Cornered

“What’s going on?” Shan asked, taking a step further into the room, looking around. For a moment, all he noticed were the eyes. Aden’s, terrified and pleading. Konki and Akaru’s, dull and cloudy. And most of all, Elora’s, blue and sharp and…

Elora waved at Aden. “Gag him,” she ordered casually. Konki immediately moved to obey.

“Hey, wait a minute,” Shan argued, moving to get in the way. “I asked you a question. What’s going on? And Aden… Why are you-“

Elora was in his way then, smiling up at him, somehow still smaller even though now she was so much older. He frowned, looking down at her. “Elora, you’re-“

“Shan,” she breathed, looking happy to see him. “I’m so glad you came! I was really worried you had left, and that you weren’t going to get to join us.”

“Join you? For what?”

She smiled.

There was… a heavy scent in the room now. Like flowers, or maybe perfume. Shan couldn’t quite place it, but it was distracting. Nauseatingly sweet.

“Shan…” Gently, she reached up, putting her hands on his shoulders, pulling him back to face her when he tried to look around her to check on Aden. “It’s really a simple explanation-“

“Then start explaining.”

She laughed, completely unbothered. “Have you ever heard of the pitcher plant? You probably haven’t. It’s this old plant that went extinct during the Desolation a few centuries ago-“

Her hands tightened around his shoulders. And suddenly a rush of tenseness was running through him, as though he were in danger. He stiffened at the sudden unwarranted motion, looking around. What was… where-

She frowned, looking like he hadn’t acted how she wanted him to. “Anyways. This pitcher plant. Most plants get their food through sunlight, right? And water, and soil. But not the pitcher plant. Oh sure, it used all those things, but secretly… The plant was a carnivore. Interesting, isn’t it? Most of the time, animals ate plants. But this time, it was a plant that ate animals! How funny!” She giggled.

The scent was getting stronger, or at least, it seemed that way. Shan blinked to clear his head, pushing her away gently, looking down at her. “Were you always this smart?” She had always acted so vapid until now. “Actually… you’re older again, aren’t you?”

Her eyes narrowed, and she grabbed his wrist. He gasped as a rush of anger passed through him for a moment. Where had that come from? The smells were making it hard to think- he had to get some distance, had to-

“I still haven’t told you how the pitcher plant caught its food, Shanny!” Elora gave a forced laugh, eyes watching him with growing suspicion. “It gets confused with the Venus Flytrap a lot because-“

“Flytrap…” There was… something he was supposed to be remembering. Why did that sound famil-

“Because it caught insects too, but the methods were completely different! What the pitcher did was a lot smarter. It didn’t just wait for insects to come for it. It gave them a reason to. You see, it filled itself with this delicious nectar, something that made the insects really happy. And the insects wanted it, really, really badly.”

Her hands were gripping his wrists so tightly now. It didn’t hurt, not to Shan, but when had she become so strong?

“So, time after time, the insects would come, and would go deep down inside of it to drink the nectar. They would drink and drink, and would like it so much that they found they just couldn’t stop, that they didn’t want to stop. So they’d go deeper and deeper, until they got stuck, and then…” She giggled again. “They’d drown.”

Her hand crept further up his arm… Then hesitated as his watch suddenly vibrated. Leon-

Leon! Leon had… said something. Shan forced his eyes open against the intoxicating smell, trying to remember, Leon’s voice filling his head. Gifted, and… girl, who was… flytrap? Flytrap…

“Don’t you think the flies were happy, though, Shanny?” Elora said, voice low as she leaned up to whisper in his ear, a thousand incorrect emotions toying with him. “They died, but they must have died so happy, to be surrounded by something they loved so much. If they were just going to die eventually anyways… Don’t you think… that was a good way to go?”

…

“Shanny?”

…

…He got it.

He opened his eyes, looking down at the violently, impossibly beautiful woman gripping his wrists, looking up at him, her face closer to his than it should have been. Suddenly… “It’s you, isn’t it?”

Confusion creased her face.

“It wasn’t Null that Leon was talking about. The Venus Flytrap… It wasn’t her at all. It was…” He stared at her in dawning understanding.

Her beautiful face twisted in a sudden vicious snarl.

~~~

The Cat Lady frowned, standing over the sick bed, staring down at the woman who had been sleeping for almost sixteen hours now. “I don’t like this, lovelies,” she said to the two cats sitting next to her, looking bored and impatient for food. “She ain’t that sick, is she? Shouldn’t be- she was healing just fine last I saw. Unless…” She bent down, frowning accusingly at a black cat rubbing luxuriously against the leg of the bed. “Aristotle, you haven’t been getting lazy, have you? Such a terrible nurse you make!”

The cat opened its mouth, mewling loudly.

She clucked disapprovingly, picking up a load of dirty laundry and turning to leave.

Quiet, pain-filled cries met her ears. She paused, glancing at the corner where it was coming from. “Dearies? Who’s back there?”

“…miu…miu…”

“Speaking in meows… You must really not be feeling well.” The old woman frowned, setting the linens down, walking slowly to the corner bed. “Poor dears. Which one of you is that? Thoreau? That sounds like Thoreau back there.”

They didn’t come out. Worried, the old woman reached for the bedpost, and strained to pull the small bed away from the wall. She reached for her glasses, adjusting them on her face as she leaned forward to peer into the dark corner.

She gasped in horror. “My poor little kittehs! What happened to you?! Poor loves…” She reached down, slowly scooping them up, one by one. Cats that had been completely healthy only days before, were now weak bags of bone and loose skin, with sunken eyes and weak muscles, looking as though they hadn’t eaten in over a month. They were incredibly weak, barely clinging to life. She held them all in her arms, felt their weak mewls and pawing as they curled, shivering, against her. What had done this to them? What could have possibly…?

…The… flower hoomin…

The woman frowned, staring down at the half-dead cats in her arms, then looking curiously at Null.

~~~

Leon shifted back and forth in the frigid morning air, still crouched in the tall grasses a safe distance away from the house. What was taking that blasted Gifted so long?! He fought down rising anger by focusing on the cold seeping through his clothes and skin, trying to convince himself that he wasn’t letting himself get double-crossed, not waiting to fall into a trap by waiting here. Every nerve and sense he had was alerting him of approaching danger…

“Mr. Leon?”

He sighed in aggravation. “What is it?”

Dextera watched him worriedly. “You seem upset. Is this not going well?”

Leon checked his watch for the fifth time that minute, watching the time since Shan had gone into the house grow longer and longer. “…No. I don’t think it is.” He exhaled, releasing white steam into the air. “If I could just figure out what was going on in there…”

Dextera brightened. “What if I go look? Some of those windows are really low- I can just peer in real quick and try to see what’s happening!”

He hesitated, looking at the house. Shan had seemed repelled by the sight of Dextera, for some reason. He wouldn’t be surprised if the rest of the Gifteds didn’t like her for whatever reason, either- she was kind of a traitor, someone just like them working for the opposite side. So if they hated her, it made sense…

…Well, forget them! They were the ones making him wait out here in the cold for half an hour- if they wanted privacy, they should have hurried it up. Besides, they were going to have to deal with her sooner or later.

However bad Dextera was, the monster inside those walls was a hundred times worse.

“Be careful you’re not seen, okay?”

“Okay! I’ll be right back.” She got up, and was soon running across the grass, braids flying in the wind.

He watched her go, musing for a minute, remembering how Noel had once looked just like that, when she was younger with longer hair in pigtails, running in their backyard. He sighed and turned away-

A half-thought-out instinct clicked in the back of his mind, a mechanical warning going off, and he sprang to the side without really knowing why. The ground where he had been standing moments before exploded suddenly in a shower of wet grass and dirt.

He rolled, before coming up in a kneeling crouch, eyes wild. An Agent was standing up in the grass, watching him through dark glasses, cocking his handgun for a second shot. Leon snarled and fumbled for his own weapon, determined to destroy him first, sure that no idiot was going to get in his way now that he was so close to his goal-

“Leon!”

A chill ran through him as he looked to his left, where Kate was slowly standing from the cover of the grass, raising a weapon of her own. Semiautomatic- no dodging that one. Her eyes narrowed, watching him in hatred. “No running this time. This time, you’re mine!”

He watched in growing anger as row after row of agents began to stand in the grass all around him, cutting him off, leaving his back to the house and the cliffside over the sea.

Stripped Wings

Leon and Shan shook hands, looking into each other’s eyes grimly, trying to convince themselves that they really had just agreed to an alliance with their greatest enemy.

So they didn’t notice as their watches came close together.

Or how Shan’s watch picked up on the proximity of Leon’s watch, and immediately began networking, trying to communicate with it.

Or how Leon’s watch, its networking signal turned off and carefully concealed, reactivated at the communication, and began broadcasting. Only for a second, until Leon realized what had happened and hurried to turn it off.

But by then, it was too late.

~~~

Kate smirked as she dropped the prisoner into the backseat. The Gifted girl yelled through her gag, straining furiously against the bonds binding her tight, wings straining to break free. Her blue eyes glared up at Kate, expressing every ounce of fury her mouth could not.

“Poor little bird,” Kate said, shutting the door of the red convertible and leaning over it, smooth nails clicking against the leather interior. The little Gifted would be more than comfortable in here- probably nicer than anything she was used to. “You’ve fallen rather far away from your flock, haven’t you? And right into the hunter’s trap. I wonder…” She leaned forward a little more, tilting her head to her side. “Whether you’d be willing to tell me where the flock hides its nest?”

Clara yelled something into the muffling, that Kate guessed was probably nasty. Definitely not an agreement.

“Ma’am,” an Agent said behind her, adjusting the dark glasses that hid his eyes. “What are your orders?”

“There’s an Agency-funded lab, only a few miles’ drive from here,” she said without turning. “We’ll take this one there. They should be able to get her to talk with minimal damage to her actual body. A few hours, and we’ll know where the Munia Gifteds are hiding. I’m guessing if Leon’s looking for them, then if we find them, we’ll find him too.”

Clara looked up at Kate, not understanding. Leon? Why did they need to find him? Had he gotten lost or something?

Kate started to reach for the button to raise the roof over the car, enclosing Clara in…Then paused, as a frantic beeping started up from the front of the car. The green tracker display built into the dashboard was responding loudly, all of a sudden, a small blue dot flashing on and off while directions scrolled by too fast to actually be read.

Kate’s eyes narrowed. “Come on!” she yelled. “It’s found Leon- 386 kilometers east!”

“I’ll get the other cars,” the Agent answered back, already running.

Kate darted around her own car, sliding into the driver’s seat, door slamming, roof zipping up overhead, engine starting and shifting to drive within seconds. Clara watched as the stars disappeared behind the black of the roof, cutting off her freedom once again. She felt her heart sink, the prospect of an Agent lab terrifying. Even worse was the thought that this might somehow come back to hurt her friends- not only the Munia Gifteds, but Camdyn’s colony, which was just starting to get on its feet.

Along with those, though, was the confusion. Kate, looking so grim and angry, Leon missing, the Munia Gifteds… Just what had she missed, while she was gone?

~~~

Aden flung himself at the door the moment he saw it, pounding on it frantically, his heart hammering in his ears. The key- he had forgotten the key! Left it, in its hiding spot. But… Tori! Tori was strong- she could do things! Surely, if she really tried, she could break the chains, break the doors, and stop all of th-

“Tori!” he cried out, hitting the door again and again, trying to get her attention. “Please! You have to snap out of it and come out here! We need you! It’s really bad, and-“

She was meditating. He knew how she could get, when she did that thing where she sat down and closed her eyes and went to sleep sitting up for a while. Something could explode right next to her, and she wouldn’t even notice. She might not even hear him right now! He had to yell, even louder, to get to her, even if it meant Konki heard him, even if it meant everyone heard him! He opened his mouth-

A hand clapped around it. He screamed against Konki’s hand, struggling hard as she pushed him roughly against the door, pinning his wings with her arms. His yelling had drawn her… But Tori! He had to get to Tori! He… Had to… Or…

As Konki dragged him away, wrist, ankles, and wings bound, still struggling and yelling, she didn’t blink, still entranced, intent on completing her orders.

From behind the door, Tori’s eyes fluttered for a moment. Had she heard something? No… She had just drifted off for a second. She had to concentrate more. She sat up straighter, and willed herself deeper into the meditation, sure that everything was completely fine.

~~~

Hours passed, the night along with it. The medicine keeping Dextera asleep wore off as Leon and Shan went through the long hike through dense, covered woods, back to the Cat Lady’s house. They spent most of the trip in silence, still uncomfortable with standing so close to each other without attacking, and barely even looked at each other until they were standing at the edge of the woods, looking across the long, grassy area that stretched forward towards the cliff on which the house was built. The ocean crashed quietly in the background, the sound muted beneath the sound of the occasional bird, waking up with the frosty sunrise.

This was it. They stirred in the morning quiet, glancing uncomfortably at each other now that they had no choice.

“Er… It’s probably better if you wait here,” Shan said. “The others still don’t know anything about this. I should probably break it to them first.”

“Sure thing,” Leon said, glancing at Dextera, shivering between them. He sighed and removed his jacket, draping it over her shoulders. “Just don’t wait too long, okay? I don’t like the idea of being alone out in the open like this.”

Shan smirked. “I’m going in alone too, you know. Once I tell them what’s going on, they’re probably going to tear me apart in there.”

“Sure, sure,” Leon scoffed. “When they figure out how to actually do it, I’d be interested in hearing about it. Cocky little shield…”

Another tense moment followed, as they realized they were actually joking with each other. This was… weird.

Shan turned away, walking across the grass. “Right, then.”

Better to get this over with as fast as possible. He let himself relax, dropping his guard, now that he was no longer hanging around a dangerous Agent, instead just going to meet his friends. Even if for only a few moments… He was looking forward to the break from the tension.

~~~

Aden kept his eyes closed as he was brutally dragged, stifling small whimpers. Konki… What had gotten into her? What had gotten into everyone?! This was wrong, so wrong…

Konki jerked him forward suddenly… Then stopped. She let go of him, stepping a couple of feet away, then dropped into a submissive crouch.

…Floral… There was a sickly-sweet smell in the air, as though he were in a small room crowded with too many flowers. Or maybe too much perfume. Something like that. It made his head hurt. Slowly, he opened his eyes, hoping desperately to find himself waking up.

“Hello, Aden.”

Elora sat primly on a tall, elegant, ornate chair, one leg crossed over the other. She smiled, long, vicious nails moving to flip a blonde curl over her shoulder as she watched him. He stared back at the woman, who only a couple of months ago had been completely helpless, feeling something instinctual in the pit of his stomach twinge with fear. Predator…

She sighed. “What am I going to do with you? Truth be told, I was going to save you for one of the last ones. You’re not a threat, not like some of these others are.” She waved her hand at Akaru- in tiger form- and Konki- kneeling in a position ready to spring and reach for her swords in an instant. “Honestly, you were kind of useless. But now you’ve heard everything, so it’s not like I can let you free. Mmm…”

A smile curved her full, red lips as she leaned forward. “Maybe it’s not so bad, eh? I still need to get to Tori, after all. Maybe, with your help, I can lure her out?”

“You won’t!”

Aden strained upwards, struggling to look at her. “I won’t let you! You… You can’t do this!”

Displeasure flashed over the beautiful features. “…You are right. I have to admit, it’s… much harder, to draw people into a full trance, when they’re… aware of what I’m doing. The mind builds up defenses, rejects even the things that are beautiful and make them happy. It’s harder…” She laughed. “But not impossible. You see, your mind can fight me all it wants. In the end, I don’t care at all about your mind. It’s your emotions I want! And silly little human beings are so ruled by their emotions… Rest assured, Aden. Sooner or later, you will give in and let me make you happy.”

“N…No,” Aden said, looking away, stiffening in his bonds. “I won’t… you can’t…”

She sighed, extending a hand. “Bring him forward.”

Aden shivered as he felt long fangs hooking into the back of his shirt, lifting him, a warning growl coming from the tiger. Konki’s hand was looping around one of his restraints the next moment. He wanted to struggle, but he was paralyzed, unable to move as they brought him forward, dragging him towards the chair, Konki reaching under his chin to lift his head to meet Elora’s hand-

“Hey guys.”

They all stopped, startled, turning to look in the direction of the door that had opened without any of them noticing.

“I heard voices in here, so…” Shan frowned, looking at them, completely at a loss. “…What…What’s going on?”

Elora stared at him, blue eyes hard as ice… Then slowly gave him a sweet, sickly smile. “Why, hello, Shan! It’s so good to see you. Say hello, everyone!”

A chorus of half-hearted hellos rose in response.

((Hope you liked it! Next post comes out the day after I get a comment. :) ))

White Flag

((Next post comes as soon as I get at least one comment telling me someone read this. :)

Here's hoping everyone had a good Halloween!))

“You should realize I don’t trust you,” Shan said, watching Leon carefully. If he saw any kind of trap even appear to try to capture him…

“That’s alright,” Leon said ruefully, his mental software already scanning for building Gifted energy in any direction- a sign of an attack about to happen. “I don’t really trust you either.”

“So we agree that we don’t agree on a lot,” Shan replied. “We might as well start with whatever else we do agree on. Why do you think we have a traitor in our group?”

As Leon started to collect his thoughts to answer the question, he mused that Shan probably was convinced of this himself, or at least suspicious. Why else would he be out here?

“Back when I was… a little younger than you are now,” he said, looking at the seventeen-year-old. “Fifteen, I think. I met this girl….”

~~~

The Cat Lady hummed to herself happily as she straightened the blankets on the different beds in the sick room, gently shooing felines out of the way. They responded by either rubbing against her ankles affectionately, or moving with annoyed looks and sounds. Either way, it was wonderful, simply wonderful how quickly the others had healed. Even if they weren’t completely healed just yet, to have all but one up and moving around…

She paused for a moment to cuddle some of the kittehs out of gratitude, then turned, looking curiously at the one patient who had not yet healed. The thin, pale woman must have been very tired, to be sleeping so soundly, that she hadn’t been woken up yet by any of the chores the Cat Lady had been doing in the room. She was breathing deeply, lost in the sea of pillows and blankets, a vaguely worried expression on her exhausted sleep. How strange…

~~~

“She was beautiful,” Leon said, eyes far away for a moment. “And sweet. And for some reason, she was interested in me. I didn’t question it that much, even at first, because really, how often was a really pretty girl going to pursue me? That was my teenage logic. And I felt so happy, whenever I was around her, that I really thought I liked her back.”

He exhaled, shaking his head. “I was wrong. I did like her, loved her in fact- but only because she made me. She was an emotion-manipulating Gifted, it turned out. Even had a nickname among all the agencies trying to capture her- the Venus Flytrap.” He laughed dryly. “Because she could draw her prey in by making them love her, and then, when they were in her clutches…” He clapped his hands together, hard, simulating the closing of a trap.

“…She’d suck them dry.”

Shan watched him, frowning. “Is that what happened to you?”

As Leon’s hands fell back to his sides, they clenched slowly into fists, while the former agent struggled to keep the anger from overwhelming him just from remembering it. “She took… everything from me. Right now, my only goal is to see her destroyed- not just captured, this time, but completely obliterated. After that…” It didn’t really matter, anymore.

“I see,” Shan said. “And you think that she’s among our group now, and a threat to us.” He shook his head. “I appreciate the concern, but you’re wrong. We already know Null’s power- it isn’t that.”

“Null?” He frowned. “Who’s…?”

“Tall, thin woman, kind of pale. Brown hair, brown eyes. You fought her, once.” That time at the waterfall, that Shan had completely lost it…

“…Oh…” Something unrecognizable flickered in Leon’s eyes for a moment, before he lowered his head and obscured it. “No. No, that’s not who I’m talking about.”

Shan stared at him in confusion.

~~~

Aden shivered, watching, from his hiding spot as Konki moved past, slowly, eyes searching with trained skill to find him. This was… really bad. She was going to find him, to capture him, and with that dead look in her eyes… No, it couldn’t happen! It just couldn’t-

He was close to hyperventilating when Konki finally gave up and moved past. He exhaled slowly, fighting to steady his breath while he waited for her to get a safe distance away, forcing himself to count to fifteen.

Then, he ran. He ran, as fast as he could, trying to be quiet, but unable to stop himself from stumbling, or making little, terrified squeaks every time a shadow moved. Elora. Elora was… bad, and…

He ran for the front door, knowing, just knowing that he had to get outside. Inside of here was too dangerous, too full of places that Konki would be hiding! Where should he go? The path leading down the hill was too exposed- anyone could see him from the house if he took that. But the cliff…

…If only…his wings could actually fly…

Tori. She would know what to do, could come up with a plan to deal with this. She was their leader, after all. Or…had been, before... And he couldn’t leave her! He had to go back, get the key from where he’d left it, and find her-

He wheeled around a corner to find Konki waiting for him, crouched, ready to spring. He gave a dismayed squeak as he turned back and ran for his life, the huntress running after him.

~~~

“You said she was around your age when you met her,” Shan said. “Right?”

“Right,” Leon said, frowning.

“Which would mean that she’d be about your age now.”

“…I guess.”

“There’s the problem,” Shan said, folding his arms. “Null is the only one in our group that’s that old. The rest of us are still kids. If it’s anyone, it has to be her.” He frowned. “Although I don’t know how that works, since she’s already a nullifier. I didn’t think people ever had dual gifts, but… maybe-“

“It’s not her. No- …Null isn’t the Venus Flytrap.”

Shan glanced at him suspiciously. “You don’t know that. You don’t have any evidence to support that.”

“I do.” Leon’s fists tightened even more at his sides. “Just trust me… It isn’t her. It has to be someone else in your group. Maybe she’s in disguise or something.”

Shan let his mind flicker over the other members of the group, trying to think. Maybe…

“…If that’s the case, it could be any one of us. It could be me.”

“It’s not you,” Leon said, voice irritated. “She escaped when you idiots destroyed the Munia Agent base. Heh, thought you were only liberating good Gifteds, didn’t you? As if there is such a thing.”

“If that’s the case, then she’s someone recent,” Shan said, frowning as he narrowed the list down. “Someone who only joined our group recently. Someone like…”

…

Oh, this was bogus.

“…Konki?”

~~~

Tori exhaled, clearing her mind. No thoughts, no thoughts at all. Just exist. That was what her sensei had taught her, so many years ago. When you meditate, get rid of all the extra, all the unnecessary, and just be, yourself, without anything else. A controlled state. If she could get a hold of the monster within at all, separate it from her inner self in any way, this was it.

The candles flickered around her as she wrestled to relax, trying to do it without triggering the berserker state. She didn’t know if that would trigger it or not, but right now, she didn’t really want to take any chances. The shadows played on the wall around her, held by the candlelight, and seemed to flicker behind her eyelids as well, within her mind.

After a few moment, she thought she might have it, a good control over her self. Slowly, tentatively, she reached out, trying to find the berserker, the wild side that had taken over when she’d gotten angry. Anger… or fear…

Whatever it was, she was going to find it now. Behind her eyelids, black slowly began to spread.

~~~

“That may be it,” Leon consented, while realizing that he had no idea who Konki even was. “Whatever the case, I should be able to find her. I just need to take a look at your group, and then I should-“

“No way,” Shan said. “It’s risky enough, meeting you here like this. There’s no way you’re getting close to the others.” Not with so many of them hurt.

Leon snorted with impatience. “You think you’re going to find her on your own? You haven’t found anything so far! And trust me, if she stays with you long enough, sooner or later she’s going to start trying to feed off of one of you.”

We found something, Shan thought bitterly. We know something’s up with Null. We’re not completely blind. And if Null really wasn’t the same as this Venus Flytrap person… Enemies all around.

“Why should we trust you?” Shan said accusingly. “You’ve done nothing but try to hurt us or capture us so far.” He fought to keep his eyes from flickering to the sonic gun in Leon’s hand. “How do we know that we won’t end up in cages at the end of this, huh?”

“Believe me, once the Venus Flytrap is dead, all bets and alliances are off,” Leon said darkly. “But I gave you my word- this’ll be a truce until that happens!”

“Your word isn’t good enough.”

“What do you want me to do, sign a contract? Stop being an idiot! Nng…” Leon suddenly stumbled back a half-step, holding his head.

…Drat it… this anger…

Shan watched him, then spoke slowly. “…You promise you won’t try to hurt any of them?”

Leon struggled for a moment to wrestle control, enough to speak. “I… promise…” he said through gritted teeth. “I’m on… your side. It doesn’t make sense to hurt you right now.”

Shan was quiet for a minute. He couldn’t really explain it. But there was something tortured about Leon right now, something… He was suffering. He was really suffering because of this, whatever it was. And for the moment, at least, for some reason, Shan was certain that he was telling the truth.

He slowly nodded. “Okay. Then it’s a deal. Temporary truce, just as long as it takes to get rid of the Venus Flytrap.”

Leon slowly straightened, shaking his head to clear it. “Right.” He slowly held forth a hand, gaze piercing Shan.

It was a risk, to bring Leon that close to the others.

…But then, it was a risk just letting this flytrap thing go unwatched for much longer. Or, for that matter, Null.

Shan slowly reached forward and took Leon’s hand, sealing the truce.

Midnight Rendezvous

Clara stretched her wings out, fully reveling in the feeling of the night winds rushing past her body, filling the strong, powerful wings as she used them to lift herself upwards, then arc down. This was heaven! She loved absolutely everything about flying, everything! To be able to do this freely, with no one to stop her, no Agents…

Munia Gifteds. That was right- she needed to get back to them now! Hisoka had been dropped off with Camdyn and Ty, so all of that was taken care of for now. And she had to admit that for a brief moment, she had really considered staying with them. Where they were was safe, protected, some place she highly doubted Agents would ever get to.

…But… She wouldn’t be able to fly there- too cramped, too risky. So, until she, and every other Gifted, were free to stretch their wings…

Zoosh… A heavy gust of wind suddenly slammed in her, sending her tumbling through the sky, in heavy barrel roles. She yelled, forcefully spreading her wings, fighting to come out of it and straighten up.

She was so caught up in this, she didn’t see Kate, not far below. Didn’t see the trap, being leveled at her- a net gun, prepared to snag her and drag her forcefully from the sky. And by the time she had regained her grace and straightened back at, had time to look, it was already too late to stop Kate from pulling the trigger.

~~~

Akaru trotted down the hall, paws clicking on the floor, tongue hanging out and tail wagging good-naturedly behind him. He felt good today, for some reason. Better than usual. He wasn’t sure if it was just that he’d been able to get a full night of rest, or that dinner had been excellent, or merely the idea of being safe in a house with no predators anywhere in the immediate vicinity. But whatever the case, he was feeling good!

“Do yu finks it’s hangin’ strate? It luks not even tam eh.”

“Iz fine! Why you worry? Its straiter den de udders, akshully.”

A gasp. “You fink so? Den we need to fiks teh udders!”

Akaru paused, ears perking. Voices? The dog turned towards the door, frowning. The voices didn’t belong to anyone he knew, not even the old lady. Did someone else live here?

A sigh from inside. “Dun worry abouts it, Hemmie! No ones else ish as partikyulars as yu iz! Iz fine!”

“Iz not fine! Iz-“

The voices paused as Akaru nosed the door open. Akaru poked his head in, curious. An empty room, filled with shelves- a small library. No people, though. He looked from side to side, trying to find the source.

“Wat iz it?”

“Iz a goggie! Run!”

He caught a glimpse of a small shadow moving overhead. Getting a hunch, he lifted his head, about to sniff for scents-

Something grabbed him. The dog yelped as he was lifted by the scruff of his neck, pawing wildly, turning around to look. There was… no one there, holding him. But he had already begun to sniff for scents- the invisibility didn’t fool him. “Konki! What are you-“

“Well done.”

The voice. Different, but his ears picked it up immediately- there was no mistaking it. It was-

Elora smirked as she stepped around the corner. The dog was confused, worried. Easy emotions. She reached for it, expanding them, making them fill the animal’s mind.

It didn’t take long. The kicking slowed, then stopped, until finally the little beast was laying still, dull-eyed, in Konki’s grip as she flickered back into view. The assassin turned slowly, stiffly to face Elora, still lost in her own out-of-control emotions, as she held Akaru out. Elora smiled, rewarding her with mindless happiness as she reached for Akaru. “I liked you better as a bunny anyways.”

A gasp, from behind them. Elora jerked around, and caught a quick glimpse of a ragged wing disappearing around the corner. Aden…

She gritted her teeth. He was not messing this up for her! “Konki!” she yelled.

The girl blinked as she was pulled out of bliss, confused. She made a vaguely confused sound, trying to reach for thoughts, to explain what was going on.

Elora cut that off before she could become self-aware and snap herself out of it again, filling the girl’s body with rage. “Aden. He’s a threat- go get him!”

Konki was dashing forward in obedience immediately, flickering back into invisibility, dropping Akaru at her side. Elora smirked, listening to the fast footsteps dash further away, the sounds of Aden’s panicked breathing echoing through the empty halls. This was a chase she was sure wouldn’t last long.

In the meantime…

“Come,” she said, turning away. “Unfortunately, I can’t get to Tori for now- not until I figure out a way to get past that big ugly door. But there’s a whole house full of other potential meals. Let’s go find your friends, eh, mongrel?”

It was lame, but Tori’s food stores couldn’t last forever. And when she finally came out, there would be an entire army of people waiting for her. Oh yes, this was going to be quite a delicious meal indeed!

Akaru lifted his head. He winced as he got to his feet, wounded leg limping, then shook it off and followed dull-eyed after her.

~~~

Winds stirred the grass, blocking out sound. The sound was vaguely soothing to Leon’s ears, he guessed, especially combined with the swishing of the trees overhead. He supposed if he had possessed regular human flesh, the wind would have been cold, chilling. As it was, though, he didn’t feel much of anything, most of the time.

Footsteps crunched on a twig nearby.

Leon paused in running his internal systems diagnostics, the scans being run to make sure his body was functioning fully pausing. He glanced over his shoulder with a frown. “Shan?”

“Leon.” The shield gifted crossed his arms. “You wanted to talk.”

“…Yeah.” Leon turned to face him, slipping his hands into his pockets. “I think we need to talk about th-“

Dextera groaned as he accidentally brushed against her sleeping form, murmuring in her sleep.

Shan started, stepping backwards. “We agreed to meet alone.”

“Calm down, calm down! It’s just one of you freaks- her name is Dextera.”

“That’s Dextera?” Somehow, this seemed to make Shan even more distrustful.

Leon frowned. “Look. She agreed to let me drug her- she won’t wake up. She’s just a kid- a sleeping one. She’ll lay quietly, and we can talk.” He shrugged. “I need her to help me with some things right now, that’s all.”

Shan looked mistrustful, even now. “You really couldn’t have left her behind?”

“No.” Leon looked away, hands digging deeper into the pockets of his suit jacket. “…I didn’t want to leave her alone out here.”

Shan watched the sleeping girl for a moment, considering. The right-hand tool of the Captain, the person who had messed Tori up so much. An evil Gifted in so many ways. …Or maybe she was just being used, a puppet master with strings of her own. There was no way to tell, but no one could argue that she was dangerous.

…Still. Null might be dangerous, too…

He took a breath. “Fine, then. As long as she stays asleep.”

Leon smirked. “Alright. Let’s talk.”

((Here’s the update for now. Next update will be… Thursday or Friday, probably.))

Bindings

Elora smirked, stepping away from the older woman. She had tried to struggle- of course she had. She had opened her mouth to yell, had raised her arms to fight, and even with the nullification blocking Elora access to her emotions, it was so, so clear, the fear and revulsion that Null felt for her…

It hadn’t mattered, though. Null hadn’t been strong to begin with, even before the wound had weakened her. And right now, Elora was so much stronger than a normal human being. The pillow had smothered her, hadn’t been drawn away until Null had finally stopped struggling, passed out.

As Elora fitted the device around Null’s upper arm, for a brief moment she thought she saw something flicker in the blank, dark brown eyes- some sort of horror, of recognition. And it was true. The arm clamp was almost identical in design to the collar Null had been forced to wear for years, right down to the small, microscopic needles that punctured her skin as it was snapped into place, feeding in the drugs that would prevent Null from waking, however long she lay there. All that was different were the proportions, really, meant to fit the arm and not the neck, to pierce smaller blood vessels instead of main arteries.

She relished the look of suppressed anger, desperate fear on the woman’s face, as she was forcibly dragged into twilight. A pity that she couldn’t taste the emotions- they had to be positively delightful! But it was alright. There were so many others, in this household, just waiting to be tasted, to give her their emotions, their strength, their very life’s energy. Now that she had reached her final form, it was time for the final stage in the feeding process to begin.

Smirking, the tall, slender, beautiful woman turned away from Null, flicking blond curls over her shoulder as she walked away. Null could only watch, helplessly, as her eyes grew too heavy to hold open, pulling her into the undertow of suffocating sleep. It had happened again. She had sworn that she wouldn’t let this… happen again… wouldn’t let… anyone else…

Supremely frustrated and angry at herself, Null faded, sinking back against the pillow.

~~~

“Tori? You’ve been in there for over a day now. Please come out.”

Tori didn’t open her eyes, relaxed into the lotus position. “You know I can’t do that, Aden. I still can’t control it. If I can just…”

Aden slumped against the door from the other side, worried. “The others… They’re eating dinner. You want dinner. Right?”

Tori exhaled, inhaled, trying to focus. “I have food supplies in here. They’re not the best, but I’ll make it. You should go eat with the others.”

Aden frowned miserably, not moving right away. He realized he was only getting in the way, and worried that he was annoying her. She wouldn’t be able to focus, with him talking to her- he knew that. But just knowing that she was alone in there, in the dark aside from a few candles, with chains… heavy, metal chains…

…If, after everything, she still had to be tied up in there… Just what good had rescuing her from the Agents really done, anyways?

Crippled wings drooped in helplessness. It had been easy, before. Even if he was uncertain… useless… only a burden to the others… It seemed easy. Get Tori away from the Agents. Cure her of the brainwashing. That had been their objective. Now…

He couldn’t help her. He couldn’t help his ally at all…

So… helpless…

~~~

Konki frowned, holding one blade up to the light. It gleamed, flawlessly polished, and even she had to admit that it was in good condition. Its partner was the same way.

There wasn’t really any way to put it off now. She had finished working out. The chores were all done. Weapons polished. Showered, and clothes changed. As she glanced at the moon outside of her window, she realized that there really was nothing else for her to do. All that was left was to go to bed.

But… to go to bed, in this house…

She shivered. It shouldn’t have creeped her out, really, just because it was big and old, and held all kinds of secret things, and made those creaking noises every time the wind blew. Maybe it was just Null- supposedly an Agent now- being a few floors above her that worried her. Or the strange, evasive way Shan had been acting lately. Or Tori, chaining herself in the basement. Everyone was acting weird now.

Akaru! Akaru wasn’t acting strange. She would go check in on him, and make sure his wound was alright! That would occupy her for another half hour, at least! She turned towards the door, determined-

“Konki?”

She startled, then sighed. “Elora? You really shouldn’t sneak up on people like that.” When had the girl entered the room? She turned around, searching for her. Where…?

“I’m sorry. I was just lonely. I was wondering if you wanted to play.”

Konki frowned. “You’re my age. A little old to be playing, don’t you think?” Eyes glanced around. “Where are you?”

A giggle, from a slightly different location. “It’s not hide and seek if I tell you!”

Konki shook her head, sheathing her swords in one fluid motion. “I never said I was playing. And like I said, we’re too old for games! Come out, okay?”

Silence. Konki was about to call out again, when she caught a glimpse of a shadow moving, flaring out towards her out of the corner of her eye. She whirled around to meet it, opening her mouth-

“Nngh!”

The blond woman smiled cruelly as Konki stiffened, then slowly went slack in her arms. “Tag,” she said, her voice now deeper, more mature. “You’re it.”

As Konki’s eyes dulled, she was vaguely aware of the woman laughing, before all of her thoughts and senses dissolved into white noise.

((Dun-dun-dun! We're definitely gearing up for Halloween.

Post was going to be longer, but I've got to leave in about... *checks watch* Thirty minutes! Gotta pack, gotta pack.

If I have time, another update will follow from my hotel room, once we get done travelling. If not, definitely towards the end of the weekend. In the meantime, post comments and let me know what you think.))

Tension Among Allies

Leon waited quietly while Dextera ran her hands over his back, frowning as she checked for bullets to dig out.

“You’re lucky,” she said quietly. “At least, I think you are. Kate didn’t hit any organic tissues- aside from that one in your arm muscle, the rest is all machinery.” She sighed. “The thing is, we left all of your spare parts and repair tools back in the car. It’s going to be a while before we can replace some of these things, especially without access to Agency resources.”

Leon gritted his teeth as she moved the tweezers under his left shoulder blade, trying to dislodge one of the last bullets. “Geez, that girl can hit a target. I was moving as fast as I could, and she still got me- what, six, seven times?”

“Nine, I think.” The last of the bullets clinked onto the small pile beside the little girl’s knee.

Leon whistled, shaking his head. “She’s talented. Too talented for her own good.”

Dextera frowned, sitting back. “I don’t know why she was acting like that. She was fine until you got there, and then… suddenly she was so angry.”

“Yeah…” Leon rubbed the back of his neck, the motion awkward with one of his arm muscles damaged. “I don’t know what I did to tick her off. She was like this even before I went renegade- for some reason, she just… snapped.” Then again… He had always guessed that she would, some day. That she had put up with him for this long was incredible in itself. He stared at the trees surrounding them dully. It figured...

He felt his arm being taken from him, Dextera turning it over to look at it. She didn’t say everything, like the way Kate had felt to her- tampered with, off-kilter, something wrong. Instead, she examined the wound, trying to think of the best way to treat it without any supplies, and also…

“Mister Leon?”

“Yeah?”

“…Why did you save me? You even had to fight Kate to do it.”

He scoffed. “Isn’t it obvious? You’re the one fixing me up right now, and the one keeping a lock on Shan’s watch. You’re a valuable tool- it’s worthwhile to keep you around.”

She nodded, staring at the bullets as she thought. “You don’t like Gifteds, right?”

“Of course not!”

“But you’re currently trying to find them, and get their help.”

“…”

“And your sister-“

“Look,” Leon said hotly. “There is only one reason I’m doing this right now. I can’t go back to the Agency- not knowing they’ve been lying to me all these years. But that doesn’t mean I don’t feel the same way about your kind!” He glared at her. “We’re here to make sure that one particular Gifted is destroyed forever. That’s the only thing that matters to me right now!”

She flinched away from his look. “…And what about after that? Once the Venus Flytrap is destroyed, what will you do then?”

His face darkened. He jerked his arm away from her, rolling onto his side, back away from her. “Nothing after that matters. I might get destroyed, trying to take her down. Either by her, or the Gifteds, or even the other Agents. If that happens… so be it, as long as she’s gone.” Hands clenched painfully tight. “This is the only thing that can keep me moving, though. The only thing that makes sense. Anything that comes after that…”

She watched him, then smiled. “Alright. That’s all I wanted to know.”

“…Huh?”

“I’m your tool, right? Nothing more. If that’s the case, then knowing what I’m supposed to be doing makes my job easier!”

He closed his eyes, irritated and weary. “You’re so weird… Even for a freak, kid.”

~~~

Shan jerked as his pocket vibrated yet again, a hand slipping into it to grasp the watch. It had been useful until now, but this was getting ridiculous! He lifted it to confirm the identity of the sender, then quietly tossed it out the window.

He watched as it fell all three stories to the bottom , landing in the grass surrounding the cliff the house was built on. Shame it hadn’t fallen off the cliff into the sea below. At least now it would be quiet…

“Do you like the view?”

Shan turned away from the window, looking over the infirmary. “You’re awake?”

Null shrugged, slowly sitting up, wincing slightly as she moved around her wound. “Even I can only sleep for so long.”

He shrugged one shoulder noncommittally. “Certain birds keep squawking too loudly. But the scenery is nice, I guess.”

Akaru was gone, even though his arm was still injured- he had refused to lay around for so long when he was fully capable of moving, and had gone downstairs a long time ago to help the others do chores or something. Now it was just Elora, sleeping in one bed while surrounded by cats, and Null, watching him vaguely.

Something furry brushed against his leg. He looked down to see a calico looking up at him, wide green eyes questioning. “Mrr?”

“Where did you even find this place?” he asked Null, while the cat rubbed itself against his leg. “This random old lady, with… however many cats. You don’t seem like a cat person.” How many cats were there, anyways? Way too many for any one person, definitely.

Null smiled, shrugging. “It’s a long story.”

There she went again, avoiding talking about her past. He didn’t move. “I’ve got a long time.”

“There are better stories in books. Why don’t you go read one of those?”

Shan shook his head. “Not this time. You’re not going anywhere- it’s about time you answered my questions. I’ve talked to Konki. She told me what happened in Buma- that Leon is your… your…”

“My twin brother,” Null said, yawning slightly. “Did I ever say he wasn’t? Honestly, I’m a little surprised it took you this long to figure it out.”

“And not only that. But in that confrontation with the Captain. What did you mean, when you said that you worked willingly as an Agent? Did something change, or…?” She had said that she hadn’t regretted it, that she would do it again. How could she expect that to not bother anyone?

“I don’t see why it matters. That was a long time ago. I said I was on your side, didn’t I?”

“That’s not enough, and you know it. You can’t just say something like that and not expect us to question it. We’ve been honest with you. The least you could do is answer our questions, so the others don’t have to be suspicious.”

“Well, then.” Null shrugged again. “They’re Gifteds- it’ll be a valuable life lesson, learning to live with disappointment and suspicion.”

Shan met her eyes, serious for once. “So that’s it, then? You just refuse to answer any questions about your past?”

She offered him only a thin smile in return.

“…I see.”

The cat looked up, mewling curiously as Shan stepped over it, walking towards the door, even his blank face showing disgust. He knew that the expressions on the others, downstairs, would be much stronger. For him, there was only a firm decision, and the knowledge that he didn’t intend to come back here again.

Elora opened one eye as the door closed, smiling. “He doesn’t show it. But I can tell that he’s mad.”

Null sighed, leaning back, looking tired. “You were awake? You should have said something- it’s not nice to listen in on other people’s conversations.”

The girl- no, Elora looked more like a young woman now- pushed the blanket and several drowsy cats off of her, sitting up and swinging her legs over the side of the bed. “But I wanted to listen! I was curious, too, after all.”

Null’s eyes were closed, suppressing irritation. “I thought you were injured.” Though to be honest, the girl didn’t look injured at all. She had claimed to be, but Null had the nagging suspicion that she had just wanted to lie in bed cuddling with kittens more than she wanted to help with the chores downstairs. It wouldn’t surprise her…

“The others, they let me listen! They’re happy to let me listen! They’re happy to let me do anything.” Another laugh.

“Well, I guess I’m not like the others,” Null replied dryly.

Elora paused, taken aback at the subtle ice in Null’s voice. Subtly, she reached out for Null without moving, trying to reach the woman’s feelings, to shift the mood lighter. “Null… Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah?”

She blinked her big blue eyes earnestly. “Do you like me?” You do. You do like me! You like me so much you can’t stand it!

“Honestly? Not really,” Null admitted.

A momentary pause, as Elora tried harder. “…Why not?”

“Don’t take it personally. You just kind… of… remind me of…”

Null’s eyes snapped open, jerking to look at Elora again. She had thought of her for so long as an unrecognizable little girl, she hadn’t even thought…!

Now, though, looking at the blond, violently beautiful woman in front of her, there was no question, no way to not see the face of the same person she had seen before. For a moment, she was years younger, so wide awake it was almost painful, standing in a dark, abandoned building watching that woman wrap her arms around her brother-

Realization dawned on her face as she half-rose. Elora’s eyes narrowed in response, telling Null that she had figured it out, too.

Elora’s sickly smile faded to a dangerous frown of displeasure, as she rose, walking over to the weakened woman.

~~~

Shan walked along the cliffside, conflicted. On one hand, he really didn’t need to stir up any more trouble right now. On the other, this was trouble- it wasn’t like he could just ignore it. Sooner or later, he was going to have to figure out what to do about this- they all were. But the others couldn’t right now- they were all too wrapped up in their own individual things, or couldn’t be trusted. There was no one he could talk to about this, no one he could reason this out with, no one to help him form a plan, or at least an idea…

A glint of metal caught his eye in the moonlight, half-buried in the grass. Frowning, he walked over to it, while the surf crashed deafeningly far below him. Had it really survived the fall, all the way down here? Sure, the Agents built durable things, but this…

Slowly, his hand reached for the watch, determined that if it was still working, that he would take it as a sign of fate that he needed to-

~~~

Brrrrrrrr! Brrrrrrrrr! Brrrrrrrrrr!

The sound yanked Leon from his dreams, the ones he had just barely been able to latch onto, despite the chip in his mind that constantly jerked him awake. Seeing red, he stabbed at his watch with a finger to shut it up, sitting up quickly in irritation.

Dextera was curled up at his feet, shivering there, but looking content in her sleep as she huddled close to him. She didn’t stir at his movement.

He looked at her for a moment, then pressed the button to accept the call, forcing himself to wake up, to choke down anger. “Hello?” he said gruffly.

“Hello.”

The voice- apathetic, dry. Leon recognized it immediately. He sat up a little straighter, making sure he really had woken up before he continued. “So. You finally decide to return my calls. Is the mighty freak so gracious as to deign to speak with me yet, or did you finally figure out that one of your group isn’t all you thought she was?”

“You can taunt me later,” Shan said, not amused. “I can’t talk for long. Not with the others possibly watching. We need to talk. Privately.”

Leon watched the dark trees around him for a moment, growing serious.

“Yeah… we really do.”

The Cat Lady

Akaru didn’t open his eyes for several minutes after he woke, trying to process the sensations around him, to figure out where he was.

He was in monkey form.

Check.

There was a serious wound in his arm.

Check.

He was laying on something soft and warm.

Check.

The smell of cats and old people where everywhere.

…What?

“Mrrr…”

He opened his eyes to a pair of yellow, slitted eyes, watching him curiously. A cat was perched on the bed right next to him, purring quietly, flicking its tail in passive boredom. He frowned, sitting up, wincing slightly as the movement jostled his bandaged arm. “Wh… Where are we?”

“Somewhere safe.” Null’s voice was as dry and half-asleep as ever. She was sitting up in the bed next to him, out the window on her left. “A lot of us sustained heavy injuries in that… last incident with Tori. Just go back to sleep. You’ll heal eventually.”

Injuries… Akaru’s eyes strayed to the way Null’s hand rested over her side, where she had been stabbed. Her clothes had been changed, too- the other ones had probably been ruined. Even so, there wasn’t much difference- the same gray, unremarkable shirt, black slacks, no make-up.

He looked away, over the rest of the musty room. Three other identical beds, but two were empty. Elora slept in the other, surrounded by at least five cats, snuggling up with them happily. “Where are we?”

Null, who had no cats, sighed and leaned back. “A friend of mine’s home. Well… not really a friend. More of an ally.”

“A Gifted?”

“Sort of. We needed a place to rest and heal, and this was the closest one.” She closed her eyes. “Your injury and mine are probably the most serious. The others had a lot of minor scrapes and cuts, but they’ve all gone downstairs by now. I think they’re fixing lunch or something.”

That was right… The attack. “What about Tori?”

~~~

Tori jerked on the chains, pulling them across the small, poorly-lit basement. Candles were arranged in a circle around the edges of the room, still unlit. A small pile of packaged food lay in a corner, enough to carry her for several days if she was careful, along with several jugs of water and a blanket. Everything was almost set.

She stepped over her staff as she dropped the chains to the floor, turning back towards the one door to check that the lock was still on the door where it should be. Instead, she saw Aden, watching her with a worried look on his face. He didn’t say anything, probably being torn around by his thoughts. Still, she could understand the basic idea.

“I have to do this,” she sighed, waving around the room. “You saw me out there- I completely lost control! I can’t do that again.”

Null had explained, when she had woken up in the infirmary bed, still bound just in case she was going to go violent again. She was… unstable, volatile. She was fine, most of the time, but whenever she became angry or badly hurt, she risked slipping back into that berserker state, that… thing. The thing that had hurt all of the others. The thing that had stabbed Null.

She just couldn’t do that again. She reached for the multiple chains, giving them a good yank to make sure that they were still bolted to the wall. “It’s for the best, Aden. I’ll stay in here, meditate, try to get some control over it. And I won’t come out until I’m sure I won’t ever do that to all of you again.”

“You don’t have to.” His voice was quiet, hesitant. Pleading. “We can help you. You don’t have to be alone like this. I… I don’t like this.”

“It’ll be fine.” She smiled, snapping a manacle around her ankle. “Really. Watch- I’ll probably kick this in a couple of days!” Maybe.

He shook his head, still looking worried as she snapped her other ankle into a lock.

She frowned, hesitating as she picked up the wrist cuffs. Slowly, she stood. “Actually, I could use your help on something.”

Aden looked up, hopeful. Maybe she wouldn’t have to stay in this depressing place, locked away? What could he do? He was her ally- he’d be happy to help! Anything, if he could just-

Tori smiled, walking a few feet towards the door. The chains wouldn’t let her completely reach it, but she held out her hand anyways. “Hold on to the key for me? You can check in on me every now and then, if you want. When I’m through, you can be the one to let me go.”

His eyes fixed on the small bronze key resting in the palm of her hand, his hopes sinking. Quietly, he shuffled into the room, reaching forward and clasping her hand in his.

“…Okay.”

~~~

Konki stiffened as another cat rubbed against her legs, grip tightening on the wooden spoon she was using to stir the soup. “Is it healthy to have this many cats in one house?”

“They’re very clean creatures.” The old woman’s voice was creaky and worn, but amused. “You’d be surprised by how well they pick up after themselves.”

She fought down a sneeze, pouring more milk into the pot on the stove. “Not well enough.” They had only been here about a day and a half, but already, how many cats had she seen? Fifteen? Twenty? …More?

It wasn’t that the house wasn’t big enough- it was huge, practically a mansion. Most of it was unused, apparently- the old lady lived there alone, and there was no telling how old the house was. Everywhere was the scent of mothballs and potpourri. Still, it wasn’t bad- it was quiet and peaceful, the food was good, and she had slept so well since they got here.

…Now if only she could stop sneezing.

“We’re really grateful for the place to stay,” Shan said, working on slicing bread on the other side of the kitchen. “But if you don’t mind my asking… Who are you, exactly? Null passed out before she could give us an introduction.”

“Me?” the old woman smiled, pulling her shawl more tightly around her shoulders as she reached up for some vegetables stored in a basket on a shelf. “Would you believe I can’t remember my name? I’ve lived such an awfully long time, dearie. There’s a lot of things I can remember, but you’ll have to forgive me if some things have slipped down the drain!”

Konki and Shan shot each other a look before going back to their respective tasks. More than just memories has slipped down the senile woman’s drain, if the past hour was any indication.

“Then, at the least, how do you know Null?” Konki asked, stirring the soup a little more slowly as she listened.

“Ah? Oh, that’s easy! Such a sweet young girl. The first time she came here, she tried to kill me!” The old woman laughed, smiling. “So much energy, in that one!”

Konki stiffened, turning towards the old woman to ask-

Brrrr! Brrrr! Brrrr!

Shan nearly dropped his knife from surprise and annoyance. He snatched the watch off of the counter before anyone else could look, a flicker of something slightly irritated moving through his apathetic eyes. He scrolled for a few seconds, shaking his head. “Not another one…”

Konki switched the spoon to another hand, looking at him curiously. “Another what?”

“Nothing.” He shoved the watch in his pocket, and turned his back, returning to slicing. “…Miss. What are all of your cats named?”

The old woman had launched into an enthusiastic discourse over way too many cat names before Konki could say anything, cutting off her questions in a flurry of feline eagerness.

((Sami- That definitely sounds like a good idea! I'm caught up now, but if you ever want to write a chapter, just let me know. :) This story still belongs to all of us, after all.))

How much do I loathe thee, Leon? Let me count the ways...

((Sorry for the long hiatus, and even now, this post is a lot shorter than I'd planned. -_- It was originally going to be more than twice as long, but I'm so tired, and still have a paper to write before I go to bed...

School has been kicking me around something fierce. But I should be back now- I’m going to try for a Wednesday update, and we should be back in schedule pretty evenly now! There should be no excuse for me missing another update before the beginning of 2011- I’ve got the Elora arc pretty well mapped out now.

Sami, a few questions: I know Kate likes firearms. Does she have any particular kind that she likes to carry? Also, if you have any more details on her backstory, I could really use them!

Ironic, a few questions: Could I get Aden’s backstory and powers? (Okay, so that’s like one question.)

Also, a question for everyone- how should I do shipping in here? Or should I even do shipping at all? (Aside from Kateon- that’s a given. :3)

Just shoot me a NM or email and let me know. ^_^ See you soon!))

Dextera stepped back, watching as the Agents stepped through the whole they had just blasted in the wall, eyes locking on her immediately. She shivered, watching one of them reach to his side- for a weapon? No… Just for a communication device. She wasn’t sure if that was better or worse.

Behind her back, she gripped the eight different flash drives containing the information she had just hacked out of the Agency’s systems- having the former Captain’s passwords had helped a lot more than she had thought it would. It was all the information Leon had thought to ask for, and even more things he would need, that he hadn’t even thought of yet. Not just for the short term, either… Long-term, things he would need to survive if he couldn’t access the Agency’s resources. Leon needed these files and information!

She had to make sure they got to him. But with this situation…

Kate stepped through the gaping hole in the empty parking level, beneath an old, abandoned mall, Leon had chosen to set up camp in, two agents flanking her on either side. It had been frustrating, getting in here- layers of steel-enforced concrete, combined with all of the weapons and traps whoever was in there kept sending out at them- Leon must have hijacked a small armory along with whatever car he had stolen!

So she was surprised to find not Leon when she entered the large, empty room, but a little girl in a worn, faded Catholic school uniform, looking nervous as she backed up against the single, sleek silver vehicle in the concrete room.

Kate frowned, taking off her tinted glasses. “Dextera?”

Dextera’s dark eyes locked on Kate. She said nothing, taking another uncertain step back towards the car.

Kate pushed past the guards at her sides, in disbelief. “You’re okay? Where were you?! After Leon disappeared, I thought he’d-“

Dextera shook her head, lifting the single pistol she had managed to grab. Kate picked up on the posture immediately- not willing to shoot, just terrified. “He didn’t kidnap me. I went with him.”

Kate stopped, watching the girl in disbelief. “You…what? Why?!”

“Because I need her.”

The voice, male, irritated, low and husky, was unmistakable. The Agents around her stiffened, half turning immediately to face the man who had appeared behind them, the others staying trained on Dextera.

Kate turned more slowly, the voice sending odd prickles down the back of her neck. That odd feeling was back again… “Leon,” she muttered. “I was wondering why you weren’t in there yourself. I thought you’d gotten away.” She lifted her own pistols, one in each hand, definitely postured to fire. “Coming back like this, it’s just stupid.”

The former Agent watched her thoughtfully from his dark brown eyes, the mechanical part of his mind making calculations to track her weapons before they ever fired, the human part… Was that frustration in his eyes? Sadness? She couldn’t tell.

“I’m not so full of myself that I think I can do this on my own,” Leon said, before slowly raising his own handgun. “You have a tool I need in there, Kate. I’d like it if you gave it back.”

“Leon!” Dextera yelled, voice overjoyed. “I’m in here! I’m so glad you’re here- you got here just in time!”

Kate shot a scowl over her shoulder. “It isn’t enough that you had to turn traitor? You had to take her with you too?!”

“What do you care?” Leon asked, slowly walking, at an angle. Mechanical part of his mind trying to find a way around her, to dissect some sort of weakness. Human side brooding, still unreadable… “She’s only a Gifted. You’re in the business of exterminating rats. If your friend’s pet rat starts biting people, you have no business showing it favoritism just because it grew up in a soft cage.”

“The Captain was more than a friend,” Kate spat back. A father figure, a mentor, a hero… “And you… You are not my friend, traitor!”

“Then why haven’t you ordered them to fire yet?” Leon asked softly.

She started, realizing that she hadn’t yet. There was no real reason not to- it was thirteen Agents to one, and he was cut off from his weapons, all still stashed in the car and computer set up in the room behind them. Glaring at Leon, she opened her mouth to issue the command-

Leon moved in the blink of an eye, suddenly hurling his handgun at her. She gasped, unprepared for that, and stepped back, two other Agents stepping forward slightly in front of her in defense-

And then Leon was kicking out hard as the Agents swarmed him, clipping an Agent in the chest, stabbing his electric wand at a second one.

She kicked at the thrown handgun, getting it out of the way. A fake, nothing more than a toy- how hadn’t she seen it before! She had gotten distracted, by what he was saying, and his eyes, and the… Rrgh! “Stop it!” she yelled, jerking a pistol back up again. “Get away from him! I can’t get a clear shot in!”

The Agents glanced at her, confused. Two had grabbed one of Leon’s arms somehow and were trying to lift him off his feet, but he hadn’t stopped fighting, waving the electric wand at anyone who got too close, kicking, biting, moving with a blurred speed that even the three enhanced Agents in their group (who ideally should have been just as fast and strong as he was) were having trouble keeping up with. The wild light was back in his eyes, and he was yelling, laughing, turning and striking like a snake, never letting them keep a hold on him for more than a few seconds. She shifted, right, left, up, trying to get a lock that wouldn’t take out one of her Agents with it-

The starting of the car ignition behind her sent a plummeting feeling in her stomach.

Still deep in the haze of anger, Leon managed a smirk, watching as Dextera floored the gas. He wasn’t going to last more than a few seconds fighting all of these Agents off- he knew it. But Dextera, Gifted or not- was no idiot- she had taken the hint. He watched in satisfaction as the car sped towards them, jumping at the last minute.

Dextera gasped as she stomped on the gas pedal. “That was close!”

“You could have hit me, you know,” Leon muttered, perched on the hood of the car, aiming a kick at one of the Agents that hadn’t either been run over or darted out of the way.

She smiled, shaking her head. “I knew you would dodge! Just like you knew I would take the car, right?”

He glanced at her, about to answer, then stiffened at the sound of a gun firing.

But it wasn’t aimed at either him or Dextera. The air went out of his front tires with an ominous shhhhhh, and he felt the hood of the car sinking beneath him.

Kate stepped towards them, looking angry herself. She hadn’t expected them to work together like this, not after so short a time! Working in tandem, not having to talk, just knowing what the other one was going to do-

Just like she and Leon had been only a little while ag-

Her mind shot the thought down before it could even take full form, Elora’s tampering suppressing all thoughts that hinted at liking Leon. So she only knew that she was frustrated, without really understanding why. “You’re not going anywhere!” she yelled. “Not without your car, your supplies, your weapons. Just give it up already, you worthless worm!”

Leon turned, regarding her for one more moment, with surprisingly calm eyes.

Dextera squeaked as she was suddenly yanked up, slung across Leon’s back. Leon was crouching, then springing the next second, clambering up the side of the building with superhuman speed, leaving the car behind. After all, while the rest of the supplies was a loss, he wasn’t going to get out alive without them.

And his most valuable tool was clinging to his back, holding on for dear life as he climbed.

Kate gritted her teeth. She wasn’t going to lose like this! Not while risking being exiled from the Agency- her very life- as well! She raised her weapon, mind filling with the loathing Elora had given her, pointed it just slightly below Dextera, and pulled the trigger.

Berserk

Terrible sounds were coming from the darkness of the trees. There were sounds of firing weapons, flashes of light- but still the sounds continued, and only got worse. The small group of Gifteds huddled for a moment, not understanding, as they looked in the direction Tori had just run.

“What happened?” Konki breathed. She stumbled up, turning to Shan. “What happened?!”

“Her eyes,” he said vaguely. “…They turned black.”

“Again? But we took care of that!” Konki yelled. “The contract- Tau said he dumped it in a volcano!”

A dry scoff from behind them. They turned to look at Null, staring at her incredulously. “That doesn’t ‘get rid of it’,” she said, arms folded as she looked into the trees. “Believe me, I know a couple of things about Gifteds who work like Dextera. If they work through influencing your mind like that, just burning a piece of paper isn’t going to do anything!”

“But…” Akaru trembled, clutching his wounded arm to himself, not daring to try shifting while it was in there. “Dextera said that was how it worked! The piece of paper gave her the ability to control Tori. Or something like that, right?”

Null sighed, shaking her head, as the screams came from the trees. “Maybe the piece of paper helps her focus. It can be instrumental, for an inexperienced Gifted. And maybe she even transferred some of her energy onto it, so that it would work like a seal. But in the end, the influence she had on Tori’s mind stays there, no matter what happened to the paper. It was damaged somehow when Tau took it, but… There’s no telling, exactly how much hold Dextera’s instructions still have. Not without her here to question.” She sighed, rolling up her sleeves. “I had hoped she would stay cured, but now it looks like…”

A figure appeared in the underbrush, crawling towards them in a panic. They straightened up, going silent, Konki drawing her swords and Shan lifting his knife in preparation for the Agent-

Only to watch as a dark shape dropped on him from above, a resounding crack ringing against his skull.

The hair rose up on the back of Konki’s neck as she watched Tori, hunched over, snarling ferally, the shifting black weapon gripped in her hand. The regular Tori wouldn’t hurt anyone more than she had to, and definitely wouldn’t kill. But this one… There was no hesitation, whatsoever, in the violent creature in front of them.

She stepped back, foot over foot, keeping her eyes on the girl as she moved. Maybe if they backed away slowly, waited for Tori to snap out of it, then they could come back later and-

Krch!

A cold feeling ran down her spine as her heel crunched down on the dry twig. Tori’s head snapped up immediately, black eyes fixed on them. Konki gritted her teeth, motioning behind her back for the others to start backing away. Maybe she could turn them invisible, if she could only get to them. But for now…

Tori got up, weapon shifting in her hand, slowly forming into claws that covered her fingers and stretched out to long, lethal points. She stalked towards them, slowly, with all the grace of a predator.

“Tori,” Konki said warningly. “You got rid of the Agents. You’re safe now. We’re… We’re your friends. You can calm down now!”

The martial artist stepped into a beam of moonlight, not slowing down. The rods had fallen away somewhere in the trees, but she didn’t appear to be bleeding. Somehow, she had healed incredibly quickly. Konki had to wonder what toll that had taken on her body.

She had to wonder whether Tori would even notice if she were in pain right now. The three or four darts sticking up from one of her arms didn’t seem to suggest she could. Metabolism, the deeper, more cynical part of Konki’s mind suggested. If she can speed herself up, she can probably speed her metabolism up too, with enough focus. It would make drugs useless… Although how the heck she would even know how to do that is- !

The regular Tori hadn’t known how, come to think of it- the bear trap wound on her leg had taken forever to heal! In fact-

The bear trap wound.

Konki’s eyes flicked down to Tori’s legs on instinct, picking out the wound that had been injured before. “Come on, Tori, it’s us! We’re on your side! You don’t have to-“

Tori yelled and sprang.

“Konki!” Shan yelled. He tackled her, shoving her out of the way, and making the area echo with the sound of the black weapon hitting his ribs with heavy force.

Tori immediately whirled around, trying to vault over Shan to get at the more vulnerable girl behind him. Konki took a moment to gasp for breath, then rolled onto her back, swinging a sword up. It met Tori’s spear at the very last moment.

Shan lunged for her from behind, trying to grab around her neck, to choke her. Tori kicked out hard, forcefully, sending him flying. Snarling, she turned on him to try to finish him off, and Konki pushed herself up on one elbow, one foot snaking behind Tori’s, trying to trip her.

Tori jumped, and landed crouched a short distance from Konki, who was shakily getting to her feet. She growled, shifting the spear to a pair of swords to match Konki’s, then suddenly yelled out in pain as Akaru, still injured, bit her foot. She kicked him, hard, elbowed Shan’s return punch away, tensed at the sudden grab at her shoulder and whirled violently, stabbing behind her with the spear still half-morphing-

The grip on her shoulder tightened to white knuckles, Null staring at her in dull pain as Tori’s weapon sank into her shoulder.

Tori, Null’s hand still firmly holding on, stared in slowly-dawning, uncomprehending concern as the green flooded back into her eyes. “Wh-“

The hilt of Shan’s dagger came down hard on the back of her head, and she crumpled.

Null held on only long enough to see her fall, then released her, coughing hard as she stumbled. Shan stepped forward, grabbing her before she could fall on top of Tori.

“Null!” Konki yelled. “Wh… Why did you- !”

“I told you… not to touch me,” Null hissed quietly as Shan reached beneath her, scooping her up.

“You were just stabbed,” Shan replied flatly. “I can take being vulnerable for the few seconds it takes to get you out of here.”

“I’m fine- it’s nothing ser- nng!” The thin woman gritted her teeth painfully as Shan shifted, a wave of pain running through her shoulder. She rode through it for a moment, not speaking.

When she opened her eyes again, they were staring at her. Tori lay unconscious at Shan’s feet, Aden and Elora were crumpled on the ground not far away, completely out of it, Konki was holding an injured monkey, and Shan was still standing still, holding her in her arms, saying nothing.

…It didn’t matter, if they didn’t like her. They really didn’t know what to do, right now.

She took a shaky breath. “Tie her up,” she said, eyes flicking down at Tori, then up. “After that, find a way to pick up those two over there. We’re getting out of here.”

No one moved.

“Well?” she said, voice rising. “I know somewhere we can go so we won’t die. Do you want to get there, or do you want to stand here staring at each other until reinforcements show up?”

They began to move, rushing in the dark to get each other moving.

~~~

Leon hissed, keeping himself pressed flat behind a tree, watching the Agents scouring the wooded area just beyond him. Drat it, how had they gotten here first?! Someone must have tipped them off. Or maybe one of the Gifteds had been stupid enough to pull on a trap. In any case…

He swallowed down anger, fists gritting. “Well done,” he hissed. “Well done, Alia! Thanks to you, you’re probably still surrounded by Gifteds, and I can’t get to you through all of the Agents in my way!”

Red threatened to overwhelm him, and for a moment he was really afraid he was going to lose control, going to slip and do something stupid, maybe attack the Agents and get himself caught. But then Dextera’s voice sounded in his ear, and for a moment she snapped him out of it, forcing him to focus. “Leon?”

“…Yeah?”

She exhaled. “Where are you? Are you finished out there yet?”

“Working on it,” he hissed as he listened to two Agents stroll by, deep in conversation, barely five feet away from where he was.

“I know you’re busy, but is it okay if you come back?”

“Why?”

A pause. “…Kate’s here. She looks really mad.”

He stood there in silence, trying to figure out if he had heard that right.