Diligo Est Amicitia

CHP 25: Final Exposure

No… He staggered a few steps back. But it was unavoidable; those captivating eyes of hers… the eyes he had been so accustomed to gazing at over steaming cups of Moll's coffee.

Peter Lycan… you're insane.

-

"Been waiting long?" Delancey asked, waving the large box of popcorn at him, her eyes betraying her apology.

He shook his head, never taking a bite of the delicacy she offered him. His throat was dry, though he was sure it wasn't because he was dehydrating, and his voice couldn't seem to escape his lips. His eyes, however, often stole glances at her; those priceless peeks just to take in everything of her.

He accompanied her around the fair in absolute silence. Neither spoke to the other until she suddenly stopped and turned on him.

"What?" She snapped. Peter stumbled back slightly in surprise at her sudden outburst.

"Huh?" He croaked.

"You keep staring at me." She clarified. "Is there something on my face?"

He only shook his head, a small smile dancing on his lips. "Peter, you've been acting weird ever since I left to get that popcorn. Did something happen?"

He shook his head again. "Say something!" She demanded. "God, what's wrong with you toni---"

She didn't finish her sentence; Peter had moved closer to her… much too close. At the same time, his hand touched hers and he held it. He stroked her cheek with his other hand before gently cupping her chin and closed the distance between them.

-

"So… do you like him?" Caleb asked.

"Mmm… who?"

"Peter."

Jamie glanced exasperatedly at the young man by her side. "We're just friends."

"Mm-hmm… yeah, I can see that. I mean, what kind of friends don't stay have sleepover parties and sleep in the same bed half-naked, right?"

Jamie snorted in derision. "You know what, Caleb? Believe what you want. It isn't any of your business anyway! You don't know what kind of relationship I have with Peter; you weren't there the last eighteen years of my life. I am seriously so sick of you being over-protective of me when you know Sarah still loves you. And the worst thing of all is that you still have feelings for her!"

"You can't let go of love so easily." Caleb defended himself. "It's gonna take time."

"Yeah, well, how much? I don't have any time to spare, Caleb…"

Before he could protest, Jamie walked off. She had a mission to do anyway and tonight for some reason, being around Caleb annoyed her. It was so obvious that he still cared for Sarah… not even she could change that.

-

"One."

"Two."

"Three."

"Four."

"Five." A different, yet all the same, familiar voice intoned.

Reid opened his eyes. Yup, just as he expected… he had opened his eyes to her.

"I was under the opinion that you thought the game was rubbish." Reid turned around, smirking to meet the stare of his stalker.

"Just testing it out." He replied coolly.

"So which one of the two caught your attention first?" Jamie asked.

No reply.

"What's the matter, Garfield? Cat got your tongue?"

"How long have you known?" He asked quietly.

"From the beginning." She answered without hesitation.

He sneered. "You and Caleb… always the wise ones… is there any shit you don't know?"

"Don't compare me to Caleb. I'm nothing like him. He's the most irrational one out of the four of you. He loves too hard, too deep."

"And you don't?" Reid raised an eyebrow.

To this, Jamie didn't answer. Instead, she moved on to the reason she had snuck up on Reid tonight. "Why'd you do it Reid?"

He turned away from her, unable to answer the question. "It's none of your business."

"It is if you're hurting two of my friends. And let me tell you I've never seen them more hurt than they are now."

"Jamie… I… I don't what to say right now… I can't…"

"Oh, so you can't own up to the things you did? You're an asshole Reid! You're hurting your best friend and my best friends and you can't explain that? Fuck you! You know what: I already know what's going on, I just had to hear it from the horse's mouth."

"Shut up." Reid hissed but Jamie wasn't done yet.

"So Tyler gets the attention of one girl and you just had to have both? Damn you, Reid; I thought those roses you tried sending Lilith was the lowest level you'd stoop to but clearly, I was wrong."

Reid looked horrified. "How did you… you know what --- you don't even know what's happening so why don't you just shut that pretty little face!"

"…And you're so confused and it's pathetic, Reid! I applaud you; you've just about destroyed the lives of three people! I hope you're happy."

"SHUT UP!!" Boom. He had finally erupted. "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO WATCH CALEB RISK HIS LIFE FOR SARAH! POGUE ALMOST DIED FOR KATE! THE LAST THING I WANTED WAS TO SEE TYLER DO THE SAME JUST FOR ONE STUPID FEELING!"

By now, Reid's eyes had turned midnight black and a few tears had trailed down his cheeks but Jamie wasn't intimidated. She was too overwhelmed by his radiating emotions, too deep into this moment. "Love?" Jamie said softly.

Silence prevailed for what seemed like lifetimes.

"I was wrong, Reid… Caleb isn't the most ridiculous one; you are." Jamie finally realized as she fitted in the pieces of the puzzle. "That night after Tyler Ascended… the last thing you wanted him to do was fall in love."

"When you Ascend, your emotions are all haywire. It can take the slightest thing to fall in love and obsession, to fall to the Dark side... even if you're as righteous and all that bullshit as Caleb is, you could get swayed over. The party began just three hours after he got his full powers… it was too early for him to be going out in public like that. Things could have… happened."

"Tyler's the most level-headed guy anyone can meet." Jamie shrugged. "How could you not have trusted him?"

"I didn't wanna take a chance." Reid argued as his eyes slowly turned back to its normal blues. "But I guess one Son of Ipswich can't stop Fate… they still kissed after all."

"But why, Reid? Why go to all this trouble?"

Reid took a great shuddering breath. "We were fourteen at the time. We had just entered Spencer, y'know… just moved into the dorms. And then Pogue's dad started to… you know. We visited once in a while to support Pogue but I could see that look everytime in Tyler's eyes when he saw Mr. Parry. 'Reid, I'm afraid.' He would tell me that. He was afraid that he wouldn't be as strong as his dad, that he'd fall victim to the Power. I promised him, Jamie… I vowed to him that as long as I lived and I was there, I'd never let that happen. When he would reach Ascension, I'd be there with him every step of the way." Jamie felt her own eyes starting to water as she looked into Reid's eyes; tears that hadn't been shed were still clinging to his eyeballs.

He dropped numbly onto a rock, head in his hands and rocking back and forth. Jamie looked at the pitiful figure and sat down beside him, one arm over his shoulder as a means of comfort.

The moment didn't last long however; a sharp scream echoed throughout the forest. The hairs on the back of Jamie's neck stood up and her heart pumped faster than she ever thought possible; she knew that scream.

"What?" Reid's head shot up as he sensed the change in the girl beside him.

"Uh… nothing." Jamie said quickly. He looked at her curiously and she decided to improvise. "Look, Reid… do me a favour and find Jane. Take her back to the dorms, okay? I need to go… I had something planned with Lils and Fin. See ya!" She rushed off but the strange thing was, she was heading into the heart of the forest, not back to the fair. Jamie had forgotten about Reid the moment she had turned away from him; so desperate was she in trying to find the source of that unearthly cry.

"Oh, no way in Hell you're shaking me off of this." He muttered under his breath. Wiping away whatever proof that he had been crying with the back of his hand, he followed Jamie's trail.

-

But before his lips could connect with hers, Peter's ears picked up something the rest of the people around him could not… Fin. He could hear her scream… only it wasn't exactly the voice he was familiar with. Nevertheless, it sounded immensely urgent… maybe even life-threatening.

He pulled away reluctantly from Delancey who shrunk back, confused and missing the warmth he had temporarily given her. "Peter?"

"I'm sorry…" He apologized. "I need to go."

He turned away but this time, she had held him back. He turned back and looked into her eyes, which were at that moment, sadly pleading for him to stay. "I need to go." He whispered, then jogged off towards where he had heard Fin screaming. She had been using her power, he knew because it didn't sound human. It had been a mixture of the creature she represented but at the same time, he knew she had been screaming as well.

He glanced up at the heavens, nothing but a canvas of dark blue ink with the occasional twinkle of a bright star. The full moon hung high and if he so wished, he could evolve to the being he truly was. His human skin started to tear off him, as did his clothes, as he underwent the painful transformation. The only thing that didn't change was the colour of his eyes. They were still amber… still recognizable for those who knew him well. He prayed that Delancey never might have to see him like this

With full lycan power now pumping through his body, he leaped through the woods in search of Fin. Another otherworldly scream echoed through the forest. Fin! He could only hope he wasn't too late.

-

"Hey!" Lilith greeted as Tyler approached her.

"Hey…" He returned but his eyes searched behind her… for someone who wasn't there. "Where's Fin?"

"She's right…" Lilith turned around, expecting the redhead to be standing behind her. "Fin?"

Her eyes unconsciously pierced through the woods far off away and Lilith could suddenly see outlines of trees a hundred meters off from where she was standing. But it was the mental sight of what stood in the heart of the forest that truly stopped her heart cold. "FIN!" She shrieked, taking off at an inhumanly speed run.

"Lilith!" Tyler shouted, rooted to the spot and frozen in shock and her all too sudden departure. Caleb and Pogue who had been trying to assemble the group back was attracted by Tyler's voice and the both of them - together with Sarah and Kate – jogged over to the youngest Son of Ipswich. It was already late and the crowd had thinned… the number of people walking around the fair was countable by your fingers and this area of the carnival was already deserted.

Instinctively, Pogue's eyes turned black as Tyler hurriedly explained that Lilith had run off – at an amazing velocity, he added – and immediately staggered as he heard the same thing the three future Archos had heard. It was so painful… so heartbreaking to hear… "Guys." He whispered, uncalled tears stinging his eyes.

"Pogue! You're crying… what's wrong?" Kate asked, not knowing whether to be afraid or amused by her boyfriend's sudden display of emotion.

"It's… it's coming from over there." He pointed in the general direction of where Tyler had sworn he had seen Lilith running into just a few seconds ago.

"Guys… I think there's something the girls are not telling us." Caleb said out loud the question that had been bugging all four Sons of Ipswich for weeks. It was not an unreasonable nor unthinkable question; they had been acting weird ever since… well, ever since Peter came along. There had to be some connection between them, Caleb reasoned.

"I think you're right." Tyler said.

"And I think… if we wanna find out what exactly is it… we should follow Lilith."

"I think you're right." Tyler said again.

Caleb turned to Sarah. "Listen, do you think you'll be okay---"

But Sarah cut him off, glaring at him. "Go, Caleb. They're more important anyway." She turned away and stalked off in a huff, not even giving him a chance to protest.

"Sarah you know that's not fair!" He called after her but she didn't turn back.

"Oh, I think Sarah's been very fair with you." Kate interrupted. Caleb turned to face her.

"Shh…" Pogue urged, lightly hitting her shoulder.

"And that goes for you as well." Kate chided the longhaired brunette. "You've been spending more time with your covenant and those three than you are spending time with me. Prioritize, Parry, or it's over between us."

Tyler snickered once Kate was out of earshot. "Man, am I glad I don't have a girlfriend." He shut up, however once the two elder boys shot him killer glares. "Um… we have a girl to chase."

"Right." Caleb nodded. "And I don't think we have time. Pogue?"

Pogue's eyes were still black but he shook his head. "I don't hear a thing."

"Maybe we're too late." Tyler reluctantly suggested.

"Let's hope not." Caleb exchanged a look with the youngest Son of Ipswich before the both of them simultaneously Power-ed up and without a word between them, had Used to speed up their journey to reach wherever Lilith was.

-

"Fin, stop it!" Jamie cried. She could no longer watch the scene playing out before her while doing nothing. Before her very eyes, Fin was skinning warriors of the Rebellion, one by one as they hurled herself at her, crashing down to the ground very much dead and two feet before her.

But that wasn't the only thing that made Jamie's heart truly stop for what seemed like an eternity. Fin was floating mid-air, her red hair fanned out from her face. She looked like a goddess; her eyes were pitch black just like when one of the Sons of Ipswich were Using but blood tears were slowly making their way down her cheeks, moving in every direction so that her cheeks were stained with its thick rich red tone.

But Fin wasn't listening to her… she was too busy destroying the lycans, sirens, centaurs and every other imaginable creature that the Rebellion had sent to assassinate them. And she was enjoying it. Jamie felt sick at the look of twisted pleasure on Fin's face every time her powers started on a new assailant.

"Jamie." Lilith had arrived, panting slightly from the speed she had used to get here but she was every bit as appalled at the sight before their eyes as Jamie was. "What is Fin doing?"

"I don't know but I'm not saying this 'cuz I feel sorry for the Rebellion: we have to stop her. Now."

Before Jamie could elaborate more on a plan however, a familiar howl echoed around the small clearing and a fully evolved werewolf bounded towards them. Peter. It paused, falling on its paws and staring up at Fin before howling at her.

"Lilith… do something." Jamie commanded.

"Why don't you do it?"

"I'm giving you a chance to use your powers now and you're telling me you don't want to?" Jamie asked, incredulously.

Lilith glared the girl beside her before concentrating on projecting her power. In the background, Peter painfully changed back to his human form, not bothering to cover up his indecency. Jamie, who stood in front of him, saved him face by not turning around.

"Pete, what's happening to her?" She asked.

"It's happening, Jamie… you're finally on the verge of Ascending."

Jamie recalled that time… the night when Jane had stumbled upon her using. It had been one of the scariest moments of her life but she hadn't really told anyone about it. Lilith and Fin had never poked her to the point that she had to tell them to shut up. They had simply trusted her to tell them at her own time. Jamie wondered for a moment whether she could have prevented this… if she had told them of that feeling; could they have been more careful?

Still, it wasn't a time for regrets… if she wanted to take action, she had to do it now. But before she could open her mouth, there was an abrupt change in the air. Wind swept around her, the dust and dirt choking her eyes and throat as she struggled to cover herself by creating a firestorm. But before she could will up her power, a sudden shadow passed over her. Jamie stared. She knew who it was… she had seen him in pictures from books about the Rebellion she had read in the private library William had once upon a time given her access to.

Gryphos. The word flashed across her mind and she gaped as it perched on the branch of a tree, as if it purposely wanted Fin to see it. Body of a lion, head and wings of an eagle, she remembered. Suddenly, it's features started to melt… as if it were wax and someone had burned it off. The cruel hard face of the griffin changed… into an equally cruel hard face of a man. His beautiful dark wings folded themselves comfortably behind his back as his mouth started to curl in a ferocious smile.

"Gryphos." Jamie nodded. His dark eyes flicked over to meet Jamie's and they stared at one another, sizing up their opponent.

"Now what do we have here?" He finally spoke. "Four Chosen Ones… my, my… this is really turning out to be jackpot for me, isn't it? And you've even brought the Sons of Ipswich for dessert as well. How nice."

What?! Jamie whirled around, as did Lilith who was already in full Archos mode, which meant that no one with the Sight could see her but that wasn't a problem; all four pairs of eyes belonging to the Sons of Ipswich were already an onyx black. But it was a mistake to have diverted their attention from Gryphos because at that moment, he let out a whoop as he suddenly jumped from where he rested, transforming in the blink of an eye into the magnificent creature he had been only seconds ago and grabbing Fin by his talons.

Lilith cried out in frustration as she watched Gryphos take away her best friend, unreachable as he soared high into the sky as if he was taunting them, followed by two large eagles who seemed more or less his henchman. Peter seemed rooted to the spot; a rather mystifying sight if a human were to come upon it. A large wolf standing on his hind legs as it stared up at the three figures flying off towards the full moon, growing ever so distant with each beat of their strong winds.

But Jamie knew where they were going. The path of the moon lay in one direction: Deadwood.

Suddenly, there was an 'Ahem.' and Jamie realized that the four witches were still standing there, confused and dazed… and probably angry. Tyler and Reid looked anxious; Pogue seemed to be teetering on the edge of nervous explosion and Caleb looked… well, his countenance was nigh unreadable and Jamie wasn't feeling in the mood to decipher his facial expressions.

Tyler, who had cleared his throat earlier, spoke in a very lucid and controlled voice. "I know this may be a bad time… but…" He hesitated. "Is there something you wanna tell us about?"

Jamie nodded at Lilith. "You handle this one, Lils. I'm sick of explaining." Before anyone could stop here, Jamie had suddenly powered up and Flamed from the scene. Peter looked confused, his amber eyes darting from the boys to Lilith before he decided that it was best only Lilith spoke to them and he turned his eyes towards the moon, bent on following the trail Jamie left.

The five figures watched as the werewolf leaped out of sight before Lilith turned to them and sighed. "What dya wanna know?"

A/N: That was a rather long chapter, wasn't it? I'm not too sure whether you liked this one as much as you did Chapter 23 & 24 but it answers a lot of questions and introduces new characters. You might not like how relationships turn out but oh well, I have a plan and I have to stick to it. Besides, I think some of those who wanted R/L are already more interested in P/D so I promise to focus more on that too in upcoming chapters. Don't forget to review or suggest any ideas that you think you would like to see happening in the story and I promise that as long as I can slot it into the story, it will appear.

Crickes