Chapter 21

He didn't know why or how, but it had taken him a long time to return to the palace. And when he had he couldn't quite bring himself to go inside. Instead he made his way towards a shaded secluded spot on the grounds and stared up at the building he was currently calling home. For some reason he'd never felt so disconnected with everything and everyone as he did right in that moment. It was as though someone had come along and taken away everything that was him and replaced it with this strangely empty shell.

He stared down at his hands and for a long time tried to figure out why they were so covered in blood. Her death had been messy, much messier than the ones which had come before it, but there hadn't been this much blood before, had there? And the blood wasn't just on his hands, it was everywhere. Everywhere. It felt like it was soaking into him; staining his very soul. He hadn't done anything wrong, had he? He was just punishing a liar, like he'd punished so many liars before her. Why... why did it feel so different this time? Why did it hurt him so much? Why was there so much blood?

'Father,' the sound of her voice made him jump.

He turned to see his daughter watching him. The redness which stained her cheeks and puffed up her eyes revealed she'd been crying not so long ago, but now she appeared to be filled with a strange and intense kind of calmness.

'Talma I can explain…'

'Don't,' she slowly shook her head, 'I already know and I'm here to take you to my uncles, as you are, like we agreed. It's time for them to see you now.'

'But…'

'No father. All my life I've sat back and watch this darkness consume you piece by piece; praying that one day you'd be strong enough to make it go away. But I see now that I was wrong. It's never going to go away.' She half turned away from him. 'It's why I let you do this. It's why I had to let you do this. It was the only way... the only way they would see you for what you really are.'

'What am I?' He found himself staring down at his hands again.

'A man in need of help.'

'And you think they'll help me?' He laughed. 'Look at me, I'm a monster.'

'No,' she took hold of his hands, 'if you were a monster mother and I would not still love you, but we do because we know the good kind man you really are still lurks inside of you. You're not strong enough to fight the madness which consumes you; I can see that now, but with the help of your brothers...'

'They won't help me. They can't help me. They'll take one look at me and...'

'They won't hate you,' she cut him off, 'what happened isn't your fault, not really. You're not in control of your own actions, you never have been. But I... I let you do this, if they're going to hate anyone it will be me.'

'No,' he shook his head, 'no I won't let them blame you for this. I... Take me to them,' his voice was firm, he knew what he had to do now. 'Take me to them; I'm ready for them to see me now.'

'They'll help you father,' her face filled with a sad but innocent smile, 'I know they will.'

'We've got time to mount a rescue,' SK licked his lips.

'You're kidding, right?' Tristan rolled his eyes. 'We have no idea where Jay might have taken Mokuba and we have no idea just how much longer they're going to be out of it for.'

'No... No, but we can find out,' SK went towards the mirror hanging above the dining room mantle.

'You think they won't have blocked locator spells? I mean, you do know just how easily those things can be blocked, right?'

'I wasn't plan on using a locator spell,' SK brought the mirror back towards him.

'Then what,' Tristan cocked an eyebrow.

'Don't tell me I've figured something out before you have,' SK's tongue skated across his lips.

'Figured what out?'

'We know a locator spell won't work because they'll be blocking that,' SK began to mark out a grid across the mirror with his finger. 'So we look for somewhere which is blocked out but shouldn't be.'

'Why didn't I think of that?' Tristan folded his arms.

SK hesitated for a moment, then the answer just came to him.

'It's because I have the power to do it and you don't,' he licked his lips. 'You might be able to figure out a whole lot of stuff quicker and more easily than I can. But you can't think in magical terms because you don't know what it's like to have power. It's the only reason why I'm the Helper and you're not.'

'Whatever, can you just get on with it already?'

'Right,' SK nodded and focused his attention on the mirror. 'This may take a little while.'

'If it gives us a starting point then who cares,' Tristan shrugged.

'Right, well, here goes nothing.'

The Pure gave a heavy sigh and flopped back down onto the table she was lying on. Her eyes focused up on the blank white ceiling above her as she counted off all the reasons why she should be left in charge more often. After all, she was the only one with what it took to make a real difference to the multiverse. She wasn't apathetic or passive. She wasn't reserved, detached or obedient. She didn't sit around all day doing nothing because she refused to act, she was just ultimately outvoted.

Well that had to change. It had to. If it didn't then... then whatever it was that was coming would overwhelm and destroy them all. Not just the Mistresses, but everything. Everything was being threatened and the time to be apathetic and passive was over. The fingers of her right hand began to play at the material over her stomach. Things had to change alright, but...

'Why have you lifted the veil over SK?' The Face of Friendship's featureless head entered her vision.

'I haven't lifted it completely, not yet, I've just... misted it slightly,' she smirked, 'he didn't even notice.'

'Why did you do it? I thought we agreed...'

'You did see what happened, right? SK's little cousin got kidnapped.'

'Yes, but that was after you misted the veil,' the Face of Friendship shook her head. 'The First won't be happy when she finds out.'

'Yes, because our dear sister still knows what's best in every given situation, including the ones she's not been paying the slightest bit of attention too.'

'Pure...'

'Something's coming,' she rolled onto her side. 'Something big, bad and ugly is coming and I'm tired of letting the two of you just ignore it.'

'The First says...'

'Why does she get to decide what is and isn't worth worrying about?' The Pure rolled her eyes. 'We're the ones in charge up here right now, don't you get that? We can worry about whatever the hell we want. And right now... right now I'm worried about whatever this thing is that's coming.'

'Things are going to change,' the Face of Friendship's voice was strangely quiet.

'See, you can sense it too.'

'I... I still believe we won't... I mean...'

'Admit it,' the Pure half sprung herself back into a sitting position, 'you're just as worried about it as I am. That's why you did the exact same thing with yours that I did with mine.'

'It wasn't exactly the same,' she half turned away. 'And... and even if it was it wasn't intentional.'

'Really?'

'I...'

'Maybe we shouldn't be in the same place right now,' the Pure studied her sister for a moment.

'What...?'

'I don't know; it's just this feeling I have. I think we'd be better off in separate locations, at least until SK's back with us.'

'But we're stronger together.'

'But we're also more vulnerable,' the Pure sighed, 'you only fight when you have to and even then... you hold back. I can't afford to be protecting you if I'm struggling to protect myself.'

'I...' the Face of Friendship featureless face Glamoured into that of the First, 'I can protect myself just fine when I need to, but that's not what you want me to say, right? I can read your emotions just as well as I always could and I've got a good idea what you're really thinking about. This has nothing to do with protecting me, does it?'

'You know I'm insulted you still think the First is my greatest friend,' the Pure deliberately avoided the question. 'I'm just as close to you, you know. If you want to play your whole friendship gig with me then don't do it with her face, do it with your own.'

'But you take this face more seriously.'

'No, I argue with that face,' the Pure shook her head, 'the First always thinks she knows best, but she doesn't. Things have to change, a lot, drastically and soon, we all know it. We've all sensed the same thing coming. The First let herself become trapped in a mortal body because of it and...'

'She doesn't want us to share that fate,' the Face of Friendship cut her off.

'Well she's not around to protect us anymore, so that choice is no longer hers.'

'So you would choose...?'

'I don't know what I choose yet, but I do know whatever is coming will find things much easier if we're together,' the Pure pressed her lips together. 'The very least we can do is try and slow it down.'

'Okay,' the Face of Friendship reverted to her original form, 'I'm putting my faith in you little sister, just like I put my faith in the First.'

'Thank you,' a soft smile formed on her lips, 'I promise, no matter what happens, you won't regret putting your faith in me.'

'I know I won't,' she placed a hand on the Pure's shoulder, 'when did you stop being my vulnerable baby sister?'

'When my heart was broken into a thousand pieces and nobody could protect me from the pain.'