Chapter Twenty-three
The Island
Yells, screams, squeals, and even an occasional yodel shattered the quietness that had fallen over most of the house. People looked up with questions in their eyes. Some laughed out right, and others chuckled and giggled behind their hands. In the kitchen, Piper looked at her sisters with warning eyes and glanced meaningfully at the soap that was normally used to wash the dishes. The youngest Halliwells raced from the room and erupted into laughter.
In Will's bedroom, however, Donkey and Willow slept on, and it was only Will who heard the raucous racket and wondered what was happening and what was causing the wall behind Jack's bookcase to tremble. It shook harder as the yells increased, and a couple of books slipped free from their places and hit the floor. Will's eyes grew even wider at that, and he had to remind himself that, though he thought he'd heard Elizabeth's voice squeal somewhere within that wild cacophony, Autolycus' and Elizabeth's bedroom was quite a ways up the hallway. Besides, if the man finally freed Elizabeth of the virginity she had at one time seemed so desperate to be rid of, all the better as long as Toly eventually made a proper woman of her!
The sounds were not only carried throughout the house, however, but also echoed past the house and reached a few pairs of ears outside. They also passed through the mirror to the other watchers down at the beach. Lockheed cooed. Rubeus blushed a shade so bright that Rachel never would have thought it possible of a Giant, and Ray and Wolverine looked sideways at each other. The girl rose a single eyebrow, wondering if she saw the hint of a blush on Wolverine's cheeks, and laughed despite herself. Some men could be so utterly and ridiculously shy sometimes!
"What the Hell are ya doin' over there, boy!" Wolverine managed to gasp out. "Don't tell me you an' that Eddie are gettin' it on! Never heard such a racket in my life!"
"GODS NO!" Will shrieked, thoroughly disgusted at the mere thought. Had Wolverine seen his paled, nauseated face, he would have been sorry for asking, but as it was, the mirror merely chuckled at the sight. "I don't know who it is, Wolverine, but it's not me and it's not Eddie and it's most certainly not Eddie and me together!"
Wolverine chuckled, the sound carrying through the mirror. "Well, you'd best find out who it is. We do have some young women in the house who don't need to be exposed to that. I've got one here with me, and believe me, boy, we're both embarrassd an' it's louder on yer side than it is on ours."
Rubeus didn't say a word. He just kept blushing. He was used to the mating habits of animals but not of whatever was coming through the speaker. Is that a man and a woman? he wondered. Eddie? Where had he heard that name? A donkey and a man! He was certainly glad when he heard Will say that it was not Eddie!
"Speak for yourself, Wolverine," Rachel told him. "Some of us are used to such racket and really don't mind it even if we would like a little action ourselves." She grinned.
Wolverine did not look at her; he was just too embarrassd! Thank Gods it hadn't been Will!
Lockheed cooed, and Ray looked at him. "Don't even go there, 'Heed! You know I don't like thinking about Kitty with a man, let alone that Wisdom!" She spit on the ground for emphasis. "She deserved much better than that thing! I'm glad he's dead, even if I didn't do it myself! Piotr, I could see. He was a sweet man, a good man, but Wisdom? He was an ass, if ever there was one, and yet she put up with more out of him than she ever did out of any one else!"
"Wolverine," Will called back through the mirror, "if you think for even one second that I am involving myself in . . . in . . . in that, you'd best think again!"
Prue had been looking at Brendan during the noise, and he had turned so blood red that she knew that he would never go up and investigate it yet somebody had to go up there. Somebody had to find out who was killing whoever it was. She looked around for some one she could send and spied Cole. "With every one else gone, that puts you in charge, Cole. You'd best find out if they need any help up there or if somebody's getting killed."
Cole shook his head. He really didn't want to go! He looked at Piper for help.
Piper pointed the big spoon she had been stirring a pot with at Prue. "Do not even go there, Prudence Halliwell! Cole is not going up there, and neither are you or Brendan! I hope to Gods our sisters aren't headed up that way, but you put yourself to work on the cornbread!" Her face was still almost as red as Brendan's.
Outside Chong & Hansel's Bedroom
Xena had had just about enough. She had barely managed to get Gabrielle to sleep when all Hell seemed to break loose three rooms down. What was in that room? Whose room was that? she wondered as she made her way to the door. She looked down the stairs and saw a lot of the others standing around with their mouths open and their faces red. Why hadn't they put a stop to it?
She marched over to the door, read the names, and had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing. Chong had finally got his man! She only wished he could be a little quieter about it. Just as she was reaching to knock on the door, another yodel ripped out of the room. What the Hell was he doing to him in there! She rapped on the door. "Thanks for the entertainment, guys, but some of us are trying to sleep out here!" The room became deathly quiet for a full minute, but then another yodel ripped out.
Elvira shook her head at Xena's failed attempt. "HEY, GUYS!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, just barely managing to be heard over Hansel's latest yodel. "THINK YOU COULD QUIET IT DOWN JUST A BIT? SOME OF US CAN'T GET ANY RIGHT NOW, AND THE SOUNDS YOU TWO ARE PUTTING OUT ARE MAKING US ALL HORNY!" The slamming of doors seemed to resound in the hallway, and Elvira looked around to see that several had ducked back into their rooms. "What?" she asked, looking at Xena. "Was it something I said?"
Xena nodded. "You spoke the truth. They just couldn't handle it." She ducked back into her room with Gabrielle.
The Kitchen
Bishop had been just about to slow down from his running at long last when he heard the noise. Instead of slowing, he picked back up. There was no way in Hell that damn China man was getting a hold of him! He didn't know what he was doing to whatever partner he had managed to capture, but it wasn't happening to him! He ran through the kitchen and out the back door, his cat yowling all the way.
Cole watched as he passed. "What's the matter, Bishop? He's not after you!"
"No, but when he gets tired of using that one, he will be! He'll have to catch me first!"
Cole had to turn away from letting Bishop see him laugh. There was one thing he didn't want to do, and that was make Bishop mad! He shimmered quietly out of the room, leaving Piper alone with Prue and Brendan. The exasperated woman finally allowed herself to plop down into a chair beside Brendan's and bury her face in her hands.
Prue had heard noises all her life but never any like the ones coming from above. It sounded like two bull elephants mating! She moved to stand behind Piper and touched her gently on the neck. She felt tension just rolling off of Piper and began to give her a massage, hoping to get her mind off of the embarrassment. She stole a glance at Brendan. She'd love to make him yodel like that one night!
Autolycus & Elizabeth's Bedroom
Toly had barely managed to get Elizabeth to the bed when it seemed that all Hell broke lose. If he had not been so entwined with her, he would have ran to help whoever was in trouble. He had heard Xena's mouth telling whoever it was to pipe down, and he realized what was going on. He dared not look into Elizabeth's face for fear that she would see what the noise was. When he dared peek into her face, he saw that she was laying there with her eyes closed shut, waiting for the next thing to happen. He lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her gently. "Open your eyes, my love. I want you to see what happens between us as I truly do love you. You are the most beautiful woman I have ever known, and I will take great glory in worshipping your body."
Elizabeth slowly opened her eyes and managed a trembling smile. "I did not have my eyes shut not to see, my heart, but whether . . . " Words failed her. How could she explain that the touches of his lips and hands had already set her heart ablaze and that her eyes had closed in relish? She blushed more deeply, the sounds from a nearby room causing her far more embarrassment than she would have otherwise felt. "My eyes drifted close as I was . . . thoroughly enjoying myself . . . I was just . . . lost in the moment, is all . . . " She stroked the side of his face with a loving hand. "Will you show me how a real Pirate makes a woman feel?"
At her words, he took a deep gulp. Was he up to this? She expected so much out of her first time, and it had been so long since he had found a sheathe worthy of his sword! Seeing her laying there like the wondrous jewel that she was made his loins overheat, and he prayed that he would not let go too soon and embarrass himself. He searched his mind for any bit of poetry or anything to lighten the mood just as another yell was heard. He snuggled up closer to her and began to kiss her neck, and then another yell was heard.
"Elizabeth, darling! I'm afraid . . . that this is . . . not the time . . . I would love to be able to make your wildest dreams come true, but with all that racket going on, it just wouldn't be as romantic . . . " It wasn't that he didn't want to do it, because he did. He just wanted her first time to be extremely special. "Our first time should be a beautiful thing, Elizabeth, and with those noises, there's no way! Forgive me, my love, for failing you!" He found his mouth near her left breast and kissed the top of it gently. If he could, he would rush out and beat the crap out of whoever was disturbing them, but since he had no idea and they had not been afraid, even after Xena's warning, he didn't dare go face them! His steed hung limp in disappointment.
Elizabeth sighed as her head hit her pillow in dismay. She was so close, and yet so far! Her eyes closed again, this time to hide her frustration. Why did those idiots have to make such an awful racket! Who were they any way? Perhaps she should go tell them exactly what she thought of their raucous noise disrupting her first time and forcing her to remain a virgin! Hansel yodeled Chong's name then, and Elizabeth realized that it would do no good to go yell at them. After all, Chong had not even had the decency to cover himself up until the wicked Piratess who had not been killed for some reason had threatened to cut him off!
She really did not want these glorious feelings to stop, however, and as Autolycus kissed the top of her breast and his mustache stroked her flesh, she sighed in a mixture of pleasure and frustration. Perhaps she should show him how much she wanted him? She had once tried something with Will that another woman had told her would turn him on. It probably would have worked had he really wanted her. "Autolycus . . . " she breathed his name as she opened her eyes and gazed up at him. She ran a hand boldly down his body until she was able to find his hand. She lifted his hand from the bed and entwined her fingers with his. "Toly . . . " she breathed again as she started to lead his hand toward her body.
"I don't mind the noises, not really, not enough to make me stop wanting you . . . I want you." She pulled back into the mattress enough that she could slide their entwined hands between their bodies. "I love you." She guided his hand underneath her hiked robe. "I need you." She placed his hand on her wet core and gazed meaningfully at him.
He was lost! Hell could have burst open and swallowed them, and he still would not have paid it any attention! Doing his best to tune the other couple out, he began to caress Elizabeth. Her wetness excited him! He began to shove her robe up. As each perky bosom was revealed, Toly began to lick and nibble even as his fingers were trying to figure out how to get her underwear off the quickest way. He felt his sword jerk to life.
Would Elizabeth yodel? Could he make her yodel? His steed seemed to think so! She had said she loved him. Would she love him after it was over? For the first time, Toly realized that his heart was truly completely lost to one woman, a fate that he thought he would never fall into! He paused a moment, reached out, took her hand, and led it to his stallion. He wanted her to undress him just as fast as he was trying to undress her. The need was romping wildly, and the stallion strained to get out and be free of its stall!
Elizabeth sighed with even more pleasure as he brought her hand to rest on his sword. It had worked! Thank Gods, it had worked! Now if she could just keep him distracted enough not to notice those noisy men . . . She caressed his sword through the straining fabric of his trousers. Her fingers played a melody against him, one she had worked many a time in her dreams. Her sighs grew in volume and number as he worked his magic on her in turn. Her fingers found his buttons, and she slowly began to unbutton him, her palm continuing to caress his arousal.
Elsewhere in the House
Paige had looked everywhere for Carl, but she had not found him. The more the sounds came out, the more she wanted to find him, but he was not in any of his usual hiding holes. She kept looking in all of the holes he frequented, but he was in none of them, or at least she thought he wasn't until she came to the last hole. She could hear something down there. "Carl?" she called. He must be trapped, she thought, and can't get out. I'll have to go down there and help him.
She squeezed down the tiny space and crawled down the inner wall. She had almost come to the end when she realized that what she was hearing was not Carl but something else entirely different. They were making noises almost as bad as what was coming from upstairs! "Carl?" she called one last time before the two beings looked at her. Then she began to scream, because what she was looking at was definitely not Carl. It was two Fieries who had been going at it very strongly! When they saw her, they started moving toward her to include her in their little party. Paige screamed again and orbed, but they caught her and were still clinging to her when she rematerialized in the living room.
Paige continued screaming and began trying to knock the clawing, yammering things off of her. "Ease down, honey!" one of them said, and Paige realized from the sound of the voice that it was a female!
"Yeah! All we want is a little human loving, sweet thing." The voice of the second one was also feminine, and as the reality of what was happening dawned on her, Paige screamed even louder!
Joxer & Phoebe's Bedroom
Phoebe watched Joxer's peaceful face as she rubbed her hand over his chest. He was so fragile, and yet she loved him so much. He was nothing like any of her previous conquests before, and she never could have lain with any other male and not tried something. Now, however, she just wanted Joxxy to rest. He had been through so much. They had all been through so much, but she, though she needed to and knew that her sisters would tell her exactly that, could not rest. She had tried shutting her eyes. She had tried counting sheep. She had tried listening to Joxer's soft snores. Nothing worked.
All she could think about was all that had happened to them over the last couple of days. Losing her mother and grandmother had been hard enough blows, but then being taken by those evil Piratesses . . . Doing all that menial labor, wondering and worrying for her sisters, hearing their screams and being unable to help, being shot, seeing Hoggle be killed for peeing at the wrong time and in the wrong place . . . It was all straight out of a nightmare that was worse even than the loss her family had suffered when the Pirates had first rescued them.
She sighed and laid her cheek against Joxer's chest. As she listened to his heartbeat, she thought again of her sisters. What exactly had been done to them? Where were they now, and what were they doing? Part of her wanted to be down there, talking with them, making sure they were all right, but the other part of her didn't want to leave Joxer. She sighed again, slipped from the bed, and began to pace through the room.
She stopped at their dresser suddenly and picked up a mirror. It was ancient, made of ivory, and delicately detailed with porcelain roses and vines. Her grandmother had received it from a suitor a long time ago, and Phoebe could even recall admiring it as a child. She'd always be looking at her reflection in it whereas Grams used it increasingly little as she grew older. On her sixteenth birthday, Grams had given her the mirror . . . but she'd lost it in the wreck. Yet here it was in her very hand!
How in the world? Phoebe pondered, glancing at the bigger mirror over the dresser. Her mouth fell open for in its reflection she saw not the face of a green man as had been in the mirror on the shore but instead a painting. She whirled around, her brown eyes flying up to the wall, and tears filled her eyes as she looked at the painting that Paige had once made and given to her. There were her mother, her grandmother, her sisters, and even Kit. Kit. Where was Kit? Oh Gods! Phoebe thought. Surely they hadn't left him down on the beach, outside where the dinosaurs could get him and eat him?
She headed quickly for the door and had half-way reached it when pictures filled her head. She cried out, feeling the pain of the one being attacked, and fell to her knees. "CARL!" she sobbed. "CARL! NO!"
Joxer had come quickly awake when he heard Phoebe pacing the room. He had watched her in the fading sunlight and thought she was the most beautiful creature he had ever known. He didn't know how he had come to be the lucky man sharing her room. He was thankful that he had. He wished that he could be all things to her that she needed and wanted but knew that he had failed her badly despite all his good intentions.
He did not move, because he did not want to disturb her thoughts. He watched as she walked around and picked up the mirror. He thought it was a beautiful mirror, just right for his Princess. Where had it come from? He had never seen it before.
His mind flashed back to the green man he had seen before in the big mirror. Was he gone now, or was he just lurking in there, waiting for Joxer to put in an appearance? No, Joxer the Mighty couldn't be a coward and lay in his bed. He'd have to face the thing sooner or later, before it did something to his beautiful Phoebe. Phoebe had reached the door, paused, and then cried out, and Joxer was by her side within seconds.
He clasped her to him and held her as her screams drowned out Paige's down below. His hand brushed her hair out of her face, and he saw the look of pure terror in her eyes. "Phoebe, darling! What's wrong? What happened to Carl?" His voice grew just a little high in anxiety. "Answer me, angel!" he pleaded.
Phoebe could barely hear Joxer for the sounds of ripping, shredding, sucking, and screaming that filled her mind. "It's got him!" she cried, shaking all over. "I don't know what it is, but it's got him! It's eating him!" Then, just like that, the vision was gone, and she fell into Joxer's embrace, still trembling.
"What's got Carl?" Joxer asked. "What's eating him?" He knew he really didn't want to know but that he'd have to know before he could go out and rescue Carl. His love for Phoebe made him want to be the mighty Joxer that he was, but it also made him want to be cautious. He didn't want anything to happen to himself to the point that Phoebe couldn't love him. Maybe he should go look for Cole when he found out what it was that was eating Carl?
Phoebe fought to pull herself together. Her face was wet from tears she did not recall shedding, and she hurt for Carl. "I don't know what it was, Joxxy!" she exclaimed. "I didn't get a good look at it! All I know is that it was big and dark and ripping Carl apart with its bare hands! Claws really. I know I saw a shot of claws. Or talons. Something like that. We've got to tell the others!"
"Let's go down to the kitchen. Cole is sure to be down there with Piper. Cole can handle anything," Joxer said reassuringly. He knew that if it was something Cole couldn't handle that Joxer didn't need to be anywhere within a hundred miles of it! Grabbing her hand, he led the way to the kitchen.
The House
"I've got to go!" Will shouted at the mirror as he heard Paige's scream. He raced from his bedroom to see what was wrong. He fell into step beside a crowd of people rushing down the stairs, but it was none of those who reached Paige first. Instead, it was Piper, Prue, and Brendan who rushed in from the kitchen and Cole who shimmered to Paige. Piper threw out her hands and froze the Fieries.
"What are those things doing here?" Cole asked. "Where did you find them?" He reached out and offered a hand to Paige.
"I was looking for Carl, and I found them! Carl's missing!" She took his hand, and he helped her to her feet.
"Why would Carl be missing? He wasn't on trial."
"They grabbed me, and they wouldn't let go even when I orbed!"
"Speaking of orbing," Piper spoke quietly and gestured to where a new set of blue lights were appearing in the room. She wondered who this new orber was and raised her hands, prepared to freeze another attacker if need be.
Sam appeared with the two children in tow. "I gathered, by all the noise, that you had returned." He looked around and finally spotted Clark. The young man had been standing off by himself until he spotted his kids. Then he began hurriedly and even forcibly shoving his way through the throng of people to reach his kids. "Julian! Sarah!" he called.
The children ran to their father and threw themselves against him, hanging on to him as though their lives depended on it. Clark knelt, gathered them close into a huge bear hug, and picked both up at the same time. Lex would be so relieved to find that they had lived! Tears stung Clark's eyes, happy at first and then sad as he reminded himself that Lex would be relieved only if he made it through the trials with his memories in tact.
Sarah looked at her daddy, Clark, as her arms hugged him around the neck. "Where's Daddy Lex?" she asked worriedly.
"He's . . . " Clark coughed and choked down his own emotions. He smiled at the little girl and picked up, "He's still away on business, but he'll be back." He hugged his and Lex's children even tighter but remained careful not to hurt them. "He'll be back," he insisted. "I promise."
Sarah snuggled even closer to her daddy, Clark. She was worried about Daddy Lex, and that was the only reason why she had talked. She thought that he had not even missed them so much had been going on. "Did you know we were missing?" she asked. "Mister Sam took good care of us, but Mister Simon isn't here any more."
Julian hugged Clark tightly. "He tried to save us, and we lost Jasmine, too." He buried his face against Clark. He was afraid that Daddy Lex had failed, too, since he wasn't there and that Clark was trying to hide it from them. "Are you sure Daddy Lex is okay?" he questioned worriedly.
"I'm . . . I'm sure of it," Clark persisted even while kicking himself. He hated lying to them, but he knew he could not tell them the horrid truth of the situation. Tears stung his eyes and throat, but he forced them and his emotions down. He had to be a brick wall right now. A compassionate, caring, loving brick wall, but a brick wall nonetheless. He looked at Sam and managed a smile. "Thank you, Sam. I owe you a debt I can never repay. But as for Miss Jasmine," he told the kids, "she's all right. She's here . . . somewhere . . . " His sad, haunted eyes turned to scan the others in the room and spilling out beyond both doorways. "Jasmine? Where's Jasmine? Who's seen Jasmine?"
"I've seen Jasmine."
The voice was familiar, but Clark was too upset to place it immediately. "Where?"
"In the mirror."
He closed his eyes for a moment and shook his head, then reopened them. "Jasmine, get in here! Move aside," he told the others. "Let her in!"
The others did not have to move far to allow Jasmine's thin frame to pass. Soon, she was beside Clark and the children, and she reached out and gently touched both kids. "I'm right here," she told them. "I'm right here, and everything's going to be okay."
Clark wondered if the blonde woman really believed her words, but one look into her blue eyes told him that she did not. Even Jasmine was not that dumb.
Will looked around at the faces of the others. He knew that Clark was beside himself and wished he could tell him how he could see Lex but knew that the kids did not need to know what was really going on and that Clark would not manage to get away from them for quite some time to come. Then Will spotted two other very, very sad faces. He could see the tracks that tears had left on Dawson's pale face, and Connor, too, looked as though he'd been as despairing as Will had been. He worked his way through the crowd until he managed to reach both young men. "You two," he whispered. "Dawson, Connor, come with me." Without waiting for an answer, he turned and headed back toward his room, taking the steps two at a time.
The Island
Carl had been missing for quite some time. He was in more pain than he'd ever been in in his entire life and in such terrible shape that he could not even crawl toward the house. The mirror had cranked him up so bad that he had ran faster than he had intended to, past the house and on to the other side of the island. He had not fallen afoul of dinosaurs, however, even though they roamed freely but something far more horrendous for he had been attacked by one who used to be a member of the human race but was now a blood-thirsty monster. He did not know who he was. He just knew that he attacked him, because he was wanting to eat him.
Carl fought as valiantly as he could but knew it was a losing battle for his strength far outweighed his own, and a Gnome's strength is nothing to laugh at but neither are monsters. He lay there, remembering Paige, his beautiful Paige. He felt that he was dying and feared that he had not told her nearly enough how much he loved her. She would soon forget him and find another. He could feel his life's blood draining away, and he tried once again to get up and crawl but was not able to. Where had the thing gone that had attacked him, and what was that thing? He closed his eyes, fearing that it was his last time, and he held his memory to Paige close to him even as his mind slowly began to fade away.
Cole had searched the island frantically looking for Carl, fearful that the little guy had been caught by a dinosaur and eaten. He was not having much luck finding him, and then he came to a blood-smeared clearing. It looked as though a dinosaur had had a meal. He walked carefully around and stumbled over a shoe. Picking it up, he recognized it as Carl's. "CARL!" he called, distraught that the little guy was gone. Using his sense of smell, he sniffed the shoe and began to try to track the little guy. He heard something and looked up to his left and spotted . . . Who was it? He could barely see a flash of light hair, and then it was gone.
Spike had been out wandering, lost and lonely. He did not know where the house was, and his mind was solely upon his beloved Kyna. Twice within one day, he had lost her. Why was it so hard for him to keep her? Was it not meant for them to be together? He didn't know, but he was lost in his prayers and thoughts of her when he stumbled over something. Looking down, he saw the little man who he knew was called Carl. Was he dead? He felt for a heartbeat and found only an extremely faint one. He did not have long left! He picked him up and started running with him. Where he didn't know.
Cole, seeing something running toward him, stepped to the side and watched as Spike flashed by. He yelled at him, and Spike stopped and turned to face Cole. Cole's heart stood in his throat. Had Spike attacked Carl! Carl's chest was totally torn open, and it looked as though something had been seeking his heart. Spike had blood all over him, Carl's blood! "Did you -- !" Cole asked only to have Spike swear up and down that he had not.
"No, I didn't! I found him like this!"
Cole reached out, grabbed Spike's arm, and shimmered the three of them to the house.
Paige looked up as she sensed some one enter the room. Her eyes fell upon the tiny body that Spike held tenderly to his chest, and immediately she began to cry. "Carl? Carl! NO!" Piper tried to reach out to her sister, but Paige pushed her away and rushed to Carl. It was then that she caught sight of his opened chest where blood and body parts hung out. Prue caught Paige just before she could hit the floor.
"Let me through! Let me through! Damn it, you idiots, let me through!"
"Yeah! Let her through!" Joxer exclaimed.
"Phoebe?" Piper called, turning toward her younger sister's frantic voice. "What is it? Don't come in here! Just tell us what's going on!"
"Piper, I had a . . . " Phoebe stopped just inside the doorway and stared at Carl. She was too late. Carl was gone, and . . . what a way . . . what a way to go! She dropped, falling backwards onto Joxer and knocking him to the floor, as well.
"What in the world is going on in there?" a man's voice asked. Trent stuck his head just inside the doorway, took one look, and rushed away, one hand pulling Carlos after him and the other covering his mouth. He made it outside just in time to be sick.
Piper looked at Sam, tears welling in her eyes. "Sam?" she asked. "Can you save him?"
Sam reached out and laid his hands on Carl. The damage was extensive. It may take some doing, but he thought he could. He concentrated solely on Carl, and the little fellow's body began to heal. They had only just made it.
Spike continued to hold Carl as gently as though he were a baby, and Cole had to turn away to keep his tears from being seen. Piper gently touched his arm but could do little to comfort him. Cole was angrier than he had ever been at himself. How had this happened, and on his watch! He was even angrier at the thing that had done this to Carl and was still afraid that Spike had been the one who had attacked him. After all, he had seen a flash and then Spike carrying Carl, but why would Spike have carried Carl? Wouldn't he have just eaten him? Had the Vampire gotten the best of Spike? And then Cole saw the tears in Spike's eyes. Spike had said he didn't do it, and Cole now found himself believing that Spike had told the truth.
Piper had slipped between Prue and Cole. She was already gently and reassuringly rubbing Cole's arm, and now she reached out and placed a hand on Prue, as well. She still did not speak for she knew there were no words to ease the pain and fear that they were all feeling.
Clark was glad that Jasmine had been beside him for the moment they had seen Cole and Spike enter with Carl, their hands had gone to the kids' eyes. Jasmine had covered Julian's, and Clark had hid Sarah's. Now, the two slipped out of the room with the kids, each assuring them that it was all right and that it just wasn't something they were old enough to see yet.
"Kinda like those sounds from upstairs?" Julian asked.
"Yeah," Jasmine told him. "Just like that." She wondered why the little boy already knew what those sounds meant, and that thought caused her to wonder if he, too, had spent part of his childhood in a tavern.
The House
Dawson and Connor exchanged a glance and then began to follow Will upstairs. "Wait for me, mon!" a voice called behind them. Connor turned around to see that the two tiger cubs were trying to follow. Wolfie had Sebastian on his back and was trying to herd the two cubs before him. How could he have almost forgotten about his little family? Connor asked himself. Where was his brother, the only other member left to him? He looked around but did not see Frederic. I hope he's still out of trouble and not trying to do his duty, Connor thought even as he scooped the two tiny cubs up. "I'm going to take you to our room. I don't know what kind of business Mister Turner has with us, but you guys need to rest."
Dawson reached out and offered to tote one of the cubs. He smiled at Connor as Connor passed the boy to him. "You don't want to tote the girl. She's the feistier of the two," Connor told him.
"I think they're both sweet," Dawson replied. "How lucky you are to have such a great family! Don't worry; the others will come home soon." If he repeated that enough times, he might actually begin to believe it. Faith's absence left a huge hole in his heart, and he felt that, at any moment, he might burst out crying. He was glad to be of help with the cub.
"Are you coming?" Will called down, looking at the two boys from the top of the staircase. His usual patience failed him for he could not wait to get back to Jack and fretted silently over what might even now be happening to his beloved.
"Yes, sir; we'll be right there! I just need to stop and drop these tired little ones off in our room. We'll come right up. I know where your room is."
"You can take them there or they could sleep with Donkey and the cat, but hurry," Will replied. "You don't want to miss this!" He wished he could tell them straight forward that he was trying to help them find their ways to being able to watch their missing loved ones, but to state such aloud would cause quite the commotion.
Connor walked quickly to where his room used to be and was surprised to find that there was now a plaque on the door that he couldn't read. He puzzled over it even as Dawson came to his elbow. "Zora's in your room now!" Dawson asked.
"I don't know. What makes you think that?"
"Well, her name's on the door any way."
"You can read?" Connor asked him.
"I do have some schooling," Dawson said proudly. "I like to read. I didn't get to finish. Mitch took me out of school and made me work at the store. He was too cheap to really hire somebody. The plaque says Connor & Zora."
"This should be interesting," Connor commented as he opened the door to his room. The room was so crowded they could barely get in. "What's all this stuff?" Connor asked even as his eyes grew large at the size of the bed in the center of the room.
"By all that's holy!" Dawson declared. "What is all this!" His eyes kept being drawn to first one sparkly thing and then another.
"I thought I lost this!" Connor exclaimed. "Actually, I thought Pan stole it, but I never could prove it!" He reached out and took the watch that lay on the top of a trunk. "All this other stuff must belong to Zora. I found it one day while playing with the Lost Boys. Pan demanded it when he saw I had it, but I wouldn't give it to him. I wanted it. It was mine; I found it. But then it disappeared."
"It has a picture in it, but I don't know who it is. Pan thought it was a fantastic thing, because it actually ran and made a ticking sound. He used it to scare Dad all the time into thinking that the croc was coming, but I was the one who found it to start with. Of course, I only found out what he was using after I was no longer with the Lost Boys," he commented, picking his wording carefully. "I wonder what they're doing now that Pan isn't with them. He never did take good care of any of us, just took the booty we found and made it his own. If we complained, he punished us."
Connor shook himself out of his thoughts before he could slip up and tell Dawson more than he wanted him to know. "We'd best hurry before Mister Turner thinks we're not coming." He laid the cub on the bed. Wolfie jumped on the bed, carrying Sebastian, who almost fell off. The little crab was so sleepy that Connor thought he'd go to sleep immediately. It was just as Connor was heading for the door that Sebastian yelled, "WAIT, MON! YOU AIN'T GOIN' OFF WIT'OUT ME! ZORA TOLD ME TO KEEP AN EYE ON YOU! Wolfie can watch the cubs."
Connor reached out and picked Sebastian up very carefully, holding the crab in front of him so that he would not pinch him. The boys eased out of the room and headed up the stairs where Will waited for them, wondering what Mister Turner could want. They knocked on his door when they reached there.
The Island
Roxanne paced back and forth across the porch of the house the others had all gone into. She continually glanced at her jaguars, who flanked her on each side and appeared to be as nervous and frustrated as she was. She looked again at the lowering sun. She had no chains, no locks, no way to keep herself from possibly attacking Sasha and Yasmine. She could run, leave them here and run, but the minute she'd suggested that, they had argued with her, reminding her of the speeds that she travelled as a Were and warning her that she could very easily come across them before sunrise. No, it was just too big a risk, and she would not risk the lives of her babies.
Sasha growled, her tail striking a fly and sending the tiny bug crashing onto the floor. Roxanne shook her head, and her long, black hair shimmered in the orange rays of the sun. "I can not," she told her. "How can I ask for help from people we helped to capture and who were put through such torture by those they think were my allies?"
Sasha growled again, and once more, Roxanne shook her head. "No. They would never understand." Yasmine spoke then, but still Roxanne shook her head. "That was different. Emma is the wife of one of their men. Besides, she does not know that I regretted what happened to her and probably thinks that it was my job, as the ship doctor, to keep her alive so that they could torture her." Actually, that was far closer to the truth than Roxanne cared to contemplate.
Sasha sat down, looked Roxanne directly in her eyes, and growled again. "They owe me nothing, Sasha; it was the least I could do. Even with my help, the catman nearly did not make it!"
"No, I do not remember his name. It doesn't matter. He's a male."
"Katrina, I think, and . . . Celina. She was the one who believed me first, but still I can not -- "
"Of course I would not prefer to endanger you! Never would I -- "
The Living Room
Brendan stepped up in front of Prue. His eyes met hers, but he did not speak. Instead, he carefully took Paige from her, walked over, and laid her on the couch. Then he headed after Phoebe and Joxer, who Gabrielle and Elvira were already kneeling beside. He gingerly picked up Phoebe and carried her out. He'd take her to her bedroom, lay her on her bed, and then come back for Joxer.
Prue watched through dazed eyes as Brendan took care of her family. When he had finally come back from taking Joxer, she stepped forward and touched him gently on the arm. "Thank you, Brendan, for being here for me." She couldn't remember a time when she was as tired as she was at this moment. How she wished she could lay down and have Brendan hold her so that they could both rest! She knew he was exhausted, too. She looked at Carl, whose coloring was coming back now. "Take him up to Paige's room," she told Spike.
Sam agreed. "I've done all I can for him for now, but I'll keep a watch over him tonight." He prayed that they had reached him in time before his mind had left. "Only morning well tell."
Brendan nodded, his eyes trailing to the window where he could see dusk turning into night. He looked back down at Prue. He wanted so desperately to touch her, to hold her close, and reassure her everything was going to be all right, but he knew he could not. He had to summon all his courage just to lightly touch the back of her cheek while gazing into her eyes. "Some one take Paige to her room, and Prue, you get some rest. You need it. If you won't do it for yourself, do it for your sisters." Then he swiftly turned away and headed for the basement where he hoped Jack had set things up for him.
Prue watched Brendan go, her eyes full of sadness, even as her hand crept to the place he had touched on her cheek. Maybe one day, she thought, he won't be running away? Maybe, one day, we can actually sleep in the same room all night and not be prisoners? She moved to stand beside Piper. "It's too late to cook, little sister. We need to go to bed. We'll get up early and make breakfast." She hugged her and began to lead her toward her bedroom.
The Court Room
Faith's mind sped as Drell droned on and on. The pompous ass of a Judge acted as though he did not even know how to shut up, and she had stopped listening to him some time ago. Indeed, she hadn't bothered with a single word he'd said since he'd announced that she could pick two, but only two, to aid her in the fight against the Spellmens. Her dark eyes darted around the court room, pausing on every face of an alley but only stopping to rest on those who she truly considered. Finally, after what seemed like an eon of useless, inane rattling at the top of his booming voice, Drell called down, "THE TIME FOR DECIDING IS UP. WHAT IS YOUR DECISION, FAITH?"
His irritated voice grated Faith's already fragile nerves. He acted as though all the time they had wasted had been because she had been trying to make up her mind, not because he hadn't bothered to shut up! She raised her head and opened her mouth, but instead of cussing him with all the names that he brought to her mind, she called out her decision. Her firm voice carried throughout the hushed court room. "I CHOOSE JARETH. AND LEX LUTHOR."
To Be Continued . . .