IretherI: As always, I do not own this blah blah. Standard disclaimer's apply...


Complacent Strangers

Chapter Three- Always Will I Fall


"What is it?" A cry from Lachesis and silence answered from both of her sisters, Clotho keeps on measuring the thread of life with a blank and pensive look she often wears while Atropos studies the sharp edges of the blade flashing light. "Why do you never tell me!" Lachesis whines and Atropos was ready to smite the string of life with the blade of her shears, ignoring of what was happening. While the present battles against the future, Clotho closes her eyes and imagines peace; the past seeks refuge. The young woman knows what has past and also knows that the past tends to repeat itself she was quiet.


"I want to know!"
A childish command that never gets her anywhere, she only knows of what is present and nothing else. Tension building onto anger and they could never act on their impulses for they had only time to do what He had planned. "Shhhhh," A cloaked figure of velvet black appears to the sisters, the youngest surprised. The middle child unaffected while the eldest need not to express anything for she already had seen what was to come. Atropos speaks grimly without looking at the newcomer, "It is not our place to tell, we weave silently amongst those who seek to destroy or recreate the balance. You are wasting your time, leave before you truly soil the sacred ground."

He mutters inaudibly and Atropos shakes her head slowly answering with her olden eyes solely directly back at her second sister, "It is not time." The man did not seem to like that, everyone felt it. The intense anger growing stronger and stronger then just with a flick of his wrist, the crone was killed as fire burned her inside out. A scream erupted from the little one and with a single glance from the burning flame of darkness, the scream died out when her Lachesis' body was quickly twisted in different ways by an unseen force.

The wail of her younger sister and the extinction of her older sister, Clotho was not stupid. Fear was crawling up the back of her spine. She was going to die but how is that possible when she was never alive to begin with? Her thoughts were suspended in time as she finally became aware of that her hands were wrapped around her throat. She was trying hard to pull them away but she fails. Her hands were securely wrapped against her throat, she was panicking. To die was nothing to be feared for her but when she dared to look up at her assailant, he gave her a wide smile without showing his teeth.

Her larynx was being damaged to a further extreme and her petite hands, with the will of the monster, fracture bones in her neck. She knew that she was dying, her life force slowly deteriorating away. Then she felt it, the urging sensation to breathe.

Air hunger, she was struggling hard, just trying to breath. He was laughing as the tears spilled down her cheeks. Her vision blurs but she could still hear him cackle the devil's laughter. Then suddenly he stopped, a grave glance at her and then walked two steps before disappearing from her view. He released his hold on her hands around her neck, she could move. She does not waste time. Someone needs to be warned. A breath of a whisper and white light envelops her power sending it to its course. It leaves her and flees for warning.

She burns for promise but cried out when he yanked her arm out to him; appearing out of nowhere and invading her everything again. "What's wrong, precious?" His eyes looked up as did she; hope diminished the moment it stopped moving. The white ball of energy was forced back into her mouth by the smiting hand of the demonic monster.

Defeat for Clotho.

She sinks down into the floor. Arms wrapped around her body unexpectedly, she jerked to get away from his touch. He was blowing cold air on her scorched skin. The fire had claimed her youngest sister's essence and left marks on her mortal skin, "Why?"

He gives out a smug laugh and with a whisper into her ear, "It is not time." The dawning came upon her, he wanted her alive. It made her heart weep to even know what this man's past raided her being like a brash stain. He was going to use her and then kill her, "I guess the old hag knew what she was saying after all."

A stolen kiss from ancient daughter made his cold blood boil for rage. "My world is a darker shade of grey, how ironic…" It was the same colour the monster had for his eyes.


"What are little boys made of? Snips and snails, and puppy dog tails," she spun round. "That's what little boys are made of," Long flowing brown hair, ocean blue eyes, she looked at down at the body she traced. She felt quite gleeful. It was strange to feel this way, it felt so alien to her and yet she welcomed it as if it were the most usual thing in the world. It was strange to be shape-shifting from one being, one creature to another but to her it was stranger to crave emotion.

She was standing in the Hyperion Hotel, filled with gleeful inspiration. Contrary to everything that she has been every forced to live, she felt good even though the feeling would not last forever. Everything was going quite smoothly but knowing life herself, she had her guard up, "There is no such thing as a perfect everything."

Inside.

Fred was spinning the child round and round the room, she was playing with the little one. Why? She did not know, the voices were telling her to do so. Her whole circle around the room would be complete and she would face the doors to the courtyard and the little teenage girl waiting there excitedly would take the child and fly. But she stopped.

Her foot was caught up in a shaky hold, she looks down. Pleading eyes with gagged mouths looked up at her, asking and demanding why but she just smiled. With a breath of a whisper, they were enveloped in thick black smoke putting them into sleep. She smiled menacingly and triumphant; beating up men and tying them up with a blank expression, it was meaningless to think so she did not. She only obeyed the whispers, there was nothing else left.

"You should stay quiet or she'll see you herself. You wouldn't like that." She spares one smile however a second later, her face contorted into pain. She leaves the child suspended, time slows down. Pain was much abundant and ripping her soul into two, her arms were twitching and she was burning up from the inside.

A scream dies out before it escapes from her mouth, the Fred skin was fading. Shed away it was, and the faceless monster was coming back, faceless serpentine creature damned by the one who made her.


Where is Fred?

Her breathing had stilled and she had stayed rooted in the same spot that Angel had left her, emotions running marathons on her aching heart. She rested her hand on top of Angel's desk, emotions were subsiding. There was something lingering within the tip of her tongue, she was about to speak something but it turned out into a cough. Sudden hyperventilation, deep breathing; hard to breathe. She felt like she was sinking within the deep ocean of woes.

Mouth agape and eyes wide open, she shifted to it. She embraced it, there was no turning back.

"Votum separatum, vade retro Satana. Tuebor sine ira et studio. Sola gratia...scio. I know." Cordelia helplessly watches her surroundings, someone else was taking over. "We both shall take you down." Not a minute, not a second later, she appeared in the hotel reception without moving a muscle. Head tilted upward and hands recognized by Cordelia as hers were doing something she thought impossible. The skin of her palms were parting, releasing bright white light. It journeyed across the room, enveloped the two men on the floor. Wounds healed and bonds disappeared, eyes still wide with shock.

"Wha-" Gunn could not finish at the sight displayed before him. He was paralyzed with uncertain fear. Wesley, who had just sprung away from the spell, looked up and then understood Gunn's lack of movement to help. Standing five feet away from them was Cordelia but she did not look; she did not feel like their friend. The distant juxtaposition between Cordelia to both themselves were quite filled with paucity. Their eyes lingered a second longer before their attention was grasped by the impending danger that was not welcome in their home.

"Yes, most inordinately uncommon." He shook himself out of the trance Cordelia seemed to have. "She's a shapeshifter, she can mold herself into anything, anyone at anytime. I do not have resources that give out more than brief definitions since well..."

"I don't know what the heck is going down but right now we need to get the kid back. Where's Fred?" He was being distrait, the so-called Cordelia was really different. Had we been knocked out that long? Where's Fred? She was here but...

Wesley's voice trailed off, both did not notice the warning looks of Cordelia and the heightened sensation of danger his senses were screaming at him. The light had set and darkness took Gunn over.

He was suddenly alone in the same room. His thoughts were jumbled up in sequence, bad things were being plotted behind his back and worst is what worst will be.

"I'm here." He whipped his head towards her voice and he was met by his father. "What are you doing to yourself? Do you even know how stupid you are, boy? Trash like you will never-" His father, he had called him a Anger filled him and he acted without thought, charging like a raging bull without the similar speed and stamina. He did not care, his past was best left six feet under. He had hit his target, a moment of glory running through his veins and the sudden rush of adrenaline pumped in his system made him strike the man he hated not once but chained hits one after another until his father's body lay face-up the ceiling.

It disappeared.

Then he heard her voice, "Why would you hit your own sister? You know you won't be happy until you get as close to death as you possibly can. You're so stupid, Gunn. Strong and stupid forever."

"Alonna?" Hopeful, he almost ran into waiting arms but he knew it was surreal. No matter how many nightmares will haunt him of her, of his family, of everything that he had done before; careless with a strong purpose, his mind was on the right path knowing that she was dead. 'I killed her myself, the dead should stay dead.' Taking a deep breath with hands clenched into tight fists, he screamed. "Stop messin' with my head!"

Alonna frowned, "You were much better off paranoid, do you know that?" He rolled his eyes and stared down the replica of his dearly departed sister. He wished that somehow it were real that Alonna was alive but that's all it was, he moved on doing what he did best. With a set of knives kept hidden, he took it out and threw it immediately all of it at the shapeshifter's heart.

He knew that the shape shifter can dodge the attack, he thought that it would spare him time. Spare time to what? 'Spare time to do something else and get away from that crazy chic.' Perfect aims and perfect hits, he was astonished. 'She keeps on getting hit and she's not flinchin', somethins' definitely wrong with her brain.' He stared at her, his blades lodged inside her.

'At her throat, at the base of her kneecaps, at the left side of her hip, at her thigh, at the middle of her heart...and she just keeps on smilin' like that.' He was engrossed again against his will. With a mere exhale of breath, the weapons were sucked into her skin. Long black hair cascaded down her spine, no hint of pain and Gunn was baffled. She clenched both fists at the same time. Expelling the offending objects out of her body and set to reek havoc like a hornet's nest.

Gunn fell to the floor and the girl gave out momentary laugh of triumph but she stopped. A spear came into contact with the middle of her forehead; went through her skull. She scowled and the child was crying. Her control over her illusion was shattered along with her steady hold of keeping the child hidden however her eyes gleamed with great expectancy as she sized up the father of the child she was taking. She knew from the look that he gave him; feral undiluted anger.

She giggled, "This is going to be fun."


IretherI: I am not overparticulary fond of this chapter, maybe because it's been a long day and I just had two of my permanet teeth extracted from their cozy sockets in my mouth, I have to where retainers and I still have to go to school tomorrow. I'm ranting on and on about my life again and I should stop. Leave a review for me, it'll make me feel better honest.