The Serpent, The Hellene, and the Ape

[caonedh]

Ken Loper looked at himself in the mirror. His beard was becoming fuller; he'd have to start grooming it soon. The hair on his head was coming in, too, though at least the hat would keep anyone from noticing that for a time. He didn't know why the Ape disliked his hair so much, but he certainly didn't have time for foolish scraping of sharp metal blades on his scalp.

Oh, come on. If you're going to steal my body, at least take care of it!

Ken paid no mind to the voice in his head. It was a pity that they had had to integrate the Ape into the collective so quickly. He was resisting, making it hard to concentrate. Thankfully, the binding spells that had been cast so long ago to keep the collective functioning as a whole still worked. The Ape was still outvoted, and so still had no real power.

Do not underestimate him. Never have we integrated one of Gaea's chosen. It's clear that he has a very strong independent streak.

Ken frowned, but nodded. That voice had come from his chief rival for leadership of the collective. It called itself the Hellene; it had been a minor deity in the Greek Pantheon. It had joined them after the Roman conquest of Greece; apparently, he had feared that the entire pantheon would suffer the fate of poor dead Pan. No one could have guessed that the Romans would have taken those gods for their own. Nevertheless, the Hellene was clever; that trick about the Valkyries had led to one hundred and fifty years of plenty. The Hellene had gained an enormous following after that. Now, decisions often came down to who won the argument between himself and the ex-god.

He had just thrown his jacket on when he heard a text. It was from Rowan, asking him to explain some of his theories to a friend of hers.

Are you going to help? he thought at the Ape.

There was a long hesitation, but the voice sounded. Yes. I don't know why you would want to help Rowan with her problem, but I think it could really help her. So yes, I will help. But you will leave her alone, Serpent.

Ken grinned at that. His current form was nothing compared to what the Egyptians had conjured for him so long ago. He had been one of the few not to wait until his power had waned to join with the collective. The power he had recieved had let him transform from a minor functionary of Anubis to a full fledged godling, whom only Set could defeat. Many demons dreamed of being able to break into a pantheon. The Serpent had. Whistling, he locked the door behind him as he left, and began listening to the Ape as he gave his theory. It was a good theory; Ken had to hand it to the Ape. He was nothing if not smart; he could see connections that others missed.

As long as the subject has been dead a couple hundred years, sure.

Don't sell yourself so short. You're very clever, Ken thought. Now, what were you saying about Dante?

[caonedh]

"Now, I am not sure of this," Ken told the man Rowan had brought him to meet. Dr. Lancaster? He thought that was what it was. "But I think she must do it alone. In all the myths I've studied, the hero's guild disappears before the purification begins. Dante' is no different; Virgil fades away near the end of the Purgatorio. Christian scholars believe that it represented the fact that no pagan could enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but I think it speaks to a deeper truth. Understand, of course, that all of this is just a theory. But the pieces come together far to nicely for my theory to be ignored, I believe."

Dr. Lancaster nodded. "Indeed they do. Well done, Mr. Loper. I will study this further."

Yes, well done, Ken thought at the Ape. If this works, it will allow Rowan to keep the power in her blood without danger to her. This will suit us well.

Wait, what? You sons of bitches, you leave her alone!

Dr. Lancaster muttered his goodbyes, and Rowan led Ken out of Darkside. "T..thank you for coming," she said. "I knew you could explain it better than I could."

Rowan, be careful! It's not me!

"Rowan, you must be careful," Ken heard himself say. He paused. How the hell had the Ape managed that?

"Careful? What?" said Rowan, her face a picture of confusion.

Rowan, get out of there!

"Rowan, you should go home," said Ken, and then frowned. Damn it, someone get control of him!

I told you not to underestimate him

Quit gloating and do something! Ken mentally shouted at the Hellene. Rowan was talking again "...Ken? What's wrong with you? You aren't acting like yourself. You haven't smiled once, you're dressing differently, the beard.."

Ken smiled. "I thought you liked the beard."

"I do, but..."

I'm not me!

"I'm not me. I mean, I'm not really feeling like myself tonight," said Ken.

"Ken, what's wrong? Talk to me."

I can salvage this, the Serpent thought at the collective. Just get him under control. "It's nothing that I want to worry you with."

Rowan put on a severe look. "I'll j..just worry more if you don't. Or should I stop telling you about my visits to the doctor? I wouldn't want to worry you with it."

Tell her you've decided to use the spell. We can gauge her reaction. If it's not too adverse, it will be easier to convince her to be a part of it later. Humans do all sorts of crazy things, just because they're used to the idea.

Good thinking! Ken thought at the Hellene. He then heaved a sigh he hoped looked real. "I've decided to try the spell."

Rowan looked aghast. "You can't just take someone's blood!" she said.

"You're right." You're in danger from me, Rowan, you need to get away! "You're in danger from me, Rowan," he finished before he could bite the words off.

"W..what?! You're not making any sense! How am I in danger?"

Ken pinched this nose between his eyes. "Nothing. I need sleep, I don't know what I'm saying anymore." You will stop that, Ken thought at the Ape. Or I will take your little girlfriend into my bed. "I just...I feel in a funk. I need a change."

This made Rowan chew her lip. "W...what sort of change?"

I will not let you use her, Serpent, even if it means I lose her. Ken felt the Ape gathering his strength before hearing the word in his mind. Everything.

"Everything," said Ken. Fuck all! the Serpent thought. Listen to me, Ape. She has a power in her blood. We might not need it all to power the spell. But I swear to Ra, Isis, to Osiris himself that if you interfere, I will twist her head off and make this body drink every last drop of her blood. Do you understand me, you piece of shit primate fuck?

Believe him. He'll do it. The Serpent is a sadistic bastard.

Then help me stop him!

We can't. We need out of here, son. You can't understand; you're suffering and you've only been with us for a matter of days. We've been trapped for hundreds of years. Most of us will do anything...ANYTHING...to get out. You have my word that if we can spare Ms. Mallory, we will. But you must stop what you are doing.

"Everything? M..me?" asked Rowan in a small voice.

Ken smiled softly down at her. "No, love. You're part of the change I need." He waited a moment to see if the Ape would try something else. Part of him couldn't wait to end this pitiful woman; he had never been able to stand anyone, human or otherwise, who couldn't muster up a basic sense of self confidence. But apparently the Hellene had talked the Ape down. The newest part of the collective sat silent, though Ken could feel his anger. Well done again, Hellene, he thought.

Do not thank me too much, Serpent. The hash you're making out of this is not going unnoticed. I'm taking over from you as soon as I have the backing.

It took every bit of willpower Ken had not to scowl at that. It was good that he did not, because Rowan was smiling up at him. All at once, she embraced him. "You are a wonderful, wonderful man," she whispered. "Let's go home."

"Home? Our homes are on different continents."

"It doesn't matter. Home is where you are," she said. "And you need rest." She managed to say all of it without a stutter, thought Ken disdainfully. Miracles DO happen. He let her lead him towards her London flat. She turned back once or twice to look at him, but misinterpreted the smile he was wearing.

[caonedh]

Ammie opened the door to the apartment with the tips of two fingers and her butt, using what she could around the huge bag of groceries, and missing the days when Jim had been posted just outside to do important things like protect Shay, stop home invasions, and open doors for Ammie.

She sorted the groceries and took a nice hot shower, melting off a layer of salt and dirt from a day's worth of field work.
Shay wouldn't be home for another few hours, so Ammie threw on a fitted t-shirt and a pair of jogging pants, and stalked around the apartment looking for something to do. She ended up back in the kitchen, and found an old box of chocolate chip cookie mix sitting in the back of a cabinet, and asked herself if there was a better smell to come home to than that, and quickly decided that no, no there wasn't.

Cookies for Shay! Couldn't be simpler! Just follow these easy steps! First, locate these ingredients!
Milk! Butter! Eggs!
There was precisely one teacup's worth of milk left in the house. None, after Ammie decided that a teacup's worth was basically useless, and drank it.

She pouted, trying to think of a way to not have to put on less comfy clothing and trek out to the store for more, when she remembered that Ken had recently moved in upstairs.

With a sizable grin, she selected a bottle of nice wine from her apartment collection and decided that it was time to go a-housewarming, and perhaps see if Ken had some extra milk (while she was there.)

She stopped at the mirror and twisted her hair into a cute, breezy bun and laughed at herself, then grabbed her keys and prayed she remembered which apartment was Ken's.

Meanwhile, Ken sat at his computer, typing on paperwork. It was amazing how much paperwork was involved in a simple trek to Romania. It was boring, thankless work.... but he needed to keep up appearances. He was just about finished when he heard a familiar voice down the hall, apologizing for knocking on the wrong apartment. Was that....yes. The Void-damned Wicker woman. Ken cursed. He had been sure that he had managed to alienate his coworkers sufficiently to leave him alone.

Ah, but Ammie isn't a coworker.

Hush, he thought at the Ape, as he checked himself in the mirror. Yeah, he didn't look too crazy. He strode across the front room (he had set up his office in what should be the dining room) and opened the door to his apartment, peering down the hall. "Over here, Ammie," he called. This wasn't going to be easy. But he'd play it cool. For that matter, he had sensed something in the young woman...something not totally human. Perhaps he could turn her into an ally? It might be worth it to try, he thought, as she turned to look towards where the voice had come from.

Ammie turned on her bare heel, doing an about-face towards the voice and floating down the hall towards him in a series of half-run bounces that somehow managed to avoid looking clumsy and became a giddy kind of charming. On reaching the door, she held up the bottle of wine to him with both arms extended, grinning wide, her ice-blue eyes a twinkle of amusement. Her London accent floated musically towards him, conveying both joy and sincerity in her greeting. "Happy housewarming! I thought I'd come see you, and see what you were up to! Plus I'd like to borrow some milk. But mainly the former." She pushed her hair out of her eyes and rolled her lips in, waiting to see how he'd react. She hoped he liked wine. She hadn't known what type he preferred, so she'd selected a particularly flavorful pinot grigio that she'd always enjoyed, and just hoped he was having chicken or fish for dinner.

The hair fell right back into her face, and she broke back into the warm grin.

Ken looked at the bottle in confusion for a moment, but then smiled and took it. "Thank you, Ammie. And of course I have some milk. Come on in." He stood to the side to let her enter. Ammie relinquished the bottle with pride, and steped into the apartment. Far from the bachelor pad she'd in some way expected, her eyes panned the manicured living space with the puzzled wonder of a child viewing something wholly unfamiliar to them. His apartment is immaculate with the exception of his desk, which is the definition of 'controled chaos.'. His window had a very nice view of the Hudson; it was even more spectacular after full dark had set in. He set the wine on the counter and opened the fridge. He took a look at the date on the milk, then sniffs it; clearly, he is not a big milk person. "How much of this do you need? And how is Ms. Rystaad? Since I got my network up and running, I don't see her too much."

She folded her hands behind her and wandered about a bit, looking at Ken's collection of artifacts with excitement. "She's brilliant as ever. She's working a lot - gonna be home in a few hours and I thought I'd make some cookies for her to come home to. I don't know how much milk I need. I guess I should have looked, huh?" She admitted with a pained grin, turning to face him in the kitchen. "This may be the first time I've attempted the whole 'baked goods' thing, and I'm not quite sure I won't burn down the building. So, if you hear me screaming, just get to a window, Kay?" She laughed musically and winked at him.

"Well, if you're doing cookies, I'll just give you what's left. Cookies without milk is just sad, and it'll just go bad if it stays here."

Turning back to his collection of artifacts, she raised her voice a bit. "I bet there are a lot of stories behind these pieces! How long have you been doing archaeology? And didn't you say you found a piece of particular interest recently? In...Tanis? Was it?"

Damn it, Ken thought. Why did the Ape have to run his mouth about that?

Because people like to talk about the things that interest them. In your case, it would be how to suck a soul out of a person. Go on. Talk to her about that.

Ken turned to see Ammie looking over some of the relics. "I've always been interested in Archaeology, since I was little. I've a collection of Roman coins, though they're at my wife's place. Most of what I find gets turned over, though. I found a Grecian Death Mask at an auction a few weeks back; somebody paid six digits for it. Makes me sick; history belongs to everyone." Grabbing two glasses that were certainly NEVER intended to be used for wine, he poured them both a drink from the bottle Ammie had brought and gave her the glass. "And yes, I did find an inscription, just outside San al-Hagar; that's where the main Tanis dig site is. It's a stone with hieroglyphs on it, called a stele." Taking a sip of his wine, he adds, "I don't think I've ever seen you in such comfortable looking clothes. If I may say, you should do it more often. You're attractive enough that you need not try so hard."

Ammie blushed. "It's a bit inappropriate, innit?"

Ken shrugged expansively. "I don't know what's so inappropriate. Simply stating an opinion"

Ammie shook her head. "Sorry, I was just going 100 kph all day, and when I got comfy I stopped thinking about appearances, really."
She grinned and took the snifter full of wine with a giggle. "You're not a wine person, I guess. Well - tell me what your drink is, and next time I'll bring a bottle of that, instead."

"I tend to drink whiskey and beer, like my ancestors."

This young woman...there are multiple parts. .

Ken took a drink of the wine, to hide his confusion at the Hellene's statement. Is she possessed? he thought.

No. It's like...her soul is fragmented. Can't you sense it?

No, I can't. I'm busy trying to run this Ape's body, Ken thought disdainfully. A split soul, eh? Oh, this might be easier than he had thought!

"Cheers! Hope you like it anyway!" said Ammie. She drank deeply. "So. Watcha working on?"

He hesitated, then shook his head. "Right now I'm not working on anything, really. The stele was a dead end. Fascinating, but ultimately fruitless. My life currently revolves around sifting through reports from peons who could have solved their own problems if they had an ounce of self reliance or respect." Ken took a drink of wine , carefully not looking at Ammie. Can she sense us like we sense her?

She doesn't seem to. Or at least, she's not familiar with your brand of evil, Serpent.

Ammie giggled and waved a finger at him. "But, if peons started gaining self respect, they'd get promoted and no longer be peons!"

"I suppose you're right," said Ken. "Have a seat?" Ammie grinned at him and shook her head, and they both sat down on the sofa, Ken bringing the bottle with him. Ammie tucked her feet under her and took another sip of wine. He topped her off, then sat back into the cushions. "Ammie, do you mind if I ask you something?"

Ammie nodded. "Go ahead?"

"The voices that you sometimes speak in....what are they?"

Ammie hesitated, her grin slipping away. "What do you mean?"

"Well, are they demons? Are they part of you? I only ask because everyone seems so intent on you controlling them."

"They're....part of me. And I've been working on controlling them."

Ken raised an eyebrow. "It seems somewhat backward; a hedonist keeping a tight rein on a part of herself."

"I'm an ethical hedonist," Ammie responded, almost primly. "I pursue pleasure, but not at the expense of the pleasure of others."

Ethical hedonism...what a marvelous contradiction. This young woman would have done well in Thebes

"Fair enough," said Ken, agreeing with the Hellene. "But why control it? If they're part of you, why not try to integrate them into you?"

"Because..... look, they want the same things I want. They just go through whatever and whoever to get it. They're dangerous." Ammie took another drink of wine, and looked away from him. "I'm not comfortable with this conversation anymore."

"I apologize. I should let you go. Those cookies are not going to bake themselves." He stood and went to the fridge to get the milk for her. "I just hope your friends... and Shay, for that matter....know what you're giving up for them. No one should be expected to give up pieces of themselves."

Ammie unexpectedly chuckled. "That sounded like Confucius. I think it's time to leave before more of that comes out of you."

"Well, I don't know Confucius. But I do know Socrates. He said, 'the unexamined life is not worth living.' I trust you'll do what is right for you. But I hope you spend enough time thinking about it to know if it IS right for you."

Ammie looked up at him, confusion clear in her eyes. "OK. You're right. I'll give it some thought."

"OK. I'm sorry, I don't mean to rock the boat. It's just... after what happened with my wife.." Ken paused, and then sighed for dramatic effect. "I know how you feel about Ms. Rystaad. I just want you to be able to know that she loves you for EVERYTHING you are. And for that matter, if you love her, then doesn't she deserve to know who you are, too? Not just the part that you can control, but every facet of what makes you Ammie?"

Ammie said nothing for a long moment, just staring at her. Then, in one fluid motion, she stepped forward and kissed him on the cheek. "You are very sweet," she said. "Thanks for the milk."

"Say hello to Seanne for me," he said as she shut the door behind her. Well....I'd say that seed was planted, wouldn't you, Hellene? And what about you, Ape? Nothing to say?

Nothing needs to be said. I think you'll find you've fucked with the wrong woman.

She's only human, thought Ken with a mental laugh. I think we'll be fine.

[caonedh]

The world was a haze of swirling blue and black. The Ape floated in this void, at peace. He wondered why he had resisted so hard in the first place. Being able to step back, let someone else take the wheel...

Not that he fully trusted the Serpent, of course. The demon took far too much pleasure in sadism for the Ape's taste. But still, he understood the Serpent better now; understood what drove him, knew how he thought. It was like they had become brothers.

No. More than that. They were two parts of the same being.

Vaguely, he remembered when he alone was forced to be Ken Loper. He shuddered at the memory. Why would anyone want to be so alone? He finally understood his coworkers need to party all the time, to be surrounded by people. Just the thought of being alone in his own head filled him with aching loneliness.

But now! Oh, the conversations he had! He spoke with Daimonian about Socrates; the real one, not the idealized man he had read about in Plato. A dryad and a succubus had had a long debate about how to seduce a mortal, which had interested him intensely. Was it truly the allure of the mysterious, the exotic, as the dryad said? Or was it wantoness, the knowledge that someone desired you, that truly made men wild, as the succubus had loudly proclaimed! The Ape suspected it was somewhere in between. A leprechaun had told him limericks that would have made Rowan blush for a year and a half, while a Raksasha had told him of Darius' twisted and perverted needs, never recorded by history.

Don't lose yourself here, Ape. Your paramour is still in danger.

The Ape could not nod in the void, but he felt his head bob anyway, like a memory of a feeling. Reluctantly, he turned his attention back to the outside world, through the blue black fog. He was.... in his apartment. And Rowan was there. She was...unpacking? And holy shit, there was Jake. Her dog.

Serpent! You didn't drag Jake through Agartha, did you?

No, the Serpent thought back irritably. Rowan has agreed to stay here for a few weeks. Her dreams have been very bad, and she's on a hiatus from her job from the summer. She insisted the beast be flown out. Thankfully, we have enough money from our day job.

Yes, we do, I suppose. What is your plan?

Remember why Necromancers wear masks?

Do not harm her, please.

We will not harm her. Now that you've finally integrated, your feelings for her are our feelings as well. Besides, the power of her blood is quite potent. A few nights of withdrawls, kept safe in a stasis grid appropriated from your Illuminati HQ.... she will be weak for a few days, maybe even a week. But she will not die.

The Ape knew that the Serpent was not lying to him. The Serpent COULD no longer lie. They were one.

Appropriated, eh? Fancy word.

Shut up, Hellene. It's the Ape's fault.

The Ape took one more look at Rowan through Ken's eyes before retreating back into the void. Their plan was coming to fruition. Soon, they would ALL be free. They would spread out into the world and make it their own. More would join their cause, he was sure.... vampires, werewolves, ghouls, bees. They would cast Gaia out, reinforce the prison on the Dreamers. The world would belong to him, and his brothers and his sisters. The Ape could not sigh in contentment in the void. But he did anyway. It was just a matter of days now.

[caonedh]

Ken Loper finished his dark beer, watching Tess as she walked out. That had been close.... Tess had been asking him questions about his research. She'd never done that before. At first, he had been worried about whether or not she suspected something. But he had easily been able to divert her with minor details that the Ape had already revealed. Of course, it had helped that she had made an indelicate comment about Rowan to make him uncomfortable. Ken smiled to himself, almost feeling sorry for her. The Ape might have gotten flustered, but not him. He had been around for several millennia; if he had had hang ups about sex like people in this time did, he would have long since abandoned them.

Besides, what did or did not happen between Rowan and himself was none of anybody's business.

Ken scowled. That thought was the Ape's. But it was also his. Ever since he had stopped fighting, the Ape had been a constant pressure on his mind. That shouldn't be; he was only human. But something about him....his newness to the collective? His blessing from Gaea? ....... had made his personality very powerful, almost as powerful as himself or the Hellene. Thankfully, he was currently in the state of bliss that all new additions eventually found; he remembered when he had first join, when the number was so much smaller. He had spent months just absorbing knowledge, enjoying the feeling of power. He expected the Ape to do the same. And in a way, it was a good thing. The Ape should be so enamoured with being a part of them that he should do what he needed to without question, when the time came.

He hadn't even noticed the argument he had had with Rowan. The blood mage knew now that something wasn't right. It was a miscalculation on his part.... he should not have changed his physical appearance. But he had gone to a show, and seen how Shay and others dyed thier hair. He had immediately done his own hair, which was now long enough to comb, in red. Those who did not know him, like Tess, had thought he looked great. Others whom he had gotten to know, like the young woman with the blue hair, had been aghast. And Rowan had ended up in tears. She was afraid she was losing the man she loved.

The poor dear. She hadn't figured out that he was already gone. And she wouldn't, either. It was only a matter of days now.

Ken left the Horned God and headed straight to the Agartha portal. From there he jumped to Blue Mountain. He strolled carelessly through the Draug and undead creatures in the unfinished Casino.... most of them seemed to instinctually realize he was beyond their capabilities now, and the odd zombie that did attack was incinerated in a blue black inferno. He checked a room that read "Men." And there was indeed a Man in their...or at least he had once been a man. The undead viking strained against his restraints when he saw Ken, but could not break them. They had found the thing only a few days ago. He was no longer recognizable as the Shaman that had cast the closing spell on the cosmic rift... but he still wore the necklace. He doubted anyone but himself would have seen it. The Wabanaki had a ritual in which one could relive the Darkness War....but that ritual only showed the man with the Sword. "Viking Jesus," as he was affectionately known. Mortals were so gullible. As if any one person could close a rift of that size, even with a magic sword. This one had been far more responsible, crafting the spell that VJ ultimately cast. He had died in the attempt, was buried as a hero.... and now, like all those other heroes, he had been shambling in the forest surrounding the mountain ever since the Fog came. Ken smacked the creature forcefully. Then he did it again, and a third time. The creature didn't react, but then, Ken hadn't expected it too. He walked over to a compartment...a stall, he remembered from the Ape's memories.... and grabbed a suitcase he had hidden there. He left the casino, and used Agartha to jump to New York.

It was late when he got back to his apartment. Jake lifted his head, and then set it down again. The dog was still wary of his presense, but Ken had set blocks on his primative mind. The stupid creature didn't bark himself silly everytime he walked into the room, now. He absentmindedly scratched the creature behind the ear (another habit picked up from the Ape), and quietly walked into the bedroom. As he suspected, Rowan was asleep, her hair done into a braid, covers pulled to her chin. She hadn't been feeling well. Weak, tired.... and the Templar docs had told her she didn't have as much blood as she should. Of course, those doctors had come up with insane reasons why that should be. Doctors wanted to feel like the smartest person in the room, even in Ancient Egypt. The obvious answer, that someone was talking it, had apparently not even occurred to them.

He set the suitcase down, and let the blue black flame encase his arm. Gently, he sent it towards her, into her head, stimulating the sleep center of her mind so that she would not wake up. Rowan murmured a little, but soon quieted. He reached down and opened the brief case, to where he had hid the portable stasis grid he had stolen from Illuminati HQ. He shut down the electrical current, and opened it. He then set it on the nightstand next to Rowan. Holding his hand out between the too, he summoned the Blood anima....so much more difficult for him than Chaos, but the Necromancers had trained him well. After a few seconds, blood began seeping out of Rowan's eyes, nose, and mouth, funneled into the stasis grid. He took about a pint; he usually tried to take less, but if Rowan was on to them, he needed to hurry. After the spell was complete, Ken estimated how much blood was there now. About three pints. He needed another half pint at least to perform the spell. But taking any from her now might kill her. He'd give her a couple of days to recover. He could wait a couple more days. He turned the stasis grid back on, and put it back into the briefcase. Rowan looked very pale.

She'll be alright, he thought.

I hope you're right.

Yes. The poor girl will suffer enough once this physical body is consumed.

Ken nodded as he took the the magical stimulants away from Rowan's brain. He then walked into the bathroom. Ape...you'll have to do this. You're more practiced at it.

Right. Give me power now.

Ken relinquished power as he felt the Ape grab it...and then he was no longer Ken. He was once again the Serpent. The Ape stood a little straighter. It felt strange to be back in a physical body. It took him a few moments to get used to it.

Please don't use the razor until your hand is steady

I won't, thought Ken. He took a look at himself, and he didn't recognize the person who looked back at him. What on earth had the Serpent been thinking?

I was thinking that shaving all the voiddamned time was stupid.

I see. Wrong often? Ken felt the Serpent's anger, but also felt the Hellene chuckling. After a few minutes, he started shaving that awful hair off of his head. He didn't think he would miss his body, but goddamn it, if this body was gonna be destroyed, it'd be destroyed looking GOOD. It took him an hour plus to get all of that disgusting growth off of his head, but when he was done, he recognized himself looking back at him in the mirror. Satisfied, he crawled into bed, put his arms around Rowan, and went to sleep.

[caonedh]

Ken Loper finished drawing the last of the blood from Rowan’s still form, channeling it in a thin rope to the stasis grid. He then closed the lid, turned the power back on, and shut it up in its briefcase. Before he left, he took one last look at her. She looked so peaceful, if pale. His thefts had left her extremely ill, but she would survive. That was a victory. He pulled the covers over her, despite the heavy sweatshirt she was already wearing, and left the bedroom. Closing the door quietly behind him, he walked to his desk to check his phone. It had chirped several times, but he had been ignoring it. It was work, of course; he was supposed to have had a report on Tess’ desk about his research. But he was never going to see Tess again. Putting his phone down, he grabbed a pen and began to write.

Dearest Rowan,
By the time you wake up, I will be gone. I have every intention of you never having to read this letter; I’ll come back and throw it away if all goes to plan. But there is a very real risk that I may never come back. If that is the case, there are some things I need you to know.

First, the reason you feel so drained is because I have been stealing your blood. I know I cannot apologize enough for this, but the spell was very clear. The blood of a mage unwillingly given. I could not ask you; I had to take it. I know, too, that no matter what my reasons were, what I did to you was a violation. I tell you now, not to throw it in your face, but to let you know that you will be alright in a week or so. It is not your blood causing you the problems, as your halfwit Templar docs told you.

Second, I need you to know that you have been the only good thing that has happened to me in this world. Since being stung, I lost everything that made me me. But you helped me to find it again. I know I have the reputation of being cold….and I suppose with others, I am. But you allowed me to be who I am, even at my geekiest, even at my lowest. I do not think you will ever truly know how incredible a person you are; I know you have guilt about your past, and I know you have doubts about whether or not other people value you. Well, I tell you now that I value you above all others. I’ve come to love you in these weeks, to trust you when I thought I would never trust again. You have that effect, Ro. People can instinctively feel how good a person you are. It comes through in your every smile, your every act of healing that heals others and yet costs you so much.

I do not leave you easily, for I would never willingly cause you pain. And I know that, if I never come back, that is exactly what this will do. But I hope you know me well enough now to know that I would not risk what I’ve found with you unless it were of paramount importance. And I hope you can someday forgive me for the harm I’ve done you. And please, when you remember me, remember me for the good parts… times lying against our tree in the park, or when you had that sunburn because you didn’t wear sunscreen in Egypt and I had to tend your wounds but you were too embarrassed to let me see. Remember how it felt the first time we kissed, there in the doorway of your apartment. Making grilled cheese when I finally found a place to live of my own. These are the moments I think of when I think of you. They are the moments that will live forever; pure moments when time itself stops to take notice of what we mortals do. Those are the moments where you will always find me. The moments where I will be waiting for you.

With Love,
Ken[/font]

Very nice letter. I hope it brings her some comfort.

Whatever. Let’s get going!

Ken nodded; both Serpent and Hellene were right. He put the letter on his desk; Rowan was sure to find it, but probably not right away, since she knew he did Illuminati work there. He threw on his brown overcoat, and got his much worn hat from the closet. Then he strode out the door.

An Agartha jump later, he was in the Blue Mountain. He collected the zombie; it bit at him, but a quick murmer restrained the creature in blue black flame. Carefully, he crept through the Ak’ab forests, skirted the Wendigo clan that had made claim to the old Wabanaki village, and headed to the mine. There, he had to deal with a few Draug…nothing he couldn’t handle. He led the creature into the mineshaft, then further down, into the tunnels even the miners had abandoned. He didn’t exactly know when he came to the right location….he simply felt it. It had been here. Here the portal had set, when his brothers and sisters had been accidently imprisoned. Tying the undead shaman to a overgrowth of rock, Ken took a bundle of sage from his pocket. He channeled briefly, setting it alight. The pungent aroma soon filled the cave, even as he blew out the flame. Then, he started drawing the ritual circle on the ground with the ashes. He had never done this before, but the Hellene had, and the spirit guided his hand so that he made no mistakes.

Now remember, we will have to separate from you before we come through; if we don’t, the psychic backlash will destroy your mind. When we come through, the force of it WILL destroy your physical form. Do not fear it. You are us now; the essential parts that make you you will join with us. And then….we can start establishing our foothold here.

Ken nodded. He felt anxious about being apart from the others, but he knew it was necessary. But first thing was first. He bound the zombie in a field of blue black, lifting him and setting him in the center of the circle he had drawn. He then took the stasis tube out of the briefcase and turned off the grid, opening it. Immediately he began to chant the words of the spell, drawing on blood and chaos both. The blood began to stream from the canister, laying itself down in perfect alignment with the circle he had drawn. To summon a spirit dead this long, he had needed a lot of blood. But he had apparently gotten the amount right; when the blood was finally all down, it covered the complete circle evenly. With a grin, he shouted the last phrase of the spell, holding his hands high. The circle flashed brilliant red, and then seemed to explode in a waterfall of red fluid that defied gravity, reaching the roof of the cavern and fanning out.

Ken had shielded his eyes from the flash. When he looked again, the spirit of an old, old man was looking at the zombie, who looked back with what was the first emotion it had ever shown; recognition. “Was hast du geten?” the spirit asked…but Ken heard it him speak in English, with a rich baritone. “What have you done?”

“We have used your physical form to summon you, shaman,” said Ken. “You closed a rift in this place, long ago. You trapped my friends. We need you to undo that mistake.”

“It was no mistake. Only evil could be trapped by my spell.”

“Nevertheless, you will undo what you have done,” said Ken expressionlessly.

“I will not. I am not a demon. You cannot compel me. You can torture my soul until I am no more than a mad spectre. I will not do as you ask.”

“Yours is not the spirit we will torture,” said Ken; they had expected this answer. “We have summoned your spirit. Above our head lay HUNDREDS of your comrades. The honored dead, yes? You will do as we say, or we will bring them to you one by one. A simple binding will keep you here as we summon their spirits. We will torture THEM. we will break THEM. You will watch as we do it. Even if you change your mind and give us what we want, it will not save them. We will destroy the spirit of every one of them. None of them will ever have rest. They will roam this earth, preying upon their ancestors. Feel free to think we’re bluffing.”

The spirit did not respond for a long moment. When he finally did, it was to ask, “welch Art von Ubel sind Sie?” What sort of evil are you?

“You name it. We’ve probably been it at some point. Now do as we ask.”

The shaman was nothing more than a spirit, but it seemed to draw a steadying breath. “As you wish. On your head be it.”

We must separate you now. We will be with you soon.

With no more warning then that, Ken was separated from the entity. He staggered, clutching his head with both hands. It took him a few moments, but he began to become aware of his surroundings again. In front of him, the spirit of the Shaman was casting a spell. The spell that would let his brothers and… wait. What? His brothers and sisters? When had they become that?
In front of him, a vertical line appeared, that seemed to expand like a tear in the very fabric of the earth. Through it, he could see the blue black void that had so haunted him. He understood now, understood what he had been seeing all those times. It was the prison of the entity. A wind started blowing in the still cave; he braced himself, but his hat flew off down the cavern.
If they got out…they would be…free. He wanted them free! Didn’t he? His brothers had said that the essential part of him would join….

All at once, words in a letter came back to him. …I had lost everything that made me me. But you helped me find it again. Rowan. If the entity got free….at best, it would enslave Rowan. Tess, Ammie, Beryl…. Even that raging bitch Sera. They would all fight. They might all die. Rowan might die. She would certainly fight. And they might lose.

Those people are not your friends….

The phrase floated up to him, unbidden. But was it true? He remembered the hookah bar with Ammie, and drinking with Tess. The rooftop party with Carl and Jule to celebrate his new book, and eating wings in London with that damned blue headed girl who wanted him to traipse off to a mythical country. Meeting Shay and Chassi, having them take them to a Laundromat. Where he met a shy girl who would barely meet his gaze. Outwitting vampires with Victoria. Talking Rose into getting into the hot spring with everyone, despite her not knowing any of them. A hundred different scenes, painting a much different picture. Those people wanted to be his friends. They were good people. And he had put them in danger.

Ken stood drew himself to full height. The wind buffeted his coat, but he seemed not to mind. In front of him, the rift seemed to be bulging. Any moment now, the entity would break free. One last time, he let the blue black flame engulf his arms. He then sent it out… but not to the rift. Instead, the shaman’s physical form found itself engulfed in flame. It screamed, and it seemed that within the rift, others screamed too, a cacophony of pain and anguish and defeat. The spirit of the shaman smiled at Ken as it winked out of existence, and the tear….imploded. Everything in the cavern was drawn into it. In a movie, Ken would have found a stalagmite to hold on to. But this was not a movie. There were no stalagmites, and it happened so fast that he wouldn’t have had time to grab something even if there had been. He flew into the tear, which closed with an ultrasonic WHOOMP that shook the ground, like a mild earthquake that knocked everyone above it to the ground.

When he came to, he was surrounded by the void. This came as no surprise to him. “Am I dead?” he asked himself softly.

No. You are now trapped with those you rejected.

The Voice. He could no longer distinguish between the Hellene, the Serpent, and the others, but once again heard all of them at once. “Don’t be a sore loser,” he said, hoping he sounded braver than he felt.

You beautiful idiot. Do you think you’ve won? We will keep you here. We will flay your mind. We will drive you to the brink of madness, and then let you heal before tearing your psyche to shreds yet again. A moment can feel like years in this place. We shall make sure it does for you.

Ken swallowed….then abruptly started laughing hysterically. “Do you remember what I told you after that damned specter stabbed me in the chest?

Some nonsense, we’re sure.

Ken laughed some more, even as the pain begun, and shouted out. “I said, FUCK YOU, VOICE! I went out fighting!”

You’ll go out screaming. Believe us. Those who you rejected us for will not save you. They are not your friends. And now, neither are we.

Oh, Rowan. I’m so sorry, he thought. Then the screaming began.
****************************************************************************
PFC Harry Cooper picked himself up off the ground, and reached down to help the man next to him. “Blimey!” said the man, grabbing Harry’s arm and hauling himself back up. “Wot the fuck d’ye spose that was all about?”

“I don’t rightly know,” said Harry. “Prolly nothing we gonna like, though.”

“Fuck all if that ain’t the bloody truth. Oi dunna care wot any of em say bout ye, Buscofusco, ye’re a fuckin egghead, ye are,” said the man. Harry didn’t know why, but he insisted on calling himself Seamz.

“I wish you wouldn’t call me that, Seamz,” said Harry plaintively. It was such a stupid nickname; he didn’t know how he had got it.

“Ye oughta thank me, mate! First toime Oi call ye ‘Arry, ye can bet ye’re left nut you’ll be getting called ‘Arry Potter fer the rest of ye’re days!”

Harry nodded; there was something to that. He was about to say so when he saw something floating in the air. “Reckon that things hungry?” he said, pointing at the object.

“Fucker’s too small to eat much,” said Seamz, peering at it. The object kept floating down, until it landed at the private’s feet. It was a hat…much used, worn, not terribly stylish. Harry picked it up while Seamz laughed. “Nah, I guess it won’t eat much at all! What’e’ye suppose ‘appened to the poor sod wot wore that?”

“Nothing good,” said Harry, as he turned it around. He noticed something golden inside of the hat, so he peered more closely. Before he could react, the golden thing flew out and stung him right above the eye. “Ah!” he cried. “It bit me!”

Seamz peered at the bee as it landed on a nearby tree. “Nah, it can’t be one of THEM...can it?,” he said wonderingly. Even as he spoke, the bee flew to another tree, as if beckoning them to follow.

Harry held a hand over the beesting and joined Seamz. “What do you think it’s doing?” he asked, more than a little ready to squish the thing.

“Oi think it’s one of them Bee bees, mate,” said Seamz. “It’s floi’in roight to the Agartha portal, it is.”

Harry didn’t blink at that; he had been indoctrinated by fire into the Secret World ever since his unit had been stationed on Soloman Island, before the fog came. He knew Seamz was one of the “bees” everyone was talking about, which could get on and off the island. But he had never seen one of those things. “Maybe we should follow it,” he said simply.

“Them fuckers don’t sting ye fer nuthin, mate,” agreed Seamz. “Most loike was tryin t’get ye’re attention.”

“Then I reckon we ought to do just that,” he said, shouldering his rifle. Together, the two men walked off. Harry took the hat with him.

[caonedh]

Rowan bolted up in the large bed, breathing hard as her heart pounds in her chest. She sits there, trembling as she tries to figure out what woke up in such a state of terror. She didn't have the nightmares that constantly plagued her. She could remember no dream to explain this feeling. She calls out in a trembling voice

"Ken....?" when there is no answer she scoots out of the bed, grabbing her glasses and slipping them up onto her face "Ken are you there?"

She couldn't explain why the silence that followed only caused her to tremble more as she hurried out of the bedroom, looking around and seeing the empty apartment. It would take her an hour of waiting, an hour of calling his phone and getting no reply, to look at his desk, and find the letter.

She reads it, slowly sliding to the floor to sit as the first tears well up. She reads it again in disbelief as her breath hitches. One more time her eyes pass over the letter and she drops her head with a sob of fear and pain.

(as written by Spei)

[Ammie]

((This right here? This is gonna be a lot of fun, right here. Very nice set-up. Now, sit back, relax, and watch your friends come pull your shiny cueball out of there.))