Fandom Into the fire (1x1 MzHyde/Gallifrog)

[_gallifrog_]

Fia's time/2035

'Max' gave a huffing laugh at Fia's comments about Rinaa. To the adults on the other side of the room it looked like he was simply laughing at something Fia had said, but up close there was a sadness in his eyes. Rinaa didn't exist in any form in his timeline and she'd been a tricky, prickly, not always easy to work with character while on Attil, but knowing she didn't get a second chance like he and Fia did, it was a punch in the gut. The sadness in his eyes vanished when Alexis tucked away her phone and looked up. "I am guessing I do not want to know what you two tricksters are plotting?" "You don't Lex, but don't worry, our" he gestured between himself and Fia "next prank will be glorious."

All the past times they'd come to visit Cal and Cliff had stayed in the spare room at Elliott's place, but now that Alexis had been adopted, that spare room was no longer an option. (Not unless they wanted to kick Alexis out of the first stable home she'd had in years, something neither of them felt in anyway comfortable doing). So instead they were staying at Chas and Renee's and left with them (and Trish) shortly after Sam did. Jay, her brother, Elliott and Alexis stayed for much longer, only leaving in the early hours of the morning. 'Max' hugged Alexis tightly before she left "Not that you at all need it, but good luck with meeting Kane's godson tomorrow- you're gonna smash it!"

With everybody gone 'Max' headed to Fia's room, gave a cursory knock on the door then entered. Fia had already found the package- which was more of a padded envelope than a package. There was a printed label stuck on the front, no sender information, no forwarding address of postmarks just two neatly typed names, Fia and Max, the latter with quotes around it. The envelope was easily opened, the glue on the flap wasn't particularly strong. Inside were two items; a rectangular metal case about the size of phone, but thicker and heavier and a holo-disk, standard Attilian tech for recording messages on. 'Max' picked up the disk and weighed it in his hands. "Can you.... I don't know? magically soundproof the room? the last thing we need is your parents hearing whatever it is she wants to tell us and demanding a full explanation."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia's time/2035

Fia felt a little bad for bringing a bit of sadness to 'Max' with the whole topic but she knew as he brought it up first, it would have been rude to just completely avoid it all together. She herself was sad that she'd never see Rinaa again, despite all their conflicts they had, they did start to actually bond over certain things and she appreciated and cherished every single moment that was good. She hated that for her and 'Max' to continue having a good loving life, she had to die. The only thing she could try and hope for was that Rinaa wasn't in anymore pain and wherever she ended up in death, she was at peace. When Alexis spoke up about their plotting, Fia knew now was the time to end the secret conversation and continue the happy positive charade until everyone had left. She couldn't help but smirk at 'Max's' comment about their next prank, instantly getting the point that in this timeline it was clearly a common thing and not entirely different. She was relieved that she was still into her pranks in this timeline and it brought her some kind of joy that this time she had someone to actually be an accomplice to her playful scheming ways.

As everyone started to leave, she hugged every single one of them tightly, thanking them for coming for the night and so forth, taking a gander that it wouldn't be that strange of her to do. She then headed to her room first, deciding to look at the package that was there, picking it up as she heard the knock on her door that she didn't recognise as her mother's signature knock or her father's, so guessed it was Max. "come in Max" she said as he entered anyway. She scoffed in slight amusement as he came in, feeling some kind of familiarity to the action. She noted how the package was plain and mostly blank apart from their names on the printed label. Seeing the quotes around Max's name made her think that surely by now she deserved to know his real name if this was more his timeline that won out and they were family, she just didn't say anything as it was a minor thing to worry about right now. She opened the envelope and pulled out the two items, inspecting them as Max took the disk making her look up at him with playful judgy eyes and listened to his question.

"lucky for you, yeah I do know a spell that can sound proof my room." she replied to him, remembering the time she sound proofed the attic of Cliff's family home for music practice. Handing him the second item to hold, she walked to the wall with her door on first, lifting a poster of the character from her favourite book series that she had commissioned to reveal a rune she had drawn on the wall for such moments. "I keep one drawn on my wall for when I want my folks to think I've gone to bed and sleeping, but actually I'm up making a racket" she smirked, glad that it was the same as her old timeline. "and if you snitch on me we're not pranking partners anymore" she joked to him as she put her hand on the rune and cited a short incantation making it glow, which linked it to more runes on each wall. All of them glowed for a few seconds before dying down to a very low glow, satisfied that the spell worked still she turned to Max. "okay! We're good to go" she told him, walking back over to him so they could watch the message in peace.

 

[_gallifrog_]

'Max' gave a smirk when Fia confirmed that not only could she soundproof the room, she'd gone so far as to draw runes on her wall to make it easier and more permanent. It was an utterly Fia thing to do in his mind and he grinned when she explained how she was up until all hours making a racket. He didn't doubt that in the slightest. "Oh please, you couldn't prank your way out of a paper bag without me" he scoffed, rolling his eyes. That wasn't true in the slightest, Max knew that all too well. There had been a period that everybody in the Constantine-Hale-Za'Lott-Tziyen extended family wanted to pretend hadn't happened where 'Max' and Fia had engaged in a furious pranking war, constantly trying to one-up the other and the scare the other shitless. It got so bad, and so destructive to the point that Max was threatened with having his visits to Earth cut entirely.

"Here we go I guess", 'Max' set the disk down on the floor and pressed the play button. With a soft whirring noise it sprung into life. Unfocused holographic static sprung up out of the disk, quickly growing to about the size of person. There was some shifting and glitching as the miniature projectors in the disk focused and refined the blob into a familiar figure. The blue-tint of the holo-light did nothing to disguise how awful Rinaa looked, if anything it made it worse. The skin around her wrists and upper arms was scraped and raw looking. 'Max's' stomach turned as he realised it was from Rinaa frantically pulling against the leather straps that had bound her down as they exorcised Sykes from her body. Rinaa's eyes were focused on some point beyond Fia and 'Max', somebody off camera. "We're good? We're recording?" The response must have been affirmative as Rinaa straightened up and looked straight in front of her.

She opened by greeting 'Max' first- his birth name was something long and foreign-sounding to Fia's ears- then Fia. "If you're watching this, then I hope to Hells it means everything has worked- that I'm dead and my timeline has been erased permanently. Maybe I should be starting this off with a grovelling apology for how much I kept you two in the dark about it all and the shit my plan will put the rest of the family through." She gave a shrug and an exhausted sigh "but there isn't time for that, this holo-disk has a limited memory. The only thing you really need to know, the only thing that really, truly matters is that Elliott IS alive, he DIDN'T die on Attil. It was me who died there. I took his place. This whole thing? It was planned years in advance."

"How the whole idea came about isn't the point, it started off with good intentions, but like so many things it became twisted and warped. It was always planned that I'd be the one to go back in time, observe Elliott from afar, learn his mannerisms, then when a convenient time came, swap places with him and die in his place in the courtroom. That was how he died in my time y'know? up on the stand, just about to give his side of the story of hie exile." She shook her head, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes, still not quite able to believe it all these years later. "Obviously I tried to fight my destiny, the reason from my existence, I tried to run, but all it resulted in way me getting bitten. After Cliff confirmed what we already knew, I ran, both through time and space. I went back before Elliott died to see if it was worth it. I watched and observed and learned and partially saved Kay's life. I grew attached and at the same time jealous. I got invested, I got too close, I got found out. Then Fia- a different Fia shows up, the Max, the brother by blood I never had, never could have had, but could see was needed. I'd already convinced myself it was worth it. So I changed the plan."

"For Max to exist, Jack had to exist. So we tipped off the Rats, the mercenary crew Jay ran with and they saved him just before the spaceship blew up. We had to hide him, keep his survival a secret from Jay. if she knew he was alive she'd never have met Elliott. Maybe I was playing god with that, but to ensure my timeline could never exist we needed drastic changes like that. Getting Zan involved was a risk, he was a spook and I needed access to his files and the safehouse. It was always the plan to stage Elliott's death, and stage it publicly- the only thing that changed was the location and the executor. Getting Sykes on board was surprisingly easy- all I needed to do was split my consciousness and hers, and return hers to its rightful body and hive mind. The last piece of the puzzle was the swap itself. That's where the heist comes in- one of the drugs we stole, it changes not just a person's appearance but their entire genetic code. And if somebody dies while transformed, their corpse doesn't change back. So I used that to become Elliott physically. That's why we needed to the body scans and installed the tracker on your phone. the scans allowed me to 3D print a copy of his clothes. After that it's simply a matter of finding the right moment, getting Jack to grab the real Elliott while I take his place, sending the signal to Sykes and then..... she kills me and makes it look political."

Rinaa let out an exhausted sigh. "That's the plan anyway and I hope to all the gods it works. Because if not, then..... everything has been for nothing. Why didn't I say any of this sooner? Why am I letting everybody find out afterwards and not telling them at the very start? It's partly because the reactions need to be genuine, but mainly because I don't want to be talked out of it. There is no other way. To destroy my timeline, I have to die too. The others WILL find out Elliott is alive, there's a plan for that, but it's not my division. And unfortunately, everybody has to go through this pain. There's something that needs to be done, somebody that needs to be saved before you're born Fia, I wouldn't say it'd be closure for John, but it needs to happen." She pulled a small case from her pocket- the same case Fia was holding. "But this is the important bit. You'll both have realised by now, you CANNOT keep the memories of my time, of your jaunts back into the past. It's too much of a paradox, you're probably already feeling the effects of conflicting memories- headaches, nausea, flashbacks. It will only get worse the longer you keep them. You have to wipe them from your mind. How you do it is up to you. Any way but asking Elliott to do it. There's probably a spell. Personally I'd use these" she shook the box "it's a targeted memory drug. It's something the Isogrii developed for this exact kind of situation. But if you don't trust my word, and honestly I don't expect you to, there's other ways." She paused and sighed "well, I think that's it really. There's not much point in me saying any more, you're not going to remember it and the gory details will only hurt. This is the end for me, but not for you two. I'm sorry, particularly to you Fia. I wish I could have done things better, you deserved none of it......" The hologram flickered, distorted then blinked away.

 

[MzHyde]

When 'Max' said she couldn't prank her way out of a paper bag, it was her turn to scoff and look utterly amused by his remarks. "you wish that was the case!" she said back at him, shooting her typical cheeky grin at him. She knew she was good at pranking and knew her pranks could get her into a lot of trouble at times, even those times she was thinking of weren't from this particular new timeline she had to live in. Which got her thinking how she would be sad forcing herself to forget the airhorn prank she did on her father as payback for the dog attack in Cliff's planet. She felt satisfied that the spell was in tact when she walked back over to Max and nodded when he said about getting this all started and done. She watched him put the disc down and pressing the button to activate it for the message. The moment Rinaa's familiar face came up in a glitchy hologram her heart broke at the sight of her. She looked so broken, so done with everything she had accomplished for a better world to reign over hers. It wasn't entirely surprising that she'd greet 'Max' first, and although she couldn't fathom his birth name completely by how long it was and the pronunciation, but figured she would just know it once her old memories got vapourized. She listened to Rinaa's introduction and hearing that the person she thought had died on that makeshift battle field was actually her, Fia couldn't stop herself from covering her mouth with one of her hands and gasping in shock. She grieved Rinaa without even knowing she truly did so, she thought Rinaa was still in her time when she came back to Attil, she didn't think for a second it could have been Rinaa and that was precisely why she needed to do those scans of what Elliott was wearing that very day. Now it all made sense to her why that was required. She kept silent apart from that gasp and just kept listening to Rinaa's story.

She listened at how Rinaa saved Kay, how she got attached to everyone but it all made her be convinced trying to save Elliott and dying in the process of that save was indeed worth it. Silent tears fell down Fia's eyes as she listened, taking in Rinaa's exhausted state, knowing it wouldn't have been long until she died anyway, even if she didn't take Elliott's place. Then she remembered about that heist and what Rinaa stole whilst she herself was finding all kinds of dodgy files that needed rid of. The mention of someone needing to be saved before she is born got her curious and worried, is someone else about to get grievously in danger in the past? It wasn't something she wanted to think about right now.

She looked down at the box in her other hand then back at the hologram Rinaa, taking in what she was telling them both carefully. She had no reason to not trust Rinaa's suggestion on how to go about the memory wiping tactic. Sure, she probably could use a spell but her dad hadn't taught her that and it would be completely experimental if she did, which meant a lot of risks that no doubt wouldn't be worth it. The last thing she needed was for them to have the spell go wrong and one of them collapse on the floor, meaning needing help from John anyway. She used her free hand to wipe her tears as Rinaa apologised to her and told her she didn't deserved what Rinaa put her through, or more to the point, what Sykes put her through. She exhaled deeply to calm herself when the hologram blinked off before she opened the box and saw the drugs in question. "I guess this is the best way to go, I don't feel comfortable doing a spell I don't know well enough on either of us" she told 'Max'. She picked up one of the tablets and held it in her free hand, staring at it. "bottoms up I guess" she commented, before taking a deep breath, internally praying that this would work and swallowed it.

 

[_gallifrog_]

'Max' gave an amused smile when Rinaa addressed him by his birth name, she hadn't quite got the pronunciation right (people rarely ever did, it seemed like his father had chosen a name almost every species struggled to say), but he appreciated the effort none-the-less. That smile quickly faded from his face as Rinaa began to speak. The sheer exhaustion in her tone and the tired slump in her shoulders was the first thing he noticed. She was a mess, even more so than she'd been during their time on Attil. Rinaa may have been freed from Sykes, but she was a dead woman walking.

Fia wasn't the only one to let out a strangled gasp when Rinaa revealed it was she who had died on the battlefield, not Elliott- 'Max' did too, stumbling backwards against the wardrobe in shock. Rinaa hadn't told him this part of the plan, he knew there was going to be a switch made, that somebody dressed like Elliott was going to take his place, but he didn't know that person was Rinaa and he certainly didn't know the whole thing was going to be a publicly staged. He let out another gasp when Rinaa revealed how the Elliott of her timeline had died, it explained so much. Unlike Fia and Rinaa his time travel had been accidental, he'd broken into a heavily guarded vault to steal a particular artefact and accidentally created a breach in space-time which then sucked him in. The other side of that breach just so happened to open inside the Attilian courthouse, depositing him in full stealth gear right behind Rinaa while she'd been inside the court building snooping inside scoping it out. She'd reacted with fury and fists, and then, when she ripped away the mask and saw his face, with complete and utter horror. He understood why now. It wasn't just because he looked like Jay and Jack, it was because she believed he was the one who was going to kill Elliott. That it had been family, not Attil's anti-magic brigade that had ruined her timeline. It had been his acute side-effects to uncontrolled time-travel that had convinced her he wasn't a threat.

'Max' stood in mute shock when Rinaa explained how she'd played God by having Jay's old crew save his father's life. The idea that Rinaa would screw with time so drastically to ensure he existed? He couldn't comprehend it. He wasn't that important in the grand scheme of things surely? Certainly not the last of a mythical race like Fia was. He felt sick and horrified and stunned all at the same time, his brain unable to wrap itself around the notion. The rest of the message didn't even sink in, he just stood, staring at the hologram, wishing desperately he could ask her why, why had she done it? Why had she changed the plan so dramatically for him. When the hologram blinked out of existence he swore, shook his head, then threw his arms into the air in disbelief. He grabbed the holodisk, looking for the replay button. This had to be a mistake, he must have heard wrong. But there was nothing, the message was already erased. He let the disk clatter to the floor and tuned back into what Fia was saying.

'Max' nodded, understanding completely. He new Fia was a capable mage, but a spell that messed with memories? There was just too much potential for things to go wrong. The last thing he wanted, after everything they'd been through, was for either of them to end up with some kind of horrific brain damaged. "And I'm not going to ask you to do a spell you aren't comfortable with, not for something as important as this" he replied, picking up the second pill and rolling it between his fingers. It was large, closer to a tablet in size than a pill, with a light blue outer casing. Holding it up to the light made it shimmer slightly. He sat himself down on the floor, leaning his back against the cabinet. If this pill knocked him unconscious he didn't want to fall and split his head open.

"See you on the other side" 'Max' said then popped it into his mouth and rolled it around with his tongue. The taste was sharp, acidic and unpleasant and 'Max' found himself grimacing in disgust. For the first minute or so, as the lozenge dissolved he felt nothing out of the ordinary. He was just about to turn and ask Fia if she felt anything when a searing bolt passed through his head. It was followed by another and another and another. It was painful, an intense jagged pain that made him feel like his head was being cleaved in two. Clenching his teeth and screwing his eyes shut he put his head in his hands and tried to ride out the waves. But the bursts came faster and harder, the drug particles accelerating through his brain, finding the neurons and neural connections associated with the memories of his time-travelling jaunts and either rewiring them or getting rid of them completely. 'Max' felt himself slipping away, his mind trying to protect him from the intense process by knocking him out. He slumped sideways, landing on the carpet with a thud.

-----------------------------------------------------
'Max' slowly opened his eyes, blinking as he tried to focus. The ceiling of Fia's room slowly swam into view and he let out a groan. There was a faint pounding in the back of his head and an acrid taste on his tongue. "Gods..... how much did I have to drink?" he asked.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia was thankful that 'Max' was open about saying how he wasn't comfortable with even asking her to do a spell to wipe their memories for them, she knew he had faith in her mage skills but even she knew where her limits were and how she was still learning after all thanks to her dad's training. She also didn't know how it was going to work alongside her phoenix side of her abilities and if she screwed it up for both of them, it could be more dangerous than they probably realise. "Appreciate that" she told him as he took the second pill into his hand.

She noted how 'Max' was also inspecting the tablet like she had done, but with far greater scrutiny than herself. She had decided that she would put all her trust into Rinaa over this and not inspect the tablet too much before taking it for free of wimping out on taking the substance. She had to do this, for everyone's sales and more important her own. As Rinaa guessed in the hologram message, she had been experiencing already the headaches from having two lots of memories fighting it out in her head. The sooner she could reset her mind so those headaches could stop the better in her eyes. Unlike 'Max' she didn't sit down on the floor when she took the tablet, just remained standing which was either a brave move on her part or an incredibly stupid one, depending on how it was looked at. Like 'Max', she didn't feel anything initially when she felt the tablet go down her throat and into her system, making her also look at 'Max' back with the same question on her kind when he began feeling the effects only mere milliseconds before she did. The throbbing pain that came in initially spurts and waves was excruciating and she had never been so thankful for having soundproofed her room. It was utter hell feeling the effects come into affect in her head, making her quickly grab the sides of her head with both hands and double over, knees bent before she found herself lowering herself into the floor of her room. Through gritted teeth she let out a few expletives and screams of pain, as she too felt like her head was splitting in two and for a brief moment during the pain, she starts to second guess if this was even a good idea to have done. She felt her own memories of her timeline slipping away from her, the memories of going back to Attil and everything good and bad that came with that trip vanish with great searing pain. If she wasn't focused on trying to get through it she would have felt like she was saying goodbye to her original self and saying hello to a new version of her. It wasn't long before she too slumped flat out on the ground beside 'Max', hands falling beside her head after they let go of her temples from the undignified passing out on the floor.

-----

It took her only a few seconds before she woke up with a groan and grumble, pushing herself upright but remained sitting. "I didn't think you drank that much, we didn't get into dad's good stuff did we? Because if we did that'll explain why my head feels like it's on fire and not just yours, but I don't even recall drinking at all" She replied back, starting to question what exactly they did drink wise to have made them both get such banging headaches and a rancid taste in their mouths. She remembered the dinner and get together from earlier in the night, but she didn't recall drinking any alcohol so she couldn't think why she was feeling the way she was and why she was hiding out in her room with 'Max' who was also feeling the same way as herself. It felt awkward to her for some reason but she couldn't for the life of her think why it would be awkward, deciding that she would put it down to passing out in front of family. "Whatever the reason I'm glad my soundproofing runes are activated or we'd have mum and dad in here giving us the third degree or an interrogation worthy of a crime drama" she added, with a slight smirk.

 

[_gallifrog_]

'Max' slowly pulled himself up into a sitting position, then brushed his hand across his face, pushing his shaggy blue hair from his eyes. The nauseous feeling was subsiding, though the pounding headache looked like it was there to stay. "Yeah...... I don't remember drinking any alcohol at dinner either." He scrunched his eyebrows together, wracking his brains as he thought back over the night. He'd been one of the later ones to arrive at the flat and he didn't remember being offered, or helping himself to any alcohol when he did show up. "And I definitely wouldn't have tried to nick some of John's good shit with SO many people around hanging around this place." His eyebrows furrowed even deeper "at least I don't think I'm that stupid...." he mused to himself.

Fia's next comment had 'Max' letting out a chuckle, his eyes flicking briefly to the glowing sigils on the wall. "You think your parents are bad?" he scoffed rhetorically "have you seen my Dad and Aunt Jay when they gang up to interrogate us? Or when they want to get information out of literally anybody in the family? They have no problem with going right back into their old scary assassin double-act- one terrifying the shit out of you, the other one talking rings around you and tying you up with your own words! I swear they actually enjoy doing it!" His eyes flicked to the sigils on the walls again "but yes, at least one of us had out heads screwed on right. We don't need anybody jumping to some kind of crazy conclusions."

His eyes landed on the holo-disk on the floor. "Hey.... what's this doing here?" he picked it up and turned it over in his hands. He pressed the on button. Nothing happened. He pressed it again a few more times, still nothing. He then gently shook it, hoping the sound would enlighten him. It didn't. "Seems to be dead....maybe we accidentally made it go bang and that's what knocked us out?" he looked at the device sceptically, not sounding at all convinced by his own theory.

 

[MzHyde]

The fact that 'Max' couldn't remember drinking any alcohol either was of some relief to Fia as it meant it wasn't just her not remembering why they were on her floor with pounding headaches. All she remembered was being in her room reading something or the other, the details on whether it was fiction or study books now a blur, and waking up from falling asleep realising she was being late for a get together she insisted being at the apartment and not anywhere else. She also couldn't help but smirk slightly when Max said he definitely wouldn't have risked getting into her dad's private stash with everyone around and risking getting his ass well and truly kicked into a new millennium. "I wouldn't take you for being that stupid, you're stupid but not THAT stupid" she jested with a soft light chuckle before speaking more and making him chuckle. His reply about his side of the family was a very valid one, she had seen how hard Jay could be just in training or when they all ganged up on them because they were getting a bollocking for a prank they successfully pulled.

"That's a very good point, when they scold us for the pranks is bad enough. To be fair Jay can and has scared the utter shit out of me with just a look in training. That's bad enough. But the idea of your dad, Jay, my folks all grouping together??? That's apocalyptic and gives me the heebie jeebies just thinking about it!" She chuckled whilst forcing a shudder to emphasise her point all the more. She also couldn't stop the proud smile that crept onto her face at him saying she had her head screwed on right to have activated her soundproofing runes on her walls. As his eyes dropped to the holodisk on her floor, her eyes followed his and rose an eyebrow whilst cocking her head to the side curiously. She watched him trying to activate the device to no avail whilst she was trying to figure out how it even got into her room to begin with. She didn't recall ever having it before now. "It's a possible theory I guess but I don't even know how it got into my room" she replied, thinking his theory was valid but something didn't feel entirely believable either. "I guess we'll not figure it out and just have to deal with it. But let's do a deal, if one of us figures something out about why we're on my floor like this? They tell the other" she suggested.
As she said that, she stood up and deactivated the runes placing walking over and placing her hand on one, saying a simple one word incantation to do so.

In the main room Kay was putting some of the stuff away that was still out, or just leaving it to one side to put away in the morning. "wonder how the kids are doing in Fia's room" she commented, noting how she hadn't heard anything noise wise coming from her room in quite a while.

 

[_gallifrog_]

'Max' also gave a dramatic fake shudder at the idea of his dad, Jay, John and Kay all teaming up to give him and Fia the verbal bollocking-slash-interrogation of their lives. Each of the four was terrifying in their own way (less so Kay in his opinion, but that was because 'Max' had never rowed with Kay like Fia had). "That's something that should NEVER EVER happen" he agreed, still turning the holo-disk over in his hands. 'Max' was a fiddler by nature, he always needed something in his hands when he was talking- he claimed it helped him think- and if he couldn't find anything to twist in his hands he'd mess around with his hoodie sleeves or pull at the neck of his t-shirt or the shorter hair at the back of his head. "I'm pretty sure I took it from Lex when I was 'round aunt Jay's place this morning. Lex has all kinds of techy shit lying around and there was definitely a holo-disk amongst it. Hopefully she won't get too mad at me for breaking it."

While Kay was sorting out dishes, John was pushing the kitchen table back into it's usual position against the wall. They always pulled it out to make more space when there were guests around. His eyes did briefly dart towards Fia's closed (and no doubt locked) door briefly at Kay's comment. "They're probably plotting how to take over the world, or trying to mastermind a prank that will scare the living shite out of as many of us as possible." John shrugged. He wasn't too put off by the silence from Fia's room, if anything it was a welcome break from the semi-organised chaos that had been the extended family gathering. "Either way, they'll be doin' just fine."

 

[MzHyde]

New timeline/2035

Now that all the previous life's memories were gone from her mind, she didn't find it the least bit weird that 'Max' was fiddling with the holodisk still as he agreed with her that under no circumstances should they ever let the interrogation of both their parents and guardians happen. She had had enough rows with her mother alone to last her a lifetime but something always told her that the previous row would never be the last whilst she lived under their roof. She hated the rows, and hated how most times they seemed to drag John into the middle as he tried to calm them both down. Her thoughts about past arguments got pushed to the back of her kind again when 'Max' brought back the conversation to the holodisk that he was playing with in his hand. "Quite probably, I'm sure she'll forgive you though, just put the blame on me if it comes to it" she suggested to him, thinking if it would take any heat off of him, then she'd gladly take the flak. "I guess we should probably show our faces to the others so they don't think we're plotting some dastardly plan or something" she chuckled. She knew that'd be one of the first things they'd think of when it came to the two of them alone together in a room with the door shut. Though she did have to admit, the idea of her parents and his family going out their minds thinking of all the things Fia and 'Max' could come up with to top their past prank did amuse her to no end. Standing up off the floor, she out of habit, dusted herself off and sighed, running her hands then through her hair, brushing it behind her ears. With that, she walked over to the door and unlocked it, opening it.

Kay couldn't stop the smirk and soft chuckle that escaped her lips when John theorised what the teenagers would be possibly doing in Fia's room. When she commented about it, she wasn't exactly worried about her daughter, she trusted the two of them wholly to not completely destroy the room, and like John, the quiet was a welcome change in a lot of ways, but she also couldn't help be curious what their daughter got up to when it did go extremely quiet. It wasn't too long ago, only a week ago in fact that they found she had snuck out in the middle of the night against both their wishes. "Yeah, you're probably right, guess after her midnight escape the other night I get a little suspicious" she replied honestly, putting the last plate away and wiping her hands on the nearby cloth before leaning against the counter. It was then she heard the door to Fia's room open...

Attil/present day

It was the morning after the terrifying and heartbreaking events of the night before, losing Elliott still hurt immensely and it still didn't feel entirely real. Kay also felt a part of her was missing for some reason but she couldn't figure out why and it wasn't because of Elliott. It was because over night her memories had changed, she didn't recall teenage Fia visiting them, helping to try and change things for the better, then just leaving them all thinking John hated her. Yet to Kay's mind now, none of those things happened, it was just a blank fog that was soon enough fading for good and the only Fia she knew was the one she was still carrying. Waking up, she laid there for a few moments before it hit home to her that they would be making their escape today whilst they still could bad taking Elliott's body with them. She lightly rubbed her stomach as she tried to stop herself from just crying all over again in grief. It was bad enough that what sleep she did have, she was dreaming all the memories of Elliott helping her with parkour in various places, introducing her to the twins' cafe and drawing on the walls beside him, gaining respect for his art talent.

 

[_gallifrog_]

New timeline/2035
John pulled a face at the mention of Fia's midnight misadventures. It wasn't the fact that Fia had snuck out that John had an issue with (in his mind it was an inevitable thing for a teenager to do, regardless of their race), it was the fact she'd snuck out alone that he disapproved of. He knew she was more than capable of sticking up for herself, both with weapons and hand-to-hand (and was definitely a better and more skilled fighter than than he'd been at her age)- but that didn't stop him from worrying about (and being kept awake by thought about) what would happen if Fia blundered alone into one of the Darkworlder or gods forbid Downworlder 'ruled' areas of the city. Downworlders and other demonkin were sick bastards, who gained great pleasure from the killing and torture of innocents who happened to get in their way. He'd seen once what horrors they'd commit if they got their hands on a phoenix and he never, ever wanted that to happen to Fia. In the darkest regions of the city, it would be all too easy for lurking demons to overwhelm her. At least if she had somebody like 'Max' with her, there'd be somebody to have Fia's back and make sure she got out alive. It wasn't exactly a secret, out of the three teenagers in his life- Fia, 'Max' and Alexis- his daughter was the one he cared about the most and if anything were to happen to her..... well there'd be Hell to pay.

John was about to open his mouth and reply when the door opened and Fia re-emerged, followed a few seconds later by 'Max'. Nothing struck him as particularly off about the two, both looked a little tired maybe, but that was hardly unusual. Fia had professed to night terrors earlier and it seemed like 'Max' made it his business to be out as late as possible on as many nights of the week as possible. 'Max' swung himself over the back of the couch and plopped down on the other side making himself comfortable. "Thanks for puttin' me up for the night, I really don't want to go back to my place, not while my flatmate's idiot girlfriend is there." He said, before John or Kay could a get a word in edgeways. 'Max's' flatmate was legendary amongst the extended family for their spectacularly awful taste in partners, each one drove 'Max' up the wall for one reason or another.

Attil/present day
Seeing the light seep through the open patio doors Chas realised that a new day had arrived. He slowly sat up and surveyed the room. He hasn't slept and he doubted any of the others had either. Every time he closed his eyes all he could see was that sword being plunged into Elliott's body, erupting out of his chest. The grisly sight seemed to be burned into his retinas and no matter how many times he tried to think of other things, any thing, his mind kept coming back to that swift, brutal stab. Cal was still lying limply on the couch, he couldn't tell if she'd emerged from her stupor or not. Cliff was curled at the other end of the couch, legs drawn up against her chest, head pressed against the top of her knees. He couldn't hear anything, but it was obvious from the slight shakes racking her body that she was sobbing. Kay didn't look any better, staring vacantly ahead of her, one hand unconsciously rubbing her bump.He wanted to do something, say something, anything. But he knew there was nothing. The mere thought of trying to muster up a smile pained him.

He wasn't sure how long he sat there, head resting against the palm of his hand. All he knew was that the silence of the room was broken when Jay re-entered. In the light of day her injuries looked truly horrendous, there were patches of crusted blood on her skin and clothes, what remained of them at least. A huge gash in her shirt exposed her ribcage which was battered and bruised a selection of mottled greens, purples and blacks. Her body was tense, her jaw gritted firmly. But it was the eyes that really caught his attention- they were dark, like two black voids, simmering with barely restrained rage. She stormed through the room, grabbed some paper and pens from a side table, then her bag from where it lay in the corner. The night before she'd had little urge to do anything other than shove her weapons haphazardly into a bag and throw it into a corner. Now however, she wanted them, needed them, She stalked out of the room and into the next room over (some kind of bedroom) were she spread everything out on the table. First was the guns, each was disassembled, oiled, then slotted back together with slightly more force than she'd usually use (not enough to damage the components). After that came the knives, each one honed to a sharp fine edge with the aid of a whetstone, The sound was a sharp, angry rasp that could be heard easily in the next room and grated at everybody's ears. Then came the hardest part, putting pen to paper and explaining everything. It took four false starts and three crumpled drafts before Jay had something she was happy with. She sighed, folded the paper in half, then in half again along the skinny edge and tucked it into a makeshift envelope before turning towards the wardrobe.

By the time Jay returned to the main living space John had also come indoors. Like Jay there was a stench of cigarettes and alcohol off him, unlike Jay his eyes were swollen red and bloodshot- he'd cried, she hadn't. He leaned against the door, exhausted, not entering, not entirely taking in his surroundings, just lingering. Jay had evidently raided the wardrobe in the room, she wore a dark polo neck, clearly made of some kind of expensive cashmere-like wool, hiking trousers and thick boots. Her rucksack was slung over one shoulder and with her non-strapped hand she tossed the letter to the table. Written on the front were four names 'Scott, AJ, Saoirse, Kane'. "Give this to the others" was all she said before, tossing her phone on the table and turning away.

 

[MzHyde]

New timeline/2035

Like John, it was the fact Fia that snuck out alone that had upset Kay the most. She didn't want a downworlder of any kind getting their hands on their daughter and getting what they craved so much out of a phoenix's aura or blood or essence. She also knew that John wouldn't take kindly to Fia being taken and getting into serious trouble and it would no doubt start some kind of war if they hurt their kid. Hells, she herself would go on a war path if it meant bringing Fia home and to safety, so finding that out that night that Fia had snuck out without Alexis or 'Max' had made Kay lose it slightly out of fear. She hated being the bad guy out of her and John, but sometimes she felt she was vey much valid in being that role and that night was definitely one of them, even if John hadn't fully sided with Fia that time and was actually on the side of herself. She saw John about to say something when Fia's door opened and the two teenagers walked out, with only the look of fatigue on their faces. Fia couldn't stop the smirk from appearing when 'Max' just swing himself over and onto the couch, making himself comfortable as that's where he'd be for the night, whilst declaring his thanks to her parents. "You're always welcome here" Kay replied to him, folding the tea towel and putting it to the side, walking into the main room where everyone else was.

Fia walked into the kitchen passed Kay and opened the cupboard that had all their glasses, grabbing one and going to the tap to get some water. Filling her glass up, she turned the tap off and sipped her water, making sure not to down it all so she could take it to her room with her. "Hey dad? Can we start the magic training a bit later in the day tomorrow? There's something I need to do in the morning" she asked, knowing she needed to go see Max the dog she had secretly adopted and make sure he was alright, knowing she needed to feed him and see if Aunt Sam would officially take him in. Kay rose an eyebrow at Fia's request, thinking it unusual that she would want to delay magic classes with her dad but the question wasn't aimed at her so she was going to keep her mouth shut. Instead she gave 'Max' a look as if to ask 'you know what she's on about?'. She figured if anyone would possibly know what cryptic things her daughter was up to, it would no doubt be him, even if sometimes that theory didn't always follow through.

Attil/present day

It was only when Chas shifted in his seat and sat upright that Kay truly took notice of the room around her, or more to the point, the people in the room around her. She saw how utterly defeated Cal and Cliff looked and how it was clear Cliff was still crying over everything that happened despite covering her face with her knees. Yet despite seeing all of this around her, she still felt completely detached from everything around her. Her eyes looking at the people in the room but not really letting much else sink in or compute, other than Cliff. She wasn't even aware that Chas was taking note of herself, Cal and Cliff as well and wishing there was something he could do. When Jay walked back into the room, she then looked up, snapping herself back into the reality and seeing just how badly Jay was truly wounded. The daylight making her look even worse than she had the night before. Seeing the woman grab paper, pens and her bag made her wonder what Jay was up to but she didn't have the energy to ask her. Not that she thought for a moment Jay would actually answer her even if she could have asked. The sound that soon came after Jay disappeared into a room was like fingernails on a chalk board to Kay's ears after having been so used to the silence for hours.

She was thankful when the sound eventually stopped, rubbing her temples from the relief of silence coming back to them. It was a rare time when silence was welcomed by Kay and not hated by her. Usually she detested the silence, it made her mind dredge up all the horrors and anxieties of her past but not this time. As Jay returned and John entered the room bringing the extra stench of cigarettes and alcohol with him, she knew this was something that would no doubt be a common thing to deal with for a while. The moment she saw how bloodshot his eyes were and swollen from all the crying, her heart just broke all the more, wishing that she could just go over and give him a supportive hug and hold, but she knew if she did, his current smell of alcohol and cigarettes would only make her vomit. So she remained still in the seat she was in, that was, until Jay dropped an envelope on the table addressed to Elliott's friends. "You're not coming back with us?" She asked Jay, surprised that Jay was wasting no time in separating from the group but in a way, deep down would understand why Jay was going her own way. "Just..take care okay?" She then said after a pause, wanting Jay to know she would be missed and thought of.

 

[_gallifrog_]

New timeline/2035
John couldn't help but roll his eyes and give an amused huff of laughter at 'Max's' reason for wanting to spend the night in John's place as opposed to his own. 'Max's' flatmates ability to chose the most bizarre and annoying partners was a legendary saga John was convinced was at least 50% exaggeration on 'Max's' part. The kid loved to tell a good story and wouldn't let facts get in the way and John wasn't going to call him out on it. To hear these crazy, but mundane stories was a welcome respite from the grim, the dark and the downright horrific ones he heard from his friends, allies and people in the League.

Fia's request caught him by surprise. Ever since he'd started teaching Fia magic she'd wanted to have lessons as early in the day as possible, that's how eager she'd been to learn. He hadn't picked up on it earlier- the night terrors excuse had worked- but now his suspicions were raised, there was definitely something going on and that made him uneasy. "How much later kiddo?" he asked. "I'm meetin' with Lucien tomorrow and even though there's been no killings 'round these parts for ages, I don't trust his wolf pack one bit and want to meet them when it's as bright out as possible- or whatever it is London calls bright these days." 'Max' meanwhile pretended he hadn't seen Kay's look, pulling out his phone and burying his face in it. He knew exactly what Fia was up to, but had been sworn to secrecy and had no intention of breaking that trust.

Attil/present day
Despite all of Cliff's crying, there was still more than enough tears left to blur her vision and she had to blink a couple of times before the writing on the letter swam into focus enough that she could read it. Her eyes widened and she let out a slight gasp- a ragged, hoarse sound. She quickly straightened up, ignoring the jolt of pain from her ribs, properly looking at Jay, expecting the woman to be giving some kind of speech or explanation. But she was met by Jay's back, the assassin already halfway out the door. Jay paused at Kay's query, turning her head to look back, but making no move to re-entering the room. "No" she shook her head firmly, her tone dead and devoid of emotion "there's nothing worth going back for."

Chas had opened his mouth to say something but Jay's curt response had all the remarks of protest and surprise dying before they even made it to his lips. There was nothing he could say in response. So he did the only thing he could, gave a numb nod and picked up the makeshift envelope. "I'll get it to them" he promised. John didn't say anything, just stayed leaning in the other door way, watching the whole scene play out.

There was no sign in Jay's face that she'd heard Kay speak (let alone understood what the woman was trying to imply). She just took one final glance around the room before narrowing her eyes. "Don't follow me and don't bother trying to find me."


With that threat hanging in the air, Jay left.

 

[MzHyde]

New timeline/2035

Kay had a sneaking suspicion that 'Max' was pulling his phone out as a way to try and avoid being questioned on why Fia was asking something so incredibly out of character for her. Like John, she got suspicious and wondered why their daughter was seeming to go through another acting out phase. Yet she also knew 'Max' well enough to know that he wouldn't tell them even if they did question what he knew. He was loyal to Fia when it came to their friendship and Kay had no plans on being the cause of breaking that trust. Instead, she let John answer the Fia's request, it clear that he was curious to Fia's question himself. Fia let her dad explain he had his own plans at some point in the day after the training and she thought it was completely reasonable, even if Lucien was keeping the peace with his pack lately. "I dunno....maybe around 11 or midday if it's possible?" She replied, giving him the most innocent casual look she could muster. She somehow knew he was getting suspicious of her asking but that wasn't going to stop her from seeing her dog she rescued, unreasonably missing him more than usual even though it hadn't been that long. Just something told her she needed to get to him in the morning and she knew she'd have to stop by the nearby shop to pick up some fresh dog food. "If it's a problem, I'll try and see if I can do what I need to earlier in the morning" she tried to reason, in an attempt to sound less secretive.

"What's so important baby girl?" Kay couldn't help but ask. "It's nothing to worry about I promise" "uh huh...where have we heard that before?" "Mum I mean it this time. It's nothing dodgy, I'm not planning on getting into trouble with anyone or anything. It's just a personal.....project. so to speak" Kay looked at John as she finally got to the two of them, then back at Fia. She couldn't help but think Fia will end up owing her dad if he agreed to the later training day. "You two can finish this whilst I get the pillow and blankets" she told them both, walking to the closet room in the hallway so 'Max' would have much more comfortable things to lay on and under on the couch.

Attil/Present day

When Jay paused at her first question, Kay had hoped it would make Jay second think her decision to leave for somewhere else without them. But it wasn't to be when Jay looked over her shoulder and said curtly that she had no home back on earth. Or at least, nothing there to make her feel it's home anymore. That made Kay all the more sad as she couldn't possibly imagine that would be true for Jay, but she wasn't in the position to try and change Jay's mind. She knew Jay enough by now to know that nothing would change Jay's mind now it was completely and utterly made up. She looked around at the group and saw how no one was prepared to say anything either, instead Chas just picked up the envelope and told Jay the letter would get to those it's addressed to. Looking back toward Jay again, she saw that her next wish for Jay to take care of herself either wasn't heard or was just simply ignored. She hoped for the latter and that Jay would take note of that wish for her later on.

The threat to not follow her was well and truly heard and accepted by Kay, it wasn't like she would know how to go after her even if she wanted to, let alone being able to in her current position. So she did all she could....she watched Jay leave for good with the threat just hanging in the air. It was a good few minutes before Kay could find herself speaking up again, the silence utterly deafening in a moment of irony. "When are we moving?" She asked, not knowing what else to say or do. She would have been lying if she said she wanted to stay longer than necessary, despite being wholly worried for Cliff and Cal and their mental states. She felt bad for wanting to leave the two of them but she knew as well as they all did they couldn't risk staying longer than needed now. For the first time since being on Attil and finding out the game plan with her, she was welcoming the idea of being stuck in The House and away from any threats that were inevitably looming. She didn't want to put John and Chas through more anguish by her being in danger or on death's door.

 

[_gallifrog_]

New timeline/2035
John pulled a face at Fia's suggested times, they really weren't convenient at all. "Those really don't work kiddo, either we push it much earlier in the day or we have to scrap it altogether." Those were the options as John saw it. With Cal and Cliff staying for the next couple of days the evening was simply out of the question. As was Elliott doing the training. When Fia declared it was personal, John's eyebrows shot right up, something really was going on. The last 'personal project' Fia had done was to sneak out at night and come back in a right state, so John was far from reassured by his daughter's choice of words."You're just diggin' the hole deeper for yourself kiddo. Might as well spit it out." It was then 'Max' spoke up with the only lie he could think of- one he knew would almost certainly backfire badly on him in the future. "What she's trying to avoid saying is that Lex asked her for language help- y'know how fiercely proud my sister is and how she hates letting people help her."

Attil/Present day
Nobody made any move to stop Jay, nor did anybody say anything. They just watched numbly as she left. Jay didn't look back, didn't turn around having changed her mind, she just walked out the front door, letting it click shut behind her.

Cliff was still staring at the door when Kay spoke, she saw the movement of lips out of the corner of her eye, but wasn't able to focus in on the motions. With a sigh she reached forwards to where her hearing aids lay on the coffee table, trying not to wince at the pain. A night spent mostly curled in a ball on the couch hadn't been good for her injuries, her side was protesting, as was her head from where it had been bashed against the ground. Her colleagues had done their best, but without her own healing factor, or somebody with healing powers, the next few days (and to a lesser extent weeks) were going to be filled with physical pain.

She slotted the hearing aids on, first the left ear then the right and made a circular gesture with one hand, indicating somebody should repeat what Kay said. There was a long pause before Chas spoke up "when do we need to leave here?" Cliff gave a half shrug, followed by a sigh, the first proper sound she'd made since the evening before. She had to clear her throat a few times before she was convinced she'd be able to speak. "That's up to you really we....." she indicated between herself and Cal "..... haven't really talked about it. But whenever you leave, Owain said he'd portal you guys to Earth, no point in going through a weeks long space journey home..... with no actual pilot....... alone with your thoughts." Her voice trailed off near the end and she rubbed a hand across her face, it came away streaked with tears.

"The sooner we leave, the bloody better" John declared.

 

[MzHyde]

New timeline/2035

Fia sighed at her suggested times being not suitable for her dad. But she understood it and accepted it. She gave it a thought for a few seconds to see if Max the dog would be able to hold out a bit longer before being fed if she did her magic training much much earlier in the morning. Then came John's raised eyebrows at her use of words of 'personal project' and she knew she was coming close to not being able to keep the dog a secret for much longer. Especially when he told her to just spit it out. She hesitated with telling another lie or telling the truth when 'Max' told a lie on her behalf, and she didn't know whether to go along with it or tell him it was okay and just come clean. She gave a sheepish unsure chuckle, tucking hair behind her ear with her free hand. "What he said" she then said, but the look her mother was giving her showed she wasn't being believed for a second. "Nice try you two, now what's the real reason" Kay spoke up, not wanting to fall into the bad guy position again, but wasn't appreciating her daughter lying to them. "Fine....I found a stray puppy that I've been watching over whilst trying to find a suitable forever home for....but one that means he's still mine" Fia caved, not wanting to start another arguement with her mother in particular. Before either Kay or John could speak up, she continued to talk more her reasons, "I've been making sure he's well fed and I need to get him more food tomorrow. I just....I miss him. We've bonded." she sighed, pulling her phone out of her back pocket and with her one hand, scrolled into her gallery and pulled a photo of her with the dog, showing both her parents. "So if we trained earlier in the morning...can I still be given time to go check on him?" She asked her dad.

Spoiler: The photo

Attil/Present day

Kay suddenly felt a twang of guilt for speaking when Cliff couldn't make out what was being said, but she just didn't think about it in that moment in time. Everyone's heads were all over the place with the grief that the normal and simple things were just overpowering any other motion that would normally be second nature. It only really occurred to her that Cliff was unable to hear her when she watched the woman put in her hearing aids and signalled for someone to repeat what was said. She would have replied and repeated herself but Chas beat her to it. She then looked at Cliff to see her react to what Kay had asked, somewhat not surprised that it got a shrug and sigh. She continued to listen to Cliff explain that it hadn't been discussed too much, if at all, between herself and Cal, not surprised in the slightest that that was the case. But the idea of being able to portal back to Earth so they didn't have to spend so much time on a ship alone with their thoughts as they headed back towards Earth was highly appealing. She then looked at John when he said about leaving sooner rather later, "then I guess it's a case of retrieving our belongings and head home..." She said sadly, still feeling that twang of guilt, but this time over leaving Cal and Cliff alone. She didn't like the idea of leaving them alone during this time but she knew they couldn't stay, it wasn't healthy for them to stay, especially for John. The longer they stayed, the more depressing it would get for them, and she was sure the greater the hatred for Sykes and Attil would grow within John particularly, which would do absolutely no one any good. The one thing she did hope for was that this wouldn't be the last time they'd hear from Cal and Cliff, as she would have hated for this devastating time to pull them away from the two of them. She grew to love the both of them dearly and didn't want to lose connections with them both.

She hoped that there would be a way for them to get in touch if they ever needed anything from them, even if it was some advanced way of just chatting to help each other get through these dark times. Life was hard enough as it was during the loss of someone dear, she didn't see a point in making it even harder on someone by leaving them alone and cut off from some kind of emotional support. She also hoped that when they did get back, John wouldn't completely shut her and Chas out, though for John she was less hopeful of that happening. Yet it wasn't going to stop her reminding him she was there to share the pain even if she remained out of his way when he needed it. But she also didn't want this grief they were all feeling to mean she would be alone when Fia eventually came into the world. She couldnt bare the thought of going through labor on her own.

 

[_gallifrog_]

New timeline/2035
John might have believed 'Max's' lie had it not been for the chuckle Fia gave afterwards. He knew that chuckle, the sheepish nervous one Fia always made when she was trying to lie, but at the same time unwilling to commit to said lie. He gave a slight roll of his eyes and a scoff of disbelief. 'Max' gave a sigh and threw his arms into the air with a 'well, I tried' expression on his face. When Fia explained the real reason John let out a sigh of relief, he'd expected something much worse than a stray dog. It didn't surprise him in the slightest that Fia had fallen in love with this stray- it was exactly the kind of cute animal his daughter loved, though he himself had never really seen the appeal of small, white, fluffy dogs. They just seemed..... impractical and a bit stupid in terms of looks and personality. But there was no way she'd give up the dog. "That depends.... how early can you get up?" He said nothing about taking the dog in, the rules of the flat were clear, no animals, he didn't need a repeat of the incident where a group of pigeons somehow got in a open window of his old place, starting pecking at a Leitner manuscript and spontaneously combusted. While most of the dangerous artefacts were under lock, key and safe in The House, there were still some nasty relics in his flat.

Attil/Present day
Chas agreed whole-heartedly with John. Meeting Cal and Cliff had been so unexpected, yet so wonderful- they really couldn't have asked for better hosts or tour guides- but right now, all he wanted was to be at home with his wife and daughter. It would break their hearts to hear how Elliott had died and the thought of telling them filled him with dread and despair, but at the same time he knew deep down, that the only way he would get through this was with them. "I agree, we should go home" he sighed softly.

True to his word, Owain was at the cabin within five minutes of Cliff making the phone call. He was dishevelled, hair a mess from hours of running his hand through it, dark smudges under his eyes- he hadn't slept a moment that night either, but for very different reasons. He'd spent the night pulling every string he could, making contact with every source and spy the royal family and government had access to looking for something, anything that could be a lead of Elliott's murder. So far his efforts had been fruitless. His golden eyes scanned the room, noted Jay's absence but said nothing, just stretched out his arms and pulled open a rift leading straight to Cal and Cliff's flat. "It's a media circus outside the building unfortunately" he said apologetically.

John wordlessly grabbed his own stuff (what little of it there was, he really hadn't come to Attil with any kind of plan) then went about collecting Elliott's things. Chas meanwhile founding himself taking Jay's belongings, not entirely sure what he was going to do with it, or who he was going to give it to. One of Elliott's gang maybe? Jay's birth family were dead, she and her adoptive sister wanted to murder each other and he had no idea where to even begin tracking down her adoptive father. Not to mention that Jay was still technically a wanted criminal, no doubt with a bounty on her head.

The rest of John's face was set and stony, but his eyes were filled with pain as he gently picked up each Elliott's sketchbooks and clothes and packed them away as best he could into the rucksack. It was the unfinished artwork intended as Cal and Cliff's wedding present that really got to him though. Looking at the canvas with it's careful pencil marks outlines and the strokes of paint and the swirls of pastels, he felt the tears well up again and he slumped against the wall, barely able to support himself as a new wave of grief hit him.

 

[MzHyde]

New timeline/2035

Fia didn't want to give the game up that it was all lie but her reaction totally gave it all and she knew it, which was simply why she decided to just tell the truth and not weave more lies. She knew lying to her dad of all people was never the smartest move at the best of times, didn't mean it stopped her every now and then but she was beginning to feel like she was keeping Max the dog a secret for long enough. Seeing him give a sigh of relief also told her it was the right thing to do, as he clearly was thinking all kinds of horrific things she could have been keeping from him and her mother. She was half expecting him to say something about the dog, knowing he usually always had something to say about the matter. She never forgot the day she brought up the idea of wanting a pet when she was very young and he shot the idea down instantly. It was only when he fully explained why that she understood his reasons, and as she got older she understood it all the more. "If I go to bed now and set my alarm, then probably...6am?" She replied, figuring it out as she spoke. She didn't like getting up early in the slightest but if it meant she kept her magic lessons and got to see the dog then she'd do it.

Whilst John and Fia were coming to an agreement on timings, Kay had gone to the room with all the spare bedding and pillow and grabbed for them. With a tight grip on everything she walked through the hall and brought everything over to 'Max', placing them down beside him. "Here ya go, it'll be much more comfortable with these" she told him, even though this wasn't the first time they had hosted him and probably said similar lines to him. She just hated the thought of him or any guest of theirs being uncomfortable or cold during the night. She then walked over to Fia and John and looked between them both, "got everything sorted?" She asked.

Present day

With it all agreed that they should just grab their belongings and go home, with the help of Owain's portal ability, she prepared herself mentally for the departure. She knew when they got back to the apartment of Cal and Cliff it would be difficult, what with Elliott's belongings there, so a mental preparation felt more than needed. The five minute felt like forever to wait, but it also felt like in some ways it went by with a blink of eye. Time was so distorted to Kay that she wasn't sure if it was going slowly or going by quickly. Hearing that it was a media frenzy outside the safe house almost surprised Kay as she was convinced this place was safe from unwanted attention, but it seemed that wasn't to be the case in the slightest. As Owain then opened up the portal for them to get to the other apartment, she stood up by pushing herself upward, using the arm rest as her aid. The fact that Owain even felt like he should sound apologetic to them all seemed insane to her as it wasn't his fault the media had found them all. Stepping through and coming out the other side, she sighed. Everywhere she looked she saw memories of Elliott either walking around or sitting down either chatting or drawing and generally being the happiest he probably had been for a while. Now all of that had been taken away from him.

She walked to the spare room and grabbed her stuff, picking up what was out of her bag in the room and shoving it inside roughly before walking out and grabbing her art stuff from the main room, which didn't take her long at all. Pulling the toggle close, she then closed over the flap of the bag, slinging it over her shoulders. It was then she saw John find Elliott's work in progress painting of Cal and Cliff on their wedding day and just completely break down. Her heart broke all over again seeing him in such despair and without saying a single word, she just walked over to him and leaned against the wall beside him. She didn't want to touch him incase he shrugged her away, but she did want him to know she was there for him if he wanted the comfort of someone else also shouldering the grief. She stayed there for a short moment without saying a word until she couldn't take not trying to give him some comfort any longer. She was convinced that he'd shrug her away, but hoped he wouldn't and slowly and tenderly placed her hand on his shoulder, her thumb rubbing lightly back and forth. She forced herself not say a word, deciding taking it a very small step at a time was the best way to go about this. She didn't want him to think she and Chas weren't there for him, and they were there, sharing his grief even if it wasn't to the level he was feeling it. She didn't know how their bond fully worked but she hoped that her support for him would to some degree be shared through that, but she wasn't holding out hope on it.

She would only speak up she decided, when it was time to leave the apartment and go back to Earth. Fully prepared to take care of herself and be there for John however and whenever possible.

 

[_gallifrog_]

New timeline/2035
John couldn't help but give a wry chuckle at the idea of Fia managing to be up for 6am. It was closer to one in the morning than it was to midnight and even with a full night's sleep under her belt, his daughter was far from a morning person. In fact when he, Kay and Sam had been discussing whether or not to continue home-schooling Fia after she became a teenager, her inability to get up early had been one of the point brought up against her going to a normal school. The fact Fia was willing to do it now once again emphasised how much this fluffy little creature meant to Fia. "If you can get up and function at 6am, then we have a deal" he agreed.

'Max' meanwhile took the blankets with a thankful nod, wasting no time in shoving the pillow behind his back so he could lean against the arm of the couch more comfortably. "Ah excellent. My beauty sleep wouldn't be complete without these" he grinned.

Present day
John had been so lost in his own mind, in his own thoughts that he hadn't noticed Kay come into the room and lean against the wall near him. He was completely oblivious to her presence. The bond wasn't telling him anything, or more precisely, he wasn't letting it tell him anything. His own grief utterly enveloped him, filling him so entirely that there wasn't room in his mind for anything else. But he reacted almost instantaneously when Kay laid her hand on his shoulder. The touch maybe have been light and gentle, but John reacted like he'd been burned, yanking his shoulder hard out of her grasp. Without even sparing her a glance he turned sharply and left the room, the half-finished painting still clenched in one hand.

Re-entering the main room he found Cal, Cliff and Chas already there waiting alongside Owain and his portal. John passed the half-finished canvas to Cal "he'd have wanted you to have this, it was going to be Eh......... his wedding present to you two." John's voice was raw and hoarse, filled with defeat and sadness. Cal took one look at the canvas and fresh tears welled up. She collapsed against Cliff as the grief once again overcame her. The doctor gave John a nod, hoping the gesture would convey all the words stuck in her throat. John nodded back, understanding perfectly.

 

[MzHyde]

New timeline/2035

Fia didn't need to see her father chuckle at the time suggestion for her to know he would find it difficult to believe that she could get up early in the morning if it required it. It just made her all the more determined to make both things fit into her day and prove she could wake up earlier than 10am or even 9am if it was a 'school day'. Yet when he said if she could get up and be alert at 6am it was a deal, she grinned and flung herself at him, hugging him. "Thanks dad!" She beamed then ended up yawning as she used the last of her energy to hug him. Pulling away, she turned to 'Max' as she saw him pulling the pillow under him how he liked it and the blankets over him whilst commenting on his beauty sleep. "You need more than beauty sleep to be beautiful" she teased and with a chuckle she made a swift exit so not to risk bring hit by pillows or cushions. Her tease was of course just that, she knew as well as anyone that he was good looking bloke, she just saw him too much if a brother figure to ever see him as anything else.

Kay heard what their daughter said and found herself shaking her head but an amused smirk on her face none the less. Standing beside John, she folded her arms casually across her chest, "she seems to be in a happier mood compared to her earlier moment. She just really love that dog if she's willing to get up before 9am for training with you." She commented. "Guess we should head to bed ourselves" she then said a few moments later.

Present day

When John didn't initially acknowledge her presence in a negative manner, she thought for a brief moment that maybe, just maybe he wouldn't shun her away in this moment. But her action of kindness and support got the exact opposite reaction, bringing reality come crashing back to her. He reacted exactly how Chas said he would but it still pained her to be shrugged away from so roughly. She felt that sharp pain of helplessness and sorrow in her heart, making her just letting her hand hover in the air where his shoulder once was before it slowly lowered and rested on her heart. Tears pricked at her eyes, the hurt freezing her to the spot for a few seconds, giving John that head start to the main room to give Cal and Cliff the unfinished piece of art. "He'll come round eventually Kay, it's not personal, you know that" she heard Fee say in her head, which just opened the floodgates. Tears fell silently down her face, making her quickly wipe them away. "I know...doesn't stop it hurting though..." She whispered back before gathering her emotions and walking back out to everyone, seeing Owain was ready for them.

In the main room, she kept her distance from John, for fear of being brushed away yet again, so instead she focused on Cal and Cliff, giving each of them a tight hug one by one, "don't be strangers okay? If you need anything...find a way of getting in contact" she told them both as she pulled away from them. She then stepped to the side nearer to where the portal was, wondering where exactly Owain's portal would take them, but just couldn't bring herself to ask. It was the last thing that needed worrying about, all she cared about was going home.

 

[_gallifrog_]

New timeline/2035
Fia's decision to duck out of the way was a wise one, even though he knew he wouldn't hit her 'Max' still felt the need to throw a cushion after her. "You're just jealous, we all know I'm the best looking person in this room!" he called at her retreating back, a wide grin on his face. 'Max' was well aware he was a good looking guy by most people's standards. Like his father he was both confident and comfortable in his own skin, a serial flirter, not at all afraid to use his looks and charming personality to his advantage. It was an effective tactic, people found themselves relaxing around him. Even now John found himself rolling his eyes in amusement at the teenager. "In your dreams kid" he replied, before smirking. "There's no doubt she's devoted, but her getting before 6am? I'll believe that when I see it." As John headed towards his room he picked up the discarded cushion and threw it to 'Max' who deftly caught it. "Night kid!" "Remember what I said about NOT waking me up!" "No promises there!"

Present day
Cliff hugged Kay back just as tightly where as Cal's grip was much looser, she was just about registering Kay's presence. The half-finished gift had sent her mind into another spiral and all she wanted to do was slump to the ground and cry. Owain needed no instruction on where to send them next, something that usually would have aroused suspicion or curiosity in the group, but right now, all they cared about was going home. One portal led to the street where Chas lived, the other opened out onto the field where The House had materialised. Chas' parting words just before he stepped towards the breach were almost identical to Kay's- don't be a stranger, come find him or them if they needed anything- but they rang hollow, like there was no actual conviction behind them and the cabbie was speaking on auto-pilot. Even then he was clearly the most mentally present of the three heading to Earth, so it Chas that got the strange metallic orb from Owain which he explained would act like a beacon of sorts, should they ever need him to portal them back to Attil. Chas accepted it with a numb nod, then headed through.

---------------------------------------------
For three long days Elliott's body lay on one of the tables in The House, cold, grey and motionless. That was how long it took John to muster up the courage to bury it. The House's magic prevented the body from rotting or decomposing while John drank himself deeper and deeper into depression. He made a point of avoiding Kay. Being near her was...... painful didn't even begin to cover it. He didn't want to see the worry, the pity, the despair and the pain in her eyes, while the sight of her baby bump was just another reminder of everything he had lost. The idea of having a biological child, a partner who loved him, sitting down and playing happy families with them? It was nothing more than a fantasy, a delusion, something he was never meant nor supposed to have. No child could replace Elliott or fill the gaping void in his heart, so why even bother?

The House was a maze-like warren of rooms, corridors and alcoves, so infused with magic it had acquired a sort of sentience or consciousness. John was it's owner and master and they shared a bond, nowhere near as complex as that between John and Kay (and in the future, Fia), but bond enough that The House shuffled it's rooms and layouts so that the two's paths never crossed. Kay would see signs John had been there- the empty bottles and stubbed out cigarette ends and in one case a large crater where he'd repeatedly pounded his fist into the wall.

And when it came to digging Elliott's grave and burying his son's body, John made no attempt to let Kay know, he just grabbed the spade and left The House. The spot he picked for Elliott's grave was remote, far away from any city, and he hoped peaceful. Elliott deserved that much. Digging the grave was hard, physical work. But John didn't care, a shallow pit simple wouldn't do, this was going to be a proper grave. There was also a part of him that saw digging Elliott's grave alone by hand as a sort of penance for failing to protect his son. When he returned to The House hours later he was splattered with mud and collapsed, exhausted into the nearest chair

 

[MzHyde]

New timeline/2035

Fia chuckled when the cushion came at her, deciding that she really did know him too well and was glad she had begun heading back to her room at that time. She also know well enough if they weren't remotely family, she probably would have a big crush on him and want to be with him, but she saw him as family and nothing else. She sniggered at his comeback, which only just turned into a snort snigger when John said what he did back at 'Max', having just about heard it all from where she was. With the comments finished, she entered her room and closed the door behind her. "Okay Fia, time to prove dad wrong that I can get up before 6am" she said to herself as she walked to her bedside table to out her glass of water and phone down on it. Grabbing her pyjamas off her pillow, she swiftly changed out of her jeans and top before climbing into bed and setting her alarm for 5:30am, groaning when her phone told her it would go off in a mere 6 hours. "It's worth it for Max" she told herself, getting under her duvet and switching her lamp off, closing her eyes and getting some sleep.
Kay smirked at John's comment back at her, knowing just as well as he did that his words were more often correct than incorrect. "maybe tomorrow will be the day she surprises us all" she replied as John threw 'Max' the cushion back. She then soon followed John to bed, after saying goodnight to 'Max', glad to be heading to bed after a very long day.

Present day

Kay wasn't surprised in the slightest that Cal's hug wasn't as tight as Cliff's was. She knew that it would take a long time before Cal considered herself anywhere near back to her normal self. That wasn't going to stop her, pregnant or not, letting both Cliff and Cal know she will be there for them if they needed her for anything I just her simple action of hugs and expressing for them not to be strangers. Now the portals were opened, she didn't even think about how Owain would know where to open them up to, her grief and need to be home was far more powerful than any need to ask questions. She managed to mentally compute enough that Chas got given a device to keep them all in contact if needed or to get back to Attil if needed, before she just walked through with a small wave to the ones staying behind.

-------

For the three days they were back and being avoided by John killed Kay emotionally, but she understood it. She understood that his way of grieving was to turn in on himself and just drink and smoke near enough constantly. Yet it still hurt her because she couldn't be there for him and share the grief they were both feeling for Elliott's death, and feeling like she had no one to be there for her either. When they first started not crossing paths, but the signs were there he had been nearby, it confused Kay until the answer came through her grief and she realised it was the House keeping them apart from each other at John's request. Whilst John was doing what he could to grieve, Kay found herself drowning herself into sleeping, staying hydrated and attempting to sketch when she felt mentally with it enough, but all it ever brought was more memories of Elliott and many a page was stained with tears that made the lines on the pages blur and bleed.

When the day came that John felt he could bury Elliott's body, she didn't know he had gone until The House became evidently very empty aside for herself. She saw Elliott was gone and that was when she knew John had gone ahead without her. That also hurt, she wanted to be there, to say goodbye once and for all to the guy who helped her fit into the group, the guy who she bonded with over art. She knew she could never tell John how much his choices hurt her, knowing all too well that John's bond and grief was greater than her own, but hers was very much still valid nonetheless. During those hours, she didn't do much, just tried to find anything to distract her mind, which included a shower where she found herself breaking down and crying in out of frustration, feeling helpless and hurt. By the time John came back, she was in the kitchen getting a hot drink to help herself sleep yet again, and was exiting the kitchen when she heard the echos of him returning.

"I know you're not gonna let me see him..just...please...make sure he's okay and if he does want to see me? He knows where I am" she quietly pleaded of The House as she usually did, despite deep down wanting to say 'remind him I love him no matter how much he pushes me away'. Wiping her face before more years fell down her face, she made her way back to the room she had accepted to reside in without him. Walking up the stairs was getting more and more difficult for her but she refused to accept defeat to move rooms. Reaching the floor she needed, she had to pause at the top of the stairs and take a breather before continuing on to her room where she walked in, over the chair in said room and sat down, putting her mug down to her side and clutching her bump whilst taking slow deep breaths. "He'll come back to us little flame....eventually" she softly said.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Present day
The passage of time was a hard thing to judge from inside The House. It stretched and warped a minute in a room was actually three hours while what felt like hours of fitful sleep tormented by nightmares, or worse memories of better times when Elliott had been so very alive was actually only twenty minutes. Windows that actually looked outside the building were a rarity so judging the passage of time by the rise and fall of the sun simply wasn't an option. There were clocks but Kay would quickly come to realise that none of them told the correct time- a little strange side effect of The House's magic. Aside from the time John left to bury Elliott The House spent it's time in the void, the in-between place between worlds, the one place where nobody could truly get at them.

The House's shifting layout did nothing to help. It messed with the mind too, sowing doubt, confusion and a low-level of paranoia. The layout, unusual and unconventional on the best of days became a nightmare of twisting corridors, staircases, rooms and hallspaces. This increase in disorder was a direct consequence of The House picking up on the turmoil wracking John's mind. John didn't notice the changing layout or the distortion of time, nor did he particularly care, as long as there was alcohol to be found, he'd collapse onto the nearest vaguely horizontal surface and drown his sorrows.

The debris left behind by John gave no indication his mental state was improving, if anything it was worsening. One of the first things he'd done was discard his phone, chucking it into the corner of some room and forgetting about it. He didn't want to talk to anybody, didn't want to explain what had happened or worse, listen to people gush with their sympathies. So when it did start ringing, he didn't bother. One missed call. Two. Three. The ringing was sharp and insistent, an almost deafening noise in comparison to the stillness of everywhere else. By the time The House 'herded' Kay to the room, there were eleven missed calls, all from the same number. And as she entered it started to ring again, just as insistently.

 

[MzHyde]

The constant changing and winding of The House never got any less confusing for Kay. It rapidly on the first morning they got back when she realised The House was purposely separating John and herself on his request, that she learned to speak to The House telling it where she needed to go and just keep walking, trusting the building to lead her to her desired room. She knew as the days went by and she saw how the clocks just didn't work, that she'd definitely get cabin fever sooner rather than later, a side effect of what they were living in she was not looking forward to. It also meant with her pregnancy that she had no idea how close to a possible due date she was or even if John would be getting anywhere near better to be there when it was time. She was understanding of him needing space to grieve, but she also didn't want to do this alone. It honestly terrified Kay to see the empty bottles and cigarette butts everywhere when she could get the energy to leave the main room she situated herself in. It made herself feel isolated even more so, even if she had told herself that she would wait for John no matter how long it took. Yet there was that part of Kay's mind along with Fee that asked her how realistic that truly was.

When she got back to the room and heard John's phone ringing, she looked around for it before finding it on the floor poking out from under a table. She walked over to it and steadying herself using the table, she squatted down as much as she could and picked it up. She debated if she should answer it but decided to so whoever was trying to get through to John could know what was going on. Clicking accept on the phone, she held it to her ear without looking at the name flashing on the screen, "John's phone" she answered, knowing she was no doubt taking a complete gamble answering it for him when it could have been someone who didn't know of her existence, or it could have been simply Chas. The latter in which she hoped it would be. She carefully placed herself down on the chair she spent a good chunk of her days in due to it being relatively comfortable on her back and with the table lamp, it was a good spot to either read or draw in when she could distract her mind long enough to do so. Just saying John's name made it difficult to keep herself from letting more tears fall as the whole situation they were living in flooded her head all over again. She hated being so alone and the idea of someone like Chas being on the end of the phone just made all her emotions bubble up again as she tried her hardest to keep her emotions under control.

 

[_gallifrog_]

There was a sharp sigh of relief from the other end of the phone when Kay answered. "It's aboot bloody time you picked up!" audible in the caller's voice was the frustration that it had taken twelve attempt to actually get through as well as a slight edge of worry. The caller wasn't Chas or any voice Kay recognised. This person was female, speaking in a thick, rough Scottish accent. An accent that would seem especially jarring to Kay's ears after so long surrounded by the soft Attilian accent and the almost melodic cadence with which they spoke. The caller was so relieved to finally get through that she didn't actually register the voice on the end wasn't John's until after her initial outburst.

There was a slight pause, then she continued, the worry in her tone more noticeable. "Listen..... whoever you are. I do nae particularly care how or why you have John's phone so long as you can pass it to the bleedin' idiot himself and let me have a word with him. Whatever bloody fix or hole he's in right now- and I know he's in one, he always is- this....this is almost certainly more bloody important."