Next Edit is here. Phew, this is tiring. And I'm planning to get this all done today AND add a new chappie! Wow, I've got a lot to do… anywhozits, please review :)
Disclaimer: No ownsies!
*Derek POV*
"What did they do to you?" I whispered quietly. No wolf is that quiet; I hadn't even heard her come down the stairs. Her eyes went blank, and I heard a faint whisper in my head.
Yo, Ethel, you got a sec? asked Charlie's voice. A whisper of a sound came back, answering.
Do you have any idea what the hell they did to me? Asked Charlie. A long, whispery response, unintelligible to me, came back. Charlie, the physical version, actually opened her mouth to protest, but was cut off by the whisper.
Silence followed, but by the widening of my packmates eyes you could tell that something was happening in her head. Her amber stare flickered to me, fearful. What was she seeing? Then, after a few seconds of silence, she screamed. It wasn't human, or wolf; it was something that shouldn't have been on this earth. She screamed again, dropping to the floor, crying.
Rickie snapped, moving to her side swiftly, but carefully. He gently placed a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up with her amber eyes. Rickie jumped away from her. Her head dropped, and she screamed again, before collapsing to the floor. Kit was in here quickly.
"What was all the screaming about?" he asked frantically, eyes flicking around the room, looking for any anomaly that might give him insight as to what had happened.
Then, he saw Charlie, dropping to her side. Her eyes flickered open again, only for a second, and Kit sprung away like he had been burned. I caught a glimpse of her eyes, then. They were no longer their warm amber; they had turned to a clear, cold, flaming blue. Her eyes fluttered closed again, and she lay still.
Everyone else ran into the room. Tori, Lauren, Simon and Chloe (and probably Liz too; she's always with Chloe) stopped dead when they saw her passed out on the floor.
"So," breathed Lauren ominously, "it's finally begun." She looked to Kit, expression solemn. He nodded slowly, wearily sitting down on the couch.
"Derek," he said tiredly.
"Yeah?"
Could you take Charlie to your room?" he asked, and I saw Chloe's eyes widen slightly, a hint of jealousy forming in them. I wanted to cuddle my mate, reassure her, but Charlie came first as my immediate pack. Mate or not, Charlie was the only true family I had left. Nodding, I scooped my unconscious packmate off the floor and carrying her to the mattress we slept on.
*Charlie POV*
My head was pounding. Voices, external and in my head, were whispering to each other. In my mindscape, where there were only ever two beings (me and Ethel), there were now eight. Six beautiful, blonde haired, girls with flaming, crystal blue eyes sat around Ethel, and the group was talking quietly. As I approached, I caught snippets of what was being said.
Will she be ok? Asked Ethel worriedly. The tallest blonde girl bit her lip, thoughtful.
If she survived the process, she said slowly, her voice clear and pure, like her eyes, echoing slightly.
Then she should be ok finished one of the other girls.
A synapse of memory fired through my brain. These were the girls from my Ethel's memory. They had grown into teenagers, a few years older than me, but they were the same girls.
What's going on here? Asked imagined me. They all looked at me, Ethel's amber eyes out of place among the girls blue ones. The smallest one, who I assumed to be the youngest, stood, walking towards me. She looked normal; your average blonde. Except for her eyes, which were flaming blue. Dangerous.
The memory re-awakened us she said to me, taking me by the hand a leading me to the little circle. I sat next to Ethel, feeling safe with my wolf. She shifted closer.
We are the group they put you with when they killed your pack said the one who led me to the circle.
I am Juliet said the one who looked eldest, Volo half-demon. She smiled at me.
I am Lillian said the next one, going counter clockwise around the circle, Exhaustio half-demon. She also smiled, slightly less sweetly though.
I am Arabella, Tenubrae half-demon said the third one. Her clothes were all black, where the others wore white t-shirts and jeans. She was slightly creepy.
I am Jasmine, Conscientia half-demon whispered the fourth. Her eyes held a knowledge that no teen should.
I am Lotus, a powerful shaman she said, smiling kindly. She was nice; I might like her the best.
And I am Marie, a necromancer said the last girl, sitting next to Ethel. She was the one who had walked me over to the circle. All these girls were like carbon copies of the one next to them at first appearance. As they spoke, I noticed slight fluctuations in their vocal tones, and their eye colour varied ever so slightly. They had all listed powerful abilities.
Why are you in my head? I asked them; I thought it was an obvious question, but apparently it wasn't. The eldest, Juliet, answered.
We discovered the Edison Groups true motives, she said simply.
That doesn't answer my question, I pointed out. Lillian continued the statement.
We imparted our gifts onto you, transferring our souls, and therefore life-force, into you so you could get out.
It was both a gift and a curse we gave you murmured Jasmine quietly. The others looked to her, and I got the sense of an ongoing argument.
We did what we had to do to survive and ensure the life of Charlotte snapped Arabella. This topic was obviously well-worn and getting old.
But she shouldn't have to bear the burden of power that now lays upon her shoulders argued Jasmine, her voice getting stronger as her opinions were challenged. Ethel and I exchanged a glance as the fight continued.
I must be schizophrenic I muttered under my breath. All heads whipped to me and Ethel, as though they had forgotten we were here.
Sorry they all murmured at once. I nodded.
So what do all those fancy names mean? I asked, talking about their abilities.
Telekinesis stated Juliet, and they went round in the same order as before.
Fire
Darkness
And telepathy they said without fault. Great; what was I gonna do with all this?
Since you imparted your gifts and souls into me… what happens to me? I whispered, scared.
You gain our abilities, one at a time, when your physical entity is fit to take the strain answered Juliet, you've already demonstrated Arabella's ability to go completely unnoticed by all, and Lillian's ability to withstand heat. The extent of our power is far beyond that, but the transition for you will be gradual. It could take months, it could take years; since you're a wolf, it happens faster than normal anyway, but the genetic experimentation done by the Edison Group has altered both our and your supernatural capabilities. These abilities should all be in place and under control by the time you are twenty. Apparently she was the most knowledgeable on this subject.
I felt a tug, drawing me back to the conscious world. Marie sent a pointed look to Jasmine, and she nodded, closing her eyes. The pull minimised, and Marie took me aside.
Now that we've awakened, the ghost will see your glow and they will come. There are already many outside. Take this in her hand was a shining block of amber, encasing the bluest piece of what looked to be sapphire I had ever seen. This was mine in life. It will keep them away and control your ability to summon and raise until you next fall asleep; I will teach you control then. I nodded, slipping the necklace over my neck, the stone cool against my chest.
It was nice to finally speak to you all I murmured to them, and they nodded, each smiling an individual smile. Jasmine looked up, the concentration gone from her face, and at once the tug came back. I didn't bother to resist.
"FINALLY!" shouted Simon, causing me to yelp and slap my hands over my sensitive ears. The silence had been broken suddenly, and that never does any good.
"Sorry," he said, quieter. Then, damn him, he shouted again.
"SHE'S AWAKE!" he yelled out the door. Footsteps pounded from every direction, and the whole house was soon crowded around me. Floating above the head of Chloe was a girl in a yellow Minnie mouse nightie and purple giraffe socks. She was semi-transparent, and was staring at me in wonder. I lifted my hand, waving slightly, looking straight into the eyes of the ghost, who yelped quietly.
"Chlo, she can see me!" she whisper shrieked into Chloe's ear.
"Not possible, Liz; she's a werewolf," muttered Chloe.
"No, seriously, see her necklace? And her glow's almost as strong as yours, but such a pretty orange…" she murmured the last part, reaching out over everyone else's heads and brushing her hand about half a meter in front of my face. I looked at her quizzically, earning a look from Chloe that clearly said 'what the h is going on here?' Well, that's for me to know; not anyone else just yet.
"You-" began Lauren, but I cut her off.
"I know what happened, thanks all the same," I snapped, causing her to take a step back.
"More than you do, that's for sure," I muttered her, getting up and stomping to the kitchen, completely ignoring the protests from my pack. I was hungry, and no one gets between me and my food.
As I was demolishing a bag of extra cheesy CC's, again (I love CC's), Derek came up behind me.
"What happened?" he asked quietly. I shrugged.
We're going to the forest at midnight tonight; no Changing. Just talking; you weren't alone in your childhood I told him. His face took an astonished expression before settling again in its blank, stoic gaze.
OK was all he said in return, before spinning on his heel and leaving me to crunch my nacho chips in peace.
At exactly five to twelve, I woke up; it was Marie. She had been teaching me all about the summoning, raising and banishing of ghosts and the different types (poltergeists, ghosts, shadows of death), when she reminded me of my promise. She knew I was going to tell Derek, just like she knew he was my packmate and had a right to know. She had no objection to him; everyone else was a different story, but Derek was allowed to know. Only Derek.
Pulling on a coat, I shook his shoulder and stood up. He followed silently, ominously, as we made our way to a clearing deep in the forest area.
"What happened?" he asked for the second time that day. I sighed.
"Well, I'm officially schizophrenic," I told him, offering up a slight joke to ease the growing tension. He broke into a smile, before frowning slightly. Indignant 'hey!'s were going off in my head, quite loudly, and I nearly missed what he said next.
"How?" he asked. Man of many words, isn't he? I sighed, sitting cross-legged on the forest floor as an owl flew by, hooting, its amber eyes locking onto mine before it ended the life of its next meal, a little mouse. That's how I felt just now; like a mouse about to be impaled by deadly strong talons and eaten. Well, there's no point in delaying the inevitable. Derek was watching me expectantly, waiting patiently for whatever I had to say.
"After our pack, back at the Edison compound, was… terminated," I started slowly, and his eyes widened at the memory. He obviously tried to bury that one. I felt horrible for bringing it up, but continued on regardless.
"I was in a room identical to yours with a group of girls. Six tall, slim girls with flowing blonde hair and flaming blue eyes," I gauged his reaction carefully. His eyes widened ever so slightly at the mention of blue eyes. I pushed on, scared that I'd lose my nerve before I finished what I had to say.
"They bullied me constantly, throwing me around, using their supernatural gifts to cause me hell. One day, though, one of them discovered what the Edison Group was really doing, and they spent so many late nights awake whispering unintelligible nonsense that I lost count. One night, at midnight on the full moon, they snatched me from my bed, laid me in the moonlight and stood in a circle, holding hands. I don't remember much after that, just pain, unearthly screaming, the six girls dropping to the floor dead and scientists slowly backing away from me in fear." I took a deep breath, pausing for him to compute.
"The girls aren't gone, are they?" he accused quietly. I shook my head.
"They're all here," I sighed, tapping my temple, "you only have Seth. I have Ethel, Juliet, Lillian, Arabella, Jasmine, Lotus and Marie," I rattled off the names. He looked at me like I was a mad woman. He could be right.
"This has something to do with why you can do things that aren't normal?" he asked hesitantly. He wanted to know, but at the same time he didn't. That, I definitely understood.
"That ceremony, the one that killed them, poured their souls and abilities into me; Ethel showed me the memories and that's what woke them up. I'll start gaining their abilities when my body can take the physical strain of it; or if I'm in desperate need and the only way out is to use one of them," I said, yawning. I was tired; I wanted to go back to bed.
"Can…" began Derek awkwardly, "can I talk to one of them?" he asked eventually.
"Maybe… give me a sec," I ordered, retreating into my mindscape.
Derek wants to speak to one of you; is that possible? I asked them all. All heads turned to Jasmine, who sighed and came forward.
Go sit in the circle she sighed quietly, stepping forward and vanishing from sight. I looked at the others in confusion.
She'll be back, don't worry said Juliet calmly. All I could do was wait.
*Derek POV*
Charlie closed her eyes and retreated into herself. When they opened again, they were a stunning, clear blue that was shocking.
"I am Jasmine; you wished to speak with us?" she whispered quietly. The voice did not belong to Charlie.
"What are you?" I blurted. She smiled a little.
"I am a Conscientia half-demon, but we are all different," she said, still quiet.
"Can you tell me the others?" asked Derek. Charlie hadn't said how many, or what, the other girls were. Just that there was more than one of them. Jasmine shook her head. Charlie's head. Argh, this is too confusing.
"That is for Charlie alone to tell you," she said. Then she cocked her head, eyes going blank.
"I must go now; Charlie is getting restless, stuck in her own subconscious." The blue eyes swirled back into amber.
"Well, that was strange…" she muttered, mostly to herself. She looked up, smiling brightly.
"Kitchen raid?" she asked, yawning. I shook my head.
"Nah," I told her, "nap time," she smirked, and we went inside and upstairs silently, curling up on our mattress and falling into a comfortable sleep.
Good? Please tell me! For those who don't know, the two demon names are actually Latin words for things that relate to that power (tenubrae means 'darkness', conscientia means 'thought'. Google is a marvellous thing).
~PiptheSnake~