A/N: Okay, I finally managed to find the time to get this up and posted. Sorry it took so long, it seems that though this is the Christmas holidays, uni has decided I'm not entitled to an actual holiday and I've been given essays to write, uni books to read and a dissertation to work on. Fun. Riiight.
Anyway, as previously mentioned, this bit has a bit about Erin first arriving in the 'Dark Angel' universe, her reaction and her explanation to the others. 'Tis a bit depressing but once I get this lot out of the way, the fun can finally begin. I want to say a big thank you to my new betas and thank YOU guys for all the reviews. Without you, this sequel wouldn't be here.
Now all I have to say is that I hope everyone has a merry Christmas and a happy new year!
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Chapter 3: Down The Rabbit Hole
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'Ooh, mutants on the loose. The genetically superior walk among us.'
-Sketchy (Bag 'Em)
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'I don't know what's worth fighting for
Or why I have to scream
But now I have some clarity
To show you what I mean
I don't know how I got this way
I'll never be alright'
-Linkin Park (Breaking The Habit)
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Flashback
The light was blinding, the force incredible as it pushed and pulled her screaming and swearing into it. She couldn't see anything but light, bright blue light that was so bright it almost seemed white in it's intensity. Erin squeezed her eyes shut instinctively as her eyes burned. This allowed her hearing to focus on the roaring sound like nothing she had ever heard before- it could've been like a storm, howling, but no, it wasn't high pitched, it was loud and constant. She couldn't hear her own voice swearing as she felt like she was being flipped everyway possible. It was like she was on the worlds scariest roller coaster, only, there was nothing holding her in to keep her safe and she had no idea where she was going to end up. In effect, Erin was terrified. If she fell out whatever it was she was in, would she go splat? For that matter, would she ever get out of whatever it was she was in? Or was she stuck like this forever until she went insane or her body shut down? What the hell was going on!
Then, just as suddenly, it was over. One minute, she was being flipped upside-down and every other way, the next there was nothing but her own heavy breathing to listen to as she flew out and away from whatever it was that had dragged her kicking and screaming from the streets of her hometown. Erin managed to open her eyes in shock for a second, seeing a flash of green before her body hit the hard floor.
Instinctively, Erin covered her head as her body came to a stop on rough ground. She lay like that for a few moments, stunned and coughing before she allowed herself to open her eyes again and slowly sit up. Before her was a tree.
That made no sense. She'd been taken from a street back home- the only trees nearby were in people's back gardens.
Getting slowly to her feet Erin looked around to encounter another tree and another one and another one. With a start, she realized that she was in a clearing within a wood or a forest.
"Well, this is just… great." She looked around her as she began pick twigs and leaves from her hair. 'I'm in a forest or a wood.' Erin turned around slowly before looking up at the sky to see that is was, well, still light anyway. That gave her nothing. Was it morning here or was it afternoon? Where was here? And how the hell did she end up here and why?
The first 3 questions were answered surprisingly quickly, and all by a certain tall dark and broody bloke.
As Erin pondered on what it was she should do, she heard the sound of many feet tramping through the undergrowth.
Now Erin, not exactly being the instinctively trusting type immediately sprinted away and hid behind a tree. That was probably what saved her life in the first place because just as she got herself situated, White and about 30 guys in cammies burst into the clearing, all aiming very large guns at the spot she'd just vacated.
Erin stared at White open-mouthed, her mouth flapping like a goldfish for a few moments.
There stood Agent Ames White, aka Sandeman's son aka scary cult guy. Wearing his typical suit and long floppy coat as well as waving around a gun, he looked both very real and very dangerous. Erin had finally, most definitely gone off the deep end… or eaten something really bad at Dylan's the previous night. She knew she shouldn't have touched that pizza!
"Where is she!" White spun around, looking wildly about the clearing. "WHERE IS SHE!" His voice grew louder as he grabbed the nearest soldier, "I want a location right NOW!"
"Sir, maybe she hasn't arrived yet?" Another solider asked timidly as he continued to scan the area, "Maybe we've arrived before her?" The soldier was either an idiot or incredibly new.
White stalked up to him and delivered a single punch to his face, knocking him flat on his back with blood tricking down his chin.
"Did I ask for your opinion?" White snarled down at the man as the soldier stared up at him in shock and not a small amount of fear, "No! I didn't. Because we haven't arrived here early, the reader meetings are off the chart, and Erin will have been deposited by the portal RIGHT HERE!"
It was then that Erin noticed several men with what looked like those handheld computer notebook thingies. It was also then that she registered that he'd said her name and the word portal. Shit.
"Now," White stalked away, "It's obvious that she's on the move. I want the dogs brought from the trucks and I want a perimeter created straight away. Travelling in groups of 10 I want you to spread out and search the area for the next 5 miles."
White looked around at the men and Erin could almost see veins getting ready to explode in his forehead. "WHY ARE YOU IDIOTS STILL HERE! MOVE! I'll be with the team heading towards Seattle."
Erin started at this last bit of information. Seattle. America. She was near Seattle and White was here. FUCKING HELL, she was in Dark Angel! Her thoughts slowed to a halt as shock and disbelief began to take effect, only to be pushed forcibly from her mind as there was a flurry of activity. It was then that Erin decided it best to do the same thing. She was in the states, not far from Seattle, right? She should head that way. She watched as White turned to move in a direction and as quickly and quietly as possible, made her way around the clearing before breaking into a run in that direction. She was about a fair distance away when she heard the shout and she piled on the speed, hoping that she wouldn't trip up or fall into a ditch or anything. It was then that she did just that, tripping over a branch to fall and skid down a small incline.
Erin jumped to her feet, wincing as she felt a branch dig into her side. She was moving again, the trees becoming a blur once more as the sounds of many feet running, and there in the distance dogs too, reached her ears. Fuck. She was so dead if she didn't get to Seattle. She really hoped it wasn't far.
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Over 1 hour later:
It was never ending. Erin ran. Foliage suffered as her feet pounded out a relentless rhythm on the mossy earth. Her short dark hair covered her hot sweaty face as her breath came out in puffs of air in front of her as she scanned the trees. Her legs were aching, her lungs burned and her body screamed in protest, but she kept on running through sheer stubbornness… and fear. She had no time to think- only act. This instinct had just saved her life and she wasn't about to give up now. She didn't want to die.
She was sure beyond anything else, that if she stopped she was a dead woman. She wasn't even sure how long she'd been running, but it felt like her heart was ready to explode. She knew it must've been well over an hour.
Darting behind a large tree, she stopped and sagged against it. Her grey combat trousers were covered in bits of bark and leaves, her black sleeveless top was soaked with sweat and her trainers had aged 50 years. If she wasn't so scared and exhausted, Erin would've laughed at the thought. They'd only aged 20 years.
Trying to slow her breathing, silence her gasping and ignore the pounding of her heart in her ears, she froze and listened. The distant sound of dogs barking could be heard and Erin wanted to cry but she wouldn't. She hadn't done that in a long time. Instead, she allowed her eyes to focus on something beyond the trees to her right. A hundred yards away, a road. She looked up at the canopy of green above her and she thanked whatever Gods were listening before she ran towards it, zigzagging through the undergrowth to give the tracking dogs a harder time.
End Flashback
"That's how I got here. I slept in an alley my first night, then I found Josh's place the next day," Erin stood up and stretched. "I made myself a plan. Seeing as I knew the most about you guys, I decided to come stay here with you. White wants me, and he wants you too, Max, I thought it was a good idea at the time. So, I went about acquiring a few things I thought you guys would need and I practiced my stealing skills which were nonexistent before I got here. I cased this place and was just about to make my move when these guys here" she nodded at Zack and the others, "got themselves captured. I couldn't exactly let them stay that way, could I?"
Everyone just sat and stared at her. They had listened- all blank faced, and they had listened in silence. Normally, Erin would be very agitated by this- not knowing what they were feeling towards her, but now, at this point- she really didn't care.
"I didn't talk because I didn't want to let slip anything that would give away that I wasn't from this world, or that I knew too much about you guys." Erin sighed and leant forward on the railing, "As it was, I had to reveal some info I knew about this place to help you out. There was no way I couldn't tell you about the scanners- it'd cost lives and I couldn't do that."
She looked down at her hands, wondering how it was that these very same hands had killed so many people. Now she'd calmed down, it seemed even less real.
"It was then" she began, "when I was finally beginning to think I could tell you guys the truth, that this happened." Her voice became lower, losing the smoothness that had begun to return from using her vocal cords. She refused to look up now as she gazed intently on the hands that had murdered. "I was watching you, Max, watching as White hurt you and I got so angry." She shook her head and closed her eyes, "But I couldn't do anything- I was too weak- I could hardly keep myself from falling over." She forced her eyes up, up to meet Max's dark intense gaze, "And that was when it hit me."
Flashback
A blinding rage raced through her, crashing into her like a physical blow and Erin staggered.
This was not right, what was happening to her? She looked down at her hands and spotted something strange happening to her skin. It was kind of itchy, hot, like fever hot. Her wrists were darker. No, her arms were darker. The very skin seemed to be turning black. Wait, it wasn't. Something was appearing on her skin, pushing up painfully from inside of her and Erin staggered again. Her eyes on her arms, she saw blood begin to trickle from beneath the dark shapes.
Erin gripped the wall, trying to keep standing as she began to shake more violently. She glanced down at the courtyard, at her friends. She didn't need this right now, Max was in danger- they all were. A rushing white noise took away any sound. She couldn't hear what was being said anymore and that frustrated her even more.
White was still stood there, taunting everyone as he hit Max, causing the transgenic to stumble, blood splattering the concrete.
More rage hit her system and that was the final straw and there was nothing she could do. Erin's hands were soaked in her blood and they slipped from the wall.
Erin's body dropped to the floor, shaking like she had a seizure. Her head hit the concrete loudly and Erin's eyes rolled back into her head as her hands balled into fists, her nails biting into her skin until her hands bled. She couldn't speak, couldn't move to get up, couldn't hear what was going on down in the courtyard, couldn't even hear her own laboured breathing.
The pain was like nothing Erin had ever felt before. She couldn't feel anything other than the pain. She couldn't feel her body, couldn't see, couldn't feel the concrete against her cheek. Erin was in more pain than her body could handle. She couldn't think passed the pain like she'd done as a child, couldn't switch off so it didn't seem so bad. The pain was overwhelming, yet under it all, there was something else. There was power. If Erin could form a coherent thought, she would've realized that the pain was the power. Whatever was happening to her was making her convulsing body stronger. Her muscles tightened even more, her body jerking violently as she lay on the floor and with the pain, the power rushed forward.
Erin could feel something else now as blood began to ooze freely from the skin of her arms and back- soaking her black tank top and causing her skin to itch like she had a rash. Erin felt hunger. Hunger for one thing. Blood.
As that one thought managed to get passed the pain and form a coherent thought in her brain, Erin opened her eyes and screamed.
End Flashback
"There was pain" Erin whispered, "So much pain that I couldn't think anymore, couldn't feel, couldn't hear, couldn't see- couldn't even scream." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "And when it was all over, I was different. Could see better, hear better, smell better. Did you guys know that you guys have different scents depending on what animals are in your cocktails?" A sad smile appeared on her face, "If it was just that- I would be able to handle this but it isn't. Superpowers always come with a catch, right? Mine's this thing inside of me. Even now…" Erin stopped, focusing on this beast within her. It was listening, still itching to get out again- waiting for the transgenics to make a move. Just one move and it would be free again.
"Even now, what?" Max's voice was as quiet as her own. Could she feel it too? Did one predator know when another was just waiting for the chance to lash out?
"Even now, it's wanting to kill you" Erin forced herself to tell the truth and the truth came out with a sour taste. She shouldn't be in this situation in the first place. She shouldn't have to tell her friends that there was something in her wanting to kill them all. It was just sick.
"But you haven't let it kill us" Max's voice was still carefully neutral, "You're stopping it from hurting us."
Erin forced herself to straighten and forced her voice to come out stronger and louder, "Don't know how long I can hold it at bay, Max, but either way, that's all I think I can tell you." She pulled her damp hair back from her face as she grimaced, "I'm a girl from a different reality who has found herself being pursued by a breeding cult and yesterday found herself turning into a fucked up killer. Yep, that pretty much covers it." Erin finally took in her friends faces.
Max believed her, that was obvious, Zack and the other '09ers too if their facial expressions were anything to go by. Even Zane seemed less angry. Mole was chewing on his cigar as if his life depended on it and Joshua looked like he was having what Krit had deemed 'a happy attack.' Alec however, she couldn't read. His stance hadn't changed and his facial expression remained as stony as ever. Her sense of smell only seemed to work to tell her what animals were in someone's cocktail and even then it was hard to pinpoint because of the amount of people in the room, the strong scent of other animals, and also the fact that Erin didn't exactly know what every animal on the planet smelt like.
"A blue portal…" Brin drew her gaze, "Why does that seem familiar to me?"
"So, let a girl get this straight" Cindy was the next to speak, interrupting Brin as she went into think-mode. "You was just minding your own, walking down a street when BAM, you're on the roller coaster ride from hell?"
"Aye, that's about it" Erin shrugged.
"Erin from a different world!" Joshua seemed to be bouncing on his bar stool, "Erin could take us there!" He gave her a big grin, "You could take us there to live and there'll be no more screaming and fighting."
Anything good in Erin's mood plummeted even further. "Oh I wish I could big fella, but, ya see, there's a teensy-weensy problem with that plan."
"And that is?" Jondy spoke up, "I mean, think about it. It would mean that we could just disappear into a world where no one knows we exist, right?"
"Problem number 1-" Erin sighed, "Many people do know you exist, but in a way I can't explain without telling you everything. And number 2- Even if you guys could go there and live under the radar, there's the little problem with getting there in the first place." Erin ducked her head, muttering the words that had filled her with desperation ever since she had arrived in the world of Dark Angel, "I don't know how to get home."
"You don't know how to get back to your family?" Max's voice was filled with a kind of horror. She knew what it was like to be separated from those she loved, but at least she had a good chance in finding them. They were all in the same country, the same world. Erin's wasn't. It was easy to say that this would've been one of Max's worst nightmares.
Erin simply shook her head, not trusting her voice. That was the gist of it. She was in a world without her family. She had changed into something that loved to kill, she had fallen out with what people she had come to consider her close friends and in one case- her lover, and to top it all off, she had no way home. She felt her face go blank.
She watched Max, refusing to look at Alec and see his reaction to this statement. A buzzing filled her ears as she focused on her eyes, her jaw gritting as she stared at Max and tried to keep the tears at bay. She wouldn't cry, not now. Dimly she heard several other guns being lowered or unloaded.
It was time to leave. She jumped off the ramp and turned towards the door. She wasn't going to allow herself to break down in front of them. Instead, she was going to leave, find a place to hold up and hope that she'd change back into her normal self.
No one made a move to stop her.
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A/N: Thanks to all your reviews guys. Now, if you want me to leave a reply like this at the end of the next chapter, please leave a review with something I can reply to. I'm always looking for more ideas, so if any of you have some that you think would work, feel free to mention them. Also, if you guys want to see any quotes in here, again, post them in a review or email or something. I'm looking for some funny ones.
Angelofdarkness78: There'll be a little bit of Max and Zack in chapter 5- Max already knows she likes him as it freaked her out in 'The Story of Erin', however, she's still going to be having to deal with these new feelings. It will probably lead to more awkwardness later on. Thanks for reading my story!
Riley: It's not going to be in your face flirting. More, well, I'm hoping to not have to have Zack drag Max into a secluded room to kiss her. Zack's getting more approachable as the story continues, and I'm hoping to make him seem more human and less soldier if that makes any sense? Zack's going to get under Max's skin.
goldstranger: And Erin's going to have to go through some more. She's not going to get back with Alec for awhile, and they're going to have to have a confrontation before they do so and even then, it's not going to be smooth sailing.
Kyzhart: Thanks for the review!
Kriskabelle: You are not a suck up and you had me grinning when I read your review. Thank you SO much! I'm really glad you like it and now that you're one of my betas, you can dissect it into little pieces and tell me what needs changing. Do you really think Erin's creepy? Hmm, I was going for the more tortured kinda angle. Must work on that.
