Night's Children: Cetera Desunt
AN: Unedited, sorry I was too excited to get it out. If the grammar/spelling is blaringly bad, I'll take it out and switch it later : D
Chapter Twelve: Penance, Part Two
Say hello, to everything you've left behind. It's even more a part of your life now that you can touch it. -A Perfect Circle, The Nurse Who Loved Me
Aria couldn't help the violent tremors that wracked her body as she stood outside of the Los Angeles hospital that held the four bodies of the invalid goddesses. Despite everything that had occurred that night, the old feelings of resentment and terror were easily resurfacing as she looked at that cold and unforgiving entryway. A warm hand rested on the small of her back, and her gaze shot up to meet Carlos's, who gave her a reassuring smile. She tried, and failed, to reciprocate the action, before facing forward again.
The return back to Los Angeles had taken surprisingly little effort and time, after they had finally managed to pry themselves away from each other. Aria had concentrated almost the last of Imy's energy into teleporting the duo towards her hometown. After teleporting a block away from the hospital, Aria still wasn't perfect with her landings, the two began walking in silence, a sense of easy comfort between them now.
They had been standing in front of the hospital for the better part of ten minutes, as Aria frantically summoned up enough courage to enter.
"I don't know if I can do this," She whispered to herself, drawing out the cards that held Tessa, Imy, Riley, and Jimena's spirits and scrutinizing them for about the thousandth time.
Carlos laughed, and Aria felt some of her tension dissolve at his easily infectious, carefree attitude, "Aria, we just fought Guardians from-"
She sighed, "It's not that…it's just," Her grip on the cards tightened, "I haven't been the best Daughter of the Moon." She said softly, staring at him and hoping he would understand, "I abandoned them, because I was a coward." She winced, "Because I was selfish."
Her counterpart stared at her for a few seconds, and she winced, preparing for the condemnation and judgment. What surprised her the most, was when his response was a simple shrug, "So what? You're here now, aren't you?"
Her amber eyes widened, "You don't understand-"
"Sure I do," He said, cutting her off, his eyes and stance taking on the more intense stature that he must have inherited from his mother, "You were scared, you wanted a normal life, so you bolted, am I right?"
A hesitant nod.
"But you came back," He trailed off, the hand on her back sliding down and he interlaced his fingers with hers, "You could have just kept running, Aria, but you chose to come back and to help them." Carlos squeezed her hand, "Like you decided to heal those people on the train at the risk of blowing your cover."
Aria worried her lower lip between her teeth, "They were only injured because I wasn't honest in the first place…"
Carlos, apparently having enough, squared around, placing his heavy hands on each of her slim shoulders and forcing her to maintain eye contact, "Aria, people screw up." He said calmly, "It's human nature. What really matters is, come crunch time, you decide to do the right thing." His intense stare was compelling, "You accepted your own responsibilities, Aria, and now you want to make amends. What's so wrong about that?"
She wanted to forget her transgressions, to see the situation as plainly as Carlos did, but it wasn't so simple, "This is all my fault."
Carlos exhaled, annoyed that she was missing his entire point, "Yeah, so?"
Aria balked, "What do you mean 'so'?"
"So what are you going to do about it?" The surfer stated, releasing his grip, "You've got two options, from my point of things. You can either continue to wallow in your own fear, or you can try and fix your mistakes now, and worry about the consequences later. What's it going to be?"
Aria gazed at him for a few moments, taking in his sudden conviction. She sighed slowly, as she tilted her head up to look at the night sky. It amazed her how Carlos had taken an issue that had been raging inside her mind and causing a severe amount of mental anguish, and summed it up in elementary language. It really was that easy, in a way, wasn't it? Rule the fear, or let the fear rule herself. Her thoughts drifted back towards the meeting with the lady in white.
Aut disce aut discede, aude sapere. Either learn or leave, but dare to know.
This instance was Aria's true crossroads, and she felt like a blindfolded two year old being led along a path. The 'daring to know' part had truly been accomplished that night with her fight against the six Guardians, but now was the decision. Learn, or leave?
As her musings drifted backwards throughout the events that had transpired, she realized it wasn't that difficult of a choice to being with.
"How do you do that?" She muttered somberly at last.
He shot her a confused glance, "Do what?"
"Make me feel like such an idiot?"
He chuckled a bit, "It's inherent to my nature, I guess." He smirked, "If it makes you feel any better, it's a two way street."
She gave a grim smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, "I guess, it's now or never, right?"
He flashed a cheeky grin, "That's a much better attitude!" He chirped, his intense characteristics melting away to be replaced by his more carefree persona.
Aria nodded, and slowly, she entered the hospital, Carlos following quickly behind her.
The pair walked in through the automatic doors of the ER unit. As soon as the smell of antiseptic and bleach that seemed to cling to all hospitals hit her nostrils, Aria was immediately reminded of how much she hated this place. It was almost ironic, the healer holding so much contempt for the aura of a hospital. The sterile feel washed over her as she walked slowly through the polished hallways, Carlos right beside her and slightly tense.
The receptionist, an overweight man wearing floral printed scrubs in his mid forties, gave them a rather scrutinizing glare as they approached, "Can I help you with anything?" He asked pointedly, immediately distrustful when taking in their haggard appearances.
Aria silently shook her head.
"Visiting hours are over," He said pointedly, flicking at the watch on his wrist to emphasize.
The Daughter of the Moon could feel a bit of rage overcoming her. She did not just battle supernatural foes, get shot at, strangled, beaten bloody, acquire stolen powers, and teleport from halfway to Portland to be stopped by a receptionist of all things. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, Carlos cut her off.
"Our mom's been in surgery," He said, injecting the proper amount of sorrow into his voice as he lowered his head, "Sis just wanted to get something to drink out of the vending machine, so she could take her medication for the illness." He lied smoothly, dropping his voice a note, "It's degenerative, if she doesn't get her pills on time-"
The floral man continued to glare at them, until a tiny flicker of gray aura passed over his eyes. Immediately, there was a more sympathetic sentiment about him, "Well, just make sure you stay in the waiting area from now on," He said, turning back to the mountain of paperwork on his desk.
The two began to walk again, and as soon as Aria was sure they were out of earshot, she said, "You realize that when this is all said and done, I'm getting my revenge for the whole my needing to be on medication bit."
A goofy smirk crossed his face, "Hey, no worries."
Aria sent him a inquisitive glance, "How did you get so good at controlling Riley's powers?"
He shrugged, "We've been on better terms since the mystery lady showed up."
Aria's footsteps came to a halt as she stood outside of a recovery room, her eyes trained on the slip of construction paper that had 'Ormond, Imy V.' scrawled on it with green magic marker under the room number. Carlos followed her gaze and exhaled slightly, his hand encircling the door knob as he slowly turned it open.
"Ready?" He asked tentatively.
Aria gave a slow, but sure, nod, "Yeah."
The room was eerily quiet as they entered, the sound of their footfalls making a hollow sound as they approached a curtained off area, hiding Imy's hospital bed. Aria took a deep breath, to steady herself, and she gingerly pulled back the yellow shade. The first thing that caught her eyes were a stuffed bunny with a 'Get Well Soon' card attached to it, most likely from Art due to the messy scribbles, and a vase full of brightly colored flowers, carnations for the most part with some yarrow buds, sitting on the windowsill, obviously from her parents.
Her eyes then focused on the brunette teleporter, and a tremor of anxiety overcame her for a moment. The spunky fifteen year old was deathly pale, a few abrasions and some discoloration apparent on her sleeping face. There was a distinctly dark aura hanging around her, and Aria now knew the source of it. Exhaling slightly, she withdrew The Star card from the deck in her capri pockets, and stared at it. The illustration of Imy was still holding the 'V for Victory' sign, along with the cheeky grin, and Aria took this as a good omen.
She slowly angled her head to look at Carlos, who was staring at Imy with awe, obviously feeling the darkness that encircled her, "Keep look out, okay?" She requested softly.
Prying his eyes away from the comatose girl, he nodded solemnly and turned around, waiting to see if anyone approached the area.
The healer inhaled deeply, calming herself down and focusing on withdrawing Imy's borrowed powers from her, entwining a bit of her own healing energies with it. Around her hands, still grasping the tarot card, there was a mixture of white and sky blue haze, twirling around in a rather beautiful spectacle. Biting her lower lip, she spread her hands over Imy's injured body, and attempted to purify her from the darkness.
For a few moments, nothing happened, and Aria began to fear for the worst. What if that wasn't how to remove the spell? What if it was too late?
But suddenly, a violent tugging sensation occurred, and the auras around Aria's hands disappeared instantly. The second this happened, Imy's eyes snapped open and she inhaled sharply, coughing slightly.
Aria, startled, backed away quickly, her arms raised to protect herself. When she saw Imy's hacking fit abate, she carefully lowered her guard, "Imy?" She ventured cautiously.
The brunette coughed one last time, before her ochre colored eyes rolled up to look at her, "Hey," She muttered weakly, a tiny grin crawling up her face, "Long time no see, huh?" She whispered, licking her chapped lips.
Aria could feel herself on the brink of hysterics, immense relief filling through her. But she composed herself, "It's only been a day."
"Really?" Imy's voice was strained, and raspy, "Felt like so much longer." She blinked, before realizing something strange, "Why is there some hunky man guard outside? Or am I just seeing things?"
Aria followed her gaze, directed at Carlos, who had just turned around. She laughed lightly, "He's with me." She said softly.
Imy's eyebrow rose, "Nicely done." She commented.
The curly haired goddess rolled her eyes, "Only you would say something like that on your deathbed."
Carlos chose that moment to speak up, "Hey," He said brilliantly, "I'm Carlos Killingsworth."
Imy's eyes widened a fraction of a centimeter, "Carlos Killingsworth? As in-?"
Aria nodded, "The one and only."
The teleporter stared at her in shock, then at Carlos, before sliding shut her eyes, "I can't handle this right now," She whispered jokingly, "I'm just going to sleep this off and hopefully awake when all the craziness is gone."
The healer stared at her, watching how exhaustion won over the teleporter and she fell into a deep sleep in a matter of minutes. In a brief curiosity, she glanced down at The Star, the illustration now totally wiped away from it to reveal a blank card. Smiling slightly, she turned around and headed out of the room, Carlos hanging back for a second before following after her.
"So who's next?" Carlos ventured, staring at Aria, her obviously happy mood getting the best of him as well.
Aria's tiny grin faltered somewhat as she gestured to the room across the hall, "Riley." She said, a foreboding feeling overfilling her as she remembered the empath's condition when she had bolted from the hospital.
Carlos seemed to notice the uneasiness about her, "Is she the worst?"
She shrugged, trying to dispel her uneasiness through a nonchalant front, "She was more heavily injured than Imy, but I don't know about Tessa and Jimena's conditions." She felt a tiny surge of pity when Carlos tensed during his mother's name. She reached over and gave his had a reassuring squeeze, much like he had done for her many times that night, "She'll be fine. Jimena's the strongest person I know." She whispered, sincerity dripping from every word.
He gave a firm nod, and opened the door to Riley's room, "Three to go," He said calmly, obviously just as good at covering up his real feelings as Aria.
With great trepidation, Aria stepped through the doorway. She paused for a few seconds before venturing towards Riley's bedside in order to collect her bearings. After a few deep breaths, a huge feeling of accomplishment passed through her as there seemed to be no signs of a blackout like the last time she had come.
Both the teens inched over to Riley's bed. Similar to Imy's room, the first thing that drew Aria's attention were the articles placed delicately on the small table next to the slumbering goddess. The first didn't take her by much surprise, as she recalled Jimena and Tessa's earlier conversation on it, but she was still a little shocked to see the once silver amulet of Selene lying there. The silver pendant reflected the moonlight shining in from between the cracks of the blinds, and Aria silently pondered on how much she and Riley now had in common. Both had inadvertently screwed up during their individual tests, but both were on the way towards recovery.
Her eyes widened slightly in wonder when she saw what lay gingerly next to the necklace. It was a simple bouquet, only holding two different flowers, a phlox spring and an aconite blossom, both white. Puzzlement filled her when she wondered who would send Riley flowers, but she shook it off when her eyes were finally trained on the injured girl.
Riley outwardly showed no signs of improvement from yesterday. Her pale skin was downright ghastly, and the yellowing of the bruises around her face seemed ultimately worse off than they were, as they had swelled even further. The darkness that had surrounded her also seemed to have intensified.
Aria slowly shook her head to clear away her concern as she turned to Carlos, "Do you have Riley's card?"
"She got the shit kicked out of her," He said flatly, not acknowledging the question as he stared at the maroon haired girl's battered form, "It almost makes me feel lucky, after everything that happened tonight." He whispered, shaking his head.
Aria completely sympathized, recalling the battle with Mammon, had it really only been two nights ago? She exhaled slowly, "Let's fix her then," She said calmly, "I need you to hold out her card."
Carlos, realizing that he was holding up the process by gawking at the invalid goddess, quickly fished in the pockets of his shorts, drawing out The Hermit. He held it out to her, "Here." He grunted.
"I don't think it will work like that," She said, grasping his other hand, "Since you hold her power, I think that you need to work with me in order to return it."
He sent her a baffled look, "I don't know how-"
"It's okay, just do what I did," She said confidently, "Hold out your hand," With this she outstretched her free hand over Riley's prone form. After a millisecond's hesitation, Carlos did the same, The Hermit card hovering over. "Alright, then concentrate on her empathy, try to…um…shove it out."
He rose an eyebrow, "Shove?"
She snorted, frustrated, "It's what it feels like."
Noticing that this wasn't exactly a joking matter, he sighed and closed his eyes, his face screwing up in an intense concentration. "Working?"
Aria scrutinized him for a few moments, and sure enough, a thin gray aura was creeping out of Carlos, heading straight for the card. "Yes, I'm going to add my healing powers to it now." She explained so he wouldn't be shocked. Her own eyes fluttered shut and her sky blue field went and accumulated around her outstretched hand.
Seconds passed, both of the teens holding their hands over Riley, before the gray and blue began to entwine, hovering for a short time before the same tugging sensation took place.
Immediately, Aria and Carlos's eyes snapped open and they took a cautionary step away from the bed's edge.
Soon, the same coughing and sputtering routine was repeated as Riley's back arched and she gave a strangled cry of pain. Carlos gaped, glassy eyed, while Aria tensed, ready to help if it was required.
Finally, Riley's body settled, and she lay serenely. The two teenagers stared at her, waiting for a movement of life.
After almost five whole minutes, one of Riley's eyes, the one that wasn't swollen shut, cracked open. A single gray eye stared straight through Aria, and she felt herself tense up. Another few minutes passed and Aria felt more unease.
"Hello," Riley finally said, her voice quiet and strained.
Aria tried to muster a comforting smile, "Hi." She greeted softly.
The empath continued to stare at her for a few more moments before she seemed to nod, "You did good." She whispered, her normally emotionless tone portraying her respect.
Aria flushed a bit, "Thanks."
Riley gave another nod, her movements obviously labored, and her eyelid shut, a deep breathing following after it, indicating she too had fallen into slumber. Silence continued as Aria gazed at the empathetic girl, inwardly pledging that once her healing skills were fully recharged, Riley would be the first one she'd restore completely.
Finally, Carlos spoke, "Is she going to be alright?"
Aria grinned slightly, "Yes, we're all going to be alright."
OoO
Locating Tessa's room had taken slightly more effort for the pair as they began to saunter down the halls of the hospital's intensive care unit. They settled for the rather lengthy process of checking the names of the patients on each of the door markers, dodging watchmen and night shift doctors carefully. After what seemed like ages, but was in reality only twenty or so minutes, it was Carlos who finally spotted the name 'Lockland, Tessa I.' on the outside of the door.
Tessa's room was relatively bare, having only been admitted into the building a few hours ago, and all that appeared there was a rather large candy bar at the side of the bed, likely left by her older brother and guardian Ezra.
Tessa was a little better off than Riley had been, her normally pristine blonde hair matted and tangled, tanned skin bruised or bandaged, and a cast was plastered over her right arm. The illusionist had obviously received a harsh beating from Kiriak, and Aria shuddered when she thought of what her fellow goddess had gone through.
Deciding to make the process quick, as the sun was beginning to peak up over the horizon and her strength was ebbing now that the borrowed powers were disappearing, Aria drew out The Magician and repeated the same moves she had on Imy and Riley.
The golden aura of Tessa was the most unstable of the four, symbolic of how the girl had yet to fully control her abilities, but Aria grit her teeth and forced the lively force to submit. After a rather intense mental battle, the healer finally got the illusionist powers to cooperate, sending them out with a bit of her own energy.
The end results were the same, as the borrowed gift was leeched away from Aria and sent to Tessa, and the girl awoke with the most violent upstart of the three. She shot up into a sitting position, and immediately sent her encased fist flying into the closest thing to her.
Which happened to be Carlos.
Her punch connected with the side of his jaw, and his head snapped back, causing him to loose his balance and land on his ass rather hard. "Damn!" He swore, "What the hell was that for?"
Aria just stood there awkwardly, torn between checking on Tessa, checking on Carlos, or falling into a fit of hysterical laughter as sanity seemed to leave her without so much as a goodbye note.
Tessa sat there, panting heavily, until she blinked slowly, as her environment began to process in her mind. "Where…am I?" She asked, wincing slightly as her hand started to throb.
"The hospital," Aria said gently, turning to Carlos and helping him gingerly to his feet. He sent Tessa a rather intense glare as he rubbed his now sore chin.
The blonde's eyes widened, "Aria?" She fell silent as her memories flooded back into her, including the fight in the alleyway, "What the hell is going on?" The blue eyes widened even more, if that were possible, "Holy shit." She finally settled on, "You actually showed."
A blush of shame graced the healer's cheeks as she rubbed the back of her neck self consciously, "Yeah, I did."
Tessa gazed at her for a moment, then shifted her attention to Carlos, "Who's this?"
"Jimena's son."
"Damn."
"That's what I thought at first."
The illusionist tilted her head apologetically, "I'm sorry I punched you."
The surfer's glare increased for a second, before he exhaled and gave a goofy grin when sensing her earnest, "No worries. Just don't do it again, I happen to like my teeth."
Tessa gave a smug smirk before turning to Aria, "Are the others-?" She let it hang in the air.
Aria nodded curtly, "All except Jimena."
A brief gasp escaped from her, "What do you mean, 'All except Jimena'?"
"They got to her too," Came Carlos, holding up The High Priestess card, "Apparently she was the last one they went after."
Tessa absorbed this before saying contemplatively, "Then why the hell are you still in here with me?" She probed.
Aria slowly blinked, "Just making sure you're alright-"
"Well I'm fine enough to deliver a right hook to the bum-"
"I am not a bum, why do people keep saying that tonight?" Carlos protested.
"-So you better go heal our mentor," Tessa finished.
The healing goddess nodded, resolved, "Get some rest, once everyone's completely recovered, you're not going to believe the story I have to tell."
Tessa lay back gently, readjusting her pillows, "I'll bet, if it dragged your ass back here."
Aria felt the retort to the rather crass comment die on her tongue when she saw the mixture of humor and gratitude in the girl's blue eyes. Flustered, and at a loss for something to say, she settled for giving a weak wave. Carlos took that as a sign to leave and went out into the hall, Aria about to follow him when she heard Tessa mumble.
"He's kind of cute, with a nice butt," The illusionist said off handedly before attempting to drift off into sleep.
Aria gaped, before deciding that Riley was the only sane one of the four, as she was the only girl to withhold a comment about Carlos's attractiveness after a life-threatening ordeal.
OoO
The hesitation was almost palpable in the air around Carlos when the pair finally reached the door which neatly read 'Castillo, Jimena A.'. The surfer was even visibly shaking, as the nerves overtook the boy who would be seeing his mother for the first time in many months.
"Are you okay?" Aria questioned gently, resting an arm on his bicep.
He looked down at her, his eyes betraying his calm voice when he smoothly said, "Yeah, no fear, am I right?"
Aria looked at him with concern, "We can wait, until you feel better-"
"No, let's go," Carlos said resolutely, apparently ashamed of his cowardice as he cut her off and reached for the door knob. His tanned hand clasped around it before tentatively turning it and pressing it open.
It was completely dark within the hospital room, a thick shade pulled down over the window that would show the rising Los Angeles sun. Warily, Carlos took a few steps forward towards a still form lying on a hospital bed across from the entrance. Aria went after him, staying close.
Both gave out frightened gasps when out from the silence, a gruff voice emerged, "What are you doing here?"
Aria barely had time to register what was happening when she felt a heavy hand clutch her shoulder from behind.
OoO
Oh my! Another chapter down, huzzah! Sorry about the cliffhanger, I'm unfortunately addicted to writing them as endings for chapters : (
Notes:
The flowers that were placed in each of the rooms have little meanings that I thought would be fun:
Carnations: depending on the color, they symbolize different sorts of love. We'll be going with pink and yellow, which stand for a close love, such as family or good friends.
Yarrow: Yarrow is a white flower which stands for healing or recovery and is traditionally used in most get well bouquets
Phlox: Are little white blossoms that symbolize souls being united, soul mates, that sort of thing.
Aconite: Is also called Monkshood and stands for "Beware" or "An enemy is near"
Also, I am not sure what Jimena's middle name would be, so I put an A for Artemis, her protector goddess : )
Up Next: Who's the weirdo attacking Aria? What will happen now that the Daughters of the Moon are back in action? Who was the mysterious lady in white? Also, Carlos's deal is REALLY explained this time, as is a hidden component to Aria's powers in the second to last chapter, Purification.
See ya!
!nym!