Pete Latimer was only a day or two to being back to his normal self and was definitely more than ready to go back to work.
As fun as it was to watch cartoons all day, he really wanted to get back to his real purpose: annoying the heck out of Artie, going artifact hunting with Myka, and snagging and bagging - while letting Claudia do the tagging.
But, something was wrong.
Almost immediately after he realized this, his Farnsworth sharply buzzed, demanding his attention.
"Pete?"
"Yeah, Myks?" It wasn't her tone that gave away her fears. She spoke rather calmly, even though her eyes held a certain anxiety he never wanted to see.
"We need you."
….
Myka wanted to panic. Myka wanted to yell. Myka wanted to freak out and shake Artie until he stirred and gruffly snapped at her for irrationally panicking.
But Claudia's fear grounded hers. As Claudia shakily walked away to get some goo Myka forced herself to calm down. She had to be the adult this time, she had to be the wisest one in the room. She had to not only be knowledgeable, but also understanding of all the factors surrounding this issue.
She had to be Artie.
So, she breathed deeply. She closed her eyes for a brief moment.
And focused.
Claudia's energy really did seem to have had an effect on the artifacts here. As the young woman had stepped away, obnoxious screeches and chilling dissonance dissipated into calming hums.
How was it even possible for motionless artifacts to create sound? How could instruments come to life when no one was playing them?
Myka had to admit that she was curious about this section. But, stress stopped curiosity from taking over.
"Artie?" It was more of a plea than a whisper.
She may have been doing this for some time now, but it was moments like these where she realized she was still new to artifacts. She was still inexperienced and she was still learning the ropes. She still needed help.
But there was no response.
…
Pete made it to the office, the bad vibe continuing to gnaw at him.
Myka hadn't been put together enough to tell him exactly where she was, or who was in trouble.
But he knew exactly where to go.
What he didn't - and what he didn't want to know - was who was in danger.
…
"C'mon, gramps, you know you're going to have to get up eventually, right?"
Light flickered into the room. And even though there were only trickles of sunshine filtering in, he really didn't want to properly give into the day just yet. He really just wanted to sigh into his blissfully soft pillow and let sweet, comforting darkness envelope him.
"Claudia, if you know what's good for you, you'll let me be." She scoffed at this, raising an eyebrow.
"You know, you're the one who's still-"
"Do you hear that?"
But the faint whisperings of something faded away. He finally cracked open an eye to Claudia sitting on the bed next to him.
And she wasn't smiling.
"You really scared us, Artie." Worry clearly burrowed into her face, and glassy eyes held his gaze.
"I know, kiddo. I know."
"Stay with me?"
That faint noise slipped back into the background, growing stronger. As it grew, flickers of light seemed to diminish in the room. Not only that, but Artie felt a small wave of something strange crawl up his body as he paid attention to the music.
But trembling hands reaching out for him grabbed his focus once again.
"Please."
…
She wanted the sound of silence to grace the space, the sound of peace and concentration.
But there would be no such luck.
Myka scanned it all once more, having no idea what she should be looking for. She was quite unable to really focus on anything, let alone think.
There was just too much sound.
Various instruments shrieked for her attention, and not all of them were properly labeled. A melancholic tune cried a few feet away, a horrifically cheerful melody clashed right next door. Her eyes were drawn to a silent viola, but she instinctively knew that wasn't what caused this.
Just take it one step at a time, Myka.
"'Endless fits of laughter' - definitely not the case. 'Causes depression' - potentially, but not likely. 'World's tiniest violin - unending complaining, do not touch!'." She harrumphed, frustrated that she couldn't just figure it out. The answer truly was right in front of her and she knew it.
If only that damn violin would just shut up. One in particular, only a few feet away from Artie, had been incessantly growing in volume, and intensity.
And then something clicked into place.
"Of course!"
It was so obvious.
…
When Claudia suddenly disappeared, he blinked.
The light was fading in the room, caressing him with a feeling of drowsiness.
She had vanished right before their hands touched.
"Claudia?"
Artie's normal paranoia fought to be heard, demanded that he pay attention and that he question what exactly was going on.
But there was such a soothing hazy presence in the room that the agent was content to let this mystery remained unsolved.
And as he did so, a serene piece of music finally snaked its way into the room. Properly announced its presence.
"I didn't know we had a violinist in the house."
…
A/N: Sometimes they're going to lightly curse in this fic. It's a little out of character, but I find life threatening situations tend to do that.
Also, Totally forgot to mention this in the beginning, but I do not own Warehouse 13. I hope you've been enjoying this little ficlet. It's rather nice to be writing out a chapter story.