Richelle Mead owns the VA and Bloodlines series.

This idea came to me while listening to Roar by Katy Perry. Couldn't get a couple of the images in this out of my head so I wrote it down. Hope you enjoy it :)

The Alchemists would be here soon.

Lissa had said so when she called earlier and I hadn't been able to concentrate since. She hadn't said which Alchemists were coming, just that there was a group of them expected at Court tonight for dinner. It was an odd thing for them to do, request a dinner with the Queen of the Moroi and her friends. Which could only mean one thing.

Sydney Sage was coming.

Not that her being on the guest list males it any less strange, I thought as I rounded the top of the staircase leading to the dining hall. Jill had texted me to meet her there. She'd been just as anxious about this dinner as I was, which wasn't surprising when I thought about the last time I'd seen Sydney.

It'd been almost six months now, 158 days—I was counting—and I hadn't heard anything from her since that night we'd stormed the Alchemist bunker looking for her. The night she shrieked and cried when I tried to touch her, when I told her we were there to rescue her. She'd scrambled away from me, tracing a cross on her shoulder over and over again while she begged me to leave her alone. That was eight months after she went missing. I could only imagine what the Alchemists had done to her in that time, and what they'd managed to continue doing to her in the past six months.

Whatever was going to happen tonight, it was sure to be dramatic.

"Adrian!" Jill called as a guardian opened the doors to the dining hall for me. Before I could get two words out she was already babbling. "I can't believe this. Why would they decide to come here now? After all this time? Do you think she'll be with them? She must be, otherwise why would they even bother? It doesn't make any sense. Unless Sydney's—"

"Jill, relax." I took her gently by the shoulders, hoping it would sooth her, or at least get her to stop talking for a minute. "Whatever they want, you can be sure that it's not going to be good. So don't go getting your hopes up, okay?"

She looked up at me, light green eyes pricking with moisture, and I tried not to feel guilty. "It's Sydney," she rasped and the tears in her eyes began to overflow into her lashes. "How can you be so calm about this? I'm more freaked than you, I can feel it."

I shook my head. "You're wrong, Jailbait, on both counts. I'm anything but calm right now." I held one finger in the air, then popped a second one up as I said, "And it's not Sydney. The person coming here is going to look exactly like her, but it's not. She's not the Sydney who loves me, or you. She's Robot Sydney and if she walks through those doors tonight, we have to treat her like it."

"Do you remember that night in reeducation?" I asked when she began to protest.

"I wasn't there," she huffed, crossing her arms. "You guys wouldn't let me help."

I pointed to my head. "Doesn't mean you don't remember it. She was terrified, Jill. Honest to god scared for her life. I won't scare her again. She might not be my Sydney, but I still love her, even if she'll never love me back. We're going to treat her politely, but not like we care too much about her, alright? The same way you would any other Alchemist."

"But what if—"

"Jill, please," I begged, dropping my hands from her shoulders.

"Yeah, fine," she sighed, knowing I was at my limit. I couldn't argue about this right now. I was having a hard enough time reigning in my own emotions.

Just then the dining hall doors opened and I almost lost it when I saw the group of Alchemists who'd entered, Christian and Dimitri trailing behind them.

Sydney was there, my eye found her immediately, and she looked as beautiful as she always did. Her hair was longer than it had been before she'd been kidnapped, but I remembered that it had been longer still when she was in reeducation. Messier too. Now it was styled and placed so it sat perfectly over one shoulder, reaching the top of her cleavage, which was covered up by a white linen blouse. I could have looked at her all day, but I remembered what I'd told Jill about this being Robot Sydney. Funny how easy it is to become a hypocrite when the love of your life is standing right in front of you for the first time in months.

When I finally pulled my eyes off of her I saw her father standing to her right. Jared Sage was not someone I considered a decent human being, certainly not a good father. He'd had his daughter locked up and brainwashed all because he didn't like what I am. The moment Zoe had told him her suspicions about me and her sister he'd had Sydney detained. And here he was, smiling at me and Jill like we were old buddies.

"Good to see you again, Princess," he simpered, before turning his gaze on me. "Mr. Ivashkov." Despite the smile, the sheer derision in his voice when he said my name was almost overpowering and I reminded myself that, to him, I was the big bad vampire who'd defiled his daughter. Maybe he even thought that I was the one who'd ultimately sent his daughter to Reeducation. Lord knows I'd had that thought millions of times myself since she disappeared.

"Mr. Sage," I said with a smile I certainly wasn't feeling. "Good to see you again. You too, Ian."

Ian Jansen, an Alchemist who'd expressed interest in Sydney in the past, currently had his hand resting on her elbow as he stood next to her like some sort of nervous guard dog. It didn't take spirit to tell me he was still terrified of all us 'evil creatures', but he was also getting off on being Sydney's protector.

I glanced at Sydney— she was scowling at the hand on her arm—and immediately corrected my assessment. Maybe he was more watchdog than guard dog. When she finally looked up at me it took everything in me to smile indifferently. "Miss Sage. It's a pleasure."

No need for her father to hurt her again just because I wanted to get on his nerves. Which, based on his glare, I was doing a pretty good job of anyway. His glare became less pronounced, but still remained, after Sydney flinched back from me ever so slightly. Ian's grip tightened on her arm, keeping her in place, making my blood boil. That's when I got it, the reason they were here.

Oh sure, when Lissa and Rose entered the room a few moments later and we all sat down to eat Jared went on about keeping our working relationship in tact despite everything that had happened. He told us how good Sydney was doing now, that she'd "come around" and was even working again—on probation, of course. He said the Alchemists held no hard feelings for her corruption or the break in we'd pulled off while attempting to kidnap her. He said all of these things that made everyone around the table either mad or uncomfortable, because we were all beginning to understand.

He hadn't come here for relations or even to insult us. He'd come here—and dragged Sydney with him—just to rub our noses in the fact that he'd won. And scaring Sydney seemed to be a nice bonus for him. I saw him watching her, smiling every time she flinched or scooted away from the people she used to call friends.

About halfway through dinner I was starting to get antsy. Was I really going to let Jared Sage walk out of here with Sydney? He'd hurt her, brainwashed her, and was now tormenting her. How could I let him continue to torture her this way? But, then again, what could I do? Sydney was terrified, that was clear from the way she'd been acting. She'd never let any of us near her, even if it was to rescue her from her father.

I vowed, then and there, to leave Sydney be. She was physically safe, and maybe Jared would leave her alone after tonight. She was better off if I just ignored her. We both were.

###

Something was wrong with Sydney's eyes. I noticed it first because, despite what I'd told Jill and myself about ignoring Sydney for her own good, I was a terrible hypocrite and couldn't keep my eyes off of her. But it wasn't long until the others noticed it too. Her pupils were spreading out, swallowing the brown and then the white until there was nothing but darkness left. A solid black so unnatural even I flinched away from the sight. She began murmuring something under her breath, drawing even more attention to herself.

"Sydney?" Rose squeaked, in a very un-Rose-like fashion. That was when Jared turned around to see his daughter, going full on bad witch in the middle of dinner with vampires. It was too much, even for someone as evil as he was. He jumped back, his chair toppling over and tripping him. Ian and the others followed suit but managed to stay on their feet as they hurriedly backed away from Sydney.

Not a second too soon, either, because at that moment Sydney turned her palms out and the silverware lifted off the table. The plates and then even the candlesticks followed as she continued chanting something I couldn't hear. The air in the room went cold and a moment later the plates clattered back to the table, back into their original positions, not a drop of food spilled.

"What are you doing to her?" Ian yelled, horrified by Sydney's display.

I noticed belatedly that I was the only person who hadn't clambered away from the table when the plates began to fly. Rose and Dimitri had hauled Lissa and Christian off to the other side of the room, and even Eddie had Jill by the arm, though they hadn't run quite as far as the others. Eddie looked terrified by what was happening, but not of Sydney the way Ian and Jared did. He looked like all he really wanted to do was go pull Sydney away from whatever was happening to her. He didn't know she was a witch the way Jill and I did, so this must have been even scarier for him.

It was scary for me. What was wrong with her? Did the Alchemists mess with her brain one too many times? Could they have somehow caused Sydney's magic to go haywire? As I watched her stand and stiffly turn to face her father, a horrible theory popped into my head. What if this was some sort of defense mechanism? What if the Alchemists had made her so terrified of vampires that her powers just began to manifest on their own in order to protect her?

"S-Sydney," Jared croaked, his voice ragged with horror. "Stop this."

Sydney didn't answer him and she didn't stop. Just stood from her seat and threw her arms into the air; the electricity flickered and then went off. For the briefest moment it was so dark I couldn't see—darker than it should have been since I had pretty good night vision—and then the world lit up with a crack.

A sound like thunder rolled over me and I finally jumped to my feet, startled by the brightness in the room. Every detail was lit by a harsh bluish white, like during the split second lightning strikes, but it wasn't fading. The light illuminated Sydney as she took a step closer to her father and her blacked out eyes were even more horrifying in it.

"She's been possessed!" Ian screeched, grabbing Jared's arm and pulling him away from his daughter. They scurried past me, probably heading over to where Rose and Lissa were. Hopefully by now Eddie had tugged Jill over there as well. I didn't know what was wrong with Sydney, but I knew that if she hurt one of her friends or her father she'd never forgive herself for it.

I took step closer to her.

"Adrian!" Rose yelled from across the room. Her voice was high pitched and more panicked than I'd ever heard it. "Get over here!"

Ignoring her, I focused on Sydney, but didn't step any closer. If she was doing this out of fear I wasn't going to be the one to force her to do something we'd all regret. "Sage," I whispered gently, my hands held out in what I hoped was a nonaggressive way. "No one's going to hurt you."

"He's controlling her! See?" Ian yelled. That guy was really beginning to piss me off. I started turning around to let him know before my legs went out from under me and I hit the floor with a heavy thump. It didn't hurt, though I was too shocked to do anything but lay there and stare in Sydney's direction.

"No one controls me." Her voice was harsh and echoed throughout the room as she grated the words. It almost sounded like two people were speaking at once, but both had Sydney's voice. "Not the vampires, not the Alchemists, especially not you, Father." Her hand snapped up as if reaching for him even though he was at least fifty feet from her, and she began speaking what I thought was Latin, but it was too fast to understand, even if I could speak Latin.

A sconce on the wall beside Jared began to rattle. It only took a moment more for him and Ian to decide enough was enough and make a break for the double doors. As they hurried out, the two guardians who were posted outside the door came rushing in. At the sight of Sydney, arm stretched out and trembling as she spoke what must have sounded like something demonic, they slid to a stop. I nearly laughed at their expressions. Men trained to protect their queen from supernaturally strong monsters were quaking as they looked at a hundred and ten pound girl. But I didn't want Sydney getting hurt just because they were scared.

"She's fine," I called out, getting back on my feet and putting myself between her and the guardians. "I'll talk to her, just stay back."

Before I could even spin around the unnatural illumination blinked out, the power coming back on. I heard Sydney hit the ground and my brain played an image of a guardian sneaking around behind her and hurting her. I turned, praying that whatever happened she was alright, but there was no one there, just Sydney sitting in a heap on the floor. And then she started laughing.

"Sydney?" I said, creeping closer, but she didn't hear me. She fell back against the polished marble floor, laughing and laughing. It wasn't a manic laugh though, it actually kind of sounded like relief.

"It worked!" she tittered, trying to get a hold of herself as I came to a stop next to her. Her eyes were their normal beautiful golden brown again and they were shining. Then she noticed me standing there and smiled, lighting them up even more.

"Hi," she laughed. Despite her good mood she struggled to get into a sitting position and I knelt beside her, helping her up.

"Are you alright?" I lowered my voice. "Sage, what the hell just happened?"

She didn't answer, just leaned forward and wrapped her arms around my neck, pushing me backwards until my back hit the marble. I heard someone yelling my name, but all I could think about was Sydney on top of me. She smelled like strawberries and I had the unreasonable urge to lean up a little and kiss her neck. I had to remind myself that she wasn't my girlfriend anymore, but then I realized that if that were true she probably wouldn't be lying on top of me, her blonde hair shielding us from the world as a grin lit up her face.

"I missed you," she whispered, causing my heart to speed up. Was this really Sydney? My Sydney?

Before I could say a word Sydney was ripped away from me, and I looked up to see Rose's hand wrapped around Sydney's arm, hauling her upright.

"Whoa!" I jumped to my feet, grabbing Sydney's other arm. The moment I noticed everyone surrounding us, terrified expressions still plastered on their faces, I let go and stepped protectively in front of Sydney. "Everybody calm down."

"I'm sorry," Sydney said gently, like you would to a frightened animal. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"Really?" Rose asked, her voice skeptical, but not afraid. I relaxed a little, knowing Rose wouldn't let anyone hurt Sydney. "Because that's exactly what it looked like you were trying to do."

"Or, you know, go all out Carrie on everyone," Christian said. He and Lissa now stood across the table from us, Dimitri by their side. Jill and Eddie moved over by us, watching Sydney carefully.

Sydney shook her head. "I was trying to scare my dad and Ian. I wasn't trying to hurt anyone. I just..." She took a deep breath. "This was my one chance at getting away from them. They could be back any second to take me away, I don't know."

"They're not taking you anywhere," I assured her. "Not if you don't want to go."

She threw me a watery smile and took my hand, connecting us for the first time in a year. My skin tingled where it touched her's and I wanted to kiss her more than anything, but everyone was still watching.

"I don't," she said and then stepped closer to me, forgetting about everyone around us. "They tried to twist my mind, make me forget what I believed, but it mustn't have taken like they'd expected. My memories started sorting themselves out. When I saw you that night," she whispered, "in the bunker."

"You remembered?" I gasped, my knees wobbling a little. I felt like I might fall down again, this time without Sydney's help. "You remembered and I left you there with them?"

"No!" She placed her hands on my waist, tilting her chin back so she could meet my eyes. "I didn't remember you that night. I was terrified you'd take me with you. But then you didn't. You left and the Alchemists kept trying to tell me how evil you were, that you'd actually tried to kidnap me. But all I could see was your face when you left. You looked so heartbroken..." She sniffed and blinked hard. I ran a hand through her hair, trying not to imagine what it would be like to twist the strands through my fingers and kiss her. "You left though," she went on with her point. "They kept saying you'd tried to hurt me, but you hadn't. You left without touching me at all. It didn't make sense. I was too afraid to point that out to them, so I kept quiet, but the thought wouldn't go away. And the more I thought, the more I remembered.

"It took awhile for me to remember completely, but by the time I did it was too late. You were gone and my father already had me home where he could watch me, and when he wasn't there he had his little watchdog Ian on me." Her lips twisted up into an angry snarl when she mentioned Ian and my heart stuttered.

"He didn't hurt you did he?"

"No," she shook her head, and I could breathe again. "He just always had this smug expression on, and he acted like I should be grateful he had an interest in me, but he never touched me. I just really don't like him."

"Well, I think after that little show you just pulled his interest in you is officially gone, so you don't have to worry about that," I teased her, bringing a smile to her face. God, she was beautiful.

"Speaking of which," Lissa said, still standing on the other side of the long dining table, but looking more relaxed. "What was that? Did you... do that?"

Sydney turned to face everyone, but I wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her tightly to my side. Now that I had her back, I couldn't imagine not touching her for even a second. And she didn't seem to mind the contact, either, as she leaned against me.

"I did it," she admitted. "I have magic, human magic."

The room exploded, a thousand different questions being thrown at her at once, the stupidest of which was Christian's.

"If you had magic this whole time, why didn't you use it to escape?"

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Rose roll her eyes. Sydney, however, answered his question with patience and grace. "I needed to be somewhere where I'd be safe after I got away. I thought about doing it at home, but I had no idea where to go afterward. I didn't know where any of you were, I figured Court was my best bet of finding someone who'd help me."

"So you just waited until they dragged you here? What if they hadn't brought you with them?" Lissa asked.

"She set them up," Rose said, stepping closer and looking directly at Sydney. "You made them come here. I've never heard of a human having magic, but after seeing what you can do, I'm betting you can use compulsion as well."

Sydney nodded, a small, proud smile on her lips. "I mentioned it to Ian one day when he was babysitting me. He was always so jealous that I'd chosen you guys over him. I mentioned something about how rubbing the new improved me in the vampires faces would be cathartic for him. He told my dad about the idea and in an act of hubris and cruelty befitting my father, he agreed."

"You're deceptive," Rose said with a wicked grin. "You look like this scared, helpless little kitten but you're really a tiger. I like it."

Sydney started to laugh, but then Jill was throwing her arms around her shoulders, pulling her away from me.

"Oh Sydney!" she cried. "I'm so glad you're back and you again."

"Me too," she whispered, pulling Jill closer and stroking the girl's brown curls. "I missed you. I'm so glad you're safe."

Eddie pulled her into a hug soon after Jill finally let go and then Rose took a turn. Once Sydney was, finally, by my side again, our fingers securely entwined, we actually got down to the problem at hand.

"The guards say the Alchemists have left Court for now," Dimitri informed us after a quick check with the guardians from before. He must have sent them to go find out what happened soon after Sydney had turned the lights back on. "I doubt they'll leave you alone now, Sydney, but at least your safe here."

"I'll probably be getting an angry phone call from the Alchemists tomorrow," Lissa sighed. Sydney hurried to apologize, but Lissa waved her off. "It's not your fault. I mean, it is, but it's not your fault those jackasses locked you up and hurt you. You had to get away. I'm just glad you're here now. I'll deal with any fallout that comes from it."

Sydney had to blink back tears as she thanked Lissa, and I knew it was because they barely knew each other, yet Lissa was willing to go out of her way to protect Sydney. Sydney wasn't used to people going out of there way for her, she was usually the one doing the helping.

"Speaking of fallout," I whispered to Sydney. "Do you want to see a doctor or a psychiatrist or anything? I don't know what they did to you in there, but maybe you should—"

"I'm fine," she assured me, squeezing my fingers tightly. "I really just want to stay here with you."

I leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. "I go wherever you go," I told her. "You don't need to worry about that."

Someone—I assumed Christian—cleared his throat, pulling me back to reality and out of her beautiful brown eyes.

"Why don't we find you a room to stay in for the time being and then we'll figure out the rest in the morning?" Lissa suggested.

Rose was nodding like it was her decision. "Yeah, you'll be safest here in the palace. I don't want either of you leaving Court until we know what to expect from the Alchemists."

"What about my apartment?" I asked. "And my classes?"

"You're still in school?" Sydney turned to me with a look of amazement and I grinned.

"I told some girl I could finish what I started. Couldn't quit after a challenge like that, right?"

Sydney grinned back, but when she didn't say anything Rose answered my question.

"You can take a little time off. Tell your professors it's a family emergency or something. It's not like you're gonna leave Sydney to go to class anyway, so it doesn't matter."

I tilted my head, conceding the point. No way was I leaving Sydney anytime soon.

"Sydney, best guess," Dimitri said. "What do the Alchemists do now?"

"Best guess?" she repeated, thinking about it for a minute. "They'll probably want to know what I am. They've never heard of real life witches before, they won't know what to do with me. But they'll eventually want to study my powers. They'll lock me back up in one of their bunkers. It's what they do."

"They're not locking you anywhere," I growled.

"They're not," Dimitri agreed. "You'll be safe here and we'll figure out the rest. But not tonight," he said with a glance at his watch. "It's late by human standards, you're probably exhausted."

"Especially after that show," Rose laughed. "That was awesome, by the way. The way you lifted all the plates? Horror movie classic. And the flash of light—!"

"Glad I could entertain you," Sydney said, rolling her eyes at Rose's unadulterated excitement, but she looked genuinely amused. "And, thank you, I am tired. And hungry, actually. Magic is pretty draining."

"I'll get you all the pie and orange juice you want, Sage, but in bed, okay?" I said, grasping her hand tighter. "You need to rest."

Snickers filled the room and I glared at Christian and then at Rose. Neither seemed to care. "Sure," Rose said sarcastically. "Because she'll be getting so much rest once you get her alone and on a bed."

Even Sydney laughed this time.

"I can control myself, you know," I defended. Although they weren't entirely wrong, I had no interest in telling them that.

Sydney smirked. "Maybe you can," she whispered, "but it's been a year. I'm surprised I haven't jumped you yet."

Lissa was busy bossing guardians and royal minions around, probably getting a room set up for Sydney and making sure Jared and Ian didn't get back in to the palace grounds. The others were all paying attention to her, so I was pretty sure no one had heard Sydney's comment, but honestly I didn't care if they had.

"I'd almost forgotten how sexy you are," I whispered back, bring our lips close together, but not touching. Close enough just to tease.

Her eyes slid closed, leaning forward ever so slightly so her lips grazed mine. "I guess I'll just have to remind you."

And she did.