The scene I awoke to was one of complete chaos. I couldn't really remember what had happened, but somehow we'd ended up outside of the institute. We were still on the grounds and it had stopped raining. Unaware of what had happened, I was surprised to see Clark lying hurt in front of me.
"Oh my god. Clark, are you all right?"
He looked like he was trying to speak, but didn't have the strength. I knew there must be a piece of meteor rock nearby and I looked around for it. Its location wasn't ideal – it was in Stacy's hand. To make matters worse I was surrounded by the staff of the institute, all of whom were being controlled by her. It was beginning to get annoying how often I was having cause to think 'if I had my powers…'.
"Well then, what to do with you, Alicia?" said Stacy, circling Clark, holding the meteor close to him. "Killing you is just too easy. Perhaps I should break your fragile little mind, get you sent back to Belle Reeve for the rest of your life. It'd be fun to see you sitting in your own little cell, drooling and gibbering away."
Clark moaned. I had to at least try to help him. Lunging forward, I tried to smack the rock from her hand, but she nimbly leapt sideways, her other hand catching me in the face. I fell to the ground, blood trickling from the corner of my mouth.
"Get away from him, you witch," I said, trying to get back up. Ronald grabbed me from behind, restraining me. For the first time I saw Edward, lying motionless on the ground, blood around his chest.
"It only rhymes with witch, honey," she said, giggling. She knelt down beside Clark, nursing his head in a mockery of comfort. "Oh, Clark, babe, you should have seen what goes on in that girl's head! All those screwed-up daydreams about you coming to rescue her and so forth. And look at you now! You can't even be bothered to get yourself up off the ground and help her!"
I struggled to try and get free, tears rolling down my cheeks, desperate to try and get to him.
"She thought about you so much, I suppose the reality must be such a disappointment to her. And some of those thoughts were very naughty, I must say! Really made me blush!"
She kissed his forehead and sighed, looking disappointedly at the meteor rock.
"You know, this thing just takes waaay too long," she said. She raised her hand and a white orb of light appeared in the palm. It descended with a brutal force, hitting Clark's head, snapping it violently to the side. It was a miracle his neck wasn't broken from the force of it. Feeling utterly helpless, I cried out in despair. Clark's body convulsed violently then fell still. Surely he couldn't be dead I thought, fighting back hysteria. Blood was running out of his ears, his eyes were empty, I never thought I'd see him like this… not Clark… he couldn't be…
Stacy was laughing, and inside me swelled an incredible hatred. At that time I felt closer to the old Alicia than I'd ever wanted to again. Without even really thinking about it, I grabbed Roland's wrist. While he was much stronger than me, the move caught him completely off guard, and although he tried to struggle, it came too late. I aimed as best I could then pulled the trigger of the gun in his hand. The meteor rock went flying from Stacy's grip and she recoiled backwards. I pulled the trigger again, but this time the bullet hit a tree off in the distance. She had teleported away. It was strange seeing my own ability being used by someone else.
I didn't know where she was and didn't have time to worry about it. Twisting my body and kicking sharply I caught Ronald straight between the legs. His eyes bulged and he went down, red-faced and moaning. I ran forward, not looking back, expecting to get shot any moment. All I knew was that I had to get to Clark.
There was no resistance from the other guards; Stacy might have stretched herself a little too far. The meteor rock had landed a little away from Clark, but not so far away as to release him from its effects. Sweeping it into my hands I tossed it as far as I could. My spirits soared as I saw his strength slowly returning. He even began to move a little, and his eyes opened, locking onto me.
But the magical wound wasn't healing.
"Won't help," said Clark, so softly I barely heard him. He smiled weakly. I grabbed his hand, trying to make him better with sheer force of will, feeling him slipping away from me.
An arm wrapped around my throat, stopping me from breathing. Stacy had teleported right behind me before I could do anything. She pulled my head back and I could see her face contorted with rage. I was reminded of the time I used my powers against Lana. This must have been how she had felt, completely powerless against a monster.
"Let's not drag this out any further," she hissed, flecks of spittle landing in my ear. From the corner of my eye I could see another orb forming in her hand. In front of me, I saw something else. Clark was reaching up, the effort clearly paining him, and he grabbed my wrist. At first I thought he was going to pull me free of her grip, but he had something better in mind. His fingers searching for and finding it, he broke the lead bracelet that had been on my arm since I was locked away.
I knew what I had to do. I was afraid, because I knew I was going to be trapped as well. But it didn't feel like I had a choice; if she wasn't stopped now, we might never get another chance. Clark hadn't used the last of his strength so that I could use my powers to run away. It had been two years since I last used my abilities, but I didn't doubt myself for a moment. With control of it coming as naturally as ever, feeling as free as I ever had, I teleported us right into the heart of the circle.
As we appeared there my skin started to burn a little. The magic that Edward had set up was now being used against both Stacy and I. It appeared to be having a far worse effect on her, since her skin was actually starting to smoke. She was shrieking, and I saw her reaching out towards me. I could barely move, couldn't get away…
A hand grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back. I spun on my heel, expecting to see Clark, but instead it was Edward who had brought me out. The wound around his chest appeared to have healed almost completely.
"Well done. I'll handle things from here," he said, gesturing for me to give him some room. I was more than happy to; I had to check on Clark. As I went to him I noticed the staff of the institute lying scattered all over the place. Ronald was in the foetal position. At first I thought they were dead, but a snore informed me that they were in fact asleep. Edward's doing, I assumed. How powerful was he?
"Ed? What's going on? What's happening?" asked Stacy in a voice that sounded very small and afraid.
"You might have fooled me last time, but that won't work again," said Edward.
I kneeled down next to Clark, nursing his head in my hands. His eyes were closed and my attempts to wake him failed. He still had a pulse, but it felt weak. The bleeding had stopped, but I knew he had to be in a critical condition.
"And what about you Alicia?" asked Stacy. "He can't kill me without killing the host as well. I know you don't want that to happen."
Edward was muttering under his breath (perhaps chanting is more accurate) but he broke his concentration momentarily to talk to me.
"She's lying! You mustn't listen to her!"
I looked up at her, and the hatred I saw there was unrivalled by any I'd ever seen.
"Think about Clark, girl. I know how to save him. Let me go and you can be with him forever!"
"Shut up!" shouted Edward.
"You love having your abilities, don't you? You've seen that your power is only one of the many I possess. I can teach you all of them, Alicia. You can't even imagine how strong you'll become. You won't have to be afraid of the world any more, of all those people who'll fear and judge you… we can rule them! We can do whatever we want!"
"What I want… is for you to be gone," I said, and turned my attention back to Clark.
"Alicia! Alicia! No! No, I won't let you do this!"
A horrible scream emerged from her lips and I couldn't help but look up. Edward had completed his spell; now Stacy's whole body was starting to vanish. Like a cartoon character slowly being erased by her creator's hand. She was literally turning to nothing before our eyes. From her feet right up to her neck nothing remained. Only a floating head, and that too was starting to fade. Some of the skin on her face started to burn away, fortunately what lay beneath faded away before I could get a good look at what was underneath. In the end, only her left eye remained floating there, searching around desperately, seeming to plead with me… then that too, was gone.
"Elle… I'm sorry. So sorry," said Edward softly.
I looked at him with disgust.
"You were never going to separate them, were you?"
He wouldn't even look at me.
"There was no other way. I'm sorry about your friend Clark. I'm afraid there's nothing I can do for him.
I didn't try to stop him as he left. It wasn't like I couldn't use a friend, someone who understood my abilities, but I really didn't want it to be him. Besides, I thought he had a way of making people disappear from his life that had nothing whatsoever to do with magic.
I lay where I was with Clark, sobbing silently.
"You can't leave me Clark. You just can't leave me now," I whispered.
Note: Epilogue to follow soon.
