead?" Blakesley said, pausing and looking back.
"Yes, I do need you."
He tsked and walked on again. Astrid cooed to the hurrok, rubbing his ears.
Gorgeous creature. We'll hunt later, ya?
Aye. Hunt down some running whimpering thing and rip it to shreds.
Astrid chuckled and walked over to Taylor, one thumb through a beltloop.
"Willingly in front of me, or draped over his shoulders like a dead deer, star?"
Taylor
Taylor took a deep breath, desperately trying to keep himself together mentally.
He kept his eye on Blakesley until he disappeared, then looked up at the apartment window again.
"Willingly," he said finally, in the hurrok's tongue.
Astrid
"Then come ride the back of the beast," Astrid said, smiling.
She leant against the hurrok's side, rubbing her palm down his nose.
Taylor
Taylor kept his eyes away from her as he slid his fingers through the mane of the hurrok, balanced himself, and eventually made it on.
He slid backwards to let Astrid on, keeping his eyes toward the apartment. Any signt hat Isaac was ok would have been great right about now...
Astrid
Astrid mounted the hurrok and he shifted his shoulders, getting the weight more evenly settled across his back.
Let's fly.
He galloped forward, picking up speed before leaping into the sky. Ebony wings beat strongly as he flew upwards, still galloping along an invisible road.
Astrid reached around Taylor to twine one hand through the hurrok's mane, the other stroking along a black furred shoulder.
Taylor
Taylor closed his eyes again as he continued to shiver.
Maybe it was better that Mouse wouldn't remember him. But then... she was pregnant. The father - whoever that happened to be - had a right to their child, right?
He laid one palm flat against the hurrok, his other hand remained twined through his mane below Astrid's hand.
Astrid
Astrid shuddered and sighed as her eyes blinked blue, wings white and eyes blonde.
"I do not have long, little star child. She will be back to take my body over once more. The Morrigu. Your love will be sheltered and safe, though she does not remember. A bliss of forgetfulness will be hers until the ache has faded, cherished and loved for who she is. She will be safe."
The hurrok snorted uneasily, and Astrid switched tongues.
Don't worry, hurrok.
I'm not, just...disconcerted.
Taylor
Taylor's eyes opened the moment he realized something had changed.
He turned slightly, just enough to see the colour of her wings.
"But she won't be back, right?" he breathed.
Astrid
Astrid pressed a finger to his lips gently, eyes sorrowful.
"What may be cannot yet be seen, my brother of the mind. The cats think to skew things by this, but they may do more evil then they realise. Nevertheless, she needs a rest where she remembers not what she should be afraid of."
She looked down at the ground far beneath them.
"For she has much to fear."
Taylor
"Whya re you telling me this?" Taylor frowned slightly in confusion.
"You think I actually have a chance of getting out this time? I'm not going to make it."
Astrid
"I must believe you will...or I have no hope at all."
Astrid inclined her head slightly, before looking out into the sky in the direction of Norway.
"Sigurd, min kjærlighet, jeg mangler De slik. Jeg ser De igjen, ved Odin jeg sverger det. Å, mitt hjerte blør for behov av De, min kriger av lys. Jeg elsker De, mitt hjerte." (Sigurd, my love, I miss you so. I will see you again, by Odin I swear it. Oh, my heart is bleeding for want of you, my warrior of light. I love you, my heart.)
She gritted her teeth and let out a small cry of pain as her wings and hair blackened and her eyes flamed red.
"Whining little goody two shoes."
Taylor
Taylor shuddered, quickly closing his eyes again.
Something was seriously wrong with Astrid for a start.
He took another deep breath, wondering how long this ride was going to last.
Astrid
The hurrok tossed his head and Astrid patted him, teeth bared in angry frustration.
I am back.
Who was that?
I will explain it to you later, when curious ears are not here to hear.
Taylor
"Who the heck am I going to tell?" Taylor murmured, leaning forward slightly.
He ran his right thumb along the left cuff, wishing they were looser.
Astrid
"Oh, Blakesley perhaps. Or the little puppy clone of you," Astrid said.
She growled softly.
"Why will they just not let me kill you?"
Taylor
"Because they just want to see me suffer," Taylor almost whispered.
"They can't bear to see me live a normal life... or even have a normal afterlife."
Astrid
"No, milady would drag your soul into a pretty guilded cage for her delight once you died," Astrid said, moonlight and starlight glinting off her white teeth.
"I do not understand this fascination she has with you and your little bitch."
Taylor
Taylor hesitated, holding himself back from doing something he'd regret at the way she spoke of Mouse.
"Neither do I," he said finally.
Astrid
"I just want to kill you. They want to play with you both."
Astrid looked down, then out at the east.
"And when I catch that Seer, I'm going to blind him again...right after I flay Kitten in front of him to make him weep."
Taylor
Taylor shuddered again, but remained silent.
Astrid was someone he really didn't need to rub up the wrong way, and it wasn't as if he could do anything about what she had planned.
Astrid
"Dawn approaches," Astrid noted, and kicked the hurrok's sides gently.
He started to sprial towards the earth.
"We'll rest, and then continue on when night falls once more."
Taylor
Taylor held onto the hurrok tighter, afraid of losing his balance.
Which was very easy while he was hand cuffed.
Astrid
Astrid clicked her tongue in annoyance, then grabbed his shirt.
"I won't let you die...yet."
The hurrok folded his wings and they dropped in a sickening rush. She closed her eyes, feeling her own wings spread to cup the air and her hair blowing in the wind as they plummeted towards the earth.
Taylor
Taylor flinched as she grabbed him, just out of sheer surprise.
He opened his eyes for only a second before closing them again.
Astrid
The hurrok hit the ground with a clatter of hooves, whinnying in excitement as his head snapped down and his fangs closed on something. The rabbit screamed before white teeth snapped its spine.
Astrid stroked the hurrok's neck as she slid off his back and he shook the rabbit hard.
Nice hunting.
I thought so. Mmm. Rabbit.
Taylor
Taylor slid from the hurrok's back and hurriedly backed off.
He quickly called out in rabbit for any others to scatter.
Astrid
The hurrok watched him with an evilly malicous eye, before he tossed the rabbit into the air with a flick of his jaws and then gulped it straight down.
Tasty. Ain't nothing like the spice of fear to make the blood run hot.
"Show off," Astrid muttered, taking off her pendant and kissing it.
A door materialised and he pranced up to it as Astrid swung it open. The hurrok went through and into the stable room of her little pocket dimension.
"Inside, alien."
Taylor
Taylor kept his eyes away from the hurrok as he slipped through the door.
He went straight over to one of the side walls and leant back against it.
Astrid
"Don't like watching things die?" Astrid asked as she stepped in after him and closed the door.
It disappeared into the wall quietly, and she took off her boots, kicking them in the general direction of a cupboard.
Taylor
"It's not so much watching as hearing."
He kept his eyes on her, not moving a muscle.
Astrid
Astrid smiled at him cruelly.
"Then you won't like it in the labs now. Blakesley's testing is becoming rigourous for his little genejob soldiers. They die...a lot."
Taylor
"I'm not supposed to like it," Taylor almost snorted.
"It's supposed to break me."
He slid down the wall into a sitting position.
Astrid
"Eh, where's the fun in that?"
Astrid walked into the kitchen, humming slightly as she put water in a kettle.
"You're already mostly broken."
Taylor
"Depends on my state of mind as to whether I'm broken or not," Taylor said softly, bring his knees up to his chest and leaning his arms over them.
"One second I'm a whimpering mess on the floor. The next, i've gutted someone."
Astrid
Astrid paused at that.
"Maybe I better chain you up. JUst in case. Not that it would kill me...but gut wounds hurt like a bitch."
Taylor
"N-no!" Taylor stuttered, looking up at her and shaking his head.
"I won't... I won't do anything. I swear."
Astrid
Astrid looked at him.
"You said you don't know why you do it. I don't like being gutted. Shut up, you're being chained."
Taylor
"No!" Taylor exclaimed, becoming defensive.
"True, I don't know why, but I know when! It's not going to happen!"
Astrid
"I told you to shut up."
Astrid walked across to him and hauled him up by his shirt, banging him against the wall.
"I really, really want to stick my hand into your chest, rip out your heart and eat it before your glazing eyes so don't f*cking push me."
Taylor
"I, I didn't mean*" Taylor began softly, shaking his head.
"I'm already handcuffed, what, what can I do?"
Astrid
"What will happen, will happen because I decide it will be so," Astrid said softly.
"So. Just. Shut. Up. Or I might kill you after all."
She dropped him abruptly and turned away to make herself a cup of coffee.
Taylor
Taylor landed slightly on his side, and backed off into the corner breathing shakily.
Just the thought of chains made him feel sick.
He rubbed his face, touching carefully near the gash.
Astrid
Astrid poured out the hot water into her mug, hand shaking slightly with repressed murderous rage. She picked up the cup and sipped from it slowly, back to Taylor but senses focused on his movements.
Taylor
As soon as she entered the room, Taylor kept his eye on her feet - not daring to look her int he eyes again. Her body language was exceptionally obvious.
He brought his knees in to his chest again and hugged them to him.
Astrid
Astrid finished her coffee, then put the mug down with a clink.
"Right."
She walked to a cupboard and opened it, bending down to grab some rope before walking over to Taylor.
Taylor
"Oh God," Taylor cringed when he realized what she was doing.
He sunk down further into the corner.
Astrid
Astrid grabbed his hands and flipped back a wall covering to reveal an iron hoop. A few quick passes of the rope through the link of the handcuffs and through the hoop and Taylor was secured.
"There."
Taylor
Taylor began breathing heavily again, closing his eyes as he slid down the wall until his arms were holding him up.
He gulped before opening his eyes again.
Astrid
"Be good now," Astrid said before she turned and went into her bedroom.
She undressed and then got into bed, closing her eyes to sleep.
Taylor
Taylor watched her leave and listened as he could hear her settling down.
Taking a moment to get himself together, he let a couple of tears slide down his cheeks.
Why was this happening again?