[2259] Lessons Burned in Glass

Mer:

I frown wondering if this was her 5 seconds of glory right here.

She sure seemed to be enjoying herself.

The woman leans into my weapon but I remain unfazed.

"Whose your employer?"

I question trying to understand what purpose any of this could serve.

Klaus:

Another joins us on the wall.

I glance at him but don't say a word until I know Boron has left.

Desmond:

STEAM

AHHHHHHH!

My head faces up towards the ceiling as I let out a scream as my skin starts to burn everywhere the water droplets touch. (At least I don't breathe it in anymore.)

My body becomes engulfed in black hellfire as I try to protect myself. I'm protected from the droplets but my chains start to MELT onto my flesh.

Screams louder.

Beolan:

"D..des?"

I recognize his.. unnatural fire.

I try to remind myself it wasnt.. me on fire. *shutters*

((Why do you have MY wings?))

*has NO clue how that PASSED ON from Merideith* 

???!

Klaus:

I startle at Desmond's impressive show.

Bloody hell...

'Bash':

So..cold...

I try to remember what happened as I shake off more ice from my arm and neck. I duck out of the light and stop brushing it off realizing what this means... 

I had CLOTHES on for the first time waking up.... improvement? 

I sense Desmond's pain and DONT want to know why I do. I try to find Meridith before I turn back.
I transport to the kitchen that smelt of BLOOD. And fear as the STAFF ran off...

She was preparing something on a cutting board alone in the dark...

....

"Meri?"

Desmond:

Beo asks me about 'his' shit. As if I'm in any condition or mindset to pay attention to talk to him right now. Let alone would want to even if I wasn't.

The chains melt enough that I am freed. Previously coughed up and growing vervain catches fire where I step and starts to smoke the moist air.

I move past the vomit to the center, and get on my knees and rub my arms on the ground trying to rub the molten wetness metal off.

Jem:


Meridith wants to know who.

"No one? A jobs a job." 

I say innocently and quite true now...

Meredith:

I turn and look at him blankly before continuing my work on the cutting board.

"Almost done."

I hum to myself, making a bloody mess.

Mer:

"What?"

I grow frustrated and shoot her leg.

"Tell me!"

'Bash':

Is that a ....

*twitch so TiRED of all this*

"Alright..darling... maybe we can eat in the freezer tonight?"

I go inside the freezer out of desperation and wait wondering if that would help her mind too.. somehow...

Meredith:

I watch him go to the freezer.

I bring my PRIZE and follow after.

Once in the freezer I stare at it for a second in thought before it dawns on me.

This was.. a HAND?!

I drop the limb in surprise, my eyes widening in panic.

What the hell???

"W-why... h-how???"

I tear up again.

"I must have blacked out again."

I run my hand through my hair in thought.

And it looked like I... hurt someone too.

Jem:

She shoots me and I laugh a little sinking into a windowsill that was since covered up and shown nothing from outside. 

"Klaus?"
*says name I HATE the most if she believes it or not I don't really care*

Cole:

"Th-thanks. I.. like you both two."

I suddenly feel an arm around me and look over wondering who this guy is.

Juliana sniffs the air.

"Oh?... Thanks? That's.. cool." I say at what sounds like an invite to actually hang out with people and not just being cooped up in a basement or doing errands.

... Not that I can even get to the basement anymore... I'm too drained to teleport or use anything right now... Even if I could teleport out of all these many energy walls... Which... I assume I couldn't.

"I'm Cole." I introduce as if all the girls haven't been saying my name.

Mer:

"You're lying!"

I shout at her again in frustration.

"Do you want me to shoot you again?"

I point my pistol at her other leg threateningly.

Jem:


"Helppp!"

Some guys pass by totality allowing this brutality  *thinking its Amon*

"I do JOBS for hire Merideth. What part don't you understand?!"

I wince at the pain and look at my nails smugly.

Mer:

"How you don't know the name of WHOSE paying you! Can you really be so ignorant as to put yourself in the crossfire without any IDEA what is going on?!"

A jobs a job???

She isn't serious.

I look to the side in exasperation.

And who the HELL is dumb enough to make a robot of the OVERLORD?!?!

Who are these people??!!!

'Bash':

I try not to have a complete breakdown, wanting very much to just snap and start smashing the frozen meat and just settle for labored breaths. 

Meri brings the hand inside but drops it. I get a small glimmer of hope ..maybe the freezer.. could help? 

"I...understand.... I had a black out too.. a big one.."

I say numbly wanting to hug her somehow but did not step forward.
 
"I  think the energy is evil...  we should try not to use it.."

I speak slowly unsure if its even possible now. Does it even matter?

Meredith:

Sebastian says he had a blackout.

I tilt my head at him trying to understand.

He did sound.. more himself.

His "other side" had a strange way of talking at times which made it hard to believe they were one and the same.

But that must be the case.. after that attack. There is no way.

I think to myself in denial.

Bash then mentions energy being.. evil.

"Our power you mean?"

I ask not sure I understood.

Is not the power what heals us and keeps us from dying?

I wander over and touch his hand, enjoying its temperature.

'Bash':

I look at her disturbed when she says 'our power'.  I wish here was a way to reverse it, make her human again...I couldn't even find it in Boren's mind.... 

"Y..yes..I think it makes us act not ourselves... lose ourselves... completely.. "

I look at our hands sadly, wanting to say so much but finding only such sadness.

Beolan:

I wish I knew what was going on...
It was a real SHOCK to be the least fucked up one in the room for a chance. 

Yet still.. confused.

I try to figure how who the other 'tree' was. I squint and only smell such a stench I cant recognize. 

*sneeezes mushroom on Desmond*

"Des.."

I remember slightly, he wanted to leave.. maybe he got..thrown down here... 

Bash cloned Merideth thinking she was dead.. did they.. combined me with Desmond thinking  I was dead?

Desmond:

I get the molten metal liquid off and peer at the burns shivering. I touch the healthy skin around the outside of my burnt skin gingerly.

I hear Beo sneeze and feel something hit my back. I assume its a big glob of snot.

"Oh, that's disgusting!" I snap standing up and turning around and wiping at my back with the back of my right hand.

The mushroom caught fire and burns black. The shroom smokes into the air. Unfortunately, I don't breathe it in as I'm pointedly not breathing in this burn-causing water vapors hellhole full of disgusting smells. And I'm too distracted looking at Beo to even notice the shroom is there.

"What!?" I spread my arms out, grimacing at the pull of burned skin.

"Look! Fine! You got my attention! Yes, I have wings now! Do I know why? Not sure! Maybe because I killed you with an artifact that splits people?? You know! Right where that spiral tattoo target is on your head!"

I listen for a heartbeat and the direction it's coming from...

"And you know, isn't that ironic? You died but are now alive! While I didn't die but I'm DEAD! Or.. UNDEAD! I also have a tail and these damned cat ears so YES. I have a lot of things Beo. Like you have a lot of shrooms. Thanks for noticing."

I say sarcastically in my frustration and annoyance and force a fake smile toothily at him.

I let it drop and gesture an arm to Klaus, eye twitching at the burning pain, and add lowly.

"And Klaus has a Vervain tree shoved up his ass. Are we all caught up on the physicalities of our situation?"

Beolan:

I watch unsure if this was real. Why did everything feel like that now..?

 I was quite out of it the first time Merdeith brought me back and now.. i felt even more detached.

 Feeling my head break in. Desmond... 
Something in his hand...

He mentions the rash on my head..target?

I listen he says he killed me, I should feel something by that but I don't.  He was mad I was alive and he was dead.

"Meridieth can fix you..." *says zoned OUT like its NORMAL now* 

I didnt ask her to keep bringing me back, she'll find him too..she always does...

Klaus was the other tree, he killed me the first time. I dont really feel that either.

Just..pity out of nowhere I try to snuff it down.

Meredith:

I lean in with a sad smile.

"Then we won't."

We could stay inside this freezer for the wrest of time for all I cared.

It did not matter, as long as I was with him.

I grow sad in response to his sadness.

"I'm so sorry Bash. For everything that has happened. I wish I could make it better."

I whisper softly while looking down ashamed.

Klaus:

I grow uncomfortable with Beolan's suggestion.

((No she can not.))

She is clearly unwell and who wouldn't be after THAT.

Desmond:

I start to feel like I'm loosing steam in my anger. But there's a lot of emotions there to quell.

Just because I apologized doesn't mean I still wasn't hurt by Mer and wanted to be around her. I think about her with Sebastian during everything.. Of her watching Beo eat and kill her clone and was fine with it and was more hoping to stop me then stop him eatting everyone... I just... Didn't want to be around her anymore.

I hear Klaus.

"Yeah, no thanks."

Not that I could feel any emotion behind the thought to care but that could just undead her too for all I know.

I look to Klaus and zone out on the dripping blood. The sight and sound of it. I take a deep breath and get a hit of the sweetness hidden under everything with my honed in focus on it.

Hisses and stalks towards the blood tree.

'Bash':

Meri apologizes and I feel WORST. I want to push her away in frustration but take both her hands in mine squeezing them gently. 

"But you didn't do anything wrong, it was all forced on you...I'm so sorry for making you feel something for me that was never there..."

I sigh and stroke her hair still twistedly captivated by her despite all THIS.

"You could never do anything wrong.. "
I whisper to sad, so wrecked I ruined her like this.  And it was ALL me too wasn't it? 

Maybe Boren was some genetic memory or forever alive in our energy but it still...was me? This whole time....

Beolan:

Klaus talks to me, he sounded so far away.

((What do you know?)) I ask him wondering if he would TALK now that there was nowhere to go.

"Mer told me about a curse, so this is more then Boren's energy?" I question
 
"How does it break? What do you have to do?.. ...." I ask him knowing there MUST be a catch. 

I have MASSIVE disappointment in SHARD. He could have broken his curse if he wasn't a failure. 

Now I HAVE to do it .

I was so focused on Klaus and ALL the curses.

 I dont notice the 'trees' pee burnt dead parts burn up in soulfire and come back a bigger bush trying to impale Desmond back to the wall. 

One vine had a ...communicator (am I TRIPPING? or is it real??))  It stretched so far back to get a PHOTO of Desmond and try to flash him onto the branchy spikes on the wall again and entangle.

Klaus:

((Your guess is as good as mine. Her father upset a very old witch and now his whole line is cursed. I am not sure how she managed to escape the madness for so long, but now, it seems to have finally spread to her too. The witch.. is the only one who can break the curse. Where she is I do not know.))

I sense Desmond's approach and cringe as the plant comes at him in response.

It was.. harder to stay focused.

((Boron has possessed Sebastian. We can't trust him, we need to escape this place.))

I repeat trying to get the two to listen, though each seemed damaged in their own way.

Meredith:

"That's not true Bash, that's not true."

I shake my head disturbed he would think that.

Especially after all this time.

I take his hands and place them on my stomach.

"We are going to have a family now see?"

I ask wondering if he felt them too.

'Bash':

She insists, disturbed at my words but I can't ever accept anything less then she was brainwashed to some degree and we we're both infected by Boren's energy.

....and the children...

I grind my teeth to shut up and stop myself from snapping at her 'good news'.

How are we even going to take care of children if we're both mad and they will be too...

Logic goes out the window I'm filed with such love and connectiveness to them, all connected to the same thing.. same evil thing.. and they want to be warm...

I wrap my arms around her in some instinctual attempt to do that for all of them.

"Does that ..make you happy?" I ask nuzzling closer to her WARMING up... even in the freezer from ALL the engery between all of us.

Meredith:

"How could it not?"

I choke out with emotion as we cling to each other in the freezing cold.

I feel his warmth but was too caught up in our moment to overthink it.

I kiss him passionately unable to resist  him any longer and just wanting us to remain this way... forever.

Prince Teagin:

Cole interduces himself to me. Yes I think the lad should play more with the boys, I only ever see him with the fuzzy hat girl troop. 

Everyday I MISS Bayley's companionship more and more. Like brothers are we.

"I am Prince Teagin of Dayukka. I came to help but um it appears we lost the war..."

I can NOT believe my planet is rushing to pick me up now?! 

Bayley would fight the hordes of hell for me. 

"The siege will give us grand time to ..mingle with ALL the girls."

I whisper to him.

"You spend much time with them, tell me secrets..what of you know with the one with the long russet brown tail and the deep dark eyes?"

I ask for SHE was the only good looking one of the homely bunch of fuzzy hats.

**Soulless void so DRAWN to recarnated LIGHT*

Desmond:

I'm oblivious, so zoned into the blood, I don't notice the vines shooting out at me.

They fail to touch me at first given the black fire.

But suddenly I'm blinded. I hiss, flinching back, trying to shield my eyes with my arm. The blimp of light shocking me system for a moment. My fire goes out and I'm suddenly wooshed back to the wall.

Hisses, struggling on the wall, unable to think starving.

Then feels the empty blank zoneout and emotionless wave win out washing over me and slump.

Jem:

"Your incompetent,  look at you turning on your own side."

I see all her 'hero' moments meant squat. Shes stealing armor running around like a REBEL

"It was Chaos. Do you even KNOW what that means."

I try to pop out the bulet with a knife in vain just making more BLOOD. And liking it.

Cole:

My eyes widen slightly as I listen to royalty. Talking to me of all people.

I quietly nod at his whisper about hanging out with girls.

I try to understand who he's asking bout.. Is that... Ettie?

"Um.. Her name is Ettie... She's one of the Mentor's kids." I try to think. "She... draws a lot... And her family has a ranch... She has a pony... And she doesn't like books?..." I try warily.

Mer:

............

I grab her and drag her with me.

"Fine don't give me a straight answer.."

I hiss under my breath before pulling her over to the first soldier that I recognized.

Tully.

"She was hired by the spaceship above us. What do I do with her?"

Prince Teagin:

Cole tells me this beautiful girl isn't a reader, meaning she probably wasn't to smart and EASY.


Ettie.... 


I say her name with a SHIVER. 

"Sounds good, now lad we must have options, who else do you fancy outside the princess-mother?"

I ask scoping around.

"Is it the blue color..because have you seen Owylyn's hair under her cap? Blue as the sea, it is now."

I try to pawn her off on the lad, if I can get her to cheat first I can END our engagement after all.

Juliet:

I sit off to the side and watch Blythe in her tank with the squids. She was very pretty... And all those... Tentacles...

Shivers.

The king was... In an argument about me... Oh my...

Zones out daydreaming us in the tank bracing and... doing things... while the squids are around us holding out bodies closer like organic bonds that are alive and can move around our skin.

Suddenly I'm started from my imagination by my communicator pinging with a message.

I look down and suck in my stomach.

It's from Sebastian.. An Admin Level send.

My eyes widen.

Is this... His conclusion to the fight?.. Letting everyone know cause so many saw it??

Opens it.

It's a... picture of Desmond?? Surounded by Vervain....

Swallows.

What does this mean???

Cole:

"Um.. I... Don't know...? I was just... mesmerized by her alien mixed-up tiger form..."

I listen as he speaks of a girl called Owlyn.

" I haven't... Her hair does sound pretty though. Unique, at least from what I've seen around here... Cool."

I hear blips all around and my stomach drops expecting the worse. That this is some big bad news, like all the other horrid stuff that happened today so far.

I look down at my communicator.

"Huh... I wonder if.. this is part of the King's whole... Get mutations get stronger agenda that he had that big speech on."

It's war time. Big time for 'the push'.

And Des is just the next of the big three poster kids to get the treatment... Maybe he isn't even an owlpire? Or is on purpose??... Either way, maybe that means there will be more multi-species conflicting freaks like me... Maybe I can be water-cured somehow... I wonder...

--

Gale who had been watching her boy engage with another boy from the background while they're stuck in this place also looks at the picture and feels anger as she squeezes the communicator in her one normal hand tightly in righteous fury thinking now they're even glorifying the Trydeins being mutated to overcome their battle wounds for everyone else's own objectified pleasures.

She peers around with an angered look wondering who's going to chain and drag her away for photo ops next with her tentacle as the star.

'Bash':

Meridieth kisses me and I know I should stop it, we are going to make to much heat and I'll loose myself even in here. The freezer being a solution - isn't the answer. 

It was such a rush of emotions, the oneness, a family I never really had...

I break away from her at that thought.. somehow.. it was hard.

"W..wa..it.." I reach out on the walls trying to cool down.

"I have a confession... I..saw Boren on the ship..."

I say in a small voice.

Tully:

I keep a hold of my little sister's hand, keeping her close down the halls. 

(Tilly): "When are we going to go home?" She asked tiredly and this time I did not have a better answer then dozens of times she asked before.

"Soon."

Not that the Peacekeeper barricades was much of a home. Home hasn't been a thing since the Neoplanet went down. 

I let her hand go as we reach the great hall where DINNER is not on the table.

...

Did we run out of food already?
I mid panic as she rushes over to chat it up with some friends , everyone had their commutators out talking about something. 

I was too stressed right now to answer my beep. It was the King's massive wide message. 

Amon had a prisoner. I look over at him and such a tiny blonde girl.

"Her?"  I reply hearing she was hired by the Overlord's ship.

"I suppose....chain her to the throne room to await the King'd verdict.?"

I snort a little adding in.

"if you want Boren's verdict that is.."

I look at Amon wondering if they even cared anymore.  

The news changed...everything...

I struggle seeing Bash the way I always saw him but now him and Princess were ...tainted...

My mind says 'monsters' but..
I squint trying to accept it but I cant deny how much King Sorin ..loved them both. And he wouldn't want me to betray them.

I look at Amon's commutator flashing.

"Are you going to get that?" *DESMOND pic*

Prince Teagin:

I listen to Cole remind me about the King's speech... to upgrade and battle ready the people.

Desmond looked ... *flushes at ATTRACTION for a male for the first time* he was just.. so pretty.

..and his fragile skinny body reminded me of Bayley..fair and small. I think back to all the times I saw Bayley like that but I thought of him like a brother. Now... 

"Thats..quite  upgrade. I would like wings.. how about you?"

Or does he have wings...

 "Or what mutations would you want?"

I look at the lab we we're by all the squids and tanks. I do NOT want to be a squid.

*sighs daydreaming about getting Bayley's DNA being ONE with Bayley twisted thought and wish of a soulless void*

(Lasha): "Oh this is going to be my communicator's background.." *thinks Des is FINE now, hes taking photoshoots for the King again*

(Leithe): "Wow... do you think Beolan is going to get a downgrade since he attacked us. Maybe Desmond got his upgrade when they purged him?"

(Lasha): "Des has a TAIL too..this photo is cropped...*bites lip*

Nurses go "AWEEEE" no tail shot no nip

Meredith:

Sebastian breaks away to tell me something about Boron.

My heart sinks.

"Yes.. I have a brief memory of seeing him in the castle as well."

Klaus:

I shake my head numbly.

((The whole thing occurred long before I was even born mate))

Beolan grows quiet and eventually I do to as I was now too overwhelmed by the vervain plant to think clearly again.

Mer:

"What do you mean?"

I question Tully's Boron reference before looking down at Amon's communicator and hesitating.

I should really get out of sight before that man comes around looking for his armor.

"I'm not packing any chains.. are you?"

Even a zip tie or some rope would do at this point.

I pull out the communicator and see the message.

....................

"Where is Desmond?"

I question alarmed that such a picture was being sent around.

I hadn't seen Klaus either after his disappearance with the King.

'Bash':

I sink down back to the ice wall trying to steady my breathing and calm down.

She even saw him..?

I felt sick. How can she even touch me now..

"Then you know.. you know ....what that means."

I put my head against the ice wall unable to look at her and also to sooth the fever down more.

"I swear it..it feels like hes there..sometimes.."

And its so hot...
but how?

Jem:

Tully rolls his eyes slightly as 'Amon' did not understand his Boren comment.

(Tully): "Ok..Boren Jr? How you feeling about Boren Jr?"

"Really so you missed Chaos's whole speech when she publicly humiliated your king and announced the invasion herself, and now you're saying you missed the Starker admit he is a Boren spawn?? Big public addmiton... like you lived and served a bunch of energy freaks for years and didnt even KNOW. I think BORENS DAUGHTER was your own mentor. Yeah how did you not even know??"

(Tully): "Ok I remember who this is now.." He said dryly and handcuffed me to himself. I whip him back with the chain.

Mer asks about DESMOND.

"You dont even know where your boyfriend is.. did you miss his big RANT SPEECH too? He even pointed at you.."

Shes hopeless...

(Tully): "Desmond ran away, seeing how hes... laied out here... Chaos probably has him... see this is why we need to stay in the Boren bubble I suppose. It just dont feel right."

Mer:

Tully says "Boron Junior" and I finally understand it to be a new nickname for Sebastian.

Personally, the clone reveal kind of stole the show for me..

"Yes Jem, thank you I do remember now."

I respond sarcastically feeling so very tired.

Contrary to popular belief I hadn't had any personal encounters with the Overlord to connect Blythe and Sebastian's abilities to his. How was I supposed to know who they were? When I met them they were under King Sorin's care so I only assumed they were his. It wasn't like they flaunted themselves to any degree nor were they antagonistic in their actions either.

Sebastian challenged me to speak to him for clarity but I could not.

It was just too uncomfortable now. 

Jem mocks me about Desmond next but at this point I had tuned her out.

Tully thinks Chaos got him.

Chaos.. I had so much catching up to do.

It was so hard keeping track of it all.