A savage heart

[Orion]

The Clocktower

Ashley: If this is some kind of reverse psychology, it’s not going to work. I don’t have a conscience.

She tried to say, but then rolled over to face him, with the most heartbreaking expression. He held her gently and breathed in that sorrow, doing his best to lighten that load but he knew with the emotional rollercoaster he'd been stuck on today, he wasn't going to be as much help as usual. He felt depression acutely, and knew he needed a release of endorphins that he wasn't going to get.

But at least here in this moment, there was nobody cutting dirty looks at him, nobody judging him guilty by association, and nobody berating him for his choices. In this moment, he was allowed to just feel what he needed to feel, because the person he was with understood exactly what it meant to be wrecked by someone else.

Ashley: Why do we have to feel like this? Billions of people in the world…what does one matter?

He reached up, running his fingertips along her cheek, tucking her hair behind her ear, and found her eyes with his.

"If we don't let ourselves feel anything, Ash, then nothing will matter."

She surprised him with a kiss, but he was quick to respond, burying his fingers in her hair at the base of her skull. He could feel passion stirring, and it was a vast improvement.

Ashley: Make me forget.

She insisted, pressing against him. He searched for eye contact again, saw the urgency in her gaze, and gave her a smile. He pulled his hand down her chest slowly, then over her hip, to her thigh. He pulled her leg over his own, then began to feel his way back up her body.

"I don't know if I can make you forget, but I can DEFINITELY make you feel better."

He said quietly, as he slipped his hand down inside the front of her waistband and kissed her again.

 

[Valkyrie]

The Clocktower

"I don't know if I can make you forget, but I can DEFINITELY make you feel better."

Ashley returned the look he was giving her.

"Then do it, pretend you love me."

He kissed her again, and she let him, rolling him onto his back and pulling his long sleeved jersey up over those rock hard abs and over his head. Her fingers went to the buttons of his jeans; she pulled them off with practiced ease and unbroken sultry eye contact.

She slipped off the end of the bed and made a show of undressing, before sliding back into Zach’s waiting arms. Her mouth found his and they moved together slowly, as if they really weren’t two people in love with someone else.

Ashley said Zach’s name over and over, all the while sending a mental middle finger Alek’s way in the process.

The thought occurred to her that they should have recorded this...

 

[Rose]

The Sanctuary

<< The city block that Rose owned outright was once again quiet, peaceful and as secure as CI technology, and the watchful eye of Citadle, along with Rose's own abilities could make it.>>

<< Sensing her mistress' distress, Sable did her best to to comfort and sooth with a soft mew, a loving nudge, and a purr. It helped a bit, and Rose carried Sable in her arms as she made her rounds in the orphange, checking on the children in their rooms, making sure that everything was functioning as it should. All was as it should be. Even the smallest of her children, the few babies, including the one that was saved from the Purifiers by Isis, were sleeping peacefully.>>

Good.

<< She said softly, as she moved through the secret passage that connected the Orphanage to her own multi floor apartment.>>

<< She decided a drink of the mystic elixir, ambrosia, and another reading...for HERSELF...to be SURE that all was in order within AND without, was in order. >>

<< Back in the parlor, she creates a fire in the fireplace, and sets Sable down in her favorite chair near the fire place.>>

<< Moments later, she pours herself a tall glass of ambrosia, a drink with mystic properties that also has roots in divination, and begins to center herself, closing her eyes as she mentally summons her mystical glowing tarot deck to her table.>>

Clarity of mind, serenity of soul, I now begin this reading.

<< The deck moves without her touching it. It glows with the same purple astral energy associated with her power signature. >>

<<But instead of offering divination for HER, it begins to offer for...ZACH ARMANI!>>

<< Rose's purple eyes pop open, as she watches the deck>>

<< The FOOL card- REVERSED. The LOVERS card- REVERSED. The HANGED MAN- REVERSED. The very IMAGE of him in her mind's eye was surrounded by the flickering image of the STAR card- REVERSED- indicating that he was in the presence of someone incredibly arrogant and haughty. He had been VERY neglectful of his pledges to Rose and her children as of late, and even now, in the aftermath of the intruder (Cobra), AND the attack on Simon and Vivica by Persephone. Not one phone call, not one effort of contact.>>

<< Rose's face contorts with disgust as she reads the cards associated with Zach. Among other things, she divines that he slept with AVA CASSADINE.>>

He can't be trusted.

<< She thought of him. She thought of Persephone...and her serenity was once again threatened by a RAGE that lingered beneath. These people, so SELFISH and BLACK HEARTED, they PLAYED at being concerned and wanting to help, but that's all it was...an ACT. LONG AFTER the evidence of 42 murdered children was erased from the streets, their faces...their voices...their laughs...their sweet hopes...they echoed in Rose's mind, they haunted her...but what about people like Persephone...like ZACH!?>>

<< Rose shut her eyes....and began to concentrate.>>

I must not be sidetracked. I always knew that this was a road I would have to walk alone...I MUST be sure that I am still capable...

<< She once again reaches out with her power.>>

<< EACH time, no matter how she focused her power over the glowing deck, she was given: FIVE OF CUPS, THE DEVIL, THE MOON, and DEATH!>>

<< Rose's face shows her genuine dismay!>>

What!? WHAT'S WRONG!?

<< She pushes away from the table, shaking her head. Sable perks up a bit, vocalizing concern as Rose stands up.>>

I....need some fresh air.

<< She rushes outside and stands out on the empty, quiet street. Her hand is now balled in a fist, and trembling!>>

<< She tries breathing exercises, and soon, she openes her eyes and looks up at the night sky...>>

<<FLASH!>>

<< Just a bit earlier...>>

: With a WHOOSH! Cameron HURLED the orb into the sky with GREAT speed as it took off like a rocket. It would find its definition on Aerie, in possession of the only person that could protect it...his sister Alison.

<< To "head blind" individuals, flatscans and individuals without any psychic or mystical abilities, there would be nothing to see, but ROSE bares witness the ORB cast by Prophet, now traveling across the night sky, to a destination FAR from him, far from ROSE even. She SENSES that this is no shooting star, or celestial object, but rather a piece of someONE.>>

<< It was a curious thing to behold, and a part of Rose secretly wished SHE could FLEE. She didn't wish to flee from her CHILDREN, but rather from whatever darkness...whatever SHIFT was happening within her. In quiet moments like this...she felt the wrongness of it...but then, in other moments, such as danger, or ANGER, it felt so RIGHT. That ANGER, coupled with the GUILT she felt over the loss of 42 of her children...it was CHANGING her.>>

<< The greatest disasters in history often began with the smallest spark, or even just a whisper of something uncertain or out of balance...>>

 

[Harbinger]

Minerva's Aerie- Executive study

:: The face of the very large, curiously designed grandfather clock can be seen, and its slow, rhythmic ticking can be heard.::

:: The crystaline chess board, a mysterious physical manifestation of fate and destiny that was in Harbinger's posession, floated in the center of the room, and we see Harbinger standing over it. On the chess board are beautiful crystal figures of every member of the Six on one side of the board, The Hellfire Club on the other side, and Birds of Prey in the middle. ::

:: Some figures are on the OUTERMOST edges of the board- Domino and Viper among them. Others are more toward the center, like Charope's which lay on its side, with Silver Swan's figure is near by standing over her's. Other figures from the Six, Hellfire Club and Birds of Prey are at different positions. A figure of ROSE has recently appeared on the board and is MOVING across the board toward the center. ::

:: As the ticking of the grand father clock is heard, Alison slowly picks up the figure of Orion...and BREAKS it, letting it fall to the floor. ::

Fool.

:: The clock continues to tick, She holds her hand over Delilah's piece...looking as though she might SMASH IT...but after a few moments, she lets it stand as she looks at the figure of Bishop and moves him away from the edge.

:: The clock continues to tick as she picks up Ava's figure, holding it in her tightly closed hand, and shutting her eyes. She shudders with true grief from what's happening to her friend, wondering if Ava had TRULY understood her warning to her about this course of action. ::

I should have stopped you. I should not have let you go.

:: And why hadn't she? Because she didn't want to hear Delilah or anyone ELSE acccuse her of trying to control someone's life again?!::

Your time threads have shifted...the very thing that I warned you about...that "SECOND ACT" of your trauma, is now CLOSING IN ON YOU. Haleigh didn't need you...and she can't help you. Goddess grant that she WAKES UP before it's TOO LATE. I can't save you now...but I will make sure the one who CAN...


:: she looks at the crystale figure of Spellbinder::

...is ready to do so.

:: She MOVES Ava's piece away from the center, AWAY from focus and scrutiny for the time being. Ensuring that she will have a chance to REST. That's all Harbinger can do for her at this point, but she needs it! What she's going through now...it's on a scale similar to what she endured in Firebird's timeline, and only ALISON was able to see what...if ANY chance Ava would have at recovery if there was was an "AFTERWARD."::

:: She picks up Black Widow's figure::

Scion. Willing to lose yourself entirely to save others...never stopping to realize that sometimes, you should trust in powers OTHER than your own. There IS no outlasting MALICE. The fact that you're in your THIRD BODY should have told you that...

:: And CRUSHES it in her hand, letting the pieces fall to the floor.::

:: Finally, she looks at the figure of Talisman and picks it up, holding it right in front of her cobalt blue eyes and staring at it as the clock continues to tick::

You.

:: She turns the figure around in her hand slowly.::

You don't belong here.

:: she lets the figure fall to the floor::

You're going to DIE.

:: She SLAMS her high heel down on it, CRUSHING the figure with such force, just as the grandfather clock mournfully tolls.::

And if I have to seal Cameron in a pillar of AMBER to protect him from you...and PREVENT him from interfering...then I WILL.

:: She looks at the figure of Delilah once more::

And it will be the DOOM of ANYONE ELSE who tries to interfer in this...FAMILY MATTER.

:: The grandfather clock continues to toll, as Alison picks up Prophet's figure, and turns away from the crystaline chess board.

"Goodbye for now."

:: With a WHOOSH! Cameron HURLED the orb into the sky with GREAT speed as it took off like a rocket. It would find its definition on Aerie, in possession of the only person that could protect it...his sister Alison.

<< To "head blind" individuals, flatscans and individuals without any psychic or mystical abilities, there would be nothing to see, but ROSE bares witness the ORB cast by Prophet, now traveling across the night sky, to a destination FAR from him, far from ROSE even. She SENSES that this is no shooting star, or celestial object, but rather a piece of someONE.>>

<< It was a curious thing to behold>>

While she might be tempted to destroy it, and END it..he decided in this moment that if he did want to change, that if he did want somebody to love him for who he was with no question, then he should be able to trust his sister to GUARD and protect this part of him, because she would know the act of strength it took for him to separate it from himself. ::

Right on time....

:: The double doors BLOW open, as the orb cast by Prophet comes CHARGING in, and as fast it was moving, it suddenly STOPS right before Harbinger, hovering there.::

....oh Cameron....dear baby brother....

:: She says as she holds his figure in her hand and stares at this living PIECE of himself now hovering before her, looking for sanctuary and protection::

...You don't know what you've done. You don't even know if it's worth the cost!

This isn't what I wanted for you, but now that you've started this, you've made it so that I may have to be the one to FINISH it.

:: She closes her eyes as she squeezes his figure...but she doesn't crush it. Instead, she takes it, and guides the orb along...into a small but ornate mystic box. She commands the orb inside of it, and places his figure into it as well, closing the box. ::

They wanted to do this their way...and they don't know what's going to cost them. But it's too late now. Sometimes, the only way to salvation....is DEATH.

:: She carries the box in her hand, and stands before the mystical fire that burns in the fire place. For a moment, it looks like she might THROW the box into the fire place. But no, she won't. She just stands there for a moment, pondering what she's witnessed, what she's FELT, and what she knows is COMING.::

:: The grandfather clock plays its last haunting toll, as Harbinger walks out of the executive study, make it a POINT to step on the shattered pieces of Talisman, Scion and Zach, before exiting::

:: She carries the mystic box with her, to her master suite, where she will place it in safe keeping.::

:: And with that, she looks at the double doors of her suite and gestures. A rushing/chiming sound is heard as the doors close, and the lights fade to darkness.::