Part II: My baby left me
Chapter: Bad Habits
Myers' thoughts were slipping, he was flowing in and out of consciousness.
After being tied down in a very uncomfortable position for hours in an unbearable heat, having been beaten up, and hit in the head, forced to watch as his best friend and colleague had been drained of blood - Myers had lost all hope.
He knew it had been entirely his fault, that they'd gotten into this mess at all, and he certainly knew he didn't deserve any mercy. The only thing he wished for, was for the death to be swift.
"Be careful." had Margot said. "Just be careful."
And yet, he had been nothing but a blind fool, walking straight into a trap that had gotten Hellboy killed. And that would now claim his own life too.
So, when he saw Margot standing in the doorway, he thought he was simply hallucinating.
He'd missed her so much. Through this unbearable summer, every day and every night, she'd been in his mind. And today more than ever.
Knowing, that he wouldn't leave this room alive, he had hoped for one thing only, as impossible that it seemed. That he'd see her sweet face one, last time. And now, there she was, looking straight at him, her green eyes glimmering, her slender form shivering with emotion.
A hallucination. That's what it had to be. A memory. A dream.
Except, that it wasn't.
It came clear to him at the latest, when Margot shot Beatrix through her head, and the sound of the gunshots ripped the air. In disbelief Myers watched as Margot fired a shot after another, her hand steady, her face hard like a stone, and Beatrix's brains flew to the wall and to the pool she'd created from Hellboy's blood.
Christ, Myers had never loved Margot more than on that moment. And never had he hoped more, that he could've taken her place.
It should've been him, to fire those bullets. To fix at least some of the damage he'd caused. It should've been him to kill that bitch.
But it wasn't. It was Margot, saving his life again.
When Beatrix was undoubtedly dead and dealt with, Margot finally walked to Myers.
She stood on her place, silently observing his miserable condition for a few heartbeats, then tilted her head and gave him a scornful look.
"You do have a habit of getting in trouble." she stated.
He tried to answer, but being gagged, managed only to mumble.
Margot snorted. She waved her hand, and the gag was ripped from his mouth, leaving him coughing. With another swift thought Margot made his shackles explode - causing a burning pain to the badly damaged skin of his wrists.
"How…" his mouth was dry as a sandpaper and he could barely talk. "Why are you here?"
"To save your sorry ass." she snapped, and didn't meet his eyes.
Oh great, she was still mad at him. Apparently even two months of separation, and seeing him nearly cut to pieces, hadn't been enough to soften her heart.
"Thank you." he managed to breath, nevertheless. "You do have a habit of saving me."
"A bad habit." Margot stated. She took a bottle of water from her belt, and threw it at him. Myers, his hands slick of his own blood, hardly managed to catch it.
"Drink that." Margot said. "You seem dehydrated."
Gratefully Myers opened the bottle and took a gulp, his hands shaking and his head spinning. He suspected he had a concussion, but there was nothing he could do about it right now.
"So, is Hellboy-?" he began, but Margot interrupted him.
"Dead. Kat's with him."
"Oh, crap." Myers swore. "That's-"
"Yeah." Margot replied. "It sucks."
They were silent for a while, Myers drinking the water to regain his strength, Margot silently observing him with a stone hard face that revealed no emotion.
"So, what happened to you?" she finally asked. "You look like shit."
"She hit me with a hammer." Myers muttered.
"Huh." Margot replied. "Suits you right."
Yeah, she was definitely still mad at him. Myers felt his heart sinking, but on the other hand he was already so depressed about Hellboy's death, that he couldn't go much gloomier.
"About that…" Myers stated. "You were right. You were right all along, about Beatrix. I should've listened-"
"Save it." Margot snapped. "Can you stand up?"
So, no talking about that either. Right.
With effort he got to his feet, leaning heavy on the stone pillar. Margot did nothing to help him, and her face was like frozen.
"Yeah, I can stand." Myers said, when feeling confident that he wouldn't topple over. "Let's get out of here."
Margot didn't reply, she simply turned her back at him, and began walking towards the tunnel she'd come from, leaving him to follow her the best he could.
"So, who else came?" Myers asked, trying to catch up with Margot. "Or is it just you and Kat?"
"Blue and Clay are here. And some young guy waiting in the plane, didn't catch his name."
"Manning gave a plane to BPRD?"
"He gave a plane to me." Margot stated, her voice sharp as steel.
"Huh." Myers muttered. "Figures."
"Shut up." Margot snapped. "I'm here to save your ass, not to make conversation."
"Fine. Got it." Myers replied, but made the bold decision to try and talk to her anyways. "But let me just say, that-"
"Shut your mouth, or I'll hit your miserable face again, and you'll be wishing it was just that bitch with a hammer!" Margot snapped, her voice shaking with emotion. "Don't think for one second, that anything's changed between us. Whatever you have to say, I don't want to hear it. I didn't before, and I still don't."
And this time Myers did as he was told.
It was painfully clear to him now, that Margot indeed had not forgiven him. She might care just enough to not let him die, but apparently that was it.
He'd really lost her this time.
With a gloomy spirit he followed Margot up the staircase into the upper chamber.
But there, an unexpected sight welcomed them.
Hellboy, who was very much alive, was sitting on the stone table, holding Kat in his arms, kissing her passionately. Kat was sitting in his lap, her thighs both sides of his, and their tails had found each other, twirled together in the passion of their deep kiss.
"I thought he was supposed to be dead." Myers whispered on a conspiratory tone.
"Apparently not."
Myers took a sideways glance of Margot. Now, there was the way to say thanks to a woman who'd saved your life. He wondered if he should do the same, to grab Margot and pull her into his arms, to kiss her lips and-
But Margot gave him a glance that clearly said: Try it, and I'll kill you. Quickly Myers turned his eyes off her, back to HB and Kat.
"So, I take it he's not dead then." Margot said, finally getting Kat's attention. The couple broke the kiss, and Kat turned around to see them.
"Oh, he was - almost." Kat grinned. "I might have done something about that."
"Kat, again?!" Margot asked with a sigh. "What have I told you about sharing too much of your life force? It could've killed you!"
"You're one to talk." Kat replied. "I have a vague memory of you doing something similar not that long ago."
"I can't talk about that right now." Margot said with a sharp edge on her tone. "Or ever. So, you're back together, then?"
"Yeah. I said I was sorry." Said Hellboy.
"And I forgave him." Kat replied, cuddling closer to his muscular chest.
"Of course you did." Margot's tone was somewhat flat. "Why am I not surprised?"
But it was Hellboy who spoke next
"It's good to see you in one piece, Myers. Feeling alright?"
"Yeah, more or less." Myers replied. "But if it hadn't been for Margot-"
"I told you to shut up." Interrupted Margot. "So, we good to go?"
"Is the job finished?" Red asked.
"If you're talking about Botox, she's still searching for her brain, that I scattered over the floor. So yeah, I think the job is done."
"Margot wasted her!" Myers commented with a smile. "It was awesome."
"Won't you ever stop talking?!" Margot exclaimed. "Christ! Kat, HB, can you walk?"
"Yeah, sure. I'm fine." said Kat, stood up, and fell face first to the floor. "Crap!"
"I told you, you must stop this 'giving too much life force' -thing." Margot stated, walking to her friend. "Jesus, Kat. Was it really worth this?"
"Yeah." the blue woman muttered, and rolled to her back, still grinning. "You see, I love him."
"Yeah, yeah, so you keep saying." Margot rolled her eyes. "Red, you think you can give me a hand here?"
"I'll take care of it." Hellboy said, and scooped Kat into his strong, muscular arms. "I'll carry my girl out of here."
Kat gave a content sigh, as Hellboy picked her up, and held her tight against his chest.
"So, I'm your girl again, then?" she asked, resting her head on Hellboy's shoulder.
"No question about that."
And so they left the Pyramid of the Moon. Hellboy carrying Kat, Margot following them and the last one was Myers - feeling utterly deserted, hurt and humiliated, and thoroughly rotten.
About an hour later they returned to the plane.
Abe and Clay without a scratch, Hellboy feeling a bit weak, his upper body still blood stained and bruised, and Kat almost unconscious in his arms. Myers, whose shirt was ripped to pieces, and who was still bleeding all over the place, looked the worst. Margot bore no external wounds, but her face was so pale, and her eyes so fierce, that Agent Johnson wisely enough didn't ask a thing when greeting the arrivals.
"You, young kid, I need Tequila." Margot commanded. "Get me some."
"Yes, Mam!" Johnson breathed.
"And take us home." Hellboy grunted, passing him at the doorway.
"Yes, Sir!"
Johnson was more than happy to sneak into the cockpit, to deliver the message to the pilot. He so didn't want to witness how Manning's precious plane was being stained with blood and booze by all these weird people who had just rushed in. In ten minutes the plane was airborne, Margot had her Tequila, and the way to home had begun.
Myers leaned back on his seat, and tried not to wince as Abe cleaned the wound on his temple.
"This looks bad." the merman said. "It needs stitches, but that'll have to wait until we get home."
"Great. More stitches." Myers groaned. "Soon my face will be nothing but a big scar."
"Don't worry Boy Scout. It'll make you look more like a man." Hellboy chuckled. He was sitting behind Abe and Myers, holding Kat (who was in deep sleep now) in his lap.
"Gee, thanks." Myers replied.
"Try not to speak." Abe said. "I'll bind the wound the best I can."
Myers stayed silent for a while, feeling Abe's cool fingers on his burning, throbbing forehead. He took a look at Margot, who was sitting as far from him as possible, on the other end of the small jet. Margot wasn't looking at him, but staring out of the window to the darkness of the night. She was clasping a Tequila bottle on her hands, so hard that her knuckles had went white, and Myers noticed she was trembling slightly. From time to time she brought the bottle to her lips, and took a gulp.
At least I'm not the only one feeling like shit, Myers thought to himself. Though that didn't make him feel better at all, on the contrary.
"So, care to tell us what happened?" Clay asked, turning to see Myers and Abe.
"We walked into a trap, that's what happened." Myers replied. "Beatrix had it all planned. When we got there tonight, she had these guys waiting for us. They shoot Red with some kind of a tranquilizer, and took me down too. She meant to kill us both, to use us as a sacrifice to her Goddess."
"What happened to the guys who shot Red?"
"Margot killed them." Myers replied. "They were guarding the chamber where Beatrix held me."
"Neat." said Clay. "Your girlfriend is a tough one."
"Yeah." Myers nodded. "She is."
But he looked at Margot, at her tiny, shaking form and the bottle she was hugging, and knew Clay didn't know a shit. He noticed now, how much Margot had changed during the summer. She had cut her hair, her beautiful long curls Myers had adored, and the new haircut made her look somehow younger and more childish. She had also lost weight, Myers noticed. Her arms, revealed by her black tanktop, were so lean that you could see every muscle and sinew, and her collarbones seemed to stick out of her skin.
"Now show me your hands." Abe asked, and Myers held out his wrists. They felt just as bad as they looked - the skin had been peeled off, and his hands were covered in dried blood.
"I tried to get off the cuffs." he said. "Didn't really work out."
"Oh, John." Abe shook his head. "These will take some time to heal. And there will be-"
"Scars?" Myers snorted. "Yeah, thought as much."
"Stay still. This will hurt." Abe warned, but still Myers grimaced when Abe sprayed his wrists with the wound cleanser spray.
"Christ, Abe!" he cursed, but held his hands still.
"Don't be a baby." Hellboy noted. "Those are nothing but scratches."
"You're one to talk, Red." Abe said. "I remember you making faces too, when I'm cleaning your scratches."
"Never happened." Hellboy replied, but leaned back on his seat, leaving Abe tending to Myers' wounds.
When he had finished bandaging Myers' hands, Abe took a look at Red and asked: "Is there something I can do for you? Any scratches to patch up"
"Nah." Red shrugged. "I'm fine. But Kat here…"
Hellboy still held Kat in his lap, the blue woman leaning her head on his shoulder, snoring lightly in her sleep.
"She will be alright." Abe said. "Kat just needs to rest now. Giving away one's life force can be exhausting. But don't worry, tomorrow she'll be up and about."
"Good to hear." Hellboy grunted, wrapping his arms tight around Kat's slender form. "It's great to have her back."
"Yes, it is." Abe replied. "It was about time, that things got back to normal."
"About that…" Myers said, and took a look at Margot. "I'm going to talk to her."
"Don't." said Abe on a warning tone. "Trust me. You don't want to anger her in a plane."
"Yeah, you want her blowing up our ride, Myers?" noted Clay.
"No, but I-"
"John, don't. If she wanted to talk to you, she'd be sitting here." Abe said. "Besides, you need the rest. You are badly dehydrated, and I think you have a concussion. The best thing you can do now, is try to sleep."
"But Margot-"
"I'll talk to her, and see if she needs anything." Abe's tone was reassuring. "It's better that you give her some time to think about what happened today."
Myers glanced at Margot one more time. Her face was pale, but there were red spots burning on her high, sharp cheekbones. Her eyes glimmered, as if there were tears in them, and she seemed so fragile, so sad, that Myers felt his heart breaking. He wanted nothing more, than to go to her, to tell her that he loved her, to pull her near and comfort her with his closeness.
But then again, he had tried to talk to Margot in the Pyramid. And she had told him to shut up, repeatedly. She'd made it very clear, that she wanted nothing more to do with him. Perhaps it was time he accepted that.
"Fine." he said to Abe, closing his eyes and leaning back on his seat. "You go, I'll try and sleep."
Abe sat down by her side, and Margot turned her eyes off the full moon she'd been staring at.
"Hey, Abe." she said, raising the bottle. "Tequila?"
"No, thank you. You seem to need it more than I do."
Margot made a small, bitter laugh. "That obvious, huh?"
"That you are feeling rotten, yes. But the reason, not so." Abe said, giving her a glance with his huge, black eyes. "You seem troubled, Margot. What are you thinking?"
"Why don't you tell me?" Margot asked, and took a gulp of her bottle.
She so didn't want to have this conversation now, but if she had to, Abe was the only one she was prepared to tolerate.
"About what happened in the pyramid." he said. "You should have called and get me and Clay to help you."
Margot was silent for a few heartbeats, staring out of the window again, but seeing nothing. Her mind was still in the chamber under the Pyramid of the Moon, in the moment she had pulled the trigger.
"I killed her, Abe."
"It was necessary."
Another small silence.
"Yeah. But I enjoyed it."
"That's understandable."
"Is it?" Margot asked, her voice sharp, the words had acidic taste on her lips. "Is it really?"
"Yes. But what difference does it make, Margot, if you enjoyed it? Even if you did, that was not the reason behind your actions. You killed her because it was necessary, to save the lives of people you love."
"Don't talk to me about love." Margot groaned, and closed her eyes. "I'm not nearly drunk enough to talk about that."
"As you wish."
"You know what the tragedy is?" she breathed, opening her eyes, and turning to look at Abe.
"Tell me."
"That I probably had a lot more in common with Beatrix Connelly, than I have with any of you guys."
"What do you mean by that?"
Margot shrugged. What could she say? That she had fought the same battle in her mind, over and over again, since the day she had discovered her 'talent'. Every day, haunted by the possibilities, by the choices she had to make, always balancing on the edge. She could do horrible, unspeakable things to people, she knew. And she had done them too.
"She asked me to join her." Margot confessed then. "To let her kill John, and raise the Goddess."
"But you didn't."
"No, I didn't. But I thought about it."
"Again, understandable." Abe said silently. "It doesn't mean that you are like her, though. The way I see it, the only thing you two had in common, was the fact that you both liked John."
Margot made a small laugh.
"Well, who wouldn't? He's adorable."
"You still think so?"
"You know I do." Margot said, and took another gulp of her bottle. "Besides, I have a thing for cute guys who are bleeding all over the place."
"Then you've most certainly picked the right occupation." Abe said with a smile. "'Cause those we have plenty."
"Noticed." Margot replied, with a small laugh. "So… how is John? Is he going to be alright?"
"In time. He needs rest, water and some painkillers, but his wounds are nothing serious. He has gained a couple of new scars, though."
"Huh?" Margot raised an eyebrow. "Haven't we all?"
"We certainly have, my friend." Abe said. "But without you, we wouldn't be here talking about it. You did the right thing, and you should know we all are thankful for it."
"Save it, Abe." Margot said, not meeting his eyes. "I don't even work for BPRD - how on Earth are you going to write a report of this mission? Besides, I think I still might get in trouble for messing with Manning's mind. This thing is far from over."
In that, Margot hit the spot, though not the way she had thought.
In a deep, dark tomb, inside the Pyramid of the Moon, something was stirring. The Great Goddess, the one so ancient, that even her name had been forgotten thousands of years ago. But now she was awakening. She tasted the blood of the other dimension, and human blood too. Not the one she had been expecting, not the blood of a pure, male heart, but this would dol. This blood tasted of rage and hate, of power and need, of all her favourite things.
Oh yes, it was good blood, and it had been spilled for her.
The Goddess reached into it, drew it's essence into her half dormant soul, and woke up.