Baz tore through the underbrush, perusing the robed figure.
"You're not getting away from me this time" He growled under his breath. And he believed it. Until he didn't. He charged suddenly into a large clearing. He could've screamed in frustration seeing that he was alone. Where did she go? How did she get out? Baz stepped forward and gasped as reality warped around him. It seemed as though the trees and the night sky were being pulled into a single point ahead of him, being quickly replaced by warm beige walls and oak wood floors. A large chandelier hung from the ceiling. The ceiling… Baz had been here before. A long, long time ago. He was in the Watford nursery. Everything even looked like he remembered it. Nurse maids were bustling about, feeding and playing with the wailing children. For a moment he panicked, thinking one of the maids was walking towards him, but he was mistaken. No, she wasn't walking to him,instead she walked through him. Baz shivered slightly, a slight metallic tang in the roof of his mouth. He coughed and spluttered a few times before looking at his hands. They were transparent, nearly invisible.
Of course, he thought, placing his head in his hand, half expecting it to go straight through. I'm in a memory. But why this? Why no- he thought, whipping around as the doors were blown open. His heart sank. Vampires. He reached for his wand, before realizing that he couldn't do anything. He watched as one Vampire picked up a young boy with dark hair and bit him. The boy screeched and kicked, but was only dropped when a woman standing in the doorway set the vampire alight. He howled in agony and blew apart into ashes. Baz watched this woman, his mother, closely. Her eyes were completely red, small flames flickering out of the corners of each. They also skipped and danced around her body, but never setting her on fire. She raised both hands and with a sound like a battle cry smashed them down, fire spraying like water from a hose. Surprisingly, though, when a flame hit anything other than a Vampire, it just sprinkled out of existence. He watched in horror as not one, not two, but three vampires jumped on her. And they all went up. One last surviving vampire ran to the window and jumped out, landing nimbly on the lawn twenty feet below. Out in the lawn stood someone that Baz recognized instantly. Though he was younger than Baz had ever seen him, there was no hiding that pencil moustache just above his lip, which raised in a sneer as he looked up at the nursery. Even from his spot at the window, Baz could see him mouth one word.
Pathetic.
Then everything folded back into itself again, being replaced once more by trees and a brightly glowing moon. He was on the dirt floor, panting, tears shining in his wide eyes.
"What does this mean? What do you want? I already knew the Mage is the one who killed my mother! Guess you're a bit late!" He shouted at the sky. Nothing responded but the wind, whistling through the treetops.
-0-0-0-
Penny walked boldly through the dark forest, shoulders squared. Her dark hair was pulled back in a sloppy bun, but a few strands had fallen out and were hanging in her face. Her eyes were shining in the moonlight. She saw a flicker of movement ahead of her and gasped, startled. Her eyes focused, and she saw that it was a small frog. Strange. She didn't expect a frog to be this deep in the forest, so far from the moat. Then the world seemed to be sucked into one point. When Penny could see again, she gasped. She was standing in the grounds behind her elementary school. A group of children all stood over a small girl with brown hair, who was crying and clutching something in her trembling hands.
"Hey!" Cried Penny. "Stop!" She ran towards the group of children and passed straight through them. None of them acted as though they could see or hear her. Penny turned around, staring in bewilderment. She walked right up to one of the sneering little girls and kneeled in front of her. The girl didn't do anything. Penny reached out a hand and poked her shoulder. Her hand passed straight through. Then memories rushed back to her. She turned and looked at the little girl, who was screaming now.
One of the boys had gotten whatever was in her hand. Penny didn't have to look. She remembered that the boy would be holding a frog that appeared to be made of glass. It was transparent and squirming, trying to escape the boy's violent clutch. She heard a few of the words that were being said.
"Freak" "weirdo" "nerd" "ugly" "fatty".
A few tears gathered and stuck to her eye lashes. She turned away and covered her ears, but she knew what happened. No matter how hard she pressed, her hands couldn't block the crunch that accompanied the boys squishing the frog underfoot. Then everything imploded back into a single point and she was back in the forest. A light laugh tinkled to her right, and she whipped around, just catching a glint of teeth through a smirk, and she was alone.
-0-0-0-
Simon sighed, shoving his hands deeper into his pockets. It was cold and dark, but Simon felt numb. He pulled a hand out and tried to force just a little magic up. Sparks flew from his palm like a sparkler. He grimaced and forced his magic back down. Was it wrong that some part of him actually wanted to go through with this? He wanted to control his magic. A flicker of fire burned in the middle of a clearing ahead of him, and he sprinted to it. It was…strange. It wasn't burning on anything. It was just burning a few feet above the ground. Simon watched curiously. It almost seemed like there were pictures moving inside. A twig snapped behind him and he whipped around, reaching for his wand.
"B-Baz!?" he sputtered. Baz didn't move, and was wearing a cold expression Simon hadn't seen directed at him for years. "Baz?" he questioned again. Baz opened his mouth to speak. But his voice was wrong. It was cold and mocking.
"Pathetic. You can't do a single thing without him, can you?"
Simon took a step back, looking like he had been slapped. 'Baz' sneered.
"You can't even function if he isn't there with you. Hell, you can't even use your own magic right without him"
A few tears formed in Simon's eyes but he blinked them back. He hung his head. He felt a soft hand lift it, and he was looking into Baz's pale eyes, but they were gleaming with malice. Simon saw a gleam of fang.
"I hate you so much more than you could imagine"
That sent Simon reeling backwards, tears clouding his vision. To hear Baz saying that to him, it broke him. He felt a punch in his gut and he flew back, smacking his head on a tree trunk.
"You're just a pathetic little mewling, crying for its dead mother"
That was it. Something inside him snapped, and Simon got to his feet, red shimmering in front of him. Baz just watched him and laughed. Simon felt his magic rising, just like it used to, but it was different. Weaker. Because he was weaker. But it was still there. Sparks flew from him, igniting the dead grass around him. His vision cleared and Baz wasn't there. His teeth gritted, just as he felt an arm wrap around his torso, and a knife sink into his back. He heard an explosion of magic around him, then one, final word.
"Pathetic"
A/N: Oh gods I'm so sorry for this. First the wait, now this. UUUgh this chapter is SO bad, I can't even explain it. I'm really sorry.
