(A/N: This is kind of a strange chapter. I wrote it in one day with little sleep, but it had to be done. So, with no further ado, I give you what is probably the oddest thing I've written for this story...)
Joey finally moved as the bat swung toward her head. She fell hard onto her back, dodging the strike by inches. Sparks flew wildly as it connected with the Ectobar.
She scrambled backwards, hoping to escape down the new hall. Her hopes were dashed when she felt the wall behind her. She looked at the Torn Prince, who emitted an evil chuckle. He advanced upon her, beating the walls to scare her even more.
Joey stood and looked beyond him, searching for a way around him. She was saddened but nor surprised to see Ben Moss standing directly behind her attacker; practically whispering into his ear. She burst into tears.
She still wept as the Torn Prince drew closer. She should have expected something like this. But her visions had given her absolutely no warning. She thought bitterly of how fitting a lesson it was.
"Wait," she sobbed before he got too close.
He stopped, both ghosts trying to give her a false sense of hope. Joey wasn't fooled. Dropping to her knees, she turned away, positioning her head well within the bat's reach. One good swing should kill her instantly. She decided if she had to go, she wanted it to be quick.
Another evil laugh came from behind her, this time issued form Ben Moss. She ignored him, squeezing her eyes shut against her tears. She thought back on the things most people would do in this situation. Some one's life would flash before their eyes. Others would worry about their family.
Joey thought briefly of Dennis, already knowing she'd probably become a ghost to haunt the glass house with him. She thought of the pain. The physical pain wouldn't last much longer than the sound thwack she'd receive. It was the emotional pain that worried her. Even if she came back as a ghost, Royce would still be the Torn Prince. Her heart would break seeing him like that for eternity.
She felt him step closer. That was even better. As loud as she could with clenched eyes and broken heart, she said "Royce, ego amor tibi."
Sucking in a deep breath, she tensed her body, waiting for the deadly blow.
---
Dennis had been sitting at his makeshift gravemarker, contemplating his life and death, when a great pain lanced through his head. He fell into the grass, wailing in agony. He had never felt so much pain, even when he died.
Images flashed before Denny's eyes; Joey backing into a wall with sparks all around, Royce swinging his bat wildly at her.
Horrified, he realized his sister was in trouble. He wasted no time in getting to her.
---
Ben Moss couldn't help but laugh at the scene before him. His cruel gaze watched as the girl knealed on the floor in submission. He knew her game; trying to make her death as quick and painless as possible. She was a smart one. Quite unlike her brother, Moss thought with disdain.
He didn't mind killing her quick. Her death wasn't for entertainment. He could think of better ways to entertain himself with her. But he considered this a business matter. Pleasure would come later.
Moss urged the Torn Prince forward. Such a puppet he had made out of the fearsome ghost with only a few Latin words. He was startles to here the girl speak a few of her own.
"Royce, ego amor tibi," she had sobbed.
He was trying to figure out what she was saying when a hand fell heavily on his shoulder and drew him back. Moll looked into the inhumanly angry face of Dennis Rafkin. It shocked Moss to realize Rafkin was lifting him off the floor. The dead psychic shoved him against an Ectobar wall, seering his back with the writing. His mind snapped into action, reciting an incantaion to send the big brother hurtling backwards.
With one Rafkin out of the way momentarily, Moss turned his attention back to the other one. He snickered as the Torn Prince raised his bat, ready to swing.
---
Royce was lost in the muddled depths of his own consciousness. He was vaguely aware of his body moving, out of his control. A steady stream of murmured commands directed him physically, pushing his mind out of the way. It put him into a fog that blinded and nearly deafended him.
There were a few sounds audible to his detached presence; like the murmurs and a clanging noise he could almost recognize as a baseball bat on glass. The sound confused him; so did everything else.
The murmurs stopped abruptly, leaving his body suspended in its empty state. At the same moment a new voice echoed loud and clear through his cavernous mind.
"Royce, ego amor tibi."
He wasn't sure what it meant or even who said it, but it caused a flood of memories. Him picking up a girl in his car, the same girl beautiful girl smiling warmly at him, lying beneath him on a soft bed. Each flash pierced the fog until his inner voice screamed out the girl's name in pain and horror.
Royce could see with his own eyes now. Joey knelt before him, looking away. He heard a thud behind him, then a more distant one. He knew the cause of the noises and his mental imprisonment could come from only one source. With an angry grunt, he swung the bat high, only inches above Joey's head. He added force to the follow-through, spinning him around and bringing the bat into sharp contact with Ben Moss's chest.
The ghost looked stunned, even as Royce brought the bat down upon his bent back. Royce would have kept beating him except that Moss disappeared quickly after the second blow. He turned around and dropped his bat. Joey still knelt, prepared to die at Royce's hand.
He started toward her but stopped when he noticed her brother leaning against the entrance to her little alcove. Royce was suddenly uncertain of his place in the situation. He wanted to got to her, comfort her, but he was the cause of her misery. Her brother should be the one with her.
Dennis looked at him and with a sad smile, motioned for him to continue. Without hesitation, Royce went in, snak to the ground before her and gathered her into his arms.
---
Dennis Rafkin could homestly say he couldn't read Latin, but that didn't mean he was completely oblivious to the meanings of certain words. When his sister was younger, she had learned some phrases in the language and had passed them onto him, for the sake of sisterly love. He had thought it utterly ridiculous at the time.
But that night the knowledge had proven itself useful at last. He had appeared in the basement behind the Torn Prince just in time to here her speak her Latin phrase. It struck him sharply. He had planned on aiming his destructive anger at the batter, but her words caused him to go after Moss.
Now, looking at Royce gently holding his crying sister, Dennis knew his role as her protector was coming to a rapid end. Soon, he wouldn't be the only one she could turn to. He wouldn't be needed as much. It made him sad to think of it, but he always knew it would happen sooner or later. He realized he'd been hoping for later.
He thought back to the words she had said when she thought she would die. They filled Dennis with a strange sense of pride for his little sister. She had finally become a part of something bigger than she could have ever envisioned.
Ego amor tibi. Latin for "I love you."
---
Ben Moss growled in anger and frustration. His plan had been foiled by that stupid little girl. But Moss would not be deterred so easily. He had another plan. A wild card; a very wild card.
(A/N: Looks like Ben Moss isn't finished just yet. Sorry if this chapter seemed a little sappy. Now, how to begin the next chapter...)