Part XII

Darkness swirls about her. She strikes out at the phantoms constantly attacking with the light sword from Klork in one hand and the dark sword from Underhill in the other. Her thoughts are destroyed before they're fully formed by alternating blasts of Napalm and liquid nitrogen.

She fights for something. Something important. If only she could remember what it is. The clouds swirl dizzily around her.

Soon, her body spins with the clouds, out of her control. Differing fabrics alternate over her skin; the silk of a gown, the metal of armor, spandex-like body-armor of an X-Men uniform, denim of jeans, leather of a jacket, soft sheets of a bed. So fast she feels her skin burn. Suddenly there's nothing brushing over her.

Her back arches as her head tilts back in a supreme effort to regain some kind of control. The purple-black demons dart in to press against her, sliding against her sensually.

Pale eyes close as she clenches her fists around the hilts of her swords at her sides, brows furrowed as she does her best to ignore the hot and cold, the pain of skin being split and things bursting from her body.

She reaches for the glimmer of power she knows is deep inside and closes a hand around it.

Blue eyes turn from to green on black; strawberry blond hair turns to black streaked with red; massive black and red wings burst from her back as twin claws blossom from the backs of each wrist and fangs extend in her mouth. Her scream of ultimate pain only draws the demons closer.

They sink their barbed teeth into her flesh, tearing her wings from her back, yanking the claws from her arms. She feels nothing but agony as they literally eat her alive.

As soon as her body is gone, and she thinks she's finally free of the pain, it reappears in a dark forest, the trees reaching their boney limbs into the purple-black sky. There's a sound behind her.

Lifting her ivory skirts, she dashes along the dirt trail. A gale force wind lifts her from her feet and spins her to face the dark horse and its fair rider.

Blazing eyes turn up to meet her own. "Hello, daughter." Her elven mother unsheathes her bright blade and flies up to face the woman suspended in the air. "It is now time to erase your stain from my clan."

Tears fall as the sword plunges through her heart. The deep red bleeds over the pale dress she wears as she's lowered to the ground.

Suddenly, the sword disappears from her chest, and her eyes fasten on a dim light above her. She hears a kind voice murmuring in the distance: the voice of a friend.

Slowly, she gets to her feet, the dress flowing all around her in graceful waves as she lifts herself into the air. She thrusts her sudden wings against the unexpected waves of pain rushing down at her. They lessen...she reaches her hands towards the light...so close...so close...

There's a strange sense of duality. She feels as if she's still fighting for the light, but also lying heavily on her back, surrounded by the murmur of familiar voices. She moans in her efforts, lifting a leaden hand in one body to her brow, thrusting her wings madly in the other, her face a  mask of strain. Almost there...she can almost touch it...

A tsunami of pain crushes her back down, slicing the wings from her back, making her hand fall limply to her side.

She crashes in Klork's cell from the lab, clad in armor. She stands to face Edana, pointing her sword at the elven woman. "I will win this war."

With that, they leap into battle. They strike at each other as they circle the cell, throwing insults and threats at each other.

From a distance, she can hear someone calling her name.

"Gonna...win...die!"

At last, Edana's sword goes flying mere moments before her head follows.

She feels a gentle hand rest unexpectedly on her shoulder. A sharp breath rushes into her lungs, jolting her awake. Slowly, her eyes open as someone brushes her bangs back from her face.

"Hey, you..."

She blinks at the soft greeting and smiles when she sees Klork, his now shoulder-length hair back in a half-tail, sitting there at her bedside. "Hi...how're you feelin'...?"

A smirk crosses his face. "Better...sore as all get...but good."

"Good." She rests her hand on his. "How long I been out?"

"At least a full twenty-four hours...if not more..."

She blinks.

That long and I'm still tired...gah...

"I...wha...well...jeeze..." She shakes her head. "I miss anything?"

He smirks and shrugs. "Not much in all truth..."

She nods a little and tries sitting up.

Ow...nope...bad idea...gah...

With a cringe, she lies back down. "That's good...how's everyone holding up...?"

Her cringe evokes a grimace from him. "Careful...doing well, Lisette's still out..."

She blinks.

Huh...? I thought she only had that broken collar bone...

"...what happened to her?"

"She took some of your pain from you..."

Another blink. "...oh..."  Her brows furrow as vague memories of a gentle voice and soft light rise to the surface of her mind. "So that's who that was..."

I'll have to thank her when she wakes up again...

Klork nods as he brushes hair from her face. "Yep..."

She nods slightly as she watches him. Only now she notices he's in a wheel chair; her brows furrow.

"You gonna be ok...? Feeling any better?" He smirks. "You feel cooler..."

He nods slowly. "Yeah...I'm feeling a lot better...can't...remember a lot of things, but..." She shrugs and grins slightly. She pauses. "Are your legs hurt...?"

Brilliant blue eyes blink before he shakes his head. "Just kinda weak...the drugs they put me on are strong...they've been numb for a while..."

She can't hide her relief as she nods, her voice quiet. "Ah...ok....just...been really worried for you...scared for you..."

His lips curve in a smirk. "Hey...I'm good, so long as you're good, I'll be perfect."

Sheeze...charmer...

A soft chuckle rises from her throat. "Good." Her fingertips touch his loose hair. "...sorry about your hair..."

He smirks a little and shrugs. "It coulda been worse, right?"

A small smile crosses her lips as she nods. "Very true..."

Crossing his arms on her bed and resting his chin on them, he smirks. "Hungry...?"

A pause.

So THAT'S what this empty feeling in my stomach is...

She blinks and grins sheepishly. "...knew I forgot to do something after that battle..."

Klork blinks. "Aw nuts...you haven't even eaten???"

Shaking her head a little, she gives him another sheepish look. "Wasn't hungry 'till now..."

"Hold up..." He props her up with pillows, evoking her chuckle. "I'll fix ya something...counters are nice 'n low due to head honcho bein' in a wheel chair..."

"Ok..."

With a smirk, he rolls into the kitchen and calls out, "Whatcha hungry for...??"

"Mmm...anything but venison and dried stuff!" A smirk crosses her lips.

I can pass on that for a long time...almost a full week of living off the stuff is more than enough...

"Soup...?"

His laugh fills the air. "Soup....okie, what kind?"

"Hmm...decisions, decisions...veggie?"

"Hmm, works!"

HLM chuckles softly and leans back with a smirk. She examines her fresh bandages with a sense of bewilderment.

Hn...I guess I'll remember getting them eventually...

Just then, Klork returns with a bed tray and settles it on her lap. On the tray, he settles a bowl of soup, cup of tea and crackers. "This work?"

She blinks and nods with a chuckle. "Very well...thank you..." With a smile, she begins to slowly eat.

He smirks as he leans back and munches on crackers.

"So...who all has been around...?"

Klork looks up. "Oh, your dads, my dad, Lisette, Hank..."

She pauses a moment before laughing. "Ow..." She laughs again. "Ohman...sounds funny..."

He chuckles as he munches. "Was supposed to sound such." He winks.

A soft chuckle sounds as she works on her meal, starting to feel better. "I'm glad you're back...even if it did cut our...eh..."vacations" short..."

His nod is accompanied by a chuckle. "You could put it that way, yeah." His smile has a worn note to it.

She nods slightly as she watches him quietly.

He looks up. "Hmm?"

A slight smirk curves her lips as she shakes her head a little and finishes her soup. The tea's started next. "Nothin'...you just look a lil' tired..."

He nods. "Yeah...I--I've come to my decision...just...gonna wait 'til we're all feeling better before I act on it..."

Hn...makes sense...still curious...not to mention apprehensive...as all hell, though...

She nods slowly with a gentle smile. "Take your time."

Another nod. "Will do..."

Rubbing slightly at her right arm, she nods a little again.

Man...if you listen hard enough, I bet you can hear rattling, what with all this nodding...

"So..."

She grins lopsidedly. "Still haven't learned how to do that?"

He chuckles. "Nope, and I had so set my heart on it as well." A smirk curves his lips.

HLM snickers. "I could tell..." A smirk curls her lips as her eyes blink. "Ok...that was your father stitching me up..." With a sheepish grin, she rubs her eyes as befuddled memories start coming back. "I was so confused..."

Klork blinks, then "ohs" with a nod. "Yeah, his hair's chin length." He pauses, then mutters and sighs. "Mine's just below my shoulders..."

She smiles softly, reaching over to ruffle his hair. "It's still nice...and I would have noticed, but...I was kinda outa it..." There's a pause. "I'd sort of like to thank him for putting me back together...my side was in bad shape..."

"Erf...yeah..." He blinks and chuckles. "I'm sure he knows you're grateful."

She chuckles softly at his wink. "Went home, I take it...seemed like a nice guy..."

With a chuckle, he shakes his head. "He's still around...probably exploring...he...well, doesn't have a home in this dimension..."

HLM blinks a little and shakes her head. "Tell me about him...?"

"Hmm? Ah..." He chuckles. "I couldn't say much...I knew him the first five years of my life...all ten minutes when I was fifteen...and the last couple of days..."

"Ah..." She nods a little.

His brow furrows slightly. "Sounds a bit like me if I just left everything behind me..."

She bites her lip and nods a little. "But you didn't..."

"...I wouldn't be me...funny that, eh?" He smirks.

Her lips curve in a small grin as she nods. "Exactly...you care too much for your kids...and the rest of us..."

He nods and pauses before chuckling.

"Hrn...?"

"Then again, if my wife were killed before me, for certain thought my children were dead...I probably would do the same..."

"Of course...that's a huge difference between you two...the situation..."

He nods. "Yeah...what's weird is that he was a cat last time I saw him." His brows furrow as he pauses. "He must've been drugged with some weird meds to make him evolve that late in life..."

HLM nods in agreement. "I'd imagine so...those jerks like messing with chemicals." Her brows furrow and she leans back. "I got rid of as many of the samples they took from you as I could..." A wicked grin spreads over her face. "And their computer system needs to be rebuilt from the ground, too..."

He blinks. "Man, you guys were busy..."

She grins lopsidedly. "Eh...that was before Lisette showed up...though I'm really glad she did...wouldn't have been able to get you two out without her...helped keep me aware, too..."

He nods, his brow furrowing, but still smiling slightly. "I'm just glad to know you two..."

A slightly lopsided grins stretches her lips. "...feelin's mutual..."

With a nod, he ruffles her hair.

HLM smirks lightly. "...must be a mess..."

He smoothes her hair out with an overdramatic sigh. "Fine fine..." He then winks at her blink.

"Err...well...I didn't mean anything you did...just..." She grins lopsidedly and laughs softly. "Confused me..."

He winks. "I'll forgive you for now." Another wink.

She laughs again, then grins. "I like you...you make me laugh."

His chuckle sounds. "Feelin's mutual, babe." Another wink.

HLM chuckles softly. "'Babe'..." She shakes her head and winks back. "Forgive me for not posing, oh studly one..."

He flexes. "Aww...I do tho..."

Ehehe.....heart's going all a-twitter...

She laughs, ows, then giggles.

The dark-haired man squeezes her arm gently and smirks. "Careful now..."

Her own lips twist in a light smirk, patting his hand gently. "Ohfine..." She watches him take their dishes to the kitchen with a slight grin.

He returns shortly and lifts himself onto his bed, still rigged up by hers. "Gettin' tired." He winks as he lies back.

She can't help the grin spreading over her lips as she lifts her blanket in an offer to share and winks back. "You're entitled..."

Klork curls up under it by her with a smirk. "I suppose now and then." Another wink.

She chuckles as she tries to roll over to face him before erking lightly and just turns her head.

Agh...so annoying...

He grimaces. "Careful....was about to ask how you were healing up...answered my question..."

She dons a sheepish grin. "I...yeah...she got in a few good hits..."

He frowns. "I don't like that momma..." He then chuckles softly.

HLM smiles wryly.

Guess Quinlan filled 'im in...

"Huh...well...don't have to worry about her anymore...you heard about my brother, too, huh..."

Klork blinks. "No..."

The ceiling attracts her gaze, brows furrowed. "Well, the day before the battle...apparently, my mom sent her son after me..." She rubs her arm a little. "He wanted to rape me...I killed 'im with my bare hands..." She shudders lightly.

He grimaces. "Gyah, if I were there...so help me, I woulda done worse..."

A soft  sigh rises from her lips as she reaches over to gently squeeze his arm. "You had worries of your own..."

A sigh comes from his own lips as he nods. "True...but still..."

She nods with a soft sigh. "Yeah..."

With a smirk, he squeezes her arm in return. "Get some rest...heh...if you need any more that is." He winks.

"Actually...yeah, it was kinda...all nightmares...you sleep, too..." She pokes his shoulder lightly with a grin. "You need to get better, too!"

"I will." Yet another wink. "Aye aye..."

She chuckles softly and nods with a sleepy smile. "Sweet dreams..."

He nods, curling up with a yawn and a purr. "Aye...aye."

She watches him doze off with a smile before letting the soft purr soothe her to sleep.

Part XI
Part XIII
Otherworldly Comforts Index