A Light In The Dark

[Dah]

One Year Ago

Darkness. The unfathomable, unending black of nothingness. A reality known only as The Void. In the beginning it was all there was, until the abomination of Light poisoned existence. It spread like a plague, driving the dark void further and further into the deepest recesses of reality until it nearly ceased to be.

In the fires of light came life. A cancer. An aberration. An error that needed to be corrected and extinguished. The Void sought to blacken the hearts and minds of the living, rotting them from the inside out. But the attempt to do so failed.

The Ontari, agents and warriors of the light stood in defiance and sealed the void away, trapped in a pocket dimension for all eternity. But still, the dark remained. In its prison it lay...waiting, gathering its power, and biding its time as life spread throughout the infinite expanse of countless realities. Years became decades became centuries became millennia became eons until, one day, the time had come.

"Alright, Princess. This is it. This is your life."

The voice, brash and feminine, cut through the shadow and awoke something deep, deep in the heart of the dark. Something that desperately wanted to go towards the voice. The heart of the void couldn’t quite place this creature. What was it? Had it always been there?

"Do it, now, Princess! Find something to hold onto! We'll find you! I’ll find you! I promise!”

Suddenly, there was light. The door had opened. The intruder was bathed in the essence of reality and the Void saw what it truly was. The creature raced towards the light, gaining ground. Unacceptable.

The tendrils of the dark whipped and tried to ensnare her, just out of reach. The girl ran with all her might until, finally, she was gone and there was only the dark once more. But the shadow had seen. It had found the light once again. A new life force had joined it, and it was only a matter of time before the doorway was once again open.

The passage of hours, minutes, and days had long ago lost their meaning. And before long, it saw its chance. The doorway opened and the Void poured out. The world was a blinding, confusing mess, but the vessel’s eyes adjusted. A woman lay before her as a man and two others held a vigil. The small one, it knew. Even now, in the realm of the physical, it could feel her essence.

"Are... Are those my little bunnies?" the newly awakened woman rasped in a mischievous tone.

The mortals spoke and new eyes turned down to see feminine hands, catching sight of a small placard with the picture of a human woman upon it. “Krystal Bonardi TRN” it read. Yes. They could be Krystal Bonardi...for a time. Those new eyes turned then upon the cask which had brought them to the world. A doorway it would have to shut forever.

The entity that now masqueraded as Nurse Krystal Bonardi, gathered the Soul Jar in its arms and stepped out of the room and strode down the hallway. Deep in the dark abyss of its consciousness, it could hear the woman screaming, begging for mercy as she was slowly devoured by shadow. Her terror only nourished the entity...and there was much more to do. This world would be the first to return to darkness. This was only the beginning.

[Alexia Longbow]

Present Day

The air crackled and popped with an otherworldly energy as Sammie focused, her arms stretched out before her, grabbing at nothing as if trying to rip open an invisible obstacle.

“Fuck.” She spat, releasing her hold with an audible grunt. “Gotta be fucking kidding me.” The shapeshifting witch muttered, returning her focus ahead.

Once again, those pops and hisses came from nowhere, but this time, accompanied by a rippling, unstable line where her fingers met. With a deep inhale, she clenched her jaw and pulled with all her might.

“Come on!” She begged the air in front of her until, finally, she threw her arms open. Where once there was nothing but the room ahead, there was now a warbling portal, and on the other side, a bustling metropolis. The surface of the tear in space and time shimmered and rippled like water, the image from another world clear, but cast in a gray pallor. Sammie’s heart raced with elation, a smile lighting her entire face.

One hand keeping the portal open, she rose the other towards that unstable image slowly, almost nervously. But the instance her fingers brushed its surface, the tear shut, leaving no evidence that it had ever existed. The suddenness of its disappearance surprised the witch, her entire body recoiling. For a long moment, she stared at the spot her portal had once occupied.

“God damn it…” she sighed.

“Wh-what are you d-doing?”

Sammie whipped around in a start to find the diminutive form of Alexia. She’d been so focused on the task at hand that she forgot she’d told the girl to come up to her apartment. Once her nerves settled, Sammie let out a breath.

“Hey there, Skeeter Bites. How’s it goin’?” She said, trying to regain some of her cool.

Alexia’s brows knit together. “S-Skeeter… what?”

“You know," Sammie said, grabbing her water bottle and taking a swig. “Skeeter Bites. ‘Cuz your tits are all tiny-like.”

Alexia fired a withering look at her friend. “Mm.”

“Boom. Roasted.” Sammie said in a matter-of-fact tone.

With a dismissive roll of those large dark brown eyes, the little fae brushed off the friendly fire insult and moved to the place where Sammie’s portal had been. “Wh-What were you t-t-trying to do?”

“Mm.” Sammie responded. “New spell Jaci n’ me are workin’ on. Advanced stuff. Really difficult to control.”

It almost sounded like she was trying to warn Alexia off from it. Naturally, it only served to fuel her curiosity. “W-Was that a p-p-portal?”

“We’ve been calling them ‘tears’, but same basic concept.” Sammie confirmed.

“H-Have you tried going th-through it?” Alexia asked, reaching out a gnarled little hand, brushing the empty air in front of her. She could almost feel the residual energy.

“Not yet.” Sammie sighed. “Can barely keep it open for more than a few seconds. Even then, it takes all of my concentration. But before you know it, I’ll be throwin’ open peep holes and be watchin’ you and Prince Charming bangin’ like bunnies!”

This plan did not sit well with Alexia. She turned a very serious look to Sammie and said in a very even yet pleading tone.. “P-Please don’t.”

“No guarantees.” Sammie said quickly, giving her a salacious wink. “Speaking of...How IS our dashing man piece these days?”

A dreamy smile slowly spread on the little fae’s delicate features. After a moment or two, Sammie considered snapping just in front of her face, but the words finally came.

“Oh… he’s w-wonderful…” A soft sigh slowly expanded in her chest. “H-He’s offered to help me c-c-clean out Uncle O-Owen’s room.”

“Awwww-uh! That’s so boring!” She cooed in an overly sweet singsong, earning another withering look from Alexia.

“What?!” Sammie protested. “UGH! Okay, fine! I’m very happy you two will have a bunch of new surfaces on which to fuck and may I please watch?”

There had been a time when the fae might have taken her seriously, but the petulant, robotic tone and the barely concealed grin on Sammie’s face only had Alexia shaking her head, amused.

“Ooh!” Sammie exclaimed, her eyes going wide. “Wanna say ‘hi’ to him right now? What’s he up to?”

“W-Working outside.” She said, with false confidence.

“Working. Outside. Do you mean he’s working out? Exercising?” Sammie did her best to be patient, especially when the end result was Alexia saying something unintentionally funny. It took a moment or two before a touch of crimson touched the little fae’s cheeks.

“Oh… Y-Yes, I suppose he m-may have meant c-calisthenics…”

“...hot.” Sammie said, her eyelids suddenly looking heavy.

“H-he and Doctor Sellip-“

“Deb’s there?!” Sammie’s eyes opened wide. “Those two all sweaty in tight workout gear? Oh yeah. We’re doing this.”

“S-Sammie, wait! I don’t want to d-disturb h-oh...”

Alexia tried to protest but the portal was already open. On the other side, Danny was side by side with the good Doctor Sellip in the midst of a push-up competition. The toned muscles in his arms bulged with every rep, and the peaks and valleys all along his shirtless back rolled, making the fancy scripted “Talula” tat wave almost like a flag. Sammie and Alexia both just stared for a moment, goofy distant smiles on their faces. After a while. Sammie gently elbowed Alexia’s arm and muttered.

“Watch this…HAAAAAAAY, BITCHES! I’d like to take a bite a’ them green apples!” She sucked her teeth and ran her tongue across her upper lip. The pair looked up, startled, certainly, but did not let anything interrupt their contest.

“Sammie?” Danny called out between grunts.

“Bounce quarters off that ass!” She responded.

“You try it now.” Sammy shoved Alexia to the front, ignoring her soft, halting protests. “Come on! Say something! Anything! Comment on his hot bod!”

“To what p-purpose?” Alexia asked, confused for a moment, until she caught that emerald green gaze. Then she tilted her head and that slow smile returned. Danny and Deb shared a glance. Alexia was there too?

“Because! Come ON! Have a little fun, Prudence! Get him nice and riled up for later.” She elbowed her again with a salacious laugh.

“A-Alright… ah… You are v-very handsome and I enjoy l-looking at you!” The little fae called out, earning a confounded look of disbelief from the witch and a snort from the doctor.

“Oh! Also, I l-love you! V-Very much!” Looking quite pleased with her first attempt at catcalling her own boyfriend, she beamed at him through the unsteady portal.

That did it. Deb burst out laughing, collapsing onto the ground just as Sammie lost control and the tear closed. Danny allowed himself to drop as well, gasping for breath.

“Oh, she is NOT good at that, is she?” Deb chuckled.

“Eh.” Danny shrugged, rolling onto his back, lolling his head towards his old friend, a smirk on his face. “It’s got its own kinda charm.”

“You know she could do that?” Deb asked, grinning.

“The portal thing?”

“No, the adorably inept pick up lines. Yes, the portal thing.”

Danny shook his head. “No. That’s new.”

“...you’re handling it incredibly well.”

“My girlfriend is a faerie who glows sometimes.” Danny deadpanned at her.

“Point taken.” Deb conceded as she, too, rolled onto her back, her knees bending at a 45 degree angle. “How many were we at?”

“...I dunno. I thought you were keeping track.” .

“Well, shit.” Deb said. She, too, had not been counting. Danny only snickered in response.

“For two competitive people, we’re rubbish at competing.” He muttered, rising up and grabbing his water bottle for a prolonged chug.

“Yeah, well...my mind’s a little preoccupied lately.” The doctor said, dejectedly.

“Love life?” Danny smirked. Deb rolled her green eyes and sighed.

“What love life? Been too damn busy lately.” She snatched up her own bottle, taking a swig. “We’ve had a lotta sleepers waking up lately.”

Danny grabbed his tank top and pulled it on. “And this is a bad thing?”

Deb ran her hands through her matted blonde hair, readjusting the stringy mess in a tight ponytail. “No. No, of course it’s great. Just...unusual.”

Danny chuckled. “Unusual? Here? I feel like that’s a very relative term.”

“Even for Rhy’din.” She shot him a pointed look. “I’ve been at this for a long time, Danny. You know how many times I’ve seen mass awakenings all at once from coma patients?”

Her fingers connected forming a zero. “It would be one thing if we knew what was causing it, but we’re all just scrambling to get them taken care of.”

“Well, yeah. Rehab, check ups...it’s got to be a nightmare.” He wasn’t a doctor, but Danny knew most folks didn’t just wake up from a coma and start doing cartwheels.

“See...that’s the thing. There IS no rehab. They’re completely capable, physically and mentally.”

“No side effects?” Danny asked, crossing his arms, his brow quirking.

“Well...they’re a little...I dunno, dull? Monotone, I guess you would say? But, brain function, physical mobility...it’s all there.”

“That’s weird.”

“No shit.” Deb agreed. For a long moment, she just stared off into space. When she finally shook it off, she turned to him with a renewed grin.

“Alright. Enough of that shit.” She said, her voice already taking on that competitive tone. “Most crunches! GO!”

“...There’s something wrong with you-” He started to say, but she dropped, and, not to be outdone, so did Danny.

[Dr. Deb]

Deb sat at the bedside of their latest awakened sleeper, testing his vitals. The man had been there for three years, one of their oldest patients. Everything seemed physically fine. In fact, his pulse and blood pressure couldn’t be more normal. But, much like the others, Mr. Gale seemed cold, distant, almost numb.

“Can you tell me how many fingers I’m holding up, Mr. Gale?” She asked, holding up two digits.

“Two.” He replied, his voice oddly monotone.

“Nailed it. Look at you go!” She smiled at the man, but he just stared ahead. Deb’s grin faltered, her eyes flicking to Krystal. The nurse looked haggard, her tan skin a pallid, sickly pale tone, dark circles under her eyes. It looked as if she hadn’t slept in weeks, her face almost gaunt. She forced a smile on dried, cracked lips.

Well, that offered no relief. All these patients waking up had to take a toll on the once energetic young nurse. Not that she could blame her. There were a lot of minds to communicate with.

The problem was, these coma patients were mobile moments after their reawakening. Comas did not work like that, not even in a place like Rhy’din. There would be months, even years of rehabilitation before they were even close to normal.

“Normal.” She thought bitterly. “There’s nothing normal about these people.”

“Well, Mr. Gale.” Deb said, jotting a few notes down on her notepad. “I’m going to recommend a few more days bed rest, just to run some tests before we cut you loose. I’m sure you can’t wait to get out into the world.”

“Yes. I must leave this place. Soon.”

Something about the hollowness in that voice chilled her. Deb stuffed those feelings deep down, hiding them away. “I’ll be back later.” She forced a smile to him and stood up, walking to the hallway.

She glanced over her shoulder to find Krystal and the patient staring silently into the middle distance.

“Krystal?” She called back at the door. “A word?”

The sickly looking nurse snapped her eyes toward the blonde doctor. With one last glance to Mr. Gale, she slowly approaching, nothing in her gait matching the rest of her appearance. The entire time, Gale kept his eyes on Deb.

The doctor led her down the corridor, that stunning smile offered to her coworkers and other patients until she found an empty room. “Come on in.” She said to Krystal.

The emaciated woman brushed past her, walking toward the window, the lights of the city spread out before them. Her fingers gripped the window sill as she stared, a look of contentment in her eyes.

“Krys...are you alright?” Deb asked, shutting the door behind her. “You really do not look good.”

“I’m fine.” Krystal said softly, her back still toward the doctor. “Better than fine.”

“Listen, if you need time off or...or help…” Deb said, taking a step toward her. “You know you can always ask, right?”

“Help?” Krystal responded, amused, “I don’t need any help.”


A chill ran down Deb’s spine, but she couldn’t place the exact reason. It was like being in a room with a predator.

“Krys?”

No response.

“Krys. Look at me.”

“Look at them.” Krystal said, ignoring the demand. “Ants scrambling around in the dirt, building their little worlds with no idea that the foot is about to brush it all away. Their little lights scurrying across the expanse. Unaware of what is coming. Do you see it?”

Every bit of warning sounded off in Deb’s subconscious, but she kept her tone concerned yet playful.

“I see…lights? Cars. Buildings. People. What do you see?” She asked cautiously, as if talking to someone hallucinating.

Krystal smiled. Somehow even that made the doctor uneasy. “I see the darkness spreading. I see death. I see the end.”

“The end of what?”

Those hollow, cold eyes turned back to her and Deb didn’t even recognize her friend.

“Everything.”

Deb took one step back, her fight or flight instinct going into overdrive. “Krys..please. Tell me what’s happening with you.”

“Everything that began will end. And it will be beautiful.” She turned to face Deb, a trickle of blood running down her nose. Deb opened her mouth to speak but her voice caught in her throat. “This shell has served its purpose. But you, Doctor...”

She took steps toward Deb on suddenly stiff legs, it almost seemed like her body was crumbling from within.

“Stop.” Deb ordered, but Krystal persisted.

“You are strong. Pure of heart. You will sustain me for quite some time.”

Deb backed toward the door, trying to seem stern and in control , but she was utterly incapable of hiding her fear. “Krys? You need to stop. Now.”

“Don’t. F-fight.” Krystal whispered.

Behind her, the door opened, Deb letting out a little yelp. Mr Gale appeared on the other side with malice in his eyes. Slowly, Deb backed away from him. The door shut.

In a panic, Deb turned around, Mr. Gale grabbing her from behind, pinning her arms to her sides. She struggled against his strong grip, trying desperately to wriggle free. With one last effort, she threw her head back, catching him in the face.

The grip loosened and she was free. Deb almost made it to the door when his hand caught her by the hair. A Yelp of pain forced its way out of her mouth just before he slammed her face into the glass. The world popped white and became blurry as the daze set in. She didn’t even notice him turn her around.

By the time her panicked eyes could see normally, Krystal was on her, her hand around the doctor’s throat. Deb tried to pry her fingers loose, but somehow the woman was stronger than she could have imagined.

Krystal’s eyes seemed dead as she stared into Deb’s wide, terrified eyes. “Join us in the Void.” The nurse’s impossibly strong arms drew her back and then shoved her forward into the door, the glass cracking where Deb’s skull had hit.

Life in the hospital carried on, utterly unaware. Silence filled the hallways, the fluorescent lights flickering above. When the door opened again...it wasn’t Krystal. It was Deb. She straightened out her lab coat and started down the hall, leaving behind the hollow, desiccated corpse of Krystal in her wake. Her eyes flicked to a passing nurse, a smile that was not her own upon her face as she continued on. Her plan was only beginning. Debra Sellip had seen the beauty of the void. And soon, the rest of the world would join her.

[Alexia Longbow]

Owen's room sat just as it had for the past three years: abandoned. Dust coated every surface, his belongings remained exactly as he had left them the day he'd gone. Books were stacked upon every flat surface. Educational books ranging from historical and beginner magic to higher level and theoretical spells and abilities, some even darker in subject. An endless amount of pages, maps, and various etchings overflowing from desk drawers. Ancient, leather bound journals in various states of disrepair lined the shelves. And, of course there were the bottles. Some empty, some full, and some half-consumed, many of them nameless corn liquors, some quite expensive, left in the darkness to be forgotten.

A sudden crack came from the door, a splinter of light cutting through the dust floating in the air. Once again, a loud whack sent a beam of light through the darkness, dancing across the untouched waste of Owen’s room, illuminating the golden writing along the spines of a few of his old tomes. When the next board fell, two figures stood silhouetted in the sudden, blinding light.

"Be careful." Danny said, ushering Alexia toward the door. A board remained at their feet, but it was easily avoided with a stimple high step. If anyone was to be the first, it should be her.

It took a moment or two for her eyes to adjust to the darkness, but slowly the faint outlines of the room came into focus. Alexia coughed once or twice. Clouds of dust swirled in her wake as she felt her way toward the wall on the opposite end of the room. Her scarred little hands thrust before her, there was a soft bump as she connected with wood. She padded gently along, creating a soft thud, thud, thud, THUNK! Her hand struck glass.. So coated in dust and grime, the window was now the same color as the dingy walls. With the end of her long sleeve, and a fair amount of effort, she slowly wiped away a small circle of crud. Sunlight cut through the rest of the shadows like a knife. Wider and wider, the circle of light grew until an entire section of the window was clear.

It was a mausoleum that greeted her under the scrutiny of daylight. On a table under the window was an altar covered in personal effects, a hairbrush, a necklace her mother once wore, even a handful of Alexia’s baby teeth, and the like, were arranged on a once black cloth, now grey with dust. Charms and sigils, even some hex bags, rare totems, all used for binding and obscuring spells to keep her docile and compliant. Dark spells that up until very recently severely affected her speech and hindered her powers.

There was hurt and sadness deep set in those large dark eyes as her gaze slowly moved from one damning sight to the next. After what seemed like an eternity, Alexia finally set her sights on the tall, well toned man that stood patiently in the doorway with a deep look of sympathy on his handsome face. She held out a deeply scarred little hand, reaching for him, beseeching him to come closer.

Wasting no time, Danny stepped over the remaining board and closed the distance between them. He brushed aside a series of cobwebs as he passed, for once envious of his girlfriend's smaller stature. Those brilliant, green eyes scanned over the abandoned room, taking in the desolate emptiness as he stepped toward her. He'd seen many places lost to time in his adventures back home, and there was always a thrill to stepping foot into a story that was supposed to have ended. Especially one as foreign to him as her uncle's. When he finally reached the diminutive fae, his hand closed around hers, their fingers entwining.


It was a long moment before she finally spoke. When she did, the sadness in her voice was undeniable. "I-I've n-never been in here b-before..." Twisted little fingers released his to lightly brush over a stack of books precariously balanced on the old lumpy, dusty bed. Her fingertips left little trails in the dust that she absently brushed away at the hem of her blouse.

He breathed in the stale air, and turned his gaze upon her. There was an unmistakable sense of melancholy to the room, even before they'd stepped inside. It was as if the ghost of Owen was imbued in every stick of furniture and every tome and scrap he'd left behind. Every wasted year, every ounce of pain and regret hung heavy in the very air around them. His fingers brushed the old man's desk, disturbing four years worth of accumulated dust. "Never?" He asked, his tone gentle.

Alexia shook her head slowly as she pulled open the first book at the top of the stack, silently willing her eyes to remain dry. Rather than pick the book up, she simply flipped open the front cover and quickly scanned the cover page. It was a long since overdue library book from the university.

Turning back to Danny, she lifted her thin shoulders in a small shrug. "W-We didn't al-always live here. We only m-moved here after..." She took a deep breath, not sure if she could go on. With a small thunk of hardback against paper, she shut the book and turned to fully face him.

"A-After we s-s-stopped hearing from my p-p-parents." She finished quietly.

Danny couldn't help but notice the numerous bottles of liquor in various states of fullness lying about. She'd told him plenty about her uncle's drinking habits. For a brief moment, he thought it surprising she spent so much time at a tavern...and with a boyfriend who happened to enjoy his fair share of the "creature".

"Where did you live before?" he asked, brushing the thought aside, figuring she'd mention something if it bothered her.

She, too, glanced at the bottles, seemingly unbothered by their presence. They were all stoppered, effectively containing both their contents and their overwhelming scents, and there was no belligerent decaying old man attached to any of them. In answer to his question, she answered quite simply, almost matter-of-factly, "H-Home."

For a brief moment, the single word almost made sense. She had a mother and a father and they had a home together. She had a family and a relatively normal childhood and then one day, she didn't.

“M-Mama and P-P-Papa and I, w-we lived in a h-house s-somewhere on the e-edge of the f-f-forest.” A small nostalgic smile began to tug at the corners of her mouth as the faded memory slowly cleared in her mind.

“I re-remember, it w-was c-c-carved out of an old t-tree and-" But the thought would never be spoken. Her smile quickly dropped and her face drained of color, leaving even her freckles to pale.

While she spoke she began to move toward a tiny closet at the opposite end of the bed. It was ajar, not because of being left open, but from being crammed full of even more bottles and books. What hung from the corner of the door, however, was what made her pause. Her voice caught painfully behind the lump in her throat as trembling little fingers rose to touch a black robe, one of a small handful specially ordered for the great Owen the Prodigious. It was old and in poor shape. Dirty, dusty, and reeking still of whiskey and stale tobacco. As soon as she touched the fabric, the scent came swirling toward her, finally breaking the dam as a single tear fell down her lightly freckled cheek.

Danny’s fingers traced over an old hand-drawn map as he studied it curiously. He glanced up when the story came to its abrupt halt. He couldn't see much of her face, only that slowly descending tear. Danny couldn't imagine how difficult this was, the whirlwind of conflicting emotions she must be dealing with. He stepped over behind her and slowly wrapped his arms around her waist. For a long moment, he just held her in silence.

Just when she was on the precipice of breaking down, she felt his strong arms enfold her. The smell of ghosts and the painful past was quickly replaced by the scent of his skin.

"You okay?" He murmured softly into her shoulder. "We don't have to do this right now if you don't want to."

Breathing deeply, she leaned her head back against him and closed her eyes for a moment before finally finding her voice again.

"N-No, I h-have to do this. I-I have to m-move on." She turned to face him, their faces scant inches from each other.

Danny only nodded, placing a kiss at her forehead, his fingers brushing her hair behind her ear. "Just say the word if you need a break. Okay?"

His kiss brought a small smile back to her lips and she nodded. "Oh-Kay..." she echoed, still a bit unsure as to why those two letters somehow meant agreement but also a state of well being, and so many other things. Reluctant as she was to leave the warmth and safety of his embrace, she was on a mission. With a small squeeze of his sizable bicep, she slowly pulled away and began sorting through yet another stack of books on the floor.

In that moment, he was so proud of her, overcoming her sadness and confronting it head on. He couldn't help the little smile that formed. He turned and walked back to the desk, opening a drawer overflowing with sketches. He brought them up to see, blowing a cloud of dust off the surface of the paper. He flipped through page after page of incomprehensible babble. There were drawings of what appeared to be talismans and intricate magical items his mundane existence couldn't even begin to guess at. Beautiful drawings, of course, the man had talent, Danny thought.

He came to a pause at the next page, finding the image of a beautiful girl Danny didn't recognize. A serene smile upon her youthful face and a bouquet of flowers brought up to her nose to smell. Scribbled across the bottom was the name "Lyra". There was something about it that gave off a melancholy air, even though he had no frame of reference to who the subject might have been. Maybe it was the pose, the expression, the amount of care put into capturing her essence. He couldn't say for sure.

More images followed. A short haired woman, delicate in her features, but exuding strength in her very essence. Though a small smile was upon her lips, there was a sadness in her eyes...eyes Danny couldn't help but notice looked an awful lot like Alexia's. A corner of his mouth ticked upwards as he put that little puzzle together. More ramblings followed, becoming more coherent as he traced them farther and farther back in time. Finally, he came to an image he instantly recognized. She was young, merely a child...but there was no mistaking Alexia. She clutched knobby little knees to her chest, staring up at a butterfly with a content little smile on her angelic face.

For a time, Owen had clearly cared intensely for his charge. He'd loved that little girl with all his heart. Danny couldn't imagine what it had been like to have her placed in his care. And he certainly couldn't comprehend what could have driven that man to become the one he'd heard stories about. The bitter, abusive drunk from Alexia's memories...it just didn't make sense.

Alexia had begun organizing the books by category, because she was Alexia after all. In one stack, books that were damaged beyond repair whether by spilled alcohol, one of Owen's raging tirades, or even just age and neglect. In another, books that belonged to the university, another still, books that might be useful, and, in a corner far away from herself, a stack of books too dangerous for her to even look through. Their dark secrets within sent shivers up her spine.

After they had disposed of several loads of mostly unrecognizable and irreparable items, Alexia now sat on the newly freed up floor space between the sagging old bed and a stack of books of which she was certain she could keep and make good use. One such book lay open in her lap. It seemed older than the rest by at least a few centuries and was in astoundingly good shape, considering. Those large dark brown eyes moved rapidly back and forth across the pages.

Danny stacked the papers and drawings up neatly, setting them upon the desk for her to find herself. He cast a glance to Alexia. "What's that, love?" He asked, stepping over and peering down at the book.

A small crease pulled between her eyebrows as she studied the illustration on the page before her. Rudimentary but clear sweeping lines depicted an ethereal being, beautiful beyond measure with pointed ears and long multicolored wings splayed out beyond the length of the creature’s body. Surrounding it, a bold ring of deep purple, radiant and almost glowing with power on the fragile yellowing page. With brows still furrowed, she looked up, his words slowly registering. She glanced back down and turned the book in her lap a bit to give him a better view.

"I-I'm not r-really sure..." Slowly, she began to shake her head. "It t-talks about these c-creatures... ancient b-beings called the... Ontari..." As soon as the word left her lips, there was an undeniable surge of something around her. It only deepened the crease between her eyebrows.

Danny tilted his head, taking in the image, something exceedingly familiar about it. "Mother of all life." He read out loud. A small grin formed. "If that's true, I could've had wings and looked THAT good? I got rooked."

Alexia smirked at him, a tiny half snort escaping as she shook her head. But it wasn't long before that deep look of contemplation returned to her usually impassive face. There was something about the image that called to her, she just couldn't quite put her scarred little finger on it.

"I've n-never heard of these... Ontari, before, but I f-f-feel like I kn-know of them somehow..."

"Well...if Owen knew about them...maybe they came up when you were little. Before..." Danny didn't complete the thought.

"B-Before." She echoed, nodding slowly. "I suppose that's p-possible." She conceded, her eyes quickly returning to the text.

Danny squeezed in to sit beside her, urging her to continue. "Go on, love."

“I-It says that th-there was a d-d-darkness that tried to d-destroy the Ontari but they m-made some kind of s-s-sacrifice to ensure it remained c-cast out.” She continued.

“What kind of sacrifice?” He asked softly.

Before she could answer, Danny’s phone vibrated. He pulled the device from his pocket, checking the screen. His lips pressed together as he read. "It's Deb. She wants to meet up. Says she has something important to tell me.” He scrolled through the messages, unable to shake the feeling something seemed a little off about them. With a small shake of his head, that warm smile returned as he looked up from the screen.

“How ‘bout it, love? Hungry? Want to take a break?” He turned back to the little fae who was once more lost in thought as she stared at the inexplicably familiar figure in the book. She turned to face him once more, her gaze lingering in the image for a moment longer

“Hmm? Oh... n-no, n-not really. I w-want to stay and clean up a bit m-more. B-But you go ahead. G-Give D-Dr. Sellip a hug for me.” she turned her gaze back to the faded, nearly unmarked book of the Ontari.

Danny’s expression was dubious at best. He pulled her into a warm embrace, those well toned arms holding her close once more as though she might float away. As much as he wished she’d stop for some food and fresh air, he knew better than to press the issue.

“I’ll come back right after, yeah? I’ll bring you back whatever you like. What do you want?” His hand cupped her cheek, his thumb gently stroking back and forth.

Finally smiling again, she reached up to run her gnarled little fingers through his hair and pressed her lips to his. She pulled back, her large dark brown eyes gazed adoringly into his intense green ones.

“J-Just you.” She murmured softly. A strong wave of warmth spread in his chest and caught his breath in his throat and he just had to lean in for one more kiss. Just one more. Not long after, only about 45 minutes later, he left her little cottage, albeit a bit reluctantly, and set off for metropolitan Rhy’Din.

[Dah]

Danny stood in the elevator, on his way up to Deb’s apartment. Leaving Alexia behind to sift through her uncle’s abandoned room wasn’t a comfortable proposition, but he would respect her wishes. The ping announcing his arrival at her floor snapped his attention back to the moment and he stepped out into the hall.

He and the good doctor had been friends for years, going all the way back to the Humility First protests when he was a patient of hers. A violent attack left him with multiple broken bones and a mild concussion. Since, she’d become a friend and workout partner, often drawing suspicions of a romantic entanglement between the pair. They were baseless of course, as neither were ever single at the same time, but they persisted nevertheless.

Finally, he reached her door, apartment 537. His knuckles rapped against the painted, beige metal surface and the wait for her began. It took a moment before the door slid open to reveal a face he didn’t recognize. It was a young man, he was certain he’d seen around the hospital.

“Oh.” Danny said, thinking he’d interrupted a date. “Hey. How’s it going?”

The man stared, his eyes somehow feeling hollow, a stoic, unmoving expression clouding the stranger’s face. He stepped around Danny without a word, slowly wandering off down the hall. Danny’s brow creased as he watched him go.

“Danny.” Came the sultry voice from inside.

He stared a moment more before plastering on a smile and stepping inside. Deb’s apartment was dark, the shades pulled shut. It took a moment to adjust, but he noted her usually spotless apartment was littered with plastic water bottles on most surfaces.

“Heya, Deb.” He said, fighting the suspicion that crept into his tone. “Uh, met your buddy out there. Sorry if I interrupted.”

Deb sat cloaked in shadow. What little he could make out suggested that she wore an oversized dress shirt...and not much else.

“Not at all.” He could hear a faint purr in her voice most men would take as a good thing. He’d only ever heard her use it jokingly...never with this sort of purpose behind it. “Come in.”

Something was off. There was an aura to the room that felt crushing. A pressure in the air that felt not unlike being cornered. “So…What’s up? You called.”

Deb stepped out slowly, slivers of light casting across her. The shirt was unbuttoned and barely covering her, resting at toned, athletic thighs. A sight most would kill to behold. “Can’t a woman want to spend time with an old friend?”

Danny’s green eyes swept across the room, the faint scent of something he couldn’t place filtering in his nostrils. “No? I mean…we probably could have grabbed lunch or-”

He could just make out a smile upon her lips that made him uneasy. “I’m not interested in lunch.”

She rose from her chair, setting down a bottle of water on the side table, the shirt falling open and leaving little to the imagination.

Those warning bells were screaming in his head, his body tensing up the way it did before a fight. Deb took a step forward and he took a step back. “Deb...what the fuck is going on?”

Her head canted to one side, that seductive grin remaining. “Aren’t you tired of fighting it?”

Danny squinted. “Fighting what?”

“This.” She gestured to herself. “I see the way you look at me when we’re working out. I’m sure you’ve seen how I look at you…”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yes you do.” She purred, fingers trailing down between the swell of her breasts. “You want this as much as I do. This body...these lips…”

She stepped right into his personal space, peering up at him...and the eyes that looked up weren’t hers. “You can have it. All of it. Just...give...in.”

She leaned up to kiss him, but he caught her by the shoulders holding her there. Taking in a deep, overwhelmed breath. “No.” He said in a low tone.

“I don’t know what the hell you’re thinking , but you’ve got the wrong idea about us.” He said, a look of disappointment on his face. “I’m going back to Alexia. Call me when you get your head on straight.”

Danny turned and started toward the door, leaving her. The smile on her face fell. As Danny placed his hand on the knob, Deb’s hand slapped against the door, those hollow eyes glared, the look of a predator in them.

Danny tried to pull the door, but it wouldn’t budge. He gripped with both hands and pulled, but there was absolutely no give. Deb was strong, but not THAT strong. The dread that had been bubbling up within his gut boiled over. His fist clenched tight, those usually kind green eyes of his darkening dangerously.

“Move.” He commanded. Deb didn’t so much as twitch. Those empty eyes bore into his, unmoved by the warning tone in his voice. Danny straightened to his full height, looming over her, that voice dropping to snarl. “I don’t want to hur-”

Her hand shot out suddenly and wrapped around his throat, catching him completely off guard. She squeezed so hard, he genuinely thought she would crush his throat.

“I was willing to do this nicely.” She said, her voice suddenly cold. “But you chose the hard way.”

The terror set in as she slammed his back against the door, her mouth opening and almost covering his. She inhaled what almost seemed like smoke, a low moan rumbled from Deb’s throat, for a moment a faint glow emanating behind her eyes. A freezing chill filled his body, making his muscles tense and quiver. It was like she was inhaling his very essence.

“Ohhhh…yessssss…” she hissed, her eyes closing pleasurably. “You taste even better than I could have imagined.” She leaned in again, swallowing another lungful of that smoke, those dark eyes once again aglow, leaving him feeling weaker and weaker. “I’m going to enjoy being Danny Dubek…”

Danny struggled to protest, but she only tightened her grip, his vision popping as his body begged for an intake of air. He grabbed her wrist and tried in vain to wrench it from his throat. The creature posing as Deb brought her free hand to his cheek, gently running her fingertips along his jawline.

“Join us in the Void.” She whispered, low and sultry.

The imposter leaned in slowly, her mouth opening wide as her vacant eyes slid shut. The last thing Danny remembered, she exhaled, a sharp, acrid flavor invading his mouth and crawling down his esophagus like a swarm of locusts. The swarm filled his lungs, his entire being...and then Danny saw nothing but darkness.

[Alexia Longbow]

“D-Danny!” Alexia awoke with a start. She looked around in the dark, the nightmare quickly fading from memory. She had fallen asleep at Owen’s desk where Danny had left a stack of sketches. The room, finally clear of all unsalvageable and irreparable items, was almost unrecognizable from the dust coated mausoleum they had first entered. She had even managed to dust and sweep so that it simply looked like a well kept spare room with a few odds and ends stored in the shelves and closets.

She leaned back in the creaky chair, coaxing a few soft pops from her back as she continued to rouse herself out of the fuzzy haze of exhaustion. Then, she finally realized what was troubling her. It had been hours since Danny left with the promise to return soon. Worried that Dr. Selip had given him troubling news, she stood quickly. Perhaps a little too quickly. Her head swam with a powerful dizzy spell and felt as though the wind had been knocked out of her. Confused and in desperate need to see her boyfriend, she steadied herself and headed for the door at a much more sensible pace.

It didn’t take her long to cross the marketplace and soon she found herself nearing Danny’s door. As she approached, an unmistakable sense of dread settled in the pit of her stomach. Foolishly, she convinced herself it was just hunger. She had, after all, skipped a few meals. Despite Danny long since having given her a key to his apartment, she still felt strange simply barging in unannounced. And so it was that she raised her scarred little fist and lightly rapped on the door. Nothing. She waited, counted to twenty, and knocked again, this time a little louder. Still, nothing. A quick glance to the bottom of the door and she could see there was no light from within. She shook her head and told herself it was entirely possible Danny wasn’t even home. Perhaps Dr. Selip needed help and they got to talking, or even went out for a drink. They had been friends long before she and Danny became a couple and she respected both Dr. Selip and their friendship.

Having convinced herself he was still out, only then did she work up the courage to use her key. It turned and clicked easily and began to swing open, only to be immediately halted just a few inches in. She looked up and saw the chain in place. A deep frown settled on her lovely features. If the door was chained, that meant he was inside. How else could he have locked it? She tried to peek in, but saw nothing but pitch black. Pulling the door closed once more and locking it with another soft click, she turned around and leaned gently on it, thin arms rising to circle around herself. The crease between her eyebrows deepened for a moment before suddenly disappearing. He had to be asleep! Yes, that was the most logical answer. He had gone to see Dr. Selip, helped her with some arduous task, and had fallen into a deep sleep as soon as he got home.

Alexia pulled away from the door and turned toward it one last time, placing her ruined little palm on the spot just above the knob. A small smile, difficult as it was to muster it, formed on her lips.

Sleep well, my love. She thought, the strong scent of lavender and chamomile radiating from her very being. Then, she turned and headed back to her little cabin. She didn’t care much for not being able to see if he was alright, but she didn’t have any other means of contacting him. She would just have to be patient. He would eventually come see her and all would be well.

[Dah]

Aiden Jax was one of the newest and quickly rising stars counted among elite of The Watch’s response force. A life spent dodging all manner of threat, from the mundane to the ethereal had made the young man skilled at survival, but rather brash and impulsive. His penchant for sowing chaos even in the calmest of situations had earned the upstart a reputation as a troublemaker among his peers. Many found his rise through the ranks confounding, concluding that he had only made it simply on the protection and good graces of the higher ups in the organization. Whatever the reasons, Aiden was there to stay.

Booted footsteps hit the old wood of the docks as he moved cautiously through the mess of cargo, prepped for loading the next morning. His quarry, a shape-shifting pavrat had eluded him for weeks. But such a creature could only hide so long. The trail of destruction both had left in the wake of their desperate chase spread back for miles. There’d be a metric ton of paperwork for all the injured bystanders and property damage when all was said and done.

Jax raised his pistol ahead, keen eyes and even keener ears listening for any signs of the beast, but all he could hear was the lapping of waves and creaking of wood as ships bobbed on the black waters of the night. His heart pounded with excitement as he continued forward, ready to unload on the first thing that popped into his line of sight.

An otherworldly shriek suddenly erupted from the calm silence and Jax knew exactly what it was. He charged off through the maze of containers, intent on reaching his no-doubt injured prey. What he found, though was not what he expected.

The pavrat had taken a human form and was currently being held by the throat, pinned to large piece of a cargo as a man he’d never seen before breathed something into the creature’s open mouth. He saw the white of its eyes turn to inky black pools before fading to their natural red. The human skin of its mouth almost seemed to tear as the illusion wore off and it took its natural form. Light, smooth skin turned into grey, blotchy, thick hide, it’s fingers elongating into gnarled, blood-stained digits even as it’s arms shrank back inward.

Jax felt a simmering rage fill the pit of his stomach as he watched the stranger lower the pavrat to the ground. He thumbed the hammer of his pistol back as he approached.


“Just what the hell do you think you’re doing, buddy?” He said, forcing as much swagger as he could muster into his voice. The stranger before him was tall, athletically built, with wavy auburn curls. Slowly he turned, cold and lifeless green eyes landing upon the Watchman as if he were a flea.

“That one was MINE, pal.” He said, flashing a badge with his open hand. “Aiden Jax. Watch Elite Forces. You mind telling me what you were doing with my perp?”

The man cast a glance down at the creature for just a moment before shifting that emotionless gaze back up to him. “I welcomed him into the glory of the Void.”

Something in that voice sent a chill down Jax’s spine. As the man took another step forward, Jax again leveled his gun at his head. “That’s far enough.”

“Even as we speak,the shadow fills him. Devouring every last bit of darkness within his very essence.” He said. “As it will forall. As it will for you.”

Jax scoffed, that forced swagger once again returning. “Yeah, good luck with that! You have any idea how many people have tried to kill me? Let me tell you, there have been plenty! I’ve faced down gods and demons. I’ve seen and detroyed so many ‘voids’ in my time that the word has lost all meaning. So if you think-”

A rattle from within the pavrat’s throat cut him off. The creature began writhing and shrieking in agony, that grey skin turning a sickly blue as its veins pressed up from below. Every muscle tensed as it writhed around in agony, slashing in vain at nothing. It’s eyes sunk back into its sockets, foam pouring from its mouth as muscle seemed to liquify, that thick skin becoming loose around skeletal appendages. With one last croak, the beast went still.

That overconfident exterior was gone. Jax took a step back, his breath suddenly panicked and erratic.

“Those words. ‘Gods.’ ‘Void’...they are just that. Words. What awaits this world is far more than you can possibly comprehend.” The stranger said, still approaching.

“Infinite nothingness.” Another, female voice said from the side.

Jax wheeled around, immediately pulling the trigger and sending a round through the woman’s shoulder. But she hardly seemed to notice.

“You will see the beauty of it all.” Another said from behind.

The Watchman again spun about, backing away from the newcomer currently stepping towards him.

“You will ALL see.” Several voices rose up in unison, like a monotone chorus. They came in through the cargo stacks, men, women, children. An army, all with the same dead-eyed stare, surrounding him.

Jax’s hands shook, the terror setting in. Finally, he cracked and started shooting indiscriminately. Several missed their targets, but some hit, either dropping the target or merely wounding them, but they just kept coming..

Several hands closed around his arm, ripping the gun from his grasp. He reached down, grasping for a blade, but the green-eyed man gripped his wrist before he could draw it. Eyes that had once belonged to Danny Dubek stared into his. A chill filled every bit of Jax’s being, something more than physical. Something ancient. Something more powerful than he could possibly imagine.

Aiden Jax saw the Void for what it was. It was the beginning. It was the end. And it swallowed him whole.

[Alexia Longbow]

The next morning, Alexia was up well before the sunrise. She paced her tiny living room for what seemed like hours, and in all likelihood, it had been. She had resolved the night before to be patient and wait for Danny to come to her, but she was restless. She had to try one more time to make sure he was alright. And so after a few more agonizing hours, she left her little cabin around mid morning, a freshly baked loaf of bread neatly wrapped in a clean cloth tucked under her thin arm.

When she arrived at Danny’s apartment, warm fresh bread in hand, everything looked very much the same. No light from under the door, save what little trickled in from the window. No sound. And still, that unsettling feeling of deep dark dread. She raised her ruined little hand and knocked firmly, her sweet voice calling out with as much confidence as she could muster. It wasn’t all that much. A terrible thought crept into her brain. What if he was ill or injured? So badly he couldn’t answer? She placed her marred hand on the same spot as the night before and let her eyes slide closed. She tried to sense him, his warmth, his scent, the beat of his heart. She found nothing. Tempted to try the lock again, she shifted the loaf of bread to her other arm as she fished her key out of her pocket. The aroma of the freshly baked loaf, so enticing when she pulled it out of the oven, now made her stomach churn.

Her hands shook and her fingers fumbled a bit, but she managed to unlock the door again, only to be met with the same sudden resistance as the night before. She stared up at that length of chain and could almost feel it’s links tighten around her chest. With a deep frown, she closed the door again and locked it before gingerly setting the loaf of bread down, still wrapped in clean linen, and propped it up against the door. Fighting back tears, she took a step backwards, then another, just staring at the door for some time, before reluctantly turning and disappearing down the stairwell.

[Alexia Longbow]

“Again.” Sammie paced back and forth behind Alexia, a harsh expression on her face. They had been working hard in the little fae’s garden for hours. The witch made the aspiring mageling go through a gamut of magical spells, ranging from simple to extremely complex and even a bit dangerous, like military drills.

“Convenit.” Alexia commanded a small pile of dirt in front of her, a single heavily scarred little hand held up, palm facing out and fingers splayed. Nothing happened. Her soft voice had already shown signs of strain by hour two of their training session. This was hour five.

“Again.” Sammie repeated, even more firmly when the most recent attempt failed.

“Convenit.” Alexia’s brows knitted. She knew before she even uttered the phrase it would yield no results. She was exhausted and her already shaky confidence was sapped down to nothing.

“Again!”

“S-Sammie, p-p-please…” Alexia pleaded meekly.

“No! Again! And this time, like you fucking mean it!” Sammie demanded. She stopped just behind the little fae and stood with her arms crossed, glaring over the smaller woman’s shoulder at the mound of dirt.

Alexia took a deep breath, straightened her posture, and threw her thin shoulders back.

“Convenit.” Again, nothing happened. Not a single speck of dirt moved.

“Again!” The word had become a spell of its own, somehow coaxing try after worn out try from Alexia.

“Convenit.” Nothing.

“Again!”

“Convenit.” Still nothing.

“AGAIN, DAMN IT!”

“Convenit... Convenit! CONVENIT!” Alexia’s voice cracked painfully. Even Sammie couldn’t help but wince. Still, she showed no mercy.

“What the hell was that?! It’s like you’re not even trying!” Sammie watched as Alexia shrank away from her, an apologetic look on her lightly freckled face.

“I-I am t-t-trying…” She began feebly.

“The hell you are! You sound like you’re asking it to move! Wait a minute… Wait just a goddamn minute, you are, aren’t you?” One look into those large dark brown eyes told her all she needed to know. With a cruel sneer, Sammie grabbed those thin shoulders and turned them roughly back toward their subject.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake! How many times do I have to tell you? You don’t ask things to bend to your will, you make them do it! You look at that literal pile of dirt and you get fucking angry with it!”

“I… I c-c-can’t…” Alexia murmured softly as she lowered her hand.

“What do you mean you can’t? Can’t what?” Confused and more than a little frustrated, Sammie sighed in exasperation and released the smaller woman, letting her own hands fall at her sides.

“I c-can’t get a-angry w-with it. I re-respect it.” Before Sammie could recover from the shock written clearly on her face, Alexia continued.

“I-It has m-meaning. It o-once s-s-sustained l-life and it c-could d-do it a-g-gain. I-It has it’s o-own r-rich history and I re-respect it. M-Maybe even l-love it. O-Or at l-least the hope o-o-of the f-future it r-represents.” During her tender, albeit halting, explanation, a tiny sprout from a seed mixed into the dirt began to stir and peek out just beyond both of their attention.

“You love dirt. Of course you do.” Sammie closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose for a long moment. When she finally opened her eyes again, she walked around in front of the little fae and put both hands on either of her shoulders.

“You need to let the fairy tale bullshit die already, princess. The world isn’t full of beauty and wonder…”

One hand kept a tight grip on her shoulder while the other slid slowly down her arm before stopping midway and moved toward the spot just under her ribs.

“It’s full of pain and cruelty…”

Sammie roughly grabbed a still healing stab wound Alexia had healed from someone and taken into herself just a few days prior. Alexia gasped and her breath caught in her throat. The witch’s fingers felt like five razor sharp knives digging into her flesh around the wound.

“And you’ve got to beat others to the punch before they can do shit like this... to you.”

Slowly, an intense burning filled her side as Sammie dug and searched and snagged at the wound, eventually pulling it out in a lump of sickly yellow that pulsed and throbbed, leaving behind a crude but fully healed scar that would soon fade where a jagged stab wound had once been.

When Alexia could breathe again, it came in shaky ragged breaths as she quickly made sense of what had just happened.

“Sammie… p-please… g-give that b-back to me.”

“Give it back?!” The witch scoffed. “Why should I? You never should have had this in the first place!”

“P-Please, j-just give it b-b-back s-so I ca-”


“So you can what?” Sammie cut her off, swiftly moving away from the little fae with the handful of living pain and injury. “So you can put it right back? Suffer what you never should have had to suffer? Hell, no! In fact…”

Before Alexia could protest further, Sammie brought her other hand on top of the mass and pressed it between both her hands, condensing it. Finally, after no small amount of effort, she revealed her handiwork. A perfectly round encapsulated essence of pure pain and the malice with which it was originally inflicted.

Alexia’s face contorted into one of shock, betrayal, and deep hurt. Slowly, she shook her head.

“S-Sammie… how c-c-could you?” Her voice barely carried above a whisper.

If it had been anyone else, Sammie would not have cared in the least. She would have laughed and even mocked the reaction, taking great pleasure knowing her actions elicited such a response. But Alexia had always been different for her. She had been a weak spot from day one. Luckily, despite her deep almost sisterly care and even respect for the little fae, Sammie still managed to keep up the tough facade.

“Quite easily, actually. Maybe if you toughen up and work on your casting I can show you someday.” She was well aware that wasn’t what Alexia meant. Still, the hurt in those big brown eyes was beginning to wear her down.

“Tell you what, princess,” She began again, firmly grasping Alexia’s hand.

“Just to show you I’m still on your side, I’ll let you decide what to do with this handy little number.” Sammie pressed the now firm orb of sickly yellow glowing nastiness into her marred little palm and pushed her gnarled fingers to close over it.

Alexia frowned deeply as she looked down to her now closed fist. Quite unable to look Sammie in the eye, she simply turned and wordlessly headed back into her tiny cabin. With a heavy sigh tinged with remorse, Sammie, too, walked back inside. She had every intention of seeking out the upset girl and trying to make some kind of amends, but when she found her sitting on the edge of her bed, her eyes unfocused and unseeing, some of her ire returned.

She grew angry again. Angry that Alexia seemed to be giving up. Angry that she continued to put herself at risk for others time and time again. Angry that she always sought the good in people instead of seeing the evil they were capable of. But mostly angry at herself for not only letting this odd sweet little creature somehow work her way into her once cold dead heart, but for hurting her. Probably more than any stab wound had. She could try and tell herself she did it for Alexia's own good but no matter what, she couldn't justify the pain she caused. Couldn't absolve herself of it. Without a word, Sammie simply left through the front door, leaving the confused and deeply hurt Alexia to sort things out on her own.

The little fae sat there for a long time. Long after the sun had gone down and the chill settled in the air. When she finally looked up, the entire little cabin was pitch black. She stood slowly, feeling her way out to the small fireplace with her free hand. When she finally felt the edge of the mantle, she set the yellow orb on top of it and sought out a small box of matches. Even as she pulled a match from within and began to strike it unsuccessfully on the side of the box, her mind was racing.

Sammie was wrong. The world was full of beauty and wonder. It had to be. How else could her life have taken such an incredible turn that led her to find the love of her life? To have amazing friends, the witch included. Yes, she could admit, there was pain and sorrow and some seemed to experience more than their fair share. But even the bad served a purpose. It made the good in life that much sweeter. Alexia blinked, snapping herself out of her reverie. She looked at her hands that held the match and its box, having long since stopped striking, and set them both back down on the mantle. With new resolve, she dashed out her front door, determined to see Danny.

[Dah]

The inky black void enveloped him like a blanket that provided no warmth or shelter from an unfathomable, infinite coldness. It was paradoxically comforting and terrifying all at once. Danny felt outside of himself, a disembodied consciousness lost in infinite nothingness. Even in this empty expanse, he could feel another presence. He was not alone.

A cruel, malevolent force remained, unseen but very much present. It was around and yet, somehow within him, coursing through and corrupting his very being like poison blood.

“Can you hear me?” He spoke into the void. His disembodied voice sounded strangely alien to him on this plane, all around him, yet far away.

“We hear you, mortal.” The endless dark rumbled in response, filling him with another chill from deep inside his soul. He tried his best to not let the fear overtake him completely, but something told him he couldn’t hide anything from the malicious creature.

“Good.” Danny responded, putting on as brave a face as he could. “This would really suck if I didn’t have someone to talk to.”

“Humor. You use it as a shield to hide your fear. But it will not save you. Even now your life’s essence diminishes. You are little more than a battery, and so too will you become useless. A dessicated, hollow husk left to rot amongst the rest. It is only a matter of time.”

“Maybe.” Danny responded, resolute. “Maybe Alexia figures things out and sends you screaming back to hell.”

“You speak of things you have no concept of. Hell is only a word. What awaits you and all your kind is more than your feeble mind can possibly comprehend.” The voice rumbled back.

“What are you? Why are you doing all of this?” Danny asked.

“Existence was born from the dark. To the dark it shall return. Perfection can only be found when the imperfect are wiped from existence. It is the proper state of all things. It is inevitable.”

“And you expect us all to just lay down and die so you can live in your perfect state of nothing?” Danny shot back.

“Your submission matters not. You are children throwing pebbles at an ocean. Soon you will all drown in the shadow. You will scream and you will fight, but the outcome remains the same. The girl will fail.”

A cold hatred rushed through Danny’s detached consciousness. “You underestimate her. She’s stronger than you can possibly imagine.”

“Your faith is admirable, yet pathetically naive. The girl will die, as all others have and all others will.” The voice echoed, a smugness in its tone. “Her family tried to hide her true nature in a misguided attempt to protect her from us. They have succeeded only in making her weak. She will suffer. And when I take her, she will beg for the mercy of obliteration.”

There was a sick satisfaction in the voice’s tone that drove the impotent rage within Danny to its boiling point. “Do you truly believe that small, insignificant creature can possibly stand against the dark?”

“I do.” Danny responded, ever defiant.

“Are you willing to suffer for that belief?”

“I am.”

“Then you will bask in the sweet turmoil of her agony. You will watch as I use your body to slowly break down the pathetic creature you love until she begs for death.”

Images flashed through Danny’s consciousness of what the void had planned. What righteous confidence had remained slowly drained away, replaced with a nagging, growing sense of despair.

“When the time comes, I will let you see. You will watch as your own hands choke the last breath out of her and you will be powerless to stop it. You will watch the light leave her eyes. The last thing you will ever see will be your beloved Alexia Longbow dead at your hands.”

Despair turned swiftly into a boiling rage. “Alexia is going to kill you.”

A low, slow laughter filled the air. “The darkness cannot be destroyed. It is in everything and everyone, down to the last atom. In the end, it will devour all. You can only hope to postpone the inevitable. The darkness always wins.”

Suddenly, the presence was gone and Danny was once again trapped and alone in the infinite abyss.

[Dah]

Alexia's feet practically flew across the cobblestone roads in the marketplace that would take her to The Stem, the charming little flower shop with the studio apartment above it. She tried to ignore the pounding in her head and the odd pull in the center of her chest, brushing them off as the after effects of a particularly rough training session. And she would have been successful had she not stopped to glance at the dumpster that belonged to both the flower shop and apartment.

There, not even hidden by any other refuse, was the print Danny had taken of her. The large portrait of her smiling over her beloved orchid was thrown in the large receptacle, the lid left thrown open. The pull in her chest turned into a sharp stab as she walked past it and up the stairs leading to Danny's door. She winced when she saw that none of her little offerings had been taken. A basket of homemade meals, brown paper parcels of handmade pastries, even the first loaf of bread, all were still left intact, exactly where she had placed them. With a trembling, scarred little fist, she knocked and called out, her voice still raw from the repeated failed incantation.

"D-Danny? Mo chroí? A-Are you th-there?" She asked, uncertain. Once again, there was no light from under the door. Not even the soft glow of the television or his laptop.

Only silence greeted her, but the door slowly opened, apparently left open a crack. Shadow filled the small apartment, the only light creeping in through the windows from the alley light outside.

It had been weeks since she'd been inside, and his normally tidy apartment seemed oddly out of sorts. Empty water bottles overflowed from his trash can and sat upon most surfaces. A few were even laying on the floor. A coldness tinged the air, raising goosebumps along her fair skin.

In the dark, she could just barely make out a form, sitting cross-legged upon the bed. For a long moment, he just sat in silence, eyes closed.

"What do you want?" He said, that sweet familiar voice now a mixture of annoyance and disinterest.

She swallowed hard. There was something else in his voice. Something cold and foreign. It sent a shiver down her spine. Absently, she reached to rub at the spot between her shoulder blades. Between the twin scars that ran parallel down her back. As she pushed the door open further, she stepped in, immediately feeling like an unwanted stranger in the place she had begun to call home, at least in her own mind.

"M-My love... I... I m-missed you a-and I... I j-just... w-wanted to s-s-see you. T-To m-make sure y-you were a-alright." As she spoke, she tried to ignore the collection of bottles strewn about and instead focused on trying to make out his shape. Her eyes, already having trouble focusing in the near total lack of light, couldn't seem to make him come into focus.

It only took a few steps to put her within arm's reach of the bed. And that is where her feet, of their own accord, rooted themselves, refusing to let her go any closer.

His eyes slid open, but she didn't recognize them. They were cold. Devoid of any sort of emotion and life that was so a part of him. "I thought I told you I wanted to be left alone." He said, his voice level and cool. "And you just decided you would wander on in here."

His body uncurled slowly, something almost spider-like and deliberate in the way he moved his long limbs. Danny rose, towering over her, an ominous air to his posture. "If I wanted to see you, I would have invited you."

Had there been any decent light in the apartment, he would have seen her delicate features pale. The color from her face drained so rapidly, even the light dusting of freckles blanched. She took an involuntary step back and those thin arms quickly rose to wrap around her tiny figure.

"I-I'm s-s-sorry, m-my l-love... I-I j-j-just th-thought... i-it's b-been a f-f-few w-weeks n-now..." Confusion and deep hurt clear in her strained voice, followed quickly by guilt. She indeed remembered something he had told her, it seemed so long ago now. He had told her sometimes he would need his space.

Dark eyebrows furrowed as she tried to look into his eyes and found it almost hurt. The pang in her chest was quickly becoming something she could not ignore.

"Weeks. And still you're unable to take the bloody hint." Even in the shadows, she could pick out that hint of the sneer on his face. "Fucking hell. Don't you get it?" He stepped forward, driving her back little by little. "I. Don't. WANT you."

A sliver of light crossed his face, glaring down at her. "And how could I? Look at you. A sniveling, stuttering disfigured little flea." Those empty eyes ran across her form. "Have you ever looked in the mirror, you rat-nested, deluded little nothing? Do you have any idea how difficult it was for me not to recoil when you placed your disgusting, mangled little hands on me? It’s enough to make me retch."

Alexia felt her heart fall. She felt every ounce of breath leave her lungs, the very ground drop from beneath her feet. A large painful lump grew in her throat and she tried her hardest to swallow. Hot tears welled in those large fathomlessly dark eyes.

"Wh... Wh-What?" Her voice sounded so small and wounded. "D-Danny h-how c-c-can y-you s-s-say..." Slowly, she shifted and worked that self embrace to hide those ruined little hands.

"How c-c-c-c-can I s-s-s-s-say wh-what?" He tilted his head, a sick amusement flickering across his face. The sheer delight he appeared to take in mocking that stutter would break even the coldest heart. "That you were sport? That I wanted to see how absolutely fucking clueless you were? And, god, did you ever show me. You were so desperate. So eager. And you gave me...EVERYTHING." A mirthless chuckle rattled from his throat. "It wasn't even a challenge."

He backed her up to the couch, a predator stalking its prey. "You call me ‘love’. That shrill, grating little voice screeching out a concept you know nothing about. What do you know of love? Your uncle didn't love you. Your own parents didn't even love you. That's why they abandoned you. And the poor bastard who was stuck with you...what happened to him, Alexia? What kind of poison were you to him?"

Danny stared down at her with absolute malice in his gaze. "In what world could a man like me ever love you? How could anyone love you?"

She began shaking her head in sheer disbelief. How was this the same man who had confided in her about his traumatic past? With whom she had done the same? How could this be the man she'd laughed with, cried with, spent countless hours just enjoying in each other's company? How could everything they shared have been a farce? Her backside bumped the couch, startling a small gasp from her. She let her arms drop to her side.

"Wh-Why? Wh-Why b-bring me b-back f-f-from d-death, f-from the sh-sharp place, j-just to t-t-toy with me?" Her voice quivered as she held back sobs. That terrible stutter of hers swung into full force as he mocked her, tore her down piece by painful piece.

"Because I wasn't done yet." He responded with a laugh. "Because it was FUN. That rotten little whore almost cocked everything up. But I got what I wanted. Didn't I?"

Somewhere in the back of her mind, something hackled up protectively. Granted she and Sammie had a... strained start, to say the least, she had grown to trust and care for the witch almost like a sister. The feeling gave her a small bolster, just enough to push back one more time.

"I-If that w-was a-all you w-wanted, y-you c-c-could have t-taken it wh-when Sammie o-offered it to y-you. N-No, it d-doesn't make s-s-sense."

"You think I wanted your body?" He cocked his head to one side, an amused expression creeping up. His hand gestured to her. "This...wrecked, deformed thing? If I'd wanted this disgusting thing, I'd have taken it. Used it as I have for the past few months. But it's not nearly as satisfying as watching you turn into a mewling, moaning little slut. Lying to yourself that you're anything more than a morbid curiosity. An experiment to see how debased a lonely, pathetic creature would allow herself to become at the slightest bit of affection."

A deep burning sense of shame washed over her. She had nothing left to cling to. No speck of hope except the nagging feeling in the back of her mind, the pit of her stomach that this was all wrong. She took a brave little step forward, closing the remaining distance between them.

"N-No... I-It c-can't a-all have b-been f-f-for n-nothing. I w-won't b-believe it. I-I c-c-can't! We-"

“Are you under the delusion that you were the only one? I leave for days…weeks. Do you know how many women have warmed my bed in that time?” He asked, taking a particularly sick enjoyment in every word. “I’ve lost count. You think those early mornings with Deb were all running and push-ups? When she isn’t busy crying out my name, she laughs when I tell her about you. How eager. How desperate you are. All the degrading, disgusting things you’re willing to do for a love that does not exist.”

Her head began to shake slowly as hot tears burned trails down her cheeks. Her pretty features twisted in agony as she struggled to find the words to make him stop. Those ruined little hands lifted to cover delicately pointed ears, but to no avail. HIs voice continued to cut through her very being like a hot knife.

“And what are you compared to her? An emaciated, revolting little creature with the mangled body of a teenage girl. You’re barely even a woman. An ant in comparison to a goddess.” His teeth clenched, the next words coming with force. “You…are nothing.”

"D-Danny... p-p-please…” Her voice a pained whisper, her hands once again fell at her sides. “I l-love you..." She could hardly get the words out. They hung in the air, as raw and vulnerable as she. Those deeply scarred little hands rose and she gently placed her warm palms on his chest. Gnarled little fingers curled and grasped handfuls of his shirt in a last ditch effort to make sense of it all as her big brown eyes, pained and pleading, implored him.

For a moment, she could almost see the hint of warmth behind those cold, unfeeling eyes. He leaned forward, inches from her face and whispered, "Of course you do." The sneer returned. "Now..." he snarled, grabbing her wrists tightly and pulling them away from his body. "Take your filthy, disgusting hands off of me." He let them go roughly, practically shoving them back at her. "Sulk back to that rotten little hovel you call a home. Rot. Die. Fade away. And don't you EVER dare cross my path again."

The tiny glimmer of hope that foolishly began to build in those tearful eyes winked out and died. Tears poured down her face in streams as her expression contorted into one of immense pain, both emotional and physical as he wrenched her scarred and sensitive little hands away. Wracked with sobs, she stumbled back and nearly tumbled to the floor, catching herself on the arm of the couch at the last minute. Broken and despairing, she ran. Ran out the door, ran down the stairs, and ran into the dark and dangerous night.

The thing masquerading as Danny Dubek watched with a dimpled grin that did not belong to it. She was breaking and all was going according to plan.

[Alexia Longbow]

Jacinda Whitmore sat in the living room of her penthouse apartment watching a movie on a 75” flat screen when she heard a light but frantic knock at the door. The shifter frowned as she paused her movie and crossed the room, wondering who had come calling. She wasn’t expecting anyone and Sammie wasn’t due for her turn at their shared vessel for another day and a half. So it was even more of a surprise when she opened the door to find a trembling and tearful Alexia.

“Hey, doll! What’s wrong?” Her brows knit with concern. She had only sort of met the little fae once before when Jaci first awoke from her mysterious coma, but it was easy to figure out Sammie held her in very high regard.

Alexia opened her mouth to speak, but no words came, only more sobs. Jaci’s concern quickly turned into worry as she ushered the little fae in, shushing softly as she guided her to the couch.

“Hey, hey… it’s okay, hon! Whatever it is, I’m sure it’ll be alright. I’ll just get Sammie for you, okay?” She gave Alexia’s shoulder a small squeeze before pulling back and staring off into space, a look of concentration taking over her expression. After only a second or two, steel grey eyes flared into rich hazel green and a sleepy looking Sammie furrowed her brows.

“Princess? What?” She began. But before she could answer, the expression on Alexia’s face told the witch all she needed to know.

“Who do I need to kill?” Sammie asked in a dangerously quiet tone. Her features hardened and her hands clenched into tight fists ready to do some major damage until Alexia launched into a frenzied, stuttering recount of her traumatic break up.

As she listened to the words tumbling from her lips like a waterfall, Sammie’s expression grew darker and darker. Something animalistic reared up within her. She wanted to destroy Danny. Break every bone in his body and make him suffer worse than he had made Alexia suffer. But even in her quietly seething rage, she knew that would somehow only hurt her more.

At a loss for what to do, Sammie leaned toward the sobbing little fae. Her smooth hand rose to touch just above Alexia's heart with the intention to draw out every last ounce of pain and despair. She would condense it all into pain fueled orbs just as she had done before and hurl them all at the one who caused her so much agony. But before she could, Alexia quickly pulled away.

"No! L-Leave it!" She cried.

"Rapunzel, sweetheart…" Sammie began, her tone surprisingly gentle.

"I s-s-said n-no!" She insisted.

"I-If th-this p-p-pain is a-all I h-have l-left of h-him, o-of the t-t-time w-we sh-sh-shared…" her tiny frame shuddered with deep sorrow.

"Th-Then I w-want to k-k-keep it." Her voice dropped to a whisper.

Unable to hold herself up any longer, from crying, from the sheer exhaustion of running the entire way, from hours without food or even water, she fell against the witch with all her meager weight. Sammie caught her easily, her arms wrapping around the smaller woman. Hazel green eyes went wide as she struggled with what to do. Eventually, she settled on gently stroking that long dark brown hair. It seemed to help a little as Alexia's intense sobs gradually eased into whimpering.

It didn’t take much to guide the weeping, hiccupping little fae to the guest room. Sammie set her down on the side of the bed with promises to return with a glass of water. Alexia offered no response and simply stared unseeing into nothing. In the 49 seconds it took Sammie to return with a full glass of water, Alexia had leaned over and fallen asleep, the occasional soft sob and hiccup punctuating her steady rhythmic breathing. Surprising herself, Sammie managed to coax her into the bed properly and even tucked her into the covers after setting the glass on the nightstand. She made her way toward the door and flicked the light switch down, leaving only a gentle light from the hallway to rest on the sleeping girl’s face. She simply watched her a moment before closing the door with a quiet click.

Back in the living room, Sammie made her way to the minibar to fix a stiff drink before settling back down on the couch. She sipped at the hard liquor quite uncharacteristically, a deep frown on her face. Something just didn’t mesh. She knew all about feigning a relationship to achieve a certain goal from experience on both sides and it just didn’t fit the dimpled journalist at all. As much as she wanted to rage and destroy, she just couldn’t make it make sense. With a defeated sigh, she knocked back the remaining contents in her glass in one large swig and headed off to her own room to try and get some sleep.

[Alexander the Gentle]

Alexander was distracted. He’d put the same book away in the third incorrect shelf and was now heading toward a fourth. He couldn’t help it. He’d hardly spoken to his best friend in weeks. She wasn’t showing up at the library anymore and when he did happen to catch her out and about, she didn’t seem herself. She always looked exhausted and lost. In fact, a lot of people at the university seemed off lately. Vacant eyes, almost hollow, an odd coldness to them… With a slight shake of his head to clear it of intrusive thoughts, he resolved to do something about it. His friend, not the growing number of off-putting people at the university. Priorities, after all. Perhaps he would look into it after he made sure the little fae was alright.

Before he could lose himself in that train of thought, the master mage deposited the remaining books in his arms in the nearest book drop. As much as he liked to ease the burden of putting them back, he now had a plan and headed quickly back to his tiny broom closet of an office at the end of a creaky old corridor. It didn’t take him long to find what he was looking for. He had long ago set aside a few books from his travels to other worlds, his great aunt Ophelia’s secret family recipes for the perfect chocolate chip scones, and a ridiculously life-like sketch he’d done of Alexia when they were children. If these didn’t help bolster her mood, then he’d know something much larger was definitely wrong.

A confident smile on his lips, he turned to leave and was abruptly halted in the small, poorly lit hallway by a dark figure. He startled, nearly dropping the armful of gifts, blinking in surprise.

“Bloody hell, mate!” he said with a small, nervous chuckle. He moved to one side, assuming the man would move to the other and they could pass each other but instead he moved directly in his path once more.

“Just need to get by…” Alexander began, an odd sense of dread building in the pit of his stomach. “Look, I know it’s not the end of the day yet, but it’s a slow day and I know I’m not the only one to knock off early, so… just let me pass, yeah?”

But the man in the security uniform didn’t move. Instead, he took a step toward Alexander. Undeterred, he tried again to sidestep him only to be met with the same resistance. Alexander was beginning to lose patience.

With one more attempted evasion a strong hand gripped him by the bicep, startling him.

“If you’ll come with me this will be over quite quickly.” The blank-eyed man said, his voice eerily monotone.

Alexander’s eyes flit down to that hand and then back to the stranger’s eyes. An edge of danger crept into his voice. “Let go of my arm.”

“It will be easier if you don’t resist.”

He tried to yank free, but that grip did not break. Every fiber of Alexander’s being screamed for him to run, but the man held him fast.

“I said-” But before he could continue, the security officer reached out and seized Alexander’s throat, slamming him against the wall and sending the intended gifts clattering to the floor. He was surprisingly strong and he could only watch, his electric blue eyes growing wider and wider as the man leaned in and opened his mouth wide. From deep within the hollow vessel, thousands and thousands of tiny insect-like bits of darkness swarmed toward Alexander, pouring into his mouth and cutting off the scream that hardly had a chance to form. As his eyes darkened, a single tear escaped and silently rolled, unnoticed, down his face and he stepped directly onto the aging sketch as he followed the man, marking a young Alexia’s face with a dirty shoe print.

[Alexia Longbow]

It was quiet. Peaceful. Alexia could feel the soft grass beneath her. She could hear the crickets chirping nearby. She could smell the wildflowers and pungent herbs in her garden... and the distinct scent of shiso body wash. Her lips curved into a smile as she breathed him in deeply. She breathed a long soft sigh of contentment as she turned her head to nuzzle the handsome scruffy face next to hers.

As her eyes fluttered open, she saw him. The love of her life lying beside her, head to head, his body resting in the opposite direction. "Mo chroí..." She murmured softly.

He looked so peaceful, green eyes darting around beneath his eyelids while his chest rose at an even pace. The moment her little voice hit his ears, a lazy, sleepy smile formed, showing off those pronounced dimples. She could see the muscles of his neck work as he lolled his head toward her. Slowly his eyes slid open, those green hues regarding her with all the love in the world. "Cara Mia." He whispered, throwing just the slightest bit of Gomez Addams into his voice.
Not content with their current proximity, he closed the distance, resting his forehead to hers. "Hello there, beautiful."

A quiet giggle widened her smile. She would be forever grateful he had introduced her to the world of cinematography, among many other wonderful things she had missed out on in her previously cloistered life. Her hand rose to gently curve behind his head, her little fingers curling gently in his auburn hair. With another deep sigh, she snuggled in close and murmured softly.

"Mon cher..." Happy to play the Tish to his Gomez, she couldn't help another giggle as her rich, dark brown eyes slowly opened again, seeking out those emerald greens. She shifted to look at him better, take him all in, and returned that adoring gaze.

"I love being here with you."

"Nowhere else I'd rather be." Danny said, that smile utterly blissful. For a moment his eyes turned skyward to the sprawling, crystal clear, starscape above them.

"And you picked a helluva night for it. Quite the view." Green eyes returned to her, suggesting that his admiration was for more than just the stars.

She, too, glanced skyward, awestruck with the night sky that seemed brighter and more beautiful than she had ever seen. But, after a moment or two, she began to notice things. The sky was indeed beautiful and full of stars. It was perfect. Too perfect. There were stars and constellations that should not have been visible together at any time of the year and with clarity that should not have been possible to the naked eye. A small frown slowly began to form. Rather than admit anything to herself just yet, she closed her eyes and gently drew him in a little closer.

"This is nice. We should do it more often."

"Mm." He hummed in response. "You know what we should do? We should pack up. Head back to Monserra for a week. Just relax, get away from this town and all this craziness. Just you, me, a room with a balcony....dinners by candlelight...nights dancing. Just...happy. Like last time. Maybe we'll even make it out of the room this time." Danny flashed a mischievous little grin.

As she listened to his words, that pesky frown returned. She looked up into the sky again, trying desperately to conjure up such a memorable trip and doing her best not to see the suspicious number of perfect falling stars and multicolored swirling nebula clouds forming as if to purposely distract her..

"Y... Yes, like last time... When we went... to... " Her brows furrowed and she turned to look at him. An undeniable cloud of confusion started to creep into her expression as she noticed her own little fingers curled gently in his hair. They were smooth. No scars, no gnarled joints, no band of scar tissue on her wrist.

Danny turned that dimpled smile from the stars to the beauty at his side. His brow creased, seeing what had distracted her so. Those hands. There were no scars. No awkward angles marring the shape of her fingers. She was whole and untouched by the ravages of her past. He’d be overjoyed if it didn’t mean the one thing that could break his heart: This was not real.

She saw the flicker of sadness in his eyes and it caused a deep pang in her heart. She had to see the beauty and wonder that had made him so happy just moments before, but all she could see was a flash of darkness across the starry night sky. She closed her eyes a long moment before seeking his gaze again. Her fingers gently stroked his hair and she whispered lovingly to him.

"Take me there again. Show me, my love." She touched her forehead to his, just as he had before, and closed her eyes. "Please... show me."

Danny's hand closed around hers, clasping tight. A flood of images surged forth between them from that blissful weekend. The perfect warmth of the place and its people. The taste and scent of the food. She could hear the sound of the fireworks, see the colors bursting in the skies above. But most of all, she felt him. His body, his lips, his heart. She could feel the way he looked at her and how that smile warmed her entire being. She could feel his heart damn near skipping a beat every time he looked at her. She felt everything.

And in that moment, she realized that, to him, she WAS everything. But the brilliant, colorful explosions faded from that star-filled sky. Stars blinked out in a rapid staccato as shadow fell over the peaceful little village, every candle-lit window going pitch black. The darkness crept across the ground like a wave upon the shore until it finally engulfed them both, plunging them into utter blackness. A chill ran through her very being, growing steadily colder and colder until she was certain she would freeze. His screams echoed in the dark, pure terror and agony in every shriek. His voice mingled with others, growing louder and louder, forming a chorus of fear. Just as it reached its final heights, it came to an abrupt stop...and then it was just them. When her eyes opened, tears were streaming down his cheek.

"I don't want to go back." Danny whispered, his voice breaking. "I don’t want to be in the dark knowing that this is just some dream and I can’t get to you. I don’t want to hear that voice…that cold, empty voice, telling me… showing me everything it’s done with my hands. It hurts. It’s too much." All the strength had left his voice...he just wept. “God, I don’t want to be alone.”

A deep gasp parted her lips and her eyes, spilling over with tears, flew open. She hauled herself up, sitting beside him, and urged him to do the same. As she moved, she glanced down and she saw it. Their tether. She had seen it before with Sammie’s help and it had been a vibrant green, thick with curling vines and beautiful tiny flowers. Now, it was dim and growing dimmer... weaker. She felt her heart ache with the deep love and affection she felt for him... and with the fear and pain of him slipping away. Her lower lip trembled and she drew him into a deep embrace.

"No. No, my love. You are never alone.” She tried not to think of her time spent stuck in the ether, surrounded by sharp dangerous things.

“Please don’t go.” He begged weakly. “Just stay here. I just want to stay here with you. Just for a few more seconds."

“As long as we can.” Alexia promised him.

He rose with her, somehow feeling smaller as he leaned his head into her chest, his arms clutching her waist. He'd never felt so weak in his entire life as he sniffed, not even bothering to wipe his cheek. Slowly, Danny nodded.

"Just...just a few…more… seconds..." he muttered as if he was slipping away. "And....then...you'll come find me?"

Holding back sobs, she held him to her chest, gently stroking his hair. In that moment, it was real. The garden, the stars, every bit of it. And all that hadn't happened yet would become real. She would see to it. With a tiny hitch in her breathing, she pressed a tender kiss to his head with trembling lips and slowly closed her eyes.

"Always."

When her eyes would again open, Alexia would find herself alone. No Danny, no stars. They had gone, replaced with cold, hard reality. There was still a war to fight. The battle had only just begun.

[Alexia Longbow]

Alexia woke with a start. A frantic gasp parted her lips and she sat bolt upright, her large dark brown eyes unseeing. Her scarred little hand grabbed at her chest, but there was nothing there. No visible tether, no Danny. For a moment, she stared at her surroundings, confused and still half asleep. It wasn’t until she heard a familiar voice that she remembered what had happened the night… and day… before.

“Morning, princess. Wanna tell me just what the fuck that was about?” Sammie stood in the doorway, a cup of steaming coffee in her hand.

A short time later, both women sat at the tall bistro style kitchen table. Without saying a word, Sammie placed a fresh cup of coffee in front of the little fae who stared off into the distance. Her eyes still unfocused and staring… beyond, she finally spoke.

“I-I’m trying to understand… y-you saw s-sparks of electricity… p-p-purple electricity… s-surrounding me?” Finally, she lifted her gaze to meet Sammie’s. The witch shook her head.

“Coming from you.” Sammie clarified before taking a sip of hot coffee. Alexia’s cup remained unnoticed.

“A-And you think i-it’s my a-aura… u-unchecked.” Alexia gave Sammie a wary look.

“I don’t think. I know. I’ve finally figured shit out, Rapunzel. Your abilities, your powers, everything about you, are all tied to your emotions. I should have seen it a long time ago, really, you being an empath. But something isn’t quite right. You don’t seem to have much control over your aura, if any.” Sammie laid it all out on the table. She didn’t mince words and she didn’t try to shield or soften any of it. She owed her friend much more than that.

“A-Alright… assuming y-you’re correct…” Alexia began, conveniently leaving out what she had already been warned about.

“I am.” Sammie said firmly.

“... that doesn’t ch-change anything. D-Danny is in t-t-trouble and I h-have to h-help him.”

“Listen, babe, I get it, I really do. I’m concerned about Prince Charming, too. But we need to figure out exactly what’s going on with your electric little ass, first. Then we can figure out just what the hell has gotten into him.” Sammie’s eyes narrowed dangerously as she remembered how distraught the aspiring little mageling was the night before.

“N-No! Don’t you s-see? It’s n-not D-Danny! Whoever th-that was… w-was cold and c-c-cruel. D-Danny could n-never…” She trailed off, the last few words dipping into a soft whisper. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before seeking out Sammie’s gaze again.

“N-No…” she began, a bit more calmly this time. “W-We need to f-f-find a way to help him n-now. I-In my d-dream, he said it was d-dark. I think… wh-whatever was after me, i-in the ether, I-I think th-that’s what’s inside him.”

Sammie listened with a surprising amount of patience, and when the little fae finished, she took a deep breath before trying to reason with her again.

“Alexia…”

“NO!” Alexia cut Sammie off, pounding her deeply scarred little fist on top of the table as she shouted. “D-Don’t ‘Alexia’ me! D-Danny needs me! And I w-won’t fail him.” Her voice suddenly grew dangerously even and calm. “N-Now you can s-sit here and w-watch me leave, o-or y-you can help me f-figure out how to f-f-fight this thing and get the l-love of my l-life back.”

For the first time in several centuries, Sammie was speechless. Taken aback by Alexia’s firm and unwavering determination to save the dimpled journalist, it took a moment or two before she could finally speak again.

“O-Okay, babe. Sure, I just need to talk to Jaci, okay? Make sure she’s on board t- I’m in! I’m all in, hon!” The change was jarring. Suddenly, Sammie’s hazel green eyes turned slate grey and her voice lightened. “You get that scrumptious man of yours, you hear me? I can’t do much, but I’ll do whatever I can to help!” And just as quickly, the shifter was gone. Sammie was at the wheel again. With a deep breath of concession, the witch stood and had just enough time to put her empty mug in the sink before Alexia had sprung from her seat and made a mad dash for the door.

“Hey! Wait for me! Where the hell are we even going?!” She called as she scrambled to grab her keys and chase the little fae out the door. She could hear her tiny voice calling out from the stairwell.

“Th-The library! N-Nobody has t-t-touched his office in y-years!”

Mercifully remembering to lock the door, Sammie bolted for the stairs after her.