1st Chapter - Reunion
1
[Don't start with that,] Lachesis cautioned the Random, [we're not here to frighten her,] he added before stepping forward to take the spotlight. [Miss Deepneau? Do you remember us, perchance?]
Natalie looked, perplexed, from little face to little face. It was a long minute before she nodded. "Y-you took Ralph, didn't you?"
Although she wasn't present at the moment in question, Valkyrie answered, [It was his time.]
[No,] Lachesis corrected her. He turned back to Natalie, [it was your time, Natalie. Ralph Roberts made the trade: his elderly life for your youth. Come, we need to get the little one indoors where it is warm and dry. Will her parents be returning soon?]
Natalie nodded and motioned them to follow her inside. She walked as if in a dream, what else could this strange occurrence possibly be? She switched off the television and the game before collapsing into a nearby lay-z-boy and rubbed her hands over her numbing face. Valkyrie placed the child onto the sofa and knelt by her side while Lachesis and Atropos stood on either side of Natalie and waited for her to raise her head.
The former looked to his companion by the sofa and had to stifle a memory of Nona nursing Clotho's wounds after his battle with the Random ten years ago. Christ – had it already been a decade? Val was still only a child herself, Atropos was getting old and couldn't be trusted at any rate. Lachesis, though still technically young himself, had been in Maine since it's conception and as the agent of Purposeful Destiny, the fate of Derry's demon rested with him.
[You want to know what this is all about,] he started.
"Can you stop talking like that please? It's a little disturbing," the teenager snapped meekly.
"S-sorry," Lachesis replied weakly, "old habits," he smiled. "We don't normally talk like this."
His smile was a little comforting to Natalie, it seemed as though it had thinned the stifling air created by her confusion. "What just happened?"
"Unfinished business," Atropos interjected. "You don't know much about Derry's history do you?"
Natalie shook her head.
"It's an All-Timer," Lachesis began.
"A whatnow?"
"All-Timer. Humans – like you… and her," he pointed his thumb over his shoulder to the child recovering on the couch, "are what we call Short-Timers: your lifespans are very limited. Fates – my colleagues and I – are Long-Timers: our lives are significantly extended compared to yours. All-Timers, however, live for such a time that they are seemingly immortal. The creature that attacked the girl is an All-Timer – and a young one at that."
"Are you an angel?" Natalie and the two fates turned to face the sofa. Sophie had stirred and was seemingly awed by the appearance of her nurse. "Where are your wings?"
Valkyrie shook her head, [I'm not an angel, little one.]
"A fairy then? I know! You're little like me, you're a pixie!"
Lachesis smiled at the show of innocence before turning back to Natalie, "We three need to get going. Speak with the master of Derry's library, he can tell you anything there is for mortals to know about It."
"Mr. Hanlon? What could he know about this?"
"Too much," Atropos answered. "Just mention the name 'Pennywise' and see him shudder."
Lachesis nodded, "Speak with him, then come find us in Bassey Park. Oh, I almost forgot: you may call me Lachesis," pointing to the Random, "he is Atropos. And she… she is…
(Nona)
(Ma'at)
(Clotho)
Valkyrie."
At the mention of her name, Val stood and curtsied before walking to Lachesis' side and linking her hand through the crook of his elbow.
Natalie watched as the three fates seemed to converse in silence before disappearing suddenly with a soft pop as the air filled the places they had been. Were it not for that small noise, she would've been convinced it was some sort of illusion. Three bald midgets dressed as doctors from the nifty 'fifties had just entered her life and saved her boyfriend's sister from a monster that she hadn't even seen yet and told her to interview Mike Hanlon about it.
She won't be sleeping tonight.
2 - 1958
[Can't you feel It stirring? You must help us, brother. It isn't a part of Derry like we first perceived – It will destroy this place in the end. The Short-Time lives rest with us. The Balance of the Four Constants is in peril. We have to end it!]
Atropos looked at the desperation in his counter-part's face, felt it in his voice, saw it in his eyes. The two of them stood in the center of the Barrens, a section of Derry that is anything but. A couple of boys squatted a few meters away from them working in vain to build a shoddy dam against the currents of the Kenduskeag.
[So, how do you propose we do that? You know we don't have the authority to fight It, just as we can't fight between ourselves.]
Clotho looked to the kids by the river. In the distance, the two fates heard a terrified shriek. The boys continued to build, oblivious – or maybe they already knew what that particular scream meant in a place like Derry.
[We've already begun,] he replied and looked up at a steep cliff that separated the Barrens from Kansas Street a couple of hundred meters from them. They watched as a chubby kid ran into view and was followed by three others. The fat kid was backed up against the railing. Lachesis appeared next to him, seeming to wait for the boy to show some sign of courage. After a time, he did: he kicked his foremost attacker in the gut.
['Atta boy,] Lachesis uttered. [Brace yourself, kid.] The fate placed his hands on the trashy white rail. [Kick 'im again,] he urged. The boy seemingly obeyed, at the same moment, the rail cracked, beginning from where Lachesis' hands rested and the boy fell down the embankment. The fate slid down after him, he was followed by the foremost bully. [It's just a scratch, kid. Stand you ground, you'll be alright.]
[I shotgun that one,] Atropos pointed to the bully.
[I don't think the decision's ours anymore,] Clotho smiled as the confusion unfolded before them. Now, the fat kid was on his feet, the bully was on the ground, still as death but unfortunately for the boys by the river, still alive.
To their horror, the boy bent over his adversary. [No! Stay away from him! Shit!] Lachesis' warning didn't go through this time, the bully grabbed the boy's ankle, but to the surprise of all three fates, the kid kicked the downed teenager in the crotch and began to gloat. [Run already!] Lachesis urged, but the boy remained as if in a trance until he was struck by a stone.
[Stay with him,] Clotho called to his colleague. Lachesis nodded and ran after the kid, into the nearby bushes. He turned back to Atropos, [There will be four more children, plus those two,] he pointed to the boys at the river, [makes seven. Ka will do the rest once the Chosen are together.]
[Why can't we just show ourselves to them? Kids believe in anything they'll listen to us.]
Clotho shook his head, [They already have enough trauma ahead of them. We need to be subtle: anything more will blow their minds. Get them together; keep them alive, that's all we need to do. Are you with us?]
[I have as much to loose as you two: I'm with you.]
[Thank you,] Clotho smiled. [The Hanscom boy will be here soon, we must wait.]
***
Lachesis waited patiently as the boy slept in his hiding place. He could see Clotho and Atropos conversing through the trees. Every now and then, the kid would give a startled twitch before drifting back into sleep. When Ben Hanscom woke and started to walk towards the river, Lachesis fell into step with him and led him towards his colleagues and the two boys that were Eddie Kaspbrak and Bill Denborough.
3
[You and Clotho were talking about that creature, weren't you?] Valkyrie asked when Lachesis and Atropos ended their narrative. The three were in the underground home of the two Purpose fates.
Atropos nodded, [It is nameless, faceless, shapeless. Fearless. We tried twice to get those kids to destroy It and failed. I think this time we need to be a part of the seven or we're fucked.]
[Indeed,] Lachesis agreed. [We didn't step forward the last two times and that was our downfall. We can't just lend them our strength; we have to give it all we've got. Maturin is dead, it's up to us. Val,] he rose and crouched next to her chair, placing his hand over hers, [I know you're young. But I saw the way you fought for Clotho ten years ago. You're stronger than you think.]
[The kid's right,] Atropos added. [When I threatened him on the day of your Becoming, I swear I saw murder in your eyes.]
Valkyrie nodded her understanding, [so, where to from here? The Deepneau girl alone isn't enough. Who are the others?]
[Three she can trust, and thus can we,] Lachesis answered. [The little one's brother is one but all three are yet to be awakened. The most successful way is for us to rob them of their sleep. It will take some time for them to be open to us. Until then, we can only wait, leaving It's Spawn to It's own devices. More will die, but they cannot be saved. Tomorrow, Natalie will go to the librarian: the last 'Loser' in Derry. We three need to be where she can't see us, but he can hear us,] he turned to the Random. [go home if you wish, the two of us have sleep to shatter.]