The Parthenon- Ava's penthouse
Taking a seat on the couch, the fireplace was roaring in front of them; it was the only light illuminating the livingroom.
Ava gave her a look. THE look.
"Oh no. What NOW?"
Alison didn't say anything, and she could just tell that whatever reason Alison was here, it wasn't because Morgan was back...it was because SOMETHING was about to go down. Sighing out, Ava shook her head.
"Going to leave me in suspense, huh?"
Alison stared at her.
[deadpan] "Of course you are."
She looked to the fire and paused for a moment, the flames reflecting in her dark blue eyes. She knew why Alison was here to talk with her, and it wasn't to warn her about whatever impending doom was headed their way....although Ava would of much rather discuss THAT instead of having it bite her in the ass later.
"I'm glad Morgan's back."
Now looking to Alison.
"I have no ill will towards her. However I am resentful, i'm not going to deny that. I understand why Morgan left.....but I had shit going on too and I HAD to stay. I know you know what happened to me....so yeah, i'm a little annoyed that she got to rest and relax in Limbo while I was trying to keep it together here for the sake of this group."
Ava craned her neck back and shut her eyes for a moment, taking a calming breath in. That was the first time she actually ACKNOWLEDGED that Alison was aware of what happened to her. Ava always knew, but she never wanted to admit it to herself or to Alison. And Alison was respectful enough not to bring it up. But there was no point in denying it anymore.
"And she left YOU, Alison, too deal with Delilah's wrath. THAT pisses me off. You didn't deserve that. You didn't deserve to take the brunt of it all while she left to "collect" herself."
:: Alison knew Ava well. The goddess avoided and evaded personal issues well, but considering her history, and what she had endured, it wasn't hard to understand why. ::
:: But the time had come for her to stop running, stop evading. It wasn't just about her being honest on her feelings regarding Morgan's actions, it was about what Alison had perceived in HER timethreads, a recent trauma that was still haunting her, AND had a SECOND ACT on the way. But in order for Alison to talk to her about that, she FIRST needed to LISTEN to her friend because sometimes learning and understanding can come from LISTENING rather than "SEEING."::
:: She looked upon Ava. The light from the fire place was the only illumination in the spacious room they sat together in, and it seemed appropriate. But even from that glowing, flickering warm light, Ava could see the look on Alison's face shift ever so slightly from the calm and serene, to an expression that was pensive and even a bit MOURNFUL.::
:: Ava's words took Alison back to the moments immediately following the Blue Moon, the moments where suddenly, the fact that all of them, and the WORLD had just been saved from the terror of CIRCE seemed to have been completely forgotten. A hard fought victory, lost in a moment of utter tragedy, and in the eyes of one person, BETRAYAL.::
:: The dynamic of Morgan, Alison, and Delilah was shattered, with all three women being blown apart, and the shockwaves reverberated throughout the rest of the Six family...the effects have been ongoing for MONTHS now, and while everyone else has been here, Morgan was in Limbo. Some of the others didn't understand, even scoffed at her for retreating, but others, like Alison, Nicolas and even Ava understood why Morgan left not only them, but the EARTH.::
:: In Alison's journey of recovery from the Blue Moon, she'd traveled a path not unlike Morgan's. Initially, she "DEACTVATED" parts of her heart, and humanity, things that she felt had made her WEAK and utlimately vulnerable to Delilah's wrath. She revisited the cold, marble hard, even BRUTAL ways that she was known for in the earliest days of the Six. She'd come to RESENT Cameron for his extraordinary efforts to care for Delilah, and habor MURDEROUS hatred for Delilah over what appeared to be her RELISHING in SUPPLANTING Alison's position in Cameron's life. Had the dreamtime event NOT occurred, Alison would have likely disowned Cameron, and MURDERED Delilah. The dream time event, along with Alison's very personal confrontation with her brother on the astral plan immediately following that event, helped her to change course, and instead of reverting, she TRULY recovered.::
:: Both she and Morgan remembered the events of the dream, they FELT them, and It was no coincidence that she and Morgan were now able to return to the others at nearly the same time.::
:: But in THIS moment, right now, with Ava? Alison couldn't HELP but feel a warmth in her HEART. Quite simply...it meant the WORLD to her that somebody cared about HER throughout this entire ordeal, someone had been concerned about her, and advocated for HER without wavering. It was Ava and Karen who stayed with Alison in those first weeks following her nervous breakdown. Helping her to slowly return to them. When Karen had to return to the states to help with Blaze and try to help Delilah, Ava remained with Alison. Not since that time in her early years when she was taken in by Hazel Hawthorne, had Alison NEEDED that kind of care and support. And in her darkest hour, Ava was THERE for her, and had REMAINED in her corner ever since. for the remainder of her days in this world, in this life, Alison would not forget what Ava did for her, and the level of care and concern she showed her. THAT was one of the reasons why she was here NOW.::
::Alison took a tissue from a nearby kleenex box, and dabbed her eyes::
"I guess it doesn't really matter. Morgan's back, and it's for the best. Obviously the sisterhood have something in the works and it's better that the sourceress surpreme is here to balance the magick back out. That's the most important thing."
Ava stared at Alison for a moment, studying her stern face that was most obviously trying to hide fear. She softened her eyes, looking inquisitively at her.
"What going on Alison? I haven't seen you this upset in a while."
Ava, I don't know if you'll EVER truly know...what it means to me that you've cared for and advocated for me steadfastly throughout all of this.
:: She reached across and took Ava's hand in her own, squeezing it::
I've had visions...I've had dreams...nightmares...I've seen things that are beyond mortal perception, and comprehension of most metahumans even. I've seen things that I didn't WANT to see. When I was a little girl, my powers...they activated "early" due to my...having to PROTECT my brother from Kelly's abuse. I was barely an adolescent. I began "seeing" things....and I thought I was going insane. Eventually, it drove me away from our home, and I left Cameron behind. I told you how I was eventually found by Hazel, and she took care of me. She helped me.
But the thing that I've always resented from most of the people around me who know what I can do, is that they assume I should be able to handle it ALL, no matter how twisted, terrifying, mind bending or HOPELESS the vision may be. I should just...."CARRY ON" like it's no big deal, and just "HANDLE IT"...but I realize that I'm PARTLY to blame for that.
:: she bows her head, letting go of Ava's hand as she sniffles and dabs her misty colbalt blue eyes once more::
One of the biggest mistakes I made...was projecting this persona that ONLY I had the means to deal with "what is going to happen," AND that because I "SAW" it, IF I'm supposed to...OR IF i choose to intervene - ESPECIALLY if it has to do with someone I CARE about?...I should be able to do WHATEVER
I deem necessary to avert outcome, WITHOUT the need for input OR approval from the person, and the person I'm trying to save should just stand back and let me do what's necessary.
I AM uniquely qualified to address things like this, and i DO resent the people who have shrugged off what I can do...BUT I can't do it
ALL, and I....
:: She paused::
...when it comes to someone I care about...I should operate ETHICALLY. I haven't always done that, and I would just reflexively assume that the person would be grateful that I averted the disaster or even DEATH glow that was around them, and overlook my methods.
:: Alison was echoing some of Morgan's very words to Delilah. Another coincidence? Not likely::
Morgan and I BOTH have operated like this, for a long time. And I now you can understand, coming from your previous timeline....and being close friends with Hecate. When you....when you have a bond with someone that you work seamlessly with, as is the case with Morgan and Myself....or, in later years, the two of US...it's SO EASY to just...DO, without considering other variables, other PEOPLE'S feelings.
She and I have been a team for a long time. We share the same ancestor, our powers work in tandem by design, and we...we've seen each other at our ABSOLUTE worst, but because we BOTH know what it is to operate from a place of pain and anger...we comforted and reaffirmed each other...
:: Thinking about what her brother had said to her on the astral plane::
We ENABLED one another.
:: She looks at Ava::
Ava, Morgan and I...we loved Delilah, we considered her ONE OF US through and through. But the truth us...Morgan and I assumed that Delilah had more in common with us than she actually did. YOU would have been a more natural fit, but then...the THREE of us might have been our own little solar system in whatever larger group we were apart of...just like Morgan and Myself were when the Six was founded. Delilah was a sort of check...and balance...but she was also so supportive and loyal, and look how we treated her....
:: She bows her head once more, thinking about the conversation she'd had with Haleigh at Minerva's mansion::
When BISHOP crashed down on us...Morgan and I...we castigated Delilah. We were all traumatized and we had a right to our feelings, but we condemned HER with a force we should have reserved for BISHOP. We hurt her, terribly, and we didn't realize....I didn't realize what we were setting in motion.
She ended up DYING from guilt and heartbreak in the aegean sea...outside of MY aerie!
We were RIGHT THERE...and we...
:: Ava and Alison both remember, not only the moment of Delilah's suicide, but Morgan's arrival and her meltdown of grief and anguish over Delilah's suicide. Alison didn't need to continue on THAT part of her thought, she jumped ahead.::
When you came to me and Morgan, right after I'd had my nightmare about Delilah, to warn me that Circe and the blue moon were coming, Morgan and I immediately discussed the emerging threat to Delilah's life...and we decided that after ALL the events surrounding Bishop, the revelation of the curse, and her decision not to let Hecate break it because it would terminate her pregnancy...
:: She looks at Ava directly in her eyes, and the goddess sees tears flowing from her's::
We decided that Delilah was INSANE. We couldn't understand the choice she'd made... to stay connected to Bishop and this CURSE, and to keep this BABY! There was no other explanation for us that made sense.
WE decided that she was NOT competent to make critical decisions about how to AVERT the outcome of the nightmare vision I had of her...and so WE were going to not only save her life, but save her from HERSELF.
:: She'd offered a slightly LESS brutal version of this revelation to Haleigh, but much had happened since their conversation, and like Morgan, Alison had come quite far since then.::
Instead of us REMEMBERING how unwavering in her support she was for MORGAN pre AND post Inferno, among the many OTHER demosntrations of sisterhood and loyalty she'd made, instead of INCLUDING her, and showing her that even though we didn't understand, we DID trust her, and that we'd do whatever we could WITH her to help her, we just wrote her off as incompetent and WE were going to take over.
I offered the course of action that I "SAW" would save Delilah's life, Morgan sanctioned it and ordered the rest of the Six NOT to discuss it with Delilah. On some level, everyone understand why we were doing what we were doing. We KNEW that if she was aware of what was coming that she would have tried to help us fight Circe despite being in no condition to do so, and most importantly, we knew she would not allow us to take her child from her, even though her life would be FORFEIT if she was in contact with her child.
We KNEW that, and again...we couldn't even GRASP why she'd FIGHT us on it, but our position on this at that moment was: rather than WASTE TIME that we wouldn't have, we would take this decisive action and "deal with the rest as it comes."
Morgan and I have done that so many times before, and again, we always reflexively assumed that whomever was on the receiving end would just...be GRATEFUL that we'd saved them, and OVERLOOK our methods because we obviously wouldn't have gone through the trouble if we didn't care.
::Sigh!::
It was a mistake. a TERRIBLE mistake.
Our motives were genuine. We WERE in fear for Delilah's life...and my vision was TRUE. We WANTED to SAVE her, but we went about trying to protect her in such a wrong way, and we harmed her on a level that neither of us had stopped to imagine.
::Shuddering ....she pauses for a moment and holds out her hand, and her custom designed goblet TELEBLINKS into her graps in a swirl of blue/black glowing orbs::
You have hemlock?
:: Ava nodded and quickly retrieved a bottle and poured Harbinger AND herself some, Ava being one of the FEW non-magickal beings capable of drinking it and not DYING on the spot. It was TRULY a powerful concoction and Alison GULPS down her first goblet full, with Ava ALREADY ready to pour her the second one, that she'll nurse.::
You know the rest.
What's funny...is I told Bishop it would not end well for any of us- him, me, Morgan...HE said...with CERTAINTY ...that Delilah would FORGIVE US (Morgan and herself).
:: Alison laughed::
It's safe to say that his attempt at precognition was a colossal FAILURE.
:: A joke, but not really
::
I always wondered...what made him think that...he wouldn't have said it, if he didn't BELIEVE it.
Neither did Morgan. But...I NOW understand that we went about this the wrong way. We were so wracked with guilt over her suicide, we were so BITTER and ANGRY with Bishop, and with the threat of Circe, the blue moon and how it was PHYSICALLY affecting us, along with the foreknowledge that Delilah would die in the presence of her baby....we were operating out of FEAR.
We let FEAR drive us instead of relying on the better, more powerful and virtuous emotion of LOVE for our sister. I did NOT set out to hurt Delilah, but that's what Morgan and I ended up doing. We THOUGHT she'd understand...we were wrong...about so many things. And we've PAID dearly for this mistake.
:: she looks at Ava::
WE, Ava...not just myself...but ALSO Morgan...and the REST of the family.
Morgan fled because she had to. The truth of the matter is....neither she NOR I would have been able to help each other in that fallout. We THOUGHT we could handle it...I assumed that my precognition had prepared me for the worst that could happen...we were wrong. Morgan didn't abandon me. She removed herself so that she wouldn't cause anymore damage than she already had. Please don't hold that against her. Give her the chance to mend fences, the same chance that I need.
Remember what happened on Aerie...after SET? :: No need to say more, they both knew::
If we ONLY hold each up against our lowest, weakest moments...none of us would EVER want to be around one another, none of us would ever trust each other!
But the way things have happened for Morgan and Myself...is the way they were supposed to, and now we're BOTH in a place where we can return. I wouldn't have reached this moment were it not for YOU.
:: She takes a drink and she continues, still looking at Ava::
The legacy of the Blue Moon is still being defined, and it does not bode well for us. Morgan's return is happening as it should, not only for her, but for YOU.
:: Ava was not expecting to hear that.::
Earlier I said that we ALL paid a terrible price, and that includes you, Ava...I have not pushed this issue with you for as long as I can...out of respect and LOVE for you. But one of the things that we both enjoy...VALUE about our relationship to one another is the ability to broach topics that others in the Six can't. You and I are not that much different than Morgan and myself...and it's not a coincidence...considering your relationship to Hecate, who is our ancestor.
I KNOW that while you were taking care of me, it was at the expense of yourself, and the DEEP trauma you endured BEFORE you arrived to warn me about Circe. From the momenet of your escape and the Amazons providing you safe passage, till the time you arrived in my master suite, you had not had ANY time to really PROCESS what happened to you.
You put off getting any kind of care or assistance while you were helping me, and I know that eventually you sought Karen for therapy regarding it.
You DON'T have to talk about it to me right now, But you need to know....that what happened to you...it's not over. There IS a "second act" that's coming, and what I've SEEN shows me that MORGAN plays a vital role in HELPING you.
:: As jarring as that may have been, there was something else.::
But that's NOT why I came here tonight. THAT is not on your horizon just yet, but it IS coming.
I'm here NOW because I see...a SCHISM is forming following Morgan's return. Morgan and Cameron...they had a TERRIBLE argument.
:: The way Alison spoke, it was apparent to Ava that this had JUST recently happened.::
:: Alison skipped some of the details of THIS part because AFTER the psychic phenomena she witnessed on the astral plane, and her subsequent confrontation with Haleigh, she IMMEDIATELY began "viewing" her Brother and others at the Parthenon. And so she NOW knew about Kelly Shaw- who had previously AVOIDED her precognition during the Frost Caper. The woman had gained entry into this timeline due to the weakened boundaries - a lingering effect of the Blue Moon, ALONG with the growing imbalance in the magickal world, exacerbated by Spellbinder's absence.::
:: but it wasn't just a question of "viewing", the moment CAMERON learned the truth about Kelly Shaw from Delilah, ALISON discerned it from HIM as he BROADCAST his emotions (understandibly so). He was not the ONLY one capable of "peeking"...unintentional as it was at times. For siblings such as them, it could happen, unless Alison fully activated her psi screen- which then meant Cameron couldn't sense or perceive her, and SHE couldn't sense or perceive him either.::
:: SHE wasn't mad that no one came and told her, but it was important that CAMERON have a conversation with her, for other reasons. He wanted to try to convince her NOT to simply go out and DESTROY Talisman. SADLY for him, his plea would fall on deaf ears. She WOULD endorse Shadow Weaver's call for vengeance...and ASSIST HER, But Cameron needed to hear that from HER. They would have their moment soon enough.::
Their argument was very bad, and now... The Victoria family- along with Nicolas, Michael and possibly Cass will try to leave the Parthenon TONIGHT.
But they must NOT leave.
:: Alison now stands in front of the fire and addresses Ava::
You must ALL be here tonight.
Several nights ago, something happened on the ASTRAL PLANE. A psychic event of such magnitude, that I had to investigate. I learned the source of the event, and the TRUTH.
:: She COULDN'T tell Ava ALL of it. She was not meant to! And it was hurting Alison not to be able to WARN Ava as explicity as she wanted to. This wasn't a repeat of what happened with Delilah. If Alison revealed the TRUTH about Haleigh and what she would do next to Ava or anyone else SEPERATELY, it would destroy the already DELICATE structure of timethreads leading to/from the six regarding this truth bomb. ::
:: The Six, while in MORTAL DANGER, STILL would have a chance, as long as things unfolded JUST as Alison had foreseen.::
:: Ava watched as Alison seemed to STRUGGLE before She abruptly turns and THROWS her goblet into the fire place! causing the fire to FLARE OUT for a terrifying few seconds::
What I "SAW" is why I'm here now. Something is coming for you Ava. You will LEARN something that will change your perception of SELF and EVERYTHING you know.
This will effect EVERYONE in the family, and that's why the Victorias must not leave the Parthenon tonight.
YOU, Cameron, Blaze and Morgan are the ones DIRECTLY in the path of this...LIFE ALTERING event.
:: She shuts her eyes and frowns...clenching her fist, as one last tear falls::
GODDESS, PLEASE!
Ava, I'm sorry...but I CAN'T tell you what's coming in explicit detail right now. The FUTURE depends on not only tonight's event...but the time leading up to the moment of truth. EVERYONE must be gathered in the war room II together tonight. EVERYONE must LEARN at the same time.
I will BE here with you as we wait. I have to see Delilah, and my brother, and I will be here.
PLEASE trust me, Ava. I WILL be here with you when the moment of truth is at hand.
AND for you as well, Cameron! We will NOT agree on "TALISMAN" but that will not stop me from making sure you don't suffer tonight alone.
