I don't own Jubilee, Sabretooth, the X-Men, or Generation X. I'm borrowing them for my own nefarious devices. Marvel owns them and tortures them (and their readers) more than I ever could.
I don't own Asher or any characters within the Anita Blake universe. I humbly bow down before the almighty Laurell K Hamilton, for she is a goddess.
I don't own Methos or any characters within the Highlander universe, I believe Rysher does. Rysher scares me, so I wouldn't dare infringe upon their copyrights.
The idea behind the links is a concept adapted from L.J. Smith's Dark Visions Trilogy. L.J. Smith is a goddess among writers for young adult fiction. I bow down before her.
Kora is an original character, so I do own her. Please don't use her unless you ask and recieve permission. (By me, people. Don't get smart.) Not that any of you would want to borrow her. Sheesh.
Timelines: (And pay attention, this gets weird.)
Jubilee and Creed - After Ev's death and Gambit's return from Antarctica, before Moira and Cyclops die. I have aged Jubilee because I'm annoyed at her being thirteen for six years. (That's worse than my mom being 39, again. For the seventh time.)
Asher - After a modified Blue Moon. Assume Anita's still dating both of her boys but is still pouting because Asher got into Anita's mind when she fed him. (Asher's timeline is the most confusing to those who've read the series.)
Methos - After The Four Horsemen and Revelations, before the movie.
Title of Series: The Web - Borne Of The Fall
Rated: R - Language, Violence, and small amounts of Homorerotic Content
Be warned and advised, if you can't handle it, don't read it.
Part Three
"Centripetal"
ASHER
It's almost dawn now.
I hadn't really noticed the time passing, I was too focused inward, but now the sky is lightening.I pull myself from the window, closing first the blinds, then the heavy drapes. I probably should have gone back to the flat, to my coffin, but I couldn't seem to bring myself to leave all that has begun here. For the first time in a very long time, I feel alive.
I make my way to the bed, the pajama bottoms rolled at the ankles to keep them from dragging on the floor. Victor had kindly lent them to me. I was surprised when he handed it over, and I think it showed on my face. He growled something about never wearing them, as the silk felt too strange against his skin. Actually, he strikes me as the type to just not wear anything to bed, but I didn't say that out loud. Unfortunately, I may have thought it too loud because he snorted before stalking away. At least he didn't seem insulted.
I had felt it when they all succumbed to sleep hours before. Kora had gone down first, her bubble-like energy muting down considerably. Instead of the flashes of thought behind her veil, there is a hum of constant energy, very low and in the background. I think the low hum is actually them dreaming.
I admit, I got a thrill out of watching Victor tell Kora that feeding on Jubilee wasn't something she's allowed to do. Kora's face had been the perfect blend of confusion and innocence when she asked him why not. I definitely have to practice that face. It would go perfectly with my blonde locks.
For his part, I think Victor simply told Kora that if she was hungry, she should go to him. Knowing what I've seen of his past, that's probably one of the least selfish things he's ever done, especially for a stranger and a girl he once considered an enemy.
To be honest, I can understand where he's coming from. In all his years, everyone he ever loved was either killed or betrayed him. Or both. It's enough to make a man weary to have anyone get near him. In Victor's case, he's moved beyond being weary and is actively pushing everyone away. Until now, that is. Now he has a new "family" that can't betray him or leave.
No one's said it yet, but we've all thought it. If one of us died, in all likelihood, the rest of us would have our minds pulled into death with them. Victor's body would slowly age and rot away. My body would waste down but not die, not unless someone cut my head off and tore my heart out. Adam would probably just keep dying of starvation until some immortal wandered by and took his head. Of course, the reality of that isn't as bad as it sounds. I doubt we'd feel our bodies die. For all intents and purposes, we'd be in a coma.
Unfortunately, Jubilee and Kora are mortal and, for all Jubilee's training, ultimately human-weak. If this were a vampire bond, I would be able to say with certainty that they were now much harder to kill. A vampire's servant is quicker to heal than a human and will live for as long as their master does. Few servants can handle outliving their masters, most follow into death minutes later. Unfortunately, this isn't a vampire bond, so I'm not sure about any advantages they may have gained.
I sigh as the sun finally peaks over the horizon, the sense of where the sun is actually muted by the hum of the dreamers in my head.
I settle into the bed. When I close my eyes, sleep comes easily.
JUBILEE
When Asher falls asleep, we know it.
At the moment, we can't feel anything through our bond except for the presence of each other and it's really creeping me out. I had gotten used to feeling some sense of emotion from everyone, some sense of boredom or curiosity from Kora or Asher's calm, if somewhat easily shaken, facade. I even miss Adam's wry disbelief that life could have turned upside down in a matter of minutes.
Creed lifts his head to scent the air.
"Can you smell him?"
"Nah. This is just a nightmare. None of it's real."
Creed had fallen asleep soon after me. I met him in the driveway leading up to the house. He'd looked a little spooked but otherwise seemed fine. He doesn't know the house and neither do I, so it must be either Adam's or Kora's. Asher hadn't been asleep long enough to make this place up.
"Well, we've searched the kitchen, dinning room, family room, toilet, and closet and didn't find a thing. Now, we have a choice of goin' upstairs or down. Whaddya say, Vic?"
A shriek resonates through the house, answering the question for us. Creed starts up the stairs with me close at his heels.
Creed pulls up short at the door. I hear screaming, a choked voice begging for someone to stop and under that is a chanting. It sounds like the prayers I used to hear when I was on the street and taking up residence for days at a time at the occasional church. His hand goes to the door and he glances back at me to see if I'm ready. I hold up my hands and nod, ready for anything.
When Creed busts the door down, I find I'm not as ready as I thought. There's only five men in the room, two in priests clothes, two in old fashioned peasants clothing, and Asher. One look at Asher had me frozen to the spot. His body filled my vision and tears blurred the edges.
Creed's ripped the two priests to pieces before I even realize he's moved. One of the men guarding Asher shouts in French and Creed guts him for his troubles. I finally make myself move. I turn on the remaining guard and blast my plasma through his chest. I could have fit my whole head through the hole I made in him.
Despite the carnage Creed and I create, Asher's wounds still look worse. I think it's the fact that the men are that bloody but are dead while Asher just quietly weeps.
I move as fast as I can to undo the metal restraints at his wrists while Creed gets the ones at his ankles. The restraints themselves seem to be silver and Asher's wrists are raw and bleeding where they had rested.
Asher's so pale he's almost green. The only reason he's still standing is because Creed is holding him up from the unhurt side. I want to hug him, to soothe away the tears, but the bloody wounds on his entire left half of his body stop me. I'd only hurt him.
"God, Ash! What happened?" The question burst out unchecked and it takes me a moment to realize that it had come from me. His bitter laugh makes me cringe but I can't turn my eyes from him. The wounds are healing right in front of my eyes, like Wolverine or Creed's would. The blood disappears and leaves only the scars behind. It's then that I realize that he's nude. The wounds had been so horrible, I couldn't see beyond them.
"God happened." He straightens and steps out of Creed's hands, visibly trying to shake off the events. The bodies of the men disappear from the floor, followed by the table Asher had been chained to. The room becomes bare, save for four torches casting light through the room and a deep bowl upturned on the floor.
"This is how you got the scars." It's not really a question, but Asher nods anyway. Creed takes off his shirt and offers it to Asher.
Asher takes the shirt, a button-down dress shirt, and gratefully puts it on. "They did it to "cure" me of my vampirism. They burned Julianna, my lover, at the stake as a witch while they put drop after drop of holy water on my body. I can heal from almost anything, you know. Silver and lycanthrope wounds take longer, but it's really only the holy items that will scar. I essentially spent a week being bathed in acid before I was rescued." His voice is devoid of emotions as he speaks. I almost think he would have preferred to die than live through this experience.
I feel sick. I can't believe anyone could do that to a living (relatively) being. For the first time in my life, I know true hatred.
CREED
~*Warning: Slash, non-con*~
I didn't need a mindlink to know how Jubes felt, I could see it all on her face. The expression makes me wonder if she's as innocent as the X-Men treat her. I remember how she blew a hole in that guy and didn't even blink. But then, this is the dream world. Maybe she doesn't think it counts here.
Asher seems to have collected himself, at least. Good, because after my nightmare and his, I'm starting to think Adam and Kora aren't safe. We need to find them so we can get outta here.
"Let's get moving. This dream is either Kora's or Adam's and we won't be able to leave until we get them." The frail's bright, I'll give her that.
"There's another room at the other end of the hall. I saw the door on our way up."
"Then let's check it out." Jubilee grabs Asher's hand and pulls him to the door. He's startled by the contact but follows. Heh, better him than me.
When we get to the door, I hear a low moan. Jubilee drops her hand from the doorknob like it burns and turns an interesting shade of red. "Uh... Why don't I let you guys handle this one?"
The only hint of a smile on Asher's face is in his eyes. He reaches for the knob and pauses until I nod. He pushes the door open and we both stop to gape.
Five men again, only this time, they're all naked. Adam's hands are bound to a metal ring hanging from the ceiling, his legs are shackled spread-eagle to the floor. In front of him is a dark-haired brunette with an olive complexion. He's on his knees with Adam in his mouth.
A man slightly shorter, but heavier built, is behind Adam, fucking him. Fucking him raw from the strangled sound he makes. Or maybe the pain is from the guy slamming against the bloody welts covering Adam's back from lower neck to mid-thigh. Either way, this is gonna stop. Now.
There's two other men standing not quite with the other three. One is big, bigger than me, and stupid looking. The other is smaller, his head shaved and a dragon tattoo clearly visible. I take on the smaller guy. He's the one with the bullwhip and the crazy look of someone who know pain and loves to inflict it. I all but rip his head off, then quickly turn on the bigger man. The stupid expression becomes confusion as my claws sink into his stomach and rip upward to spread open the ribs.
"No! Not yet, dammit!" Adam's voice is shaking and furious. I don't need my enhanced sense of smell to know he's close to the edge.
I look over to find that Asher had apparently torn the throat out of the man behind Adam and was currently holding back the hair of the guy in front.
A moment later, all the men disappear and leave Adam hanging by the ring, shaking. Asher looks at his empty hand with a blank expression until Adam lets out a piteous wail. Throwing a look in my direction, Asher lets me know what he plans to do.
I turn around and block Jubilee's view of the two men. As I walk toward her, I hear Adam try to stifle a sob of relief. "Try" being the operative word. Jubilee looks at me in concern when she hears the sound, but I shake my head and give her a look. She blushes a deeper red.
I turn around when I hear the shackles being released. Adam is holding onto Asher looking weak as a newborn pup. There's a pile of clothes on the floor and I go to it, looking for something Adam can wear. The shirt's in ruins, but the pants look fine. I hand them over to Adam who manages to pull them on with just a little help from Asher. He then collapses to the floor, rubbing his hands against his face.
"Who were those men?" Jubilee's voice is as quiet as I've ever heard it.
"The one screwing me? Kronos." Adam lets out a humorless laugh. "He's been screwing me over in mind and body for the past three millennia, so why not have him screw me in my damn bloody nightmares?" There's a note of resigned hysteria in his voice, the surest sign of a man beaten beyond his limits. "The marks were from Caspian. He always loved to torture, you know. Silas hadn't gotten his turn yet. He probably would have broken my neck. I loved the big guy to death, but he had a nasty habit of killing me when Kronos told him to. Never permanently, of course. No, if I was to die, Kronos wanted my quickening all to himself. Bastard. Isn't family just bloody wonderful?" Pierson hunches over his knees, drawing them tightly to his body. The whip marks had disappeared.
"And the one... in front?" And Jubilee was even being tactful. A tiny corner of hell must have frozen over.
"Duncan MacLeod. He killed Caspian and Kronos when I killed Silas."
"He's the one who turned on you."
Adam nods at the quiet words. "He didn't like the fact that I associated with the others. Back about three thousand years ago, I had been called Death and I rode with my brothers raping, killing, and pillaging. We were the Four Horsemen of Apocalypse. You know, at the time, that was just about all there was to do, if you weren't a slave."
Asher reaches out to curl a hand around Adam's neck. "We won't leave you for that, you know. We're all killers here."
"Pretty words, Ash." He smiles like he doesn't quite believe it. "You know, MacLeod's a killer too. The world's bloodiest boyscout."
Asher returns a wry smile. "I should introduce him to Richard, as he is the world's furriest boyscout."
METHOS
Asher's managed to make me laugh tonight and for that, I'll be forever grateful.
The whole nightmare has just been out of my league. I know I've had a few really, really bad dreams in my time, you can't live as long as I have without having something done to you or doing something to someone else come back to haunt you, but this has been one of the most tactile dreams ever. If it had been anyone other than Kronos and Caspian, I might have enjoyed it.
Asher is a godsend. Not only has he calmed my nerves and soothed the fear of betrayal, but he also... lent me a helping hand when I needed it most. I have a sneaky feeling that I'm going to wake up sticky, but I can't find it in myself to really care. I really needed the release.
"So, do ya recognize this place?"
We're all moving downstairs when I tell Jubilee 'no'. She goes on to explain that the dream must be Kora's and we're going to the basement to look for her. Why couldn't she have been upstairs? There were only two rooms and both rooms had been searched. The ground level had been where Creed and Jubilee met. Only one more direction left to go, down.
At the end of the stairs is only one door bricked over. There's a small slot at the base of the door, ten inches long and four inches high, with a metal covering that can only be pushed inward.
Gods, this actually happened to the girl. Her parents locked her in a basement with a hole only big enough to push food through. They kept her alive here for years.
"Lemme get this wall. Blowin' things up is my specialty." Jubilee steps up to the bricks in her oversized 'Tool' t-shirt and tiny black cotton shorts. She holds her hands out to the wall with a look of concentration. Multicolored sparks crackle from her palms and turn the wall to dust with a few loud pops. She grins over her shoulder at us before walking into the room. I'd be shocked, but the past night has been too much on my nerves. I'm fresh out of shock right now.
The room is brightly lit when I follow Victor in. Stuffed animals litter the floor interspersed with clothes, both for smaller children and older teens. There's no sign of Kora in the room, only a door on the right hand side already open.
I peak through the doorway and see her sitting on a bed with her back toward me. She is perfectly still, something I hadn't seen from her during our whole introduction. The room is in hyper focus, every color in the room slightly brighter than it should be, imperfections in the wall slightly exaggerated. It was as if she had spent a great amount of time memorizing everything in the room, paying attention to the smallest of details.
"How long were you here, Kora?"
She turns toward me, startled. "I never left."
"Of course you left. How do you think you met me? Met us?" I slowly make my way to the bed, aware of her eyes following my every movement.
"You aren't real. I just made you up in my head. I went to sleep and dreamed you up. Then I woke up and I was alone again."
"We're still here, Kora, and we're all real." Creed, Jubilee, and Asher have come in and are copying my slow travel to her side. "This room isn't real. This house is in your head. You did leave here, sweetie. This place is just a dream and we're here to wake you up, to take you out of here for good." That's it, Pierson. Talk very softly, stay very calm. It's like trying to talk a jumper off of a ledge.
I take her hand in mine and watch as she jumps. She throws herself into my arms and holds on tight. The world around me blurs and fades into oblivion.