A/N1:Dude, trust me when I tell you that anomalistic psychology is a bitch. Hence why I made Katherine screw up the exam question. That is all.
A/N2: So it's Katherine and Chase versus Riley. Or is it? Time to find out the teams ;)
A few hours later…
Katherine rolled her eyes, glancing down at the title of the essay she'd been given to do for homework; 'Outline and evaluate research into Out of Body experiences and/or Near Death experiences- 25 marks.' What a load of freaking rubbish. She had absolutely no desire to do this at all, and if whoever the teacher was later decided to get on her back- she'd drown that bitch. She stood up, crumpling the piece of paper in her hand and dropping it into the waste paper basket. She glanced at the time, sighing impatiently. She'd be meeting up with the sons of Ipswich later, but not for almost another two hours. Well, she had some time to kill. The question was…What was her sister up to? She was probably off somewhere, trying to impede her progress and screw up her plans. She was almost certain that she'd fail though. The main reason being the fact that the sons trusted her, not Riley.
Almost as though it were a consequence of just thinking about her irksome little sister, the door to their dormitory suddenly flew open. She smirked, leaning against the table, lightly tapping her index finger against the varnished wooden surface; waiting for the younger girl to inevitably enter in a whirlwind of self-righteousness. In a matter of seconds, Riley entered the room, with a face like thunder as she closed the door behind her. She blinked in surprise upon spotting Katherine, clearly having been expecting her to be out already.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, icily.
"We, unfortunately, share this dormitory, which means that I have to be here sometimes. Which sucks," the fair haired girl retorted, smirking. "No need to worry, though, I'll be going out in a couple of hours. With the boys."
"You're just using them!" Riley growled, raking a hand through her hair.
"Well done, your skills of deduction are amazing!" the elder sister mocked, applauding sarcastically. The raven haired girl narrowed her eyes angrily.
"Katherine," she begun, whilst struggling to remain calm. "I'm begging you, okay? Don't do this! You know it isn't right. Somewhere within you, you know that!"
"Right and wrong…That's all you ever seem to talk about," Katherine complained, scowling at her. "Have you not come to understand that life isn't quite that clear cut, little sister? I'm just trying to protect us. I'm trying to ensure that we survive! It's a dog eat dog world and I don't wanna be eaten. So, without you…I will take those boy's powers, for myself; one by one."
"I genuinely do believe that your initial intentions were to protect us and I was all for that. I don't know what changed, but I was never entirely happy with the concept of killing the sons. How could anyone be happy about such a thing? I've said it before, but I'll say it again. They don't deserve to die, Katherine! You know what's really sad? They think that you're their friend; they think that they can trust you. And yet they can't," Riley ranted, gesticulating widely.
"Hmm…Ooh er, let me see…" the fair haired girl mocked, smirking dispassionately. "I don't actually care."
"And Tyler? Do you truly feel nothing for him? He's quite clearly into you. Really into you.
And you're just content to kill him?" the brunette snapped, pacing the room for a moment before stopping.
"Yes. I'm content to kill them all, Riley. And you once were as well, if you recall!" Katherine pointed out, rolling her eyes at the hypocrisy. "They are the Sons of Ipswich- quite possibly the strongest warlocks we will come across. There's no time to feel guilty, because none of that matters. The only thing that matters is power! More. More power. That was our agreement!"
"Yeah, well, I'm backing out of this shit!" Riley retorted, crossing her arms. "And you should too, Katherine. I feel as though I barely in freaking knowyou anymore."
"How tragic," the elder girl crooned, clutching her chest mockingly. "The most ironic thing about that, though, is the fact that I feel as though I know you better than ever. As a consequence of all this shit with Chase, and the sons…I can now see you for what you truly are. Weak."
"Wea-" Riley cut herself off, shaking her head in contempt and resignation. "You know what? I'd rather be 'weak,' than be like you. Chase may have DID, but the real insane one is you. I genuinely do believe that you're not quite in the right mentality. You're not all there in the head! You need help, Katherine!"
"The only help I need is that which I will receive from the sons of Ipswich when they hand their powers over to me, thank you very much," the fair haired girl jeered with a smirk; unable to stop herself from rolling her eyes in exasperation. Now she was apparently mentally unstable? Jesus, could her sister get any more desperate and ridiculous? "I don't think that you quite understand the situation, Riley. I am taking the powers of those boys, whether you like it or not. And you can'ttalk me out of it. If you want to stop me then you'll either have to gain their trust and convince them of what I'm attempting to do, which is unlikely, or you'll have to kill me."
"That can be arranged!" Riley threatened tersely, as she crossed her arms and gave her sister a withering look.
"Try all you want, okay? Eventually, you'll come to release its hopeless and just give up," the blonde pointed out with a smirk as she shot the younger girl a condescending look "Either that, or you'll come crawling back to me- like always."
"'Like always?'" the younger sister repeated; her head snapping round in order to glare at her sister. Screw you! I never come 'crawling back to you' and I certainly won't do in a case like this! Not when you're talking about committing four cases of murder to four perfectly nice, innocent, boys!"
"Got a bit of a crush on them, have you?" Katherine mocked, flipping her hair back. "You know…I'm sure you and Caleb could actually get on rather well, he's rather self-righteous too. Expect…Oh wait…He doesn't trustyou. Tragic. Star crossed lovers." Riley hissed, her eyes flashing in anger. She felt heat swelling within her right hand, beyond her control, as she tried to resist the urge to burn her stupid sister.
"Are you incapable of being serious? I mean…For the love of God, this is no time for freaking jokes!"
"Face it," the fair haired girl begun, in reference to her earlier point. "You need me. You depend on me. That's why you're finding this so difficult. 'Cause you wanna run back over to me and rock with this plan, but you're trying to convince yourself that you're better. When in reality? You aren't."
"Bullshit," Riley snapped, vehemently denying the unfounded accusations. "Youneed me, I don't need you."
"Bit confused there, aren't you?" Katherine retorted, letting out a short, cold laugh.
"Oh, really? Then why aren't I dead, hmm? You know I intend to try and stop you, so why am I still alive?" The younger girl pointed out, a smug smirk slipping onto her face. The blonde rolled her eyes, immediately able to spot that Riley assumed that she had managed to catch her out. Well, she was wrong. She certainly hadn't.
"You might well soon find yourself dead, if you continue to interfere, little sister," the faired haired girl threatened, crossing her arms and shooting her a haughty look.
"I'll believe that when I see it," Riley countered, rolling her eyes. "If anyone's going down- it's gonna be you. You hear me? The girl I knew used to be better than this! I'm either gonna stop you, or die trying!"
"That's a lot to risk, for a foursome of boys who you don't even know, don't you think?" Katherine pointed out, tilting her head slightly, with a small, malicious grin. This slipped away a few moments later, only to be replaced by an expression of angry bemusement. "I'll admit it, I honestly don't understand. Why would you risk throwing away everything you have, and everything that you couldhave, for them?"
"Because it's the right thing to do!" Riley half yelled, throwing her hands up in a combination of frustration and disbelief. She took a few steps closer to her sister, ignoring her amused expression. "Do you hear me? That is why! That is what this is all about. We've done some stuff before that we weren't supposed to do, we've broken some rules, but we've never killed anyone, Katherine! And we never should, ever! There are some rules that shouldn't be broken, some lines that simply shouldn't be crossed!"
"Rules are made to be broken, as the saying goes," the fair haired girl countered evenly, taking as much pleasure as usual in contradicting her sister.
"Not ones like this! It goes against all kinds of morals, for fuck sake, both mortal and Wiccan! How could you possibly ever justify murdering them?" Riley argued, angry and a little bit desperate, as she tried to appeal to the better nature which she believed her sister to have.
"Because it could help us to stay alive, Riley! They don't need their powers, not really! It isn't fair, alright? Why the hell should they get all of those abilities as a consequence of their bloodlines, as a consequence of simply being born? Why should their sons, should they have any, receive them too? They get power and protection through their blood, whilst we had to work for freaking ages to just get one measly elemental ability each? No. Okay? No! I won't tolerate it! They don't deserve the powers. They didn't earn them. They don't use them to their full capabilities anyway, for God's sake. They just pussy foot around the world, thinking they're great and unstoppable, but they aren't! They have made this so easy for me, do you not see? They're asking for it!" The fair haired girl suddenly yelled, losing her cool without any warning.
"Temper, temper," the younger sister mocked, tactically hiding the apprehension and disbelief which she was feeling. Katherine was…mental, she was now convinced. Seriously, her sister was practically certifiable.
"So, you're the only one who's allowed to get a little riled, are you?" Katherine enquired scornfully. "You're a self-righteous, spineless, little hypocrite Riley and it will only lead you to lead you to one thing. Death." She pushed herself away from the table, crossing the room and walking towards the door. She paused, with her hand on the door knob. She glanced back at the raven haired girl over her shoulder, smirking cruelly as she noticed the grim expression on her sister's face. "If you're lucky? I won't be the one to cause it. And if you're unlucky? I'll kill you myself and I swear to God I'll make it slow and painful. You'll regret ever pulling away from me, Riley," she threatened icily, before opening the door and exiting- leaving the younger girl disturbed and alone, yet filled with a whole new sense of determination to stop Katherine- if not for the sons sake, then for her sister's sake.
Angel-Devil-Angel-Devil-Angel-Devil-Angel-Devil-Angel-Devil-Angel-Devil-Angel-Devil-Angel-Devil-Angel
Riley swallowed; hesitantly strolling across the tiled floor of a local Starbucks branch, heading towards a table at which she had spotted the distinctive form of Chase sat. He'd texted her about half an hour after Katherine had left; simply requesting that she met him here as soon as possible. So here she was. She stopped short a few metres away from the table, unnoticed by the boy. From his expression, which was blank and yet thoughtful, she was unable to ascertain which personality was dominant. Well, there was only one way to find out. It was time to bite the bullet already. She took a deep breath and strolled over to the table, tentatively slipping into the wooden seat opposite him. He glanced up as he registered someone else's presence, a relieved expression slipping onto his face.
"I didn't think you were gonna come," he said, crossing his arms in the table and leaning forwards slightly, resting his weight on them with a slight smile.
"Oh, thank God you're this version of you," Riley muttered, exhaling in relief. She cleared her throat and glanced at him in concern. "What's up? I mean…Are you okay?"
"No, not really," Chase admitted with a wry smile, running a hand through his hair. The smile, although it held no mirth whatsoever, rapidly vanished and was replaced by a look of dread so strong that it made the eldest son look incredibly vulnerable. "I mean…I have another personality in me, who keeps managing to take control, and sometimes I can't even remember what he gets up to- I think myself lucky in those situations, but at the same time…I wish I could remember what happens in every circumstance. Listen, Riley…The other Sons don't trust me and I can't say I blame them, and Katherine is, no offence, a psycho bitch. You're different though. You can…You can help me right? I needyou to help me."
"I…" Riley cut herself off, studying him sympathetically. "I can try."
"Thank you…Do you have a plan? Anything, at all?" Chase enquired, looking at her appealingly. The dark haired female bit her lip for a few moments, running a hand through her hair thoughtfully.
"I know that your DID was caused as a consequence of the ritual, which means it was caused by magic, but you still have the same symptoms and all that which a regular case would. I think that regular treatments may work. We could try some of them. And if they don't work, we'll try more…Then we'll start trying spells."
"Okay…What's our first port of call?" the boy asked, biting his lip uneasily.
"Well, let's see. First of all, there's ECT."
"'ECT'?" Chase cried incredulously, his eyes widening slightly in alarm. "Electro Convulsive Therapy? Are you crazy or something? Hell no. "
"I was joking," Riley informed him, unable to stop a short laugh from escaping her. The brief bout of humour was short lived, however, for she shook her head; rapidly sobering. "Drugs would be a good option. Antipsychotic drugs. Of course, they wouldn't remove the condition, or the symptoms. They'd just repress or weaken them and you'd have to keep taking them- every day, everydose. Plus…There will be side effects…"
"I don't care about side effects," Chase responded immediately, a look of slight desperation slipping onto his face once more. "I just want it to stop."
"And we'll do our best to make sure that happens," Riley assured him, reaching out a squeezing his hand with a reassuring smile, which he returned with a fleeting one of gratitude. The girl hesitated, looking around thoughtfully. "Antipsychotics will mostly likely be the most effective," she told him, closing her eyes; a look of concentration slipping onto her face. Chase frowned, he was about to ask what she was doing, but then recalled that she was a witch and realised she was most likely attempting to summon/conjure some drugs up. He didn't like the idea of being medicated, but it was much more favourable than the alternative. He watched in slight surprise, as a small, brown, plastic bottle of pills materialised on the centre of the table. "Excellent," Riley commented, with a small smile. She picked bottle up, deftly unscrewing the child lock and glancing at the information on the side. "Right…They're strong. And pretty large. Which means you only gotta take one a day, but it has to be everyday."
"Alright…" Chase agreed, nodding firmly to indicate his understanding.
"You can just use your power to multiply them when you run out; it won't use up a lot. Also...I don't quite know what the side effects are for these particular ones, but I'll look them up. They probably won't be as bad or as debilitating as they would be for your average Jack human," the raven haired girl mused, an uncertain expression slipping onto her face.
"It doesn't matter, okay? Whatever they are…I can deal with them," Chase assured her, a little impatiently. "So, when do I start?"
"Now," Riley instructed, sliding the bottle across the table to him.
"Now?" he repeated dubiously. "Are you sure?"
"Yes. I'm certain. There's no time like the present-" the raven haired girl cut herself off, eyes widening slightly as Chase tipped out one of the pills before she'd even finished speaking. He hesitated a mere fraction, before shoving it into his mouth and swallowing it dry. Riley smiled slightly, nodding in approval. If these drugs worked, they could keep this version of Chase as the dominant personality. They could stop Katherine, hopefully without having to kill her. And they could save the other sons. Too bad her sister hadn't counted on this little bump in the road.
