New chapter! And I hate to do this but there was a significant drop in reviews for the last chapter. So I will not even think of updating unless I have at least 12 new reviews (from different reviewers)! I know this sounds evil but I really would appreciate reviews to remind me this is worth spending on – so please review!

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Across the Worlds

Chapter 37: Picking up the pieces

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"Peter…"

He woke and slept in fitful turns, caught between consciousness and a feverish world of lucid nightmares and shifting half-seen forms. Sometimes he could see, feel others around him as machines whirred and clicked, cold metal forceps and probes working on him as bitter medicines and stinging solutions were pumped and injected into his battered body. Peter fought to open his eyes and claws his way back into the waking world but every time he would slip and fall, down, down, down into a darkness that roared up at him, screaming and bellowing, capturing him and tormenting him with dreams that screamed and bleed. And so the High King of Narnia was trapped, his body writhing and bucking against thick leather straps that held him in his bed as he fought to cling onto his sanity.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

It had been a week, a week of ash and tears and death, endless and numbing. They had pulled body after body from the debris of the once might Persephone, digging and scrabbling amongst the ruins until all had been sickened then anaesthetised to it all, each second, each motion done in a mechanical trance.

Survivors had walked the streets as though they were ghosts, shuffling ahead with leaden moments and dead eyes, caught between memory and fantastical, twisted nightmares. Jason and Elias had worked almost obsessively, forgoing food and rest as they combined power and technology to clear up the wreckage and start the long rebuilding process.

Susan had tried to help, driving herself to exhaustion until her battered body simply gave out, the queen fainting and hitting the ground as Jason, Elias and Zaru rushed towards her. After that Jason had threatened to knock her out just so she could rest. The queen had grumbled but eventually agreed, spending her time in the inundated infirmary, helping in whatever way she could as Zaru kept a careful eye on her when he wasn't using his nose to scent out survivors in the ruins.

Susan had spent a lot of her time watching over her brother and Caspian silently praying that they would recover as she was forced to watch them fight against invisible demons in their tortured sleep. It had taken three days for Caspian to open his eyes. Susan had almost wept with joy but the reunion was short-lived, Caspian forced to once more take up the burden of leadership as he guided the restoration and recovery of Persephone, all his time spent on helping his people rebuild their shattered lives and heal gaping physical and emotional wounds.

In those horrifying, bitter seven days Susan and Caspian had seen each other only for a few short sparing seconds, no time to talk let alone comfort or even hold each other.

Zaru had been there for one of those brief moments and when Susan wasn't looking, the leopard had seen Caspian give her an alien, almost appraising look, a look of confusion, fear and repulsion all roiled together in a whirling maelstrom inside the man's dark eyes. He had no idea what it meant but it had set his fur on end and his hackles raised. But the moment passed in a blink of an eye and the king had disappeared back to his people leaving Susan once more to comfort the injured and dying, lost in a sea of suffering and pain.

In those seven days, Inara would sometimes appear a brittle smile on her pale face then she would be gone, hidden away all by herself on hours on end, no one not even Zaru being able to find her.

Sabra was up, pushing her own grief and mourning aside as she helped her people.

David was up, either out and helping or standing over Siobhan's bedside, the princess swathed in blood-soaked bandages as the wounds in her body festered and struggled to heal. Susan shuddered every past she passed the Ursine's body, her fingers twitching as memories flashed in her head and the urge for vengeance poured through her veins.

Seven arduous days passed tortuously slow and tortuously painful, each day grave and unbroken in its dreariness. And on the seventh night, Peter's blue eyes snapped open and stayed open.

He was back

And the first thing he saw was his sister as she wept. She looked up at him, red-eyed, her blue eyes so utterly desolate.

"Oh Peter," she whispered wretchedly, "I am so sorry…"

And fear stabbed him straight through the heart.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Jason slapped a hand to his temple, wincing as a bolt of pain ran through his head.

"You okay?" Elias said instantly looking at him in concern.

The Seeker grunted under his breath and waved the scientist away.

"I'm fine," Jason muttered.

He turned back to what had been once a Biodome, a steel and glass masterpiece of human engineering that had housed a whole sweeping field of thriving crops. Now it was nothing more then a burnt out husk, collapsed in on itself.

"Is this hunk of junk even worth saving?" the Seeker demanded, "We should just torch the thing and finish it off!"

"No! CASS said the machinery is actually still functional," Elias protested quickly, "It can still be salvaged!"

Jason raised an eyebrow but held his tongue as he raised his hands, frowning in concentration. Elias watched him, still fascinated by the evolution in his powers as wisps of white power began to crawl along the Seeker's skin as Jason pointed at the wreckage.

Cinderblocks flew through the air, metal reversing itself out of the debris as Jason seized control with his power and pull, clearing away the destruction.

Elias's eyes widened as he spotted something horrifically familiar amongst the debris.

"STOP!" the scientist roared.

"KREEE!"

Huge chunks of concrete, the size of cars flew through the air as something massive exploded out from the wreckage.

A metal crossbow, hanging from the professor's side instantly swung up as he pulled the trigger. A small silver orb sailed through the air and was instantly swallowed up in the tentacular mass of writhing vines as the crazed Dryad shrieked and howled, lashing out in all directions.

"BOOM!"
Chunks of burning wood rained down to the ground as the fire orb exploded tearing through the Poisoned tree. Wreathed in blue-white flames the Dryad continued to thrash, screeching violently as it tried to free itself from the wreckage.

Jason cursed and jabbed his finger at the monster. A steel girder lanced forwards impaling itself through the tree's trunk but the Dryad refused to die, howling as red-black sap gushed from its wounds.

"MOVE!" a shrill voice cried.

The flames were instantly smothered as a thick skein of white silk fell over the tree, binding it tight. Its movements slowed as it struggled against its webby prison. More Arachnas appeared, chattering loudly as they shot more hanks of web at the tree. The vines began to wither and die as the rampaging beast was reduced to a single withered tree covered in silk.

"Thank you," Elias breathed.

The Arachnas nodded at him and disappeared off as they continued to patrol the city protecting its inhabitants. In the seven short days since the humans within had learnt the truth about the Arachnas an alliance had been forged, born out of need and desperation but still fiercely strong and true.

In fact Elias had been a little surprised about how quickly everyone had come to accept the revelation but with their lives shattered and so many dead, the dwellers of Persephone were more then ready to accept any help they could.

"Well," Elias looked at the trapped tree, clearly disgruntled, the Biodome was now beyond saving, "There goes that plan!"

Jason merely sighed wearily as the two comrades trudged through the ruins to their next project.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

The sword fell from his fingers with a clang and Peter swore violently kicking the blade away.

"This… this… NO!" he screamed, "This…"

'Useless…' Desiree's taunting words echoed in his head, 'Soon you'll be a useless thing!'

"NO!"
His arms convulsed wildly even as Peter screamed himself hoarse, begging Aslan, the world, anyone who would listen to take this away. For a few terrifying seconds he stood there swaying as his arms continued to seize and shake completely out of his control as white hot pain roared up his limbs, taking his breath away.

Peter fell to his knees, tears drying on his cheeks.

"No…" he whispered brokenly, "No…"

A shadow fell over him and Peter looked up into Susan's terrified, worried face.

"This…" he was shaking his head, trying to wake from reality, "This can't be happening…"

He stared down at his hands, his wrists, his forearms where Siobhan had grabbed him and worked her dark magic. Thick black veins, prominent and evil looking snaked up his arm, marring the skin. The patches of skin that did show through the veins were mottled and reddened, flaking and bleeding as though ravaged by infection. Another violent tremor ran through his arms as Peter clutched his arm to his chest trying to stop the twitching.

Susan had told him how they did all they could. CASS had injected medicine after medicine into him, performing surgery after surgery, test after test yet nothing had changed. Jason had even try pouring his power through the wound trying to burn the curse away but the Seeker's power had been deflected by a darkness far stronger than his strength.

Peter felt sick, his arms and hands, once so strong and capable, able to deftly wield a sword and lunge into combat without a thought was now weakened and almost dead, unable to bear anything remotely the weight of a blade. And seizures tormented him endless, his deadened muscles jerking wildly, thwarting any attempt at co-ordination. The High King, the warrior and knight, veteran of a hundred battles was no more and he was just a boy, defenceless, helpless… useless.

Susan wrapped her arms around him and held him as Peter wept brokenly, completely lost.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Inara dropped her sword to the ground and stared bleakly at the mirror in front of her, forcing herself to see the truth that she had tried to flee from for days.

A tear rolled down her face and she fell to the ground, curling up into a ball as she rocked back and forth, weeping tempestuously.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Siobhan's eyes fluttered open and a deep wrenching sorrow and guilt threatened to swallow her alive. She tried to shoot up in bed but found herself strained, she began to thrash, her mouth opened wide in a silent scream as tears fell from her eyes.

"Siobhan."

The Ursine princess froze and turned her head slowly to the side. Zaru stared at her, his grey-blue eyes showing none of his emotions.

"You know what you did."

"I know…" Siobhan's voice was a raspy whisper, "I'm… I was so stupid… how could I… I…"

"What's done is done," the leopard said firmly, "I'm not going to lie to you. Half the people in this city want to tear you apart."

Siobhan closed her eyes, guilt welling up in her but she refused to wallow in it. This was her fault, to say otherwise would be to be a coward and a liar. The devil himself had tempted her but she had been the one to take the apple. It was her work, her fault, no one else's.

"I… I'm sorry."

"Words aren't going to cut it," the leopard said flatly, "You want to prove you're sorry. You need to work for it."

"I will!" Siobhan promised desperately, "I will! I will!"

Zaru merely twitched his tail and the leopard was gone. Footsteps drifted towards her and Siobhan looked up. David looked down at her, relief and something strange and almost overwhelming in his eyes.

"You're awake," he croaked weakly.

"David…"

She knew what was in his eyes and it made her feel so dirty, so loathsome. She didn't deserve this… she didn't deserve anything, not the air she was breathing, not the light on her face… nothing.

She deserved to be locked up and left to rot in the darkness forever.

"Are you…" David began.

Siobhan stared up at the love and worry in his eyes and against her will she smiled back.

"Yes…" she whispered, drinking it all in greedily, "I am."

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"What?" Sabra gaped at him, "You… you're joking!"

Caspian looked at her seriously.

"I'm not. You are ready for this."

"But why now?! Why so soon? You can't just leave us!" the Dawntreader protested, "Look around you! Half of us are dead! And the city…"

"Do you know what happened here?" Caspian said softly, "Do I need to remind you?"

Sabra froze, her words dying in her throat as she remembered the insanity and the monsters she'd seen.

"A darkness came to destroy us and it grew stronger here," Caspian continued quietly, "We can't afford to stay here. It might come back and try to finish what it started or it will move on to its next target… and we… I need to be there to stop it."

Sabra looked at him carefully and winced, looking away. Tears spilled from her eyes as the burden of what her leader had just done to her began to press down on her narrow shoulders.

It was too much, too soon.

"And I failed as your leader," the king continued, "Our city is ruined, a great number of our people dead because… I… I couldn't stop the darkness."
"Sir, it's not your fault!" Sabra protested, "You…"

"When a leader stumbles, he should step aside," Caspian said softly, quoting a Telmarine proverb, "My time is over. It's time for a change."
Sabra took a step back, shaking violently.

"Lead them well Sabra," Caspian looked at her squarely in the eyes, "I have faith in you."

Sabra nodded numbly and trusted him if not herself.

"I promise I will look after our people… sir," her voice broke on the last word.

Caspian nodded and rose from his chair and swept out of his room as Sabra looked out the window at the ruined city she was now in control of.

Never before had she felt so scared, so terribly lonely. So many lives in her hands, so many decisions…

Sabra squared her shoulders and shook her head, tossing her fears away.

"Alright, city," she smiled, "Let's get you back up on your feet!"

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"So you will stay?" Susan looked at David.

The Toran nodded.

"Siobhan needs to stay… to heal and rewrite the wrongs she did. And I will stay with her," David vowed.

Susan nodded and turned towards her friends, her family.

"Ready when you are," Inara smirked even though her face was wan pale.

Peter sat in a corner of the room, his arms heavily bandaged up, dangling uselessly from twin slings. He was far away from here, lost in his own dark thoughts, grappling with the sudden demons life had thrust upon him. Susan's eyes lingered on him worryingly before turning to the second king in the room.

Caspian instantly looked away but he needed as Susan flinched, stung. Desperately she tried to catch his eyes but the Telmarine resolutely kept his eyes on the ground, ignoring her.

Zaru and Elias glanced at each other, confused as Susan drew herself to her full height, her pain suppressed behind a mask as the leader appeared, calm and collected.

"Alright," she saw in a clear high voice, "We leave in the morning then."

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"Murderer… Murderer…"

Desmond reached up towards him, a blood-splattered ghost. He ran through the darkness, stumbling and tripping over his own feet as Desmond continued to walk towards him, never ceasing. And no matter how far he ran, how fast he moved, Desmond was still behind him, accusing and demanding bloody vengeance.

"Murderer…"

He whirled ready to face the ghost head on and cold fingers instantly slipped around his neck, choking him.

He coughed, trying to pry the ghostly hands off him but it was useless. Desmond face surged through the darkness until it consumed his whole world, eyes bulging, mouth contorted into a vicious snarl.

"MURDERER!"

Jason shot up in bed, gasping for breath as he flailed, the blanket caught around his legs. The Seeker clutched at his chest, panting as he stared bewildered into the darkness around him.

"What the…"

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"Peter."

"Get the hell away from me," Peter spat.

Siobhan looked at him helplessly as Peter glared at her, his eyes filled with loathing and rage. The Ursine raised her hands up, one arm a mere bandaged stump as Peter shuddered not wanting to be reminded of the damage to his own limbs.

"Peter… I'm sorry," Siobhan whispered.

"Then undo this!" the High King raged shoving his bandaged arms at her, "Make me whole again!"

But Siobhan was shaking her head, tears in her eyes. It only fuelled Peter's fury.

"You don't get to cry! You did this to me!" he screamed, "You don't get to cry!"

"I can't help you. I don't have the power anymore," Siobhan whispered in a ghost's voice.

"You still have magic! You can heal me!" Peter screamed at her.

"I CAN'T!" Siobhan screamed at him, "I CAN'T!"

They stared at each other, chests heaving, Peter red and furious, desperate and so utterly exhausted.

"Please…" he begged in a broken voice, "Make me whole… don't leave me like this… I'm not… I don't want to be useless… I can't be."

"You won't."

Peter looked up. Siobhan's voice was firm and sure, she even seemed to stand taller, almost regal in her bearing.

"How do you know?" Peter wanted to much to hope, all the anger leeching out of him as he scrabbled for something, anything to hold onto.

"I dreamt last night… and a Lion came to me. It… He was to great and powerful and He told me many things," Siobhan's eyes were soft, lost in her own memories, "He told me this. Have faith. You will be remade."

"What?! Why didn't He come to me! Tell me this!" Peter demanded.

"I don't know. But He told me one other thing. He bade me to do this."

Siobhan reached slowly forwards with her one good hand and Peter jumped as a brilliant diamond-bright spark of light jumped between them. The light seemed to seep into his skin, spreading through his body with breath-taking coldness and clarity before seeping deep into his bones, nestling and sleeping inside the very fibre of his being.

"What…" Peter struggled to regain his breath, it was as though he'd been dunked into the coldest pool of the highest snow-drenched mountain, "What…"

"One day you'll know," Siobhan promised, "And one day… I hope you can forgive me."

And the princess slowly limped away into the darkness as Peter stared after her, the tiniest seed of hope beginning to grow inside his chest.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"Why are you avoiding me?" Susan asked, "Was it… was it something I did?"

Caspian looked away from her, his teeth clenching together as a muscle worked in his forehead.

"I… not now your majesty. Not now."

"Majesty?" Susan echoed, "Caspian… what's going on?"

She reached out to touch him but he flinched away, a tremor running through his body as he swallowed thickly.

"I… I can't," he breathed heavily, "I…"

Before Susan could stop him, he turned and fled into the night. The queen clapped a hand to her mouth and choked back a sob as she fell to the ground, crying and not even knowing why.

A furry warmth nestled against her and Susan clung to her dearest friend, burying herself into the silent comfort offered as she cried out her heart.

"I don't know what's wrong…" Susan sobbed, "I can't fix it if I don't know what's wrong! I need to fix it! I…"
Zaru stared grimly after the king, his sharp eyesight picking up Caspian's departing form.

"I don't think he even knows what's wrong," the leopard said quietly, nuzzling her, "Come. You need to rest. Tomorrow…"

"Tomorrow's going to be the same," Susan said brokenly all the strength leeched out of her.

It was too much. The Great Darkness… the death, the destruction and now this. She knew it was stupid but somehow everything would've seemed slightly less dark, slightly less hopeless if she just had his arms around her.

She took a deep shuddering breath and mastered herself, her arms tightening around the leopard.

"It's not," Zaru vowed, "Tomorrow's not going to be the same. It'll be different. Everyday we take another step forwards. Everyday we get stronger."

Susan looked at him, blinking in surprise.

"Deep," she whispered, "When did you get so philosophical?"

Zaru snorted.

"I'm just not a pretty face you know!"

"Or a big stomach," Susan teased, her sorrows temporarily forgotten.

"HEY!"

Laughing the leopard led his queen away as time continue to bleed into oblivion slowly bringing on the new day.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"Look after them. They will look up to you now and it'll be hard but don't ever take it for granted," Caspian said firmly, "I know you can this. Just remember that."

Sabra nodded to him, grim-faced and fiery-eyed and Caspian turned away, a small smile on his face as he saw the answer: she would protect his people and lead them well, a true leader had been born.

"CASS, look after them," Elias said to the air.

"Yes, professor," the computer promised, her voice filtering through from hidden speakers.

"And work with David. Teach him about you and he'll help you," the professor continued.

"Yes, professor," CASS replied smoothly.

David and Siobhan stood a little away from the main group, an obvious ring of clear space around them. Dark looks and low mutters were directed at the Ursine princess, every face wary, hands closing around weapons every time shifted. Siobhan endured it stonily, her emotions locked behind blank eyes and face as David gritted his teeth and tried to ignore as much of it as possible.

Inara stepped up before them, her face tense, fingers twitching. She opened her mouth and Siobhan shook her head sadly.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

David stared between the two of them in confusion as Inara seemed to wilt, her shoulders slumping.

"Are you…" she croaked.

Siobhan swallowed heavily and nodded again. Inara bit her lip, looking away before taking a deep shuddering breath and steadying herself. When she looked back at them, her eyes were hard, her lips stiff.

"Look after yourselves," the warrior said, "Watch your backs. And Siobhan…"

"I know. There's a lot I have to do," the princess said quietly.

Inara nodded at her and walked away slowly as David turned and stared at Siobhan in open confusion.

"What was that about?" the Toran asked.

The Ursine was quiet, her eyes resting on Inara. David watched as Caspian walked into her line of view and the princess instantly froze, a look of utter guilt and misery spreading across her face.

She looked away as David frowned.

"Siobhan?"

But she refused to look at him.

"Are you –" Susan began.

"Su. Stop it. Stop mothering me," Peter said wearily, "I'm alive. Not fine but alive."

His face was pale and feverish, dull aches of pain throbbing up from his useless hands but he stubbornly refused to let it show, gritting his teeth and trying to force it all away. Susan raised an eyebrow, her blue eyes silently accusing him of lying but she let it go.

"How does this work?" Caspian asked stopping in front of them.

He refused to meet her eyes as Susan looked up at him.

"Normally we just cling to Susan and she does the rest," Inara supplied helpfully as she joined them.

The Seeker was studying Caspian in a way that suggested he was calculating the most painful place to bury his daggers but a warning glare from Elias made Jason stop. The Seeker grumbled under his breath as Zaru smirked.

Susan looped the leather pouch from around her neck and pulled the strings open revealing the yellow ring within.

"Okay," she breathed, "It's time."

"Yay," Zaru muttered, "Let's see what death trap we fall into this time!"

"Coward," Jason growled.

The leopard shot him an annoyed look as everyone placed a hand (or a paw) on Susan's body.

"The darkness continues to grow," a raspy voice spoke up suddenly.

Susan twisted her head and looked into the dark eight eyes of the Arachna queen. She was flanked by her brethren, all of the spiders bowing their heads to Susan in respect.

"But you are a star that will continue to shine even in the darkest of skies," the queen said, "Go forth with our blessing and our wishes. And never forget… us queens are very hard to kill."

Susan gave a small laugh and slipped the ring onto her finger. Sabra and many of the Persephone's dwellers gasped in surprise as there was a violent swirl of wind, a flash and a bang and they were gone.

Siobhan watched them go silently, her face carefully blank as inside she wept at the miseries she had visited upon them. But it was too late for tears and words, she had a lot to do to make up for her betrayal… starting now.

"Alright," Sabra cleared her throat, shaking herself, "Come on! We've still got a city to rebuild! Your majesty? If your people are willing?"

The Arachna queen nodded and humans and spiders walked together as one, and began to rebuild their lives, their city, their world.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"The trees are dying," Elias said almost unnecessarily.

"And the freakiness just keeps on coming," Inara muttered leading the way.

The emerald ring on her finger glowed lightly as a powerful compulsion drew the girl towards their next destination. Their troupe was quiet as they trekked through the Woods between the Worlds, oppressed by a deep unease that seemed to permeate the very air itself.

Dried leafs, veined and dead, crunched noisily underfoot as they walked only Zaru managing to pick his way stealthily through the undergrowth as he ranged ahead, scouting the way.

Susan gripped her bow tighter, blue eyes scanning through the dying trees. Jason was beside her, the Seeker's face an expressionless mask as his hands rested uneasily on the hilts of his daggers.

Their boots stirred up dense mounds of rotting leafs unleashing plumes of sweet-tasting rot that made them all gag violently. Susan turned her head to see how they were all faring and instantly felt a stab of hurt and fear as Caspian instantly turned away, dark eyes fleeing from her gaze.

She caught Elias's sympathetic look and it was all she could do to refrain from breaking down. Susan's throat closed tightly as her eyes watered but the queen gritted her teeth and kept her eyes trained on their terrain allowing no emotions, no weakness to show on her face.

It swept through the forest at them, roaring silently, just a mere strong breeze of wind that rustled the trees and brought more gold and red spiralling to the ground. But it was no mere wind, it brought with it a coldness that stung them deep. The wind whipped around them as Zaru raced back to them, his face contorted in a furious snarl.

"GET BACK!" the leopard roared, "GET BACK!"

The wind seemed almost sentinel swerving around and sending them stumbling with a gusty blast as they tried to take a step forwards. Zaru roared and threw himself at the wind but he merely passed through it landing clumsily at Inara's feet. They scrambled up as a deep dark feeling entered their hearts and froze their blood.

"Do you feel it?" Elias asked with clattering teeth.

"SHINK!"

His reply was the unsheathing of swords and daggers. Jason was instantly in front of Susan, protecting her as his eyes darted from side to side, blades in hand but there was nothing to stab at, nothing to attack except for wind.

Caspian's eyes were murderous, his lips pulled back into a nasty grimace as he shifted his weight, every muscle in his body ready to spring and launch the first attack.

Inara shifted back keeping Elias at her back as her sword trembled in her hands.

"JASON!" Susan barked over the howl of the wind as it began to grow in strength and fury.

Jason shoved one hand at the dark funnel that began to form in front of them, tearing at the trees and earth as its spinning tip hit the ground. There was a soundless roar and a flash of white and suddenly Jason was sent flying backwards almost bowling Peter over as the High King skipped neatly out of the way.

Susan instantly let loose firing an arrow into the whirling maelstrom but the winds easily tore her arrow apart.

"Get back!" she snapped, "Get back!"

Something was emerging from the vortex now pushing up against the sheer wall of whirling wind like a babe at a womb. First it was just a shadow, a mere flickering shape then a claw that emerged from the winds. Before their eyes the claw hooked itself around the winds as though it was cloth and tore it asunder.

Dark cloth, almost ephemeral, like shadows given form wreathed itself around the monster that hovered before them. It was one of the smoke-demons that had tormented them before in the woods, the very same ones that had kidnapped Peter from London.

But this one was different… it had changed.

The skeletal like arms were there, tipped with scythe-like claws but its chest… a rip had been opened up in the cloak revealing the monster's chest. Ribs, stark-white and dripping with blood and mucus laid bare open but they were multi-jointed and writhing like snakes, snapping open and close around a great big empty red maw. Instead of the twin red eyes that had glared out from the cowl there was now a single orb of blood-red ruby, glittering with calculating menace.

"The Ill-Wind!" Caspian gasped.

"What?!" Peter's eyes snapped towards him.

"It's a Telmarine tale. One mothers tell their child to keep them in line. The Ill-Wind, demons of darkness and storms. According to legends they serve a powerful darkness," Caspian gritted out, dark eyes flashing.

Susan instantly made her decision.

"ELIAS!" Susan snapped.

Caspian blinked in surprise, slightly shocked at the commanding ring in her voice. Elias instantly aimed and fired his crossbow, a small silver metal ball, upgraded versions of Elias's original ceramic orbs flew at the Ill-Wind.

The demon raised its arms and everyone gaped at two twin mouths, fang-lined and hungry that sprouted from its palms. The Ill-Wind shoved its hands at the incoming orb and an instant storm sprung to life. A powerful blast of wind sent the orb flying into a grove of trees.

"BOOM!"

The concussive waves swept the travellers aside as flames clawed up into the sky in a fiery cloud. The Ill-Wind reached towards them, the mouths on its hands and the strange rib-maw on its chest howling in fury.

"GO!" Susan's hands reached behind her and the sceptre came smoothly out its rough sheath.

"Your majesty!" Zaru growled, refusing to leave her side.

"GO!" Susan screamed.

Peter took a step forwards as Susan thrust the crystal-end of the sceptre at the swooping demon. Pins and needles shot up her arm as she let out a defiant scream. Paralysis instantly rolled through her body as blue light flared swallowing the shrieking Ill-Wind up in a crackling cage of energy. The demon howled and cursed, slamming itself again and again into a barrier that brunt and stung as Susan stood, rooted to the ground, unable to move or even blink as white-hot energy roared through her.

"Su!" Peter stepped forwards but Caspian yanked him.

"NO! You'll be devoured if you draw near!"

Elias and Zaru watched helplessly, the leopard almost demented with the need to help as the scientist though desperately of a way to save her.

Blood dribbled from Susan's mouth and nose as power continued to surge through her paralysed body, the Ill-Wind still caught in the blue power in helpless rage.

"COWBOY!" Inara screamed.

Jason was already lunging at Susan, white power blazing from his hands. He grabbed hold of the stunned queen and physically wrenched her away from the spot she was frozen on as power blazed from his body.

There was a deafening boom, a crackle and a pop that made them all go deaf as Susan stumbled to the ground, gasping desperately for breath as blood poured from her nose.

The sceptre fell from her fingers, smoking as everyone looked up at the Ill-Wind only to discover a small wisp of oily smoke that drifted away to nothing.

"My…" Caspian swore violently.

"Idiot!" Jason railed at Susan, "Have you no control?!"

"Yell at me later," Susan said groggily, blearily looking at him, "We need to get away…"

Jason sighed and scooped her up as wild winds began to sweep through the woods once more.

"INARA!" he roared at the girl.

The warrior was already taking off through the trees drawn by the power of the green ring as the others followed up, helter-skelter as Ill-Winds swept through the woods behind them.

"THERE!" Zaru spotted the familiar shimmer of a pool up ahead, "MOVE IT!"

Elias fired a fire-orb behind them blowing trees apart as Caspian pulled his gun free from his holster, growling in frustration as he found he had nothing to aim at.

"GRAB ONTO ME!" Inara yelled as they burst through the trees in a small clearing with five pools of water.

Inara was taken aback as she realised some of the pools were not full of crystal clear waters but were pits of pitch-black obsidian, oily and tainted. She frowned but had no time to dwell on this as distant roars reached them.

An Ill-Wind tore a tree apart in its insane charge to get to them but Caspian fired quickly, the bullets slamming in the demon's chest. The monster jerked with the blow and seemed to stagger back, halting its movements.

"NOW!" Inara screamed.

Hands closed around her arms and pulled at her clothing, Inara hissed as something yanked at her hair but she pushed the pain aside as she dived at the pool of shimmering water.

She hit the surface and fell through into a long tunnel of light and nothing as behind her she dimly registered the furious howl of a frustrated predator and a rush of icy wind.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

The ground rushed up at them and punched them with murderous force.

"OUCH!"

"What on earth?!"

"What the?!"

A terrified gasp.

"A circus animal! An escaped beast! Kill it! KILL IT!"

Caspian heaved himself onto his feet and looked around, clutching at his bruised ribs. An array of faces, bewildered, curious, terrified stared back at him. Each of them were wearing clothing he was not familiar with, the women with hats and bonnets over long roughly made dresses, the men in dark coats and pants over coarse shirts, round hats on their heads.

"Who are you!?" one of the man screamed at him waving a briefcase at them like a weapon, "Are you Nazis?!"

Before Caspian could answer the shrill cry of rushing winds filled the cabin. The king looked around desperately and gaped seeing sceneries of densely-built cities whizzing past along panes of clear glass. Now and then amongst the buildings were burnt out husks, arrayed in scaffolding, people scurrying along the criss-cross of beams like diligent ants.

"What's going on up there?" a booming voice cried from a set of stairs set near the side.

Peter stared around in astonishment as an apprehensive look appeared across his face. He glanced at Caspian.

"It's a bus," the High King said stunned, "A double-decker bus!"

"This is crazy!" Inara yelped as she fended off a handbag.

The old lady glared at her and swung at her again. The wind roared and glass shattered, spraying everyone with razor shards as a dark ominous form swept into the upper deck of the bus.

A storm suddenly sprung to life inside the small confines of the cabin. People screamed as everything was swept up in a demented maelstrom. Jason roared and heaved Susan out of the way as a stampede broke out, people falling, bones breaking as they trampled over one another in their crazed charge for safety.

The bus swung violently, horns blaring behind it as the whole vehicle shook. A hand emerged from the winds, dark and scaly.

"Another one?!" Inara roared, "Oh come on!"

Susan tried to stand up but Jason snatched her back.

"You're injured!" he bellowed over the wind.

The queen stubbornly ignored him and reached for her sceptre. The Seeker sighed and roughly shoved her into a chair pinning her down with his power.

"Jason!" Susan screamed furiously, "LET GO!"
The Seeker ignored her as he whirled, daggers out to face the Ill-Wind that hovered in the air before them.

Peter took a step forwards but Caspian pulled him back.

"What are you crazy?!" the Telmarine bellowed, "You're injured!"

Hot rage and black hate roiled through the High King.
"I can still fight!" Peter snarled back.

"With what?" Caspian snapped cruelly, ruthlessly trying to make Peter see sense, "Your feet?!"

Peter paled, red spots of anger on his cheeks but he let himself be pulled away. He shuffled awkwardly back, a look of defeat in his eyes and a slump in his shoulders.

"BANG! BANG! BANG!"

Light flared in the cabin as Caspian fired his gun, bullets slamming into monstrous elemental before him. The creature roared and howled, sizzling holes drilled through its body but still it reached out with one hand, the mouth in its palm open and screeching.

The Ill-Wind lunged forwards with blinding speed but Zaru was quicker, roaring and slashing back, the leopard's lithe form gracefully bending around the demon as it sliced at him.

The Ill-Wind howled and floated backwards as Zaru flicked icy blood from his claws.

"NOW!" Jason roared.

Inara hung back watching with wide eyes as Elias and Jason attacked at the same time. White-hot power boiled forwards as a fire orb was launched. The Ill-Wind stabbed both arms at them, a storm exploding from its hands but Jason's power lashed out like a whip, slicing through the winds, dispelling them as Elias's fire orb hit home.

Dim screams could be heard from below along with shouts of anger as the orb exploded, the Ill-Wind instantly devoured by blue flames. The demon screamed, thrashing as wisps of darkness drifted to the ground, burning away into nothing. The Ill-Wind's single red eyes glared at its enemies with the deepest loathing and still on fire it raised its arm once more.

Caspian narrowed his eyes and fired.

"BANG!"
A single bullet tore through the red eyes, tearing through delicate membranes and unleashing a spray of blood-red ichor. The Ill-Wind screamed, a terrifying, blood-chilling note as blood continued to explode out of its ruined eye. Everyone watched, stunned as the demon seemed to collapse it on itself, the ruined eye the centre of a black hole as everything else was sucked in into it.

The Ill-Wind shrieked and shrieked, screaming, still aflame until it was a dot of darkness then nothing at all, only a wisp of oily smoke and that drifted away. The winds died down and they were left standing amongst an empty war zone, glass shards and belongings scattered everywhere, chairs torn up and ripped apart.

The bus screeched to halt.

"POLICE!" someone was screaming from downstairs, "POLICE!"

The travellers stared at each other, panicky and confused as more cries for police echoed up the stairwell up towards them.
"Scram!" Inara yelled suddenly.

Jason grabbed Susan and all of them tore down the stairs. The Seeker shoved out with his power and pushed everyone out of the way as they all sprinted down the stairs and leapt out of the bus. They ran and ran and ran, shoving past bystanders in a crazed charge.

They ran across roads, weaving between cars that screeched to a halt, swerved around them, horns blaring. They pelted through crowds and swung around the corner before bursting through a gate and finally stumbled to a halt on a patch of grass framed by a thicket of trees that hid them from view.

Elias was on his knees clutching at his sides as he heaved for breath.

"Put me down!" Susan yelped.

Startled, Jason almost dropped the queen but recovered as Zaru snarled at him. The Seeker put Susan down and she slowly crawled to her feet.

"Well… that was bracing," Inara said dryly.

But Susan was listening to her or the others as they added their own comments. She was looking around, a confused look on her face.

The trees. The grass… this park…

She lifted her head and sniffed the air. The sky was a steely grey, plump clouds crawling across the horizon, the air ripe with the smell of a storm yet to come.

She smelt the exhaust of cars and a hint of smoke that still clung in the air from the age of chaos that had only recently visited this world.

She closed her eyes and listened to the bells and whistled of cars, to the clattering of a thousand feet and the chattering of a thousand voices. The screech of tires, the roar of engines and underneath it all, a sweeter note, the chirping of birds, the cry of insects in the leafs around them.

A brilliant, thankful smile curled her lips and her eyes snapped open.

"Peter!" she gasped out loud, pure joy in her voice.

Her brother looked at her, surprised as Susan beamed at him.

"Can't you feel it?" she asked as everyone else stared at the two.

Peter frowned and closed his eyes as well, listening and smelling, tasting and feeling. The air, the temperature, the sounds… he smiled.

But there was more… it flittered through his mind, memories rather then senses. The feel of a starched collar around his neck. The smell and the crinkle of pen and paper, of musty books on dusty shelves. The taste of sugar and honey, of milk and bread and meats. The comfort of a warm hug, the tenderness of a kiss on his forehead, soft blankets on clean sheets and most of all, the indescribable, incredible feeling of…

Home.

They were home.

Peter and Susan looked at each other, their joys reflected in one another's eyes. Susan laughed and threw herself at her brother, hugging him tightly as he gently placed his deadened arms around her.

They laughed, they cried, they rejoiced.

"Okay, this isn't slightly crazy," Inara muttered.

"We're home," Susan breathed, all the pain and darkness that had burdened her all swept away.

"Home?" Caspian looked around, startled, "Is this the Land of Spare Oom?"

Peter and Susan laughed, deep belly laughs that made them breathless.

"No, this is London…" Susan glanced at Inara, "In the year 1949."

"Alright!" Inara cheered, "Now to change the course of history so I become a millionaire!"

Elias stared at her disapprovingly as Inara smirked.

"Time travel is a very delicate thing," the scientist lectured, "To change even one thing could irreparably damage the very fabric of…"

"Kidding!" Inara protested, "I was kidding!"

"Jokes of this nature should not be made," Elias said severely, "It is unimaginable to even consider…"

Zaru barked with laughter as Inara wilted.

Susan breathed in the sweet air of home and turned to Peter. Memories of dreams flooded her mind and she froze in horror. Pictures of their weeping mother broken-hearted and weak, of their father frozen by guilt and tortured by his perceived failures slammed into her head. She physically staggered with the memories of them.

"Mother! Father!" Susan gasped turning to her brother, "Peter we have to… we need to… when they see us!"

A brilliant smile cross her face as she though of relieving the anguish her parents must be going through, to let them know they were alive, to let them know what was happening.

"We can't."

The answer was flat and spoken with sympathetic command. Susan gaped at him.

"What?!" she demanded, "Why not?"

"There'll be too many questions. Ones we can't answer… not yet. What do we tell them? And what about Lu or Edmund?" Peter looked at her squarely, "Susan…"

Susan looked away, an ugly grimace on face as she realised he was right. Her shoulders slumped as the smile crumbled away.

"I know," she said softly, "You're right."

Peter looked at her sadly and gently clasped her to him. Susan took in the support he was giving and she could feel a fine tremor running through his body. This decision was just as hard for him. She pulled back and let him see the acceptance and the determination on her face, the resolve to not fall apart.

Peter smiled sadly as he saw once again how much the little sister who always needed him had grown up.

"Okay, what now?" Jason growled, his gruff voice breaking into their sibling moment.

"We need a place to go," Inara pointed out, "And yeah my history sucks but I don't think you see that many leopards running around London."

Peter glanced at Susan, a suggestion in his eyes and she nodded silently.

"I know a place we can go," the High King told them.

Caspian frowned.

"Where?"

. . . . . . . . . . . .

The door swung open and he nearly had a heart attack. He stumbled backwards, face completely white, one hand clutched to his chest as the other flailed for purchase knocking a small table over.

"Who is it?" a voice called out.

A woman appeared at the doorway. She took one look at the people standing before her and promptly dropped the tray she was holding. Ceramic shattered as hot tea spilt across the floorboards, sugar cascading down and dissolving into a sticky mess.

Susan cleared her throat nervously.

"Hello," her voice caught.

Peter forced a smile onto his face.

"Surprised to see me?" he asked in a light tone.

Professor Kirk and Polly Plummer just stared at them in utter disbelief.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Professor Kirk paced the room, muttering frantically to himself as Polly sipped sedately from a cup of very strong tea.

"So, that's what's happening?" the old woman echoed faintly.

Her face was troubled as she turned over everything in her mind. It didn't bode well, a darkness that could defeat Aslan Himself and one spreading across the worlds. Polly sipped at her tea trying to soothe her suddenly very dry throat.

Elias was standing in front of Professor Kirk's expansive book collections peering at the titles interestedly, itching to pull some out and starting absorbing new knowledge.

Caspian was sitting by the window, propped up on the ledge as he stared moodily out into the gloom of London's night.

Jason and Inara were crammed together in a small couch, both of them grumbling as Zaru laid lazily at their feet.

Susan was sitting in a chair, Peter perched on the arm as both Pevensies watched Professor Kirk paced to and fro, the old scholar shaking his head frantically as he continued to talk to himself.

"Ms. Plummer," Susan said gently.

The old woman turned to her and Susan flinched, a flush going through her as she remembered the last time she'd seen the woman and how unbearably rude and childish she'd been to her. Polly nodded slightly and Susan pressed on.

"Our parents… how are they?" Susan asked scratchily, voicing the burning question in her mind.

"As well as they can be given the circumstances," Polly sighed.

Professor Kirk shook his head, a disgusted look on his face.

"After all four of you disappeared… there were investigations. It was a media stampede. Four siblings going missing all at once from different places? Foul play was immediately suspected…" the Professor trailed off, "I don't know how but someone came up with a ridiculous theory that there was some massive conspiracy cooked up between your parents, your aunt and me to do away with you all."

"WHAT?!"

Susan and Peter gaped at them.

"It was stupid," Polly cut in tartly, "But somehow people believed it. Thank Aslan the police were smart and dismissed it straight away."

Peter and Susan breathed a sigh of relief and a great weight seemed to have been lifted from their shoulders.

"But…" Professor Kirk stopped, "There's something else…"

'What?" Susan demanded.

"There was a witness to one of the… uh… kidnappings," Professor Kirk explained.

"Witness?" Peter frowned.
"Eustace Scrub," Polly said, "He was there when Lucy and Edmund was taken."
"Eustace!" Susan gasped, "What happened? Is he…"

Polly cleared her throat uncomfortably.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"Any change in the patient?" the doctor asked.

The nurse shrugged uncaringly.

"Nothing," the nurse said briskly as he moved to bustle away, "Still just lying there."

The doctor glanced down at the bed and the catatonic form that lay there. Sighing, he pulled the patient's chart free from its attachment at the end of the bed and began scribbling in it.

"14th of October," he muttered under his breath as he wrote, "Patient, Eustace Scrub, no change. Patient still unresponsive."

He scrawled his signature down and placed the chart back before moving away to his next patient.

Eustace laid in the bed, his eyes staring unseeingly up at the blemished ceiling. His hair was fanned out around him, the once dark strands now limp with streaks of grey and white way too premature for his age. His skin was pale and icy, his body utterly devoid of strength.

Peter and Susan's cousin no longer lived, he simply existed, a prisoner of the crushing memories that looped in his mind, utterly dead to the real world and utterly uncaring of what went on around him as he laid and waited to die.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"This is crazy!" Peter exploded, outraged, "They just can't do that!"

Professor Kirk sighed.

"He's under observation all the time but still… nothing's changed," the professor explained.

"We have to help him," Susan said quietly.

She grimaced.

"I can't believe I'm saying this… I don't even like him but… the Great Darkness did this to him and it's all our fault. We have to undo it. We have to help him!"

"How?" Polly demanded, "You can't just waltz in and…"

The old woman trailed off as she saw Susan's face and realised that's exactly what the queen had in mind. Susan looked at her, fire in her eyes.

"What else can we do?" she spat, "We're breaking him out!"

Jason smiled coldly, his hands going to his daggers.

"Point out the place and I'll have out in under a day," the Seeker smirked.

"There's are innocent people working there," Elias pointed out, "We can't just charge in and kill them!"

"Watch me," Jason said flatly.

Susan turned on him.

"No, we're not going to slaughter everyone there," Susan smiled, eyes glittering, "We're going to trick our way in."

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Author's notes: once again thank you very much for all the people who reviewed! But seriously for the people who didn't, I know you're still reading this but please, please, please review! Like I said before I'm spending a lot of time on this fic and I would love to hear your thoughts and what you like or don't like.

As for what I mention last week about re-capping the whole Across the World fic and to keep you up-to-date on what's happened – I've decided making it part of the fic because I think a clip-show-esque chapter would slow things down. So I've decided to make a behind-the-scenes kind of thing in break-the-wall kind of special; basically it'll be like a DVD special style presentation. But of course this takes a backseat to the actual fic itself so when it'll come out... uhh... hang in there?

But a list of things and questions you may want to keep in your head for now...

What is the Great Darkness's agenda? What does it actually want? What did it mean what it said it was trying to heal the worlds? How does Narnia/Aslan fit with all this?

Jason being forced to kill Desmond – what does it all mean?

Susan and the White Witch-esque sceptre – is the queen playing with fire? Where is it going to lead?

And Zaru's past – why was he chosen to protect the queen?

Poor little Peter King, soon he'll be a useless thing! - so all of this was going somewhere; but what now? And what was Siobhan's 'gift' for him?