Fandom Into the fire (1x1 MzHyde/Gallifrog)

[MzHyde]

Kay knew that her smirk at the comment about people watching wouldn't go misunderstood on any of the group. She knew them all well enough to know they all had some kind of inclination to people watch for whatever reason and whatever extent. She also figured that out of all of them, Cal would have no doubt used people watching habits to stay under the radar whilst homeless, just like she herself did. It wasn't all fun and games, imagining lives people had, or trying to eavesdrop on petty dramas that someone thought was the biggest catastrophy in the world like she would have probably liked it to be, people watching for Kay also meant keeping watch on beings or people that were after her, even before she knew of the Downworld and what it was actually after her. Now she knew, she was even more glad she wasn't homless and having to deal with demons all alone, finding that the knowledge of what was hunting her was even more terrifying than not knowing in some ways. Yet like Elliott, she also enjoyed people watching for artistic purposes once upon a time, when she was younger.

The way John leaned forward after her comment about Americans, she just knew he was about to go into one of his quips about them, which made her brace herself mentally for him saying something incredible offensive and crass. She did of course, consider herself part American, she held an AMerican passport and citizenship after all, but she knew deep down she would always deep down British through and through when it came to her human identity, but she was proud of her American citizenship, Seattle and it's residents did do a lot of her even if it also brought a lot more trauma for her. Ontop of that, ther family that raised her were American, so she was fiercely protective over that. Yet before he could get a word out to make her either somewhat agree partially or make a counter argument, Jay started fitting after she fell off the arm of the bench. She couldn't believe what she was seeing, how Jay's body seemed to go almost transparent. Fia who had remain quiet on the majority of the conversation, deciding to not get involved, and knew it could get heated when the topic of Americans got brought up, stopped what she was reading and gasped when Jay seemed to go from perfectly fine, to convulsing. "Bloody hell! What the hell is going on?" Fia asked, worried for the woman. Even in her timeline, she didn't recall ever seeing anything like this happening to Jay before, so it was even unnerving to her to see.

 

[_gallifrog_]

From his angle John only heard the thump of a body falling to the ground, followed immediately by the shocked, strangled gasp of Elliott. As the others jumped to their feet to see what the commotion was, he did too. At the sight of Jay convulsing violently on the ground he couldn't help but jump back in shock. "CHRIST!" he yelled, followed by "Ell, what the bleedin' fuck is goin' on?" in a tone that was only marginally less surprised, and far more accusatory than he meant it to be. "What!? How am I supposed to know?" was the panicked reply, he'd never anybody convulse while their body faded in and out of existence. The fact it was Jay, his Jay, was not helping him think any clearer on the matter. "You've known her the longest!" "That doesn't make me the expert! I've never seen anything like this before!" Elliott gestured at the figure of Jay on the ground in front of him.

All eyes once again turned to the assassin. Her eyes, which had become unfocused and glassy when the fitting began were now entirely black, blood was coming from one of her nostrils and the sigils under the skin of her left arm were burning bright. She'd made no other sounds aside from the initial hiss of pain, biting down into her bottom lip instead. Elliott reached out a hand to touch her. "Don....!" Cliff yelled out in warning, but she was too late. The first syllable had barely left her mouth and already Elliott's hand had made contact with Jay's semi-see-through body.

The effect was instantaneous. Strands of pink, crackling dimensional energy flowed to the surface of Jay's body and exploded outwards, tossing Elliott a good fifteen feet backwards, blowing the blond wig clean from his head in the process. The others were also pushed backwards by the force of the blastwave, Cliff and Cal throwing themselves to the ground like they'd been trained to. When eyes opened again Elliott could be seen lying on the ground, dazed, his hair standing on end like he'd stuck his finger in an electrical socket. Jay on the other hand was lying on the ground, motionless, black eyes open and unseeing.

 

[MzHyde]

Seeing Elliott so panicked told Kay and Fia that not even he had witnessed such a moment with Jay before, let alone with anyone else. It was why neither even thought to ask Elliott specifically what was going on, and instead Fia's exclamation was more out of shock what happened and her brainw as trying to compute that yes, Jay was indeed convulsing on the floor when only moments ago she seemed absolutely fine and chirpy. It was such a whirlwind change of events it mentally completely throw her off guard, just like it did when Kay fainted in the hospital and she was worried sick about what was going on with her mother and seeing her father clearly concerned about her. It was beginning to feel like no one was safe from some kind of health scare of one form or another. John's asking Elliott in the way he did made Fia internally cringe as she knew it was coming out so differently than her father intended, but also because she just could tell Elliott was as baffled as the rest of them.

Neither of them could say anything, but when Elliott reached out a hand to touch Jay after watching Jay's eyes go glassy and solid black, sigils appearing on her arm, they just had this emboding feeling that it wasn't going to be a good idea to touch her in the slightest and it seemed that Cliff was thinking the same thing, only for it to be too late and Elliott went flying backwards whilst Kay braced herself on the bench, clutching the arm rest she was nearest to with one hand and her other arm instictively shielding her baby bump. Fia braced herself as much as possible, but was still one of the group that found herself skidding backwards before tumbling onto her butt from the blast that Elliott had invertedly caused. She and Kay both refocused themselves quickly, Fia looking behind her at Elliott clearly looking dazed and frazzled literally and metaphorically speaking, causing her to stand up walk over to him and hold out her hand to him as an offer to help him up. "You okay bro?" she asked him.

Kay looked toward Jay however, seeing how motionless she was and the black eyes open and looking like she wasn't focused on anything in particular was unnerving to her. The last time she saw eyes that black was the night demons managed to corner her in that alleyway in London and john had to save her ass, albeit it wasn't his initial plan in finding her there at the time. Black eyes always made her uneasy because of those demons back on Earth and it didn't change even though it was Jay that was sporting them right now. Trying to put her own unease at bay for fear of expressing it through her bond with John, she looked at Cliff and Cal but as she spoke, she aimed it more at Cliff. "You got any clue what is happening to Jay? Is she gonna cause another blastwave if she's touched again?" she asked.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John tried to grab Elliott's arm, stop him from touching Jay- if he'd learned anything during his life dealing with Downworlders, Celestials and whatever other mystical and non-human races he happened to cross paths with, it was 'if somebody's body starts doing weird shit and they're clearly not in control get the fuck away and definitely don't touch them'-, but he reacted too late. The force of the explosion sent him reeling backwards into the bench, but he wasn't worried about his own state, Elliott was the priority. For the brief moment when he couldn't see his adoptive son he thought Elliott had been somehow vaporised by the power of the blast. But Fia's question and Elliott's reassured him, his son was still alive. "I'm okay" Elliott declared, running a hand through his frazzled hair in an attempt to smooth it down. "I'm in one piece" he added as he accepted Fia's hand up, moving to stand near John.

After giving Elliott a cursory glance over to confirm that yes, he was indeed in one piece and still breathing Cliff shook her head at Kay's question, then shrugged her shoulders firmly, emphasising that she really didn't know what was going on. "I've never seen anything like this in my medical career or heard about it in training." There was disbelief in the doctor's voice as she got back up off the ground. "So whatever that was, best guess..... I'm not sure really.... something related to her race's heritage?" The uncertainty in Cliff's tone was audible, she was clearly grasping at straws for a theory, not that it stopped Elliott from asking "and worst case?". Cliff didn't reply, instead she cautiously approached Jay's motionless body. The solid black eyes were a disconcerting sight, Kay wasn't the only one thinking of monsters, the eyes reminded Cliff of a story on her planet about black-eyed demons of the sea who lured people off cliffs to their deaths. But she shook that train of though away, now was the time for professionality, not superstition.

Carefully she reached her foot out and prodded Jay's unmoving body with it. Nothing happened, no explosions, no massive pressure wave, but Elliott had touched Jay skin-to-skin. She took a deep breath to steel herself and mentally prepare for being blown backwards, "this could go horribly wrong, but we need to know if she can be touched, so brace yourselves." She warned the others, then reached out a single finger and moved it onto the pulse point of the assassin's arm. John and Elliott watched in silence. Even through the trenchcoat John could feel the pressure of Elliott's fingernails digging into his shoulder and didn't need to look at his adoptive son's face to see that he was tense with worry and fear.

There was no explosion this time and Cliff wasted no time in checking both wrists for a pulse. The assassin's left arm was warn to the touch with the area over the sigils themselves being the hottest. Cliff registered that discrepancy before moving her hand to the assassin's neck. What she found there made her swear- not a good sign and all those around her knew it. "What!? What is it?" came Elliott's panicked voice. "I'm not getting a pulse..."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia visibly sighed with relief when Elliott said he was okay and in one piece as he tamed his hair before proceeding to the grab her hand and let her help him up onto his feet. Once on his feet and seeing him move toward John, she then went to Kay and without words asked her mother if she was okay. Kay gave an queally silent nod to say 'yes I'm fine', her worry not on herself in this very moment but on the whole situation and on Elliott. She knew Elliott must be going absolutely crazy in his mind at seeing Jay in such a precarious state. She also was more focused on wondering if Cliff really did have any idea of what was going on, but when Cliff shook her head and said that she didn't know for certain if Jay was okay or not or what the hell happened, it didn't bring much hope for an answer to Kay or to Fia. Both of them listened to Cliff's best guess, not liking that she really was seeming to clasp at any straw she could think of and not actually have a single clue, yet neither could say they knew Jay any better to be able to tell if it was a good guess or not. Fia was about to ask a similar question to Elliott, but Elliott beat her to it and she could hear the sheer panic in his tone, even though it was clear from the way he was clinging onto their father, he was trying desperately to not let it show too much.

Kay and Fia continued to look toward Jay's body, yet both were only looking because of how Cliff was evidently checking if they would get blasted again if she touched Jay by nudging her foot, luckily finding so far that that wasn't going to be the case which made both women internally sigh with relief as neither wanted to feel that kind of force being blasted at them again. Yet having Cliff tell them all to brace themselves as she was going to touch Jay's skin like Elliott had done moments ago, neither of them wasted any time in doing exactly that, though this time Fia was concerned about bracing in a way that would Kay from any possible blasts than bracing to protect herself. They, like the others, watched silently until Cliff managed to touch Jay on one wrist without being blasted backwards where they then exhaled deeply in relief for no more blasts again. As Cliff checked Jay's pulse points they hoped that Jay would be okay, but hearing Cliff swear didn't bring much more hope to them in the slightest. Then came the news neither wanted to hear, Jay not having a pulse. Kay and Fia both went wide eyed, their mouths opened and closed a few times trying to find the words to say but nothing was coming to them for a few moments. "There has to be something you can do" Fia finally said.

She didn't want her brother to lose Jay, she was so important to him now and even more so in her timeline as she saw it. She had always known the two of them being unbreakable and never apart so to speak, the idea of Jay not being around just wasn't imaginable in the slightest. She herself cared about Jay like she was blood family, even if she rarely let it show to this Jay for not wanting to give absolutely everything away. But most of all she respected Jay for the incredibly strong woman she was and for how happy she made her brother. "we can't lose her" she said again.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Elliott was barely breathing as he watched Cliff slowly move towards Jay's unmoving form. He wanted to yell at the doctor to do something, anything and to do it quickly. The rational part of his brain, the part that understood after what happened to him it was right for Cliff to be cautious was entirely drowned out by his panicking emotional side. He'd was completely overcome with worry, and with paralysing fear. He may not yet have defined exactly what Jay was to him, but he knew enough to say he'd fallen hard for the prickly, secretive assassin who'd made it her business to push everybody's buttons until they were at each other's throats. She was feisty, strong, dangerous in a way that made him fear for his life and attracted him (sometimes in equal measure) and terrifyingly competent at whatever she set her mind to, a fierce fighter, not with a stereotypical soft centre or hard heart, but something in between. She was enthralling and angry and at times downright infuriating, but at others the person you want to have your back and he knew, looking at her limp form that he couldn't lose her.

When Cliff swore, his heart sank to his shoes, knowing it was a bad omen. Tightening the hand on John's shoulder he closed his eyes, muttering softly under his breath in Attili, praying, begging to whatever cosmic force was listening "don't say it, don't say it. Tell me she's still alive." But his prayer wasn't answered and when Cliff said she couldn't feel a pulse he let out a strangled sobbing noise and had it not been for John quickly wrapping an arm around his adoptive son, he would have fallen to the ground as his legs gave way. Elliott wasn't the only one reacting badly. Regardless of what they'd thought of Jay at the start (cold, distant, harsh, abrasive, bitchy), she'd grown on them all in some way and having Elliott as a romantic partner had rounded off some of the assassin's rough corners when it came to how she acted with the others. Chas was shaking his head in disbelief, unable to get any words out, not that he'd given much thought to the matter, but he'd have pegged Jay as somebody who'd go out in a blaze of glory, not die after falling off a bench. Cal was similarly stunned, wanting to console her brother, but a look shot between her and John told her the mage had it covered.

"I can damn well try." Cliff replied, injecting more determination into her voice than she felt. Mindset was everything, if she believed she could bring Jay back, then she would. The pained look on Elliott's face and the way he was leaning unsteadily against John convinced her further that she had to try. She reached out her hands, knitting the fingers of one hand through the other, intending to start chest compressions, when the sight of Jay's arm made her stop. The tattoos under the assassin's left arm were glowing again, no, pulsing. "What the....? she muttered, taking a slight step back, watching as the glow began to spread outwards, flowing through all the subdermal ink pathways across Jay's body, filling them with a silvery light. John's thoughts were along a similar line "what the bleedin' Hells?" he muttered, squeezing Elliott's shoulder gently "Ell, somethin's happenin', I don't think she's gone jus' yet." It was his words and the tone they were delivered in, more than the gesture prompting Elliott to look up and gasp at the sight. Another spasm rippled through Jay's body, her head snapping back, then forwards. Her chest rose, black eyes became silver, mouth parted and let out a hacking gasp, like somebody who'd held their breath too long underwater, or somebody who'd just come back from the dead.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia could hear Elliott muttering under his breath in Attili, begging anything to let Jay live. Her heart was breaking hearing and seeing her big brother be in such a state and she honestly was getting flashbacks of when her mother first went missing in her timeline before they changed it and she couldn't take seeing another member of her family whom she loved dearly, witness the loss of someone they cared deeply about. Hearing Cliff say there was no pulse was not something she or Kay wanted to hear in the slightest. Their group deserved a damn break of heartache in their eyes and they both knew Elliott wouldn't cope if he lost Jay, even if he and her hadn't said anything about their blossoming romance with each other.

Having Cliff however say she was damn well going to try and bring Jay back to them and not give up just yet, Kay and Jay nodded and waited on baited breath as Cliff took every step she needed to do carefully and slowly. It was agonising to watch and wait and seeing the tattoos on Jay's arms begin to pulsate and glow again made them both gasp, lifting their hands up to their mouths in the process as they wondered also what was about to happen and why it was happening. Neither of them could even get their words out to alert Elliott of what was happening, so hearing John manage it was of a relief which turned into utter shock once again as Jay seemed to just burst back into life in front of them all. Jay's body movements and gasping as oxygen came back into her lungs honestly reminded Fia of when people who had drowned suddenly get air back into their lungs and they come back from being unconscious. A sigh of relief escaped both her and Kay and Kay couldn't stop the thought of 'thank fuck' coming into her head, which she thought was probably the least shocking way of putting how she actually thought in this situation.

"Jay? A-Are you alright?" Fia asked cautiously, concern still very much evident in her voice.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Looking up and seeing the glow spreading through Jay's body, Elliott let out a stunned (but still on the verge of sobbing) gasp. He had no idea what was happening to Jay's body, but he knew one thing deep in his heart- if Jay was dead, her body wouldn't be doing that. She wasn't like Kay, Fia or even Scott when it came to her body's healing powers, going right to the brink of death wasn't going to somehow activate her faulty powers. So whatever was happening right now, it was because there was still some life and fight left in the assassin. When her body convulsed, Elliott stopped leaning against John and straightened up, his fingers once again tightening on John's shoulders, unsure of what exactly was going to happen next. The raspy sound of Jay gasping for air should have sounded horrifying, but in that moment Elliott couldn't imagine a better sound- if Jay was breathing, then she was living and he wouldn't have to imagine life without her.

As Jay gasped her entire torso bent upwards bringing her from a lying to sitting position on the ground. At the sight Elliott let out a series of relieved exclamations, so relieved he wasn't even aware he was switching between Attili and English every couple of words. Jay's response was to swear loudly in her own language and run her hands up through her hair pushing it back from her face. One glance towards the others (ore more precisely one glance at Elliott) told him that her partner was only a few seconds from running over and hugging her. She swore, loudly and in her native tongue, before holding up a hand in a stop motion and narrowing her eyes to make the message clear- stay back this isn't quite over yet. She wiped her other hand across her face, smearing away the majority of the blood away before turning her head away from the group and violently vomiting. Dimensional energy crackled across her body and was expelled from it with each heave.

Elliott wanted nothing more than to be right by Jay's side during the whole thing, but he reigned himself in as much as he could, trusting the assassin's judgement. He felt like he'd been watching for hours, the whole time feeling powerless to anything- he doubted magic would be able to heal Jay, and with Attil's wards he wouldn't be able to, but it still didn't stop him wishing there was something, anything, he could do instead of standing around feeling useless and powerless. It felt to Elliott like hours passed, but it was only a few minutes later when Jay turned her head back towards the group with a nod, indicating it was okay to get close again. "I'm alive" was all she managed to get out before Elliott wrapped her into a hug.

 

[MzHyde]

It wasn't of any shock or surprise that Elliott would be expelling a jumbled mess of words as he saw Jay sit bolt upright and actually breathing. Even Fia was thinking many expletives of relief that Jay was awake and breathing again. She respected this Jay far too much to not not care about her life, if it was Rinaa's Jay then she knew she would be thinking differently and as harsh as it may have been, she probably would have walked away with the words 'good riddance' escaping her lips, but this Jay wasn't that Jay. She was brash sure, but she knew she cared very deep down and she had never once made her feel like she didn't belong in the group. But most importantly she made Elliott happy, and that's all she wanted for her brother. She grimaced slightly when she saw Jay started vomiting, never particularly liking seeing people being sick. Despite the grimacing from the violent vomiting she was doing, she couldn't help but find the crackling dimensional energy curious at the same time. She could tell that Elliott was doing all he could to not run over to Jay and try and find some way of helping her, even though Jay held up her finger to tell them all to keep back. She couldn't say she blamed him either, as she knew if it was someone she loved romantically she'd be finding it incredibly difficult to not run to their side.

Kay was of the same mindset as Fia, if that was John in Jay's place she would be struggling to keep some kind of distance from and she hoped that if it was her there would be someone who wouldn't want to willingly leave her even if she requested it. But now wasn't the time for those thoughts, now she was focused on wanting to hear that Jay was okay. So when Jay managed to stop vomiting and reply to Fia's question of whether she was okay or not, she sighed with relief at even hearing simple words like 'I'm alive'. Seeing Elliott then rush to Jay and envelope her in a worried but protective hug made her smile ever so slightly, glad that he could do such a thing and knew they both would need it, even if one or both would deny it. "and we're all glad you are. What happened?" Kay replied to Jay, wondering if Jay knew what it was that occurred or not. Fia nodded quickly and firmly at Kay's first words, "you scared the living shit outta all of us, to see you back with us? Well...to say we're all relieved is an understatement" Fia added.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Jay let herself slump into Elliott's hug. She wasn't a huggy person by nature, even before her back had been ripped to shreds she'd never been much of a hugger (unless it was her brother, Jack was the exception, was always the exception when it came to whatever rule Jay made), but right now, she needed the comfort of the embrace, just as much as Elliott needed to feel for himself that she was alive and breathing. The others watched on, letting the two have their moment, John shoving his hands deep into the pockets of his trenchcoat. He had no idea what the bloody Hells had just happened, but in a way, he didn't really care. The important thing was that Jay was alive, John never wanted to see Elliott grieving somebody he loved, he had eyes, he could see that if Elliott was to lose Jay, he'd go down a dark, depressive spiral and potentially never come out the other side. John had been down that path before, he wouldn't wish it on anybody.

After a few moments Jay gave a tap on Elliott's shoulder, indicating that he should move back a bit so she could get up. Elliott complied, albeit reluctantly. The worry was clear on his face as Jay hoisted herself to her feet, then sat down on the bench. She took a few moments to answer the questions, Fia and Kay weren't the only ones asking, everybody was asking the same question- what had just happened?- but in a different way. As she gathered her thoughts Jay unconsciously started rubbing her left forearm, her thumb running over the sigils which were still visible against her tanned skin. When she did speak it was preceded by a deep breath.

"That" she declared "is what happens when somebody fucks with the timeline of a timeline sensitive. Usually it's not that bad.... just nausea, maybe a dizzy flash. The spectacle you just saw...." she gave a shrug of her shoulders "that's a rarity. Something in the past, more specifically MY past has been altered and the ripples of change it caused, well they damn near erased me from existence. I could feel myself being rewritten...... it's NOT a pleasant experience" "Was it.... deliberate?" Elliott asked, from his position hovering beside her, the expression on his face the very textbook definition of worried boyfriend. If this was some kind of assassination attempt on Jay, they'd have no idea where to even begin to look to find the perpetrator. The idea that somebody could, at any time, kill Jay just by messing with her past and there was nothing he could do about it? It brought all the feelings of fear and powerlessness from earlier rushing back. Jay gave a shrug. "I couldn't say for certain, if it wasn't intentional then it was really shit luck it affected me so badly. If, on the other hand, it WAS intentional, then whoever, whatever it was... failed."

 

[MzHyde]

It was clear that Elliott didn't want to let Jay go, but the fact he obliged by the universal signal from Jay said so much about how much he cared about her. Kay made sure Jay had enough room on the bench when she came to sit down, by shuffling slightly to the side for her. Even though she, Fia and others seemed to bombard her with questions, they weren't surprised that Jay took a few moments for herself before deciding to answer their questions. Neither Kay or Fia wanted to rush the woman, knowing it had to be a lot to refocus her mind now she was back with them all and not almost dead on the ground. Yet when she did start talking, they listened fully and carefully, Fia perching on the arm rest beside Kay as she did listened. Hearing that what happened was the cause of someone rewriting her timeline shocked them both, not to mention it started bringing a thousand and aone questions to Fia's mind about what she saw and witnessed in Rinaa's timeline, making her wonder if it was that Jay being the cause in some way or not.

Seeing the kind of person that version of Jay turned into, she wouldn't have put it passed her to do anything that drastic for whatever gain, or anyone else in that group for that matter, but she also knew the questions that she had in her mind were ones she couldn't ask out loud which meant she'd have to keep them all to herself. Instead she focused on letting Elliott asking if but was deliberate act or not, whilst noting his facial expression. She hoped that it was accidental and no one was out to try and kill Jay. There was only one theory she could possibly think of and that was to have Jay die instead of Elliott to try and mess the timeline and make Elliott live, but she really didn't want to believe that was even an idea for anyone in any timeline to do. She knew they'd do just about anything to save Elliott, but the idea of their group sacrificing one of themselves just was too unbearable to think about. So she did the only thing she could, mentally shake it out of her mind.

"Well, I'm glad that no matter which way the reasoning was, it failed either way. I think everyone can agree when I say, I'm not prepared us to lose any one of us over this" Kay commented. Fia nodded firmly, "I definitely agree, I don't want to lose any of us" she commented.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Jay's answer wasn't in the tiniest bit reassuring to anybody in the group, least of all Elliott. He'd asked, hoping that Jay would give him one of those withering 'sometimes you're incredibly stupid Elliott' looks and say something along the lines of 'that kind of assassination isn't a thing, obviously it was just some kind of shitty luck coincidence that it caused such massive ripples through my timeline, nearly killing me'. Now that he knew what had happened, it cast a whole new light on what he'd seen those few minutes ago- Jay had literally been flickering in and out of existence. When he'd tried to touch her, his hand had actually gone slightly through Jay before he'd been blown backwards. Thinking too deeply on why that was...... was terrifying and he shook his head slightly, trying to stay calm. Even when Kay and Fia spoke up about how glad they were Jay hadn't died, he couldn't think of anything to say.

John's answer was a much more predictable one. "Bollocks!" he shook his head "so we've got no bloody idea what caused it then? You didn't have any weird flashbacks, life racing before your eyes shit?" Jay shook her head, and gave a roll of her eyes. "I don't see anything when I die. No soul remember? It's just........" she shrugged, a dark expression coming over her face "pain.. followed by darkness." That shut John right up, but before things could devolve into an awkward silence, Cliff spoke up. "So what about the tattoo on your arm? Why was that burning up?"

Jay looked down at her left forearm which she'd been unconsciously rubbing this entire time. Surprise flickered across her face, following by a second emotion, passing over the assassin's face too quickly for anybody to recognise it for what it was. She stared at the rune, which was still standing out against her tanned skin. One hand went to each side of her neck, checking the pulse point, before swapping which hand was on which side and trying again. Letting her hands drop Jay shrugged "dimensional energy would have been formed when the timeline changes. It really fucks over my body, there must have been a cluster in my arm or something." "So you don't think there's any significance between that rune and whatever it was that changed in your past?" "No." Jay gave a curt shake of her head.

 

[MzHyde]

With Elliott staying quiet and no one else expressing their agreement to what they said, Fia and Kay saw that there was nothing else for them to do, except for listening to what John said before asking for definitive clarification that Jay really had no clue what or more precisely, who, had caused her to nearly die in an excruiating manner. The reminder that she has no soul made Kay realise she had quite literally forgotten that tidbit of information about Jay as she had seen so many sides of the woman, she just saw her as someone with a soul like anyone else. So the stark reminder was like a mental boulder crashing in her mind again, especially when Jay continued to say what death (or in this case, near death) was like for her. The idea that someone would just go through so much pain before just being taken over by darkness was a scary thought to her, but not entirely hard to believe. The time she herself died before being reborn, it was painful and terrifying. Except unlike Jay, Kay watched the world go by her and she could see what she was leaving behind, she got scared of dying alone, despite not actually being alone. Yet the one thing she could relate to was the darkness side of things. Before she came back, there was that period of there just being nothing, no relocation of being aware of her surroundings, who was with her, who wasn't, nothing....just an emptiness.

Kay snapped out of her thoughts when Cliff spoke up to ask about the tattoo on Jay's forearm, something she hadn't really thought about but was a curiosity subconsciously of hers. She looked over at Jay as she looked down on her arm, noticing the flicker of surprise but couldn't catch whatever else was on the assassin's face in the slightest as she had glanced down at the woman's arm herself, to see the rune still looking promiment against her skin. Fia watched as Jay moved her other arm to each side of her neck, wondering what she was doing, but took a couple of guesses to herself without saying anything. Seeing Jay shrug and just give a theory, it surprised both Kay and Fia that Jay wouldn't have an idea, or if she did, she was certainly not disclosing it to any of them. Fia for the most part was focusing on the choice of words that Jay said, 'a change in the timeline'. It made her wonder if it really was something that happened in Rinaa's timeline or not and the guilt once more not being to let everyone in on the important plan crept its ugly head in her mind, even though she fully agreed with leaving them all in the dark.

"Still feels incredibly fishy to me and I don't like it...the idea of someone just changing your timeline like that and almost wiping you from existence? That shit don't sit right" Fia commented, folding her arms across her chest. Kay gave Fia a brief disapproving look of her chocie of language, even if she did agree with what her daughter was saying. Fia didn't care that she was cursing in front of Kay, she respected Jay and more importantly she loved Elliott and gave a crap about what this was doing to him emotionally because he cared for Jay deeply.

 

[_gallifrog_]

The description of what it felt like for Jay when she died may only have been a few words, delivered with a dark smile that was little more than a slight upwards twist of her lips, but it sent a chill down Chas' spine. Dying wasn't something he enjoyed, it was always painful (not to mention that each death used up some of his limited immortality and brought him closer to his actual death, the one he couldn't come back from), but he always saw something before he went, not quite his entire life flashing before his eyes, but the bits that felt important in that moment. Knowing he'd see something while he heaved his last breath was a morbid sort of comfort for the cabbie. It made him look at the assassin in a new light, as well as making him wonder what else was different because she didn't have a soul.

"I 'gree." John nodded after Fia spoke up. "On top of all the shit that's happened so far? I'm even less likely to think it's unrelated. An' besides, there's no such thing as a bloody coincidence." "Not. Helpful. John." Chas replied with gritted teeth and a shake of his head, knowing that John's words would only make Elliott worry and stress further. "There's a reason why time travel to the past is treated very differently to time travel to the future. Travelling to the past and changing something, even by accident, you're guaranteed to fuck over any timeline sensitives who happen to be affected by what you change. Travelling to the future, you don't run that risk because the future is never fixed until it happens, a future you travel to is just one of many possibilities, hence why changing things is easier and why spooks and similar operations take agents from the past to the future- it's a 'cleaner'" Jay made airquotes with her fingers before continuing "way of manipulating the outcome. The past, on the other hand, is much more solid, changing it is much more messy and generally advised against. Buuuut, not everybody obeyed that bureaucracy, some people see it as an 'easy' way to avoid things, to fix their own fuck-ups, some people just want the world to dance to their tune. It's a murky world, trying to figure out the why, or even the what of a timeline change" Jay's eyes briefly flicked down to her arm "either way, as a timeline sensitive, you just have to accept you'll nearly die, or actually die someday because of something that may or may not be related to you."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia didn't want to say what she was thinking, but it was the only thing she could think of TO say. She only partially regretted her words because of what it lead to John saying after her, as his way of agreeing with her. It made what she was thinking and the real relaity of what they just experienced so much more dreary and forboding and having Chas tell John slowly and almost sternly that it wasn't helpful, she knew she was partially to blame for giving John the opening to say what he was thinking. Yet she had to agree with John at the same time because she was brought up with those kind of mindsets in her lives. She didn't fully believe in coincidences yet there was still the odd little moments where she did believe something was just purely a coincidence which in her mind's eye was one of her more clear cut clues she was not only her father's daughter, but her mother's as well. The fact that what they were saying wasn't going to be helping Elliott in the slightest was what made her feel the most guilt for speaking up, but she didn't get brought up to sugar coat things for the most part and she already had made herself known to sometimes have her filter fail her, much like her father in that retrospect.

Both her and Kay listened to what Jay was saying about time travel and the differences, Fia knowing more about what she was saying than Kay was, and yet Fia still found it another reality reminder and a tough pill to swallow as said reminder because she herself was someone who had travelled from the future and was already doing her damnest to not cause any ripples in this timeline for her unborn self and her family. It also made sense why spooks would go forward in time to withhold someone and not travel back. The mentions of people travelling back in time to use it as an easy way of fixing fuck ups in their times in the future made her think about what she did and knew when she got back to her time, IF her parents realise what she did for whatever reason she would no doubt in a heap of trouble, even if what she did was to save her mother's life. "You may have to accept it as a time senstive but it still majorly sucks" she commented, hating that they could get answers for what happened.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Jay's words weren't initially intended as a pointed remark to Fia, at first she genuinely wanted to explain why exactly changing the past had such an effect on her. It was something she'd grown up being warned about by other Isogrii and the Isogrii elders, she'd seen people collapse and convulse as the rippled of changed time passed through their body. She'd only felt the pain once before as a kid, and even then, that had been a 'milder' (if nearly being erased from existence could ever be consider mild) experience than what she'd felt today. The time as a kid, her heart hadn't stopped, this time, it had. But as she spoke, she grew more annoyed. It was bad enough that they had Elliott's potential death, Elliott's close shave that had ended with Zan in the hospital with a bullet through his head and the second assassination attempt, not to mention the postponement of the trial and the rapidly advancing state of Kay's pregnancy looming over them. Her nearly dying was the last thing they needed. She could sense Elliott hovering worriedly behind her (too close for her liking) and had to resist the urge to snap at him. So her words became more pointed. She wanted to get the point across- Fia got her mother back, but a time sensitive somewhere was paying the price in pain.

"Well it's not like I can change the terms and conditions or get a refund" she remarked, falling back on gallows humour as a coping mechanism. Before anybody could say anything else she added "We should start heading back anyway, it's getting dark and I'm guessing the buses don't run all night?" Cliff shook her head "you're right, they don't" while Cals and the others looked skywards. The sky had faded from a clear bright blue to a darker, more inky shaded. Attil's twin moons were once again visible in the sky and as it was turning towards the more wintery months, there was maybe forty minutes before the stars would be visible.

 

[MzHyde]

At first Fia hadn't really thought about her own time travelling decisions, it was purely only as she kept thinking about Jay's words that her mind had wandered. She knew deep down in her heart that Jay wouldn't have initially made a point to make her feel so bad or guilty for what she did, but she also couldn't help but think if it was going to be such a drastic problem, then surely when Jay came to help, she wouldn't have had agreed tot he plan to jump to the moment before her mother got taken and stop that attack from even happening in the first place. As she had eventually snapped out of her thoughts and spoke up, she noticed how close Elliott was getting to Jay, seeing he really didn't want to be an inch away from her incase she had another fit or something. She couldn't say she particularly blamed Elliott for being as clingy as he was, especially after the lengths she went to save future Kay.

Hearing Jay resort to her gallows humour told Fia that she was resorting to it as a way of coping with everything and an attempt to distract herself from wanting to swat Elliott from her. At the comment about the light disappearing from them and that they should probably head back, she did exactly the same as the others, and looked up at the sky and see that Attil's two moons were up and shining brightly against the dark inky blue sky. She grabbed her stuff, just like Kay did and slung it over her shoulder as she saw Kay manage to push herself back up onto her feet and put her satchel backpack onto her back. 'don't think I'll ever tire seeing the night sky like this' Kay thought to herself as she looked up once more before she began the walk back with everyone toward the buses so they could get back to Cal and Cliff's house. She had to admit,l despite the dramatic ending of their day, she really did enjoy spending the day outside in fresh air and enjoying everyone's company.

 

[_gallifrog_]

When Jay let out her dark-humoured remark Elliott had to resist the urge to sigh in annoyance. He could see by the way that the assassin was setting her shoulders and the steely glint in her eyes that Jay was going to be prickly about what happened for the rest of the day (and a good chunk of tomorrow too). He knew the assassin hated showing any sign of weakness and to have nearly died in front of everybody would have been a massive loss of face for Jay, not to mention a significant blow to her pride. The hug earlier had been a one-off thing, which frustrated Elliott. He wanted to do something, anything to comfort her, but it seemed that, like so much in his life at the moment, there was nothing he could do.

With Cliff voicing her agreement that they should leave everybody gathered their bags and headed to the park exit. Jay made a point of pulling back on her hoodie (effectively covering the sigils on her left arm from view) before dealing with her muddy feet. She wiped the worst of grass and soil off with her socks then put her bare feet back into her shoes. Cal and Cliff led the way up the hill and back along the forest path, a walk which took place mostly in silence, nobody wanted to question Jay any further, they brooding look on the assassin's face made it quite clear she wouldn't be receptive to any more questions.

As they exited the arboretum the group was met by a veritable horde of people heading in the other direction. There was twenty or so, all dressed in thick coats, hats and scarves. Most had gloves, some had thermoses and all had backpacks and notebooks. The six strongest members were working in pairs, each pair carrying a large equipment bag containing telescope parts between them. "Star gazing group!" Cal called back in English by means of an explanation. "It must be a clear night if they're out in force" she added, stepping off the path to let the larger group pass. Elliott went to do the same, but was too late. For a brief moment he was swallowed up by the group, only for his familiar head of dark hair to bob up again on the other side of the path a few seconds later.

 

[MzHyde]

The walks being in silence brought back the awkwardness to Kay and particularly Fia, it made the teenager think back to her previous thoughts which she didn't want to think about anymore. Yet she didn't want to talk either to break said silence as she knew Jay wouldn't speak much to everyone, her body language and aura definitely screamed 'don't talk to me' in this current time and she knew that all too well. She felt sorry for Elliott who would no doubt be the closest to Jay whilst she was in this mood and frame of mind, having seen the impact of Jay's closing in on herself and what it did to Elliott in her time on the rare times she was aware of them going through those moments. Luckily for her, she saw them both in happier moods more often than not, but then, she supposed that was why these moments almost hit her harder because she hated seeing any of her family in such a state of mind. She stayed close to Kay and John as they continued walking through, more so when the group of star gazers suddenly appeared, heading into arboretum heavily equipped.

She didn't want to get lost in the crowd and she certainly didn't want Kay to get lost in the crowd, even with their distinctive hair colouring being a beacon to find them. The idea of Kay accidentlaly getting knocked or dragged back in her state wasn't something Fia wanted to witness or think about, not after the scare they all had with Jay almost dying on them all after such an amazing light hearted fun day out. "Ah I wondered what the equipment bags were all about!" Fia called back, when suddenly Elliott who was close by got lost in the crowd for a split second. She quickly looked around her, "Ell!?" She couldn't help but call out, only to find him on the other side and sighed with relief. "Oh, there you are!" she soon said again. Kay grabbed Fia's hand to keep her from lagging behind as she got distracted by Elliott ending up on the other side of the path and Fia let her hold her hand, walking beside her parents closely. Kay could also tell that every part of Fia wanted to rush to the other side to make Elliott wasn't alone or in a blind paranoid moment to make sure he wouldn't disappear on them all. It was an irrational thought that she could totally understand, as deep down they no doubt all thought it to some degree but she also knew Elliott was a grown adult and perfectly capable of reuniting with them when the star gazing crwod thinned out.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John trudged up the hill, hands deep in his coat pockets, mulling over everything Jay had just said. Jay's words were just further proof of what he already knew from the magical lore- time travel has consequences. During his time with the Legends he'd seen the havoc wreaked when people with good intentions messed with the timeline (both by accident and on purpose). Hells he'd even wreaked some of that havoc himself in his early days with The Legends when he was joy-riding through time and had even for a brief moment, accidentally erased himself from existence when he met his own parents and tried to meddle. What he'd seen during his tenure as the Waverider's resident mage had convinced him that time-travel was not worth it, an attitude he held more firmly than ever in Fia's timeline

John moved the side of the road to let the group pass, still operating on auto-pilot. It was Fia's panicked call for Elliott that snapped him out of his thoughts. His mind immediately thought the worst and his heart-rate shot up as he looked to the ground, half-expecting, half-fearing to see Elliott lying there convulsing like Jay had been those short minutes earlier. Seeing nothing he looked, up, blue eyes darting around, scanning for the familiar head of black hair. A beanie-clad head in the star-gazing group turned slightly at Fia's call, but before they could look back fully, their partner whose neck and head were wrapped in an an enormous scarf, pulled them back around.

When Elliott's head popped back up again at the other side of the path, John shook his head and let out a slight huffing sigh. This was ridiculous. His heart was pounding like he'd just run a marathon- if this was going to happen every time Elliott vanished even slightly out of sight, he'd have some kind of breakdown. Elliott seemed to be thinking along similar lines, rolling his eyes slightly. "I'm here, I'm here" he called back, crossing over to the side to join the others after the rest of the star-gazers had passed.

The bus ride back seemed to fly by. There were less people on board this time around so neither Cal nor Cliff felt guilty about putting the group's bags on the empty seats. The bus was just slowing down to enter the military zone when it happened. There were two two sharp bangs and the bus bus veered out of control. "Two of the tyres have blown!" the driver yelled in Attili as they grappled with the wheel, trying to wrestles the bus to some semblance of a controlled stop. This was followed by a loud blast of the horn, a "get out of the middle of the road you crazy person!" and another wild swerve as the driver yanked the wheel hard to the left, swerving the bus away from the figure who'd stepped out into the middle of the road. It veered off the road, punching through a bush before jolting and juddering across the ground and finally rolling to a halt just before a tree.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia's intention wasn't to completely panic her father but ever since she was a kid, if she couldn't see Elliott when they were out she couldn't help but go into a mini anxious fit because she was so close to him in her timeline. So in this moment, it was sheer habit for her to suddenly worry where he was, only for seconds later to find him on the other side of the crowd and not even notice that some of the Attili star gazers were wanting to turn round and see who was speaking. It was also seeing John suddenly panic trying to find Elliott that made her feel a little bit guilty about her habit freaking him and possibly others out, especially with everything else that had already been going on for them so far, particularly with nearly losing Jay entirely. So when Kay grabbed her hand after Elliott called back that he was still with them, Fia relaxed rapidly and calmed down. She felt so much pressure just from her little part in getting Elliott to survive this whole plan because she was more terrified of losing her brother and her unborn self never getting to know him for herself which just really didn't help her at all. She certainly felt a lot better when Elliott got back to the rest of them and if it wasn't for Kay holding her hand, she would have stepped up to beside Elliott and grabbed his hand instead.

She and Kay were just calming down from everything on the bus ride back to the apartment, Fia resting her head on Kay's shoulder as the long night prior for herself and the very little sleep she had before the whole day's events this day finally starting to catch up to her. She almost oblivious to the fact that it didn't take long for them to reach the military zone and slow down, until the two loud bangs rang through, making her lift her head up and look toward the driver's seat wondering what the hell was going on. Hearing that the tires blew, she didn't instantly freak out, knowing it was possible for that to happen, albeit rarely. It was however when she heard the driver seeming to yell at someone ahead of him that she started getting suspicious about what was happening. She instinctively wanted to shield Kay when they veered harshly off the road and through a bush, her eyes going wide when a tree came ever closer to their bus, but sighed in relief when they didn't actually crash into it.

Kay found the initial bangs of the tires made her jump in her seat as she, like everyone was not expecting any kind of loud noise or the tires to blow during the drive home. All the veering and swerving just put her more and more on edge and anxious about what was happening, the sharp swerve through a bush and toward a tree making gripping her tightly onto Fia and shield her bump with her other hand. She tried to remain calm, knowing how important it was to not get stressed out whilst pregnant but it was getting increeasinly more difficult as she felt her breathing get ragged and sharp from the near miss of going straight into the tree. "Is everyone okay?" Fia asked first, looking at Kay mostly, but was worried for everyone. Kay nodded, "I think so kiddo" she replied, wondering what the hell was going on.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"I'm good... a bit bruised maybe, but in one piece." Chas called out after a few moments, uncertainty lacing his tone as he slowly sat back up. "Apart from whackin' me 'ead off the bleeding bus, I'm okay." John replied, hauling himself back up, wincing at the throbbing pain in his head. Reaching back his fingers felt the familiar stickiness of hair matted with blood and he swore. He'd been thrown against the strut between bus windows as the vehicle had swerved an evidently the blow had done more than just give him a blinding headache. "I'm okay, I'm okay." Elliott confirmed, echoing his earlier words as his head popped up above the seat to survey the scene. The other passengers on the bus were dazed and shaken, but nobody seemed to be seriously injured. Jay was reaching for the knives in her jacket when there was a loud thud on the roof of the bus, as if a large object had fallen (or jumped) onto it.

"What was that?" "Nothing good" was Jay's reply, her voice hard. "We should get off the bus, it's not safe" the bus driver called, trying (and failing) to keep the panicked edge out of his tone). There was another sound from above, this time a scraping like a blade on metal- a sound which jarred the others into action. "Agreed" Cal replied, rising to her feet, helping Cliff up as she did so. The doctor was noticeably pale, her breathing was ragged, there was a slight tremor in her hands and the look in her usually bright green eyes could only be described as haunted. The sound of the tyres exploding had brought her right back to the terrorist bombing that had destroyed her hearing. The memories were overwhelming and as grounding as her wife's presence was, it wasn't enough to keep it all at bay.

The back exit door of the bus was quickly wrenched open and the passengers spilled out into the night. The first few practically ran from the bus, but then stopped dead at the sight in front of them. Standing there, clad in armour was a dark haired woman. In her left hand was an all-too-familiar blade, only unlike that last time they'd seen it, it was glowing. Jay's eyes widened at the sight and she swore viciously in several languages under her breath before switching to English and hissing "that BASTARD.... he's converted it" as she drew her own blades. "I wouldn't bother with the blades" the armoured woman replied, taking a few steps forwards. Light from the bus' headlights slanted across her face, revealing that she wasn't Devra, or human. She was the woman from the cryo-pod, more wolf than person. "If I were you I'd look behind you and think very carefully before I made a move." Turning her head Jay found herself looking at not one, but a whole pack of Astras wolves. All were slinking low, moving out of the shadows to form a circle around the group, their eyes locked on the passengers. "They'd be more than happy to rip your throat out."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia was glad that everyone seemed relatively okay, except for John's head and Cliff looking considerably dazed from what she could only assume was her PTSD from what made her go deaf, but she was glad that Cal was onto trying to help Cliff quicker than she could blink. She was mostly relieved though that Kay didn't seem to be hurt, her instinct to shield her mother having worked and not made things worse. When the thuds on the roof appeared, she and Kay flinched and instantly looked upwards at the roof, the fact that Jay couldn't say anything but 'nothing good' concerned them both greatly, even if they didn't express it vocally. They had enough to worry about, remaining safe and keeping the others safe also. At the suggestion by the driver to get off the bus, they both weren't sure if it was a good idea but they weren't going to protest it, especially when Cal agreed with the driver. Fia helped Kay up onto her feet and when the doors opened, she exited the bus with her mother, staying as close as she could to the others at the same time, worry coursing through her, more so as Jay was arming up to get ready for a possible fight.

The realisation that this could be a full blown attack to get to Elliott wasn't something Fia or Kay wanted to think about, but they knew it was beyond impossible to not think of this possibility. They just hated that whatever was going on wouldn't endanger innocent lives. Once off the bus properly, they both looked up to the front of the bus and saw the figure standing there with the glowing sword, a sword they recognised easily enough. "Shit" they both muttered in unison when Jay said the guy had managed to convert the sword, but they thought they gave him a fake and it couldn't be converted. Now it seemed they were so utterly wrong. This was far from a pure accident, this was damn ambush which only got confirmed when the woman gestured for them to see that they were surrounded, and by Astras wolves at that. Fia couldn't help but think that there was no way this could be part of the secret plan, but if it was, it was a seriously shitty one. "Jay...what we gonna do?" she asked, concern for their situation evident in her voice. She was prepared to fight but even she knew this wasn't going to be a fight that they should go into haphazardly if they were to fight.

Kay looked around them all, whilst Fia was asking for advice on what their gameplan needed to be, not liking that they were being utterly surrounded and it was triggering Fee inside her soul to feel incredibly protective over Fia's unborn self. 'Fee remain calm please, you're not helping me right now' she thought to her, though her own instincts were to just flee from the scene just like she did in London when demons found her. Yet she also knew that running from astras wolves was the stupidest idea she could have in this moment as she knew she couldn't outrun them and she didn't want to risk flying either or leave the rest of the group. "Whatever it is, we better think of it fast" she commented, trying to calm herself so she didn't accidentally convey any of her worry onto either John or Fia. Ontop of all of that, she was worried for John's head injury and Cliff's moment of being shock from the initial two bangs of the tires.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Elliott had jumped out of the bus before John and stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of the blade and the woman wielding it. John, having been expecting Elliott to continue on moving, walked right into his adoptive son. "Ell what the buggerin'....?" he began, confusion (and annoyance) lacing his tone. But the second expletive never made it out of John's mouth, fading away as he too clapped eyes on the wolf-person and her blade. "Oh bollocks!" he swore. There was no doubt that the blade she was holding was Zan's sword and that somebody, somehow had made it into a soulsword. Cal also swore under her breath, while Cliff simply paled further at the sight.

There was an audible gasp from the other bus passengers when the headlights revealed revealed the extent of the wolf-girl's mutation. Chas' gasp was one of the loudest. At first, only seeing the silhouette he'd thought it was Rinaa. But yes, he recognised the face, the wolf-transformation was much further progressed, but back on the wall of the safehouse, right at the top of Sykes' list of victims, had been a photo of the woman standing in front of them, sword at the ready. He let out an audible gulp at the sight of the Astras wolves prowling around. One had leapt on to the roof of the bus and was bent low, ready to pounce.

Jay let nothing show on her face as she took in the wolves circling the group. They were apex predators, no doubt about it, she could see the muscles rippling under their inky-black fur and their amber eyes didn't just contain murderous intent, but a cunning intelligence. Pack hunters, swift, smart and too many of them to fight. Fighting one would leave her open to an an attack from the others. she had no doubt that the threat of having her throat ripped out was real. When Rinaa had begun to transform on the ship all those weeks ago, her first move had been to go for Jay's neck with teeth, claws and nails. The size of these wolves, they could probably break her neck with a single bite in the right place. Not to mention the innocents on the bus, one wrong move and they'd be slaughtered too.

She lowered her blades fractionally, but still remained in a fighting stance. "Not pissing off the wolves would be a good start, no flamin' tricks" she replied, not looking back at Fia, but it was clear from her tone that the words were aimed at the teenager and her mother. She doubted the wolf-woman knew about the two phoenixes in their group, and that was the only advantage they had. "I thought we handed over a bloody fake!" John hissed in Jay's direction. "So did I." The assassin hissed back, wrapping her fingers tighter around her blades.

The wolf-woman gave a dark laugh, her long fangs flashing in the semi-gloom as she twirled the blade expertly in her left hand. "Oh the lizard" she spat out the word as if it tasted bad "he got the fake alright. But did you really think hiding it under a flagstone would be in anyway safe?" Her question was rhetorical, her tone mocking. She was toying with them, yanking on Jay's chain, trying to get under the assassin's skin. "It's the most obvious place, aside from a wall safe. And all it took..." the wolf-woman locked eyes with Jay as she emphasised each and every one of her next words. It was a hard, cruel smirk that only grew as the colour leached from the assassin's face "was One. Little. Blue. Haired. Bird who just so happened to be in the know and who could oh so easily sneak in one night and..." she clenched her hand into a fist, then opened her fingers outwards, miming an explosion "steal it." She gave another flourish of her free hand, clearly revelling in the sickly colour Jay's face had turned.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia and Kay never wanted to see this many Astras Wolves in one place in their entire lives, and now they were it just solidified exactly why they never wanted to witness it. They were utterly terrifying and like Jay, they didn't doubt for a single moment that they could easily rip out all their throats in a flash at the bare minimum. The idea that that was what Rinaa could have turned into even worse of a thought and for a brief flash of a moment, Kay thought back to the transformation that had started with Rinaa on the ship all those weeks ago that they were overhearing going on in the locked bay. As soon as the thought entered her mind, it vanished as it refused to let her drift into a different moment when their lives were quite literally on the line in this moment. Not only that she was terrified of this stand off going wrong and she losing Fia, both the teenage version that was beside her and most of all, the unborn version of her. She didn't think she could feel that kind of panic but in this moment, she was being proven wrong. That wasn't to say though that she was terrified of losing any of their group, she certainly didn't want to Elliott or John.

The reply from Jay to Fia's question wasn't entirely surprising to the teenager and quite frankly she was equally happy as she was disappointed that she was being told not do anything that required using the only ability she could on this planet...her phoenix abilities. She was disappointed because she wanted to be able help in defending them all and the innocent passengers as well, but she was also happy as deep down she knew Jay knew what she was talking about and if she thought keeping the fact their group had two phoenixes in their armoury then she was going to damn well respect that. "got it" she simply replied as John then spoke the main thing that they were all no doubt thinking... how the hell did this woman have the sword and not only that, but had it converted into the very powerful soul sword. Then it struck Fia, what she witnessed in Rinaa's timeline as the sword came flying through that portal and skidded passed her feet and over to the other Jay. The other Astras Wolf in the box, the female criminal they had cuffed to the floor of the building.... 'Could this be the person they were bringing back? Could she be part of this plan that I only know a slither of?!' she thought to herself as the woman started to speak.

Both Kay and Fia listened as this woman spoke about where the real sword got hidden by Jay whilst also describing Rinaa. It was then that Fia was putting the puzzle pieces together and knew that it had to be part of this damn plan she now had a part in. She didn't know it was going to come to this and it honestly made her feel so conflicted now, wondering if being a part of this plan was actually a good idea, even though she knew deep down in her heart that it was to save Elliott, but the predicament they were in right this minute, she was starting to question if saving Elliott really was part of this damn plan or if this woman had her own motives in play. Kay glanced at Jay and how the shocking news seemed to wipe all colour from the woman's face. She wanted to say something but she just didn't know what to say in this moment as she knew saying something as cliche as 'Rinaa wouldn't go against us like that' would not help this situation and it certainly would entertain their current enemy at hand. Anyone could see how much she was revelling in having them stunned at the news and it made Kay feel sick to her stomach. Sure, Rinaa had her qualms with Kay and even Fia to a certain extent which she could totally understand why, but she didn't think Rinaa would ever double cross their group, not when the girl seemed so fond of Elliott and getting to know the father she never got to know in her timeline.

Whereas Fia knew she had to act shocked as she had to pretend she knew nothing of the plan she did actually did know. "Rii wouldn't double cross us...you like that Jay, surely?" she said, deciding that being the only teenager left in their group, she could get away with saying such a line. "The bitch is just trying to get under your skin...under our skin" she added.