Effrancia Devastine: And barely conscious, you'll say to no one

IN THE PAST

Mr. Prevoskhodnyy waved his hand and the annoying apprentice gal sputtered angrily. Served her right, Eff thought brightly, choosing to temporarily ignore the fact that the spymaster knew her whereabouts. She wasn't going to move, that's what he would no doubt expect her to do. Also, even of he knew she was there, he didn't know she was masquerading as a termite, did he? At least, she appeared to be one... If he thought she was invisible and swung a really big knife around where he thought she was, she would still be decapitated. Or de-arm-or-leg-itated. Or sliced in half. Eep.
He hadn't killed her yet, though, and neither had the young woman with lighter hair and a darker accent that may or may not have been fake. (It didn't sound fake, but then, you could never know with spies.) Instead of doing any of this, he surprised her. Of course, she wasn't surprised that he'd done something unexpected, her very narrow view of spies dictated that they always did what you didn't expect you to do, but she was still surprised, because he said. "You can come out now, Nate's sister, aren't you? I have a feeling you'll be useful."
Appearing was probably the stupid thing, but Effie did it anyway. "You knew Nate?"
Mindy jumped and scowled. Anna nodded at Eff, then shook her head at Mindy.  Mr. Prevoskhodnyy smiled slightly. "I certainly did. He was one of us."

*****

Anna wouldn't have trusted the newcomer, who introduced herself as Effie, except for the fact that Mr. Prevoskhodnyy did. He was generally very cautious, so she trusted his judgement on this one. Besides, Effie was pretty cool. She was an illusionist, and had already learned the basics, changing her own appearance, but was eager to learn more, as opposed to Mindy, who was constantly rebelling against whatever Anna tried to teach her. They were both her apprentices now, but the past week had proven they couldn't get along. As of this mission, they were both working with her, though Eff would probably be reassigned afterwards. A pity it wasn't Mindy.

The three of them walked purposely up the long, spiralling riveway. Effie expressed some surprise at the fact that they weren't sneaking, and before Anna could answer, Mindy snootily replied, "If someone saw us sneaking, they'd be suspicious. It's much better this way, we look like we belong."

"Yeah? Thanks to me!" Effie snapped. She had indeed illusioned them to look like middle-aged men in black suits. 
"We could have done it without--"
"Apprentices, remember. We are a team," Anna cut in. 
"But Effie isn't even--"
"Aye aye cap'n!" For a moment, Effie appeared to have a shaggy beard, eye patch and parrot sitting on her head. Anna tried her best not to laugh.

*****

The mission was a boring one now that Effie had come into the plan. Apparently the old one had involved breaking in through the ventilation system and sneaking through the walls to a loose panel in the ceiling. This one mainly involved looking like they belonged, with one quick stop to catch a guard so Eff could see what his ID badge looked like so she could illusion copies if necessary. 
"Should I kill him?" she asked uncertainly when she was done.
"Of course not!" Mindy exclaimed, as if the very idea was ridiculous. "We're not the bad guys, and we don't need to. Agent Zinaida already knocked him out with her mind. It usually lasts for hours."
Anna shook her head slowly. "Mindy, we're not good guys either. No matter how noble the cause a spy is working for, there is always deception, always lies, always dirty little secrets hidden behind a web of shadows." Her eyes glazed over for a minute, then she shook herself. "We can't leave any kind of witness. My power is too...distinctive. If you'd rather not kill him, though, I can do it." She pulled out a short but deadly-looking dagger, but Effie shook her head.
"I can." She pulled out a hammer (having no anvils on her. They're too 34401424221424 heavy to carry around in your briefcase or something) and hit the guard on the head with it, feeling the crunch of bone and...loving it.

*****

"So it's just there?" Eff demanded. "The box that supposedly has one of Mevolent's secret weapons, just sitting out there, and not even any traps?"
"Pretty much," Anna said. "I mean aside from the cameras we disabled, but really, you'd expect there to be more." She walked over and picked up the box. Effie took a step towards her, ready to do...something, but nothing exploded, no trapdoors in the floor opened up, not even an alarm.
"So that's it, then?" Effie asked.
She saw Anna's eyes widen, then felt the chill of a metal blade at the back of her neck.  
"No, it's not over. Not by a long shot."


(Sorry this is all bits and pieces! I really didn't want to write the entire mission out, but if there are any in between bits that I didn't include that you want to see, let me know.)

**[Important Chapter!]** Maralie Lily Charm ~ Heart Attack

Song: Heart Attack by Demi Lovato
Enjoy!
~ Mara xx
(if you don't want your character in here, just say and I'll delete your part. This chapter does not effect any of your plots:) it's Mara's little torture thingy :/ )

"Mars!" Death's voice yelled, causing Maralie to cry out and fall to her knees.

"No!" she screamed. "I'm sorry! Please stop!"

"Mara, please!" Fabi. Her scream was cut short by a knife to the throat. Maralie screamed again and clutched her head, yanking at her hair. "Stop it!" she shrieked.

"Help, Mara!" Ari. Another scream, and then the thunk of flesh hitting flesh. A yell, and then it went quiet. Maralie started to cry, silent tears running down her face.

"Mara!"

Maralie screamed again, shaking her head wildly. That was Ember. "Please!"

Blood splattered the walls in front of her. She sobbed, and started to shake violently.

"Mara!"

Maralie froze. Everything stopped.

Harry.

"Harry!" she shrieked, stumbling up. A gunshot. She screamed yet again. She ran down a seemingly endless corridor and saw him, covered it blood. The only boy she was ever in love with was on the ground. Dead.

"Harry!" she cried.

(caution; really depressing part is here okay i'm so sorry i warned you i hate this so much but it's essential omg i'm so sorry guys)

Maralie screamed and ran over to Harry's lifeless body, falling to her knees on the tiled floor. She stared down at him, tears running down her cheeks.

"Hazzabear," she whispered, choked up. "Please... don't die..."

Maralie hurriedly felt for a pulse on his wrist. Nothing. She started to breathe quicker. She checked his neck. Nothing.

"No, no, no," she whispered, getting louder until she was screaming it out. "NO!"

"Harry, you can't die!" she cried. "I love you!"

She cried out and let her head fall onto his chest. She sobbed into his blazer and intwined his fingers with hers.

"Harry," she murmured, "I love you. Please don't leave me."

She lay there for a while, feeling no emotion. Afterwards, she sat up and put his head into her lap. She gently kissed his forehead, then started to play with his curls. She twisted them around her finger again and again, softly singing.

"Shut the door
Turn the light off
I wanna be with you
I wanna feel your love
I wanna lay beside you
I cannot hide this
Even though I try,"

A few more tears leaked out and began their long journey down her face. Maralie looked at Harry, his beautiful emerald green eyes that sparkled whenever he was happy, the dimples that used to spring up whenever he smirked at her, the lips that were so soft on her own...

"Heart beats harder
Time escapes me
Trembling hands touch skin
It makes this harder
And the tears stream
Down my face,"

As Harry's part came up, Maralie's stomach clenched. She remembered this was the first song they had ever sang together. She continued to sing, pain laced in her voice.

"If we could only have this life
For one more day
If we could only turn back time,

You know I'll be
Your life
Your voice
Your reason to be
My love
My heart
Is beating for this
Moment
In time
I'll find the words to say
Before you leave me today,

"Shut the door
Turn the key
Don't wanna be reminded
Don't wanna be seen
Don't wanna be without you
My judgement's clouded
Like tonight's sky."

Maralie's heart stopped suddenly. How would she explain this to everyone? Imagine all the girls, screaming and crying.

"Hands are silent
Voice's numb
Try to scream out my lungs
It makes this harder
And the tears stream
Down my face,"

Maralie closed her eyes and began to rock slowly, her hand still intwined with Harry's.

"If we could only have this life
For one more day
If we could only turn back time,

You know I'll be
Your life
Your voice
Your reason to be
My love
My heart
Is beating for this
Moment
In time
I'll find the words to say
Before you leave me today,"

Maralie took a deep breath. Harry wouldn't have wanted to die here, like this... He wanted to die an old man, with the girl of his dreams beside him.

"Flashing lights in my mind
Going back to the time
Playing games in the street
Kicking balls with my feet
There's a numb in my toes
Standing close to the edge
There's a pile of my clothes
At the end of your bed
As I feel myself fall
Make a joke of it all,"

Maralie took a deep breath, trying not to cry. This song described their situation perfectly.

"You know I'll be
Your life
Your voice
Your reason to be
My love
My heart
Is beating for this
Moment
In time
I'll find the words to say
Before you leave me today

"You know I'll be
Your life
Your voice
Your reason to be
My love
My heart
Is beating for this
Moment
In time
I'll find the words to say
Before you leave me today,"

Maralie finished off the song with a soft sob and cradled Harry's body. She kissed his lips gently, dreading when she'd have to let him go.

"I love you Harry Edward Styles," she whispered, slowly pulling away. "I love you until the end of time."

Maralie played with his curls again, not wanting to leave him.

Then she saw it.

Shining in the sun that was coming through the large stained glass window, a gun, lying on the ground across from her. The gun that had killed Harry.

Harry.

She crawled towards the gun, knowing what she would have to do.

She took hold of it and, her fingers still intwined with Harry's, brought it up to her temple. She stood up shakily and whispered, "I love you Harry Styles."

Maralie pulled the trigger.

*********
Do you see what I mean? Sorry if I depressed you in any way :/ I thought it was too horrible to post... Sorry. *hugs*

I really hated writing this. It feels so upsetting now... :/

~ Mara x

Mortis Grievance: The Swordfish Cell

"So what? You have access to the castle?"
"It's not very well protected, it's not very well hidden and I have contacts there...well, a contact...well, a contact and some skinny bloke named Marshmallow..." Ursa started laughing. Indishan and Ricky turned to glare at him.
"Watch the road, you imbecile." Mortis scolded the Australian detective lazily. Indishan made a disgruntled noise and turned his attentions to the road.

The car was a small silver thing that travelled far too slowly for Richard's liking. He had been in a car belonging to each of the three killers before. Garnet was no longer allowed to drive as he had been so reckless, not by the law or any of his friends. Jayden was okay, but he always confused the pedals. Mortis was slow, just like Indishan. He was ever so slightly obsessed over following all the rules, right of way, always way below the speed limit and threatening to kill anyone who failed to indicate. They all freaked Richard out, but he couldn't drive. Firstly he had a jittery leg and it was difficult to walk or even get up sometimes thanks to that thing. Garnet had called it Restless Leg Syndrome. The redheaded killer had also said Ricky had a tendency to move around a lot, very jerkily, in his sleep. PLMS. Apparently it may have had something to do with his lifestyle habits, but the only thing he could have been bothered to change was smoking, and only after Garnet had gotten sick, and he still smoked, just not nearly as much. Anyway, back to the point, when he wanted a ride for a purpose like this one, he needed Garnet's speed and Mortis' care. Indishan had neither. The suspension was terrible as well.

Ricky sat in the front passenger seat, drumming his fingers on his knees impatiently. In the back sat the other three, Mort behind Ricky, Hiro behind Indishan and Ursa between the two of them. There had been a lot of objection to sitting beside the long-haired Necromancer, and he had threatened to slit their throats with Monty (a razor held in a padded area on his wrist) if they got too close or annoyed him. They journeyed on in silence but for the occasional humming from any one of the people in the car or the occasional scrape as Mortis sharpened his knives, clearly worried.

-----

Elliot didn't look up when he heard the grass being trodden down by the man's approach. April did. He was a pale man, just under 6ft, stumbling uncertainly, clearly weakened. He had long, dark hair falling across his face and his shirt was torn and very bloody. She got up as he drew close enough and caught him as he stumbled and fell. Carefully, she lay him against the grass, on his back, and Elliot turned to stare. "He doesn't look very well." He commented.
"Oh, really?" His wife snapped with a roll of her eyes. The man on the floor let out a groan. "Are you okay? What's your name?"
"Don't...remember..."
Elliot frowned. "Listen, I've spoken to Tüpürcək and Labaha and listened to exactly what they've had to say, and we've reached an agreement. Most Sanctuaries are unaware of Mevolent's takeover in Azerbaijan and the Philippines, and as such they are a secret weapon. Tüpürcək and Labaha have rigged it up. We can get rid of every last one of them. No bother. The problem is, with so few people knowing the plans over there, we'd become a suspicion, a hated anomaly..." He paused and looked at the man on the floor. "You're Irish."
He gave a slight nod. Elliot frowned. "I think I've found us a scapegoat." The Irish man gave him a look but seemed too weak to protest.

-----

Charles was up. He was sat outside on a bench with Perseus. They sat hand in hand, the white-haired detective's head on the Cuban Mage's shoulder. Fiable screwed the lid off a bottle of cola and took a mouthful as Frivolidad began to speak.
"God it's cold here."
"It's quite mild, actually." Charles replied once he'd swallowed his mouthful. "For France, at least."
"Is this meant to be summer?"
"Spring."
"It's freezing."
"Wear a coat next time."
"I left my coat in Ireland."
"Never heard that excuse before."
Frivolidad gave him a look and he burst into laughter. The Cuban Mage gave his boyfriend a sharp elbow to the chest and he gave a gasp of pain before laughing harder. When he finally calmed down, Perseus grinned and shook his head. "Want to go get some lunch?"
He pointed to his naked eyes. "Depends where. If it involves reading, I can't. If you cook something, I'll eat it." He may have just about survived the fight, but his glasses sure didn't. In fact, part of the lens had stabbed into one of his eyes and made the eyesight much worse. Before that he had struggled to read without the lenses. Percy stayed silent. Charles sighed. "I need to visit the opticians."
"Yeah...I, uh, can't cook."
"Yeah, thought so." There was an awkward silence. "Actually, I am hungry..."
"I don't have any money."
"That's funny, neither do I. Not on me at least...so either one of Mevolent's goons stole my wallet or it's still with the medical people with my jacket, gun and watch. So what do you propose we do for lunch?"
"Sponge off Jasmin?"
"I think other people are doing that right now."
"...sponge off his girlfriend?" Perseus grinned as Charles began to chuckle.

-----

Advantageous led the four men down into the cells. He wasn't sure what they wanted with Franz, but he didn't think it would be very good. Straker was stood guard by the cells still. He narrowed his eyes as the bespectacled man entered with the four others behind him. The four newcomers didn't look at anything but their prize. Ransom was glaring intently at the one with long hair. Twist began to unlock the cell and Straker stepped forward.
"Woah, woah, woah, rookie. You do not want to do that. Do you have permission?"
Advantageous said nothing.
"Helloooo? Can you hear me, mate?"
He nodded and went back to unlocking the cell and helping Ransom to his feet. Straker stood there with his mouth open. The man with long hair moved to stand behind him and kept backing off as Franz went straight for him.
"Franz Ransom?" Ricky asked quickly, well aware that one of them was about to kill the other. Franz stopped as he backed Mortis into the bars of another cell.
"Yes?" He backed off and turned as Mort palmed a knife from his sleeve. The Necromancer gave him a cool glare as he walked to Ricky and then frowned. He could hear a faint, weak croak of his own name. He looked into the cell and gasped.

"My name is-"
"Richard Sloth, or Evan Ryton. I know your true name as well, but shall not speak it. I can't use it against you, can I, Phillipa?" He turned directly to Mortis with a grin, who glared over his shoulder at him. Laughter arose as everyone figured out what Franz was saying. He also identified Hiro and Ursa by their given names (Thatch Ellard and just Daniel). None was as amusing as Phillipa for Mortis. "It's to do with the anti-crocodile thing." He muttered, turning back to the cell and vowing to kill all of them later.
"Do you want something from me, Evan?"
"Ricky, please. And yes. I'd like a favour. I'm willing to, uh, pay..."
"I don't require it if the tainted one returns what he stole from me."
Ricky nodded. "Riiiiight...well, we'll see what we can do. Meanwhile, uh, I need to talk to you about Mevolent." They began to leave, Twist dealing with the objecting Mr Straker.

At the exact same time as this conversation happened:
He looked into the cell and gasped. "Garnet." He hissed. Garnet looked up and laughed a little
"Mort, either help me or kill me. Please. They torture me in so many ways."
Ransom's voice broke in. "Can I, Phillipa?" Laughter arose, including from Garnet and the other man in the cell. The woman just looked bored. And pregnant. Garnet repeated the name between weak giggled. Mortis glared over his shoulder. "You're Hiro Phantasmagoria, or Thatch Ellard." Franz continued, "And you're Ursa Borealis, or Daniel. Your parents were sorcerers and gave no surname. But Phillipa Schnorhavorian...just woah."
"It's to do with the anti-crocodile thing." He spat before turning to Garnet. He pushed a hand through the bars. "We'll help, I'll make sure of it."
"There's a sigil. You have to get rid of it. Please."
"We will, I promise."
"And us?" The woman asked.
"B-J wants them free..." Garnet groaned. Mortis nodded.
"I'll try arrange it. We'll get you out of here."
"Thank you. If you can't undo the sigil, please...please kill me..."
"No, I-"
He was interrupted by Ricky's call. "Phillipa! Hurry up, we've got the magical prostitute, we can go now!"
He hesitated, pulling his hand out of the bars. "We have to come back later, Rick."
"Why?" He came over and saw Garnet for himself. "Gar! You still haven't kicked it!"
Garnet pulled a confused face and pointed to the large burn scar on Ricky's face. "You're supposed to be dead. There was no way you got out of that alive."
"Well I did, so hah." He leaned against the bars. "Things aren't going too well for you. I can easily arrange for you to be busted out though. My main focus is Jayden though; he's in the Sanctuary gaol."
"I can help in that regard." The woman said. "I'm very influential in the Irish Sanctuary."
Richard arched an eyebrow. "We'll arrange the...evacuation of this cell ASAP." He then grabbed Mort's arm and roughly forced him out the door.

Garnet and Erik laughed. "His name really used to be Phillipa?"
"He has been my best friend for so long...d'you think he'd kill me if I used it as blackmail?"

((Describing what I was doing with Mort in this chapter led my mother to decide The Doctor's name is Phillipa and the real reason he never tells anyone is because he's just really embarrassed. I had a similar theory already, just without a specific name. Also Mortis. The others are only alive right now because he's been promised a way to free Gar. Who do you think he'll kill first?...I keep imagining Mortis wearing glasses even though I don't want to and it's so annoying...and Ricky's RLS is relevant.))

Zafira Kerias: Mevolent's Talk

Zafira looked up in the sky holding Alexis. The day was nearing, the day when she'd have to go in and face the truth. She was scared. Of course he should be. So many people wanted her dead. Javier stood beside her.

"Soon my love. We must be ready." Javier said quietly. She nodded holding Alexis still. Outside things were not as protected.

Alexander Remit was trembling,

"Master I can't teleport to the house directly! I can't picture it...I can get OUTSIDE the home..." He put his hand on Mevolent's arm and then they were outside of Zafira Kerias's home in New York City. Well that went well. Mevolent went straight to where the couple was. 

Zafira gasped and saw Mevolent coming. Javier turned and drew a knife. Mevolent used the air making the knife float above Javier.

"I didn't come for a fight. Yet. You have a child and I have no wish to harm the innocent in the matter." Mevolent told them. Zafira held Alexis close. The shadows around her were coiling protectively around the baby. 

"Go. Before I decide to kill you like I did Vengeous." She growled. She shadow-walked and placed Alexis in the crib activating protective sigils around the baby and going back down by Javier. Mevolent had Javier pinned to a tree.

"Get away from him!!!!" She screamed and attacked. She sent shadows at Mevolent trying to kill him. Laughing he sent the air smashing her into the ground. She tried to get up but he kept her there.

"Now what did you do to my Sense-Warden, Kerias?" He asked. She glared up at him. Remit vanished and came back holding the god-killer sword. Mevolent took it and put it to Zafira not cutting her yet.

"Speak or I kill you. You should know what sword I have no doubt you read it about it in one of the American Elder's Journals. " He said quietly. Zafira didn't say anything for a moment but then she did,

"Jayla is well I don't honestly know. She left the Sanctuary on her own free will." She told him. She felt the weight of the sword leave her. Mevolent glanced at Remit.

"Take her. She will answer for her actions to the rest of our army. " Remit touched her arm and vanished before Javier could do anything. Taking one glance at Mevolent Javier bolted into the house to protect Alexis.

As soon as the Palace was in her sight Zafira punched Remit in the head. She kicked him as he fell. Getting her bearings she ran and realized the Redhoods were now perusing her. Shrugging she focused on Justaria and let that power consume her and she sent a wave of shadows sending the Redhoods like dominos. She kept running and found herself in the throne room. The Redhoods that were supposed to be here weren't. She saw growled in frustration. Where could she go? Just then she felt a hand grab her,

"Well look who I found, the lovely Zafira Kerias. Now should I give you to Death Rose or not?" Nefarian Serpine laughed.

Mollie - I have no name for this chapter. Little Mix are damn cool.

Molliana stopped the bike as she came to Maralie's house and brushed her hair with her fingers, trying to make it look somewhat decent. She frowned and dropped her hands to her sides. Why was she caring about how she looked? Her hair was probably sticking out like a bush though. She shrugged and walked up to the door, ringing the bell.

"Just a second!" someone yelled.

Molliana frowned. Was that...

"Mollie?" Liberty Star's eyes widened as she came to the door, wearing star patterned pyjamas. (SHOUTOUT TO STAR! :D) Her blonde curls were in a side ponytail and she was barefoot.

"Lib!" Molliana exclaimed, practically tackling her little sister.

"I missed you," Liberty said, her voice slightly muffled by Molliana's chest. Molliana hugged her closer.

"I missed you more," she teased.

"I missed you most," Liberty shot back. Molliana smiled, noting the reference her sister was making.

(it's in Tangled, for anyone who's wondering :] )

"Why're you here?" Molliana frowned, her sister instincts kicking in. "You were supposed to be back in Cheshire with Eleanna and..." Molliana's eyes widened. "Oh my God, Harry took you here!"

"Yup," Liberty confirmed, giving her sister a grin.

"Is he alright?" Molliana panicked. "Is he in hospital?"

Liberty frowned. "Uh, no... why?"

"Maralie went near him!" Molliana yelped, running inside the house.

"He just went to the shop," Liberty laughed. "He isn't seriously injured. Yet."

Molliana gave her a look. "Ha ha ha. Funny. So where's Mara?"

Liberty looked uncomfortable. She started to chew lightly on her lip and was twiddling her thumbs.

"Lib..." Molliana's eyes narrowed. "Where is Mara?"

"Uhm," Liberty swallowed. "In her room."

Molliana blinked. "That all?"

She went up the stairs and walked down to Maralie's door. She knocked twice and then tried to open the door. Frowning, she pushed at the door harder. When it didn't open, she kicked at it. Nothing. Molliana frowned harder. Weird. Usually Maralie would've yelped or something...

"Mara!" Molliana yelled. "C'mon out!"

No reply.

Liberty followed Molliana, looking at the ground. "She hasn't replied for two days..."

Molliana whipped around to face her. "Oh my God, what if Mevo..."

Liberty's eyes widened. "Oh God..."

Molliana breathed out, then ran and vaulted over the banister. She landed downstairs and Liberty whimpered, petrified. Whenever Molliana got annoyed, she got violent.

"Lib," Molliana hissed, "Mevo will die tonight."

OoooooooooooOOOOH.
Tension...
MEOW I MISSED MOLLIE:) I'M GLAD I FINISHED THIS CHAPPIEEEE
~ Mara xx

Charisma Thorne – Just like old times. Painful, violent times

“What the hell do you want?” She asked quietly, fire flickering in her hand, not looking directly into his eyes – she used to get lost in them, the way they flickered from green to blue, and she couldn’t afford for that to happen now.

“Just thought I’d pay my old girlfriend a visit.” He smirked. “Tell me, how’s Chris these days?”

She bit her lip – she still wasn’t comfortable talking about him – and especially not to the man who murdered him. “You know very well how he is, you murderer. What the hell do you want?” She asked again, her voice getting slightly more frantic.

His smirk grew.

“I told you. Just wanted to see my old girlfriend.” He stood up, but was behind her in around a second – a second? How the hell was that possible? She hadn’t seen him pass in front of her or walk past and – It suddenly clicked.

He really had found a way to bend matter, change the air, something, hadn’t he? It all added up. The fact he’d somehow survived being thrown of a train, the way he shimmered – she wasn’t sure how he’d done it, but he had.

“Now.” He breathed in her ear. “You’re going to do exactly as I say, or it’ll be rather unpleasant. For you, obviously, not for me. I’m not the one who’s going to be murdering their best friend if I don’t obey. Oh, wait.” He grinned. “Already murdered all my friends. Except one. But that’s going to change soon. Very soon.”

He spun her around to face him. Charisma kept her eyes glued to the floor.

“Now, Char, darling – how would you like to see an old friend of yours?”

She didn’t say anything – but suddenly felt wind rushing around her – and then looked up.

“Hey, Char.”

It was Chris.

Jasmin Orage: Friends Forever

He sat up, gasping for breath. He paused a few minutes and reached up to wipe some sweat from his face. It was light out. Jasmin had nightmares, but he got a decent amount of sleep. He went to draw the curtains once he was dressed and saw the light spattering of rain outside. He pulled an unimpressed face and went to dig out his umbrella. The alarm clock went off as he crossed the hall to the bathroom. Downstairs, he heard the girls talking. He left the alarm going off and went down just as Lydie put the phone back down. He arched an eyebrow at her. She looked pale and stunned. "Are you okay?"
She sort of shivered and ran to him, tackle-hugging him and knocking all the air out of his lungs. "Uncle Charles!"
He slowly slipped his own arms around his daughter, frowning. "What about Uncle Charles?"
"He's still alive." She sobbed into his shoulder. "He's at the Sanctuary, he's still alive, dad!"
Jasmin wasn't sure how to react. On the surface, this was great news, but below the surface, he didn't trust it to be true.

There was somewhere in the Sanctuary Jasmin's kids were kept safe when they weren't at school. Some other Sanctuary officials brought their children in as well, partially as a protective measure, but mainly so Lydie and Clarice wouldn't be alone. He left the girls chatting happily to a boy from Bordeaux and jogged down to the infirmary.

Perseus was sat by Charles' bedside. They were talking in hushed voices. Jasmin opened the door and smiled, being as quiet as he could to avoid disturbing them. The blonde detective was missing his glasses and lying flat on his back, looking right up at the ceiling. His eyes kept flickering between the tile above him and his boyfriend's face, his face pale, sickly and tired. He shifted and twisted his face in pain, and Perseus rested his hand on his, comforting. Jasmin couldn't help but smile. They made a cute couple in his eyes. When Charles opened his eyes again after the shift, they almost instantly locked with Jasmin's. They smiled at one another and the pale man beckoned the Grand Mage over. He eagerly joined the other two men, smile widening.
"I heard you'd come back from the grave."
"No-one told me I'd been pronounced legally dead."
"You were dead when I got to you."
"I don't think I was. Not properly, Jasmin."
"You were pronounced dead ages before I got there."
"Weird how I am now lying here, talking to you, huh?"
"Yes, actually, very."
Charles smiled. "I never noticed how bad my eyesight actually was. It's actually pretty good, considering. Even so, you both look a little blurry."
"So do you." Jasmin replied, smiling. "I think I'm about to cry."
Charles sighed and spread his arms wide for a hug. Perseus stepped back as the Grand Mage folded into the hug. "Worried you were going to lose me?"
"Charles, I'm lonely enough as it is. There are two people I trust. You and Cadence. Moineau and Pourri are..." he sort of choked. Charles cared more about the gaoler and Pourri was the detective's little sister. He couldn't bring himself to tell him. Perseus frowned at him. Charles gathered what he needed to from the silence.
"Mevolent's lot killed my little sister?" There was no response and Jasmin felt the smaller man's hands clench into fists. They said nothing more and the Grand Mage stepped away. One more person to add to the list of people who really wanted to make Mevolent suffer. Jasmin had never seen Charles cry, and probably never will, but he could see now that his friend was coming very close to tears.

-----

Mortis sat at the table, glaring coolly at Hiro. Ursa, Indishan and Ricky were discussing something in the main room. He didn't like Ricky's new friends, Mortis decided. They were nothing like him, Garnet or Jayden. They were sensible men who pretended to be perfectly 'normal' and had mortal jobs. Sure, that meant those who stayed in the house didn't starve, but that had hardly been the fault of Mort or Gar when they had been friends with Ricky. If anything, it had been Ricky and Jayden's fault for not doing anything about it themselves. Back to the present, he was still glaring at Hiro, who was eating a bowl of cereal and not bothering to acknowledge Mort's existence. Mortis just kept glaring. Finally the other mage threw down his spoon.
"Okay, what is your problem, mate?"
"I don't have a problem, I just don't like you."
"I...you don't even know me."
"Not my problem."
Hiro gave him a weird look. "You're not possessive over Richard, right?"
"He prefers Ricky, and no. I forgot he'd existed until recently."
"Riiiiiight..."
"I just don't like some people."
Phantasmagoria nodded again and threw his spoon at Grievance. It hit him on the forehead and he fell over backwards.

"Mortis!" Ricky screamed as he walked into the kitchen. The Necromancer stepped away from the terrified Phantasmagoria, who also turned out to be a Necromancer.
"He offended me." Mortis spat, gesturing to the bruise on his forehead. Ricky narrowed his eyes.
"For the moment, Ursa and Hiro are out of bounds, and unfortunately so is Indishan here." He jerked his thumb at the Australian Mage behind him.
Mortis gave a meaningful glare to all four of the other men. The kind that meant 'once this is over, you are so dead'. "So what's his prop.?"
Ricky smiled. "He knows more than he should. He knows about a gentleman named Franz Ransom. You remember Franz Ransom, right Mort?"
"Oh God..." The name obviously meant something to Mortis. The Necromancer had tightened his hold on Wilbur and his other blades, which were concealed all over his body, as though something horrible might happen to them if he didn't hang on tight. His breathing had become faster and a little panicked. Whoever Franz Ransom was, Mortis appeared to be afraid of him. Hiro frowned.
"Who's Franz Ransom?"
"In layman's terms?" Ricky replied, smirking, "A prostitute. He trades favours for...sexual fulfilment...it can work either way, but if you get him to do a favour for him and don't give him back what he wants, there might be consequences...he made the majority of Mort's blades. I don't think my long-haired friend here ever consensually paid him back."
Mortis gave him a look, but not his usual look, the kind full of fear and panic. Quite frankly, Richard had never seen that on his face. "It's not just that. There is something very wrong about Franz Ransom, Richard...so very wrong..."
Hiro laughed. "What do you mean?"
His terrified gaze turned to the man of Asian origins. "He may have been born human, but he didn't remain one..."

-----

So Vengeous was dead. A victory for them. Erskine looked up from the reports on his desk, forcing a smile. Things had been a bit downhill as of late. Madame Mist was acting a little strange. He wondered if it was to do with the miscarriage. She kept looking at him funny as well. He was feeling unwelcome around her. Unwelcome in his own home. As a result he'd been spending more and more time in his office, trying to avoid her without seeming like he was. She was in the office right now, talking. He was trying to listen to what she was saying, but it was difficult when he was well aware she appeared to be angry with him today. He was struggling to meet her eyes and he didn't even know what he'd done wrong. Justice Popularity was looking between them, well aware something was up between them. Erskine took a deep breath, focussed his attentions on the male Elder and spoke. "I've just had word from the USA that Baron Vengeous has been killed...again...according to files brought to us from agent Maleficent, the operative working with Mevolent who brought Vengeous back in the first place is dead. It's unknown if he is the same one who brought Mevolent and Serpine back, so we can't let our guard down on the front of a possible return, but we can relax a little, I guess. Elders from Australia, South Africa and Norway have turned up dead. Russia and Azerbaijan are still pressing for any and all Sanctuaries still on our side to band together for an all out war."
"How do we know who is still on our side?" Mist interrupted sharply.
"I don't know. That's what I asked Tüpürcək. He didn't give an answer. I've spoken with him since, but I cannot get hold of the Russians."
"With Sanctuary trust so low right now, that might be a good thing."
"I'd rather be able to keep track of them as best I can. We already know one of their Elders had been a traitor."
Mist nodded slowly. They both looked to Justice for his opinion. He made a face and shrugged.

-----

Franz was in a cell anyway. Mortis didn't have to worry much about him. They were the only two who knew what truly freaked the Necromancer out about the blonde sigilist. His father, Prosperity Straker, stared at his cell, worried. It was his son, after all. He was going to be used. He was willing to do anything for his prices. The eyes were the same grey colour as his mother's. The pupils weren't the right colour though. They were a shade of grey as well. The hair was long and unkempt. The body was strange. Normal yet disproportionate at the same time, as though there was an illusion and it was impossible to tell which was the real form. He was watching the other cells with something that wasn't quite a smile on his face. He acted perfectly human when he interacted with others. In company, he was a flawless mimic. Prosperity had never seen him act strange. Neither had the young Mage's sister, Amandine. He didn't speak to anyone as he sat there. He was quite contented with watching Garnet and Erik arguing as Nemone dry-heaved. Prosperity knew what Franz was thinking. He was thinking that those three would somehow be his ticket out of there, something he didn't see in the body's father. There was still some of Franz in there, the old man knew. It was hard to still think of that as his son.

There was another reason Mortis was afraid of Ransom. Wilbur was Ransom's blade. Mortis had stolen it after favours had been exchanged. It was a blade of such quality, not like the things the weapons smith had given the Necromancer. No, those blades paled in comparison. Even to the, at the time, magic student, Wilbur's quality was obvious. It was as if it could cut into something from five metres away, and once filled with Necromancer magic, it could. Mortis had named it. Franz thought of Necromancer magic as a disgusting, tainting thing. Wilbur had been his prized possession, and now it was that of the tainted one.

((I reserve the right to blow up Azerbaijan and the Philippines for reasons relating to issues with my father. And I WILL blow them up. Meanwhile, I randomised a name for someone and came up with Franz Ransom and thought 'that sounds like a Skulduggery Pleasant name'.))