Chapter Nine Part II, as promised.
Wow, several people to credit: Melissa de la Cruz owns Blue Bloods, George Lucas owns Star Wars, Anne Rice owns The Vampire Chronicles, C. Craig Coomer owns The Lone Ranger, and Guns and Roses owns Sympathy for the Devil. In addition, some of the fight sequences are LOOSLEY based off similar parts of D. J. MacHale'sPendragon: The Rivers of Zadaa
For the next week, that became Mimi and Schuyler's routine. Rising early, the girls would make their way down to the basement where Schuyler would be subjected to a daily round of 'punch the Schuyler'. Despite Mimi's insistence that she wouldn't be able to see her and that Schuyler could defend herself, Schuyler continued to suffer blow after blow in the darkness without landing a single one of her own.
The diabolical torture, as Schuyler thought of it, would continue until Schuyler eventually found the light switch and gained the power of sight, at which point they would move on to sparring or different challenges. After the first few days, Schuyler became very quick at finding the light switch, and Mimi would work hard to keep her from getting close to the wall.
In addition, with the exception of the pole, Schuyler was soon able to complete all the obstacles so well that Mimi started putting time limits on her tasks. Schuyler soon found that climbing the large rope ladder was much more difficult if she didn't have time to plan each move.
And then there was the sparring. Whenever Schuyler was not completing a challenge or following some stretching exercises that Mimi had assigned her, they sparred. Back and forth, up and down, all across the room, over and under the obstacles. After a few days Schuyler found she was able to anticipate and block some of Mimi's blows, even if she couldn't land any herself.
After a week, Mimi tossed her a wooden pole and barely gave her time to prepare herself before she went after Schuyler with her own pole, scoring several hits that gave Schuyler an aching head ache later that night. It was also in the second week that Oliver joined them.
However Mimi had been supplying Schuyler with blood, her supply had run out quickly, and on the fifth day she had only one bottle of blood to offer Schuyler. When Schuyler pointed out the unfairness of this, Mimi's only response was to hit her several times with her wooden pole. Mimi's solution, it seemed, was to bring Oliver into their practices as a silent—Mimi quite literally knocked this into his head on the first day—observer and food source.
It was hard for Oliver to watch Schuyler take blow after blow without getting any of her own back, but when Mimi threatened to ban him completely he shut up and kept drinking the orange juice and milk that the girls kept pushing on him to build up his strength and blood supply.
Although Schuyler progressed in many ways—she was much stronger, not to mention toned and muscular than when they had began eight days ago—she could never beat Mimi or climb the pole. Mimi had given up on the pole after the sixth day, when Schuyler had momentarily passed out from exhaustion after trying and failing seventeen times to climb it. To Schuyler's surprise it wasn't her own failure that hurt her so much as the genuine disappointment in Mimi's eyes.
But no matter what she tried, she could not beat Mimi, and eventually the mental stress began to affect her just as much as the physical. She stopped seeing Mimi as a person and began seeing her simply as the fist that flew out in the darkness, the pole that struck her head repeatedly, and the taunting bottles of water and blood dangled in front of her face.
It was on the twelfth morning that Schuyler finally cracked. Oliver would not be joining them until noon due to a family obligation, and Schuyler was surprised at how disappointed she was that he would not be there to silently encourage her. Add to that the fact that she had gotten almost no sleep the night before and one of her eyes was swollen shut from a careless move on her part when dodging through an obstacle course of swinging pendulums and Schuyler was not having a good morning.
So when Mimi started off the morning with her usual taunting slaps and hits, Schuyler was a little angrier than usual. After she took a few blows, she ducked away from the direction of the last one and headed by memory for the light switch, only to find her path blocked by a roundhouse kick to her shins that drove her to the ground.
Growling, she picked herself up and started off again, ignoring the slaps that stung her arms and cheeks. Then Mimi picked her up and bodily threw her to the ground, making Schuyler lose several feet and all sense of direction in her quest for the light. Still, she grimly ignored it and headed off in what she hoped was the right direction.
When she was thrown a second time, Schuyler snapped.
"That's it. I'm done, Mimi." She said angrily, scowling in the darkness. "I've had enough. I give up."
"You can't!"Mimi said, her own voice tight with anger. "I won't let you."
"Try and stop me." Schuyler said petulantly, sitting down on the ground and crossing her arms.
Mimi cried out in frustration, kicking out at Schuyler with a little more force than usual.
"Coward." She hissed.
"What did you call me?" Schuyler demanded.
"Coward." Mimi ground out again, her voice vindictive. It was the same voice that had taunted Schuyler in the halls of Duchesne for the past decade, and she hated it. When Mimi kicked her again, Schuyler grabbed her foot and threw her to the ground.
She was so shocked by what she'd done that she apologized without thinking, but she apologized to the empty air, for Mimi had moved away and thrown the light switch. For the first time since she had moved to the Force mansion—or even before that—Mimi gave her a genuine smile. "Good." She said, then immediately moved into the first sparring position.
"But…"
"You acted by instinct instead of thinking about it. That's your main problem—instead of just trying to beat me, you try to strategize, and that will never work in a one on one fight. In a fight against a group, some strategy is necessary, but in a one on one fight instinct is the most important thing. I can't see you when we spar in the morning, but I can sense you, using my instincts."
"Use the Force, Luke." Schuyler muttered, and she was pleasantly surprised when Mimi laughed.
When Oliver joined them that afternoon, he was surprised to find the girls sharing sandwiches on the floor of the basement, casually chatting as they munched on their food. He peered carefully at them both to see if either had turned into a robot while he was gone, but had to conclude that they were acting of their own free will. He shot a nervous glance at Mimi, but she seemed to be in a good mood, so he risked a bruised face and said to them, "How'd it go?"
"Good!" Schuyler said, showing more enthusiasm than Oliver had seen from her in days. She ran up and gave him a hug, nipping him playfully on the neck before Mimi growled lightly in warning.
"You haven't earned it yet."
Schuyler sighed and squeezed Oliver tight before releasing him. "Fine, Kemosabe."
Mimi rolled her eyes and pointed Schuyler towards the rope swings.
On Sunday morning Schuyler rolled out of bed at four A.M as usual, feeling sad for some reason. As she dressed and made her way downstairs, she puzzled over the feeling, and by the time she'd joined Mimi in the basement she had it figured out. Tomorrow she would return to Duchesne. Like most sane teenagers, Schuyler did not like returning to school, but tomorrow held a special kind of dread because tomorrow she would throw herself to the proverbial pack of wolves that use to be her classmates. She had no idea what the next day would bring, but according to Oliver and Jack she could expect some unpleasant confrontations due to the ever turning rumor mill.
She rolled through the morning exercises with Mimi without comment. She had gotten to the point over the past few days where she could stop about half of Mimi's blows in the dark. It wasn't easy, but if she stayed perfectly still and used her ears and nose instead of wasting her time trying to see she found she could often sense where Mimi's blows were coming from.
Mimi flipped on the lights, and gave a predatory grin at Schuyler, which Schuyler returned half-heartedly. "Final exam time." Mimi said.
"What do you mean?" Schuyler asked, stunned out of her lachrymose by Mimi's announcement.
Mimi shrugged her shoulders, the bones crackling as she stretched. "Today we fight. If you can land a blow, then it means I've pounded something into that thick skull of yours. If not, well, you're even more of a screw-up than I originally thought you were."
Schuyler's eyes widened, and she her lip to stop the sudden swelling of tears. It wasn't like she and Mimi were suddenly bosom buddies, but she'd thought they'd forged a connection over the past two weeks, and now Mimi was back to cruelly insulting her.
"Fine." Schuyler ground out. "I can't wait to beat you."
"Not just me, Schuyler. You've had plenty of time to do that. You have to fight off both of us if you want to land a blow."
"Both of who?" Schuyler asked, but then she turned around and her stomach sank. Jack Force stood in the door way, looking positively sinful in black exercise pants and a tight blue Underarmor shirt. Oliver peered out from behind him, shooting Schuyler a helpless look. She looked back, his expression mirrored in her face. Mimi alone was impossible to beat. Mimi with Jack was bordering on suicidal.
She shot a look at Mimi that she hoped was spiteful and not hurt. She thought they'd agreed to not tell Jack until after her training was complete.
"Don't blame Mimi." Jack said, smiling at her.
"Yeah, blame them both." Oliver muttered under his breath, then looked away quickly as all three vampires turned to glare at him. Schuyler realized it was the first time the four of them were together since the incident at Lady Prinche's house.
"I came down here two days ago after you left and found her planning the next day's lesson." Jack explained, giving Schuyler an apologetic shrug. Schuyler looked at Mimi, thinking wonders would never cease as the other girl blushed and looked away. Mimi actually spent time planning out each day's lesson?
"I kind of figured it out then. Mimi thought it would be a good idea for you to fight both of us for your final test."
"No!" Schuyler broke out, her emotions getting the better of her. "I can't even beat Mimi, how am I supposed to beat both of you at once?" Jack shrugged, his gaze kind but offering no quarter, while Mimi laughed derisively.
"If you're too afraid, Half-Blood, you can just back down now." Schuyler clenched her teeth.
"I'm not afraid." She ground out.
"Fine." Mimi said dismissively. "Guard!" Schuyler instantly dropped into the guard position, fourteen days of reacting to Mimi's vocal commands kicking in. She held her position, knees slightly bent and arms in front of her, as Jack and Mimi began to circle her, their movements perfect mirrors of each other as they went around her on either side.
Schuyler remained patient, waiting for one or the other to make the first move, grinning when her efforts paid off and Jack whirled in to send a chop kick at her waist. She evaded him easily, thinking this might not be as impossible as she'd originally believed, only to fall right back into Mimi's arms. Mimi grabbed her in something eerily similar to a lover's embrace and hissed in her ear, "You made the first move, Halfling." before tossing Schuyler to the ground.
"No I didn't!" Schuyler said indignantly. She'd been patient for once, and Jack had attacked… and she'd lost in thirty seconds flat.
"You made the first move when you dropped into the guard position." Jack explained, and Schuyler cursed herself a fool for obeying Mimi's command. She stood still, waiting, and eventually Mimi came at her from the side. She dodged Mimi only to find herself facing off against Jack.
She struggled to keep the images of the battered Silver Blood out of her mind, concentrating instead on dodging his blows. She was surprised to discover that she was faster than him, and as long as she kept her wits about her she could keep out of his way. But Schuyler could dodge Jack all day and she would be no closer to accomplishing her goal, so she waited till he came after her again and ducked into the blow, throwing him over her hip using a move she'd learned four days ago.
Jack went down with a thud, and Schuyler spun just in time to keep Mimi from taking off her head with a vicious right hook. Schuyler ducked under the blow and made a chop at Mimi's chest, but just before her move would have landed she felt strong arms encircle her waist and flip her in the air. Jack had recovered faster than she thought he would.
Schuyler managed to keep from panicking and landed feet first on the ground a yard or so away from the twins. She took a deep breath then straightened her shoulders and doggedly ran back to the fight.
For over an hour, they went back and forth, all three tiring but none willing to give up. Schuyler was surprised and delighted to find that at least in these circumstances, she was a match for Jack in a fight. In a real battle she had no delusions about his ability to ground her into a pulp, but here she could stay ahead of his blows and even get in a few of her own.
Mimi was, in a word, relentless. She ruthlessly kept beating on Schuyler, throwing in verbal jabs to make her physical blows all the more painful. Back and forth they went, neither girl gaining the advantage but neither backing down. At some point Jack bowed out and went to stand with Oliver, watching the two girls spar.
Around noon, Mimi threw Schuyler to the ground and pinned her, holding her down for more than ten seconds. Schuyler struggled to rise, but found she was unable to do so. Finally Mimi released her and climbed slowly to her feet, looking down at Schuyler with contempt etched on every feature.
"I thought you had what it took to be a warrior, Half-Blood. Clearly I was wrong." Shaking her head in disgust, she turned away from Schuyler and began walking back towards the two boys. It was the moment Schuyler had been waiting for. With a yell, she threw herself on Mimi's back and drove her to the ground.
The girls rolled over, trying to gain the advantage, then broke apart and jumped to their feet. Mimi tried to kick Schuyler around the knees, but Schuyler swung into the blow and jammed her elbow into Mimi's gut. She fell back with a gasp, and Schuyler quickly dove in with a kick of her own. Mimi parried it, but just barely.
They danced around the basement, both of them throwing and blocking moves at rapid speed. Schuyler kept fighting defensively, letting Mimi think she had the advantage. She slowly backed up until Mimi stood less than a foot in front of a cement pillar, and then she struck.
Her first blow caught Mimi on the side of the head and caused her to stumble back as her head spun. Schuyler quickly followed up with a kick in the side, then a blow on her back that caused Mimi to stumble and sway as though drunk. Finally going in for the kill, Schuyler used the same move Mimi had tried to pull on her and swept Mimi's legs out from underneath her. She went down like a sack, and Schuyler instantly pinned her to the ground, holding Mimi's hips with her knees and grabbing Mimi's wrists in one hand while the other grabbed her vulnerable neck.
"Yield." Schuyler told her coldly, and Mimi nodded.
Schuyler let her up and walked away, only to have Mimi jump her from behind. She swung and sighed, not really wanting another fight, but to her complete and total surprise Mimi did not swing at her but instead gave Schuyler a rough three second hug.
"You did well." Mimi whispered in her ear, and Schuyler realized that all the taunts Mimi had been throwing at her all day were just a sham to get her angry. She didn't know why she was glad that Mimi Force didn't hate her, she just knew she was.
She pulled back and smiled at Mimi, then spun as she heard applause. Both boys clapped loudly, grinning at the girls.
"What?" Schuyler asked, slightly defensively. She and Mimi had both shed their outer shirts earlier, but both girls wore tank tops that allowed them freedom of movement and speed.
Oliver shrugged and looked away, blushing slightly, but Jack gave a smirk that was purely male and said, "That was hot." Mimi scowled and threw a shoe at him, which he easily dodged.
"Are you ready for your final challenge, Schuyler?" Jack asked, and Schuyler almost collapsed on the ground.
"I thought that was my final challenge!" she cried, looking from Jack to Mimi in confusion.
"Not quite." Mimi said, leading them all to the center of the room. Schuyler looked up at the metal pole and groaned. Not only would she have to try and climb that thing again, but she would have to make a fool of herself in front of two boys whose opinion mattered greatly to her.
Mimi pulled out the metal rings and said, "You must climb to the top and you—"
"I know, I know, I have to carry the rings." Schuyler cut her off, rolling her eyes. Mimi glared at her until Schuyler fell silent, then continued as if uninterrupted.
"The rings must come to the top with you. You don't have to carry them." Mimi stared hard at Schuyler, willing her to figure it out. Schuyler stared back, wishing she had Jack's ability to read Mimi's mind. She looked at the rings, and once again she was reminded of Mulan. But if she used two of the rings to climb, what was she supposed to do with the other two?
Her talk with Lawrence in the park came back to her. She remembered him telling about the Apocalyptic Angels, and the Greater, which were Mimi and Jack, and the Lesser which—but her thought cut off there, for suddenly she knew. Pairs. Mimi and Jack were a pair. Lawrence and Cordelia were a pair. At one point, Charles and Allegra had been a pair. And that was the secret to the rings.
She turned to Oliver. "Ollie, will you climb this pole with me?" Oliver looked at her blankly, not understanding, but small smiles from Jack and Mimi let Schuyler know she was on the right track. "Please, Ollie, I need your help." Schuyler pleaded, knowing he would not refuse her.
"Okay, I guess." He said, bewildered. Schuyler took the rings from Mimi and wrapped two around her wrists, instructing Oliver to do the same with the other two. She moved to stand on one side of the pole, moving Oliver to stand across from her.
Schuyler took the ring on her left hand and wrapped it around the one on Oliver's right, then did the same with her right and his left. Their wrists were now bound together. "Are you ready?" she asked, and Oliver nodded tersely.
Schuyler reached up as far as she could and locked her arms in place, and slowly the two of them began to climb. Inch by inch they progressed slowly upwards, working out a verbal pattern as they went. "Up one, two, three, and reach. Up one, two, three and reach." The reaches were the hardest part, for it required them to hold themselves in place while they let go of the pole with their arms and lunged upwards to gain another few precious feet.
The pole was twenty five feet high, and it took them the better part of an hour to finally reach the top. When they did, panting and out of breath, Schuyler leaned over the top of the pole and gave Oliver a small kiss on the lips. "Thank you." She whispered, hoping he understood that she meant not just for today but for the whole week. He nodded mutely, and the two of them slid slowly and carefully back down the pole.
"Did I pass?" Schuyler asked Mimi when her feet were once again firmly on the ground.
Mimi nodded and grinned, taking the rings from Schuyler and Oliver. She started to put them back in their box, but then an impish look came over her face and she turned to grin at Jack. He raised an eyebrow, and she gestured silently to the rings. Jack nodded, and her grin widened. She gave a pair to Jack, then carefully tied the others around her wrists.
Schuyler and Oliver watched as the Force twins walked to the pole and stood across from each other, their shoulders squared at exactly the same height, their green eyes watching each other seriously. At some unspoken signal they reached up and began the climb and Schuyler and Oliver watched with open mouths as they quickly and effortlessly reached the top of the pole in less than five minutes before sliding down gracefully.
"That was the most important lesson you can learn, Schuyler." Mimi told her as she began putting the rings away. "It's important to be able to hold your own in a fight, but if you can have someone to steady you, balance you out, and watch your back, then all the better. After all, there are some things-" she gestured to the pole "there are some things that it's simply impossible to do without a partner."
They celebrated in front of the large flat screen television in the Forces' family room, with popcorn and soda and several sugar-loaded snacks. They debated over the movie for almost half an hour, with Schuyler favoring a romance, Jack an older war movie, and Oliver a comedy.
When asked what she wanted, Mimi simply looked up, said "Something that doesn't contain any singing." and buried her face back in a pillow. Although Schuyler showed more signs of it, Mimi had to be at least as tired if not more than Schuyler.
Olive suggested Titanic, hoping to appease Schuyler, but Jack and Mimi both quickly shot that down. Schuyler stared at them, wondering if there was a story there, but let it go and continued flipping through the list of OnDemand movies.
"Let's see, we've got The Grudge.."
"No." Three voices said
"Meet the Fockers…"
"Yes!" Oliver said, but instantly sat back down as Mimi growled at him.
"Umm.. there's not much else…" Schuyler said.
"I'll take anything." Jack said with a groan.
"Anything?" Schuyler asked, arching her eyebrows at him. "Okay then, how about The Trench Coat Twins: A Fun House Mystery with Mary-Kate and Ashl—" Schuyler shrieked and ducked as three pillows flew towards her head. Laughing, she came back up and looked again at the list.
"I know what we're going to watch."Schuyler said, grinning as she selected the next movie.
"Hey, you didn't even tell us what it was…" Jack complained, then tapered off as Brad Pitt's voice washed over them.
"So you want me to tell you the story of my life…"
"No way." Jack said, laughing.
"Way." Schuyler said smugly. Oliver looked at the screen and grinned.
"You didn't." He said to Schuyler.
"I did." She replied smugly.
"What is it?" Mimi asked, raising her head and looking at the screen as Brad Pitt continued.
"I'm flesh and blood, you see. But not human. I haven't been human for two hundred years."
Mimi groaned, but even she laughed as the shot pulled out over a rainy San Francisco street and the words Interview with the Vampire appeared on the screen. Schuyler sighed happily and leaned back against Oliver, her head resting on his shoulder. She carefully arranged herself so his view of Mimi and Jack, who were cuddled up in an armchair in a similar fashion, was blocked.
Although all of them found the movie funny for its gross inaccuracies, Schuyler reflected that as movies went it wasn't bad. It offered plenty of opportunities to gasp in mock horror and huddle up against Oliver, at any rate. Even though she had seen the movie a million times before—previous to her discover of her own vampiric heritage—she still found herself tearing up as Louis stood in a New Orleans graveyard and mourned for Claudia.
"And my story ends there. But in fact it ended a long time ago, with Claudia's ashes in the theater. My love died with her. All of my passion died with her golden curls."
Schuyler was amused when Mimi, who had never seen the movie before, gasped in surprise when Lestat popped up in Malloy's car at the end, shuddering against her brother, who merely grinned as Lestat sucked Malloy's blood. Jack flicked off the television as Guns and Roses' Sympathy for the Devil played over the credits.
"We should go to bed. We've all got school tomorrow." They all groaned as Jack spoke, each dreading the prospect of returning to Duchesne after two weeks' vacation for their own private reasons.
Schuyler held Oliver's hand as the two of them made their way upstairs, thinking cynically that at least it wasn't as if her non-existent popularity would suffer. Oliver seemed to know her thoughts, and squeezed her hand in his own.
Mimi waited while Jack turned off all the lights and locked the front door, nervously wringing her fingers. What if they hate me? She thought to herself.
She didn't realize she'd broadcasted the thought until Jack responded. Some will. He thought honestly. But Bliss is on your side, and so are Schuyler and Oliver. And so am I.
I kind of took that for granted. Mimi replied, taking his hand as they climbed the three flights of stairs to their rooms.
"As you should." Jack told her, breaking the silence and speaking aloud. "I saw you with Schuyler today. Whatever they say about you—about us—never forget that you are the most powerful warrior the Blue Bloods have ever known. And if some of our classmates need to be reminded of that fact, well, I certainly won't stop you."
"Thanks ever so."Mimi said sarcastically, but she tempered it by sending him a mental image of herself punching in Soos Kemble's face. He laughed, and kissed her cheek before turning towards his room. Mimi grabbed his arm and spun him around, and before she could think about it too much, pressed her lips to his for a two second, chaste kiss.
Jack's eyes widened in surprise, and he blushed slightly as he looked at her. "You know that has to wait 'til our twenty first birthday."
"I know."Mimi said with a sigh. "I just want to thank you, I guess."
"I should be the one thanking you, really." Jack said, leaning back against his door frame. "When I asked you to be civil to Schuyler I never imagined you'd spend so much time and energy teaching her to fight."
Mimi shrugged the compliment off, uncomfortable with his mentioning Schuyler so soon after she'd kissed him. "Goodnight, Jack." She told him, waving sleepily as she disappeared into her room.
Jack watched her, sighing to himself. He hadn't meant to ruin the moment by bringing up the proverbial elephant in the living room, but he also didn't know how to react. No, that wasn't quite true, he knew how he wanted to react—to kiss her back—but his sense of duty and propriety prevented him from doing anything.
"I hate my conscience." He muttered to the empty hallway, ducking into his own bedroom. He took off his shirt and belt and kicked off his shoes before falling back on his bed with a sigh. He knew he should change out of his jeans, but at the moment his mind demanded he simply lay where he was. He fully intended to get up in a few moments, but his overtired brain had other ideas, and before he knew what was happening he had slipped off into an uneasy sleep.
"Join me, Abbadon, and I swear to you I will save her. Join me, and you'll never fear for her again. You and your twin were my strongest allies. I never mourned anyone so much as yourself and Azrael. Join me, and we will have it all again. The two of you are strong, stronger than Michael and certainly stronger than the half blood. Join me, and we will rule the world." Lucifer held a hand out enticingly towards Jack, gesturing towards the figure bound at his feet. Jack ignored his outstretched hand and bent to look at the figure. She turned to look up at him, and Jack frowned. Her eyes were two different colors. The one on the right was blue, and the one on the left was green. The hood fell back from her face, and Jack stared in confusion. One side of her hair was dark and wavy, while the other was pale gold and straight. She looked him in the eyes, and her face shifted continually, as if she could not decide what to look like.
She started to stand, and as she did she changed again. Her hair turned red and curly, and her eyes became a deep green, almost black. Her features became longer, more defined. She held her hands out to Jack, palms cupped upward. He was afraid to look in her hands, afraid to see what they held. He steeled himself and stepped forward, peering into her palms. A beautiful jewel rested there, a perfectly cut emerald. It seemed to pulse with a life of its own, and Jack looked at it the gem expanded and filled his entire vision.
He was looking down into a sheltered alcove in a park. Dark trees surrounded him, waving their branches menacingly. A figure of a boy stood before him, his head hunched over. At his feet lay a crumpled body. Another body dangled limply from his arms: as Jack watched, the boy bent his head forward and began to drink from its neck. It jerked, shuddered, and then fell still. Jack wished the boy would turn around so he could see his features. Jack tried to move closer, and found himself floating in front of the lifeless form on the ground. He gasped out loud when he saw who it was: Schuyler
Her beautiful face was twisted in horror and pain. Her eyes were open, but frozen and lifeless. On her neck, clearly defined for Jack to see, were two round holes which he recognized too well: they had been made by fangs The boy had clearly bitten her; however, there was no blood around the wound. All of the blood had been taken. Full consumption. Jack looked up from her, horrified, and looked up into the face of her killer. But the figure was concealed by the second body in his arms, another body that Jack knew only too well. As he watched, unable to move or cry out, the boy dropped the still form of Mimi Force to the ground, where she fell half-crumpled on top of Schuyler.
As Jack stared up into the face of his enemy, the boy raised his arms triumphantly in the air and began to laugh. "I've done it!" He cried, his voice callous and harsh. "I've succeed, master. I have done what you could not. I have destroyed Death!"
As Jack continued to watch, Kingsley Martin knelt down and surveyed his work. Then, casually flicking his hair out of his face in a gesture Jack knew too well, he looked up and directly into Jack's eyes. "It's a shame you didn't get here about five minutes earlier, Force. Your girls scream so prettily."
Jack awoke with a jolt, and promptly fell out of his bed, thudding heavily on his carpet. Sweat was dripping down his face and he couldn't stop shaking. He took several deep breaths, trying to stop his heart from thudding. He gripped his pillow tightly in his hands, trying to remember all the details of his dream. Just before he'd woken, he had a single thought of clarity. He knew what he needed to do. His heart stopped racing, and he started to breathe normally. But his mind didn't stop.
He knew now what he needed to do.
Jumping to his feet, he untangled himself from his covers and headed determinedly towards his door, not even stopping to grab shoes. Right before he reached it the door opened of its own accord. Mimi stood on the other side, frowning sleepily at him. She wore only a pink camisole and a pair of small red boxers. "Are you alright?" she asked, her voice heavy with sleep. "I heard a noise. It sounded like you fell out of your—"
He didn't stop to answer her, barely glancing at her to assure himself she was alright before passing her and heading down the stairs. "Jack?" she followed him, puzzled and a little concerned. He ignored her and continued forcefully down the hallway. "Jack, wait!" Mimi yelled, getting really worried now. To her left Schuyler's door flew open, and Mimi raised her eyebrows as Schuyler and Oliver tumbled out of the room, both frantically tugging their shirts back into place.
"What's going on?" Schuyler demanded. Mimi opened her mouth to tell her, but before she could speak they all heard the garage door slam. Mimi tore down the stairs, using her vampire speed to reach the kitchen in record time. Schuyler kept pace easily, while Oliver huffed as fast as he could behind the two girls.
In the garage, they found Jack powering up his father's Lincoln. Mimi stared. Was he crazy? He didn't have shoes or even a shirt on. "Jack, wait!" she yelled again, stepping in front of the car and narrowly avoiding being hit as he pressed the gas then slammed on the brakes to keep from knocking her over.
"Jack, what are you doing?" Schuyler demanded softly, talking to him through the open window of the car. Oliver came up behind her and placed a hand on her arm, reassuring her with his presence.
"I have to do this." He said firmly, not explaining anything, just staring straight ahead.
Get out of the way, Mimi. He sent to his sister, leaving no room for argument. She moved, but he still could not pull away because Schuyler was leaning through the window, staring at him with apprehension in her blue eyes. Before he knew what was happening, Mimi had climbed in the front seat next to him, and Schuyler, followed by a reluctant Oliver, had scrambled in the back. Mimi threw them a worried look in the rearview mirror before turning to her brother.
"What. Are. You. Doing." She said, pronouncing each word slowly.
"Please don't ask me to explain, guys," He said, glancing backwards to include Schuyler and Oliver. "There's just something I have to do. There's no logical explanation for it, but I just need to do this. Stay with me or get out of the car, but I'm going now." He looked at them to see if any of them wanted out, but aside from Oliver making the 'crazy' signal with his fingers when he thought Jack's head was turned, none of them showed any sign of leaving. Jack sighed, then reluctantly pulled the car out of the garage with his three hitchhikers in tow.
They drove through downtown Manhattan, the recent rain sparkling off the wheels of the car, the lamplights shining eerily in the midnight light. Schuyler had the strange thought that they were not allowed to be out driving so late and Jack would lose his license if caught. It was such a mundane thought to be having in the middle of such strange circumstances, she almost giggled.
They continued in tense silence for about fifteen minutes, and gradually Schuyler realized they were approaching the neighborhood where Duchesne was located. She wasn't certain but she thought Mimi was trying to talk to Jack in their minds, but not having much success. At any rate, she kept jerking her head in an angry motion while Jack's jaw kept tightening.
Five minutes later Jack pulled the car over to the curb and hopped out without a backwards glance. Mimi, Schuyler, and Oliver followed apprehensively. When Mimi looked up at the building they were facing she gasped in shock. She knew where they were. Or, at least, she was very familiar with the penthouse on the top floor. Jack had led them to Bliss Llewellyn's apartment.
Okay, this is a personal record, over 10,000 words in less than twenty-four hours. I feel very successful right now. (Gives muse pat on the back.) Things have clearly gotten more interesting, and now we're swinging into the main plot of this story. I never intended for it to get this long, but there you go. I hope everyone's enjoyed the story so far, and that you continue to tag along for the ride.
As always, another update will be up by the end of the week. All the reviews are much appreciated; it's nice to know that people are enjoying this story.