Scum of the Earth

A/N: Previously: Jesse and Brennan were captured by 'It' and nearly raped/killed but they were rescued by Emma and Shalimar. They have sense made it home 'safely,' though Jesse nearly died a few times, and we go from there. This chapter is mostly about Shalimar and how she's dealing with everything, so the stuff in italics are memories and the stuff that is not is current action. Make sense? I hope so.

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Shalimar had left Jesse's side, driven by the need for release. The feral was edgy, angry, and highly destructive at the moment. She needed to move, to stalk, to hunt…to kill. Trouble was, there was nothing left to kill. But the need was still there, still driving her…. So she made her way to the dojo.

She programmed a simulation, using Jesse's trick of over ridding the security measures and building a VR world; one that echoed the real world. And as she started up the simulation, he mind replayed the night.

The abandon warehouse came to life on the dojo floor, bad lighting and everything. Shalimar carefully stalked her way around, each movement changing the landscape in front of her. Slowly her mind drifted away from the VR reality into the past that she so desperately needed, and perhaps wanted, to relive. He mind retraced it's steps back to the fear of realizing Jesse was gone; was in the hands of a monster. Back to the fear of not being fast enough, strong enough, tough enough, or even vicious enough. Back to that damn warehouse….

The smell of Jesse and Brennan were everywhere, and so was It.

"Where's Jesse?"

"…He went to look for you…"

Shalimar saw something out of the corner of her eye, and spun to face it. But nothing was there.

And that was when it had hit her, Jesse's scent had lead away from them. Away from Brennan, away from the building. Away from safety. It would be so like him, make sure that everyone was secure then jump head first into danger. He had moved in a drunken swagger, from shadow to shadow with that bastard behind him until the bastard had grabbed him and bitten him. But in his haste, he had left a trail for her to follow.

There was another movement to her left and she again spun to meat it, catching the fist that was aimed at her head. She flipped her attacker over her head and tossed him into the wall.

She could smell the sent of lust so thick it choked her, and under that the faint smell of death. She could hear them before she saw them. The frantic breathing, the whimpering, and the sound of fabric being ripped….

Shalimar charged her attacker at full speed; not bothering to take precaution or to anticipate her attacker's movements. It was a very rare thing for Shalimar to go fully feral, a very rare thing indeed, but right now she didn't give a fuck about rarities. The attacker saw her coming and tried to dodge, but Shalimar was faster and she hit him head on. For the seconded time, he crumbled to the floor.

The human part of her didn't want to see what was causing the sounds. It didn't want it to be real. And part of her animal half hesitated, wasn't it the law of nature that the weak fell to the predator? And wasn't death something you ran from? But the part of herself that was all her, screamed that her pack mate was in danger. That her brother needed her. And it was that part that won. She raced to them, faster and faster until they came into view.

Shalimar pounced on her attacker and began to beat him. All her anger, all her frustration and grief, every inch of her pain she inflected upon this fake creature before her. Beating him with her human hands, but it wasn't enough. It would never be enough.

Shalimar froze, just for a moment. The bastard was on top of him, on top of her brother… hurting him. He was touching him where no one had the right to and in away that no one should ever touch him. There was a moan and a whimper and that brought Shalimar's anger to boiling point. She went blind with rage, seeing nothing but white-hot anger as she charged and screamed, "Let him go!"

She saw It's surprise, It's look of fear as he spun around, but was unable to move in time. She smelt It's lust turn to terror, and the smell was something she would treasure for the rest of her life. And then she was on top of him, her nails digging into his flesh, her teeth biting into his neck. She wasn't human anymore, she wasn't even feral. She was something far more deadly. And It knew that. And It knew that she would make him pay.

"Shalimar stop it! Stop it! Stop it! SHALIMAR!!"

The voice broke through her memory, through the world that she had recreated and through her blinding angry, and it scared her. Franticly she jumped up and looked around, afraid of what she would see. She had lost control, she knew that now, but what had she done? What had happened? Had she hurt some one?

"Shalimar…." Emma cried, fear present in her voice. And Shalimar turned to face the red head who was huddled on the stairs of the dojo crying.

"Emma?" Shalimar said, and was surprised at how strange her voice sounded….. She moved closer to her friend, and was surprised to find Emma cowering away from her.

"Emma? What's wrong?" Shalimar asked, holding her position a few feet from the girl.

"You weren't you…" Emma said, looking at her fearfully. "I felt you slipping away and came looking… you had a simulation running…. You were ripping out its throat and you weren't human… I… I…." Emma froze as Shalimar closed the distance between them.

"Emma, look at me," Shalimar ordered, finally getting the red head to meet her eyes. "I'm a feral Emma, it happens sometimes. I lose control. And the truth is I have to. I'm not completely human, and sometimes I need remind myself of that. But Emma, I would never hurt you or anyone else that I care about. You don't have to be afraid of me."

"I'm not afraid of you. I'm afraid of losing you," Emma confessed.

"That won't happen," Shalimar assured her.

"But Shalimar, I felt you change… I felt you… you were angry and then you weren't human, you weren't even close… you were…."

"An animal? That's what I become Emma, when the scum of the earth hurts my pack. I become an animal."

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After being reassured by Shalimar that she was still human and that she was going to be alright, Emma had convinced the feral to shower and change before returning to Jesse. That done, Emma had decided it was her turn to go and see how the molecular was doing. She wasn't really surprised to find Brennan there by his side when she arrived. Nor was he surprised when she entered.

"How is he?" she asked as she took a seat opposite Brennan.

The older man shrugged and, without taking his eyes off of Jesse's face said, "Adam says he'll make it. But there's no telling if he'll be all right."

"He will be," Emma declared, as if there was no other way for fate to play out. "Jesse's stronger then we all give him credit for. Way stronger. He survived Genomex. He survived the last time. And He will survive this time."

Brennan looked at her, a little hopefully, "You think so?"

"I know so," She said and gently touched Brennan's hand as it rested on Jesse's.

"I…I want to hate him Emma. I want to be angry with him, and to blame him, but I can't… I can't."

"I know. I know Brennan," Emma said softly, "And you're not wrong or evil for feeling that way. You haven't done anything or have felt anything that makes you a bad guy Brennan."

"But…he…" Brennan started but Emma silenced him.

"Jesse went off half cocked, with out a plan, with out all the facts, and as a result he endangered you and himself. That's the truth. But we all know and understand why he did it, and we all know for a fact that we would do the same thing in his shoes. He didn't do anything that one of us wouldn't have done," Emma said carefully, not wanting to upset Brennan.

"He saved me Emma…We were chained up in that room and that bastard was…. He was trying…. He had tied Jesse down and Jesse wasn't moving and I couldn't see him breathing… there were rats everywhere and they were climbing on Jesse and the whole place reeked to hell…I was awake for everything Emma…I saw everything and heard everything… he called us scum…scum of the earth," Brennan whispered.

"That's funny," Emma said, a satisfied smirk on her face, "you know why? Because that's what Shalimar called him right before she ripped his throat out."

"She ripped his throat out?" Brennan asked, a little surprise and awe in his voice.

"Among other things. Trust me, if he managed to live he won't be able to reproduce ever again," Shalimar said from behind them. The two turned her direction and were greeted by a soft smile as she made her way slowly over to Brennan. She gave him a soft hug and whispered, "Thank you."

"For what?" Brennan asked, confused.

"For being there with him when I couldn't. For giving him a reason to fight. For trying to protect him. For everything Brennan, thank you. If that makes you scum of the earth, then you're the best kind there is."