God just realized ch 2 of Captured is actually ch 3, attempting to fix now
Long after Matt had been taken inside Al remained out on the lawn. His eyes where solid gold, but this time they didn't burn with blind rage lashing out. Instead came the cold calculating intelligence of a predator on the hunt who knew exactly how to kill its prey. It was a side of Alfred that rarely surfaced, the same side that bombed Hiroshima, raided on D-day and hunted Osama.
Everyone left him alone to this, most of them seeing to Matt - they'd even had to let Pat help, needing the healing energy.
It was a while before that thick Scottish drawl broke into his scheming. "Alfred?"
"Hm..?"
"He'll be okay. Needs a good rest mind..." Iain stayed level, matter of fact.
Al glanced to him out the corner of his eye.
The Scot tensed ever so slightly when he saw gold where there should have been blue. Those eyes still unsettled him...
He looked away again, sensing it.
Iain collected himself quickly. "You need to come back in..."
"No.." The second he sees Mana he was leaving. He didn't care about the cold right now.
"Get your arse in," he frowned. "That rabbit of yours just came back and crashed on the doormat."
He blinks bouncing up at that.
"I set him on the table," the Scot turned, already heading back in. "He wanted to talk to you."
Al followed behind.
They head in, Mana laying on the table, slowly collecting himself; he looked exhausted. Al went over hugging him. The rabbit leaned in slightly, showing his rare affectionate side.
"Tell me he's there.." Al whispered.
"He's there," Mana whispered back. "Rigged the land with traps... I set them all off before I came back..."
Al sighs. "Stay here I'll be back.." he stands heading to his room.
Matt lay in there, bandaged up and mercifully asleep. He really had taken a hit... No one had quite had the courage to look and see just how bad though... Al stared for a moment before kissing his head, turning to his closet and trading his pajamas for hunting camo. He slid a single knife in his boot and turned to the window.
At the kiss, Matt started stirring slightly; reaching out weakly for his brother; his ultimate comfort. *Al...*
Al glances back with a sigh, walking over. Matt struggled to open his eyes, but he was conscious enough to mentally search for him, begging to be held through his pain. He was already squirming in discomfort. Al grips his hand.
*Al...* Matt gripped back weakly, breaths stuttering.
*You're fine Matt..*
*H-hurts...* he whimpered.
*I know..*
*M-make it s-stop...* he hiccupped, starting to cry.
Al frowns hugging him. *I'll find him Matt.. Promise..* Matt just curled into him as best he could, sobbing weakly. Al held him close rocking gently.
It didn't take long for the battered blond to cry himself back into exhaustion, looking a pitiful mess at the end of it all. Al sighs nuzzling for a moment before tucking him in again. He opens the window.
"And where do you think you're going?" a stern voice stopped him this time, Arthur stood in the doorway with solid frown on his face.
He was going to break something if this continued..
"Don't even think of going to him alone," Arthur was unphased. "You know for a fact he's got something dirty still to play and you'd be a fool to come running into it."
"It's not like I'm going in headfirst.. I had a plan.."
"Oh really?" the Brit glared. "Do enlighten me."
"Hide in the woods, send in a few copperheads and watch him keel over in agony.."
"And say you don't get a shot in? Or he gets you first?"
"..." He wasnt going in as a human.. All Nate had ever seen was his wings and talons, he didn't know the extent to which he could morph.
"You're not going alone," Arthur came over, taking his arm and pulling him towards the door. "Iain's getting ready to come with you."
But the blood.. The bodies.. He couldn't let them! But it didn't look like anyone was going to give him a choice in this.. His heart clenched painfully.
Arthur pulled him downstairs, into the kitchen. Iain had Ro sat on the table, holding her head as he whispered something into her brow. Ro sat tense, almost like it hurt her.
Al frowns softly.
It only lasted a moment before the Scot pulled back, pecking her brow. "There, ready to go."
"What was that..?"
"Just quickly teaching her how to fight," Iain shrugged. "Can hardly send her in as a lamb, now, can we?"
"What..? No!"
"Alfred, you need a team," Arthur sighed. "Even with Iain, you could still end up tricked."
He didn't want one! He didn't want anyone else hurt cause of him..
"I want to go," Ro got up off the table with more grace than usual. "I want to help you stop the man that keeps hurting everyone."
He frowns sadly.
"I tried talking her out of it, but she insisted," Iain shrugged. "I gave her a crash course in fighting and boosted coordination and agility, but I don't have time for anything else."
Al sighs, if anything happened..
"Come on," Iain headed for the door, Ro in tow. "Before he hits anyone else."
Al follows behind, still not happy. There was no time to dwell on it though. A transportation circle was already drawn outside. The trio stepped into it and vanished. Al sighs, Iain must have wormed it out of Mana..
When they rematerialized, it was just within view of the rundown plantation house.
And just as Al had hoped there was a copperhead right by his foot, but it was too late for a subtle approach now..
"Ro," Iain nodded and Ro skipped forward.
Al glanced at her. She was jumping from spot to spot, testing the ground. His brow furrowed in confusion.
She hopped to a patch of moss and a trap sprang, a net falling from the tree above. She sprang out of the way, looking shocked that she managed to avoid it.
Al blinks surprised.
Iain smirked wryly. "It worked..."
"H-how did I...?" Ro looked back at them in amazement.
Al just looked dumbfounded.
"Skill swap," Iain shrugged, urging them on. "Hurry up."
They crept closer, Al's senses on high. They set off several traps on the way, so Nate must know by now that they were coming. He could have just bypassed them all together if he was alone..
One glance up in the right light would show that tripwires danced through the canopy above them. Nate had accommodated for his wings too.
Human sized ones maybe..
They finally made it to the door and barged in. It seemed empty at first..
They crept into the house, slow and careful... A floorboard creaked beneath their feet and they paused looking...
Suddenly, the floor gave way beneath them, dropping them down.
Al panicked trying to claw the walls. His claws sank into the edge of the floor rather than the wall, stopping his fall sharply. Iain had grabbed the other side of the hole, Ro clinging to his leg.
Al sighs looking up. Nothing moved above them, save the front door swinging shut. A deadbolt moved into place with a heavy thunk.
He frowns at that. Damn ghosts..
The boards creaked again.
"Better get up..." Iain muttered, pulling himself upward with Ro still clinging to his leg. Al heaved himself up as well. They gather on a firmer bit of floor to catch their breath.
"That went well.."
"We're not done yet," Iain snuffed. "We're going to find him."
Al sighs glancing around, the mold and dust messing with his nose. Something creaked upstairs. God he hates haunted houses..
Ro frowned softly, getting up and heading towards one of the rooms. Al kept close to her, afraid for them both. Iain brought up the rear, watching everything closely. She reached out to open the door...
Al tensed. The doorknob screeched eerily before the entire door fell off its hinges.
The nerves alone were going to kill him.. Iain suggested they look upstairs. Al sighs heading up.
Half way up, the stairs flattened, sending them all tumbling back down.
"Damn it! This place is a funhouse!" Al groans sitting back up.
"That's right, Alfie-boy," Nate's voice suddenly erupted from every corner of the house; deafening, condescending. "And I'm so glad you're enjoying it!"
He hissed angrily.. Ro shrank back from Al, unsettled by the noise.
"Oh, temper, temper..." Nate tutted. "You shouldn't have come here if you didn't want to play."
Al looked around the room, looking for something out of place or trying to sense electrical currents. Everything was normal, no giveaway notches or currents, no sign of abnormality in the walls... Just a very scared fae hiding behind a worried Scotsman.
Well if you can't find a switch.. Al punched through the bottom stair, tearing out the wires underneath.
"Well, that was dumb," Nate's voice rattled through his skull again, but the others just looked at him like he'd gone mad.
"Alfred..."
He fiddles with it some more until the stairs stood properly again. The redheads watched him concernedly for a moment before heading up the stairs again. Al was pissed no denying it..
"So," it almost felt like the slimeball was whispering in his ear. "Why don't you tell me about that little cutie you have with you, hmm? You know I have a thing for red haired girls~"
And this was exactly why he didn't want her to come..
"Y'know, I think she's cuter than the one you treated me to last time," Ro didn't seem to be hearing a thing... Iain either... The Scot would have gone ballistic to hear his sister's modesty called a treat. "You really do spoil me."
Why was that..? Was it just his hearing?
No... Iain's hearing was too good to miss this voice and it was so loud...
It worried him..
"Oh, I wouldn't let him touch that handle, if I were you," Nate sang at Al. Iain was reaching for a door to open it.
Al grips the Scot's wrist.
He jolted in shock, confused and somewhat annoyed "What the hell, Alfred?!"
"Don't.." He switched to some older language Iain had taught him. "Something's wrong.. Something's very wrong.."
The Scot frowned at that, irritation waning some. "We're locked in a house with a lunatic, what could be worse?"
"I can hear him.. Like in my head.." His voice and face were calm but his grip showed fear. "He's watching us.."
Iain's eyes betrayed a flicker of alarm before settling back to their usual piercing green. "He's winding you up, getting you riled."
"I want him out.." It's not like Matt.. Too much like the voices that haunted him before..
"If you know how he got in, I can get him out."
"Boring," Nate mocked loudly. "How long are you going to hold hands and speak gibberish for?"
Al flinched unintentionally, he didn't know..
"Best I can do now for now is come back in and talk over him..." They needed to hurry up before one of them got hurt...
Could he? Nate couldn't hear his thoughts right? It wasn't until later in his confinement that the voices started reacting to them..
Even when the voices had been at their worst, I was Iain who cut through them the best. His accent was so strong and distinct, there was only one person it could be.
Al nods softly letting go of his arm.
Iain quickly opened their old link, taking a moment to tune in. /Working?/
*Yeah..*
/Brilliant, lets.../ he paused, looking around. "Ro?"
Al's breath caught glancing around. She'd vanished!
"Ro?!" Iain called louder.
Al took off down the hall trying to scent her out. Her trail went down the hall and to the left. Iain was hot on his heels.
Why had she wandered off?! He stopped in front of a door. It was slightly ajar, light inside. He rushed inside.
Ro saw sitting up on the floor slowly, looking very confused. It took all he had not to collapse with relief.
She looked over, her own eyes brightening with relief "Al! I... Where am I?"
"Doesn't matter.. Come on.." he reached for her hand. She took it and let him pull her up. She was unharmed, just rather confused over how she'd ended up on the floor in a strange room.
He gripped tight quickly leaving the room.
Iain took her other hand as they came out. "Keep connected." /Keep calm.../
*I'm trying..*
/He'll run you into the ground if you're stressed.../
Al sighs softly trying to turn his thoughts to something else. Iain projected the memory of a song to him, trying to soothe him as they searched the house. Al clung to it, what he wouldn't give to just have this over with.
They searched the house from top to bottom, running into several traps, but no sign of life...
Al frowns growing anxious. Ro was starting to shake slightly, tension rising.
/This was a bad idea.../
*Where the fuck is he?!*
/Unless he's under the fucking floor, he's not here!/
Al sighs trying to think. They paused in the hall, trying to gather their wits.
Was it just a trap from the start? How did he even know they had found him..? Ro was about to ask if they could go home when the floor gave out on them again.