Chapter Twelve
The Council's Court Room
James had jumped to his feet and looked dazedly around as he regained his breath. He could not believe that Smee had slid all the way across the floor and had given chase, hoping to catch him before he crashed into something big that would hurt him. He was worried about Smee, who seemed to be losing it completely. Just why Smee had refused to let him up, James was not completely sure. He had looked but had not seen anything but a bright light that he had no reason to believe contained any danger.
He finally reached Smee and knelt down beside his lover. He scratched his head in frustration as Smee's heart-wrenching sobs hit him in his heart and caused him to emit a sigh of grief. How was he ever going to prove to Smee that he didn't want anybody but Smee? How could he ever reach his love's mind before he completely sailed over the deep end?
Smee would not even look at him, but James slid his arms around him and held him. "Go ahead and cry if it helps to ease the pain, Samuel, but don't ever try to outrun me 'cause I'll just keep running until I catch you. You'll never get away from me." He leaned forward, gently kissed Smee on the neck, and began to rub his head and what little hair was there.
He remembered a time when Smee had had so much hair that he hadn't known what to do with it and wished, for Smee's sake, that he still had that hair. It had not been Smee's fault, but his and Salem's that had led the others astray. Like a blind fool, he had followed Salem down every hole, nook, and cranny because he believed in him so strongly, but in doing so, he had cost himself and Smee more than they could ever regain. He kissed Smee once again and continued to hold his best friend.
The whole time James had been holding Smee, talking to him, and kissing him, Smee had been shaking within James' arms. Now, he managed to gather his strength for another attempt to pull away. "Let go of me! Go back to your women! I know they're what you want, so just let go of me and let me rot in my misery!"
"When you get out of your mood, Samuel, you're going to realize how foolish you're talking. I've never wanted any one but you rather you believe that or not, not since the first moment I met you! I told you that woman had me under a spell! Why won't you believe me!" He did not let go but regained what little he had lost. He was determined not to lose Samuel.
Smee fought even harder to break free as he wailed against James, "STOP! Stop lying to me! The boys aren't even here now! There's no reason for you to keep lying! What is it? Are you so afraid that you're not going to have a servant! Just let go of me!"
It had been so long since James had thought of Samuel as a servant that it took a minute for it to register. "You're not a servant! You're my companion! You're my love! When did you think I stopped wanting you? Because you got a little extra fat on? That just gives me more to hold on to!"
"I love you, Samuel, and somewhere in that head of yours, and your heart, you know it too! It doesn't matter if the whole world knows it! In fact, I'll tell the whole world!" He jumped to his feet and yelled out loud, "JUST IN CASE YOU DON'T KNOW IT, I LOVE SAMUEL SMEE!"
A hush fell around, and people turned to look at what James was hollering about before returning to their own problems. A small spattering of applause was heard from above as a voice exclaimed, "This never ceases to be entertaining! I should have thought of this before! Retrials are such fun!"
"Trials are always fun," another voice agreed, "but retrials are the best!"
"Aw, but look!" a third exclaimed. "He's running away!" Sure enough, Smee was hauling his self-proclaimed tub of lard as fast as he could away from James. The very moment the woman opened her mouth, he ducked and hid behind a lioness and wolf. He tried to flatten himself against the floor, hoping that James would not see him.
James stood and watched as Samuel ran from him. A feeling of hopelessness enclosing his body like a glove, he shook his head sadly and walked back to where he had left his boys. He looked at them. "I just don't know what to do any more."
A tear slid down his face and hung for a moment on his mustache before dropping the rest of the way to the floor. He sat down, because his limbs wouldn't hold him any more. "Gloom, despair, and agony on me!" he muttered. "Samuel doesn't love me any more!" He broke down and began to sob in earnest.
Connor and Frederic looked at each other, then at their father Smee, whose rear end they could see sticking out from behind a wolf's tail, and then at their father, James. At the same time, they muttered in unison, "Parents!" They, too, were at a loss and wished that they were back on the island so that they could begin to help their parents get back together. They patted James on the back, wordlessly letting him know that they were there for him. They decided to let Smee stay where he was at the moment but keep a careful, watchful eye upon him.
"So," Rachel asked after they'd sat that way for a while and she was beginning to lose the battle with her hormones, "not that I'm complaining, but why aren't you with your man? What's his name again? Kurt?"
Ray felt the change in Kitty's emotions as the Piratess pulled away. "Yeah," Kitty spoke quietly, and Rachel felt her sadness almost as strongly as though it were her own. "He . . . went crazy."
"Already?" Ray knew that her attempt to make light of the situation had failed immediately.
"Yeah." Kitty sighed; then, Pryde quickly changed the subject. "Did I tell you I met my Father?"
"Your Father?"
Kitty nodded. "My real Dad." She got to her feet and offered Rachel a hand, which she eagerly accepted. "He should be here somewhere." Together, the two women turned and began the search, Lockheed flying above them and keeping an ever-vigilant eye out both for them and for another certain dragon who had yet to stop crying . . . The purple dragon cooed sadly as he watched the long tears dripping off of the blue dragon's snout.
Elizabeth awoke to faces peering anxiously down into hers. One belonged to a brunette woman who was looking up and around just as Elizabeth opened her eyes. The other belonged to a blonde, whose worried face she could see more clearly. She recognized the woman as being Gabrielle, and that knowledge told her that the brunette woman dressed in black leather could be no other than Xena, Pirate Princess.
But where was Autolycus? She felt some one shift beside her just before she could call for him and looked in that direction. There he sat with his head bowed and a deeply serious look over his handsome features. Goodness! He couldn't . . . He couldn't be praying . . . for her . . . could he? "Toly?" she whispered, her hand reaching out toward his face.
Autolycus opened his eyes and lifted his head. His prayers had worked! Elizabeth was alive, and she was looking at him as though he had done something very brave and she was proud of him! When the light had come, he had felt the warm glow of it, but it had not done anything to harm them, so he had remained praying. Now, it seemed that it had done something: it had healed Elizabeth!
"Elizabeth, honey, I love you!" He smiled at her, wishing he had a fancy jewel to lay at her feet, but he did have one. No, he reminded himself, he had given it to Teak. I'll just have to find another. I need something that will match her eyes. It'll be a great surprise. He crept closer to her, took her hand in his, lifted it to his lips, and kissed it. It did not matter that her clothes were torn and dirty; he thought he had never seen a more beautiful woman in his entire life.
Gabrielle stood slowly and quietly as Autolycus inched closer to Elizabeth. She nudged Xena and stepped away from the couple to give them a chance to be together before the crap resumed hitting the fan.
Xena had stood while the light had bathed over her, and she had almost been able to touch something that had happened a long time ago. Almost, but not quite, a memory had returned. She shook herself mentally, wondering what it could have been. The light had felt warm and almost caressing.
She smiled a tired smile at Gabrielle. She was more than ready for this long night to be over. She wanted to go home to her ship but knew that that would never happen again as the Sea Witch was long gone to Davy Jones' locker. She would probably never have another, but she had to have a home of some kind. She had to have a roof over her Gabby's head. She felt the call of hearth and home very strongly and longed to rest her aching body. She pulled Gabrielle into a hug.
Elizabeth gazed into Autolycus' eyes as he kissed her hand, Gabrielle's and Xena's embrace going completely unnoticed behind him. All she could see was Toly, and for now, he was all she cared about. She smiled tiredly but lovingly at him. "I love you, too, Autolycus." She leaned up and pressed her lips to his in a gentle kiss. She had only thought she had loved Will. She did love him but only as a brother. What she shared with Autolycus was a true love that far outshone anything she'd ever felt before, for Will or Jack, and she knew, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that she had found her Pirate at last.
Carl's head stuck out of the hole from between his legs. The top of his head brushed his own massive rear end. His beady eyes looked around for Wesley, and when he spotted him, his mouth fell open.
Wes' mouth dropped open at the awkward position Carl was in. He had not realized how big the Gnome's butt was until now. "Can you help me get up? I've got to go after that bit. I don't want to, but I don't want the Captain breathing down my neck either."
Carl waddled out of the hole before straightening and walking normally once more. His wide eyes remained glued on Wesley's stomach as he neared the Scientist. "What," the Gnome questioned fearfully, "happened to you?"
"Jasmine says I got fat, but I just don't see how! It's not possible to blimp up like this over night from being too fat, and just yesterday, I was skinny! I had to unfasten my pants. They were about to burst, and still I'm growing! I've got to get help to find out what it is, but I can't get to my feet." He looked pleadingly at Carl.
Carl's eyes remained on Wesley's stomach as he offered him a hand. "Did you eat any kind of dirt?" he queried.
"Dirt!" Wesley exclaimed. "Never! I've eaten some strange foods before, such as haggis, but it's been a long time! That wouldn't be affecting me now! Maybe one of those Piratesses put a spell on me? I don't remember much except being in that galley and . . . that bitch raping me."
Carl's eyes still did not move from Wesley's gut as he pulled him to his feet. Surely that couldn't have . . . ? No, no, he wouldn't even think like that! He swallowed hard and glanced furtively around. "Brendan's not exactly in a position to help right now. I don't know where Gabrielle is."
"If you see them, please send one of them to me. Right now, I've got to go get that bit before she knocks herself out cold on that wall!"
Carl looked to where Wesley was gazing at and shook his head. Blondes like Jasmine, whose latest stupid trick was running repeatedly into a wall, really did give the rest of them bad names, he thought, running a hand through his own blonde hair. No wonder he'd dyed his hair so often in his younger days!
"Thanks, Carl," Wesley told him even as he pressed his hand to the small of his back and began to waddle toward where Jasmine was in danger of knocking herself out. He did not get very far when a gurgling in his stomach made him know he had to throw up. He did so violently, barely missing Carl, who screeched and ran.
Maybe, on second thought, he'd better stay right where he was? He really didn't feel like moving across the room, and it wasn't as though Jasmine had that many brains left to lose any way. A chill ran through his body even as he continued to throw up.
"Trina!"
Trina turned toward the sound of Trent's voice, a sound she thought she had never been happier to hear. Her trembling lips turned upward into a bright smile that she hoped no one could tell she was faking as her brother raced toward them. She met him with a hug. "Trent! Thank God you're all right!" She saw a brunette coming up behind her twin and figured that the woman must be Angel's lady.
Angel smiled at Cordelia as they came up to meet them. He looked at Trent and realized that he, too, had been healed. He had been on Death's door when he had last seen him, and now he was as well as his sister. What miracle had they just been witness to, and who had caused it? He could lay it at only one door and figured that Aphrodite had returned after Her disappearance from the night before and was making sure that Her people were all healed.
Returning to the talk he had been having with Trina and realizing that he was not going to get an answer about Andrew, he said, "I don't think it was the Wizards. I think it was Aphrodite." His hand reached out toward Cordelia, wanting for her to take it.
Cordelia took Angel's hand the moment he offered it to her. She stepped closer to him, closing the distance between them swiftly, and entwined her fingers with his just as both Malloys parted to stare at Angel.
Trent stared at Angel, the look on his face clearly stating he didn't believe that that was even remotely possible, but it was Trina who spoke. "It may have been." Her eyes stayed locked on her brother's face, and when Trent looked back to her, a silent warning passed between them.
Angel did not miss the look pass between the siblings, but his mind was solely intent upon Cordelia. The last time he had seen her, her hair had been sticking straight up and her clothes almost torn off. Her clothes were still almost torn off, but her skin was no longer black but creamy and smooth once again and her hair lay as it normally did, gently around her face. He figured that, yet again, here was some one who had been healed.
His eyes began to wander around, taking in those he had passed and had known to be on their last legs. He now saw them sitting up or standing and looking as though they had never been to war save for their clothes, which were torn and, in some cases, bloodied or even missing. He saw some of their people who now wore robes. Where had those come from? he wondered.
The only one he still saw on their knees was Kurt Wagner, who was still intently praying. Had he caused all of this! If so, he was definitely more powerful than Angel had figured him to be! He pulled Cordelia close and, for a brief moment, buried his face in her hair, breathing in the clean scent of his beloved.
His mind was a whirl as everything that had transpired through the light was beyond his understanding. He hoped that it would reveal itself but doubted it. He wanted to get close to Kurt Wagner as soon as possible and check out what the Priest knew of it.
The Priest in question opened his yellow eyes and gazed intently into Hercules' brown eyes. "Zank you, mein Lord. I knew zat you vould save mein people. I am forever in your debt. Please help me to do vhat you vant me to do, and please help Katzchen to forgive me."
Hercules smiled with mingled sadness at Kurt. "I am not a Love God," he warned him, "but I will do whatever I can. I will also put in a good word for you with Aphrodite."
"Vhat does she have to do vith zis?" Kurt asked. "She abandoned us during the night. You came to save us, Oh Mighty Lord." Again, he bowed his head to the floor, unaware that from across the room, Angel was staring holes into him.
Hercules shifted in discomfort at the way Kurt bowed to Him. He had never been one for bowing and had already been trying unsuccessfully to get Kurt to stand. "We are Gods, Kurt, but even we can not always control our . . . our baser impulses." Gods knew He was living proof of that. "Aphrodite did all She could last night and has even been here this morning."
"But you did the light, didn't you?" Kurt's voice trembled as he asked, lifting himself back to a sitting position. "Are you saying zat She . . . " he searched his mind for an appropriate word but realized that Hercules would know what he was thinking as his mind flashed to the possibility that Aphrodite might have frugaled during the night.
"I was behind the light, yes, and I did heal your people. Aphrodite . . . " He blushed. "She tries hard, has a good heart, and cares for many, but She still has a lot to learn."
Kurt knew that was the only answer he was apt to get from Hercules and knew better than to ask further. Hercules was leaving it to his imagination, and he tried very hard not to go down that avenue. "Is She here now? Vhat did She do vhen She was here, or is She doing it now?" His eyes peered anxiously around the room, but he could see nothing out of the ordinary.
"She was here earlier and is always with Her people in spirit."
Kurt just had to know what She had been doing but didn't know how to ask it without taking the chance of angering Hercules. "But . . . ?" The word hung in the air.
Hercules shook His head. "She will tell you when She is ready."
"Vill you take us out of here to safety?" He wondered if Hercules would bother with them further and knew that, if He wanted to, He could take them out of there in the blink of an eye. Once again, he gazed as close to Hercules' eyes as he dared to. At least they weren't glowing, so he didn't think He was angry at him yet for having the audacity to ask Him such questions.
"I can not interfere directly," Hercules told him. "I am sorry, My son, but even We Gods have our limitations save All Our Father, the All Mighty Zeus." There had been a time when to talk as He was now doing of Zeus would have made Him cringe, but that had been several centuries ago. "I will always be near and will help in any way I can."
"Except that You will not take us out of here? Vhat do zey vant of us?"
"I can not," Hercules repeated. "It will be all right, however, and you are here for a reason. That is all I can tell you. Be strong, and let your heart lead you." He was already beginning to fade out.
Kurt watched until he could no longer see Hercules. Then he got to his feet and looked around for his Kitty. He saw that there were no others on the floor that he could see and breathed a heartfelt prayer, sending it to Hercules even though He was gone. He could not get over the fact that he could actually see his God and that his God was not an angry God but One that was easy to talk to. He saw Kitty standing with Rachel, whose clothes were soaked with blood, and headed in their direction.
It took only a second for Cole and Piper to reappear behind Jasmine. "Jasmine? Are you okay?" he asked as he reached out one hand and stopped her from running into the wall again.
"Jasmine?" she asked as though she did not recognize the name. The woman swayed, and Piper eyed her suspiciously. She'd never seen any one act like this before! "That's a . . . a pretty name." She turned slightly around and looked at them from crossed eyes. "What about you? What's your name? You're handsome."
Piper quickly reminded herself that the girl was a handicap and Cole was merely attempting to help the fool, then just as quickly admonished herself for thinking like Paige and Phoebe. "His name's Cole, and I'm Piper. Jasmine is your name."
"It is?" She swayed again.
Cole wondered what was wrong with Jasmine. The last time he had heard any one talking to her, she had seemed to at least recognize her name. Now, she didn't. Had she already knocked herself crazy? He knew that if Piper and himself did not help her, nobody else would. Still, he was at a loss as to what to do for her.
Pull yourself together, Piper, Piper admonished herself. Cole's got no interest in her other than helping her, and he's certainly not the type to be attracted to what Phoebe would call a bimbo. Releasing Cole's hand, Piper gently took hold of Jasmine's arm. "Come sit with me, Jasmine, and we can talk about this."
"No!" Jasmine exclaimed, tearing away from Piper's gentle hold. "I want to find the light!"
Cole looked at the crazy woman. "The light is gone, Jasmine, and it's not coming back, so you've got to find something else to do. You can't go after it, so why not come and sit with Piper? You can tell us all about the pretty light."
"I . . . I can't . . . " Jasmine spoke slowly, as though she was having great difficulty thinking of the words. "I . . . I was doing something before that light . . . It was so pretty! Did you see it?"
"Yes, we did, but we don't know where it came from," Cole told her, "nor do we know where it went." Gods, women! he thought. He knew that if he did not get her somewhere quiet, she was going to drive him crazy. Between her and the younger Halliwells, he didn't know if he'd make it or not. He wasn't used to women, especially not crazy women, and that made three of the craziest he'd ever met. Only Piper remained sane as Prue was too bold for her own good. No matter what happened, Piper always seemed to take it in stride. He wondered how she was going to handle this.
Jasmine waved her hand in the air. "Ooo! Ooo! Ooo!"
Piper wondered what on Earth the girl's problem could be now. Did she need to go to the bathroom? "Yes, Jasmine?" Piper asked slowly, knowing full well that she was going to regret the question.
"I know where the light went!"
"You do?" Cole asked. "Where?"
Jasmine turned and pointed to the wall. "In there! I'm going to follow it! Come with me!" She started to walk into the wall again, but Piper's reflexes were quick as she placed herself between Jasmine and the wall.
"Jasmine," Piper called her name. She spoke in a hushed voice as though she was about to share a secret with her, and her face shone with excitement. "I have a better idea!"
"You do?"
"Yes!" Piper nodded eagerly. "Lights are boring! That one's already gone away! Don't you want to do something new? Something exciting? I know the perfect game we could play!"
Cole wondered what Piper was playing at and so continued to watch the interaction between her and Jasmine. He could not believe that the girl thought she could walk through the wall in order to catch the light.
Jasmine clasped her hands together and squealed with glee. "I love games! What game are we going to play? Is the hunk going to play, too?"
Hunk of what? Cole wondered. What could the girl be blathering about now, and what did Piper have up her sleeve?
"We're still prisoners, Em, but fer a different reason. We're here fer the retrial o' Salem Saberhagen." He watched her face, hoping for some sign of recognition.
A chill went through her at the name. "Why are we being held for his retrial?" she questioned.
"Because it is the retrial o' all o' us." Hope grew in his heart. Did she recognize Salem's name? "Di ye knae who he is?" Sean asked.
Emma shook her head, and her wide eyes told of a fear that she would not have felt had she had her memories. "Do you mean to say that I was . . . I was wicked?"
"Guess ye could call it that, darlin'," Sean replied, trying to resist the urge to grin. "Ye were his second-in-command o' the females. Ye would nae recognize him if ye saw him now. They cursed him an' changed him into a black cat. The first female in command was Mystique, a rather strange woman. Blue skin an' red hair. Very powerful and very, very wicked. I have nae idea where she is now."
Emma stared at Sean as though he had just grown a second head sticking out of the side of his neck. "Well, I suppose that would explain one thing," she spoke more to herself than him.
"An' what might that be, darlin'?" Sean asked. His hopes had plummeted to his boots when she had admitted not knowing Salem.
"It explains why I am dressed in the manner I am, why I appear to be such a . . . such a harlot, I believe is . . . is the word." That word, however, sent chills sweeping through her, and she shivered. "Is it cold to you?"
"Nae really," Sean admitted, "but it sure as Hell was earlier. That awful Ice Demon froze all o' us, killed quite a lot o' us. He probably put a chill in ye that will last a long time. Din't knae what happened tae him or how we actually got here. Ye haven't answered me question. What can I di tae convince ye I am who I am?"
Emma was staring at Sean again. Mutely, she shook her head. Good grief, was this man ever off his rocker!
Remembering the rest of what she had said, he added, "An' ye sure as heck ne'er looked like any harlot tae me! I always thought ye were the most beautiful woman I'd e'er seen, an' I ne'er thought I'd be lucky enough tae be yer husband but I am an' I've been blessed by it."Emma smiled and cocked her head slightly to one side as she studied Sean in a new light. Yes, he most certainly was bonkers, but there was still something about him that she liked . . .
Angel's every touch sent shivers of delight racing through Cordelia. She didn't know how she had become so blessed to have him embrace her in her current state, but she was thankful and enjoyed every second of it. Her arms dared to wrap around him as she returned his embrace. She had forgotten that he was barely clothed, and only now did she recall that fact as her lips touched his bare shoulder. She kissed him there and allowed her eyes to close as she relished their moment. Never once did she think that he was staring at anything over her shoulder, let alone the blue-furred Demon Priest.
"We did see Aphrodite," Trina commented, her words falling on deaf ears as far as Angel and Cordelia were concerned. "She helped us to find and help you. If not for Her, we would have gone into the battle without the first clue of who was who for the most part, and God only knows what would have happened then."
"But Trina," Trent protested, "surely you can not -- "
"Trent, you saw Her just as I did." Trina's voice was tightened with enforcement, and her glare warned her brother that he'd better hush now before he embarrassed her and upset her friends.
"But, Trina -- "
Trina's voice fell to a hushed whisper that she hoped Angel could not hear but figured that he did. "We will not have a discussion of religious preference here, Trenton Malloy."
Trent's face fell as Trina used the same voice on him that their mother so often had. "All right," he relented. "But we have to find . . . "
"Carlos. Yes, I know. I'm worried about him too." Immediately, Trina's voice and expression had changed from that of a commanding big sister to show her worry and fear that they might find their other best friend badly hurt or worse.
Trent didn't answer Trina. She looked at him curiously but did not have an opportunity to question him before a familiar voice, a voice her ears had been craving to hear ever since she'd awakened, spoke up from behind her. "I knew you'd be worried about me."
Trina whirled, her blue eyes shooting wide with excited hope, and found herself face to face with Carlos. The hammering of her heart changed from a fearful beat to an excited, happy one that skipped every other beat. She gazed up into his eyes for just a moment before losing her control, throwing her arms around him, and hugging him tightly. "Carlos! Thank God you're all right!" It was all she could do to keep from weeping openly with relief.
Carlos' huge grin lit up his face as he returned Trina's hug. His arms wrapped around her and pulled her closer still but yet not too close to cause her fear. Trent smiled at the sight and gave the two a moment before he could sense Trina beginning to pull away. That was when he chose to move in and join the hug; his momentum and the placement of his arms caught Trina between them as they hugged. Trent grinned at Carlos. "Man, you're a sight for sore eyes!"
Angel looked at the man that Trina had asked him about. So this was the new guy who had taken Andrew's place? Angel wasn't sure if he'd like him or not, but he smiled reassuringly back at the group even as he hugged Cordelia closer and his eyes flickered back to the Priest only to see him making his way toward Captain Kitty.
Piper hid her annoyance well. She knew perfectly well what "hunk" meant as it was a word that Phoebe and Paige used, though Gods knew where they had gotten it from, and one of the few ones they'd even managed to get Prue to use. "Sure Cole will play. Won't you, sweetheart?" She smiled pleasantly, though her teeth were grinding behind her lips.
"Don't know if I will or won't, Piper. I don't know many games. Which game is this?"
Didn't he get the clue that she needed him to play along, or was he just wanting to get away from Jasmine as badly as she herself was? "It's easy! Any one can play it!" She looked back to Jasmine only to see that the blonde's face had fallen. Uh-oh! she thought. Here comes the temper tantrum!
"Which game is this, Piper?" Cole asked. He had spoken the truth when he had said that he did not know many games. "I am eager to play," he told her, "but you might have to teach me how."
Jasmine sniffled, and Piper reached out as though to touch her. She refrained from making actual contact, however, just as the blonde wailed. "I was playing a game!"
"You . . . " Piper swallowed hard. "You were?"
"Mmm-hmm!" Jasmine nodded as tears started flowing down her face. "I was, and they ran away from me! I was playing Hide and Seek with them, and I couldn't find them anywhere!"
"Find who anywhere, Jasmine?" Piper asked cautiously. The light? she wondered. Or what she thought was in it?
"Simon, Julian, and Sarah." She sniffled. "They ran away from me!"
"Then perhaps we should go in search of them? Where did you last see them?" Cole questioned.
"I . . . I . . . I . . . " Jasmine's hands shook. Her lips quivered, her bottom one hanging slightly open and trembling even more than the top. Her mouth opened. And then the memories hit her. Tears streamed down her face, and her voice exploded into a screeching wail. "He shouldn't have let go! He shouldn't have let go! He shouldn't have let go!"
Piper caught the other woman before she could fall to her knees and held her reassuringly as she wailed. She didn't need to ask what must have happened. Either Simon or Julian had let go of something along last night's pathway and had fallen to his death.
Cole looked on in concern but, lacking the answers, he just shook his head. He could go and find out what had happened from others, or they could simply have been a figment of Jasmine's imagination and he'd be wasting his time. "They should show up sooner or later," he told her. "They have probably already grown tired of the game." His eyes met Piper's in concern.
Piper's eyes bespoke her true emotions as she held to Jasmine, letting the blonde lean on her and soak her with her tears, and reassuringly patted the woman's hair and back. "No! No! He fell! He fell! He should have just held on! I needed him to hold on, but he didn't!"
"Who?" Piper quietly spoke to Jasmine. "Who fell, Jasmine, and where?"
"Simon! He fell! He fell to the sharks, and they -- they ate him!"
Piper shivered inwardly but remained strong on the outside as she did her best to treat Jasmine as though she were a little sister to her. Her eyes watched Cole.
"What to do?" Cole mouthed to her. "We can't leave her here like this."
"There's not much we can do right now," Piper mouthed in response, "and she needs to get this out of her system."
"Do you want me to find Julian or Simon, if I can, and if I do find them, do you want me to bring them back with me to our section?"
Piper stared at Cole. Had he not just heard what Jasmine had said? "Simon's gone, Cole, but . . . but if you can get a lead on one or both of the children . . . "
"I'll do my best," he told her. He grew quiet for a moment, closing his eyes as he concentrated, and then reopened his sad eyes. "They're not here," he softly told Piper. "I don't sense them here anywhere. That will simply kill Lex and Clark."
Piper nodded, and Jasmine whimpered as she buried her head further into her shoulder. From behind Jasmine's back, Piper reached out a hand to Cole. Cole shimmered them back to where Ororo, Wolverine, and Paige were.
A heaviness weighed on his heart as he knew he'd have to tell Lex and Clark that their children were not there. He dreaded it as he knew how much the boys were attached to the children. He knew they'd take it hard, but at least they still had each other. He'd put it off as long as he could.
Lorne heard the sad sobs of Crys' babies and opened his arms to them. He hoped they would come to him so that they could give each other comfort. Every time he loved some one, he lost them, but this time, Crys had ran out not only on him but her babies. He knew it was more serious than ever before and that more than likely, they'd never see her again. The pain gripped his heart to the point that he thought it would break. He was glad he was sitting on it lest it should shatter into a million pieces and blow out of his rear.
Even while she had been crying, Cindy had kept a protective look out for her brother and sister. She had known when Angel had left and when that bumbling, fat, old man had come up and crashed onto the floor behind them. Now, she saw Lorne opening his arms. She reached out a paw behind Blue and almost threw her brother into Lorne's arms.
Blue was so lost in his despair that he did not have the first clue what was happening until he suddenly felt himself flying. He collided with something and realized that it was Lorne's shoulder. A whimper caused him to look back just as Cindy shoved Elvira at Lorne.
Lorne's arms slipped around Elvira. Not for one single second did he stop to think that, "Hey, here's a wolf, and she might eat me!" After all, she had taken a bite out of him once before. What he thought was, Here's part of my family. I need them as much as they need me. He buried his face in her fur and held her close even as he felt Blue on his shoulder.
Blue's tail wrapped around Lorne's green neck, and then he collapsed back into tears, his small arms spreading as far as they could get around Lorne's head and Elvira's neck. He vaguely felt another head touch Lorne but did not open his eyes.
Cindy watched Lorne comfort Blue and Elvira, and she remembered the way her mother loved this stupid green Demon of a man. Slowly, she stood up, and even more slowly, she padded toward him. She could barely move for the trembles that raked her tan body, but upon reaching him at last, she refrained from touching him save to place her head on his elbow.
Lorne felt Cindy but did not move in the slightest, because he did not want to frighten her away. "Angel and I . . . We've got a plan," he told them. "We're going after her, and we're going to bring her back. I told her once she'd never get rid of me. I begged her to promise me not to run away, but you know your mother. Stubborn, hard-headed. Sounds like I'm describing Angel and me, too. We've got to get out of here first, and then, come Hell or high water, we're going after her, and may the Goddess help any one who gets in the way!" He cuddled the animals closer, bringing Blue down onto his lap.
"Out . . . of . . . here?" Faith had finished her exclamation as the light had poured over them. Her words had changed from fiery determination to clear uncertainty. She had looked around, but the light had not appeared to have been trying to harm them.
"Stay on your toes, kid." She had grinned at Dawson as she had spoken to him. She no longer meant the word in the derogatory standard she had used it in before. No, he was still a kid, but he was her kid, her boy, her guy, her man. Then, she had remembered that he was no longer innocent and that she had cost him that innocence. Her eyes had fallen from his, and she had looked away from him.
It had been just at that moment that the light had began pulling away. She had glanced around at it again, realizing that, although it had lifted some individuals up, it had appeared not to have harmed any one and was now going away as quickly and as unexplainably as it had come. Now, she felt Salem attempting to tug his tail free from her hand and tightened her grip on it. "You're not going anywhere, Saberhagen, especially not until you tell me what the heck's going on."
"I . . . I . . . " Salem stuttered. He couldn't tell her for telling her would be asking her, and he couldn't ask her not now, not after all she'd been through, not after she had a brand new lease on life.
Drell had already shouted out at Dumbledore and Xavier, and now the voice that grated Salem's nerves more than any other and made his ears go flat and his fur go stiff boomed out yet again. "WE HAVE WAITED MORE THAN ENOUGH. THE RETRIAL WILL NOW IMMEDIATELY COMMENCE, STARTING WITH SALEM SABERHAGEN."
Salem gulped and shivered. Faith eyed him, his reaction causing her to half-expect for his black fur to turn white on the spot. "Salem, tell me," she commanded him in a whisper. "What the fuck's going on? If ya don't tell me what's going down, how do you expect me to help?"
But that was just it, Salem realized. He didn't expect her to help. He could no more ask Faith for her help now than he could ask his men to stand beside him again after all the horrors they had been forced through when he had failed them the first time. Salem let out a shaky breath, and his tail went limp in Faith's hand. He turned his head toward the Council's high seats and bowed it. His run had come to an end.