Chapter 14: Reunion

Owen was at a loose end, and he found that to be rather distressing. There was nothing he could do right at this minute to... 'advance the plot' as it were. Now that the necklace was out of his hands and doing it's bidding on Lexington there was nothing to do but wait. On a slightly different theme, he was also waiting for one Miss Emily. It took a shift in gears to think of, but the mortal half of him was impatient for that as well. It required waiting just until this evening, but that was hours away, and the wait for that was bothering him as well. There was nothing to apply his mind to.

The night before had been rather dull. The gargoyles had not succeeded in getting Lexington home. There had been a slightly skirmish, but he was not privy to the details. The knowledge that he had a hand in the situation and was unwilling to attempt to 'fix' it was enough to take him out of the confidences of the the clan, at least on this matter. They were rather tight lipped when they made it back to the castle in the twilight before dawn.

Owen contemplated all the reported sightings of Lexington so far. He seemed to be just wandering about the city, stopping wherever it pleased him and going off quite peacefully when no one disrupted his investigation and exploration. It seemed rather obvious what was going on. Amelia had woken up after however many centuries she'd been out of touch and was exploring her new surroundings with reckless abandon.

Her behavior was worrisome on several levels. Her lack of prejudice or judgment when she used her magic, just for example. She didn't seem to want to hide it or worry about the effects it had on any of the humans in the area. The way she was roaming about concerned Owen greatly as well. She didn't seem to be searching for anything in particular, so there was no telling how far she'd go. What if she took it into her head to leave Manhattan all together? Or perhaps she'd regain her senses and think to go to Avalon.

This idea stirred several emotions in him. While it was true that he couldn't follow her if she went, perhaps Titania could reason out what had happened to her and set it right. But then might she be stuck in Avalon, a place where he could never go.

No... it wouldn't do to dwell on such things. Not now, when the present was so uncertain.

Owen brought himself out of his musing and looked at the clock. It was nearing his lunch hour, so he might as well see to that. The monotony of the paperwork he was doing was encouraging all this idle contemplation. It would suit him to get out of the building for an hour and finish off some of his errands. His dry cleaning had the suit he intended to wear tonight, so he had to find the time to pick that up anyway.

Owen stood from his desk and was just on his way out when the door to his office balcony rattled and proceeded to implode. He was thrown off his feet and landed face first on the carpet.

"I fee~eel you." A strange sing-songy voice called from the wreckage behind him. Owen didn't need to see to know who it was. He flipped over and propped himself up on his elbows to confirm his suspicions.

Lexington, or rather, someone that looked like him, was crouched on Owen's desk and staring at him with a predatory gaze. Owen held his breath as Lexington tilted his head and giggled.

"Lexington." Owen stiffly acknowledged as he pushed himself up off the ground. Lexington jumped off the desk.

"No." He said as he stalked forward, a distinct sway to his hips. He came to a stop in front of Owen, who refused to give up his ground.

"I feel you." Lexington said again, more seriously this time. He put a hand on Owen's chest, as if to make the statement literal.

"Yes" Owen agreed. He had no doubt Amelia could feel his spark of magic buried rather heavily under the mundane that was Owen Burnett, expertly disguised though it was under his own enchantments and Oberon's hateful spell.

"Come out," Lexington said with a purr. He started circling Owen, dragging his hand around Owen's chest and shoulders as he went.

"Can't." Owen replied, a shiver emanating from every part of him Amelia touched.

"Can't?' Amelia paused where she was tracing little designs along his back with her talon. She clutched at his shoulders with anticipation. "Is it a game?" She asked playfully.

"No. It's not a game." Owen answered. He closed his eyes and took a deep steadying breath. Amelia's magic was cloying and suffocating. It wasn't supposed to be like that, it was almost impossible to think. Amelia continued circling him with a chuckle.

"I bet I could make you..." She said. Lexington's visage came into view, reminding Owen of the problem at hand. He would have dearly loved this teasing under different circumstances, but this was wrong for many reasons.

"Amelia listen to me," Owen said quickly as he regained his senses. Amelia stopped and looked him in the face. "You have to let go of this body, it isn't yours."

Lexington snarled.

"It IS mine! I took it myself and I won't go back!" Lexington yelled. He grabbed Owen by the collar and lifted him off the ground. Owen hooked his hands around Lexington's arm to steady himself.

"You know I'm right. You haven't made the spells permanent because you know better." Owen said as calmly as he could. When he got no reply he went on.

"It will be different this time. You won't be stuck in that necklace forever this time, I can help." Owen pleaded.

"You don't know that." Lexington insisted with a growl.

It was true. Even with all he'd been able to figure out about the necklace and how Amelia was trapped in it he was still no closer to a viable answer to getting her out. Owen almost wondered what would happen if Amelia DID stay inside Lexington. Surely-

Before Owen could even finish the thought he found himself flying through the air and slamming into the wall. He caught his breath just in time to see Lexington gliding off the balcony. Xanatos burst through the office door just a moment afterwards

"Owen!" He shouted.

"Sir?" Owen asked from the floor. Xanatos turned sharply to look at Owen in bemusement. He looked at the shattered glass of the balcony entrance and windows, then back to Owen.

"What happened here?" Xanatos asked.

"Lexington... Decided to pay a visit." Owen said as he got to his feet.

"Did he hurt you?" Xanatos asked, going over to Owen and brushing him off a bit.

"No sir." Owen replied. "I hardly think that was his intention."

A/N: A year and a half? It hasn't been a year and a half! You so crazy! In all seriousness though, I have no clue when the next chapter is gonna be up guys. This one was really hard to write. On the PLUS side, we get more Emily in the next chapter, since it's "Date Night".

I'm thinking about going through this fic and editing and posting it on AO3. I've got an account there that I only use to post comments.