A couple of weeks had passed since Vampire Hunters Incorporated had assisted Jesse in his bludnik case and they now found themselves in a busy and yet comfortable routine. Beca seemed lighter now, still not completely free of her demons, but her conversation with Jesse had lifted some of the burden from her shoulders, and she seemed to be approaching her work with more enthusiasm than they had seen in a while. The change in Chloe over the last few months since she had returned home had been staggering; she no longer cut herself off from her family, she seemed to have accepted that she wasn't at fault for the horrific events of their days fighting Gail, and most of all it had now been nine days since she had taken the potion that she needed to supress her powers.
No-one had said a word about it, not wanting to make a big deal of it (even thought it was a huge deal), but simply left Chloe to make the decision on her own. Chloe herself had decided to test her boundaries a little bit, to see how long she could go before the feeling of the monster under her skin grew too terrifying to handle. Because Chloe missed being in the field. Sure, she was still afraid of her powers and the potential harm she could cause, and there was no denying that there was a still a heavy weight of guilt on her shoulders, but every time Chloe watched her family walk out of that door to face the evils of the Other Realm without her she felt this pang, wanting nothing more to be out there with them, helping to protect them and the innocents they were defending.
Chloe wanted to feel useful again, wanted to be able to see the difference she was making rather than having to wait for them to fill her in. It was the waiting that she hated the most. And so Chloe hadn't told Stacie that she needed another dose. She knew that they'd know that she did but she was grateful when none of them mentioned it, because if this little experiment of hers didn't work and she was still too scared of being out of control then she didn't want to disappoint them.
She had been feeling stronger in the last couple of days, the monster stirring and moving restlessly under her skin but still woozy. It would take another few days for the potion to be out of her system completely, for her to gain her powers back, but Chloe was cautiously optimistic. It wasn't as loud as it had been when she had battled Gail (although that was in no doubt in part due to the fact that she and Beca kept to a regular feeding schedule, whereas in Gail's grip she was fed sporadically and rarely) and that made her a little less worried about her ability to control it. She knew it would still be a few days before she would really be able to gauge it, but as for right now Chloe was feeling okay.
"So this is a nest we cleared last year?" Beca frowned as they sat around the desk, looking through the files Aubrey had handed out, "But I thought that we took all of Gail's army out?"
"We did." Aubrey nodded, "That's why the Council are concerned, especially with Gail's daughters out there. They want us to check and make sure that the activity they're getting reports on is either a mistake or some low level scavenger demons just passing through, rather than the beginnings of another army."
"The last thing any of us need is another army." Chloe shook her head a little, "We barely survived the last one. Let's hope it's nothing big right?"
"Right." Stacie nodded, watching Chloe with the same warm awe that everyone else was. She was almost her old self again… a little harder round the edges, a little quieter than she had been, but she was recognisably Chloe again, the sunny optimism and the twinkle in her eyes indicative of better times.
"I want this done as soon as we can, I have no desire to be out in this November chill longer than I have to be." Aubrey half grinned as she began to assemble the things they would need to take with them.
"I'd still take vampire hunting in the winter over the summer." Beca pulled a face, pulling her jacket on, "It's too hot as it is without adding all the sweaty exercise of killing vampires to that."
"I'm sorry the Other Realm doesn't take summers off for you Beca." Aubrey chuckled, rolling her eyes affectionately at Beca, "Are we ready to go?"
Stacie and Beca nodded, Chloe watching them once again head for the door, gut twisting in the same way it always did. She hated seeing them go. At first Chloe thought it was better that they went without her, that it was safer for everyone, but now? Now she itched to join them, to be in the field with them so she could help rather than sat in the office doing busy work.
"Bree?"
"Yeah Chloe?" Aubrey turned around, frowning softly as she saw the look on Chloe's face.
"Can we talk when you get back?" Chloe smiled softly, "It's nothing bad I just… I wanna talk about some things."
"Of course." Aubrey nodded, still a little uncertain but reassured by the glimmer in Chloe's eyes, "We'll be back soon."
"Be safe."
"I don't like this…" Beca mumbled, claws sharp as Aubrey and Stacie flanked her from either side, "It's too quiet. It doesn't look like anything has been here in months."
"You think someone fed the Council bad intel?" Stacie frowned, an energy ball buzzing quietly in her hands as she prepared herself for a threat that could come their way at any minute.
"It's starting to look that way." Aubrey's eyes flicked around the room, her heart beginning to beat a little faster in her chest, "I say we fall back, it feels like a tra-"
Before Aubrey could finish her sentence the three of them found themselves ripped violently apart by something unseen, pulled off their feet and landing within three circles that been drawn on the floor in chalk, equidistant to each other by three feet. As they landed the circles illuminated, a translucent wall of turquoise shooting up until it hit the ceiling, trapping them within.
Stacie got shakily to her feet, a hand on her side as she winced. She'd landed painfully on her ribs and her side was throbbing with every breath she took, but her healing magic quickly took care of it. The magical barrier around her left her a space of about two feet in any direction and reminded her of the box she had been trapped in when they first encountered Gail's daughters, making her mouth go dry. She watched as Aubrey stepped forward, fingers outstretched towards the barrier.
"Bree, don't!"
Stacie's warning came too late as the second that Aubrey's fingertips brushed the blue light she flew backwards with a yelp, landing hard on her back and knocking the air from her lungs. Aubrey coughed a little as she reclaimed her breath, wincing as the pain in her back made her head spin. She dragged herself slowly to her feet, wary of jarring it further until she could get to Stacie for healing. What the hell was going on?
"Are you okay?" Beca frowned a little, Stacie having to fight her every urge to go running forward to Aubrey only to be met with the same fate.
"Yeah." Aubrey nodded her head a little with a grunt, "Yeah I'm good. What is this?"
"A little pre-dinner entertainment."
Three heads whipped around to find the taunting grins of Calamity, Charity and Serenity. Beca's lips curled into a snarl as her hands balled into fists.
"What the hell do you want?"
"She's not very good at listening is she?" Calamity frowned, still smirking as she and her sisters stood in-between the three captives.
"There's only three of them..." Stacie mumbled looking to Aubrey with a glint of panic in her eyes, "Where are Alice and Veracity?"
The realisation hit all three members of Vampire Hunters Incorporated at the same time:
"Chloe."
Chloe sighed heavily as she sank into a seat in the office again, playing with her nails as she waited for them to come back. She really hated this. She had no idea what they could've encountered in that nest, or if they were in over their heads and needed help. All Chloe could do was wait around to see if they came home again and hope that when they did it was in one piece. Her mind wandered to the night of the chimera attack and the way that Beca had limped back into the office.
"It's not as bad as it looks." Where the first words out of Beca's mouth as Chloe spun on her heel upon hearing the door open.
"Oh my god!" Chloe gasped as she raced to Beca's side, helping her onto one of the sofa's for waiting clients before kneeling next to her and inspecting the nasty burn that stretched up her entire left side. It would take Stacie hours to heal this in its entirety, "Beca that's exactly as bad as it looks, you must be in so much pain…"
"Nah." Beca smirked a little, her tight expression betraying her lie, "It's fine. And hey, I took on chimera and won, I think I've earned a cool battle scar."
Chloe laughed softly, shaking her head a little, "Stay there, I'm going to get the salve I brought down and the anti-venom you need."
She returned within a matter of seconds, handing Beca on orange vial as she knelt on the floor again with a green tub in hand. Beca grimaced as she quickly took the anti-venom, shuddering a little as the thick liquid slid down her throat.
"Jesus, can they not make these things so they're not disgusting? Surely you have to make it so people WANT to take it."
Chloe giggled as she unscrewed the lid of the tub, using her fingers to scoop up some of the purple tinged cream and glanced up at Beca for a moment, "This is probably going to hurt a little bit Becs, I'm sorry."
Beca hissed as Chloe's fingers made contact with the charred and raw skin, stiffening as it burned under her touch. She was grateful for the pain as it distracted her from the lump in her throat and the tingling feeling that spread from head to foot as Chloe touched her for the first time in far too long. Chloe was as gentle as she could be as she applied a thick layer of the cream down Beca's side. As the cream began to be absorbed through her skin Beca felt herself relax a little bit; it had something in it the numbed the area and the pain began to subdue.
"That's so much better." Beca sighed softly, glancing at Chloe from the corner of her eye, an affectionate smile tugging at her lips as she saw the way that Chloe's tongue poked out of her mouth in concentration, "Thanks Chlo."
"Of course." Chloe beamed at her, "It's the least I can do when I wasn't there to actually protect you…"
Beca frowned a little as she gently took Chloe's hand in hers, hating the conflicted look of guilt that was forming on Chloe's face, "Hey, you have nothing to feel guilty about. You were helping Ellie out, and besides you don't feel ready to be out there again yet. There's nothing wrong with that."
"There is if you guys are getting hurt and I'm just waiting around for you…" Chloe sighed heavily, "I hate seeing you go out that door without me. I hate being this much of a coward, but I- I can't do it Beca. I can't let it wake up."
"I know." Beca winced a little as she turned herself to look at Chloe who she had gently pulled onto the couch, "But that doesn't make you a coward Chloe. I get it, I really do, and your reaction to all this has been completely understandable. I can't say I wouldn't have done the same because if I'd had this option when I first turned? God I wouldn't have even hesitated."
Chloe sighed heavily as she sank back into the sofa, her heart still in her mouth from touching Beca like she had. It felt like such a weird thing to do know when before it had been so natural. Chloe missed the days that it was natural to touch Beca's side, to rest her head on her shoulder like she wanted to right now.
"You'll come back when you're ready. And right now, having you at the office is really helpful, it's so easy to get information when we need it, please don't for a minute think you're not still a vital part of our team." Beca gave Chloe's hand a gentle squeeze to stop herself pulling Chloe into her arms.
"I guess." Chloe mumbled, "I just hate that you came back here in so much pain and I had no idea what was happening to you."
That feeling hadn't changed, if anything it had grown harder and harder to ignore. It had taken Chloe a long time but she realised now that her place wasn't here waiting for them to come home, it was out there fighting by their side. But she was working on that, she was going to talk to Aubrey about it when they got back. Because they would come back, they always came back.
A loud crash dragged Chloe from her thoughts as she sprang to her feet. She moved quickly across the office to where there was a small weapons cabinet on the wall but before she could reach it a hand had wrapped around her throat and she was thrown hard and pinned against the wall on the opposite side of the room faster than she could blink. She cried out in pain as it shot up her spine, eyes wide and burning with a mix of fear and hate as Veracity smirked at her.
"Hey Red. Wanna play?"
Chloe struggled against her, pulling at the hand that tightened around her throat threateningly. She found herself willing the monster inside her to wake up and come to the fore for the first time in months, but she could feel it struggling to stir under her skin, the suppressing potion she had taken still weighing heavily on it. Alice stood behind Veracity, her head cocked as she watched Chloe struggle with a cruel disinterest. Chloe's eyes scanned the room looking for the rest of Gail's daughters but quickly realised they weren't here.
Her team.
They were in trouble, they'd walked into a trap. Shit, what was she going to do? Where they okay? They had to be, Chloe couldn't lose them, not like this.
"Get her tied up, I'm going to start looking for what we came here for." Alice turned her back on Chloe and Veracity as the latter dragged Chloe roughly to the ground.
Chloe was pinned to the floor, Veracity's pressed into the side of her head as her struggling arms were pulled behind her back and tied tightly at the wrist by a long length of rope.
"You know what the best thing is about you castrating your vampire side?" Veracity taunted Chloe as she easily overpowered her struggling body, "I don't have to carry around all those heavy chains, I can just use a bit of rope and then you're even weaker than normal."
"Fuck you." Chloe spat, writhing as Veracity pulled her up and over to the chair she had been sat in moments before they had burst into the office.
The initial shock of being ambushed had worn off and Chloe was struggling and kicking out with all the strength she had. Veracity was incredibly strong though, and except for one well placed kick that hit her shin that caused Veracity to grunt, Chloe found herself no match for her. She hit the chair with a thud, her arms tugged back over it in a way that made her shoulders burn and Chloe hiss in pain. Veracity had left enough rope loose so that both ends could be pulled underneath the chair and tied around Chloe's ankles. Veracity managed to tie one of Chloe's ankles tight but before she could grab the other Chloe managed to kick her square in the face. Veracity fell backwards with a snarl, head to her face as she wiped the blood from her nose, a sense of triumph flourishing through Chloe.
Veracity was back on her feet in seconds and punched Chloe so hard in the face that she fell, chair and all, onto her left side with a thud. Chloe grunted as her jaw throbbed and she was tugged upright again by her tied arms, Veracity catching her leg as it went to kick her again and forcing it to bend roughly before tying it with the last remaining strand of rope. Whilst not actually tied to the chair itself, Chloe was tethered to it, any attempt to get up hindered by the fact her wrists were effectively tied to her ankles. She glared at Veracity as she struggled against the ropes that were already chaffing her wrists, still trying to force her claws to form so she could cut her way out of her restraints.
She was sick of being rendered helpless, sick of feeling weak and useless. There was no way she was letting them do this to her anymore. Chloe was strong, stronger than they knew. She just had to get her damn claws to form.
"It's cute watching her struggle isn't it?" Veracity's smile was cruel as she watched Chloe twist a writhe against the tight ropes, trying not to think about just how much this situation reminded her of her time with Gail before she had turned her against her family.
"They'll be back any minute." Chloe snarled, "They're not stupid, they'll realise it was a trap!"
Veracity's smile spread into a grin as she laughed and shook her head. Chloe could hear Alice rifling around in one of their filing cabinets and she tried to turn to see what she was looking for. Veracity grabbed a handful of Chloe's hair and wrenched her head forwards again, Chloe wincing as her scalp burned.
"Ah ah ah. No peeking Red. Let's look at how your friends are getting on hm? See if they're really coming back any second."
Chloe felt her stomach drop as she watched Veracity summon the same portal-like viewer that Gail used to torment her, the déjà vu of the situation making her insides twist. She couldn't go through all of that again. They were coming home, they were, no matter what Veracity showed her, Aubrey, Stacie and Beca were coming home like they always did.
"Well… looks like they're a little busy right now doesn't it?" Veracity hummed, Chloe pushing back against the tears that burned in the corners of her eyes as she saw her friends trapped and at the mercy of Calamity, Charity and Serenity.
"If you hurt her I'll kill you." Beca snarled, her heart clenching at the thought of Chloe on her own with Alice and Veracity and not being at her full strength to defend herself.
"Mom was right, you really are dramatic aren't you?" Calamity scoffed, eyebrow raised as she stepped lazily towards Beca, watching her like a lion would watch it's prey, "She always said your best look was chained up like a dog… I think we should see for ourselves don't you?"
The wall surrounding Beca fell away as Serenity twisted her hand, Beca not wasting the opportunity to shoot forward. It wasn't just the threat of being chained up again that spurred her forward, it was the idea of Chloe needing her help and being once again unable to get to her. Beca couldn't let her get hurt again.
She barrelled into Calamity but she had expecting her and grabbed the scruff of Beca's jacket, using her own momentum against her as she spun them and sent Beca headfirst into the wall not a foot behind where she had been imprisoned a second ago. The force with which her head collided with the wall knocked Beca sick and disorientated, groaning as she clutched her throbbing head. Gail's daughters were on her in an instant, her arms pulled sharply behind her as Serenity held her in place, Beca trying to force her head to stop spinning and throbbing long enough for her to pull herself from the tight grip. A hand roughly pulled her head back by her hair and exposed her throat, Beca growling and thrashing as her blurry vision saw something shiny move towards it. She wouldn't let them do this to her, she refused to be chained up like that again. She was stronger now dammit, why couldn't she get them off her?
Beca's legs kicked out sluggishly, able to hear Stacie and Aubrey's furious screams of protest and threats as they found themselves unable to help her. As her vision sharpened again Beca felt something wrap around her throat, still kicking as she tried to tug her head free. It was lined with something that rubbed uncomfortably at her neck and the more Beca twisted and fought, the tighter it seemed to get around her. Thank god she didn't need to breathe.
"Heel girl."
Beca was released from their tight grip as the pain cleared from her head, her vampiric healing clearing any head injury she sustained. There was a chain fastened to the front of the collar which Calamity gave a sharp tug, chuckling as Beca fell forward, eyes full of hate.
"It suits you." She sneered, looping the chain through an anchor point on the floor, pulling it tight so Beca couldn't get up any higher than all fours, "Now bark for me like the bitch you are."
Beca opened her mouth to snarl a 'fuck you' at them as they laughed at her predicament, but to her horror what came out was indeed a bark, a high pitched bark that made her sound ridiculous. She tried to speak again but all that come out where a serious of furious sounding yaps.
"That's barely a bark, it's more of a yip." Serenity arched her eyebrow, expression one of amusement as Beca growled and started to try and tug the chain keeping her anchored to the floor free.
"She always reminded me of a little yippy thing." Calamity shrugged, "Y'know like a chihuahua?"
"Stop it!" Stacie was furious as she flexed her hands, trying to get the barrier around her to collapse so that she could go to Beca's aide.
"No." Charity smirked at her, "It's fun. And Alice said we could do whatever we wanted to the three of you. The more painful and humiliating the better."
Beca's hands reached up towards the collar around her neck as she managed to manoeuvre her weight uncomfortably onto her knees, bent double. She intended to tug it from her throat but Calamity swiftly caught her wrists, tutting softly as she hooked one of her fingers around Beca's, ensuring that her hands were opened.
"I really wouldn't do that if I were you." Her eyes twinkled in amusement as Beca yapped again, cringing and glowering at the woman knelt in front of her, "It's made of silver. It burns regular vampires… see?"
Calamity pressed Beca's open palms into the collar, Beca howling as she felt the metal burn into her hands. She struggled against Calamity, trying to pull her hands away but she had far underestimated the strength of this woman and found herself unable to break away.
"Be thankful we lined the inside of the collar, otherwise we'd have burned your pretty little throat out by now. This is why it's far better to be a hybrid… none of the pesky draw backs of being a vampire to contend with." Calamity shook her head mockingly as she finally released Beca's hands.
Beca crumpled onto her side, the enchantment on the collar leading her pained grunts to come out as pathetic little whines as she held her burned hands against her chest. The pain was immense, far worse than when she had burned her side fighting the chimera, and Beca's stomach twisted as she realised that her children were far sicker and more twisted than their mother had been. Gail had never put her in something that forced her to sound like an animal and she certainly hadn't burned her like this, and yet Beca felt the same fear and trepidation that she had when she was chained up in the tunnels over two hundred years ago.
The turquoise walls sprung up around Beca again but they seemed all together pointless now. Beca couldn't get up with her hands burned like this, and even if she could she wasn't able to get further than her knees. Aubrey's eyes were black with anger as they met Beca's, but Beca knew the anger wasn't directed at her, it was for her and what they had done to her.
"Let me out of this thing." Aubrey spat, "Let me out and we'll see how you manage in a fair fight. You think I'm scared of you? You're just as cowardly and pathetic as your mother was. And we'll take you down just as easily."
Charity's eyes narrowed dangerously at Aubrey, an angry smirk tugging at her lips, "You really should learn to control your tongue Blondie. It'll get you into serious trouble."
"Screw off." Aubrey was shaking with rage, fists clenched tight. She couldn't believe the way they had treated Beca, hating that she was behind this wall and unable to save her friend from what they were putting her through, "Come on, let's see how tough you really are. I'm sick of your cheap tricks, at least Gail wasn't this predictable."
"Let her out." Charity growled, "Seems the vampire hunter needs to be taught a lesson or two about respecting the dead."
Serenity twisted her hand again, Aubrey steeling herself as her hand dropped to the belt around her waist and pulled a stake from it. Charity had launched forward, claws lashing towards Aubrey who shifted her weight back on her heels and turned out of the way. She was ready as Charity skidded and rounded on her again, landing a swift punch to her jaw and another to her ribs as she caught Charity's barrelling form. Charity crumpled like wet paper and a smirk of triumph pulled at Aubrey's lips as she turned the stake in her hand and swung it upwards towards her chest.
It was at that moment that Aubrey realised her fatal mistake; she had briefly forgotten about Calamity and Serenity as her focus shifted to the vampire hybrid that had sped towards her. A foot slammed into her already sore back, causing Aubrey to buckle with a cry, her head pulled sharply back by the roots of her hair. She swung the hand that clutched the stake backwards, hoping to bury it into Calamity's thigh as she pushed Charity away from her but her wrist was caught and twisted until she felt the bones snap, forcing her to drop the stake with another cry of pain.
Aubrey pushed back against the waves of pain rolling through her as she swept the legs from under Calamity and turned on her knees. Her elbow jerked sharply upwards despite the blinding pain in her wrist and hit Serenity square in the nose, Aubrey managing to stagger to her feet in time to block the swinging fist of Charity, grabbing her wrist and using it to pull her forwards and into Calamity who had also gotten to her feet again. They grunted as they fell together in a heap, Aubrey able to turn her attention to Serenity again for a moment as the vampire swung her clawed hand at her. Aubrey hadn't been quite quick enough for Serenity's attack and she hissed loudly as the claws sank into the arm she had raised to block the strike, the momentary distraction of the pain all that Serenity needed to hit her square in the nose.
Aubrey reeled backwards and into the waiting arms of Charity who pulled her arms back, exposing her torso to the hard kick from Calamity. It knocked the air from Aubrey's lungs as she felt several of her ribs crack, Aubrey slumping slightly as the pain from her injures began to filter through the adrenaline coursing through her. She struggled against Charity as Calamity's fist swung towards her, colliding with her jaw and jerking Aubrey's head to one side, blood filling her mouth. Another fist hit her cheek and caused her right eye to start to swell shut almost immediately. Aubrey could hear Stacie screaming at them to stop and barking that she knew belonged to Beca that would be her trying to say the same thing.
A foot stomped on her ankle and Aubrey was allowed to crumple to the floor as it shattered, grunting in pain as she hit the concrete. Her whole body ached as she tried to push back the creeping pull of unconsciousness, knowing that she had to stay awake. Her injures were bad, she needed to hold on long enough so that Stacie could break free and heal her, but all Aubrey really wanted to do was sleep.
"Leave her." Calamity growled as she caught Charity before she could launch herself at the now defenceless Aubrey, "We're not supposed to kill them remember? She's learnt her lesson."
"Seems like they're staying put doesn't it? If only you weren't so weak, maybe you'd actually be able to help them."
Chloe snarled as she tried once again to rip herself free of the restraints, able to feel her anger awakening the long dormant monster within her. Fear was the last thing on her mind right now, after what they'd done to Beca and Aubrey, Chloe was done with being the weak one. Done with being here whilst they were there. Done with Gail and her offspring and all the pain they caused her and the people she loved. It was still taking too long for it to wake up. She wanted to get herself free, to hurt Veracity and Alice now. She would cause them so much pain for leaving her family with theirs.
"I won't let you do this!" She spat, twisting in her restraints as her fingers began to throb from the furious way that she flexed them, trying to force her claws to form, "I'm going to kill you for this, I swear to god you're going to be begging me for death once I get free!"
"She's adorable." Alice snorted, Chloe hearing the heavy thud of a file landing on the desk behind her. She tried once again to turn to see what exactly it was that Alice had gotten her hands on but a loud scream from the portal viewer in front of her snapped her attention back to it.
Serenity and Calamity held Stacie between them, Charity's hands on her waist as Stacie screamed and writhed in pain. Chloe knew exactly what they were doing to her, it was the same thing Gail had done to her; they were crushing her ribs from within.
Chloe's eyes were wild with fury, no longer caring about Alice and the strange language she was muttering under her breath. Sure, Chloe she probably be worried about the fact that she was stood in front of the barrier protecting Thea's collection from falling into the wrong hands, but right now all that mattered was getting her claws sharp and her strength back so she could rip them to shreds.
And then it happened. Her anger had swelled inside with such force that it had jolted the monster awake and her hands twisted into claws once more. Chloe bit back the grin of triumph as she continued to struggle in the same way but began to subtly cut through the ropes around her wrists. She was free in seconds, flying up from the chair with such force that it skidded across the room and she launched herself at Veracity.
It caught Veracity completely off guard and Chloe was quickly on top of her, claws slashing as her animalistic instincts went into overdrive. The monster in her head howled in delight at being set free once more and Chloe found herself buried beneath it as it tussled with Veracity who had recovered some from the initial shock and was trying to wrestle Chloe off her. Alice's chanting had stopped and she had turned towards the fight, but rather than going to her sister's aid she simply watched in interest as Chloe was thrown from on top of Veracity and through the chair that she had been tethered to moments before. The chair shattered and Chloe grunted in pain as the splintered wood dug into her arms but she pulled herself to her feet regardless, meeting Veracity head on as she ducked out of the way of a swinging clawed hand and threw her shoulder into her chest, knocking both of them to the floor again.
Chloe reached behind her and grabbed one of the shattered chair legs as Veracity swung her clawed hands at her face. She snarled at her as she raised the makeshift stake above her head, swinging down hard and hitting Veracity square in the chest, plunging it down into her over and over as the monster inside her howled in triumph.
"I. AM. NOT. WEAK!" Chloe punctuated every word with another swing of the stake. Veracity had been dead with the first blow but Chloe didn't stop until she had swung the stake so hard that it had gone through Veracity and buried itself into the floor.
Chloe was panting as she stopped, not out of a need to breathe but form the sheer emotional and physical exertion that she had just been through. She was trembling as she dragged herself to her feet, blood clinging to her clothes, her skin, her hair as her snarling features searched for Alice. Both her and the folder appeared to be long gone and Chloe felt the monster growl in disappointment. There was no time to wonder where Alice had gone; the viewing portal had disappeared when Veracity had died so Chloe had no idea what was happening to her friends anymore. She had to get this bracelet off her ankle so that she could go and help them, they needed her. Chloe dropped to her knee and began to tug and claw at the enchanted band, feeling herself begin to work up into a frenzy.
Chloe had to get to them.
Stacie twisted and writhed in Calamity and Charity's arms, fingers flicking uselessly outwards as she tried to summon something, anything that would get them off her. The pain in her ribs was so intense that it seemed to block her magic out, Hunter's whistles lost to her as her head began to swim. Every time she felt her powers rush through her body something rose up to meet it, something hard and suffocating that smothered it immediately.
She had to get away from them, she had to free Beca and heal Aubrey so that they could go and help Chloe. But try as she might, Stacie couldn't shake them, couldn't break free from their iron grip on her arms or the crushing spell they were using on her ribs. Why wouldn't her magic work?
Suddenly, Stacie crumpled to the floor on her hands and knees, breathing heavily as she clutched at her waist, tears blurring her vision. She wanted to get up, to fight to get to her friends but the pain was making her dizzy and until she had healed herself a little she wouldn't be able to.
"We're done. Let's go."
Stacie lifted her head, heart in her throat as she heard Alice's voice. Done? If she was here, then was Chloe...?
"Ah c'mon we can have another hour or two, it's not like Red's going anywhere." Calamity smirked, kicking Stacie hard in the ribs which caused her to groan and fall to her side, pain exploding through her.
"I said we're done." Alice's tone was sharp and Calamity seemed to shrink back a little, her eyes darting around as she seemed to realise something, "Go."
With a click Gail's daughters vanished, Stacie wincing as she rolled onto her back, one hand in her hair as she held the other over her bruised and cracked ribs. Within a few minutes the pain had subsided enough that she could drag herself to her feet, grateful that the turquoise barriers had fallen away once they had left and that her magic was able to flow freely again.
Stacie staggered over to Beca first despite wanting to run to Aubrey. If Beca was free and her hands healed just enough to work without putting her through agony then they were in better shape than if she spent all her magic trying to heal all of Aubrey's injuries first. Beca's face was grey with pain as Stacie half lowered herself, half fell to her knees, smiling softly at Beca.
"Close your eyes Becs, I'm going to blast this thing off." Stacie mumbled, Beca nodding a little as she shut her eyes and lifted her head back as far as she could manage so that Stacie had a full view of the collar.
It fell away with a thunk, Beca's tense shoulders relaxing a little as she opened her eyes, Stacie's hand under her arm as she gently helped her into a sitting position.
"Thanks." Beca croaked, never more glad to hear the sound of her own voice than she was right now, "Go help Aubrey, I'm okay."
"But your hands-"
"Can wait." Beca smiled tightly, hoping she was hiding the amount of pain she was in well enough that Stacie would believe her, "Aubrey needs to be strong enough to travel so we can go and help Chloe. Veracity wasn't with Alice, which means Chloe is still in danger."
Stacie nodded softly. Beca was right, it was important that Aubrey could travel as soon as possible. She moved over to Aubrey, still aching as she brushed the hair from Aubrey's eyes and held her hands over her.
"What the hell were you thinking?" Stacie whispered, tears in her eyes as Aubrey's hooded ones looked up at her, "Why would you goad them like that?"
"I'm just sick of them." Aubrey mumbled with a frown, in so much pain that the simple act of talking made her head swim and bile burn the back of her throat, "It's the same… shit. Nothing changes and- the people I care about still end up hurt. And the way that they treated Beca, after everything Gail put her through… I just saw red."
"I know baby." Stacie sniffed, voice still soft as her eyes ran over Aubrey's battered body. They had hurt her so badly and simply the sight of it was enough to make Stacie's blood boil, "But you can't do that ever again okay? Not when I can't help you, not when you don't have backup, because next time they might- they might-"
Stacie shook her head a little, hardly daring to finish the thought. Aubrey had regained enough strength to lift her unbroken arm so she could rest her hand on Stacie's cheek, guilt and remorse creasing her features.
"I'm sorry. You're right, I won't ever do that again, I promise."
As Stacie healed Aubrey, Beca gritted her teeth against the pain in her scorched hands as she pulled out her phone, dialling Thea's number and hissing a little as she tried to hold the phone to her ear in the least painful way she could find.
"Thea, it was a trap. We're okay, we're heading home the second Aubrey's strong enough to travel but- we need some backup, one of them is still with Chloe and we don't what's waiting there for us. We're in bad shape Thea."
"Oh God… Beca we'll be right there, it'll be okay."
Beca could hear the guilt and a note of panic in Thea's voice and frowned a little, "It's not your fault. You didn't know. We'll see you soon."
"Yeah. We'll be there as soon as we can."
The line went dead, Beca grateful that she was able to let go of her phone as her hands screamed in protest to being forced to do anything right now. She managed to shove it back in her pocket before dragging herself to her feet, joining Aubrey and Stacie with a tired smile as she lowered herself back to the floor again.
"How's my favourite badass doing?" Beca smirked at Aubrey, hands held against herself again as her expression began to betray some of the pain she was feeling.
"Don't encourage her." Stacie chuckled softly as Aubrey managed a little grin, "We're ready to go when you are, are you sure I can't heal your hands a little?"
"Yeah." Beca nodded a little, "We have to get back to Chloe, it can wait until after. Your mom's coming to help but we really need to go now."
"Okay." Stacie nodded, gently helping Aubrey up from the floor, arm wrapped tightly around her waist as she supported her weight on the left, not having had the time to heal Aubrey's ankle.
She waited patiently for Beca to get to her feet, Beca leaning against her as Stacie pulled the familiar green vial from the belt around her waist. Beca hissed softly as her claws sharpened, the muscles flexing in her hands causing them to explode with pain. She didn't care though, Chloe was in danger and she had to be ready to help her.
"Ready?" Stacie asked, Aubrey and Beca nodding firmly. Stacie tensed herself a little and then threw the potion to her feet. Time to help Chloe.
Chloe clawed at her ankle in a haze of anger filled desperation. She had to get to them, she had to get this damn thing off so that she could go and help them. Chloe didn't care if that meant she had to rip her own foot off in this moment, she just had to go and help them before Gail's daughters could hurt them anymore. She wasn't weak, she wasn't. Chloe was stronger than she'd been in months, she wasn't that pathetic and useless shell she had been after Gail had taken everything from her, she was ready to fight, Chloe had to be able to fight with them so she could protect them.
"Chloe, Chloe stop!"
Chloe felt a pair of hands pull hers away and her head whipped around with a snarl. They were stopping her from helping her family, how dare they?! It was only as her eyes met Stacie's that Chloe faltered. Stacie was here?
"We're here." Stacie seemed to read her mind as she nodded softly, "You're okay Chloe."
"You're okay?" Chloe whispered, pushing back the growling monster as she let her claws fade back into fingers.
"Yeah."
Chloe turned her head a little so she could see over Stacie's shoulder. Beca. She was here. And Aubrey. They looked terrible, but they were home. They'd come home like they always did, like Chloe knew they would.
"Thank God…" Chloe felt tears run down her cheeks as she slumped against Stacie, "I saw it, I saw everything and I- I couldn't go and help you…"
"It's okay." Stacie winced a little as her ribs throbbed but didn't let it stop her pulling Chloe into a tight hug, "We were worried about you being here on your own…"
"Yeah and needlessly by the looks of things…" Beca smirked, her eyes falling on Veracity's lifeless body on the floor, "You took out one of Gail's daughter's all by yourself. Talk about badass…"
Chloe sniffed as she lifted her head from Stacie's shoulder, glancing over at Veracity for the first time since she'd regained full control, "Oh God I did didn't I? I let it out…"
"Hey, it's okay." Aubrey smiled softly at her, slumped in a chair as her injuries still weighed heavily on her, "You had to defend yourself Chloe."
Chloe swallowed hard against the lump in her throat, "I just- I got so mad and so panicked that I was stuck here, that they were hurting you guys so badly, it just exploded out of me and I let it." She shook her head a little, "And I was terrified, I thought I wouldn't get control back but I also didn't care because I just wanted to fight back for a change and- and I killed her."
The three of them watched Chloe carefully. She was shaking a little, but the pain and the fear that had been present the last time Chloe had been able to tap into her vampire powers wasn't as prevalent anymore. Despite the fact that she was a little fearful, Chloe's tone was level, she was calm even though she was covered in blood from head to toe. Chloe seemed… herself.
"I killed her. And I don't regret it, not even for a second. She would have done the same in a heartbeat." Chloe shook her head again, flexing her hands a little, "And- and I'm back in control. Stacie grabbed me and I- I didn't hurt her, I was able to push it back and… I didn't hurt any of you…"
"No you didn't." Stacie was wearing a tearful smile as she gently cupped Chloe's face in her hands, "We knew you wouldn't, and now you do too. You've got this Chlo."
Before Chloe could respond the door was practically thrown open, Thea rushing in with Helena and Sam on her heel. She took a second to take in the scene before her, quickly releasing that there was no immediate threat and the tension dissipated from her shoulders as she let the energy ball in her hand extinguish.
"Okay, a heads up that you were all okay would have been appreciated." She quirked her eyebrow, a grin tugging at her lips, "Y'know so I don't look like an idiot bursting through your door like that?"
"Sorry mom." Stacie chuckled, "We only just got back ourselves a few moments ago."
"Aubrey…" Helena moved immediately over to where Aubrey was sat, her features furrowed in concern. Whilst they were never going to be close, her relationship with Aubrey had been improving in the months after Gail's defeat, a change they both welcomed, "Are you okay?" She asked as she moved Aubrey's hair from her face.
"I'm fine." Aubrey nodded softly, "Sore as hell, but I'm okay."
"Mom can you heal Beca's hands whilst I finish fixing Aubrey up?" Stacie had gotten to her feet with a soft grunt, Thea frowning deeply at her, "It's just a couple of broken ribs. They can wait, Bree and Beca are worse than I am."
Thea bit back an argument with her daughter when she saw how grey and shaky Beca was, making her way over to her and gently taking her hands in hers. She gasped softly as she saw the deep burns that Beca was trying so desperately not to let get to her.
"What the hell happened?!"
Between them Vampire Hunters Incorporated relayed what had taken place that evening. Thea remained with Beca as she began the slow process of healing her hands one by one, Chloe carefully applying a burn salve to the other to try and relieve some of Beca's pain and discomfort. Sam sat by Stacie and healed her ribs as Stacie remained laser focused on healing Aubrey's broken bones, Helena holding her daughter's good hand tight in hers.
"I can't believe I sent you into a trap." Thea shook her head, "I'm so sorry."
"It wasn't your fault." Stacie turned her head for a moment to smile warmly at her mother, "You guys were fed bad intel, you had no way of knowing that before we went in."
"Still." Thea sighed heavily, "These women… they're far more cunning than we thought they'd be."
"They're worse than Gail." Beca mumbled, "Stronger too. This place is locked down with so many protection spells and yet this is the second time they've gotten in… we're in serious trouble with them."
"But not as much as we were." Aubrey half smiled, turning to look at Chloe, "Thanks to Chloe. She took out Veracity all on her own."
Thea's eyes flicked from the dead vampire to Chloe who had blushed a little, still focused on Beca's other hand, "You did that?"
"Yeah." Chloe nodded, "I um… I stopped taking the suppression potion, only for a couple of days, just to see if I could handle it, and when I saw what they were doing to my family… it just came rushing out. I did what I had to." She shrugged a little, not looking up from Beca's hand even as she felt the eyes of everyone on the room on her.
"You did great." Thea grinned, "Really."
"Thanks." Chloe lifted her gaze to look at Thea, emotion in her eyes, "It feels good to be able to channel this… thing into doing something to help people again."
"I want you guys to take a couple of days off." Thea beamed at Chloe before addressing all of them, "I know you'll be eager to go back out there and deal with this, but you all need the time to recover from your injuries properly."
"You're right." Aubrey nodded softly, "I want to argue with you, I really do, but I'm so tired from all this. I feel like I'm in worse shape then I was after we took down Gail."
"You are." Stacie raised her eyebrow, "Because there was only one of her and three of them. You were really lucky they weren't allowed to kill you Bree…"
"Why is that?" Sam frowned a little, "Not that I'm not grateful that they didn't kill you, I just don't understand why they didn't."
"Alice took something." Chloe remembered suddenly, having forgotten all about it in the moment, "Veracity tied me up and whilst she was taunting me and making me watch what they were doing to you guys, Alice was searching through our files. She pulled a big one, but I didn't see which one it was. She tried to get into your collection too, but I don't think she managed… whatever their game plan is, whatever they took from here, tonight was just a distraction to get to it."
Helena gave Aubrey's hand a squeeze before going over to the filing cabinet, starting to go through it. Sam got up and went to check the barrier, Stacie's ribs healed now.
"The barrier's intact, there's no way they got anything from here." Sam confirmed after a moment, Thea letting out a soft sigh of relief. That was something at least.
"That's where the good news stops." Helena frowned, "They took Gail's file."
"The one with every little bit of information we ever gathered on her, that details every run in with her since my twenty fifth birthday, and goes into the specifics of how we got rid of her, including the binding spell Stacie used?" Beca's eyebrows shot into her hairline, "Great. That's just perfect."
"It'll be fine." Aubrey shook her head a little, "We have copies, and just because they have the binding spell doesn't mean they can read it, nevermind find a way around it."
No-one chose to argue with Aubrey in that moment, all of them anting to believe she was right even if they knew the likelihood was that she wasn't.
"Three days then." Thea changed the subject quickly as she moved onto Beca's other hand, "And then you can get back out there and put an end to this."
"With me."
All eyes turned to Chloe as her eyes blazed with determination. Beca felt her heart soar as she grinned at her. She knew that look.
"I want back in the field. I can't sit around here doing busy work anymore, it's driving me insane." Chloe shook her head furiously, "I really can't. What happened with Gail, with Sheila, it wasn't my fault. Gail tortured and manipulated and possessed me, and I wasn't in control for the longest time. And in the brief moments that I was I did everything I could to try and fight back, to help take her down and protect people. I gave Beca that bracelet, I let Benji go… these scars…"
Chloe had tears in her eyes and a determined and steadfast expression as she rested a hand on the scars on her neck.
"They're proof that when I was in control I wasn't the thing that she made me. I needed the time out, I needed to be able to figure all this out and try and make sense of everything that happened. I'm not going to pretend that my powers don't still frighten me, they do but… today was the first time I have felt like I was doing something that contributed to the greater good. I hate you guys going out there without me, I hate the idea that you're in danger and I can't help you. I won't just wait around for you to come home anymore, I need to be out there with you."
There was a sense of quiet awe and adoration in the room as Chloe finished, all of them blown away by how far Chloe had come. From the woman broken and terrified of herself to the one who stood before them now, stronger than ever and brave, there was really no comparison. Thea turned to Aubrey who was beaming with pride from ear to ear, tears sparkling in her eyes. This was her Chloe, her best friend. She was back.
"What do you say Aubrey, do you think she's ready?" Thea knew what Aubrey's answer would be before she even opened her mouth.
"Yeah I do." Aubrey nodded fiercely, "We need you out there with us too Chloe, and… you've come so far. I'm so proud of you."
"Luckily we have a Council majority right here, we can vote now." Thea grinned.
"We do?" Beca frowned before remembering, "Oh shit, yeah… I forgot that includes me."
"It does?" Chloe turned to her, "Since when?"
"Since they basically begged me after realising how valuable I am." Beca shrugged with a smirk, Thea rolling her eyes at her.
"It's an honorary position Beca, calm down." She laughed, "But it does mean you're the tiebreaker in our votes. So all those in favour of Chloe Beale returning to full duties?"
"Aye." Helena nodded, Chloe unable to keep the surprised look off her face that Helena of all people was behind her.
"Hell yeah. I mean, aye." Beca grinned.
"That's a unanimous aye then." Thea beamed, "And I'm sure Benji and Warren will have no objections when we tell them. Give me your ankle Chloe."
Chloe sat down in the chair next to Beca, shaking a little as Beca took her hand in her now healed one and gave it a tight squeeze, nodding softly and encouragingly at her as Chloe watched Thea lift her ankle, holding her hand over the bracelet. It fell away, disintegrating as it did, Chloe sighing shakily in relief. There was nothing stopping her helping her family anymore.
Stacie had finished healing Aubrey and the two of them joined Chloe and Beca, a broad and tearful grin on Chloe's face as they enveloped her in their arms.
"Welcome back Chloe Beale." Beca mumbled as she rested her head on Chloe's shoulder, not a dry eye amongst them, "We missed you."