Annnnnnnndddd... wait for it – new chapter! Yeah! Ten days – it must be a record or something!
Disclaimer: Do I have to? Characters you recognise belong to one C.S. Lewis, characters you don't: mine
Across the Worlds
Chapter 54: The call
. . . . . . . . . . . .
"So mote it be."
Viola's words reverberated through the empty darkness, transcending time and space itself, the finality and the power of those words shaking Susan to the core. The world was in flux, the balance of power between good and darkness teetering as the old order collapsed..
Mallory was weeping as in the real the world, the Kraken fell in a rain of gore and charred flesh, the monstrosity destroyed forever.
"He did," Mallory whispered, awed, "He did it."
Susan smiled, tears on her cheeks.
"Course he did…" she said throatily, trembling despite her words, "Like the stubborn idiot will let an overgrown squid beat him."
Mallory laughed, the first real display of open emotion that Susan had seen. The usually rigid and tightly controlled psychic surprised the queen by suddenly grabbing her, hugging her tight as she spun them around in circles, Susan's joyful cry joining hers.
Viola smiled sadly as Mallory dropped Susan, the queen stumbling as she continued to laugh.
"This is it," Viola, the goddess, said softly.
That shattered her joy.
"What?" Susan turned to her confused.
The goddess smiled sadly, looking at her with a soft motherly expression.
"This is it," she repeated, "My involvement in all this ends."
Susan took a step back, eyes widening. It surprised the queen to find how much she had come to trust this eccentric deity in the short time she had known her but with Aslan missing it had been a great comfort to know that out there, somewhere there was someone still watching over her.
"There are rules," Viola said softly, "Even for us. I helped you when you were petrified and I helped you now… by showing you the Great Darkness's origins and by helping you defeat the Kraken… I was only able to do the latter because the Darkness allowed it to happen."
Viola looked at Susan calmly, her amethyst eyes glittering, a faraway look in their purple depths as the queen stared at her, lost.
"Visions will still come to you, dreams will still reveal their secrets to you… that is part of the blessing I gave you and the powers I bestowed upon you just as Artemis gave you her bow and the power to track your prey no matter the obstacle," Viola said, "But I can no longer help you… not like this. I will not appear before you again until…"
The goddess stopped, the smile on her lips a response to a joke only she knew.
"Well… you'll find out," Viola grinned, "But for now Susan Pevensie the Gentle, Queen of Narnia, Champion of Aslan and She-Who-Is-Thrice-Blessed… I bid you farewell."
Susan flinched as Viola's hands touched her cheeks, warm and gentle against her skin.
"Please…"
Susan suddenly found tears on her face as the woman faded away into dust and wind, her amused purple eyes the very last thing to disappear. Susan was left standing there in the darkness, her blue eyes wide, staring at the spot where the goddess, her protector had been.
Mallory touched her arm, not really knowing what was happening but had seen enough to realise Susan had just lost something very dear.
"I know this isn't the best time…" the psychic said carefully.
Her body convulsed as her very last real-world memory rammed into her head. A silent gasp left her lips as her body relieved the agony of the sword sliding into her gut, the screaming pain and the blissful nothingness that had followed… Mallory shivered but steeled herself, knowing what had to be done.
"Susan…" Mallory whispered, "The person that stabbed me. The person that tried to kill me…"
Susan turned to look at her, haggard but listening.
"It was…"
The darkness began to fade bleached by a pure white light as voices called to them, pulling them up and out, their ghostly forms becoming flesh.
"Caspian."
And simultaneously they both shot up in bed, startling the teacher and students by their side as they were jerked rudely back to wakening.
. . . . . . . . . . . .
"He's stopped breathing!" Zaru barked, "His heart's silent as well!"
"Oh – " Elias swore as he dropped his knees beside Peter, the High King's skin already cooling.
"What?!" Inara barked, "Doc…"
But Elias wasn't listening to her, he already had his mouth sealed around the king's, breathing out as he forced air into Peter's lungs. Elias began pumping Peter's chest, his face grim as he tried to resuscitate the utterly still Pevensie.
"Move!" Volkov yelled.
Elias blinked in surprise as the ex-lieutenant reached across, a syringe in hand. Before anyone could stop him, Volkov stabbed Peter with the needle, injecting him with some unknown substance.
"What the hell?" Jason demanded.
Peter's body suddenly jerky, the king's eyes snapping open as his back arced, sucking in a huge noisy breath.
Zaru winced as his ears managed to pick out the sounds of Peter's heartbeat, now thundering loudly inside his chest. Peter's eyes were blank, his pupils dilated as he flailed, blood gushing from his wounds.
"HOLD HIM!" Jason snarled, grabbing Peter's arm.
The High King screamed, his heart beating so fast that Zaru was terrified it would just give out – how will he explain this to Susan?!
"What do you give to him?!" Zaru snarled, whirling on the Magi.
"Adrenaline!" Volkov grunted, pinning the king down, "GASPAR!"
The headmaster pointed at the convulsing Peter and before anybody could react, a beam of light struck the king and he instantly went limp.
"What?!" Caspian squawked.
"We need to get him to a hospital," Kage said quickly, "He's injured… really – "
"Then what the hell are we waiting for?" Inara snapped, "Let's go!"
They leapt to their feet, Caspian looking around, his eyes completely black. He snarled under his breath as he realised Eustace had disappeared, the possessed body gone without a trace.
The demon inside Caspian was furious. He had come so close to killing the king, to securing his own freedom but now? Fear crept into him as his fists clenched.
'I think...' the real Caspian taunted from his own internal prison, 'this is the part where you die.'
"Shut up," the possessed king snarled.
It took a few short seconds for Jason to fashion a rough sling together. Volkov and the Seeker carried Peter between them as they quickly headed back to the road, the Kraken's flesh still burning in the merry flames all around them.
. . . . . . . . . . . .
"WHAT?!"
Susan threw the words like an arrow, her voice low and dangerous.
"He did it," Mallory spat as students looked between the two feuding women, confused.
"Why? It doesn't – " Susan began heatedly.
"Because he's not Caspian."
Mallory's words were like a blade, slicing neatly through Susan's thoughts. Susan's eyes bulged, breath caught in her throat as she spluttered wildly.
"What?" she managed to choke out.
"It's not him… there's something in him," Mallory frowned.
The psychic shuddered remembering what it was like being around him. She had literally felt the taint of evil around the man, could even detect the faint hoarse voice of the real Caspian trapped within but that had been buried under the waves and waves of pure malice rolling off the king.
"I think he's possessed… something else is in control."
Susan stared at him.
"Are… are you sure?" her voice broke, Susan hating the weakness in her words.
Mallory nodded slowly and Susan cried out, throwing the blankets from her body.
"Here," one of the students handed the yellow ring back to her as Susan nodded distractedly, slipping it back into its pouch.
The queen swung her legs out of the bed and tried to stand. She cried out, stumbling as her deadened legs refused to bear any weight.
"Not now!" she yelled, frustrated.
She felt cold even as fury rolled through her like lava under ice. If there was something in him, trapping him… Susan shuddered as she tried to imagine the hell he must've endured. She clenched her fists, willing her legs to strengthen as her eyes darkened at the thought of Caspian in pain.
She had to save him.
"Susan what…"
Susan was punching and massaging her legs roughly trying to get the feeling back into her limbs.
"YOU!" she snapped pointing a young boy who blinked, startled, "Go to my room. Grab my bow and arrows, the dagger on the table and the sceptre under the bed. NOW!"
The boy scurried after, frightened and awed by the authority ringing in her voice. Susan ignored the surprised faces still staring at her as she tried to stand again, this time succeeding.
"SUSAN!"
Invisible hands grabbed the queen, spinning her around and forcing her to look at Mallory. The psychic's eyes were burning with gold light, her hair flapping in an unseen wind.
"What are you planning to do?" she demanded.
"Get to him," Susan gritted out, furious that Mallory was stopping him, "Rescue him. What else?"
"You're not going alone," Mallory snapped.
She was terrified, remembering the dark soulless eyes the king had possessed moments before he had stabbed her through the gut. He had utterly destroyed her, her Gift no match against the darkness that had taken up residence in his body. Mallory flinched, her head aching as she remembered his powers slipping into hers, tearing through her mind like acid and fire.
Susan glared at her, blue eyes flashing.
"I don't give a damn if the whole school's coming," the queen growled, "But we need to leave – now."
Susan shoved all her fear and panic aside, purpose flowing through her sweeping all else away. She had failed to protect Caspian, failed to save him in Persephone and he had been cursed, their love torn asunder. But now… now she could pull him out from the darkness.
Susan bit her tongue and swore she would not fail him.
"Come on," Susan barked.
Mallory rose gracefully from her bed as the boy barged into the room, Susan's weapons spilling from his arms.
"You better get dressed," Mallory said calmly.
Susan looked down at herself and flushed as she realised she was wearing a hospital gown, her back completely bare.
"I'll get the car ready," the psychic continued without a beat, "The rest of you…"
She turned to address the students and the teachers, each of them ashen-faced and trembling, utterly exhausted from the power drain they had just performed before. "Get some rest," Mallory said casually.
"But miss," one of the students argued, "We can help…"
"Get some rest," Mallory repeated, an edge in her voice, "Susan and I will handle this."
The psychic swept out of the room, her movements sure and measured as Susan instantly kicked everyone out of infirmary, changing swiftly, chafing at the delays.
Her eyes darkened.
"Caspian…"
. . . . . . . . . . . .
The hospital was filled to capacity, patients spilling out through the doors and into the carpark as teams of doctors and nurses rushed to and fro, ambulances arriving every minutes, their blaring sirens and splashes of flashing red and blue adding to the chaos. Blood-soaked bandages unravelled in spells on the ground, moans and screams, the stench of burnt flesh perfuming this scene from hell.
"The Kraken…" Kage whispered seeing all the victims, "My god…"
Jason merely grunted, his dark blue eyes sweeping the triage. Crushed limbs, burnt flesh, snapped bones, horrible injuries… they were all there represented tragically all around them.
"Zaru, hide," Elias said quietly.
"What?!" the leopard yelped.
"I'm sorry but we don't need you to add to the panic," the scientist said bluntly.
Zaru grumbled but melted away as the rest of the group stepped into the parking lot of the hospital, beds and flimsy curtain partitions set up in a pathetic attempt to keep order of the mess.
"Name?" a nurse said, accosting them.
The old woman was frazzled, her face pale and worn but her eyes were flinty and determined, her grip firm on the clipboard clutched to her chest.
"Our friend, Peter Pevensie," Gaspar nodded as Volkov and Jason hurried out, Peter writhing weakly in the sling, "He's been stabbed, stomach and shoulder and several other wounds. Over-exhaustion from over-extending his Gift. Possible concussion and burns."
The nurse quickly jotted down all the information. Behind her a doctor was bent over one patient, one hand pressed to her torn open stomach. Light flared as the doctor grunted thrusting his Gift into the raw gaping wound trying to stitch it shut as the woman screamed in pain.
Inara was fighting her stomach as a man to her left moaned, liquid oozing from his horrifically charred flesh onto pale sheets of his bed.
Volkov was twitching, fighting back terrible memories of torn open trucks, of smoking holes on the side of dirt-pack roads, of friends and comrades screaming as life gushed out of them. He swallowed thickly, memories of war and the Middle East rising monstrously in his mind.
"There," the nurse pointed at an empty amidst the triage, "Put him there. A doctor will see him shortly."
Jason growled not liking her off-handed manner but the nurse was already gone, attending to a new wave of victims from the Kraken's rampage and the fight at the Imperial Towers.
"The price of victory," Gaspar said philosophically.
"But we're not the ones paying for it," Kage snapped back.
Carefully Jason and Volkov manoeuvred Peter onto the bed, his wounds still bleeding sluggishly. Eyes closed and head lolling limply, the High King looked pale and frail in the bed as if he would break at the slightest touch.
Gaspar clenched his fists, wanting to scream to the world. Didn't they know who this man was? Didn't they know what he had just done? He didn't deserve this… he didn't deserve to be dangled precariously between life and death… he deserved… he deserved…
The anger flowed out of Gaspar as the headmaster admonished himself. He should be enough and wise enough to realise that the world didn't care about heroes and villains, that life didn't differentiate between the good and the bad. Terrible things happened to the brave just as wonderful things happened to the wicked. Things simply happened, the dies fall as they will and it was left to mortals to deal with the consequences.
"Get a doctor here," Inara ordered, her voice shaking, "I don't care how you do it. Get one here."
Jason and Caspian darted off as Elias looked at Inara with a very peculiar look in his eyes. Gaspar frowned at him as the scientist suddenly blinked, his eyes lighting up as he seemed to work something out.
"Is there…?" Inara began.
Gaspar shook his head sadly.
"Healing magic is very specialised. Only a few ever has the talent for it," he said slowly.
Inara gritted her teeth as Jason and Caspian re-appeared, a squirming doctor clutched in their grasp. The man was red-faced, embarrassed and outraged as Jason shoved him forwards, pointing at Peter.
"Heal. Now," Jason barked.
"You can't do this!" the doctor protested, "I have…"
"Julian?" Gaspar asked in surprise, peering at the man.
Julian froze, his eyes widening as he caught sigh of Gaspar.
"Headmaster! Sir!" he spluttered.
"Julian. Please, look at him," Gaspar said quietly, "He needs your help. I need your help."
Julian stiffened but relaxed, nodding slowly before bending over Peter, light flaring as the man probed the king with his magic, analysing his wounds.
The others looked over the doctor's back at Gaspar in surprise.
"Former student," Gaspar mouthed back to them.
"There's no need for you to be standing around," the doctor said suddenly, "It's better if you give me some room."
"Of course," Gaspar replied, "All of you… you can go."
"I'm staying," Inara said in a voice that brook no argument, "Queenie will kill me if I do anything else."
Gaspar sighed but nodded. The others threw one last worried glance but dispersing, Caspian immediately marching off and disappearing into the maze of beds and doctors all around them.
Suddenly Volkov's phone rang, the soldier jumping as Kage's head snapped to him in surprise.
"Hello?" Volkov asked tentatively into the phone.
'Volkov,' Mallory's voice was cool and in command, 'Where are you?'
. . . . . . . . . . . .
"Where are you?" Mallory demanded, her phone pressed between ear and shoulder as she drove.
Susan's eyes were drawn to the pallor of smoke that hung over the city, the air shimmering as intense fires still raged in the crater the city centre had become. The queen shuddered as ambulances, police cars and fire trucks thundered down the road, sirens wailing frantically.
Did it always have to be like this? Susan felt tired, weary to her very core. It seemed everywhere she went, death followed like a shadow. She was so sick of burying bodies, so sick of seeing those around her struck down, so sick of feeling guilty when she walked away unscathed whilst others fell in droves.
But she knew enough to realise that it wasn't her fault. The darkness was what killed them but so often she was the stone that started the avalanche… the catalyst, as Elias would say, of so much slaughter.
But what else could she do?
"Hospital," Mallory said, snapping her phone shut and hurling it into the back seat, "He's at the hospital."
Susan clutched her sceptre, her daggers strapped to her thighs, her silver bow and arrows in the back seat. She glanced at Artemis's gift and clenched her teeth, praying silently to Aslan, to Viola, to Artemis to give the strength for what she needed to do.
"Hurry," Susan said, a dark premonition falling over her.
She felt cold, her heart clenching as she thought of her Caspian trapped by whatever demon possessed him. She clenched her fist and swore whatever the creature was… it would burn in hell for what it had done.
The blue crystals of her sceptre flared, responding to the tide of black hate flowing though her.
Mallory nodded slightly, spinning the wheel in her hands as she weaved dangerously in and out of traffic, horns blaring at her but the psychic ignored it. They were women on a mission.
. . . . . . . . . . . .
Jason leaned against the tree, the small garden part of a park that overlooked the hospital parking lot turned triage.
Leafs rustled in the breeze, dappled light playing a complex pattern on the Seeker's face as he closed his eyes.
"Nathaniel…"
The name sound foreign on his lips but somehow… it fit. Memories echoed in him, begging to be seen and realised properly but Jason thrust them away, unable to bear it.
He had been Nathaniel McLaughlin, mild accountant, faithful son husband of Yolanda, father of Delilah. He saw glimpses of his former life but there was still a huge blank, a gap in the knowledge of the past and of now… what had happened to his family?
Jason wasn't sure if he really wanted to know.
But against his will, driven by chance and circumstance, the Seeker was slowly staring to remember but he was scared knowing that something monstrous still lurked in his mind, ready to reach out and poison his every thought. He had locked it all behind a wall of forgetting and he knew he could open it any time but… something held him back. Fear, pain or sorrow… it was always something.
Jason let out a long breath, knowing and hating the fact that he was a coward.
"Pst!"
The Seeker's eyes flicked upwards, his expression unchanged.
"Kitty," Jason said simply.
Zaru's nose twitched as he caught the waves of anxiety and fear coming off the Seeker.
"Anything you want to talk about?" the leopard asked casually, lolling on a branch.
"Nothing you need to know about," Jason countered coolly.
Zaru shrugged, knowing better than to probe any further.
"Amazing," Elias staggered up the hill towards them, "You should see some of the doctors work… they're powers… I've seen them wrest people back from the brink in the blink of an eye. It's just astounding. If only I can replicate their feats using some kind of…"
Jason and Zaru stared at him, eyes flat and unfriendly as the scientist huffed.
"No appreciation for science," he muttered turning his back to them as his intelligent eyes continued to sweep the tableau of misery before them.
All of the man's disgust and pity faded, eclipsed by his curiosity and insatiable thirst for knowledge as Zaru and Jason exchanged knowing looks.
Suddenly Zaru froze, a fresh breeze bringing with it a very familiar scent.
"Mallory. Her majesty."
"WHAT?!" Elias and Jason both turned to look up at him.
The leopard stood on his branch, hackles raised, eyes ablaze with excitement.
"THEY'RE HERE!"
Before either men could stop him, Zaru leapt from the branches and slid away.
. . . . . . . . . . . .
"Where is he?" Susan demanded.
Nurses passed her, giving her strange looks as Susan strung her bow swiftly and surely. Mallory closed her eyes, her hair flapping in the wind as she flung her mind out. She flinched, opening herself up to the dying screams and echoed pain from those who had suffered at the Kraken's hand before with the ease of long practice, she made herself cold to their cries and focused on her target.
"Hospital," Mallory said quickly, "Roof."
Susan nodded grimly and plunged into the parking lot, skirting past beds and startled doctors as Mallory followed.
"Wait! What are you – " one of the doctors froze, mid-sentence as Mallory casually entered his mind, halting his curiosity and making him turn away as both women stepped through the hospital doors.
Mallory's eyes turned gold as her mind reached out, projecting boredom and apathy in all those around her, forcing them to ignore the armed women walking amongst their midst. She led the way, taking Susan to the elevators. The doors slipped open and they stepped in.
Mallory punched the button for the roof and the two women glanced at each other and nodded.
"Alright," Susan said, her throat suddenly dry, "Get ready."
The doors closed and the elevator rose taking them to the roof and Caspian.
. . . . . . . . . . . .
Caspian turned, his black eyes glittering as he caught a glimpse of black cloth.
"I know you're here!" the thing inside the king screamed, his voice drifting on the wild winds that swept the hospital roof.
A shadowy figure emerged from behind a set of vents, dark cloak flapping at his booted heels. In the harsh light of day, Eustace's deathly face and ugly puckered scars was even more shocking and hideous than before.
"What now?" Caspian demanded, black eyes flashing, "I betrayed our master! Are you here to kill me?"
"Mallory has awaken. The psychic remembers who you are. The queen and her are coming now to destroy you," Eustace said calmly, ignoring his question.
The possessed king staggered back, face white with shock as the real Caspian cheered inside of him.
'Let's see how brave you are when faced with two women who actually know what you are,' the king snarled, venom in his voice, 'Let's see how well you fare against Susan the Gentle.'
"Shut up!" the thing screamed out loud and inside his head, its voice tearing into Caspian even as he continued to laugh, triumphant.
"They will hunt you down, the psychic will rip you from Caspian's body and they will torture you and you will speak all that you know,' Eustace continued in a voice that spelt finality.
Caspian froze, his dark eyes bulging.
"What?" he gasped.
"You will betray the master to them," Eustace said softly, "I have foreseen it."
Caspian stumbled back, blanching as Eustace took a step towards him, completely calm.
"I cannot allow you to do that," Eustace, agent of the Great Darkness, intoned like a judge.
"What… what are you…"
Eustace stepped forwards and the possessed king screamed in fury before throwing himself straight at his once ally. Eustace twisted calmly dodging a powerful right hook. Caspian punched him straight in the face but the possessed body merely took a step back, blinking, completely unharmed.
Caspian gaped at him and Eustace lunged, moving so fast that he was a mere blur. Caspian swung desperately but Eustace ducked, leaping back up and sucker-punching him straight in the jaw in one swift, fluid movement. Shockwaves rolled up the king's mandibles, shaking his brain as Caspian staggered back, dazed.
"Oof!"
He stumbled back, a cry tearing from his lips as Eustace kicked him straight in the gut.
Caspian feel to his knees, desperately swinging at the possessed body but Eustace batted his arm aside grabbing the side of his head and smashed into the side of a cooling unit.
Metal crumpled, blood spurted and a scream filled the air as Eustace grabbed him and threw him bodily across the roof. Caspian hit the ground, skidding across hard concrete as Eustace calmly walked towards him. The boy's face was unchanged, taking no pleasure from the king's pain nor pitying him. He was simply doing what had to be done, a demon on a mission.
"I'll kill you," Caspian swore through bloodied teeth, his hands going to the sword strapped at his hip.
Eustace didn't even blink as the king exploded forwards, sword flashing through the air. Caspian roared a bestial bellow of hate and fury as he stabbed the boy straight through the chest, the blade exploding out from his back.
"Got you," Caspian hissed, smirking into the boy's face.
Eustace merely blinked, not even grimacing even as Caspian cruelly twisted the sword.
"That will not stop me," Eustace said slowly as Caspian's eyes widened.
"BAM!"
Eustace slammed an open palm into Caspian's face sending him flying. The possessed king smacked into the ground as the boy coolly grabbed the sword sticking out of his chest and wrenched it free with a flicker of emotion. He tossed the sword aside as Caspian scrambled to his feet, blood pouring from his nose, terrified.
"How…"
"I am dead," Eustace said evenly, "Blades cannot hurt me."
The thing inside Caspian was wild with fear as the real him taunted the monster, laughing at his desperation.
'Your time has come,' Caspian smirked.
"You will die with me," the thing snapped.
'I am not afraid,' Caspian said in a frozen voice, 'But you… you are terrified.'
"SHUT IT!"
Distracted Caspian had no time to react as Eustace leapt at him, backhanding him across the face and knocking him to the ground. The king pulled himself up to his knees but froze as Eustace's clammy hands closed around his throat.
The king's eyes bulged.
"It is over," Eustace said to him.
Eustace placed one hand on his forehead and the thing inside Caspian screamed and screamed, writhing desperately. With a grunt, Eustace pulled his hand back, fists clenched as if yanking something away.
With a terrifying, inhuman cry the monster was pulled out of Caspian's body, a shuddering, pulsing cloud of black smoke coming away. It flowed out of the king's mouth, nose and ears, gathering around Eustace's hands, twitching madly in his grasp like a caught beast desperate for freedom.
The cloud screamed as Eustace pushed Caspian's limp body away and hurled the oily smoke up into the air. Blue and purple flames flared devouring the smoke as it writhed desperately its body shrivelling as the fire consumed its ethereal form.
Eustace blinked as the smoke let out one final scream before burning away to utter nothingness.
A pallor of silence fell over the roof as Eustace stared down at Caspian's limp body.
"GET AWAY FROM HIM!"
Eustace turned as Susan and Mallory charged onto the roof. The queen froze, stumbling as she caught sight of her cousin.
"Eustace…?!" she gasped.
The possessed body blinked.
"Susan," he said evenly, "It is done. The monster is gone."
Eustace ran to the edge of the roof as Susan cried out. Without even thinking, she fired an arrow, the barb taking him in the back of the head. Eustace didn't even make a sound as his body hit the ground, his limbs limp.
Susan stood, stunned as she stared down at her cousin's body, having killed him a second time.
"What…" Susan swallowed, "What the?"
"Susan!"
Susan whirled and let out a cry of mingled relief and fear as Mallory bent over Caspian's prone body. The queen was instantly by his side, smoothing unruly hair from his peaceful face as tears pricked her eyes.
"Is he… is he… is he safe?" Susan begged, lovingly touching his cheek.
He looked so fragile lying close-eyed on the ground. He was still so young for all that he acted like a king and he had been forced to endure so much already. Orphaned, taken in by an uncle who would see him dead. His joy at the restoration of his birthright had been short-lived as she had been torn away from his side just as their love was blossoming. Then he'd been stolen, his kingdom in turmoil. For one glorious moment they had been together again then Siobhan's curse… and now this.
Her heart broken, shattering with grief and overwhelming love. She longed to just take him away, take him away from all of this, protect him but she couldn't…
Why?
Why him? Why so much pain?
"Do you hate him?" Susan sobbed, not even knowing who she was asking, "Just leave him alone!"
Susan felt tired, tired of failing those she loved. She found Caspian's hand, clutching it tightly, refusing to let go.
"I love…"
"SUSAN!" Mallory screamed.
Caspian came to life, his eyes snapping open, pure insanity in his face. Before Susan could react, the king lunged forwards and grabbed her throat in a crushing grip.
. . . . . . . . . . . .
"What the hell?" Kage blinked as he saw three very familiar forms rushing down the hall.
"What?" Volkov grunted, bringing a can of soda to his lips.
"This way!" Kage yelled, the powerless Magi grabbing his friend.
Volkov cursed as he splashed soda on his shirt. Tossing the can away, he followed, fighting through the hallway, beds lining the walls, patients groaning as drips of morphine did all they could to stem the pain.
"Hey!" Kage's voice boomed over the patients' whimpers.
Jason tossed a look over his shoulders but didn't slow down his pace as
"What's going on?" Volkov thundered.
"Mallory and Susan are here," Elias yelled.
"What?! HERE! As in here?" Kage yelped.
They made it to the stairs, a fresh breeze sweeping down the stairwell leading Zaru to his queen.
"Why?" Kage demanded catching up to them.
"We're going to find out," Jason grunted back.
Sunlight flooded the landing up ahead, the open door leading to the rooftop. All of them froze as a terrified scream echoed down towards them.
"SUSAN!" Mallory yelled.
The men looked at each other for half a second before exploding out from the gloom of the stairwell and into the light, weapons in hand and a war cry on their lips.
. . . . . . . . . . . .
Susan gagged, struggling to pry Caspian's fingers open as the king lurched upwards, sitting up, his face demented with rage.
He laughed in her face, spittle flying as Susan's face turned red, her vision dimming. Mallory invaded Caspian's mind with her Gift ready to knock him into unconsciousness but a molten wave of pure rage and madness flooded into her, tainting her mind as the Magi staggered back, reeling with the depths of his insanity. The real Caspian was lost, stumbling in a maelstrom of demonic thoughts and feverish dreams, the king now a creature of rage and hate, fuelled by a dark desire to rend and break, completely devoid of love or compassion or even the dimmest spark of humanity, this was a beast disguised as a man, a monster in every sense of the word.
"SUSAN!" Mallory wrenched her mind away from Caspian's as it roared, threatening to suck her in.
She grabbed the king, trying to pull him back as Caspian roared with fury, bucking, throwing her aside.
White fire flashed and Caspian was tossed across the ground, losing his grip on Susan as the queen staggered back, clutching at her throat.
"Your majesty!" Zaru was by her side, nuzzling her as Susan gagged, coughing hoarsely.
Bruises were already spreading across her pale skin, the queen sucking in great gasps of air, fighting the urge to vomit.
"What the hell?!" Jason roared, "What the hell is Pretty Boy thinking?"
"He's under a spell," Mallory said wearily climbing back to her feet, "We have to restrain him."
"Mallory!" Volkov and Kage gaped at her as the psychic nodded briskly at them, her mind on other more pressing mattes.
"What… what happened?" Volkov demanded.
Mallory ignored him, her eyes flashing gold as she unsheathed her rapier-like sword, gold light gathering in her other hands.
"Stun him," Mallory commanded, "We'll…"
Volkov flushed.
"I can't."
"What?!" Mallory looked at him, surprised, "Why?"
"Peter… he took my powers," the ex-lieutenant fidgeted under the psychic's astonished gaze, reddening, "It's complicated okay?!"
"Where is the Saviour?" Mallory demanded.
Caspian was slowly crawling to his feet, his teeth bared like an animal as Susan stood as well, bow in hands, blue eyes blank.
"He's pretty beat up," Kage said, keeping one eye on Caspian as he upholstered his gun, "Gaspar and Inara are watching over him."
The Narnian king had dropped down to all fours, beating his hands raw against the rough concrete as he sniffed the air like a hound. Zaru gagged, physically recoiling. His nose detected the scent of sweat and forest, of churned earth and desperation and the blood of the hunt. He smelled a beast.
Rage rolled over the king in almost tangible waves, shaking all those who dared approach him.
"GET BACK!" Susan yelled, "I'LL HANDLE HIM!"
This was her fight.
She turned and glared at the Seeker as he stepped forwards, blue eyes flashing. Jason grunted, annoyed, but backed down, white fire still dancing on his palms. He gave her a curt nod.
"Finish it or I will," he growled.
Susan turned back around, arrow to bow, unsure of what to do. Should she hit him? But what if she killed him? What if…
"WATCH OUT!" Zaru roared.
A shadow flashed past Susan brutally kicking Jason in the chest. Taken by surprise, the Seeker could only soften his fall as the figure straightened, shifting into an alien battle stance.
Eustace blinked at them, expressionless, Susan's arrow still embedded into the back of his skull. He instantly swatted Elias aside, knocking the scientist out in one blow.
Taken advantage of the distraction Caspian lunged at Susan, grabbing her around the waist and tackling her to the ground. The queen managed to get her arms between them, fending off the king as he gnashed his teeth at her, hate in his eyes.
She wanted to weep as she suddenly realised that all of his hatred, all of his fury… it was directed solely at her. She had seen glimpses of it before, been victim of his twisted emotions but this… this was amplified, concentrated until all thoughts was obliterated from his head except for that one insane obsession of hurting her.
With a cry, Susan managed to kick him away, rolling to her feet. She snatched her fallen bow, smashing Caspian in the face as he charged at her.
Across the roof, Volkov, Kage and Jason weaved around Eustace in a dangerous dance, blows traded with brutal strength and efficiency. Eustace was a demon, a blur of kicks and punches, blocking the three men's attack and punishing any lax in their defences.
It was amazing watching this one slim boy holding off three expert fighters but the demon ensconced inside Eustace's body was one of the Great Darkness's greatest agents and more than equal to the task.
Susan's head snapped back, a brutal blow sending her senses reeling as Caspian howled in pure delight. He lunged forwards but Mallory flung out a hand, her Gift flying out and sending him careening to the ground.
With a yell she hurled the gold light in her hands, the energy forming a glowing barb that took Caspian in the thigh, the king screaming in pain.
He wrenched the point free, the energy dissolving in his hands as he turned hot angry eyes on Mallory, the psychic reeling as once again his insanity raged against her sensitive mind like a blazing fire.
Zaru howled, jumping at the king, worrying him, forcing him back.
"ZARU!" Susan snapped, "BACK OFF!"
Zaru's jaws snapped forwards barely missing Caspian's throat as the enraged leopard did all he could to protect his queen.
"ZARU!"
Caspian punched the cat in the face but Zaru was spitting mad, barely noticing the blow as he lashed out, his claws flying straight the for the king's exposed throat.
"NO!"
Susan slammed into Zaru, knocking him aside, turning his claws away as Caspian's eyes bulged, the king shrieking. He threw himself at Susan, slamming into her.
Mallory's eyes widened as they sailed off the edge of the rooftop.
"SUSAN!" she and Zaru both screamed.
"BAM!"
Susan and Caspian slammed into a second rooftop, just a couple of storeys below the one they had been on.
Susan cried out, Caspian's weight crushing her as the king half-rose, one hand gripping the other's fist. Susan twisted, the king's hands slamming hard into the ground, missing her by mere millimetres. He cried out in pain, bone cracking under the blow as Susan managed to throw him off.
The king was feral, his shirt mere shreds, his hands bloody, his eyes bulging and wild devoid of all humanity and mercy. Susan looked at what her love had become and felt nothing but a desperate need to help him.
Her eyes narrowed.
And if that meant hurting him first…
Caspian leapt at her again but Susan dodged, punching him hard in the face. Her knuckles ached but Susan had been well trained, shoving it all aside as she readied herself for the next round of blows.
Caspian staggered but steadied himself, dropping once more to the ground like a animal.
There were two loud thumps as Zaru and Mallory leapt from the higher rooftop landing deftly behind Caspian as the king hurtled at Susan again.
Susan raised her bow with one hand using it to defend herself as the other ripped one of her daggers free, swiping at Caspian. The king recoiled, Mallory and Zaru charging forwards to help her.
Susan swung at Caspian again but the king snatched her wrist, twisting it cruelly before head-butting her. Her bow fell from her hands as Caspian bodily grabbed her, crushing the queen against his chest before he broke into a crazed, mindless run.
"SUSAN!" Mallory cried.
The psychic hurled her Gift forwards, the air rippling as her power shot out but Caspian threw himself to the side, Susan still crushed against him. The attack missed, smashing into a wall, bricks crumbling as Caspian crashed through a skylight, Zaru gasping in horror.
The pyramid of glass instantly shattered under Caspian's weight, king and queen plummeting to the ground below.
The breath was knocked from Susan's lungs as she smacked into the ground, Caspian's' arms still around her, crushing her like a snake.
Driven by desperation, Susan lunged forwards biting the king on the lips. He roared, blood flowing freely as his arms loosened slightly. Susan instantly lashed out with one hand, nails biting deep, the queen using every cheap trick to fight her lover off.
He threw her against the wall, fist flying as Susan twisted.
Caspian roared in fury as his fist smashed through the wall, plaster tearing his hand apart as Susan rolled away, gasping for breath.
Her bow was lost, one dagger gone but she still had one last weapon. Pulling her sceptre free from the sheath across her back, Susan straightened.
"Caspian, I'm sorry," she whispered.
Before the king could react, Susan thrust the crystal-end into his gut and blue sparks flared, Caspian's screams stabbing Susan in the ears.
. . . . . . . . . . . .
Kage chopped Eustace in the neck with his hand but the attack just bounced off the boy, the possessed body completely unharmed. Eustace spun, kicking Volkov away before grabbing Jason by the wrist, stopping the dagger thrust to his chest.
The Seeker head-butted Eustace, knocking him back but the boy recovered quickly swinging Jason around and smashing him into Kage.
Volkov lunged, hammering Eustace with powerful bunches but Eustace shrugged them off, grabbing the man by the neck and tossing him to the ground.
Blow after blow, Eustace weathered them all, the men doggedly attacking again and again, no victory in sight.
Eustace blinked and with another powerful kick blasted Jason away.
AAAAAA
Caspian dropped nervelessly to the ground, Susan staggering back, wrenching her mind away from her sceptre, severing the link between her and her weapon.
Susan was crying as Caspian twitched, blue energy still dancing across his skin. His eyes suddenly snapped open, eyes flooded with hate, fingers hooking into claws. He began to rise, snarling and Susan jabbed him again, shocking him once more.
Caspian screamed but still he rose, raging to get at her.
Susan stabbed him with the sceptre again and again, his screams making her weep bitterly but finally, finally, after an eternity he was still.
The sceptre dropped from her fingers as she sank to her knees, face buried in her hands.
"You had no choice," Zaru was beside her.
Where he'd come from Susan had no idea but she grabbed onto his neck, burying her face into his fur as she wept, disgusted by what she had to do.
"It's not over yet," Mallory said quietly.
Susan's head snapped up towards her, tear-streaked and furious.
"What more do you want from me?!" she scowled, "What – "
"He still has to be pulled from his madness," Mallory said quietly looking pitying down at Caspian, "Otherwise he might be lost forever."
Susan turned cold at the warning in her last words but steeled herself.
"How?" Susan whispered, begging her.
"Close your eyes," Mallory whispered, eyes unreadable.
Zaru hissed as Susan obeyed. Mallory gently placed one hand on Susan's forehead before reaching down to touch Caspian's, forming a link between the two.
"Watch over us," the psychic ordered the leopard.
Zaru growled, grumbling but nodded as Mallory closed her eyes. The leopard instantly flinched feeling the charge in the air as light glimmered between Mallory's fingers.
Susan suddenly gasped, her eyes snapping open, staring unseeingly ahead as Zaru snapped at the air, unnerved. Unbeknownst to the leopard his queen was now walking in a very, very strange world.
. . . . . . . . . . . .
She was in a hell, screaming, gibbering, chaotic hell. Susan flinched as explosions rocked the land, strange lights flaring and lighting up the blood-red sky. She walked aimlessly, the earth soft and treacherous beneath her feet.
Everything here was in segue, nothing ever stopped. The air was alive with strange creatures that fluttered by, too fast to properly make out. The land constantly shook from earthquakes, mountains swallowed up by hungry rifts, new jagged peaks rising with every shift of the land.
The sky constantly shifted colours moving from red to sickly yellow to dull green to black to white… it made Susan nauseous just looking at it.
She shuddered the temperature plummeting before spiking to unbearable heat once more.
"Where am I?" Susan whispered.
She stopped, frowning as something glittered in the wan light before her. She sprinted towards it, the only landmark in a world of utter desolation and madness.
"What in the name of Aslan?"
It was a wall of ice, an almost replica of the one that White Witch had lurked in back in Aslan's How. And like that wall this one had been cracked, a massive cleft split down its centre. Susan touched the wall, recoiling as cold bit her fingers. She glanced along its length, astonished at how far the wall of ice stretched disappearing into the far horizon with no end in sight.
"What…"
"This was the original."
Susan turned and Mallory was before her, a resplendent glowing angel, her ghostly form suffused with blazing golden light. Mallory was looking at the wall as Susan blinked, shading her eyes to protect them from the brilliance of the woman's heavenly glow.
"The original spell," Mallory touched the icy wall, its painful cold completely harmless against her."
Susan looked at the wall again, hate in her eyes. This was Siobhan's curse… a wall to cut Caspian off from all that he felt. If this was here… then that meant…
"I am inside his mind," Susan realised looking around at the bleak landscape.
Fear clenched her as she literally saw the madness that ran rampant through her love, saw how it had warped the land that represented his sanity.
"The spell changed," Mallory said quietly, "It changed when it realised it couldn't hold back all that Caspian felt for you. The memories it contained were warped, love becoming hate when the wall failed to hold it back. The wall broke a long time ago but the thing inside of him had held it back. But with the demon gone…"
Mallory trailed off as Susan peered through the crack in the wall and saw only utter darkness.
"Where is he?" Susan demanded, looking around frantically, "Where is he?!"
Mallory silently pointed at the crack and the shadows that lay beyond. Susan froze.
"Are you sure?" her voice sounded weak, almost bordering on begging.
The Magi merely nodded as Susan stared once more into the breach, at the darkness that now seemed alive with thousands of crawling creatures and revulsion rose in her as she thought of Caspian adrift in such hopelessness.
"What do I have to do?" she demanded, her voice hard.
"Go in there and call to him."
"What?!"
Mallory looked at her squarely.
"Give him hope. Give him an anchor to hold onto. Call him back," the psychic's voice had a strange fey quality to it, ethereal and mystical.
Susan looked into the darkness and taking a deep breath, she placed her hands on either side of the frozen crack and hurled herself into the abyss.
. . . . . . . . . . . .
Susan stood in the middle of the Narnian Forest, firing arrow after arrow into the hated Telmarines as they descended on her, the Gentle Queen doing all she could to distract them, to delay them so Lucy could ride off into the forest, find Aslan and save the day.
With a cry, the queen was knocked off her feet, a horse barrelling into her. She hit the ground, bow flying from her hands as the Telmarine wheeled around on his horse, sword raised.
"A girl?" the man sneered, "They left a girl to do their fighting!?"
Guffawing he stabbed down and Susan cried out, her breast red with her own blood.
"SUSAN!"
Caspian thundered into Susan's dimming line of vision, hacking brutally at her attacker. The prince whirled, gasping in horror as Susan stared stupidly up at him, blood pouring her mouth.
It leaked from her eyes and seemed to fill the whole forest, the trees themselves weeping blood as Caspian almost fell from his horse, screaming in agony as Susan blinked.
"Your fault…" she croaked, her voice low and terrible, "It's all your fault."
And she crumpled and was dead as Caspian's anguished screams filled the forest.
. . . . . . . . . . . .
"You think I loved you?!" Susan shrieked with laughter.
The woman before him was a terrible parody of the true queen, all garish red lips and salacious make-up, nylon and silk clinging to her body. She thrust her chest outwards, her arms wrapped around a faceless man's neck.
"You think I care about you?!" the woman laughed.
Still smiling she kissed the stranger, tongue duelling with tongue, teeth against teeth. Another man flowed out of the darkness, hugging her from behind as Susan pulled away, laughing.
"You are nothing," she hissed, venom in her eyes, "You are nothing to me."
She kissed her consorts again, hands running all over her body as she leaned back, closing her eyes and moaning lowly.
"You are nothing," the cruel Susan cooed, "Pathetic. You were just a distraction. A mere passing fancy."
She turned to stare at him, lips curled back as her face bloated becoming monstrous and demonic.
"You are pathetic… how could I ever love you?!"
. . . . . . . . . . . .
"You failed… you failed me…"
"No…"
Caspian stumbled back as a single shadow swung lazily across the wall.
"You failed me…"
"NO…" Caspian was on his knees, begging, crying, "NO!"
The rope twisted, turning as with dreadful slowness Susan's dangling body slowly swung to meet him.
Her blank eyes stared down at him like a god meting out judgement and finding him sorely lacking.
"You…"
The rope was tight around her neck, the coarse fibres burning her skin and tearing her flesh. Mascara and tears ran down her beautiful face.
"I loved you… I wanted you to save me. I needed you… Why did you let me go? Why didn't you argue with Aslan? Why didn't you ask me to stay?"
Susan's words were like whispers on a wind, soft yet heartbreaking. Caspian wept, begging, his voice grounded down to a hoarse croak as he reached for her, trying to hold her but she was always a little bit too far away.
"And now I'm dead…"
Susan's blank eyes devoured his world.
"And it's all your fault."
She stabbed him in the chest, Caspian's eyes bulging in horror as she twisted the crude stone dagger.
"I've found someone else," Susan said grimly.
She pulled the knife out and plunged it back in as Caspian screamed, body bucking.
"He's stronger and kinder and better than you in every possible way," Susan said almost conversationally, "I don't know why I wasted my time on you."
Ribs snapped as Susan reached into the gaping wound and began pulling, twisting and breaking bone as Caspian screamed, shuddering against his chains.
"I don't need you anymore," Susan said grimly.
With a sickening crack she pulled his ribs apart revealing his heart beating frantically in the light as Caspian whimpered, fighting to stay awake.
"So you won't be needing… THIS!"
With a feral cry, she stabbed him in the heart and with blood all over her hands, she reached in and wrenched the beating organ out.
"No…"
Susan stared into Caspian's wide-open eyes and blank face, squeezing his heart in her hands.
"Pathetic," she said tossing the heart over her shoulder.
She turned away walking into the arms of a stranger.
"Why would anyone want you?"
. . . . . . . . . . . .
They were back in Persephone, Caspian looking at her, wondering why she was so very cold towards him.
"Why won't you look at me?" he asked, "Why won't you let me touch you?"
The queen's look was very cold as she rose to her feet, Caspian almost recoiling from the menace in her eyes.
"Because you are not good enough for me," Susan spat.
Fury sparked on her face.
"You want me to explain?" she hissed, "You want me to explain how your very presence disgusts me?!"
She laughed, high and cruelly.
"You are nothing compared to me. You are a mere peasant compared to me."
Her eyes pierced him, cutting into his very soul.
"Why would I possibly love you?"
. . . . . . . . . . . .
Susan stumbled into the room, ashen-faced, her hands bloody. Caspian gasped, running to her.
"Susan… what…"
He reached out with one hand to touch her, to comfort her but Susan batted him away, hate in her eyes.
"I was pregnant."
"What?!" Caspian staggered back as Susan looked squarely at him,.
"That night in Persephone. I fell pregnant," she said shortly.
Caspian looked at her bewildered, his world completely toppled over as Susan stood, her hands and dress bloody.
"I got rid of it," she said cruelly.
"What?!" Caspian staggered back, looking at her as though she was a monster as Susan swivelled to look at him, smirking.
"Why would I want to contaminate myself with a spawn like you?" she hissed.
Susan leaned back against the wall, blood dripping from her hands.
"I'd rather die."
. . . . . . . . . . . .
Susan recoiled, those images and many more slamming into her with brutal force. They tore at her like wildfire and thunderbolts, her mind reeling as it tried to take it all in. She was lost stumbling in a world of endless nightmares, attacks by visions so depraved and torrid that it ate at her like acid.
She was a monster, a scarlet woman, a murderer, a heartbreaker; Susan was recast a thousand times as the villain in the most horrid of scenes, flaunting herself, taunting him, hurting him, tearing him apart and laughing at his misery.
Susan cringed, weeping, screaming as she stabbed him, shot him, bludgeoned him to death, tore out his heart and tortured him.
It was too much. Overwhelming, destructive…
Susan realised she was losing, her own sanity slowly fading as more and more images poured into her, poisoning her.
She crumpled to her knees, eyes peering through the darkness.
"Caspian!" she croaked, "Please! Caspian!"
She wept, defeated. Caspian was lost… she screamed helplessly. She had seen the torture, seen the depth of the madness inside of him… how could anyone survive? How could anyone hope to recover?
"It's hopeless," she curled into a ball, "Hopeless…"
She flinched, screaming as more images slammed into her, her body physically flinching from the mental blow.
It was too much… too much… he was lost… it was…
Tawny gold eyes stared at her unblinking.
"Aslan…"
It was a whisper. A ghost of a word but it was enough.
Susan rose to her feet, blue eyes flashing, a halo of light forming around her body.
"Shut up. Shut up. Shut up!" she screamed, thrusting the nightmarish images away from her.
Despair and hopelessness flooded her trying to break her again but Susan clung to Aslan's face like a shield, deflecting the wave.
She knew what she had to do.
She stopped fighting. She relaxed everything inside of her and allowed the terror to come.
The nightmares came in a screaming torrent, dark and dreadful and domineering but she refused to be taken in, refused to believe them.
She opened her heart up and allowed everything she felt for the king flow out of her. Memories, desire, love, she was suddenly ablaze with golden light, a star in a dark expanse of empty space and madness.
It started off as a feeling, tremulous, unsure, trembling like a flickering candle.
It grew stronger becoming a thought, quivering at the illusions that assailed it as Susan straightened, her head held high.
It became a word then a sentence then a cry into the night.
It became a dirge, a call, a song that stretched out into the infinite darkness, each syllable laden with love, filled with a flame that seemed to scorch the shadows and chase them away.
The nightmares fled like criminals from a hound, Susan's eyes slowly opening as her body was filled with light, her heart open and bare, singing, her love setting the world alight.
"Caspian…" Susan called, tears spilling down her face, her heart broken open, everything that she held inside out unleashed, "Caspian… come back to me. I love you. Come back to me."
The shadows screamed, recoiling for the light that blazed around her as Susan walked, calling, singing.
"Caspian…"
He was there before her, emaciated, tethered to the ground and screaming, writhing as nightmares swarmed around him, attacking him like crows on a carrion.
Susan knelt, the shadows fleeing from her and touched his cheeks.
He looked at her, eyes wild, stark, crazed words bubbling from his lips.
"Caspian."
He blinked as though seeing her from a long time, a hunger in her eyes as he drank her in like a man dying from thirst. Slowly he stilled, his limbs stopping their wild convulsions as she cradled him.
"I love you."
And she kissed him and felt the darkness fall away, screeching in fury, not disappearing but fleeing in fear, retreating, burned by her very presence.
A small, small smile curled Caspian's lips and he closed his eyes. He let out a long sigh and everything in him, all the darkness and pain flowed out in that one held breath.
"Susan."
And she opened her eyes and they were back in the hospital hall, shattered glass from the broken skylight scattered all around.
"Susan…" Caspian clung to her weeping.
Mallory gently pulled her hands away, her gold eyes still flashing as Zaru watched, stunned.
"Susan…"
The king looked up at her and Susan wept at the lost look in his eyes.
"I… I was so lost," he whispered throatily, his body shaking.
"Shhh…" Susan kissed him again, wrapping her arms around him tightly, trying to protect him from everything that had just happened, everything he had just endured, "Rest."
Caspian relaxed against her, his head slumped against the natural curve of her neck. They fitted perfectly, moulded together, made for each other.
"Rest…" Susan whispered, "I'll be here… waiting."
"Really?" Caspian's lips tickled her throat.
"Always,' Susan vowed, "Always."
. . . . . . . . . . . .
Jason grumbled as he pressed the icepack against his black-eye. Elias was next to him, rubbing the back of his head gingerly.
"So you got all of your collective behinds kicked by one boy?" Inara raised an eyebrow, "Feel the shame!"
"I'd like to see you try," Kage muttered darkly.
Halfway through their fight, Eustace had suddenly froze, his head snapping up as some unheard signal. He had thrown them all away with a spinning kick and had leapt off the roof of the hospital before they could stop him. Volkov had been the first to reach the roof's edge, peering over it and expecting to see a body smeared across the hard ground below but he saw nothing.
Eustace had disappeared like a ghost.
"How is she?" Inara asked, the humour in her voice fading.
They were back in the Academy, standing outside the infirmary as Gaspar and Mallory did all they could to fix whatever was wrong with Caspian. The headmaster's face had been grim as he heard the whole story, the flat look in his eyes telling them all the seriousness of the situation.
Peter was sleeping inside the sick bay as well, the doctors having steadied him enough to have him moved back into the relative safety of the school.
Marduk was dead. Phoebe was dead. Lauren was powerless. Sid had died to avenge his sister and Dahlia had fallen to Peter along with her master, the Kraken.
It was all over but instead of joy Volkov just felt bone-numbing tiredness. He wanted to curl up and forget the world and sleep for an eternity.
"I hope…" Zaru sighed, "I hope he recovers."
Jason grunted.
"I think we all do," the Seeker adjusted the ice-pack hissing in pain, "Princess needs Pretty Boy and we need her."
"Plus our dimension-hoping saga of heroics and the fight for all that is good needs a blazing love story to spice it up," Inara said lightly, "You know… just to cover all the genre bases."
Jason and Zaru looked at her with expressions indicating her stupidity as Inara smirked before turning her eyes back to the closed door before them.
"He'll be fine," Elias said softly, "He has to be."
. . . . . . . . . . . .
"It's done," Gaspar said wearily pushing back the curtains.
Susan started to her feet, exhausted but still standing.
"Is he…?" she dared not word the question that haunted her.
"For now," Mallory said quietly appearing beside the headmaster, "We placed a mind-block and a spell to hold back the mutated curse and its madness but… it's like building a dam to stop the flood. It's temporary."
Susan flinched, hope shattering with painful force.
"It'll hold for now," Gaspar said quickly as Susan's face collapsed, "But… it'll break sooner or later and…"
"The madness will return," Mallory finished grimly.
Gaspar and Mallory exchanged long looks before the headmaster spoke again, his voice hesitating.
"We had to resurrect the original curse," he said reluctantly, "We had to seal his feelings back up again. It was the only way to…"
"You mean…" Susan suddenly felt like she was falling down a deep, dark hole, her world falling away from her.
After all she had gone through, after all the suffering he had gone through, they were… they were…
"I'm sorry," Gaspar said, "He's still not himself yet."
They were still apart.
Susan stared at them, hopelessness grabbing her like an undertow and threatening to pull her down but she stopped, words from long ago flittering into her head.
'When all three gifts are bestowed and you become thrice-blessed, a making that will shake the very foundations of reality itself, the curse that holds your lover will break. And you will have him back once more.'
Viola's words…
Susan swallowed and knew there was a cure – that one day, somewhere she would rid him of the madness forever but for now…
She smiled.
The queen had seen so much, seen so much suffering and hurt and pain, had lived through so much agony that she knew that happiness was always ephemeral, impossible to bottle, impossible to pin like butterfly and preserve forever. The sun would shine when it will and you had to grab those moments when they came, however they came and enjoy it whilst it lasted.
Caspian's love was still lost, locked behind a wall that held back all that he felt for her and dangerous madness that had consumed him once. He was still out of her reach but the monster that had so horribly violated him was gone, he was no longer suffering from the insanity that had gripped him and for Susan that was enough to be grateful.
"Can I see him?" she asked, begging with her eyes, "Can I…"
"Be careful," Mallory said gently, "His mind is still fragile. It's best if you don't… if you don't mention what happened to him. Gaspar has already informed the others to keep it a secret… it'll destroy him if he remembers too much."
"We erased his memories about the madness he endured. He remembers being possessed and stabbing you but he thinks that he was discovered and knocked out and that was the end of it," Gaspar explained quickly.
He fidgeted uncomfortably.
"It's not the best solution but it'll stop his mind from crumbling again."
Gaspar looked at her sadly but Susan nodded impatiently, not caring what rules and restrictions they put on her. With a sigh the headmaster, stepped aside letting her through. Susan took a deep breath and pushed through the curtains and to Caspian's bedside. The king look frail and weak, painfully thin and pale but the familiar strength and fire was back in his eyes and face.
Susan began crying.
Caspian looked at her, his face blank, uncomfortable with her open emotions. A part of him wanted to touch out and wipe her tears away but those desires were quickly suppressed, pushed down by the curse inside his head.
"Thank you," he said stiffly, desperately wanting to break the silence, "For knocking me out. I never wanted to hurt you."
Susan smiled through her tears.
"Your welcome," she laughed, "I'm more than happy to punch you anytime."
Caspian's lips twitched but his face fell. His eyes darkened as guilt welled in him, his face burning with shame and self-loathing.
"I…" he choked on his words as though they were poison, "I…"
He felt sick, the room spinning wildly around him as he remembered stabbing her through the back, remembered her warm blood on his hands.
"I…" Caspian looked away, swallowing heavily, fighting his stomach, "I'm sorry for… for what happened."
'I am a failure,' he realised.
He had failed her just as he had failed his kingdom and all those he cared for and all those who looked to him for guidance and leadership. He had failed Narnia and Persephone and he had failed her, by not loving her and now by almost killing her.
He was weak, pathetic… useless.
His breath quickened, his heart pounding as sweat rolled down his face, he felt physically ill, his skin crawling as his hands twitched, his body urging himself to do the honourable Telmarine thing and kill himself.
Susan's eyes flashed as she saw the depth of his self-loathing. She saw his spirit break, saw him give up and saw the blank, bleak look in his eyes and fury sparked in her.
Didn't he know the hell she had gone through to save him?! If he was going to just lie here and feel sorry for himself, she needn't have bothered!
"Shut. UP," the queen spat, "It wasn't your fault. It was never your fault. What's happened has happened… I don't blame you. I forgive you… for everything."
He still looked so broken, so unsure, she said the only thing that could relieve his crushing guilt.
"Aslan chose you to lead Narnia. He chose you because he knew you wouldn't give up, he knew you had the courage and the determination to carry on even as all those around you fell," Susan said, her voice low but trembling with emotions, "Damn you Caspian! Aslan believed you so believe in yourself already!"
Caspian looked up at her, shocked as Susan grabbed his shoulder, shaking her, her voice impassioned.
"You can't give up! You can't give in to self-loathing. You can't sit around feeling guilty all day," Susan snarled, "Because that would be the coward's way out! And you King Caspian the Tenth… you are not a coward. You want to feel better about yourself? Then get up and fight! Because nothing's going to be changed by crying!"
Caspian looked at her, saw the belief in her eyes and it was like rain on a parched land. It swept through him and in its wake, a single little bit of hope was born like a seedling amongst the ashes, frail but there.
"Okay," he said simply, "I will."
Susan narrowed her eyes at him but nodded.
"Good," she straightened, "Now rest. You've been through a lot."
She swept out of the room, her body still shaking as Caspian watched her go, a soft smile on his face.
. . . . . . . . . . . .
They spent another week at the Academy waiting for Caspian and Peter to recuperate, the High King waking three days after he had dealt the Kraken's deathblow. And when he did it was with a scream and a flash of lightning.
"WHAT THE?!"
Susan and Inara ducked as electricity burst from Peter's hands, striking the wall and blowing a hole in it.
Peter's eyes widened in horror.
"Sorry!" he yelped, "Sorry!"
The two women stared at him, eyes wide as blue sparks danced across his cursed arms, the High King shivering as he tried to control it. Slowly they died away, smoke still hanging in the air.
The door suddenly swung open revealing Gaspar, a concerned look on his face. Inara turned to yell at Peter but suddenly flushed, looking away as Susan looked at her speculatively.
"What…" Peter followed her gaze and flushed as well, "OH FOR THE LOVE OF…"
He hurriedly pulled his sheets towards him, covering his bare chest up as Susan howled with mirth, Gaspar's lips twitching. Inara scowled at them darkly.
"Can I talk to him?" Gaspar coughed, his laughter fading, "Alone?"
Still snorting Susan pushed Inara out of the room as the headmaster cocked an eyebrow at Peter, looking at the smoking hole in the wall.
"Sorry," the High King said sheepishly, "I lost control."
"Don't worry about it, even taking this into account I think we still owe you a massive debt," the headmaster laughed.
"You might also want to take into account Siren and all the people the Kraken killed," Peter said bitterly.
Gaspar sighed, standing at the feet of his bed, looking down at him squarely.
"That wasn't your fault and you know it," Gaspar said, "It's all thanks to you that the Kraken is now gone."
Peter shook his head, unwilling to take the credit, unwilling to be the one at the centre of all the praise and adoration.
"If it wasn't for Susan or Mallory or everyone here at this Academy the Kraken would still be alive," Peter said firmly, "If it wasn't for Siren's sacrifice and all that you and Volkov and Kage have done I wouldn't even be alive."
Gaspar stared at him for the longest time, respect and a hint of awe in the old man's face.
"Well…" Gaspar cleared his throat, "Thanks anyway."
Peter sighed.
"Your welcome."
Gaspar nodded before straightening, a sharp look on his face as he studied the man before him, probing him with his magic.
"You still possess the Gifts you took," Gaspar said slowly.
Peter nodded, feeling the powers churn and chorus inside of him, feeling the Gifts flow through his veins like liquid fire.
"Siren's healing, Lauren's machine control… uhh… thing," Peter stumbled, unsure of how to describe one of the powers he now possessed, "Kage's stealth and Volkov's lightning. And my original Gift… the power to take."
"And some of my knowledge."
Peter nodded wordlessly. Gaspar sighed.
"I hope you have excellent control," the headmaster warned the king, "There's no way to get them out of you now."
Peter winced, afraid of that. It was strange how fate worked, his arms, his ability to wield a sword and be a soldier had been ripped away from him and in its place he now had this… these terrifying, addictive, world-changing Gifts.
Peter suddenly smiled, feeling the vigour and the power the Gifts afforded him, his powers beckoned to him, tempted him to use them, beckon him to shed all his responsibilities and just use them to fly away from it all. The High King fought down the insane urge, knowing what was at stake, his powers tempered by humility and all that he had learnt when his arms had been useless.
"I will use them," Peter vowed, "To do what needs to be done."
"Good for you," Gaspar remarked, "Now…"
The headmaster smiled.
"Lunch!"
. . . . . . . . . . . .
Eustace dropped the twitching bloodied man to the ground and strolled into the morgue, his dark eyes darting along the bank of steel doors welded to the wall. He stopped, black eyes flashing.
Without hesitating he grabbed onto the door handle, twisted pulling it open and yanking the steel slab out.
Dahlia's ruined face stared blankly up at him, blood congealing on her chest as Eustace stared down at the fallen Kraken's Chosen. He bowed his head, uttering a quick prayer for the departed soul before pressing a hand against her chest and concentrating.
A wild wind suddenly swept through the room tossing Eustace's hair and dark clothing as he grunted but it quickly passed, the room returning once more to normal. The possessed body slid Dahlia's corpse back into its cavity and closed the door once more.
The man he had attacked gurgled on the ground, blood spreading across the floor.
Eustace turned from wall and held out his hands, blinking as a jagged spike of crystal formed in his palms, growing like winter's ice.
Crystal spikes grew over his face as Eustace nodded before dissolving them and walking calmly out of the morgue leaving his victim to die.
. . . . . . . . . . . .
"You better use them well!" Kage growled, jabbing a finger at Peter.
"Or else," Volkov snapped.
Peter held up his hands, cringing as the two men glared at him.
"I will," he promised, "Trust me."
"You better," Volkov snapped.
Susan was talking to Mallory and Gaspar, the Magi and the magician's face grim as they listened to the queen.
"Thank you," Susan whispered, "For everything. For giving him back to me."
"Remember what we said," Gaspar said gently, "All that we've done… the shields… they're just temporary. They won't hold forever."
But Susan smiled anyway, glad for such joy amidst so much darkness.
"I know but thank you anyway."
She stepped back but Mallory grabbed her arm, stopping her.
"I've seen…" the psychic's eyes flashed gold, "I've seen a possibility."
Susan froze staring at Mallory in wonder as the psychic talked in a faraway voice, Gaspar's face grim, the headmaster having heard this all before.
"We were all standing on a plane of utter darkness, pitted against demons this world has never known," Mallory said quietly, "Viola was there as well. There were many creatures at war… spiders… snakes… talking animals, soldiers and things I don't have names for…"
Mallory looked at her, eyes turning back to their normal dark colours.
"I saw him."
Susan felt cold.
"Gavin," she whispered.
She looked to her companions knowing that very soon she'd have to explain to them all what she had learnt about the Great Darkness. But she couldn't bear to do it. They were happy, relaxed and rejoicing in the fall of another dark creature. It was too soon to burden them with the terrifying truth about the enemy they faced, about the ravenous hunger and the unwavering urge to destroy and change the worlds to its own image.
It was too soon.
"So this isn't goodbye or farewell," Mallory said quietly, "Because I will seen you very soon… in the last battle for the worlds."
Susan nodded, her mouth dry as she pulled herself away and moved to stand with her friends and family. Caspian was looking at her, an unreadable look in his eyes as Susan flinched. She pushed her unease away before turning to the others.
"Alright," she reached for her pouch, reaching for the yellow ring that would take them away.
"Onto the next world," Elias smiled.
Susan nodded, her mind still lingering uneasily over Mallory's words. Taking a deep she touched the ring and they were gone, Mallory sighing knowing the next time they met it would be on the deadliest of battlefields
But until then…
"Watch yourself," the psychic whispered, "And I'll see you soon…"
And turning she walked back to the Academy with Gaspar by her side and Kage and Volkov at her back, the four returning to their home to begin restoring their damaged world.
. . . . . . . . . . . .
Author's notes: And another arc over and the next arc is going to be a biggie. So stayed tuned for that!
