Title: Utterly and Forever
Author: Mitch
Series: Part 10
Rating: PG-13
Category: Romance
A/N: This is the last chapter, but a brief epilogue will be forthcoming. Thanks again to everyone who has stayed with me!
Lex feels the stone floor beneath his feet. He feels the wooden stool that he is sitting on. He feels the table where he rests his elbows, and he feels the flickering heat of the candle that lights the room. He feels the king's firm gaze fixated on him, and he feels the dim annoyance imprinted in that gaze when Lex refuses to lift his eyes from his hands.
Lex feels his cloak around his shoulders. He feels his shoulders within his cloak. He feels a rumbling in his stomach that he knows must remain unanswered for hours more. He feels the passing of precious seconds of time, and he feels the ever-growing impatience of the king like a palpable presence in the room. Waiting.
Lex feels a leather pouch around his neck. He doesn't have to touch it to know exactly where it hangs. In his mind, he feels the texture of the worn leather, the smell of the snuff that it holds, and he thinks of his late mother, the queen, to whom the pouch originally belonged. Lex feels his youth slipping away, being steadily replaced by darkness and impossible choices.
Lex feels that he has been here before, on this stone floor, astride this stool, above this table, across from this king, this father. He feels that he is simultaneously moving forward through time and experiencing an old, old memory, as though each moment that transpires is instantly and eternally familiar, but impossible to guess at or predict. Lex feels that the course of his life, of his eternity, is about to change utterly and forever.
The two officers had arrived at Smallville High in separate cars, and Clark and Chloe had said a nearly wordless goodbye outside the school as they were taken in different directions.
"We'll get out of this," Chloe whispered to Clark.
"Quiet," said the officer escorting Chloe.
Clark barely had a chance to nod before he was standing next to a Metropolis police car. The officer opened the back door and unceremoniously plopped a hand on the top of Clark's head, pushing him down into the seat and slamming the door in his face. Clark took a ragged breath and held it in as the car pulled out of the school's parking lot, weaving through an already growing crowd of dumbstruck students.
"Speak to me, son," the king murmurs. His raspy voice is surprisingly gentle.
Lex feels the displacement of air hit his ears before he actually hears his father's words.
"I don't know what I'm supposed to say," he responds.
The king reaches across the table to rest his gloved hand on top of Lex's. There is concern in his eyes.
"I truly cannot think of another way," the king apologizes.
Lex nods. "I can't either. That's why I'm so afraid."
"Afraid…that you'll say yes?" The king's hand tenses.
"Afraid I have no choice," Lex replies. He removes his hand from beneath his father's.
He feels ashamed.
Clark looked around nervously. The grim officer guided him out of the back of the police car, hands still in cuffs, and toward the jail to be booked. Clark knew that at any moment, he could free himself of the handcuffs and run away so fast and so far that no police officer would ever be able to find him again. His powerful instincts were telling him to do just that.
But years of parental training prevented him from being so reckless with his abilities. He knew that to run away now would only make things worse. So he took several more deep breaths, staring up at the overcast Metropolis sky, flinching against the cold breeze, and feeling the shadowy presence of the penitentiary looming closer and closer.
"These witches are too powerful," the king says. "Sheer physical force will never be enough to take them down."
"I know," Lex nods.
"They have to be defeated from within, son," the king goes on.
"I know that," Lex repeats.
"I would never ask you to do this unless I thought it was absolutely necessary. You're the only one I can trust with something so sensitive—"
"Father, stop." Lex holds up a hand. "I know that it's necessary."
The king nods. "You know where to find the young witch in question?"
Lex laughs humorlessly. "I won't have to find him. He shows up everywhere I go. He follows me."
"Repeating the same things to you?"
"Yes. That he knows me somehow. That he wants me to remember. That we belong together," Lex cringes. "Horrid."
"And as yet, you have not engaged in conversation with him?" The king stares heatedly into Lex's eyes.
"No," Lex affirms, slapping the table, causing the candlestick to wobble. "I would never speak to a creature so foul. I would never dignify his blasphemy."
The king bows his head respectfully. "But now you must," he croaks.
Lex shudders.
He feels sick.
Clark had never felt cold before in his life, but he was pretty sure he felt cold now. He stood in a gray room under horrible fluorescent lights, and he held a plaque in front of his chest with quivering hands as a dismal, overweight photographer with tobacco-stained teeth told him to hold still. Clark's retinas tensed behind his eyes at the blinding camera flash.
"To the left," the robust woman announced with a voice like sandpaper.
Clark turned.
"Your other left, dummy," the woman spat cruelly.
With a hiccup of flustered shame, Clark turned to his other left.
He thought of his mom and dad, the disappointment they would feel when they found out about all of this. Another shiver went through him.
"You must make him believe that you do remember," the king goes on. "You must make him believe that you wish to turn your back on me and the kingdom. You must woo him, son."
"I KNOW!!!" Lex screams, breaking out in a sweat. "Must you continue to torture me?! I know! I have to convince this repulsive heathen that I love him! I know!"
"You must be prepared, son—"
"I am prepared! I am as prepared as I can ever—"
"He will be cunning, you know." The king's voice remains quiet and steady. "He will play on your weaknesses. He will make you doubt what you think you know."
"Do you think that I will forget who I am, Father? Do you think that I will fall for his lies? That I would be so foolish?" Lex feels his fingernails digging into the palms of his hands. "How little faith you invest in your so-called only hope."
"He is a powerful witch, my son, a master of lies!" The king doesn't yell, but he takes on a pronounced air of authority. "God only knows the source of his power! I have seen him and his clan do terrible things, and I want you to know exactly what you are up against." The king wrings his hands together nervously and lowers his voice. "This is not some naïve young maiden you can seduce with a pint of ale and a string of pretty words."
"Not even a maiden at all," Lex says with a shudder.
"Your men will marvel at your bravery," the king encourages.
"My men will string me up," Lex argues. But his resolve against his father's plan has already been shattered. The witches are too powerful, and every other tactic against them has failed. The lives of many men have already been lost in battle, and there seems to be no end to the enemy's stamina. "There's nothing to be done about it, I suppose," Lex concedes morosely.
"Pants," the officer said through a noisy mouthful of chewing gum.
Standing in the middle of another cold, gray room, a shirtless Clark reluctantly took off his pants. Then he promptly brought his hands back together in front of his waist, feeling childish and exposed in his plaid boxers. The same boxers that Lex had lovingly teased him about. He kept his eyes on the floor.
"Pants!" the officer demanded a second time, growing more impatient.
"I already took off my pants," Clark whimpered almost inaudibly.
"Everything comes off," the officer bellowed, gesturing at Clark's underwear.
Clark hesitated. The only person he wanted to see him naked was Lex. He felt humiliated taking off his clothes in front of a total stranger.
"Lex, please help me," he pleaded under his breath.
"Do you need me to do it for you, dumb ass?" The officer stepped forward threateningly.
Clark shook his head. Holding his breath against the hot tears forming in his eyes, his slipped his thumbs under his waistband and pulled down his boxers.
Lex feels the breeze against his face, tugging gently on his cape as he wanders out beyond the royal court, out into the wild and unkempt woods nearby. The sky is ashen. Dead leaves scurry by him in the opposite direction as if running away from what is hiding deep within the forest. Lex can't blame them. The breeze is gentle and cold and anything but comforting.
"Good day to you," says the voice. Lex always hears the voice before he sees the man it belongs to. Clark appears to leap out from behind a thick and gnarled old tree, smiling. Always smiling.
"Good day," Lex breathes, stopping in his tracks. An electric thrill rises through his core as Clark's face perks up at his response.
"You've finally decided to speak to me, then! Wonderful!" Clark comes nearer the young knight, but Lex takes two large steps back. Clark raises his hands. "Please, don't go. I don't mean to scare you away. I just want to talk to you."
Lex stays still. He suppresses a shiver as Clark scans him from head to toe. "Strange lad," Lex can't help but think aloud. He has never truly looked upon the witch until now, not with any real focus, anyway. He was always too busy fleeing the young man's embarrassing insinuations. In his deepest of hearts, Lex is taken aback by Clark's rebellious smile, his lilting voice. But he remembers the mission he is here to carry out.
"I'm beginning to recall," Lex lies. "I remember knowing you. But I can't remember where or when."
Clark's smile changes from mischievous to penetrating, nearly overwhelming Lex.
What ungodly power he wields, Lex thinks, both terrified and enchanted.
Clark reaches out his arms and steps forward slowly. "I'll help you," he whispers. "And I'll make sure we never have to say goodbye again…"
Continuing his advance on Lex, Clark he reaches into his robe and pulls out a stunning red crystal, flashing in the dim light. He holds it out, as if offering it.
Lex feels paralyzed.
"I don't want it!" Lex shouted as he sat up breathlessly in bed. He took a few moments to realize he had been dreaming, and then to digest the importance of his dream. "It was all a lie," he said to himself.
A few more moments went by before Lex heard his phone ringing on his bedside table, and understood that the phone was what had awakened him. He scooped up the receiver.
"What," he sputtered.
"Lex. Danielson," a deep voice replied.
"Danielson," Lex repeated. "What do you want?"
"It's Mr. Kent, sir. He's been arrested."
Lex was silent for a period of exactly five seconds. Then he slammed the phone back into its cradle and got out of bed.
Chloe sat at the metal table of the visitor's room, drumming her fingernails haughtily. Her initial scare about getting arrested had worn off, and now she was damn mad. Lionel had set her up. She had been so sure that she had covered her tracks when she hacked into the system. But Clark had been right. She was foolish to think she could get away with anything on Lionel's own computer.
She heard footsteps approaching outside the grated door, and she stood up, folding her arms indignantly.
"Guard?" she guessed. "I'm still waiting for my phone call! If I don't talk to a lawyer in the next ten minutes, my dad is going to sue the shit out of you!"
She gasped softly as a menacing chuckle accompanied the even footsteps, and then Lionel appeared behind the door, peering in at her through the mesh with a delighted grin. "One night in the big house, and you've already succumbed to corruption, poor thing," Lionel tsked. He opened the door and approached the table.
"I didn't sleep well," Chloe said more quietly, her arms tightening across her chest.
Lionel surveyed her body language with a satisfied smirk. "Sit down, Miss Sullivan," he rasped. Without waiting for her to sit, he took a seat across the table from her and leaned back casually, crossing his legs.
"I'm not talking to you without a lawyer present," Chloe insisted, remaining on her feet.
"You know, it's a funny thing about lawyers," Lionel said, folding his hands on his thigh. "They make a conversation so official. They lure us into the comfort of confidentiality, when really anything that we say in front of them becomes fair play in court."
"I'm counting on it," Chloe snapped.
"But wouldn't you rather keep this between us?" Lionel pressed. "Considering the sensitive nature of what we have to say to each other, I mean."
"I have nothing to hide," Chloe resisted.
"Maybe not," Lionel said, his voice turning ice cold. "Clark, however, is a different story. Isn't he."
Chloe's arms shifted uncomfortably. She didn't know what to make of Lionel's insinuation, but she was suddenly suspicious that he knew something that she didn't. She was also worried for Clark's safety. She sat down slowly.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she said cautiously, "but it sounds like a tall tale."
Lionel guffawed. "Coming from a professional yarn spinner, that's quite a compliment. Don't try to pretend you don't know what I'm talking about. Clark must share his secrets with you. You and he are…friendly, yes?"
"No, we're mortal enemies. That's why we spend nearly every waking minute together,"
Chloe quipped with a roll of her eyes.
"Excluding the minutes that he's spending with my son, you mean?" Lionel carefully enunciated.
Chloe's heart leaped in her chest, and she struggled to come up with an answer.
"Seems as if you and Lex could both use a little practice in covering your tracks," Lionel finished.
Chloe remained still for a long moment. When she finally decided that she couldn't talk her way out of this, she spoke. "What do you want?"
Lionel uncrossed his legs and put his hands on the table, ready to start business. "Well, isn't that obvious? I want to know what you and Clark wanted with the file that you stole from me."
"Nothing," Chloe lied. "I was digging. I'm an investigative reporter."
"Now, you and I both know, Miss Sullivan, that it was much more than that. Clark is clearly involved in the matter of the crystal, and I want you to tell me how."
"But—"
"Please don't forget what I know about Clark's relationship with my son," Lionel interrupted. "With one phone call, I could make your friend's life extremely difficult."
"You would do that to Lex?" Chloe asked in awe.
"Lex is a grown man. He's lived through scandals, and he'll live through more." Lionel scratched his beard thoughtfully. "Clark, on the other hand, strikes me as the type of person who could do without the widespread attention. I don't know about you, but I've sensed that his relationship with my son is not the only secret he keeps."
A long silence passed. Chloe felt her cheeks become hot, and she bit her lower lip nervously. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, feeling trapped between two frightening options. At last, she chose one.
"Clark has been having dreams," she began.
In a tiny, suffocating cell, Clark lay facing the wall on a hard cot that was too short for his long legs. Water dripped incessantly from the sink next to the bed, but he couldn't find the motivation to do anything about it.
He felt horrible. He felt humiliated and alone. The strip search was so invasive, and he had been powerless to do anything to stop it. He was in enough trouble already without losing control in a violent display of his abilities.
The only blessing in all of this was that he was placed in a cell by himself, so at least he didn't have to worry about hiding his tears from anyone. He cried through most of the night. He felt violated and dirty. And in some irrational part of his brain, he worried that he had been unfaithful to Lex, horrified by the fact that those parts of his body that he had reserved only for Lex had now been touched by someone else.
Clark scratched his chest. The faded blue uniform they put him in itched all over. But at least he had clothes at all.
Totally lost in his thoughts, Clark didn't hear the approaching footsteps outside of his cell.
"Clark."
He jumped in his bed, and sat up to look at the cell door. Lex stood there, holding onto the bars and peering through, looking stricken at Clark's disheveled hair and wet, bloodshot eyes.
"Are you okay?" Lex could barely whisper.
By way of response, Clark merely shook his head. His bottom lip began to quiver as fresh tears sprang up in his eyes, and he walked to the cell door where he leaned his forehead against Lex's between the bars. Lex snaked his hands through and cradled Clark's face, kissing him softly.
"You look terrible," Lex murmured.
Clark nodded. "I haven't slept," he stuttered. "They wouldn't let me call you. And no one has come to tell me what's going on or to give me anything to eat. And they made me get nak—" He cut off with a gasping sob. "They made me get naked," he finished miserably.
Lex pulled his head back in disbelief. "They strip searched you?"
"Yeah. They searched…everything." Clark's breath became quick and uneven as he relived the event.
"Oh, my God, Clark…" Lex shook his head, pulling Clark close again.
"And I wanted to fight them off because I know that I could have, and I kept thinking that you are the only one who can touch me there, but I was so afraid of making things worse for us, and I know this is going to be all over the news, and I don't want you to be hurt by our relationship being exposed…"
Clark would have continued with his watery rambling, but Lex stopped him with an intense kiss. Clark sobbed into Lex's mouth, but Lex remained in place until Clark was able to calm down and slow his breathing. When the kiss ended, Clark leaned his forehead against Lex's once more and placed his hands over the bars on top of Lex's hands.
"I'm sorry we stole from your dad," Clark muttered.
Lex gave Clark another brief kiss. "You didn't steal from my father, Clark. Chloe did."
"But she did it for me… How did you know that? And how did you know that I was here? I didn't get a phone call."
Lex opened his mouth to answer, but he was interrupted when a sharp buzz sounded at the end of the empty cell block, and a tall middle-aged man in an expensive suit entered. Clark quickly tried to pull away from Lex, fearing what would happen if this man saw their display of affection, but Lex reached through the bars with one arm, reaching around Clark's shoulder to keep him close. He pulled his other arm away so that he could face the suited man. Clark felt nervous about the presence of another stranger, but he felt relieved having Lex remain in contact.
"Danielson," Lex said.
"I'm sorry I didn't get through to you sooner, Lex," the man said. "I didn't find out until this morning."
"Didn't find out what?" Clark asked softly. He was surprised to see Danielson produce a set of keys which he used to unlock the door to Clark's cell, and Lex stepped away so that Danielson could slide the door open.
"Clark…" Lex hesitated. "This wasn't a real arrest. My father did this to you and Chloe."
The bars that had separated them slid out of the way, and as much as Clark wanted to fall into Lex's arms, he couldn't bring himself to move.
"Your father…"
"The cops who took you away are dirty," Danielson filled in. "They have been on Lionel's payroll for years."
"But I'm paying them more," Lex said. "And I've ordered them to inform me if my father ever acts against my interests."
Clark shook his head. "So why did they…" he trailed off, tearing up.
"They didn't know that you are one of my interests," Lex replied. "Clark, I am so sorry for what you went through."
"Your father had them… do that to me?" Clark trembled.
Lex took Clark's hand and squeezed it with both of his own. "I had no idea he would go to such extremes," he apologized sincerely. "I promise you'll be under my protection from now on."
Still shaking his head, Clark pulled his hand away from Lex and wrapped his arms around himself. "No. No," he repeated shakily.
Lex sighed. He turned his gaze from Clark to Danielson. "Will you excuse us?"
"Sir," Danielson complied and left the cell block.
"Clark…" Lex slowly approached Clark and embraced him. Clark kept his hands wrapped tightly around his chest, but he let his head drop onto Lex's shoulder.
"How could your father do that to me?"
"I read the document that you and—I mean—that Chloe stole from him. I had no idea he was taking all of this so seriously. He must realize that you know more than you told him. Maybe he even thought you had the crystal on you."
"He has the crystal," Clark insisted. "He said so in his report."
"The other crystal, Clark. The one that you—um, that the other you used to kill the king."
Clark shook his head. "But his record didn't mention anything about the other crystal."
"He wouldn't mention it if he was luring you into a trap, trying to get the second crystal away from you. Or from Chloe."
Clark's head shot up from Lex's shoulder with a start. "Chloe! We have to find her! She's in danger too!"
Lex planted his hands on Clark's shoulders, steadying him. "Danielson is going after her right now. She'll be okay."
"I have to go with him. I want to help," Clark said. He tried to maneuver past Lex, but Lex stepped to the side, blocking Clark's exit.
"I think you had better let him take care of it," Lex said. "I don't want you putting yourself in my father's way again."
"Lex, if I had known that I wasn't really being arrested I—"
"You what?" Lex pressed. "What would you have done?"
Clark paused before he answered, his thoughts racing. "I mean… It doesn't matter now. I have to get to Chloe." He stepped to the other side, but Lex blocked him again.
"What can you do to help, Clark?" Lex said, growing agitated. "Danielson is a very capable—"
"I can get there faster than he can!" Clark blurted.
"How?" Lex blurted back. "How is that possible, Clark?"
Clark closed his eyes tightly with an impatient sigh as he caught on to what Lex was implying. "Damn it, Lex, are we back on this again?"
"It is more important now than ever that we be honest with each other, Clark. Please. If I'm going to protect you, I need to know everything."
"I don't need you to protect me," Clark muttered. Then, "You do know everything," he amended quickly.
"No, I don't," Lex responded. "I know there's more going on than what you've told me. And it's okay, Clark. I understand why you're afraid—"
"I'm not afraid…" Clark lied, lowering his eyes.
"I understand why you would think you need to lie to me, and it's okay," Lex went on.
"I'm not lying!" Clark shouted.
"And it's okay, Clark, because I lied to you too."
Clark froze with his mouth open. "What?"
"Have you had anymore dreams recently?" Lex asked, breathing heavily.
After a long moment of not knowing how to respond, Clark finally shook his head. "I didn't sleep last night."
Lex cleared his throat and steeled his shoulders. "I had a dream. And I found out that I lied to you."
"What do you mean you found out?"
"I mean, I had a dream that took place before all of the other dreams that we've had so far. It was the beginning, before we even knew each other."
Clark's eyebrows arched with cautious curiosity.
"It was a lie, Clark," Lex said through a constricted throat. "My father…I mean, the king. The king made me get involved with you so that we could defeat you. I lied to you."
The muscles in Clark's forearms flexed across his chest. "You didn't love me?" he asked softly.
Lex shrugged. "Well, that's the thing. I do remember… having feelings for you. Later. But in the beginning… I hated you." Clark let slip a nearly silent gasp. "I was trying to bring you down."
Clark bit his bottom lip, holding back his hurt. "So that's how the king got the red crystal," he said sullenly.
"You gave it to me…" Lex began.
"…and you gave it to him," Clark finished.
A silence as thick as molasses ensued. Lex was the first to break it.
"So you see?" he started carefully. "I lied to you. But I'm coming forward with the truth now because of how much you mean to me. And because I trust you to forgive me." Breath. "You can be honest too, Clark."
"Lex, I—"
"For us," Lex begged. "What kind of relationship can we have if you don't trust me?"
"But I do trust you, Lex!" Clark exploded. "I…" Inhalation. "I love you."
Lex pursed his lips, his own eyes beginning to sting as his clenching teeth caused his temples to pulsate. "Is that the truth?" he asked tremulously. "Or is that you avoiding the issue?"
"Lex…" Clark breathed, too shocked to say anything more. In that moment, Lex's cell phone rang. He stared into Clark's eyes for a few seconds longer, searching for an answer. His phone continued to ring insistently. Eventually, he reached into the inside pocket of his suit jacket and pulled the phone out.
"What?" he spat.
"Lex," Danielson's voice rang breathlessly. "Lex, you have to—"
He faded away.
"Hello? Danielson? What's going on?"
There was a pause on the line during which Lex and Clark exchanged a worried look. Clark held his head close to Lex's to hear what was happening. A new voice came onto the line.
"My son, I believe this silliness has gone on long enough," came the gruff voice of Lionel Luthor. "The time has come for you and your young friend to tell me what you know."
"Clark!" shouted Chloe in the background, her voice shrouded in a soft echo.
"Chloe!" Clark shouted back. Then, to Lionel, "If you hurt her…"
"I'm afraid threats are not yours for the making, boy," Lionel interrupted coldly. "Son. We need to talk. Now."
"Where are you?" Lex demanded.
"I know where they are," Clark said. He grabbed the phone out of Lex's hand and snapped it shut.
"Clark, what are you doing? We need to know how to find them!"
Clark pulled Lex close and spoke into his ear. "There are a lot of things I need to explain to you, and I can't take that much time right now. I promise, I will explain. But Chloe needs us, and we have to get to her."
"Where?!" Lex yelled.
"I swear I'll explain this later," Clark vowed.
And without another word, he swept Lex into his arms and sprinted out of the penitentiary at light speed.
Seconds later, the burning wind that had battered against Lex's face died away, and he slowly opened his eyes. The cloudy Metropolis sky lay hideously overhead, and he found himself standing next to Clark outside the front doors of the Metropolis Museum. He tried to ask what had just happened, but he had no air left in his lungs.
"I recognized the echo," Clark explained feebly. "Come on. There's no time."
Ignoring the large "Closed for Renovations" sign hanging in the window, Clark yanked the front doors open. He pulled Lex by the arm and they ran, at relatively normal speed, down the long echoing hallway. They screeched to a halt outside the Scottish exhibit. As Clark had expected, they found Chloe and Danielson seated side by side in front of the historical displays in a couple of wooden chairs with their arms tied behind them. Danielson was unconscious. The modest amount of light that found its way into the room came from the skylight above.
"Chloe!" Clark cried. He jogged toward where Chloe sat, but he stopped short when he heard the metal clink of a gun being cocked. A young man stepped seemingly out of nowhere, placing a black pistol to the side of Chloe's head.
"Clark…" Chloe squeaked, quaking in her seat.
"Brian!" Lex exclaimed, recognizing the man with the gun as the foolish young security guard who had caught him and Clark making out the last time they had visited the museum. Clark's eyes widened in rage as he also recognized Brian.
"You little son of a bitch…" He began to advance on the guard.
"Clark," Lex said, placing a warning hand on Clark's shoulder.
"Back off, man!" Brian shouted nervously.
"You're going to put that gun down," Clark admonished the young man authoritatively. "Or I will put you down."
Lionel cleared his throat from behind Clark and Lex, and they jerked around to face him. "I realize you are a remarkably… talented young man," Lionel insinuated menacingly. "But even you can't get to Chloe faster than that bullet can get into her head. Unless you'd like to try."
Clark turned back to Chloe. The barrel of the gun was still planted firmly against the side of her head. He didn't want to press his luck. "What do you want?" he asked Lionel.
"The same thing I've always wanted. The truth." Lionel came a few steps closer to Clark, the soles of his expensive shoes clacking ominously in the large room. "I feared you didn't understand the importance of my quest during our last conversation. I trust that I have your attention now?"
"You can let Chloe go," Clark said. "She has nothing to do with this."
"Judging from her thievery, I would say she has everything to do with it," Lionel answered with a wry smile. "I'll let her go when I get my answers."
"Clark, he's lying," Chloe yelled out, her voice rattling. "You could tell him everything, and he still wouldn't let me go. Don't give him what he wants."
"Clark, she's right," Lex whispered forcefully at Clark's side. "There has to be another way."
"Unh-unh-unh," Lionel reprimanded, wagging his finger at Clark and Lex like they were misbehaving children. "No more secrets, boys. Clark, it's time for you to tell me what I need to know."
Clark's breath hitched as he glanced again at Chloe's terrified and sweating face, then back to Lionel. "Why does it matter so much to you?" he asked Lionel desperately.
"Why does it matter?" Lionel asked incredulously, coming still closer. "Why, it's my legacy! Those crystals belonged to my ancestors, and they should have been passed down to me!"
"They never belonged to you!" Clark argued.
"Clark…" Lex warned.
"They belonged to my ancestors!" Clark continued.
"Clark, stop it!" Chloe shrieked.
"The crystals only ended up with you because of your traitorous son!"
As soon as the words were out, Clark slapped a hand over his mouth as if trying to push them back in.
Lionel's eyes lit up as his gaze shifted back and forth between Lex and Clark. He spoke through genuine laughter. "Oh, dear me," he chuckled. "Am I to understand that we've had another revelation?"
"Damn it," Lex said under his breath, bringing his hands to his face.
"And from the look of things, it wasn't a very romantic chapter to your little saga," Lionel mocked. "Did your knight in shining armor tell you a white lie?"
"You forced him to do it!" Clark bellowed. "He never would have made that choice on his own!"
"Clark, please…" Lex pleaded.
"Oh, you'd be surprised what Luthors are capable of," Lionel corrected. "Isn't that right, son? If I recall correctly, you even had the audacity to steal a leather snuff pouch right off of your mother's dead body before she was buried."
Everyone was silent. "What?" Lex whispered.
"Oh, yes," Lionel went on. "I remember putting it around her neck quite clearly. I wanted her to be buried with it, as it was the last gift I gave to her. But there it was hanging around your insolent neck the day that you and I planned to take down the witches."
Lex's mouth hung open. "How do you..."
"I'd recognize that pouch anywhere," Lionel said. "Even in the dim glow of the candlelight in that drafty cellar."
"How do you know that?" Lex screamed. "I didn't even tell Clark that much!"
"I've been having some dreams of my own," Lionel declared triumphantly.
"Oh, my God," Lex moaned.
"No!" Clark shouted. "No, that's not possible! You weren't there!"
"Apparently I was," Lionel taunted. "Some version of me, anyway. Isn't it fascinating?"
Clark shook his head adamantly. "I don't believe it."
"You don't believe what," Lionel asked, all warmth dropping from his voice. "That I horned in on your silly fantasy play with Lex? Or that you killed me, and I came back to avenge myself? You murdering deviant! Aaaah!"
Lionel cried out as Clark super sped forward and grabbed him by the throat. But before Clark could do any real damage, a bright red light shone through Lionel's breast pocket, bathing the room in the color of blood. Lionel tried to grab for the crystal, but it burned his hand with a searing hiss of sizzling flesh. Then the crystal emitted a deep hum which grew in volume and resonance with each passing second, quickly becoming deafening.
"Aaaah!" Lionel screamed again.
"Mr. Luthor!" Brian screamed in response.
"Clark!" Lex yelled.
"Clark! The crystal! He has the crystal!" Chloe shrieked.
"Don't do it, man!" Brian yelled from behind Chloe, barely audible under the roar of the crystal. "I swear to God, I'll kill her!"
A red flame burst through Lionel's jacket, spreading quickly along his arm. He screamed again.
"Mr. Luthor!" Brian cried again dumbly.
"Dad!" Lex echoed.
"Aaaaah!" Clark let loose an animal growl and reached through the crimson flames to Lionel's chest to grab the crystal, closing it tightly in his fist. As soon as he did so, thunder crashed outside and a bolt of lightning struck through the skylight, shattering the glass and rippling across the floor of the great room. Everyone was sent flying in opposite directions, crashing into the marble walls.
And then the roar of the crystal changed into…
Fire.
Clark and Lex stand side by side in the middle of a burning forest. The Scottish forest. The overcast sky is barely visible for all the black smoke that swims through the air, and nearly every tree in sight is being devoured in the ear-splitting roar of spiraling, circling orange flames.
They look at each other and are surprised by what they see. Lex is not a knight. He is his 21st century self, a bald young man in a suit. Clark is not a witch, but a young farm boy in a flannel shirt and jeans. Clark begins to ask what is happening, but he is interrupted by shouting in the distance. He and Lex both gasp as two young men, two alternate versions of themselves, sprint into view.
"You can't leave!" the knight screams through the howling of the fires. "You've destroyed my home! I have nowhere else to go!"
"You should have thought about that before you lied to me!" the witch screams in response. The power of his voice causes the flames to shudder around them. "You and your malevolent father!" He pulls his white crystal out of his robes and holds it up angrily. The crystal's glow is now completely gone. "His blood has rendered my crystal useless!" He throws the crystal into the burning trees.
"But I came forward with the truth!" the knight justifies. "I told you what my father and I had planned because I've had a change of heart! I love you!"
The wind wreaks havoc on Clark's dark hair as he helplessly watches the exchange. Lex, standing at his side, takes his hand, the wind stinging his eyes. The witch and the knight clearly don't notice that they have an audience.
"There is nothing left here for my people!" the witch cries. "We thought we could form a peaceful alliance somehow, but we have failed. You have failed. You and your pathetic race!" The witch is furious and clearly saddened by having to leave.
"Etienne!" the knight begs through tears. He falls at the witch's feet and hugs his waist. "Please! I can't lose you! I swear I will never lie to you again! Stay with me! I can't be without you!"
The witch wipes tears from his own eyes, cradling the knight's head in his hands. "Truly?" he asks.
The knight looks up into his lover's eyes hopefully and nods his head. "I want to be with you always! Forever!"
The witch gets down on his knees so that his eyes are level with the knight's eyes. They share a long and passionate kiss. Clark squeezes Lex's hand painfully as they look on, unable to move. When the kiss is finally over, the witch puts a hand on the knight's face.
"You have to stay right here," he says.
"But I'll die!" the knight argues.
"You can come back," the witch confides into the knight's ear. As he speaks, he pulls the king's gold chain out of his robes with the red crystal dangling from the end. He fastens the chain around the knight's neck and kisses him on the forehead. "Keep this with you. No matter what happens. No matter how you suffer."
The knight nods desperately.
"I have to go," the witch finishes. He kisses his knight one final time, and they embrace tightly, shedding tears onto one another's shoulders.
"Goodb—" the knight begins to say.
"Don't," the witch cuts him off.
And then before another word can be spoken, the witch speeds away through the encroaching flames, leaving his beloved knight to burn.