A/N: We suck. We really do. It took us 15 minutes to write a sentence.

-No, it took her 15 minutes to write a sentence. -F

-Lies. -E

-Truth. This chick could not get a sentence out. -F

Okay, okay. So, Eternal sucks (no, I don't), but we wrote words together. Hopefully the next few chapters will flow a bit more quickly. Anyways. We like reviews and stuff. They fill us with the happy.

Enjoy!

Whatever Ms. "I went to the beach. Oooh food, food, food!." -E

That's rich coming from Ms. "This chapter is sooooo hard to write. Omg. Words. Weh." -F


CHAPTER 6:

Trick glanced up as the thick wooden door to the Dal swung open, voices projecting loudly from outside before the two struggling bodies had even crossed the threshold.

"Tamsin! Would you stop fighting?" He heard Bo snap as the brunette came rushing through the entrance, dragging behind her a very reluctant Tamsin.

"This is bullshit!" The blonde exclaimed, trying to free herself from Bo's vise-like grip. "Dammit, you're lucky I'm not at full power here, or you'd be unconscious on the other side of the room."

"Yeah, well, you're not. Which is the reason why you're here in the first place!"

"Ladies!" Trick interrupted, quickly stepping up to the two arguing women. He cast a quick glance around the room, eyeing his curious patrons frustratedly before turning his attention back to the heated event unraveling before him. "Why don't we take this downstairs?"

Bo looked to Tamsin, who shook her head furiously in response. Rolling her eyes, she grabbed the blonde by the back of the neck and pushed her forward. "C'mon, babe. You don't have it in you to fight me."

Tamsin stumbled through the doorway, cursing as Bo closed the space behind her, leaving her no room to maneuver her way out. "Dammit, Succubus," she said, reluctantly keeping step with the brunette. "I told you I don't need a fucking babysitter!"

Bo let out a short laugh, sarcasm dripping from her tone as she spoke. "Right. Because you're in tip top fighting shape. I won't come home to you skewered or skinned alive."

Tamsin let out a huff, her expression clearly showing her frustration with her current predicament. "Do you have to be so rough about it?"

"You weren't exactly eager to come. In fact, you refused to get out of bed."

"You couldn't at least let me change first?" Tamsin said crossing her arms over the embarrassing slogan of the T-shirt she had been forced to wear.

"No. We're on a schedule here." Bo tugged Tamsin down the stairs, dragging her through the doorway and into the small study beneath the bar. "Lay down," she commanded, lightly pushing the valkyrie over to the couch.

Tamsin let out a groan but complied as she fell onto the large piece of furniture, throwing her full weight into it frustratedly. "Once I get my powers back..."

"Oh, shut up," Bo said, turning to Trick as she pressed the blonde's head down against the cushioned surface. "Think you can watch over her?"

"Of course," her grandfather said. "As long as she doesn't cause any trouble."

"Don't worry." Bo glanced over at Tamsin, just barely catching the end of her dramatic eye roll. "Other than her mouth, she's harmless."

"Fuck you."

Bo's lips curled into a smile. "See what I mean?"

"I do," Trick replied. "And her condition?"

"I've been better," Tamsin answered dryly. "I'll be even better when we find the knife and I get to shank myself again."

"Oh, trust me, a lot of us would like to do it for you," Bo jabbed.

"Dammit, really!?" Tamsin yelled. "Kick me while I'm down, why don't you?"

Bo let out a light chuckle. "Right, right. Sorry."

"You're enjoying this way too much."

"Well, it's not everyday I get to throw you around."

The valkyrie sulked angrily while Bo turned her attention back to Trick, her expression turning serious. "I think we might have a lead on Kenzi."

"Good, good..." Trick murmured, twisting around and approaching his desk. He lifted a small, aged piece of paper, holding it up for his granddaughter to see. "This is the description of a procedure to remove an unwanted fae spirit from a human body."

"Wow, it happens that often?" Bo asked, gently taking the paper into her hands. It looked as if it had been torn from a book, the edges ripped and jagged, a few symbols lost in the damage.

"Often enough. It was common practice a couple of centuries ago."

"And... this will bring Kenzi back, right?"

"Yes, but you need to hurry," Trick said grimly. "If Kenzi's consciousness isn't returned to her body in time, she'll be lost forever."

"There's a goddamn time limit on everything, isn't there?" Bo asked angrily, handing the paper back to her grandfather.

"Well, nothing can last forever, Bo."

"Yeah, I'm getting that." She glanced over at the valkyrie who seemed to be nervously staring up at the ceiling. "Keep her safe, will you?"

"I won't let anything happen to her," her grandfather replied. "Now go and get Kenzi back."

"Will do." Bo gave Trick a firm nod and, stealing one last glance at Tamsin, she proceeded back up the steps and vanished through the door and into the bar.


Bo shoved her way through the crowd of news crews, quickly stepping over the police lineas Dyson gave her a wave, summoning her towards the pile of smoking ash and burnt planks of wood that had been the home of Gamma Xi.

"Where is she?" Bo asked when she caught up with Dyson.

Dyson nodded over to a small group of girls, all of them piled around each other and talking amongst themselves. "Two witnesses said a girl matching Kenzi's description threatened them with a knife in the house, and then-" He gestured towards the pile of rubble before them.

"Witnesses?"

As if on cue, two curiously jumpy college coeds shuffled towards them, Bo instantly recognizing their faces as they waved and bounced upon seeing her. "You're Tam Tam's friend!" The tall brunette exclaimed.

"The pasty succubus," the shorter redhead added. The two girls stopped before Bo and Dyson, eyeing the wolf up and down with enthused smiles on their faces. "Are you the lead singer from Coldplay ?"

Casey's smile broadened. "Can I have him?"

Amanda shoved Casey away, taking a firm stance in front of Dyson. "He's mine!"

"Bitch, you already had Sean!" Casey punched back.

"Casey! Amanda!" Entangled in their aggression, the two girls turned their heads towards Bo, glaring at her. "Focus. Please!"

They broke away, giggling at the annoyed succubus as she waited for them to calm down. "What happened?" Bo asked once the giggles had subsided.

"Some pasty goth human went cray-psycho on us."

"Chased us with her knife."

"Said she wanted revenge. That her name was..."

"What?!" Bo asked.

"Inari." They spoke in unison, a hint of fear evident in their cracking voices.

After watching the exchange, silence settling on the three women, Dyson asked, "Do you know where she went?"

"Well, when we were escaping the fire-" Casey began.

"We saw her run towards the campus hospital," Amanda finished, pointing her finger towards the building in the distance.

Bo glanced at Dyson, a questioning look on her face. "Why would she go to the hospital?"

"I guess we'll find out."

"Thank you, girls," Bo said curtly as she and Dyson turned to leave.

"Tell Tam Tam we miss her!" Casey giggled after them.

"Oh, I'm sure she'll love to hear that," Bo murmured to Dyson. He let out a small chuckle in response, keeping pace with Bo as they raced towards the towering hospital building to the east of the campus.


For what seemed like hours, the dizziness had kept Tamsin half awake and restless on the couch, gazing up at the dark wooden ceiling in a feeble attempt to entertain herself.

"Tired?" Trick asked as he descended the steps carrying a tray steadily in his hands.

"Bored." Tamsin continued to stare at the ceiling, listening to the elderly fae as he set the tray down on a nearby table.

Trick smiled. "Well, your boredom aside, how are you feeling?"

"Dizzy, feverish, hungry, thirsty. Weak."

"Well, I can help with a few of those."

"Really?" Tamsin tore her attention away from the wooden paneled ceiling, glancing over at the barkeep as he approached her holding a small cup. "What's that?"

"A special blend of tea. It should help with the thirst and the dizziness."

"Wouldn't happen to have any vodka in it, would it?"

Trick let out a light laugh. "I'm afraid not."

Unconvinced, Tamsin slowly sat up, snatching the cup from the elder fae's outstretched hand and gazing at the liquid before she brought it to her lips. It was a peculiar taste, light and minty, as it flowed down her throat, but it was the aftertaste that caught her. Tamsin licked her lips as the flavor settled into her taste buds, the powerful taste suddenly becoming a surge that made her eyes widen. "Dude, what's in this?"

"A couple of homegrown herbs. Nothing special."

"Nothing special my ass. Don't bullshit me, old man." Tamsin said, taking another large sip of the warm drink, reveling in the soothing taste. She leaned back against the couch, smiling as she continued to take occasional sips.

"Well, I'm glad you like it."

"You let me drink all that vodka and you never introduced me to this?"

"This is of the top-shelf variety. Something I hope Kenzi never gets her hands on."

The glass suddenly slipped from Tamsin's grasp, clattering to the ground noisily, broken glass gliding across the smooth wooden surface of the floor. "Why the hell does this keep happening!?"

Trick looked from the shattered remains of the cup back to the valkyrie. "What do you mean?"

"This! The goddamn flying of cups into floors every time I try to fucking drink it!" She threw her head back against the couch, groaning aloud in frustration.

"Every time you try and take a drink?" Trick asked, suddenly curious.

"Every time I try to take a drink, and when I got cut, a fucking plate came flying out of nowhere!" Tamsin explained, waving her arms in irritation.

Trick contemplated in silence when the valkyrie's hands suddenly flew to her head, moaning as pain seized her. "Shit," she cried, her hands trembling again. "I thought you said that tea was gonna help?"

"Your symptoms are a result of the transformation. There's nothing that it can do to reverse that."

She clutched at her hair, the pain in her head building. "How much longer do I have to deal with this?" The valkyrie asked, her voice quivering as she closed her eyes against the pain.

"I'm not quite sure. From what I've read, the symptoms will reach a climax, and then they'll begin to fade. Once they've ceased entirely-"

"I'll be human."

Trick nodded, pouring his tea into another cup, quietly wondering to himself at what point the valkyrie's symptoms would peak and how much time would remain following that.


Bo and Dyson dashed straight through the automatic sliding doors of the hospital, stopping at the reception desk as Dyson held up a picture to the woman operating the phones. "Have you seen this girl passing through here?" Dyson asked hurriedly, holding up his badge as he continued. "She'd be in a hurry."

"About ten minutes ago, I think I saw her heading to the west wing."

The wolf looked over to Bo who gave a small nod, thanking the receptionist and swiftly moving down the hallway to her left. They rushed down the corridor, pushing past the wandering bodies of guests and nurses, glancing in every direction for a sign of Kenzi.

"Excuse me." A nurse stepped in the way of them. "Can I help you?"

Dyson brought out the picture again, holding it at eye level. "We're looking for this girl," he said, nodding down to the badge that rested on his belt. "Have you seen her?"

"Um, yes officer-"

"Detective."

"D-detective. I saw her running towards the pharmacy not too long ago." She pointed down one of the corridors. "That way."

"The pharmacy?" Bo asked. "Why would she be going to the pharmacy?"

"She seemed hurt," the nurse answered.

Without bothering for further details, they continued their sprint down the long hallways, following the signs as they directed them towards the pharmacy. Bo pushed open the door once they had reached their destination, a chime announcing their entrance as she and Dyson scanned the long aisles of cough syrup, Tylenol, and other medications.

The wolf took a heavy sniff of the air, taking steady strides in the direction of a familiar smell as it led him to the back corner. "She's still here," he stated in a low voice as he nodded to Bo to round the aisle.

Before the brunette pressed any further, a large glass bottle of medication was flung at her by some unseen force, narrowly missing her head as she dodged to the side. Suddenly, more objects were hurled at her in a torrential fury, rapidly firing towards the wolf and the succubus respectively. They pushed through the madness as the contents of the pharmacy continued to steadily unload on them. Peering ahead, Bo saw a dark figure dashing across the back aisle, heavy boots smacking against the floor noisily in the haste.

"Inari!" Bo yelled as she chased after the small human form fleeing for the exit. Noticing the pursuit, Dyson broke into a sprint to cut Inari off, but to no avail. She slipped through the exit and darted down the left hallway with Bo hot on her heel.

The succubus rounded the corner sharply, sidestepping a small crowd of guests as she pushed forward, tearing down the corridor and closing in on the small human, watching her stumble and slam into a medical cart, crashing to the ground with a loud screeching cry of frustration. "I swear to god, if you hurt that body..." Bo said, narrowing in on the cornered human.

"Or what, bitch?" Inari sneered as she pulled out a knife that had been concealed in her boot and picked herself up off the ground. "I'm already dead."

"Clearly the definition of 'dead' was lost in translation with you," Bo replied, her eyes fixed on the knife in Inari's hand. "And when I get my best friend back, I'm gonna make sure you stay dead."

Growling in fury, Inari lunged forward, slashing the knife at Bo who dodged to the side, catching the human's wrist and twisting it just enough to make her yelp in pain and drop the weapon from her grip. The human fell to the ground with a hysterical cry of both anger and pain that echoed throughout the narrow hallway.

"Nice try, bitch." Bo dragged Inari to her feet, gripping both of the human's small wrists tightly as she tugged her over to where Dyson stood, a somewhat shocked expression on his face at the limited length of the confrontation.

"That was quick," he stated, slipping a pair of cuffs out from his pants pocket and snapping them over Inari's small wrists. The human struggled feebly, giving up moments later with heavy frustrated scream that sent the nearby spectators scrambling away from the scene.

"Yeah, well, we're on a schedule here." They practically lifted the human off the ground as they carried her hurriedly out of the crowded hospital building and over to Bo's Camaro.

"Then I guess we should hurry."


Tamsin wrapped the blanket tighter around her shoulders, feeling a shiver tremble throughout her body. Coupled with the exhaustion and headaches, she weakly reached for the cup of tea on the table nearby, fighting against the fatigue that tore through her muscles.

"How much worse is this shit supposed to get?" She asked, the irritation evident behind her shaky voice.

Trick sighed, watching the valkyrie's ineffective attempt to reach for the tea as he walked over to assist. "From what I've read, the symptoms persist for, at most, three days," he explained, placing the tea in her hands. "But that's only a rough timetable. There are too many factors to take into account."

"What kind of factors?" Tamsin asked, shivering through her words as she shakily lifted the cup up to her lips.

"It can depend on your willpower, what kind of fae you are," Trick stated, taking a seat at the blonde's side on the couch. "It probably won't be very comfortable."

"Like I'm so very comfortable now..." Tamsin coughed, handing the cup back to Trick and pulling the blanket tighter around her trembling frame.

The commotion from outside the bar tore their attention away, both pairs of eyes glancing over towards the stairway. They heard a loud screech, its shrillness only outmatched by Bo's booming voice. "Oh, shut up already, bitch!" The door to the den flew open as the succubus charged through, dragging a screaming Inari down the steps with Dyson closing up from behind. "Trick!" Bo cried as her hand clamped tighter around the human's wrist, narrowly avoiding the light burn mark on the back of her forearm. "Time to get Kenzi back."

"Ow!" Inari screamed, resisting the tug as Bo threw her body forward.

Trick stood from his spot beside the valkyrie, gesturing towards the desk in the corner of the room. "Dyson, grab a chair and bind her arms and legs."

"Okay." The wolf pushed a chair over from the desk, pulling Inari up and planting her down firmly on the seat. He readjusted her handcuffs, slipping them through the bars on the chair and then tightening them again while Inari screamed, kicking her legs. "You have any rope?" Dyson asked.

"Only tape," Trick answered, tossing the object towards the wolf.

"Guess that'll do." Dyson ducked down, letting out a small growl as one of the small human's flailing feet made contact with his shoulder. Quickly, peeling off the silverish duct tape, he set to wrapping the hostile human by the ankles to each leg of the chair.

While Dyson worked on securing Inari in the background, Bo turned her attention to the valkyrie, who lay curled up on the couch with a heavy blanket wrapped tightly around her shivering body, her face partially covered as she dug her head further into the cushioned surface with a heavy groan of pain.

"Tamsin?" Bo crossed the small room, taking a seat on the couch as she placed a gentle hand on the blonde's shoulder. With her palms resting atop the thick blanket, she could practically feel the heat radiating from the valkyrie's body, the intensity of it throwing her into a panic. She reached forward, taking hold of the blanket and pulling it aside to reveal the trembling valkyrie. "Trick?"

Trick glanced over at Tamsin. "Is her fever getting worse?" He asked Bo.

"It feels like I'm touching a kettle," the succubus replied, placing her hand on the blonde's cheek.

"That doesn't sound good," her grandfather said grimly. "If we don't get her symptoms in check, her body might give out before the transformation is complete."

"What?" Bo asked in angered disbelief.

"From what I've gathered," Trick began, lifting the aged and battered piece of paper from before off of his desk as he spoke, "this transformation has her body in an unstable state. Every cell is mutating, and as they go through the process she's at a higher risk of succumbing to her symptoms. Not much unlike how an elderly human can more easily be killed by common colds and flus."

"Did he just fucking call me old?" Tamsin mumbled, snatching the blanket from Bo's grasp and pulling it back over herself.

Bo reassuringly patted Tamsin's back while maintaining her focus on what Trick had just revealed. "Well, the symptoms can't get much worse, can they?" She glanced down at the blonde as she released another heavy groan, this one mixed with what sounded like a small whimper. "Maybe I spoke too soon. Is there anything we can do to-you know-get her symptoms 'under control?'"

"Keep her cool, keep her resting." Trick took one last glance at Tamsin before turning back to face Kenzi's tied up body, now inhabited by Inari as she struggled against her binds. He held the small piece of paper in his hands, words written in what appeared to be archaic symbols marking its battered and aged surface.

"Right..." Bo said, her fingers slowly and subconsciously gripping the blanket as her hand rested on the blonde's back.

Trick sighed, lifting the small paper up, his eyes scanning the markings for a short while before rising to meet the icy blue eyes of the small human form before him. He reached into his pocket, pulling out of it a short vial of clear liquid, small silvery flakes floating within.

"What is that?" Dyson asked, his gaze fixed on the bottle.

"It'll help to loosen the bond between the body and the soul. Should give the spell more room to work."

"How does it work?" The wolf asked, placing his hands firmly on Inari's shoulders to still her thrashing body.

"Well," Trick said, placing the paper atop a small shelf beside him, "there are certain points on the body that act as gateways for spiritual energy. The difficult part about removing and replacing souls in a body is that often and naturally these gateways are closed."

"So, by placing this-whatever it is-on these points, the gateways will open?"

"More or less." Trick twisted the top of the vial off, slightly tilting it, the liquid slowly trickling out onto his fingertips. He walked over towards the cursing and screaming Inari, lightly pressing his moistened fingertips against her forehead, and then moving down to her forearms, gliding them along the surface of her skin. Once he finished, he stepped back, placing the bottle off to the side and grabbing the paper from the shelf. Eyeing the words carefully on the paper, he cleared his throat and began to recite the ancient language. The words he spoke seemed harsh and frantic as they rolled off his tongue, demanding a sort of silence from all those in the room.

The small human began to jerk violently in her chair, shrieking as the wet markings on her forehead and arms glowed a bright yellow, the light filling the room in its brilliance.

A long stream of blue and white wisps drew forth from the gateways that Trick had marked on her body, piling into a dense cloud in the atmosphere above the room. The elderly blood king quickly drew a small flask-like object from his large vest pocket, flipping the lid open and holding it up to the hovering mass. He recited the final words of the incantation, his voice rising in volume as a wind began to swirl about the room, brushing objects off of shelves. The lights dimmed ominously within the room, leaving only the glow of the cloud and the gateways to illuminate the small space.

The wolf, the valkyrie and the succubus watched in awe as Trick ceased his chanting, dropping the paper from his grasp and raising his now free hand to grip the flask, lifting the small object higher as the edge of the blue and white cloud began to pull towards the open container, tugging along with it the remainder of the large mass. Quickly, the elderly fae pushed the lid back onto the flask, setting the object down on the table as he shifted his focus to Kenzi's still form. Her head drooping to the side as everyone in the room fixed their eyes upon the human with anticipation, anxiously waiting for her to bounce back into consciousness, but the disappointment set in when no reaction came from her.

A solid minute later, she still remained motionless in the chair.