Author's Note: Hey guys, thanks for the support. Here's another chapter and review! It makes me happy and I've not had a good past few days...doctor says I'm not allowed to cook anymore cause I hurt myself pretty bad. Just ask my beta, Di. lol.
Chapter 12: Hope
Micky sat on the edge of the bed they'd put Ginny on. Hours after treating her back, she was now sitting up, dressed in sweats Robert's men had brought along with dinner and three more beds. Micky had tried to get her to lie down, but she refused. None of them really felt like relaxing much. Mike was sitting on his bed with his back against the wall and his head buried in his hands and Rose was pacing. None of them had spoken much over the past several hours, still taking in everything that had happened and wanting to be quiet while Ginny rested.
"We do outnumber them," Rose said. For the past five minutes she'd been trying to come up with ways to escape. "We could just attack the next time they come in and feed us."
"He'd be expecting and prepared for that," Mike said looking up.
"And when we fail, he's just going to punish us," Micky said. "I can't do that to Ginny."
"No, next time he's gonna punish us," Mike corrected. "Ginny took the beating for us this time, but he's not gonna let her take it again."
"I'm not gonna let her take a beating again," Micky said.
"You don't exactly have a choice," Ginny said. "He wants me to get him that artifact. He's going to torture me to get me to do it."
"I'm not exactly sure about that," Mike said.
"What are you talking about?" Rose asked. "What else would he want? That's why he took Ginny in the first place. Tortured her for five years to get her to tell him where it was. Now he needs her to open the box."
"No, I know that what he wants is that artifact," Mike sighed. "But I just don't think he's going to torture Ginny to get it. When he knocked you guys out, he kinda taunted us. He said he needed Micky. He was ok with killing me and Rose, but he needed Micky. He tortured Ginny for five years to no avail. She endured five years of her own physical pain without giving in to him. He knows he has to try something else. If physical pain won't do it…"
"Emotional pain will," Micky finished for him. He'd thought about it since he'd woken up, but he couldn't voice it. "He's going to torture me instead."
"What?!" Rose exclaimed.
"Ginny's love for Micky is what kept her going for five years," Mike said. "He understands how powerful that is. He's going to use that against her now."
"Yes, but it can't work," Micky said looking at Ginny who looked heartbroken now. "You can't give in, no matter what he does to me."
"Micky, you don't know what he can do," Ginny said crying a little.
"I don't care," Micky said cupping her face in his hand.
"I do!" Ginny answered pulling back from him. "I know exactly what he's capable of and I can't watch that happen to you, too!"
"You have to, Ginny," Micky argued. "Even if he kills me. I know it's not going to be easy or-"
"Easy?!" Ginny exclaimed. "Of course it's not going to be easy! It's going to be impossible! You don't understand. He's not going to kill you, Micky, he's gonna make you wish he killed you. I know. I knew the world would be safer without me and I even tried a lot of times. He'd never break me if I died, but he never let me. He had a doctor treat me and save me. But each time, I wanted to die. I know I never lost hope that you would come save me, but sometimes the pain was just too much and I thought I was going to give in, so I wanted to die."
"You never told me that," Micky said feeling his heart break into thousands of little pieces at her words.
"I didn't tell you because I knew it would upset you," Ginny said. "I didn't think it would matter because it was supposed to be over."
"I'm sorry," Micky said. "I know it was supposed to be over. I'm so sorry."
"It's not your fault," Ginny said relaxing a little. "I just...you don't know what it's like. Five years of it...yeah, I wanted to die."
"We won't have to wait that long," Mike said getting of the bed and walking over to Micky and Ginny. "They won't let us. Davy and Peter aren't going to do anything until they find us and neither will Piper."
"We just have to hold on a little while," Micky said. "Please, Ginny. I understand he is going to torture me, and I can take it. You have to promise me that no matter what he says or does to me, you will not give in. You will not open that box."
"I don't know if I can," Ginny said. "I've already proven to him twice that I'll do whatever it takes to protect you. I've let him hurt me over the rest of you twice now. I don't know if I can just let him hurt you."
"Ginny, he's right," Mike said sitting on the other edge of the bed next to Ginny. "It's not going to be easy. It's going to be extremely difficult. But it's not going to be impossible. You have to remember, we're only four people. Four people in a world full of millions of people. Billions, even. And if he gets his hands on that artifact everyone in the world will be his personal little play things. That's what the Templars want. They want to control everyone in the entire world. He'll be made Grand Master of the Templars and he'll do whatever he wants to anyone he wants to. Even if he says he's gonna leave Micky alone and not hurt him if you open that box, he won't. If he says he'll let any of us go, he won't. He's a liar. They all are. You can't trust him. You just have to keep telling yourself that. We are only four people. We don't matter."
"Spoken like a true Assassin," Ginny said with a pained laugh. "Always putting yourself above others."
"He's right, though," Rose said. "None of us care what he does to us. As long as he never gets his hands on that artifact."
"Promise me," Micky said pulling her closer to him.
"I promise," Ginny said wrapping her arms around him and sobbing a little.
"We'll get out of this," Mike said resting a hand on Ginny's shoulder trying to reassure her. "It just may take some time. But I promise we'll get out of this. I know how strong you are, you just have to stay strong for a little longer."
"How long will that be exactly?" Rose asked. "A week? A month? A year?"
"I don't know, Rose," Micky answered. "But to me, it doesn't matter, and it shouldn't to you either."
"No, it doesn't matter," Rose said sinking onto the bed Mike had just vacated. "Of course I'll do what it takes to save the world from that artifact, I just...I find it hard to have faith in two boys who have never set foot in a training facility. No offense to them; I love them and they're amazing boys, but they're just that."
"They're no younger than us," Mike said.
"They're untrained," Rose argued. "They can have the desire to find us all they want, but without training, they can't really do anything."
"You remember that story Mom told us when we were young?" Micky asked.
"She told us a lot of stories," Rose said.
"This one was about the Italian Renaissance," Micky said. "A boy lost half his family in one night to the Templars. He'd never heard of them or the Assassins. He had no idea who his father was or what his father fought for. He'd never had any training; barely ever lifted a sword. But he had friends who showed him how to fight. He not only avenged his family, but he took out some of the most powerful Templars in history, including the Pope."
"Ezio Auditore," Rose said. "One of the most powerful man history has never heard of and one of the most powerful Assassin to walk the earth. But what does this have to do with us?"
"It's not just a story of a powerful Assassin, but it's a story of will," Micky said. "Love and friendship. Piper will teach them how to fight and I know they can learn."
"Davy is actually pretty adept with a sword," Mike said with a smile. "I almost forgot about that. He had fencing lessons when he was a kid back in England."
"They can learn and they will come for us," Micky said.
"They have no idea where to look for us," Rose said.
"What if I can help with that?" Ginny asked.
"What do you mean?" Micky asked.
"When I was little, I had nightmares and I'd pull my grandmother into my dreams," Ginny said as she pulled away enough to look at Micky in the face. "I have never been able to do that since, but Grandma said I had the same gift she did. It's rare, but some witches can actually communicate with others telepathically, even at great distances. I tried to do it before with you, but I was too weak. I don't think we've been in here long enough for the air to affect my powers that much yet. I might be able to try."
"That sounds like it'll drain you," Micky said.
"Most likely," Ginny said. "But if it'll help…"
"It could, but we don't even know what to tell them," Mike said.
"So we find out," Rose said. "If she can pass along a message, then we'd better find out what that message is."
"How?" Mike asked.
"By listening very carefully," Rose answered.
"Diana tried to teach me that," Mike said. "It never really took."
"Yeah, it was hard for me too," Micky laughed. "You can't think of it as listening to silence, but think of the air as if it were a song. The tiniest noises are notes on the wind."
"I never thought of it like that," Rose smiled.
"Worth a try," Mike said.
"I'll go in this corner," Rose said pointing to the left hand side of the room and one of the corners farthest from the door. "You try by the door." She didn't say anything to Micky, knowing he wasn't going to leave Ginny's side. But he was about halfway in between them and could listen from where he was. Mike walked over to the door and stood there while Rose went to the corner. Both closed their eyes and everyone remained as silent as possible. They even slowed their breathing down to keep background noise to a minimum. Micky closed his eyes and listened. He could hear his heartbeat and Ginny's next to him. He pushed that away and listened deeper. After a moment, he finally heard a metallic clanging. He couldn't place it.
"I hear something metallic," Micky said.
"Metal on metal," Rose confirmed. "Train tracks?"
"Sounds like it to me," Micky said listening again.
"I think…" Mike said doubtfully.
"What?" Micky asked when Mike stopped talking.
"I don't even know if this is working," Mike answered. "Maybe I'm imagining things."
"What did you hear?" Rose asked walking over to where he was standing.
"I think I hear howling," Mike answered. "Like a coyote or a wolf or something."
"I hear it, too," Rose said after closing her eyes a minute. "You did good."
"I can't believe that worked," Mike smiled. "I thought you guys were just better than me."
"Well, we are, but that's not the point," Rose laughed and kissed him on the cheek.
"So a train and howling?" Ginny asked. "So we're somewhere desolate enough for coyotes or wolves, but close to train tracks."
"That's what I'm gathering," Mike said.
"Do you think you can pass the message on to them?" Micky asked. "It's not much, but it may help them."
"I can try," Ginny said sitting up fully. "I can't guarantee it'll work cause I've never done it before. I won't have enough energy with my back the way it is...I'd have to borrow someone else's."
"What does that mean?" Rose asked.
"It's complicated," Ginny said. "I can't really explain it very well, but I can make myself stronger by tapping into someone else's energy."
"What do you have to do?" Mike asked. "Does it hurt?"
"No, it doesn't hurt" Ginny answered. "Just hold hands."
"Let me do it," Micky said turning to face her on the bed.
"You'll feel really weak," Ginny said.
"That's fine," Micky said holding his hands out for Ginny to take.
"If he catches us, he'll know I'm doing something," Ginny said.
"We'll keep an ear out for him," Rose said. "Pull you out of it if we hear him coming."
"It may not be easy to pull me out," Ginny said. "But it should just look like I'm sleeping. Just go with that."
"Shouldn't be a hard sell with your back the way it is," Mike said somberly. Ginny reached out and took Micky's hands in hers. He didn't really know what to do, so he just sat there and held her hands while she closed her eyes. For a while, nothing happened, but after about 10 minutes, she softened. Her breathing slowed and her body went limp. Micky didn't want to let go, unsure if it would break the connection she needed, but Mike rushed over and lowered her to the bed on her side so Micky could still hold on to her.
Peter was sitting on the beach with his friends. They were laughing and singing. Nothing was wrong. They were happy. Yet something was nagging at Peter. He couldn't figure out what it was, but soon the air around them turned from sunny to dark. Storm clouds rolled over the horizon in almost an instant. Peter looked around and was momentarily blinded by a flash of lightning. When he could see again, Davy, Micky and Mike were lying on the sand, their throats slit and blood staining the normally brown sand a deep red. Peter's heart stopped and he sank to his knees. He grabbed Micky, the friend closest to him, and held him, sobbing. Micky looked back at him with empty, dead eyes. All his friends were dead.
"Peter," came a soft voice behind him. Peter turned to see Ginny standing behind him. "You're having a nightmare. None of this is real. Micky and Mike and Davy are all ok."
"They are?" Peter asked.
"Yes," Ginny answered. "I promise."
"How do you know?" Peter asked. "You're part of this, too. We don't know where Micky and Mike are."
"I'm not part of this nightmare," Ginny said. "I'm real."
"What?" Peter asked confused.
"I'm in your head," Ginny said. "I know it's confusing and I'm sorry to come in without permission, but we needed to get a message to you."
"You're in my head?" Peter asked. He looked at her fully now, wiping tears from his eyes. She looked pale and weak, as though she'd already been through a lot. Her clothes hung loosely from her frame; much too small for her. But he could see the top of a bandage poking out of the back of the shirt.
"Yes," Ginny answered. "I'm here using magic. I don't know how much time I have; I've never really done this before."
"You're hurt," Peter said.
"Don't worry about that right now," Ginny said. "Are you ok?"
"We lost you guys," Peter answered looking down at Micky. "We left and Robert took you."
"You can't blame yourself for that," Ginny said softly.
"If we'd stayed-" Peter started. He did hate himself for what happened to his friends. Not just because he wasn't there for them when they were taken, but because he couldn't do anything for them now.
"If you'd stayed, he would have killed you," Ginny said abruptly. "Or taken you with us. But because he didn't, you can come save us."
"We're trying," Peter said. "Or at least William is. He's looking for you."
"That's good," Ginny said. "I know you are ALL working to save us. And you will. I need to tell you...we don't know where we are exactly, but we're somewhere near a train track, but desolate enough that we can hear coyotes in the distance. It's really important that you remember this when you wake up."
"Train tracks and coyotes," Peter said. He wasn't sure what any of this meant or if this was just his mind trying to make up for the guilt he felt.
"It'll be ok, Peter," Ginny said embracing him. "Just remember this when you wake up. It's really important."
"Right," Peter said closing his eyes. In an instant, she was gone. And he was left alone with his dead friends on the beach.
