Fandom Into the fire (1x1 MzHyde/Gallifrog)

[_gallifrog_]

As Fia had left the door the balcony open after her the music seeped easily down to the main room. Once again it's occupants found themselves blown away by her talent. Usually John would snort whenever it was said that somebody was born to play a certain instrument (thinking it was a completely pretentious thing to say and always an exaggeration), but in this case, it really did seem like Fia was born to play the violin. He didn't need to see her to know she'd be dancing completely in sync with the music, John knew her well enough to know that when Fia and the violin were together there would be some form of dancing. It was just another way of her expressing (or in this case venting her emotions) and another way in which her bloodline interacted with the music provided. Part of him did feel guilty for being so wrapped up in worrying about Elliott, wanting to punch Zan and wanting to defenestrate Dakkon that he hadn't noticed Fia's mounting turmoil. But he could justify it to himself by saying that he might only have days left to worry about Elliott while he knew for certain he had a whole lifetime to worry about Fia.

While the others could understand and get a grasp of the extent and depth Fia's emotional turmoil through the music she was playing, Dan was the only one who could feel it directly. Music for empaths was more than just an auditory (and visual experience). All musicians used music as a way to channel their emotions, focusing their feelings in a way that honed emotions, making them sharper, clearer and more targeted. He'd heard her play at the wedding, but this was different, this was far more raw, and hurt and there was a clear sense of struggle in it, Not just with what she'd learned that day, but with everything she'd learned in the time she'd spent on Attil. Dan did know what she was, and what Kay was, but this was the first time he'd ever been able to feel the race difference through her emotions. He said nothing, just concentrated on trying to keep himself grounded and not get too swallowed up by the emotions washing over him in waves. There was a real danger with this much emotion bombarding him (not just that coming from Fia) that he'd overload and black-out or become hyper-focused on one person and unable to break the empathic link by himself.

After a couple of minutes Elliott returned to the main room, his phone pressed against his chest in the way you did when you didn't want the person on the other end to hear what you were saying. His eyes briefly flickered towards the ceiling in surprise, he'd been unable to hear the muisc from the bathroom and he, like everybody else was taken aback by what Fia was expressed. Elliott quickly found himself again and walked over to the kitchen and leaned against the door frame. "Cal" he called to get her attention. His sister looked up and he continued. "He" Elliott's eyes flicked down towards the phone "wants to know if he should come over here now to discuss tactics and a unified plan of action, or if it would be better for him to come here early tomorrow morning or for us to go to his if you don't want him in the flat. And before you try lump the decision on me, he said, and I quote 'it's your sister and her wife's flat, so there call on whether they want me in it at all'." Cal considered the options her brother was relaying, tipping head head in thought. After a good solid minute running through the pros and cons she came to a decision. "Tell Zan we'll call him when there is a plan" Elliott nodded and was about to walk out to finish the call, when his sister called after him. "Ask if those financial records have come through. Maybe Dakkon was holding out of them till he got to talk to Jay?" He nodded "will do."

 

[MzHyde]

Contrary to what some might think, Fia never once thought ill of John for not giving her the focus during this time. She knew it was far more important to be focused and worrying about Elliott, she too found all her emotions were because of her own worry about Elliott. She grew up with him in her life and she didn't want that life to be erased and lose that life with him. He was far more of an important figure in her life than she could ever let on, having always gone to him whether in person or via a phone call to rant and cry to if she truly butt heads with her parents for keeping her so housebound. That thought of possibly losing all of that and not being her was incredibly painful to acknowledge. Not only that it hurt her massively knowing if Elliott dies her dad would be an utter wreck and possibly lose himself, which she couldn't stand the thought of her mother having to deal with that sort of alone as she would just be a baby through it at most. There was so much at stake and she knew so much of her hurt wasn't for her.....it was for her family. So for her having a half finished (but was clearly getting finished by heart on this spot) song in her mind was proving an utter lifeline. She let herself get lost in the music and her playing, knowing that if she had her way she wouldn't be stopping at one song, the way she would be stopping is if she just broke down and she physically couldn't play anymore.

Kay heard her daughter playing and found herself closing her eyes for a moment to just stop and listen to what Fia was playing, like John just knowing in her heart that there was completely no way that Fia was sitting or standing still whilst playing. That she would be dancing with every note played, it taking all of Kay's inner strength to remain neutral and not show her amazement and sadness for Fia's emotions to everyone in the room. When Elliott came in, it was then sh eopened her eyes hearing the qiestion he was asking to Cal and noting how much time Cal was taking to find the right answer. With the answer decided, she said nothing as Elliott walked away to give Zan the answer, noticing that Zan was clearly on the other end of the phone still judging by the way Elliott was holding his phone. She didn't even know what to say to anyone, wanting to be there for John and everyone else but was for once, very much speechless, just thinking about everything discussed and hoping to anything and everything that they could get Elliott out of this alive. So she continued to listen to her daughter up on the roof.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Cliff was the only one in the room who wasn't listening to Fia, for once the doctor was completely oblivious to the emotional turmoil of the only teenager in the apartment. She'd never actually put back in her hearing aids when John and Jay came back and was completely deaf to what was going on around her. It was only when Elliott tapped her shoulder to get her attention that she put them back in and was blasted with the full extent of Fia's music. She couldn't help but wince as the devices screeched loudly with feedback, then shook her head at the overload. Putting on the hearing aids now was like being resuscitated after drowning- a very rude awakening where you were completely overwhelmed by everything and felt somewhat nauseous. Like her wife she took her time considering the options Zan had suggested, running through the pros and cons. She really didn't feel like another visit to Zan's place, it was on the other side of town and it would mean that they'd more than likely end up having to commute to the trial with the man- she doubted he and John/Jay would be able to remain civil in the confined space of a train for very long. The same applied to having Zan there for the planning process- they'd all be reluctant to go with a plan he suggested for fear that it was some kind of double cross. In the end she came to the same decision as Cal had, to call the man when they had a concrete (or at least semi-solid) plan.

Nobody spoke as they waited for Jay to come back, nobody knowing what to talk about. Nobody wanted to talk about Fia's playing and speculate on her turmoil, all fearing that if they started, Fia would stop playing and hear one of them saying something that, out of context would just hurt the teenager even further. Dan certainly wasn't going to say anything, he may be in the circle of trust about what Fia was, but he felt out of all of them he had the least claim to an opinion on the matter. So he kept his thoughts to himself and focused on trying to clear his mind. John did what he did best, retreated into his own head while at the same time pulling away mentally and physically from all the others. Cal's coping method was to do the wash-up as a) there was a load of it after cooking for so many people and b) it allowed her to vent by using her powers in a constructive way. Elliott doodled on the corner of the newspaper while Chas just sat there, his mind bouncing from thought to thought as he attempted to unlock the book his head. If ether was anywhere that would have answers, it would be there.

Jay arrived back after maybe half an hour, having definitely broken a speed limit or two on her way there. Her arrival would be known first to Fia, the teenager would be the first to hear the roar of the bike and see it turn into the garage sublevel of the building. After dismounting she sent a group text to the others (I'm back, it was where we were told it would be), not knowing if they were still together or not, suspecting maybe that John had gone for a smoke or somebody had gone to the rooftop get some space and clear their minds. Once in the apartment she looked at the assembled group and pulled a long leather and cloth wrapped bundle from the backpack and set it on the table. "It was in a stasis block, so no dimensional energy built up on, hence why I was able to look at it and touch it. It looks legit, but Dan would be the best judge of the that." She gestured for the blacksmith to unwrap it, which he did, tentatively and slowly as if he was expecting it to jump up and bite him. Withe the cloths pulled back, the sword was revealed in all it's glory- smooth dark metal with intricate engravings running across the blade, hilt and handle. Like the original the hilt wasn't wrapped with leather and the pommel of the sword had a lump of polished, shaped volcanic glass (similar to earth obsidian). There was no denying it's beauty, or it's likeness. Elliott paled at the sight of it, as did Dan, it's appearance hitting far too many of the right boxes. Cal also paled, but nowhere near the extent that her brother and adoptive father did.

 

[MzHyde]

With the time passing by, Fia did indeed see Jay come back on the bike. Hearing and seeing the woman coming back actually distracted her for a split second that she actually ended up snapping a string and it smacking her in the face. "ow bollocks" she cursed, putting her violin down as she sat on the roof to catch her breath and give her limbs a break. She also felt her phone go off as Jay text them all in the group chat to say she was back, so she checked it so it wouldn't be a notification that would just stay there until she did read it. She weighed up whether she wanted to go down and see the sword for herself or just remain on the roof, but then realised she should probably check her face in a mirror, especially as her phoenix healing ability could be hit or miss sometimes as she was always reluctant to channel it. Not only that she couldn't use her healing rune to fix it up so it was either hope her phoenix half would do the job or ask Cliff for a hand. So she reluctantly climbed down after grabbing her stuff, despite feeling like she would rather stay up theelre until she fell asleep.

With the text coming through, Kay out of instinct checked her phone as everyone else did, before putting it back down again and Jay made her way back into the apartment, whilst Fia climbed down from the roof. She noticed how at first how Fia didn't acknowledge Jay's return and bringing out the sword, instead focusing on heading to the bathroom to check her face out and putting her notebook back in the room she was sleeping in whilst grabbing her spare strings, then returning to the group with strings and violin and repair kit in hands. As Fia did all that, Kay listened to Jay confirming that it was indeed where it was stated to be as she unwrapped it and showed them all. She saw how Elliott, Dan and Cal all paled at the sight of it which she could totally understand. From the very brief time she had seen the sword in Dan's forge, she had to admit it was a near damn perfect replica so to her, it was only obvious it would stir up some very complex emotions in the three of them. "bloody hell that's a good replica" she breathed in a half gasp, as Fia showed her face to the others, whip mark still evident on her right cheek. "Cliff.. I know this is bad timing but.." Fia asked gesturing at her face. "you mind giving me a hand?" she finished asking.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Hearing that the blade had been stored in a stasis device made sense to Elliott, they knew Rinaa had planted it, presumable on her mother's orders. The teenager would easily have known that a) Jay would be one of the likely suspects to retrieve it and b) Jay was incredibly susceptible to damage from dimensional energy. Having Jay out for the count due to an overload of dimensional energy to her systems would be beneficial to nobody in their group. There was a muted gasp as Dan pulled back the cloth. Cliff and Chas just stared, unable to say anything, both thinking that to their lay person eyes it was an incredible forgery. John may only have seen the sword once in the physical world, but when he had he'd taken the opportunity to handle it and properly inspect it. He was far from an expert on sword making and sword faking, but this blade looked exactly like the real deal (bar the fact that this blade had no crusted blood on it). He let out a whistle "well that is quite bloody something", clearly impressed and not afraid to show it. He (and Jay) were taking the reactions of the other three as a good sign, if the siblings and the creator of the original blade, the man who knew it in intimate detail, were giving such a reaction knowing it was a fake then they had a real chance of fooling Dakkon.

Had it been any other sword that had been replicated Dan would have smirked at Kay's shock at just how accurate a copy it was then given some comment along the lines of 'my brothers made it, of course it's gonna be damn good'. But because it was this sword, he was very much on the side of those gaping at it, scarcely breathing as he looked at it, trying to see any obvious mistakes. After what felt like ages of staring in silence Dan picked up the blade to turn it round. His eyebrows jumped upwards and he let out a 'huh' when he felt the imbalance in the blade, it was subtle, but more than enough to make it difficult to wield. On instinct he took up the blade, stepped back from the table and attempted to find the centre of balance of the sword by resting it on one finger. In a normal sword it would be an inch of two above the part where the blade met the handle, but on this one it was significantly further up the blade.

At the sound of Fia's tentatively voiced question Cliff looked up. Seeing the teenager's face she couldn't help but make the comparison between the placing of the whiplash mark and Elliott's scar, even though they were on opposite sides of the face. Cliff didn't think it bad timing at all, better to get injuries looked at as early as possible so that if anything was wrong, it could be picked up before it spread and didn't cause permanent scarring. "Of course I can" she told the teenager, making it clear in her tone that this was no bother for her. After quickly inspecting the teenager's face turning it this way and that to make sure there was nothing amiss she stepped back and nodded. "I actually have just the EXACT thing for it, give me a second." She vanished upstairs for a minute, re-emerging with a tube of cream which she threw to Fia. "It's technically for use after you get whiplash marks from a weapon bow string, both prevents scarring and soothes. I figure since yours doubles up as a weapon it'll work just fine. Put on a thin layer every six hours or so, you don't need to rub it in very much. I can apply it if you want, or you can do it."

 

[MzHyde]

With the sword in question Kay almost felt awkward complimenting the craftsmanship on it, knowing it was a symbol of negativity, cruelty and brutality but at the same time it was hard not to see the skill in front of them that was put into the fake. It was one of those moments of 'I don't want to compliment it, but I can't help it'. Yet she also saw it as if they could see the sheer perfect skill in the fake and find it difficult to pinpoint any faults with it then Dakkon must also be able to be fooled by it. She was sure that once the dried years old blood stains were on it, it would be damn near impossible to tell the difference even more so. She watched as Dan took the sword and checked the balance to compare it to the original, noting his facial expressions to get an idea of what he was thinking. "you think Dakkon will be fooled?" she asked Dan after a little while.

Fia nodded, glad that she wasn't being a bother. Under any other other circumstances she wouldn't have bothered the doctor, but for once she felt dealing with the whiplash mark in a normal human manner was the safest way to go about it. She knew after a while it would heal up naturally, but she didn't want to push herself when for all she knew she could end up doing more damage than less. She let Cliff check the mark before nodding and waited for her, knowing that she would probably know what to do not just because she was a doctor, but because she was an archer and would have no doubt seen similar whip marks on more than enough occasions. When Cliff came back, she grabbed the tube thrown at her with ease, looking at it, listening to the instruction as she did so. "think I got it thanks Cliff." she replied, tapping the tube between her fingers before putting her repair stuff down on the coffee table and using her phone as a mirror, she applied the cream as instructed. It only took her a few seconds to do so then she listened to the whole sword conversation as she repaired the broken string on her violin.

 

[_gallifrog_]

The others watched intently as Dan put the sword through it's paces, scrutinising every little tic and quirk on the blacksmith's face, trying to see what he was thinking. It didn't matter how good a fake any of them thought it was, Dan was the real expert, not just as a blacksmith, but as the creator of the real sword. After finding the centre of balance he then put it through a few moves- not full swings (he didn't want to damage Cal and Cliff's apartment in any way) but training patterns and footwork patterns used to get used to the feel and movement of the sword. Jay had been unable to resist doing the exact same thing as Dan when she it her hands on the sword and had spent a coupe of minutes in the privacy of the vault getting acquainted with the sword. Had it been properly weighted it would have been a a beautiful weapon in her opinion.

Dan considered before answering. "Yes.....I think it will" he said nodding slowly, clearly satisfied with the blade as he set it back down. There was an audible sigh of relief and slumping of shoulders. "Dakkon won't have seen this blade before in person, only as an image, or maybe as a memory if he got into Zan's mind when they were ripping out the programming. Appearance wise, it's spot on. There's only a few tiny, tiny difference in the engraving but you'd have to know my brother's styles as intimately as I do to them. The weighting throws it off balance just enough, it doesn't have the reluctance the other blade has, which is a good thing really. The weighting we can easily tell him is down to the fact that the blade, the original I mean was actually a ceremonial weapon, it wasn't designed to be fought with. It's not uncommon for ceremonial blades to be weighted differently, I chose not to with the original because it was too beautiful a blade to hamper in such a way."

Cliff nodded when Fia said she'd do it herself, she expected that would be the answer, applying such cream wasn't rocket science and really didn't require the help of a medical professional. Especially when this was far from the patient's first time requiring such treatment. Fia was right in thinking Cliff had seen (and treated) these kinds of injuries before, both on herself and on others. The doctor had tried various creams before coming to the conclusion that this particular brand was the best. Having treated Fia, Cliff now turned her attention to Jay. "Jay, you're next" she held up a hand fixing the woman with a glare that made it quite clear the assassin wasn't going to get out of this. "Don't bother protesting, if you've burst an eardrum or a major blood vessel, I'd rather find out now before you pass out on the floor since you thought not telling anybody was a good idea." Jay's eyebrows raised slightly at the last comment, wondering how the hell the doctor had found out about the time she'd passed out unconscious and nearly bled out on the floor of AJ's place. She then turned and glared at Elliott who shrugged guiltily. "Traitor" Jay sighed, but lacking the venom her voice would if she'd actually meant it. She then made her way over to the doctor.

 

[MzHyde]

Like everyone else did, Kay (and Fia whilst she was doing what she was) sighed with relief at the confirmation that it will fool even Dakkon as well as easily having an excuse for the off balance of the sword. She nodded in understanding at what Dan was saying about ceremonial swords compared to sword that were to be used as an actual weapon. It made sense to her as well as being rather interesting to hear considering swords were far from her expertise. It was after Dan explained his bit that she truly noticed Fia's whip mark on her face and the cream she had put on it. At first she wondered why Fia didn't just heal up but then she remembered the raw strong emotion she was feeling up on the roof and decided Fia did the right thing. Using phoenix power when one is not fully dealing with an strong emotion wasn't always the best call of action to do. She herself learned that the hard way when she was Fia's age.

Fia continued to replace the string with very little trouble, the motions of doing it being complete second nature to her. As she removed the broken string she cursed it under her breath for smacking her in the face before putting it on the coffee table so she could put the new one in. She had to smirk as she overheard Cliff tell Jay she was being seen to whether the woman liked it or not which made Jay call Elliott a traitor. "he's a traitor for the right reasons and that don't change over the years.. Just ya know.. FYI" she said whilst not even looking up from what she was doing. With the new string finally in place after a couple of minutes (she was going slower than she normally did so not to smack herself in the face again) she started to tune it so it was set right with the good strings which took another couple of minutes because she was a perfectionist with her instrument. With it done, she placed her violin down, grabbed the broken string and went to throw it in the bin cursing it again.

 

[_gallifrog_]

When Dan pronounced the sword to be good enough to fool Dakkon Cal let out the loudest sigh, flopping back in her seat. "Oh thank the gods" she groaned "haven't the foggiest what I'd do if it wasn't and we were stuck with a replica of a sword none of us have good memories of." Elliott also let go of the tension in his body, flopping sideways to lean against John for a moment or two. Like Cal he had no idea what he'd do if the sword hadn't been up to Dan's high standards. John just sighed in relief, letting Elliott slump against him, wrapping an arm around the man as the tension drained. Seeing this sword was affecting Elliott again, more so than any of them. Cal was the first to make a move, picking up the blade and inspecting it, following the same process that Dan had. By the time she'd finished looking at it, both Elliott and John felt ready to inspect the blade. John went first, then Elliott, both touching it cautiously as if it would bite or zap them. Once they saw that it wasn't going leap out and attack them they became more confident, running their hands over and tracing the intricately carved engravings.

Elliott gave another shrug at Fia's comment, but this one was accompanied by a smirk glad that Fia meant traitor for the right reasons and not in an 'I will do anything to get ahead, including stepping on your hopes and dreams and crushing them sort of way'. He certainly didn't want to be known as the latter kind of person, especially after seeing the damage done to Rinaa by such toxic behaviour. Jay on the other hand just narrowed her eyes, glaring ever so slightly at Elliott while the doctor examined the inside of her ears. "I thought we agreed never to speak of that incident again." Elliott shook his head, looking up fro the sword "it was never agreed you just gave your usual litany of curses and refused to give any explanation whatsoever before threatening bodily harm if people kept asking. So for out own safety it became another one of those topics not to be brought up."

 

[MzHyde]

Unlike the others, Kay had no inclination to hold and inspect the sword up close. She was perfectly content in just looking at it from where she was as John and Elliott held it and ran their hands over the engravings. Looking at it from where she was was enough for her, not to mention in her eyes it was more important for Elliott to gain some kind courage to be able to hold the replica and get accustomed to it than it was for anyone else. She did however notice the smirk that Elliott gave when Fia said her little spiel in retort to Jay's comment, getting the impression that there was a couple of times when Elliott was considered a traitor to Fia, all for the right reasons but a traitor none the less. She also got a slight sense happiness seeing Fia feeling able to say such things around Elliott and the rest of them in this time as she listened to Jay and Elliott discuss about whether or not it was agreed upon to never discuss again.

Fia walked back after chucking the bad string away and slumped on the couch where she was before just listening and watching everyone else either chat about random past times or hold and inspect the sword replica. "and as that was agreed between you two and AJ's crew I'm guessing you thought the decision didn't count when it came to Cliff?" she asked Elliott, taking an educated guess from how the story was told and his decision to tell Cliff. It was similar to a moment in her time when she begged him once not to tell Kay something, so he told John. After that, she learned to make the request very very precise with Elliott and always say 'don't tell mum or dad or anyone for that matter'. She unfortunately couldn't remember the example at hand, but she did remember the snitching happening.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Elliott gave a nod and a smirk, evidently Fia had found out that you needed to vert specific about who he wasn't to tell when his silence. The only other tactic that worked was Jay's of threatening people with bloody murder if they so much as opened their mouths, but that tactic only worked when you knew the other person couldn't stand you and was willing and able to carry out their threat. Now that Elliott knew Jay's actual feelings about him, he figured it was safe to tell that story, and besides it had been the doctor who'd brought up the topic first. "Yeah, basically, and it was Cliff who asked first, I didn't just come out of nowhere and blab this story." "Don't try and shift the blame on me!" Cliff called over. "I only asked for a yes or no answer, not a long story."

Jay rolled her eyes at the bickering that was brewing between Cliff and her brother-in-law. "Well for the record don't go blabbing that story around to anybody else. Got it?" She told him. "Yeah, yeah, got it." Elliott nodded with a slight smirk. "Anyway, I wasn't finished talking about the sword, there's something else you need to know about the replica. The future team behind this they've added to trackers to that blade so we can find it again, preferably before they start a intergalactic war." "Trackers plural?" Chas repeated, wanting to be sure he'd heard the assassin right. Jay gave a smirk, for once she looked proud about something from Rinaa's future timeline. "There's four."

That got Dan's attention, eyebrows shooting upwards in surprise. "Four?! Where did they put them? They sure as hell didn't do the classic put them under the leather bindings as this one doesn't have any." He then held up a hand to symbolise that he was thinking. "Let me guess..... one on or in the pommel weight?" Jay nodded in confirmation. "That's the decoy electronic tracker, it's good kit, but in a place that means it will be found. Dakkon knows I wouldn't just HAND this thing over without some kind of tracker in it." "The edges of the hilt guard? You could put one either side at the extremities?" Jay shook her head "too obvious." Dan then shook his head, unable to think of any other place they could conceal something. He spent a good few minutes thinking on this before conceding defeat. Unless...... they'd put it in the blade as it was forged. "They put something in the metal of the blade?" He asked, to which Jay nodded and gave a genuine smile, glad the blacksmith his figured it out. "The second electronic tracker is much more covert and is embedded in the metal of the handle. The other two are even more unusual. One is a magic based tracker, according to this note left with the sword. Doesn't say WHO did it, but it OBVIOUSLY WASN'T one of you three" she gestured at Elliott, John and Fia "I guess maybe Rinaa or Scott would know somebody, they travel in the right circles- twins at a push if what they say is true. The third tracker is even sneakier. It's a biological agent that was put INTO the metal while it was molten. It gives off a special artificial chemical scent that either a sufficiently powerful computer device can follow, or if you have neural implants that take data from your sense of smell you can upload to the scent to them and track it that way."

 

[MzHyde]

Hearing Elliott place the blame on Cliff to divert it off of him made Fia smirk and think 'typical Ell' which only got more amusing when Cliff called him out on it as she saw to Jay. She wasn't surprised that Jay told him to never breathe a word of this story again to anyone, being oh so used to those kinds of warnings being thrown between Jay and Elliott. Her attention went back to Jay when she started explaining that the sword was tagged with trackers, wondering how such an item could have trackers on it without them being seen, yet the idea of putting such an item on the sword did make some kind of sense to her, especially as it was going to Dakkon. She was expecting to hear there were maybe two trackers on it when she heard Jay mention plural ones, but to hear there was four was somewhat astounding to her. She even managed to put down her violin for five minutes to hear exactly where they were.

She listened properly to Jay and Dan talk of each location on the sword, finding it highly interesting. To hear that the magical one wasn't of her, John or Elliott's doing for obvious reasons was of absolutely no surprise. Like Jay said, it was obvious why it wouldn't have been them who did it. Yet it did make her wonder who did do it, yet like Jay mentioned, Rinaa made it clear she had plenty of right people in her circles to have to know someone to do it for her. With the mention of the biological tracker was complete news to her as she didn't even know those kinds of trackers even existed. "impressive. I didn't think biological trackers existed" she commented. Kay was equally impressed by what she was hearing, it really drilling home just how much thought this plan had had. "impressive is an understatement. It's just another example of how no thought has been spared on this" she said after Fia.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Cal was also stunned to hear that there were not one, but four trackers hidden in the blade, and she couldn't help but pick it up again to look for anything amiss (though grab was probably a more suitable verb for what she did). John gave the blade an impressed look, the kind he rarely ever gave to a person "whoever's involved in this, they clearly aren't fucking around". He'd not felt any magical traces when holding the blade, but given Attil's magic shielding it would be dormant. All could see the logic in having three different kinds of trackers, as it meant no matter where Dakkon took it (in time and in space) there would be somebody able to find it. Hearing what had been concealed in it to make sure it would be found again, it emphasised just how seriously the future group were taking this. While it may not be the real sword, if Dakkon did succeed in turning it into a soul- or mindsword then they sure as hell needed to be able to get it back and either destroy it or put it somewhere it could never be accessed by people like Dakkon (one of the rooms in The House's basement most likely).

"Oh yeah, this is really covering every position they can think of." "Well the world IS ending for them, they really have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Not like there's gonna be a use for any of that tech after all is destroyed." Jay shrugged. Cal nodded at Fia'c comment on biological trackers. "There's all these rumours that the Attili military are working on trying to develop such trackers, but to my knowledge all trials have ended in failure. They certainly aren't used by soldiers at our level." "They're a rumour off-world too." Cliff added. "I have colleagues on other planets and stations and none of them have ever said about having access to such tech, though I suppose it would be highly classified if it did exist." "They do exist" Jay replied slowly. "But the tech is SO restricted and SO classified and the spooks actively sanction sabotage into all research in the area. It's incredibly accurate when it does work, but it's also hella expensive to make and would completely revolutionise warfare and espionage if it got out and was widely available. I only know as I went on one sabotage mission"

 

[MzHyde]

Both Fia and Kay continued listening as seemed to be a long standing habit just lately as everyone expressed their reactions to what they were being told, whilst seeing Cal grabbing for the sword to inspect it even more intensely as if looking at it harder would make her find the trackers in question. Both noticed the impressed look on John's face as he glanced back at the sword replica once more, but neither saw any point in saying anything, it wasn't like it was insulting for him to be looking at the sword in an impressed manner, as they both too were looking at it with impressed eyes. They also saw the logic in what Jay as saying about that future and how they really had nothing to lose, but everything to gain, before both taking interest in what was being explain baout biological trackers thanks to Fia's little remark.

Hearing that they were just rumours in this moment in time made it all the more interesting as she wondered what was done to make it become a real thing in Rinaa's future and if they ended up existing in her future. It also made sense to her why it would be all rumour and under cloak and dagger if they did exist in this time after Jay explained how dangerous it could be if they got into the wrong hands. "makes sense. I wouldn't wanna think of the consequences if in the wrong hands. Like with a lot of things I guess" she replied. She could easily imagine such a device being used on a person as well as any item which she knew could only go down hill rapidly and like Jay said, cause some kind of war due to its ability to revolutionise warfare and espionage.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Both Cal and Cliff leaned forwards when Jay confirmed that the technology did exist, but only at the highest level. Hearing that the spooks actively sabotaged research into this area was terrifying and both couldn't help but wonder what other things the spooks had that they didn't want other civilisations and organisations knowing about. It was clear from Jay's tone that if she hadn't done that one sabotage job she would have been like the rest of them and thought such trackers didn't exist, or were just the wishful thinking of theoretical scientists.

It was shortly after Jay said her piece that Cliff finished her examination of the assassin's ears, giving them the all clear. There was some crusted blood in the ear canal, but nowhere near enough to suggest any kind of cut or rupture underneath and since Jay was showing no problems hearing the others talking, Cliff felt confident in giving the all clear. She was also confident that given her own experiences of going deaf she'd be able to recognise the signs (both physical and emotional) in somebody else. Jay gave the doctor a nod and a brief thanks before getting up to sit at the table again. From there the conversation turned to making a plan. Now that they knew about the trackers it made keeping an eye on the sword a hell of a lot easier. Rinaa had included the relevant tracking devices in the stasis box with the sword and Jay spend some time familiarising herself with them and at the same time setting up her new phone and linking the tracking devices to them. The plan for handing over the sword was simple. There was going to be as many of them as possible going to the drop off point. The only sticking point was how thy were going to get the sword there. They couldn't bring it to the courtroom, nor could they just leave it lying around near the court for risk of it being stolen. Cal suggested that Simeon could be a courier until she found out that the apprentice had a day off and plans with his family. Dan refused to let any of the temporary workers from his forge deliver it in case they made the connection to what it really was. Deke was off-world and both Cal and Cliff were reluctant to drag another one of their friends into it.

 

[MzHyde]

As Cliff gave Jay the okay and everyone else decided after discussing it that they were all going to be there at the handing over the blade, Kay and Fia both knew it was by far the best decision. Neither of them were going to be anywhere else other than at the hand off of the sword, wanting to see it for themselves as Dakkon got his grubby hands on the fake. They listened as a few of them tried to come up with a plan for getting the sword even there, both knowing well enough how the courtroom was a no weapons allowed place, and rightly so. They thought Cal's plan for having Simeon be the courier was a good idea until Dan said he was going to be spending the day with his family and there was no way they could disrupt that, which they both also agreed with.

It was then that Kay had an idea, "what if I hang back and keep the sword with me? Then meet with you at the hand over point or outside the court's exit tunnel. If I'm not there during the day it won't come across as suspicious as both Zan and Dakkon have seen how far along I am with the pregnancy so it'd be easy to brush it off as I had to hang back for pregnancy reasons. I can remain in the area during the day but out of sight until its needed" she suggested, thinking it was truly the only logical option. Like Dan said, he didn't trust any of the temp staff he had in the forge, they couldn't leave it unattended for fear of it being stolen and no one else they trusted was around. So to her it had to be one of them that remained back with the sword whilst the others were in the trial and to be seen going about the trial like any other day. She had no idea how any of them would particularly like the idea, but she would like to think they'd think her trustworthy and capable of such a task. "it makes sense" Fia remarked on the plan idea, seeing where Kay was coming from especially after she had to skip this day of the trial to catch up on sleep, so it wasn't entirely hard to believe that a pregnant woman wouldn't make it to the trial every single day when it was quite the journey.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John's hopes had gone right up with all the talk on how good a replica the sword was, and how many trackers had been concealed in it. For once it looked like they had a clear run at executing this plan. They already had a handover time, so it wasn't as if they were waiting on that crucial detail. But when they started talking about how to actually get the sword there, his hopes sunk right down as each candidate was eliminated, He could understand why they had to be ruled out, but that most certainly didn't he had to like it. He really wanted to just back his head against the table and let out a loud, pissed of 'urgh for fucks sake! If we were on Earth this wouldn't be a fucking problem." (Though on Earth John would be using Chas as the person to wait/and or courier stuff around for him).

He certainly wasn't expecting Kay to volunteer herself for the role. After his initial reaction of surprise he thought on it, and it did make sense. People rarely suspected a pregnant woman of playing such a role, hells most wouldn't even be capable of playing such a role when the pregnancy was in it's final months. "True" he nodded slowly "bein' up the duff is basically a free card not to attend shit." He knew for a fact that when his sister was pregnant she'd used it as an excuse to get out of some awful work gatherings. Cliff was the most outwardly sceptical, followed by Jay who was visibly on the fence. "You can't wait alone though." Cliff said, having hoped that John would put his foot down- this was his partner and his unborn kid at stake if something went sideways. As he wasn't saying anything, she knew it was up to her to voice her concerns and as the qualified medical professional they'd have to listen to her.

"If it goes wrong and there's somebody watching us or tailing us... and they decided to nick the sword before the drop of.... we CANNOT take the risk of something happening to the both of you. I couldn't live with it, and I doubt any of ye lot could either. If these people are the kind Jay say they are and THAT desperate to get their hands on the blade, you being pregnant won't register. We can't just take chances on this kind of shit." "Cliff has more than a point, the people Dakkon works with are nasty." Jay agreed. "Whether he has other people on this I cannot say. It did strike me as a sort of solo power grab, but with Dakkon you never can be sure. Somebody else should be there I agree, if it goes tits up, it's always good for there to be somebody that has your back, and with all the warding around Attil, we have know way of knowing if it would have an affect on Kay's powers or not." There was a silence as the words sunk in, then Chas spoke. "I could do it" he offered, giving his reasoning before anybody else could get in a word. "Everybody else in this group has either a direct blood tie, a direct tie by adoption or marriage to Elliott and Cal, and therefore should be present at the trial. It wouldn't look that fishy if I wasn't there, but it would if any of the rest of you weren't."

 

[MzHyde]

It was partly John's clear look of hopes shattering that made Kay volunteer. Sure, it was hella risky for her to do it considering the type of people Dakkon knew and worked with and was himself, but she really didn't see any other option than it to be her. She knew if she didn't then Fia would probably volunteer and there absolutely no way she would let Fia volunteer even if the kid did know her way around most weapons, if future Fia got into trouble she had the risk of something going wrong with the unborn version of her as well. Even if it was the same the other way round, she would rather risk it herself than have a teenager risk it. She watched John look surprised before clearly thinking on what she was saying and eventually agreeing it was a plan that made sense. She herself was surprised that John wasn't trying to talk her out of it, but not surprised that Cliff was expressing her concerns for the plan. She had a feeling if anyone would disagree on any level of this plan, it would be Cliff. She listened to Cliff's reasons for not liking her going alone with it and whilst she appreciated and acknowledged her very valid reasons, she also felt she was being rather underestimated as she spent a good chunk of her life hiding in shadows and nooks avoiding demons.

Though she didn't mind or disagree with the notion of having someone else with her. She like the others did let Jay's words sink in before glancing up at Chas who offered to be with her the entire time. She thought Chas' reasons were as valid as her own at the initial plan. People would find it strange and fishy if any of the rest of them weren't there all of sudden. She certainly wouldn't ever expected John to not attend the trial to have her back, just as much as she wouldn't expect any of the others. The only other one who wouldn't look fishy would be Fia but she would prefer Fia to be in the safety of the others in the courtroom than outside with her. "Chas is right, I couldn't expect any of you to not attend because it would far too suspicious and I'd rather Fia be with the rest of you in the courtroom" she agreed with Chas. "mum I am more than capable than having your back" Fia countered, hating that she was being shielded. "I know but if something happens to you in this time it could fuck up everything in the future" Kay said back to her, not in a stern voice but one that showed she really was trying to think of the bigger picture.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Part of John did want to talk Kay out of it, say she should stay somewhere safe, but he knew it would be a pointless task. Her mind was settled, and it really wasn't like there was any other options. Cal and Cliff's were the only ones who knew people on the planet, but their friends were all working. Dan's brothers and Cliff siblings would have been ideal, but all lived off-world and it would be far too short notice to call them in, not to mention completely unfair as they'd be ripping them away from their lives with no warning and next to no context. He could see that Fia wasn't happy with the idea, and when both Cliff and Jay put their feet down in their own way he did feel somewhat relieved that he didn't have to be the one to say something. Saying something would mean he was worried, which would also mean he'd have to do something like address to confusing mess of feelings he had towards Kay- something he was very much ignored and/or procrastinating about.

The idea of Chas going along was one he was very much in favour of. The man was more than capable of doing protection duty, while at the same time not being overprotective and stifling. And being the only one in the group without powers, if Jay's half-baked theory about the warding was right, then his fighting skills would be damn useful. However good Kay may have been when homeless and living on the streets, she hadn't been hampered with the weight of second life and the physique of a pregnant woman. "The thing 'bout the wardin' havin' an effect? There's truth in that, or at least there's truth in it when it comes ta me. Last time I tried anything magic here here it made the demon's blood start fizzin' like bloody coke." He added truthfully. He had attempted magic on Attil, wanting to test the strength of the wards and his demon's blood had reacted badly to it. It had been fizzing at first, but as he'd attempted to push through the pain it only increased until it felt like he was being boiled alive. Elliott hadn't experienced that as a child as they'd found a null zone and Elliott's powers weren't linked to blood like John's was. (Technically John could do magic without the demon's blood, he hadn't been born with demon's blood after all, but it was a useful conduit). "An' not in a fun way either" he added.

"This isn't some thing about us thinking you aren't capable, you're more than." Cal told Fia, leaning forwards slightly. She could tell the teenager thought Kay wanted to keep her out of danger (which Kay clearly did), but Cal could see another angle to it, one she knew the Earth group probably didn't and one she hoped would make sense logically to Fia. "This is strategy- it's the hair, it's so distinctive and sticks out massively from the host of Devra blacks browns. The two of you missing would be way too suspicious. Everybody would notice that you were both gone. You saw the covert looks today when Kay didn't show up. Now imagine the looks if both of you weren't there. Chas might not be Devra, but his hair colour and style is classic Devra, from a distance the other courtroom observers would easily mistake him for one and given that he was sitting by Dan, they probably have him pegged as something to do with the forge, not somebody with such a direct connection to the Elliott group."

 

[MzHyde]

John was most certainly correct in thinking that Kay had made up her mind and it'd be incredibly difficult to make her change it. The fact he didn't speak up and talk her out of it told her that he could see where she was coming from logically which she appreciated that people could see where she was coming from and not just being anti her helping in some way because of her current state. Having Chas with her was a valid medium in Kay's eyes, she trusted Chas wholeheartedly in every which way and she knew John would trust him with her. As John mentioned about the testing the warding of anti magic, she wondered when he exactly decided to test their power, guessing it would have been on one of his many night walks when he had the insomnia phase. The idea alone of his blood (demon or human) fizzing like a shaken can of coke was not something she wanted envision, but here she was now imagining it and it did not bring any nice mental images, even without John adding the bit he did.

Fia looked at Cal when she added her own reasons to back up what Kay said about not having her around her. The moment Cal started it with 'we know you're more than capable' Fia just knew the woman she called sister a little while ago was going to come out with such a solid counter that she really wouldn't be able to find any fault in it, making her having to back down and agree. Which was exactly what had happened, Cal was right, there were looks of acknowledgement of Kay's no show because of their hair. It was just a moment of where she mentally cursed herself for having such hair and unable to use the appearance rune to change it. If this was Earth she would just change her hair colour easily using the rune and spell, but on Attil it was impossible to do. So she did the only thing she could...slump back into the couch and sigh as she nodded. "point taken" she replied simply. "I'll be fine with Chas kiddo" Kay reassured her kid, wondering if some of Fia's initial dislike of not being with her was because she almost lost her once in her time.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Elliott gave sideways John a look of surprise and 'when the fuck did you do that?' when his adoptive father mentioned about experimenting with magic on Attil. This was the first he'd heard of it. He made a grimacing face when John compared the way his demon's blood felt to a shaken can of coke, that couldn't possibly be pleasant and the mental images it conjured up weren't helping matters. "Eesh, didn't think that could be fun in any context." Elliott could guess that John would have continued further, knowing full well of John's ability to let a challenge go and love of pushing boundaries to the point of breaking. No doubt John had ended up with a serious headache afterwards Elliott thought to himself. "Drugs" was John's answer, to which Elliott nodded with an 'ah of course' expression. this was John after all. He'd tripped on all kinds of shit in his time. Not so much these days (and only for magic purposes, not recreational like he used to).

Elliott knew that look on Cal's face as did Cliff, the woman had serious point in mind, one that wouldn't be easy to argue. The nods of agreement that there had been more for Kay's benefit than Fia's, confirming for the two women that had been missing that there had indeed been looks looks questioning Kay's absence. Jay was in no doubt that if her hair had been it's natural blue there would also have been such looks about her absence. she still couldn't help but sigh in her native tongue, wishing that her brother, or Quin or even quin's dad was still in her life. She would have trusted them completely to protect the sword. Not that she didn't trust Chas or Kay, but she knew their priorities would be getting each other out alive. "So it's decided then? Kay and Chas will be the ones to bring the sword." There were nods from all sides. "Well I guess that's that, we should probably sleep, for once it's not actually ludicrously late and we can get enough for once- those of us who need the full hours that is." "And calling Zan?" "I'll leave that to you and Qui." Cliff replied. "We could meet with him on the roof or in the carpark or something, no need to bring him into the flat, especially since there's people sleeping on the couch. Just so long as nobody sees us meeting. It's best for all if the world still thinks we don't speak to him and vice-versa." Cal nodded her agreement, her brother's proposal made sense. "Then we do that."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay was glad that Cal managed to get through to Fia, and better than the rest of them would have done. The fact that Elliott brought up the whole John testing the warding limits told Kay she didn't need to, which was why she didn't bring it up herself. Convincing her kid not to do something stupid like trying to come along with her tomorrow was her priority. With a glance toward Jay she just got the feeling she would have rather had anyone but herself and Chas to look after the sword, but she knew Jay had no choice but to trust that her and Chas would keep the sword safe. She may be pregnant but she fully intended to not let the sword end up in the hands of the wrong people and would keep it firmly in her grip at all times, wanting to take this responsibility seriously over everything else, to prove that she was more than capable of doing this. She also found it was her way of properly helping Elliott and doing her bit.

With the plan decided, Kay and Fia nodded at Cliff's words as did everyone else whilst Elliott and Cal decided on what to do about meeting or talking with Zan about the plan. "then I guess, we should really call it a night" Kay said in agreement, pushing herself up and off the couch to stand up. Fia also stood up, picking up her violin and repair kit that was still on the coffee table, "see you all in the morning then" she commented, giving a flick of her hand to wave goodnight and headed to bed. In the room, she put her violin away in the case and walked over to the bed where she perched on the edge to kick off her shoes and get changed before getting under the covers. She still didn't like the plan but she knew there was nothing she could do about it. She just hoped her mother truly knew what she was doing. She couldn't go through possibly losing her all over again. Kay had let Fia go off first and hoped she would be okay, before saying her own goodnights and going to the bedroom she and John shared, where she did like Fia and changed to a certain xtent and getting into bed. She didn't fall asleep straight away, instead laying awake for a while. The hair comments earlier running through her mind, knowing it might be worth to hide her hair under a hood tomorrow.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John didn't head to the bedroom straight away. Although he was actually feeling tired he was also greatly in need of a smoke and knew from experience that if he tried to sleep all he'd succeed in was lying there tossing and turning while thinking about smoking. When he was alone in the bed that kind of behaviour was fine, but when sharing with a pregnant woman who seemed to need sleep more than he did even when she wasn't knocked up? Not even close to being acceptable. So he made his way up to the roof- sat right on the edge, sitting in the same place Elliott used to when he was a kid- and lit up. It would be well over half an hour before he came back down and by the time he was back in the room and flopped down on the bed, Kay was already asleep.

Cliff and Chas, like Kay and Fia chose to head straight to sleep, while Cal, Elliott and Jay stayed up to plan. Technically jay wasn't needed for this, but she wanted to be there anyway, lurking in the background, both as moral support for Elliott and to put her skills to good use if for whatever reason something went sideways. The main two points for discussion were whether the roof or the car park would be the better place and at what time they would be at their most deserted. In the end the garage was chosen as it meant that would spend less time in the building, and it wasn't uncommon for one particular resident to spend most of their night on the roof- they were a chronic insomniac. Elliott texted Zan the agreed meeting time and location before the three headed to get some sleep.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay wasn't surprised that John wouldn't come straight to bed, having already assumed that he'd take time out to just relax in his own way to let what they learned and discussed as a group settle in his mind so he could actually sleep when he did come to bed. She was also sadly used to him going to bed after her, rather than expecting him to follow suit at the same time as her. For a good fifteen minutes or so whilst John was on the roof smoking, Kay was laying there thinking about everything from the day. From the good things of getting a chance to bond woman to woman with Jay, to meeting the others to the more stressful things of talking with Zan and finding out what Dakkon wanted to Jay retrieving rhe sword and her own side thing of her photos triggering an immense amount of homesickness and feelings of loneliness even though she was far from lonely. Not only that she was thinking of badly Fia was taking the idea of her being the 'babysitter of the sword replica' without Fia even though she admitted it was an idea that made sense. By the time John came in Kay had managed to fall asleep around five minutes before.

Fia was up for most of the night thinking about everything and fearing that if this goes wrong in any stage, she could lose her mother and her brother and that was just too much for her to mentally accept. It would have been the early hours of the morning before she actually fell asleep. Needless to say her sleep with plagued with a nightmare of losing her loved one's and becoming the other version of herself, a nightmare that only stopped when she woke up in the morning from her alarm going off. Waking up to turn off her alarm she was glad to be awake once more, taking a minute to compose herself before even risking bumping into anyone on her way to the bathroom to get washed and look less sweat induced. Eventually she did leave the room and got ready before she reunited with everyone else in the main room. Seeing that Kay was already up and dressed in a hoodie/leggings combo and her hair was tied up purposely messy, guessing that her mother had the plan to hide her hair as much as possible when out and about with the sword. "morning" she greeted everyone.

Spoiler: Kay's outfit and hair

Kay's hair and makeup only in this pic

Kay's hoodie and top

 

[_gallifrog_]

While John did sleep it could hardly be classified as restful. His dreams were haunted by the sword, both the replica and the real thing, both weapons dripping with fresh blood, surrounded by the slaughtered bodies of everybody significant in his life (not just the earth group but old friends, allies and people he'd shagged on an on-and-off basis). At first it had looked like the swords had gained sentience and killed them all, but when John looked down at the hands of his dream self, he saw they were covered in blood and it became clear that it had been him who'd slaughtered them all. And he wasn't the only one with such dreams. Elliott was having similar disturbed thoughts. He didn't even get to sleep, every time he tried tried to sleep and closed his eyes all Elliott saw over and over and over again was the sword swinging towards his face. That had been a common nightmare when he was younger. At first, as always, it had been Zan wielding the sword, but gradually it changed until it was Elliott who was swinging the sword towards the face of teenage Zan- and not the shaggy haired surfer version, the buzz-cut version who hated being in the military. It was then that he had enough and gave up on sleeping. Elliott cast an eye over at Jay, who was somehow managing to sleep and before he could chicken out gave her a brief kiss on the forehead.

In the morning Fia was the last to wake up and go to the kitchen, even Dan was already there. All were crowded around the fake blade, comparing it to the photos of the real thing that were up on the screen of Jay's homemade computer system. As soon as the blacksmith had got back to his forge he'd taken out the real blade and scrutinised every inch of it, photographing it as clearly as possible. It was a brilliant forgery, the positioning of the engravings was spot on. Since Fia had seen it last they'd managed to add on blood and make it look crusty and dried in. Lying next to it on the table was a scabbard, it's leather dyed the same colour as the metal of the blade, with the metal fastening for attaching it to a sword belt in a contrasting pale grey-white colour. Elliott looked up at the sight of Fia. "Morning. Two important bits you need to know. This is the real scabbard for the sword, Zan's idea to help sell the illusion, and he's coming to the drop off too. Non-negotiable, but again it'll add authenticity. Dakkon knows full well he doesn't want to give up the blade, so if he wasn't there, the lizard might twig something is up."