THE RAREST OF SINS: Chapter Five, The Scathing Senseless

Rare smiled at Valiant. Her beautiful daughter. She leaned down and kissed the girl on the brow. Her fears didn't lessen at the girl's whining for her father, though she was glad that her attempts at soothing worked. It meant that Valiant still had love for her mother. It meant that Sin couldn't, or maybe wouldn't, take her away entirely.

A little light in the darkness of her desperate paranoia.

It lifted her spirits a little bit, and she stroked some hair from her little girl's face.

"We'll come out happy," she said, "Things might not turn out how we expect, but the Multiverse doesn't like to be mean." She cupped her daughter's cheek. "I've met her. Her name is Beryl, and she's a golem made of all sorts of pretty crystals."

Elizabeth, trying to pay attention to everything, couldn't help but hear mention of Beryl. Couldn't help but listen to Rare's words. She smiled slightly as she recalled her own interactions with the one she swore her everything to protect, and she closed her eyes, finding relief in the mention of that crystalline golem.

Elli's suggestion that he check on his father's grave snapped her eyes open, and she looked to the young man, then nodded. "Let me know what you find, Elli," she urged, "I'm hoping for good news."

It was the closest her lips would come to saying she missed the big, dopey Hunter. Despite his depression and hurt over Felicie's betrayal, he'd been a source of positive energy in the house. He was supportive and sweet, and he showed interest in what others were doing.

Even his heavy drinking near the end didn't lessen her opinion of him—he'd been betrayed by his wife and his son and daughter-in-law had run off somewhere he couldn't follow. For someone like Ober, it was surely unbearable.

In her thoughtful reverie, she didn't notice Elli's over-the-top gift for her daughter, nor his cursing, but the scolding tone Falren used got through, and she blinked away her thoughts in order to pay attention.

Well, whatever bad language Elli used, it sounded like he wanted Penny to deliver an apology to Poppy for him. That was good.

With the young man gone, Elizabeth looked around the kitchen, then nodded. "So, we'll mostly need to figure out what sorts of meals we'll want during holiday, since we'll need to pack food..."

"Old on! Befoh 'at!" Penny shoved the flower into the air and swung it a little. "I'm gonna go tell Mummy that Papa's a dick and he's sorry!" She grinned broadly at using a word her grandda didn't like, then darted out with a giggle to avoid a scolding.

Elizabeth covered her mouth to try to muffle her quiet snort of laughter, and she shot an amused, slightly-guilty look at Falren.

She wasn't suppose to laugh. That would only encourage Penny.

But... It was funny. And it was hard to hide her emotions when she felt safe, surrounded by family.

"She takes after her mother," Elizabeth finally said.

~*~​

"Mummyyyyyy!" Penny shouted as she followed her mother's scent up the stairs. She opened the door to her mother's room and charged in, apology-flower held aloft. "Papa says 'e's real sorry 'e's a dick!"

Poppy's head jerked up and her back straightened as wide yellow eyes stared at her daughter. She blinked a few times, then laughed a little at the girl's excitement. "Ey, quitcheh swinging et 'round, yeh going teh break et." She rose and walked to the girl, then scooped her into a hug.

"Nay!" The girl cackled. "Papa made it." She shoved it at her mother's face.

Poppy wrinkled her nose at the sudden tickle of petals against her face and let Penny out of the hug so she could take the flower properly.

"Et's beautiful," she said, then looked around her room. "Elp Mummy foind a noice vase, ye? Somefing what looks noice."

"Yeah!"

⋯﴾⛧﴿⋯​

His blood dribbled slowly along the uneven bark, stopped often by the deep ridges. In the shadow of its hanging branches, there was an almost preternatural aura of calm and rest.

That aura eroded as Elli's blood left dark red trails.

One drip caught on a ridge, and then spilled over as another joined it.
 
Elli's brow quirked at the strange actions of the blood, although he had no idea what they meant. With a grimace, he pressed his fingers into the stump of an arm, and used his magic to create sharp edges he dug into his flesh. He winced at the pain, but dug in until thick trails of red formed a decent flow that gathered and spilled onto the flower. He absolutely painted the growing tree in it, then whispered arcane words he had been learning from the tomes in the fae lands.

"Bho m 'fhuil gu do chuid fhèin Dùisg bhon aisling agad agus seas fìor san t-solas."
(From my blood to yours, Awaken from your dream and stand true in the light)

As Elli spoke the words, his blood began to move through the air, almost as if veins existed. It surged into the earth and along the lines of bark in the tree. For all he knew, the spell wouldn't do jack shit, but it would give his blood a lingering essence, support the magic, and hopefully draw him back if he lived. The spell had no precedence for such a thing, but he had learned that if one applied their will when speaking to the earth, they could make it understand somehow. Whether it responded was entirely different.

Only when he started to feel woozy did he cover the wound, casting another spell with some scooped up wet earth to cast over the wounds and keep them from continuing to freely bleed. With a sigh he plopped back into the grass, staring hard at the tree. He lingered here, thinking of the cheery face of his father. Of how excited Elli had been to go meet Sinclair and Rare and learn that his powers meant something.

"I would take it all back if I could. That day where I wanted to be validated. Mo... Felicie betrayed you. You died because of me. For my daughter, who never even got to meet you. But... Sinclair's alive. Of course. Always, no matter what it costs anyone else. They wanted to find him. Rare gets to meet her dad... Granddad... whatever."

Elli groaned and grabbed at the mask, before ripping it from his face. It bled from the places where it normally sunk into his face. The skin was scarred and broken, and the place where an eye was meant to be looked like vicious dark light peaking through broken webs. The flesh was anything but beautiful, a vibrant, hideous red and pink.
"Dad... I can't be like you. Poppy already hates me. I'm... not the same. Being around the fae, I'm changing. My morals, my logic, it's not what it used to be. I'm not strong like you." Elli pulled his knees to his chest, feeling like a child all over again. He hated this. Hated himself for the pain he was causing. Being away from home in the place his love hated... controlling them.

"Even Loki is alive. He hurt Poppy but... I let him live, so I could make him hurt. But... you would have killed him. I want to make him hurt. I do, but... it's never enough." Elli took deep shuddering breaths. He hated when he got like this. He hid it from everyone as best he could. He was turning into a monster with the memories of what it was to be human. No, his father hadn't been human and he was still the best man Elli had ever known. Perhaps, that would be even harder to reach.
"I'm afraid dad... afraid I'm like... him. That I'll never be satisfied."

———————————————————————————————————

"Pretty crystals? Goal-Lehmon? Like Vargo!" Valiant was suddenly cheery, looking towards the hulking figure who wiggled a finger at her from the corner of the room. He was still the goofy, kind giant, with rare spurts of intelligence, but he seemed happier when he wasn't in tuned with Sinclair. He simply acted on instinct, and perhap even love.

"I swear... I'm gonna whip 'em all." Falren muttered. Jerry. Chuckled to himself, before he continued to dig into his food. The idea of a new adventure was rather exciting. He liked the idea of getting to spend more time with Bio. Sure, he liked Elizabeth, that would never change, but Bio showed him a different kind of attention. She'd restored some of his brain, making him more of the man he used to be. Seeing her sad and lonely, betrayed by the people she had tried to help, at least that was how he saw some of it, he felt an empathy for her.

"C'mon, they're good kids. They'll see and do worse I'm sure. Just let them have their fun." Jerry said, only to realize he had voiced a rather strong opinion, something he rarely ever did. His cheeks burned and his lips thinned at the realization. He expected a scolding, as if he were a child, but Falren just grinned at him, whiskers rising. Maybe because he was hearing it come from another version of him, but he didn't disagree with what Jerry was saying to an extent.

"Alright alright, but none of that on the vacation. Let's get Sinclair back here with a warning that he can't do none of his shit. Then we go on vacation. A real vacation. No crazy stuff, no cursing whelps. God knows if I weren't immortal I'd have died from ya driving me crazy. 'Course, I'd crawl outta hell just to hold ya again." Falren looked to Elizabeth and walked over to take her hand. He still believed in some form of afterlife, even if he couldn't quite paint it in black and white like he used to. He kept a cross, with hopes that something far less crazy than Sinclair existed. That somehow, for all they had learned there was still something there that cared for them. If Sinclair really was the oldest thing, well Falren would rather be immortal.
 
As Elli sat there on the dirt, surrounded by the tree's drooping branches that hid him from view, all was silent for a long, long time.

Finally, a voice spoke from the tree, though it wasn't his ears that heard it.

"ElliSon," the words were one and the same, and not even truly words, but feelings.

From the tree, he heard of a deep and enduring love and deeper acceptance. The tree that had grown from his father to become bigger than the man had been in life still loved him and didn't judge him.

The branches tightened, closing the young man off further from sight as though the tree was trying to embrace him.

There was a sense that the tree had more to say, but the weariness of its 'voice' was clear.

As the 'voice' faded, the aura around the tree was clearer to Elli—his father was there. Resting.

⋯﴾⛧﴿⋯​

"Yes!" Rare nodded at the correlation, then smiled over at Vargo.

The atmosphere in the kitchen was lightening, and for that, Rare was thankful. She squeezed her daughter tight, only for her ears to redden as a grumbling escaped her tummy.

Jerry stopped everything short with his opinion, and Elizabeth grinned at him. Good. He didn't speak up often, but it was good when he did. It didn't hurt that he said something she agreed with.

Falren's follow-up worried her until he assured her he'd crawl back out, and she squeezed his hand in return. She kissed his cheek.

"Sounds like a plan," she agreed, "Though if the dates I have off come first, we'll just have to have a smaller holiday first, then I'll get time off for a big one to celebrate." She grinned wide, showing off gleaming eyeteeth and crowsfeet. "Now that cell phones have caught on in popularity, it shouldn't be a problem."

Bio smiled as she watched them all, feeling a bit like an outsider looking in. Aster looked as much the outsider as she felt, but unlike her, he seemed as content as he could be, given his brokenness.

She rubbed the back of her head, then stretched with a soft groan. "Ah'm gonna git workin," she said, "Lookin' forward t'that vacation."

The woman started downstairs, but a sharp "AHT!" from Elizabeth stopped her in her tracks.

"Eat!" the matriarch ordered. "You're too thin, yet. You too, Jerry, and Aster as well! You basement gremlins can get busy after you finish your meals."

Bio blinked, then laughed. "Fahn, fahn."

Aster let out a long, drawn-out, high-pitched little rumble as his eyes slid shut, manic grin stretching his cheeks as he swayed, happy at being remembered—even if to be scolded.

"My dam is-s-s-s-s scol-ol-ol-oldin-n-n-ng me..." he crooned, pleased, "Jus like as-s-s-s to me fa-a-ath-th-th-th-ther..." He twitched for several moments as he sat there, purring that broken purr before his body spasmed, and he reached for his fork.

Elizabeth shot a worried glance to Falren, but kept up a cheerful face as she helped to dish up seconds.

If Hunters and their leaders were anything, they were eager to feed people.
 
This wasn't happening was it? It couldn't really be a thing. This Dad, Bear, he was alive? Elli tried to move back, but the tree embraced him. The feeling enveloped him in the warm familiar sensation of his father's embrace. It was his, there was no other explanation for it. Elli's first instinct was to run back and tell his Mom, but then reality kicked back in and his gaze sharpened. He wouldn't tell Felicie. He wouldn't tell anyone. No one needed to know, they might do something stupid and ruin it. Elli ran his good hand over the bark, digging his fingers in so firmly it scraped the flesh to give way to small speckles of blood.
"Come back soon." Elli whispered.

——————————————————————————

Valiant was pleased that everyone seemed happier. She could smell the emotions in the air, but it was Aster that amused her the most. She grinned at him and then shifted into a pout.
"Why do you... like... um... sco-...scal... being yelled at? I don't like when Mama is mad." Valiant looked back at her mother, giving her a concerned look before she turned back to the table and thought of eating more. She was still kind of hungry.

"Just eat kiddo. Dun worry about Aster. Just needs a lot of love." Falren said as he walked over and gently ruffled the strange fae child's hair. Aster reminded Falren of a changeling more than anything, in fact, he was certain that was more accurate than just assuming the boy was a fae. Elli was closer to a fae than Aster... at least Falren hoped. He had worked with those creatures and in truth, Aster shared a lot of the strange mentalities, along with being a stuttering, twitching child.

"If the break comes before Sin is ready he'll just have to wait. We ain't gonna hold up the family for him." Falren said with a bit of sharpness in his tone. It made it sound like Sinclair wasn't part of the family. Falren couldn't say that he wasn't, but he also didn't want to make everyone he loved have to hold off and risk losing such an exciting prospect just because Sinclair had survived and decided to mention himself.

Suddenly, there was a violent rumbling from the basement. The following crashes and strange sounds were alarming. Falren drew his weapon, hurrying to the stairway he peered down the dark steps.

"Everyone get on the defense. Rare, get Val to Poppy and Penny." Falren said, his jaw tightening. Jerry was already behind him, his own pistol in hand. Vargo, sending the tension stood up, prepared to act as the vanguard, or pointman as needed.

"What do you think it was?" Jerry asked. "I... don't think we have anything else down there." Jerry looked back at Bio. The way he said it, the words sounded like a question more than anything.

Falren clicked his tongue, and with his weapon aimed he took a step down only for the loud banging to go off again, and then... a strange sound. A familiar sound, like a bark, but it wasn't quite right. There was something off about it. Like something was trying to imitate a bark, and mixed it with a roar, and sent it through some synthesizer only to fuck it up even more.

"What the fuck makes a noise like that?" Falren asked, taking another step down. Jerry was right behind him, back against the wall, weapon down, watching the path with Falren, but keeping his eye on periphery points.

"How you wanna do this Liz? Bio... you got anything to tell us?" Falren asked, keeping his weapon trained on the path below, but not taking another step yet.
 
The branches loosened a little, resuming their prior position. The hanging, willow-like boughs just barely shy of brushing against the ground. The sense of 'sleeping' grew stronger as the tree seemed once more to be nothing more than that.

⋯﴾⛧﴿⋯​

Aster crooned and babbled in gaelic, happy as he felt Falren's hand upon him and heard the warmth in his father's voice. A broken purr emerged, and his eyes closed—well, one did. The other came close to closing, but the stem was in the way.

He didn't notice the rumbling or crashes from below, in his father-love reverie.

Rare did, though.

True to Hunter instincts, she gripped Valiant tighter, then darted away with her child, shielding the girl's head, almost before Falren could give the order. Her child came first. Her child always came first.

As for Bio, she pulled her own gun from a pocket. It exploded from within one of her capsules, and she checked it was loaded before she shook her head. "Ain't got anythin' what'd cause that without someone _there_ ta do it," she answered as she looked down towards the lab from her position in the kitchen.

"Stay in range of my shield," Elizabeth ordered as she caught up to the men, worry deepening the lines of her face.

Rare darted past the metal door in the front room that led to the basement, then up the stairs. She threw open Poppy's bedroom door, then looked at the pair inside. "Records room," she barked, then pointed to the usually-locked door. "I'll pick the lock. Safest place."

"Oi oi, wot's goin' on?" Poppy asked as she grabbed Penny and hugged her tight.

"Not sure," she answered, "But there's something happening in the basement."

"Muuuuum...?" Penny whined, face stuck against Poppy's chest. "Cand breave...!"
 
Falren and Jerry silently accepted Elizabeth's command, although Falren was a bit eager to leave her behind as well. She was stronger than him, but he couldn't help but want to protect her. Jerry glanced back, not as practiced as Falren, noticed Bio and offered a nod before they small group reached the bottom step. The crashing was still going on, sounding as if it were coming from the lab. Falren gestured at Jerry, a simply signal for him to cover as Falren stepped forward, gun raised, before he shifted his back to a far wall. The crashes were definitely coming from the lab.

Inside Falren could hear the grumbles of what sounded like some kind of beast. Maybe a dog of some kind. Falren looked back at Elizabeth and the others and raised a hand. He gestured them over, and Jerry framed the door so the two of them could get ready to breech once Bio opened the door.
"Sounds like the big bad wolf." Jerry muttered.

Falren put a finger to his own lips, reminding his companion that he shouldn't speak. Jerry went to apologize, but he stopped himself before he made another noise. Whatever was on the other side was a risk. Jerry wondered if he could open the door, or if Bio wouldn't give him free access. He was used to only coming here with her, unsure he could even understand what he was looking at without her aura to help him focus.

Something slammed against the door suddenly. Jerry jerked back, stumbling until his butt his the floor as Falren put his weapon on target as he stepped back. "Bad as that sound is, I'm more concerned how it got in there... if you didn't put it there."

Falren gave Bio a sidelong look. She was as bad as Sinclair in some ways, and he feared what could be beyond the door.
 
"Ain't anythin of mine," Bio muttered as she aimed her own gun, then glanced toward Jerry. His unease was visible, and now he was on his ass. Poor thing. She smirked a little, more to bolster herself than anything else, then let out a heavy breath. "Jer, git t' the side. We'll cover ya." She offered a wink and a grin she hoped would reassure him.

If he handled the door, and whatever it was lunged forward, he could help by surprising it from the side.

As for Elizabeth, she stood just behind Falren, letting her shield surround him, while still letting him be at the fore. Her shield wouldn't do much in close range, but if by chance it was something using projectiles, it would offer him some protection.

"Be careful," the matriarch muttered.

Bio waited until Jerry moved to position, then cleared her throat. "Freyr, open the door!"

No answer. The door didn't open.

Bio frowned. "Freyr! That's an order!"

The door again didn't open.

"Damn it," she muttered as she hurried forward, beside the metal door, and pressed her hand against the access panel.

Finally, an invisible seam parted at the center, and the door slid open.
 
Falren was eager to step forward. He felt bad for Jerry, but he couldn't slow himself down for his sake. Falren did his best to keep his old instinct intact. He had to act as if he did not have a shield to protect him from whatever scourge existed in this place. Next to Sinclair, Bio's lab was the scariest place, and yet at the idea of Sinclair and knowing it wasn't him in there, Falren felt ease. God, some people looked at Sinclair as an actual God, or the Actual God- Falren had deified him as the Devil. As much as he took relief in knowing it wasn't Sinclair, he shook the thought so he could focus on proceeding ahead.

Gun raised, Falren stepped forward, scanning everywhere, but focusing his gaze on the center so his periphery could do the work he needed to shift his attention. He nearly didn't see it, the thing seemed to almost not be there, but the writing of strange tendrils gave it away. He focused his gaze and his weapon on the strange hound. The room itself was a mess, but it didn't look as if it were heavily damaged. Like the thing was trying to find a route to freedom more than trying to break anything. It met Falren's gaze with it's own ethereal eyes. Falren didn't like looking into it. It was like watching a galaxy go through a Big Bang over and over.

Falren only now noticed it wasn't attacking. It was curled in as close to the wall as it could be. Had it freaked out when the door had been opened. The thing looked canine in some ways, but alien in so many others. As if some strange being had tried to make a hound from just a few sentences that were not the most detailed. The thing's vicious gaze was terror and fury all in one, and hunger. It eyed them, then... it locked onto Bio. Saliva... no something else began to ooze from it's mouth. It was vicious and glowed the maw opening to reveal a long, slithering tongue.

Falren didn't wait. He fired the first round, slamming into the creature's open mouth. A chunk of it's jaw blew away, splattering the wall. The whining sound that came from it was surprisingly sad, before it pounced. Falren watched it smack against the shield before jumping off it to stand upside down on the ceiling, oozing more of its saliva and glaring at them. Falren fired again, only this time the creature darted with surprisingly speed to somewhere else. Bio would have seen the truth. It wasn't simply speed. The thing projected itself through space in an instant. A short range shift that could be follow by her eyes watching it rip open the fabric of the world to create a no resistance passage. The hound was on the ground again, glaring from the other side of the room.

Falren shot again, only to hear someone running in. Jerry pointed his firearm at the hound like thing, not asking questions, just reacting. His presence startled the thing as the crack of fully automatic gunfire from his pistol went off. They bullets crashed into the hound, but it's hide was stronger against the 9mm shots. It growled, before long tendrils lashed out. Falren shot one, making the creature growl in protest as its ichor sprayed the wall and the tendril withdrew, but the other lashed out still. Only when it met the shield did the power flare and it passed through, cracking it open as the thing caught Bio and dragged her towards it with nearly the same speed it had moved. Falren's next shot crashed into the beast and it whined out before it darted off, holding Bio close against it as it surged up the steps, shifting from the foot to the kitchen.

"Ain't we got guards against this shit! How's it moving like that!" Falren called out. "Liz, I'm gonna, but we gotta figure out how to slow it down!" Falren said, running up as Jerry stood, gun still pointed where the beast had been.
 
Her shield worked against the thing itself? That was... strange. Welcome, in this instance, though.

Regardless, she nearly held her breath as she watched Falren fire on it, and then Jerry join in...

However, the creature eventually got through the barrier. It seemed interested only in Bio. Elizabeth turned, ready to try to strike at those tendrils, but the creature was fast.

It not only grasped Bio, but got past the entire group of them and to the kitchen.

"Shit!" she exclaimed, then hurried after it.

The wards weren't working. This shouldn't have been able to get in at all! Was it not magic!?

Falren's question brought her thoughts more rapid. Something to slow it down...

Without hurting Bio, of course.

Wait, wasn't Aster still in the kitchen!?

She sped her steps and turned the corner to the kitchen.

Bio bit the tendrils, yanking at them with strength not found often in humans, save when adrenaline pushed them past their limits. Her eyes hurt as proximity forced her to look at the thing, and she struggled to get away.

Aster stared from his spot at the table, seeming unaware of what was happening as he babbled softly in Gaelic.

"Let her go, you mongrel!" Elizabeth snarled as she lunged at the beast, forgetting for a moment that she wasn't supposed to do such things.

This was a threat in her home attacking her family!
 
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