I apologize it's been so long since I've updated, I have no real excuse but will try to update more frequently in the future. For now, hope you guys enjoy this.
Los Angeles
Afternoon
"So your plan is do a séance?" Constantine asked skeptically as Paige lit a few candles in the living room.
"Only way we can figure out why this ghost is after you is to talk to them. You wanna snark or you wanna find out why someone wants you dead?" Paige asked, holding out a hand to him.
"Someone always wants me dead but alright," Constantine rolled his eyes before taking Paige's offered hand.
Sam then took the free hands of both Paige and Constantine before Paige closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.
"Unknown spirit, we call to thee,
Those who wish to set you free.
Cross on over so we may help,
Come to us, reveal yourself."
Just like last time, there was a powerful gust of wind that blew through the room before a ghostly figure appeared above the trio. It was a black woman in her mid-thirties, who was glaring at Constantine angrily. At the sight of her, Constantine gapped.
"Sarah?" he breathed.
"Hello John," Sarah said coolly.
"Sarah as in Rose's mother?" Sam asked in surprise and Constantine nodded dumbly.
"You're the one who wants to kill me? You put Rose in danger," Constantine said, an edge of anger entering his voice.
"Rose was never in any danger. I knew you'd save her, I just wanted you to be scared enough to give up Rose," Sarah told him.
"Why?" Constantine asked in utter disbelief.
"Because as long as you are in her life, she is in danger. The only way to protect her was to either make you give her up or kill you. Which I will do now!" Sarah shouted, her eyes flashing as the wind picked up again.
Sarah attempted to throw a ball of energy at Constantine but Constantine raised a hand and the ball disintegrated but it reached him.
"Sarah, please, stop!" Constantine pleaded.
"NO!" she roared angrily, the wind picking up.
The force of the wind threw all of them back, breaking the circle. But somehow, Sarah was still there, unleashing her rage and power on them all when-
"Daddy!"
It all stopped as the voice pierced the air. Rose, who had been in her room all this time, had come out when all the noise had roused her attention. Sarah stopped, staring at her little girl as she rushed to Constantine. Constantine wrapped his arms around her as Rose looked up at Sarah with fear. The look on her daughter's face cut Sarah deeper than any wound.
"Sarah," Paige got to her feet as Sarah looked over at her. "I can only imagine how much you must love Rose. But look at what you're doing; your daughter is afraid of you. You're becoming the threat you think John is."
"I understand how hard it is to let go, to know that your daughter has to live her life without you, believe me," Sam added as he took got to his feet as well, trying not to look over at Paige. "Sometimes, the best thing we can do as parents is to let our children go on without us. It kills us; a little part of us dies each day. But it's not about us and what we want; it's about what's best for our children. So what you need to ask yourself is if you're doing this because its's what's best for Rose or what's best for you."
For a long moment, the room was silent before the anger seemed to leave Sarah and she looked at Constantine, a heartbroken look on her face.
"I'm sorry. Please take care of her," Sarah said softly before her ghostly form faded from the room.
As Constantine clutched the frightened Rose to him, Paige stared at them for a moment before glancing at Sam a thoughtful look on her face.
St. Louise's orphanage
Same time
Dazed, Clark felt weak as he was restrained; his arms held up by chains, his shirt removed. The women were coating their weapons in the Kryptonite flames as Clark eyed it wearily.
"You don't have to do this; I can get you out of here. Help your younger sisters find real homes," Clark tried to reason.
"No one can ever love us as much as Granny," one of them said coldly.
"She controls you. That's not love," Clark argued.
"She will never leave us, we'll never be lonely or afraid," she argued.
"Someone who loves you doesn't make you forget who you are or where you came from," Clark shot back.
"This is our family now," she said, scratching her claws on the wall as she approached Clark. "And you don't know Granny the way we do. Her power is absolute. She is smarter than any human. Just as these green fire rocks temper our weapons, making them stronger, she makes us stronger."
As she spoke, she dragged her claws down Clark's chest, drawing blood and making him weaker as he gasped in pain. He nearly missed her next words.
"Soon, a great fury will consume this world and no one will be able to stop us," the young woman said gleefully, reaching her claws towards Clark's face.
"Harriet!" the young woman whirled around as Goodness entered the room. "I told you to look after our lost lamb, not slaughter him. Take your sisters to their rooms while I bring peace to our visitor."
Clark was released as the woman all walked out. Clark cropped to his knees, breathing heavily as he glared up at Granny.
"I don't care how powerful you are, I won't let you ruin anymore lives," Clark said weakly.
"You are in no position to stop me," Goodness said as she knelt down, placing a hand on his cheek. "Once I bury your memories, you will see that life can be so much better without a painful past."
Kent Farm
Not long after
Paige was in Clark's loft, looking for the key to the fortress, her conversation with Sam playing through her mind.
"Thank you for your help," Sam told Paige as she they walked away from Constantine's apartment.
"I was happy to help, kind of my job," Paige said paused. "Seeing Constantine and Rose…it was enlightening."
"Really?" Sam raised an eyebrow as Paige tried to put it into words.
"I never realized how hard it was for you and Mom to give me up. Or I guess I just never let myself think about it. I'm sorry," Paige said and Sam was silent for a long moment.
"You don't owe me any apologies Paige. Your mother and I did what we had to do so you would not suffer for our choices. Had there been a way to keep you, we would have done so. I'm sorry if you felt abandoned; I tried to keep my distance out of respect for your real father. Never been sure exactly how I fit in," Sam said and there was a moment of silence between them.
"Well, I'm sure there's room for both if you in my life," Paige said and Sam smiled weakly. "I just have one question though: why did you make me get assigned as Clark's Whitelighter?"
"I'd like to tell you that I did it for you, that I thought you and Clark needed each other. But I was doing a favor for an old friend," Sam said, smiling slightly at Paige's confused look. "You'll find out soon enough. Guess I'll see you around then?"
"Definitely," Paige said with a smile.
Sam nodded with a smile before Orbing away, leaving Paige standing alone.
"Come on, where is that damn key?" Paige said in frustration after not finding it in Clark's book.
Behind her, Shelby looked at her silently and she rolled her eyes at the dog.
"Oh don't look at me like that. I'm Clark's Whitelighter, this is my job," Paige said before the realization hit her. "Whitelighter, duh!"
Paige held her hand and closes her eyes. "Key."
When Paige opened her eyes, she saw the key to the cave entrance to the Fortress of Solitude in her hand.
"Awesome. Now I just need to change," Paige said excitedly before Orbing to her room.
St. Louise's orphanage
Same time
"Don't fret my child, I'm here to ease your pain," Goodness said as she strapped Clark into a chair.
"I have no pain," Clark gasped between the pain of Kryptonite.
"Oh but you do. You are an abandoned soul. It's not your fault your parents didn't want you, let me push all that anger away," Goodness offered.
"You're way off," Clark almost growled at her.
"It's tempting though, isn't it?" Goodness goaded him.
"No. Challenges are what make us who we are. The people that I've lost, the things that I've learned, I wouldn't be the same without them," Clark managed to get out.
"We've all had regrets and people who have let us down. I can talk that all away," Goodness said before moving to stand behind Clark. "You just ask any of my girls, I'm the most compassionate one of all."
But Clark was no longer listening, having spotted the steel hood hovering over the pyre by a chain. Getting an idea, Clark used his free breathe, freezing the chain. As Goodness began draining his memories, Clark groaned but knew he only had to wait. Within seconds, the chain had snapped and the top came down, covering the pyre and smashing the Kryptonite.
Clark breathed a sigh of relief before freeing himself from his restraints. Standing up, Clark saw Goodness was gone but put that out of his mind. Grabbing his shirt, he sped off, putting it on.
Coming to a stop in the hallway, he watched horrified as Tess struggled for air, suspended above the floor by a rope around her neck. For a second, Clark merely stood there, getting flashbacks to Alicia.
Putting that out of his mind, Clark used his heat vision to cut the rope before speeding over, catching Tess before she hit the ground. Clark lowered her to the ground before hearing the sounds of whips. Glancing up, Clark saw a young woman in the same armor he was the girls in with whips. Clark quickly sped over and, with a tap to her head, knocked her out before he sped back to Tess as she sat up. Clark offered her a hand up and she took it.
"Thanks, I thought I could handle that on my own. I'm so used to looking after myself," Tess admitted a little sheepishly.
"You're part of my team now. I wasn't gonna abandon you," Clark said and he and Tess exchanged a smile.
Fortress of Solitude
Later that afternoon
"Guess I can cross 'go to an alien planet' off my bucket list," Paige muttered as she looked around. "Guess this is as close as I'll ever get. Hello, anyone here?"
No one said a word, not that Paige had expected a response. Clark had told her enough about Jor-El for her to know what to expect.
"Look, I know you're here Jor-El. I'm a friend of Clark. Or Kal-El or whatever you want to call him. I can't imagine what it was like for you to have to send Clark away. My parents had to do the same thing with me, to protect me. But Clark's not a little boy anymore, he's a grown man. I know that Clark can be the greatest hero this world will ever know, but he can't do that as long as things are so unresolved between you two. If I was physically capable, I'd lock you two in a closet until you worked it out. But you two need to talk."
Paige paused but there was still no response.
"Maybe I should have brought Leo," Paige muttered to herself.
Kent Farm
Seconds later
Clark sped into his loft and paused, feeling something was off. Seeing the book where he used to keep the key on his desk, Clark immediately checked his hiding place only to find the key was gone.
"Paige," Clark realized in dread before speeding out of the loft.
Fortress of Solitude
Moments later
"Paige," Clark exclaimed as he sped in, startling her. "You shouldn't be here."
"No, you should," Paige said, turning to him before looking alright. "Jor-EL, he's here! Not what I had in mind but close enough. You two need to talk, so do it now."
"Paige, he's not talking. I appreciate what you're trying to do but there's some things you can't fix," Clark told her but Paige stood her ground.
"Clark, I am your Whitelighter. It is my job to make sure you are the best hero you can be, and that includes fixing things between you and Jor-El. And we are not leaving here until you do," Paige said firmly.
Clark opened his mouth to argue when the lights in the Fortress suddenly went out. Clark and Paige looked around in confused when, a few feet away, two figures in bright robes appeared in a bright light. Clark realized with a start it was Jor-El and his biological mother, Lara.
"My son, I've only had the joy of knowing you for a few weeks. I wish I could be with you always, to guide you and protect you," Lara said.
"We don't have much time," Jor-El told her.
"My dearest Kal-El, our love will always be with you. I can already see your carry with you your father's independent spirit," Lara said.
"But more importantly, your mother's never ending bravery and her compassionate heart," Jor-El said with a brief glance at his wife, a look in his eyes that Clark had only seen when his earth parents had looked at each other.
In a daze, Clark walked over and tried to touch Lara only for his hand to go straight through her. She was a hologram, Clark realized, feeling foolish for not figuring it out earlier. He almost missed Lara's next words.
"Your father tells me the world you're journeying to, Earth, is full of complicated being capable of great emotion. My wish is for you to live a full and fulfilled life. But I need you to know you were born of a great love," Lara said emotionally. "And your brilliant father has devised a way for you to carry on that love, without us."
"The ship I designed to carry you to your destiny can only carry one Kryptonian. One Kryptonian who has so much potential, so unlike your father," Jor-El said shamefully.
"No," Lara said soothingly, lightly grabbing his head and kissing him on the cheek.
"Your mother and I cannot come with you. To do so would be to burden your innocent soul with our frailties and failures. But you have within you the best of both of us. And I am sending with you all my knowledge but none of my ego and regrets. They will die with me here, on Krypton," Jor-El said, looking up as the sound of an explosion was heard. "Whatever trials I will put you through, I will never lose faith in you."
"Quickly, before it's too late," Lara told him softly. "We may not have been able to save our planet-"
"But we are confident you will become Earth's greatest savior," Jor-El continued. "And never doubt that, just as you are a part of us, we will always be a part of you. Farwell, my son."
"Farwell," Lara echoed before, in a flash of light, they vanished.
As the lights in the fortress came back on, Clark was left staring at the spot where they had vanished, a montage of emotions warring within him.
"Clark? Are you alright?" Paige asked in concern.
As Clark looked over at her, a sense of peace washed over him. Yes, for the first time in perhaps a very long time, he was alright. As he smiled at her, Paige felt confident that she had done the right thing.
Kent Farm
Night
"Thank you, for what you did today," Clark said gratefully as he and Paige finished up after dinner.
"Well, I know a little something about having a difficult relationship with your father. Sam, I resented him for a long time, but he was just trying to give me my best chance, even if he couldn't be part of my life. I didn't always get that, but now I do," Paige said and a beat passed. "What about you? Feel any differently about Jor-El?"
"I always thought he was this strong, unshakable force, kind of like how I was supposed to be. But…maybe he's more human than I thought, more like me than I thought. All the weight I thought I had on my shoulders and he was carrying something so much heavier. I'm glad you got to see him, thank you for showing me that," Clark said gratefully.
"I guess both our dads are more complicated than we thought," Paige noted.
"Guess so," Clark agreed with a slight smile.
"So, I think I'm gonna turn in. It's been a long day, ya know?" Paige said as she moved to head up the stairs.
"Yeah," Clark muttered, watching as she disappeared up the stairs.
Once Paige was gone, Clark was alone, staring into space. Never had he wished his mother was here so much, he could use her advice right now. Then Clark nearly slapped himself as the realization hit him. Pulling out his cell phone, he dialed Martha's number and waited for Martha to pick up.
"Hey Mom, I'm sorry I haven't been in touch lately, a lot's been happening. Is there a time we can meet, catch up? I could really use some advice."
Sarah would have been played by Freema Agyeman.
Going to be heading back to Charmed now, although as you can tell, we're also getting a plot about Clark going to see Martha.
