8. wordsmith-

Fiona

It had barely been a day since the new tributes had arrived, and Fiona already had a headache. Tensions, caused by stress and fear and confusion, were running high. Not to mention the varying ages and cultures her tributes came from. The brief respite at Romulus's had been welcome, and Fiona dreaded leaving the safe, though cramped, house. Still, she had no choice if she wanted to make sure Charlie stayed safe.

Fiona traced her parabatai rune. Her connection to Charlie was weak, but as steady as it had ever been. An unexpected wave of longing washed over her. She missed her parabatai, her best friend, so much that she wondered how she hadn't collapsed under the weight of it.

"Fiona?"

Fiona couldn't stop herself from jumping at the sound of her name, turning around to see a young boy in an oversized hoodie holding a large basket. She stared at him for several seconds, frantically trying to recall his name. Barry, Blake, Bastian. No, no, Brock.

"Brock?"

The boy shifted uncomfortably, and Fiona's eyes focused on the basket in his arms. "This just appeared in the living room. The big guy—the one with the dreads—he said to give it to you." His eyes darted to the room next door as someone started to shout. "I think it freaked some people out."

Fiona sighed heavily, reaching for the basket. "Go back to the living room. If everyone isn't there already, get them there. If you need help with that, get Kaapo to round them up." Before Brock could ask she added, "Kaapo's the one who sent you to me." Brock nodded and Fiona made an abrupt shooing motion.

As the sound of his footsteps faded, she peered into the basket to see several small vials, each filled with blue liquid. They were all labeled with the name of one of her tributes. A note was attached, and Fiona skimmed it quickly before picking the basket up and walking into the living room.

An argument between Tor and Romulus greeted her, and Fiona's lips thinned. She took a moment to take in the rest of the room, checking each of her other tributes. They were scattered around the room, watching with expressions that varied from irritated to anxious. Her lips pursed as she realized Kaapo, Kar'yn, and the French girl—she really needed to remember their names—were missing. Setting the basket down, Fiona moved swiftly to stand between Tor and Romulus.

"That's enough!" Her voice cut through the shouts and whispers, and Fiona could feel all eyes on her, watching and judging. She inhaled slowly. "I don't care why you were fighting-"

"He wasn't listening to my rule-"

"I. Don't. Care." Fiona said slowly, cutting off Romulus's whine. She turned to look him in the eye, irritation bubbling within her, and she held none of that back. "I don't care if he broke a priceless heirloom or didn't take his shoes off in the living room. None of that matters now." She paused, letting her words sink in. "Right now, we focus on surviving. And that isn't going to happen when we're arguing over idiotic things." Tor opened his mouth to say something but Fiona glared at him and he quickly closed it. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Kaapo and the two others slip into the room.

"Now that that's dealt with," Fiona turned and picked up the basket Brock had delivered to her. "I have something for all of you." She took out the vial with her name and then passed the box to Matoaka, who stood closest to her. "These are adrenaline potions. I don't know when or if we'll need them, but just in case, I'm handing them out now."

"How are we to know these are not poison?" Kar'yn spoke up, surprising her.

Fiona hesitated before answering. "We can't," she at last. She could see Kar'yn's triumphant expression and Fiona knew her control was slipping. "But I see no reason for them to be poison," she continued. "You, and everyone else, know the rules of the game. Survive, be the last ones standing. Given that, there's not much reason to assume these are poison."

Kar'yn sneered with derision. "Perhaps it is to eliminate those naïve enough to trust in reason when it comes to mad men."

Irritation threatened to shake Fiona's mask of calm, and she inhaled slowly. "If you don't trust these are actually adrenaline potions, then don't drink it. I'm not going to force you to drink them. But I need you," here Fiona glanced at everyone in the room, "to trust me. Or at least trust that I am trying to help all of you."

A quick glance showed that while Axel and most of the younger tributes seemed content to do so, many of Fiona's older tributes were far less trusting. Not that she could really blame them; she wouldn't have trusted herself in their position. Unsurprisingly, another person spoke up. This time it was Tor, still irritated at how she'd brushed him off.

"And why should I trust what you're saying?"

Fiona paused before answering; this was a pivotal moment. She caught Kaapo's eye, and he gave her a slight smile. For some reason that calmed her, and she decided to go with the truth. "Because there's no benefit for me to lie to any of you. I'm sure most of you are here because your loved ones are in danger." Fiona watched several people look at the ground, Zanna tilting her head defiantly, Tor sneering. "So are- so is someone I care about. And if I have to play babysitter to make sure they're safe, I will." Fiona just barely stopped herself touching her parabatai rune.

"I'm not saying you should trust me immediately. I know I wouldn't." Fiona paused, eyes traveling over her audience. "But I'm the only one here who gives a damn about all of you, not just myself." She cleared her throat, once again surprised at how much she meant the words. Slightly uncomfortable now, Fiona's next words came out abrupt and brusque as she told everyone to start towards the Impala, still parked in Romulus's front yard. As she followed the large group, Kaapo fell into step beside her.

"You did good back there," he said, voice pitched low enough only she could hear him.

Warmth curled in Fiona's chest at the praise, but all she said was, "Not good enough. There's too many; I can't make them all listen to me."

Kaapo chuckled softly, shaking his head. "You're not supposed to make them listen to you. You're supposed to prove you're worth listening to. Being a leader—it's a two way street. They trust you, and you trust them." Fiona blinked, considering his words as she got into the car. Even when the world warped around her, switching realms once again, they played in her head.

~

When the world became solid again, Fiona was surprised to see that she and the others were in a large, dimly lit room. She could make out what seemed to be a large chessboard, though only the white pieces were on the board.

Around the room, bodies lay still and unmoving, prompting gasps and horrified expressions from her tributes. Horror swept through her at the sight, but Fiona was careful to let none of it show as she exited the Impala. For a few moments it was silent as everyone climbed out of the car. Before Fiona could say anything a voice that seemingly came from nowhere rang out.

The horror that she had felt upon first seeing her new surroundings only grew as she listened to the disembodied voice. Her stomach rolled as they explained that they would be taking the place of the black pieces and playing two games of chess, as their number exceeded the 16 pieces on each side. There was no mention of what would happen if they lost either game, but Fiona was certain they'd end up just like the bodies on the floor. She didn't voice her thoughts though, simply hid a grimace as the voice faded away. She had played chess before against her tutor at the Institute; she had rarely won.

The others were standing in place, clustered together and staring at the bodies around them. A quick glance around showed that Axel and a few of the younger tributes were looking to her, while Kar'yn and a few others were running their fingers along the walls, seemingly looking for a way out. In her gut, Fiona knew there wasn't one. Fleur was staring at the white chess pieces, pointedly avoiding staring at the dead, as though she could leave if she simply stared at them hard enough.

Inhaling deeply, Fiona walked to the chessboard as she said, "Alright, everyone. Don't look around the room. Choose a piece on the board to replace. For those of you that don't play chess, just take a spot in the first two rows." Anticipating argument, Fiona added sharply, "There's no other way out, as I'm sure Kar'yn can attest to." She looked at Kar'yn, and the blonde woman nodded reluctantly. "Which means that the only way out is to play the game." As she spoke, Fiona couldn't help but hear the irony in her words. Play the game indeed.

There was some grumbling, but after a few minutes everyone started shuffling toward a spot. Before there were any arguments she called out, "There's more than 16 of us, so Calleigh, Brock, Lyra. You three stay to the side and watch this round." For a moment, Fiona thought they wouldn't listen, but then Lyra started walking to the side, the other two teens following her.

Fiona took a deep breath, struggling to recall the rare occasions she'd won against her mentor and what she'd done to do so. She walked swiftly to the king's spot, watching Kaapo take the place of a bishop, Axel standing in as a pawn, and the others filling in until each space was taken.

Barely had Matoaka taken the final open spot when the first white piece moved. The king's pawn moved to e4, and unease curled tightly around Fiona's stomach. It was a good move; it allowed white to work on controlling the center while freeing the queen and bishop. Fiona inhaled shakily, surprised to find that her palms were damp. She wiped them discreetly on her pants, mind whirling with potential moves.

"C5 would be a good move." The sound of Lyra's voice startled Fiona, and she turned to look at the young girl.

"So is e5," Fiona pointed, that familiar irritation born of insecurity starting to bubble up.

"But c5 lets black exchange a central pawn for a bishop's pawn," Lyra's features were twisted into an expression of determination, and Fiona bit back the argument that wanted to tumble out. Instead she turned completely to study Lyra. The dark skinned girl was standing with her arms crossed defiantly, chin tilted upwards. Fiona knew that once again everyone was watching her, waiting to see how she reacted.

"You know a lot about chess?" she asked carefully.

Lyra's eyebrows shot up in surprise, but she didn't back down, simply nodded. Beside her, Calleigh piped up, "She's really good at it—she even won a couple of chess tournaments."

Fiona considered the blonde's words, her need to ensure she was the one protecting her tributes warring with the knowledge that Lyra was the better chess player. Unbidden, she thought back to what Kaapo had told her at Romulus's house. You're not supposed to make them listen to you. You're supposed to prove you're worth listening to. Being a leader—it's a two way street. They trust you, and you trust them. A wry smile crossed Fiona's face. I can't believe I'm going to put my life in the hands of a mundane teenager.

Aloud, she simply nodded as she said, "Okay. You call the shots then. Unless anyone else has any objections?" Fiona's gaze swept over the rest of her tributes.

Unsurprisingly, someone spoke up. "She's a child," Fleur objected.

"A child that's better than you at chess, unless you have any better claims to a chess master," Fiona pointed out, though privately she agreed with the French girl. Fleur's mouth thinned into a flat line before she opened her mouth to object again. Fiona swiftly cut her off.

"Are you better at chess?" Fleur didn't answer, but her jaw clenched.

"So no. Then Lyra directs the game," Fiona stated, voice leaving no room for any more objections. Then she stepped back a little, letting Lyra take the lead. Despite this, Fiona couldn't help the twinge of jealousy in her chest. It bothered her that she was relying on someone else to take care of her tributes, even if she knew that she was making the right choice.

Lyra knew more about chess than anyone, including her. As a leader, she knew that she had to let go of control sometimes, but it was a difficult thing that made her feel restless and of no use. They trust you, and you trust them. Kaapo's words echoed in her mind again. Fiona nodded silently to herself. Trust her.

As the game continued, Fiona found herself admiring Lyra's ability. The dark haired girl was smart, developing pieces so that she could attack the king in the future. And she didn't focus on one or two pieces, she tried to use all of them in her attempt to control the center of the board. Her voice never wavered, though her arms remained crossed. With each move, Fiona found her respect growing for the young girl.

Then Lyra turned to her, directing Fiona to move one space forward. For a single moment, Fiona wanted to resist. Then she forced herself to remember the logic behind allowing Lyra to temporarily be in charge, and she stepped forward.

Brock

The wall was cold against Brock's back, another stark reminder that he wasn't home with his younger siblings, that his mother was probably worried sick about him because she'd been counting on him to fix dinner, that the promised next chapter he was supposed to read to his siblings was never going to be read. Fear and a grief for people he hadn't really lost threatened to overwhelm him, but Brock pushed the emotion away, focusing on the hundred useless worries running through his head. If he focused enough on his worries, he wouldn't notice the bodies that had started to smell; he wouldn't be afraid.

Beside him, Calleigh was also sitting, her face fixed in that stubborn expression he'd learned meant she was trying not to cry. That expression made some part of him twist with pain—Calleigh should never have that expression on her face. He reached instinctively towards her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. The slight tremors that wracked her body were instantly more noticeable.

"Hey, it's okay. It's okay," he soothed quietly. He could see Lyra glance over at them, the tightness of her jaw betraying her own nerves before she looked away. Calleigh wrapped her arms around her legs until they were pressed against her chest. Her mouth worked soundlessly, and Brock held her tighter.

He murmured soothingly to her, a constant stream of "it's okay, it's okay, you're okay," until some of the tension leeched out of her body. She still refused to speak though, and concern joined the mix of emotions Brock was trying so hard to hold back. He turned his head to check on Lyra, and Brock could hear how her voice trembled minutely as she called out the next move, her fingers twisting together. Brock looked at the board. A chubby, dark haired man was moving, and he could hear Lyra hold her breath.

"What's wrong?" he asked softly.

"He's going to be captured," she replied just as quietly.

"That's supposed to happen in chess, right?"

"Yeah, but what if being captured means- means he ends up like that?" Lyra's arms remained crossed but even without pointing Brock knew what she meant; her voice held a tinge of hysteria.

Brock reached to touch her arm when one of the white pieces moved. It was the horse piece, a knight if he remembered correctly, and it was moving with startling speed toward Tor. Upon reaching the dark haired man it suddenly reared up, bringing both hooves down on the young man's head with the distinct sound that meant bones were breaking.

Brock flinched, jerking backwards and cringing. Screams rang out, sharp and bouncing around the room. Like a train wreck, his eyes were drawn to Tor's body, which was being dragged across the board by the white knight that had smashed into his skull. Parts of Tor's skull still remained, blood and something gray smeared on the smooth tile. Bile rose in Brock's throat, sour and acidic as he swallowed it down.

A whimper sounded beside him, and Brock realized Lyra was still staring at Tor's body. He glanced over at Calleigh, whose face had gone white as salt. For a second he hesitated, torn between both girls.

"Lyra!" Fiona's voice was sharp and commanding. "Lyra, you need to focus on the game." Her words made the decision for him. Brock stood, wrapping his arms around Lyra in a hug. She was trembling, quiet huffs covering up her sobs.

"He- he- oh my God." The words tumbled out of Lyra's mouth in shorts bursts and gasps, and Brock let his protective instincts take over, overshadowing his own feelings.

He moved to block Lyra's view of board, both of his hands moving to lay gently on her shoulders. "Lyra." She didn't answer, but her eyes met his eyes. He could see the terror in them, pupils dilated. "Lyra, we-"

"Lyra you need to calm down." Fiona's voice cut through the air, cold and unfeeling. The dam holding back all his fear and worry cracked slightly, and Brock turned on Fiona.

"You need to stop telling everyone what to do!" he shouted, and Fiona's eyebrows shot up. "She's freaked out because she just saw- she-" his words faltered.

Fiona rubbed a hand over her eyes, exhaustion sweeping over her face before she looked at him. Her features had turned to the same near desperate pleading it'd had in the living room. When she spoke again, her voice had lost the sharp edges and ice.

"I'm sorry. I know it wasn't something any of you should have seen, but we knew it was a possibility." She paused, and then stepped to the edge of her square, as close as she could get to them. Her next words were soft, gentle, almost. "We need Lyra right now Brock. You're right, I shouldn't always tell everyone what to do." Her gaze flicked toward Kaapo then back to Lyra. "So I'm asking. Lyra, please help us. You're the best at this game, the only one who can make sure what happened to Tor doesn't happen to anyone else. Please."

When Lyra still didn't respond Fiona switched her gaze to Brock. "Please." Brock swallowed then turned back to Lyra. He had to take care of her and Calleigh.

After a moment's hesitation he gently pulled her to the floor so that she was sitting between him and Calleigh. It was a familiar feeling, and he remembered how they'd sat in a circle like this hundreds of times before, going over homework or talking. The familiarity of it soothed him, and he hoped it did the same with Lyra. Comforting the girls had always come easy to him, but now he was off-kilter, still jittery himself. Images of Tor and the other bodies kept flashing through his mind every time he opened his mouth. I can't last much longer. Not if this is what I'm going to see every day.

"Remember when we visited that really freaky haunted house?" he asked abruptly, desperate to think of anything else but what was happening. Calleigh stared at him, a disturbingly blank look on her face. Lyra was still stiff. He swallowed, but kept speaking. "It was the one with all the clowns," Brock tried to smile but the muscles of his face seemed frozen, refusing to obey his commands. Despite this, Lyra's shoulders lost some of their tension, and she looked up at him.

Encouraged, he continued, "Calleigh had the shit scared out of her and you started screaming at the chainsaw dude. You were hella scary even though you had that weird American flag cost-"

"It wasn't the flag, it was a Wonder Woman costume," Lyra said quietly, and relief swept through Brock at her weak protest. That was normal. He knew how to deal with normal.

"Whatever you say," he replied, the response automatic. There was none of his usual sarcasm though. But the banter was normal, and he watched as Lyra glanced at the chess board. Fear flashed across her face, and Brock laid a gentle hand on her arm.

"You don't have to do anything. Fiona was going to direct everything before anyway," Calleigh said quietly, surprising him.

Lyra shook her head slowly. "No. I-I have to do this." She swallowed, and Brock found himself troubled at seeing the normally put together girl so unsettled. Then she stood slowly, and Brock moved with her, Calleigh rising with them. The blonde girl moved to stand beside Lyra, both girls holding hands tightly.

"We've got you," he whispered, and Lyra nodded.

Kaapo

Kaapo had seen many things during his time with the BAU, including deaths, but none of them had ever affected him quite like this. There was something raw and immediate in hearing the crunch of bone and watching those white hooves come down on Tor's head. It had shaken him, and he could only imagine what it must have done to those less accustomed to death.

These poor kids. They can't be more than 16. Kaapo shook his head, watching as Lyra stood, the other two teens with her. It was clear they were close, and Kaapo was grateful they had each other. It might be all they had left. Lyra was leaning into both of her friends, their hands entwined.

He glanced at the other tributes around him. Some of them seemed unaffected, and he guessed that they were like him, used to violence. Others seemed to be a state of shock, frozen on their squares. Kaapo found himself looking for Matoaka instinctively, concerned about her in a way that he wasn't with the others. Matoaka seemed shell-shocked, her face open and scared. He wanted to run over and comfort her, the way Brock had with Lyra, but he stayed where he was.

"Uh, Nolan, move two spaces to the right." Lyra's voice was shakier than it had been, her pause before speaking longer; the surety and confidence of before was gone. A boy with shaggy brown hair moved hesitantly, his footsteps echoing in the silence. Kaapo could feel the tension in the air and knew at least one person was holding their breath. Nolan stepped onto the black square. There were several tense seconds, but nothing happened. Kaapo sent up a silent prayer of thanks.

The murmurs and snide comments of before were gone, everyone silent as Lyra directed them. Kaapo knew little about chess, mostly what the pieces were called and how they were able to cross the board, but he could tell Lyra was skilled. Even though she was clearly rattled, she was still able to look at the board, predict new moves. It was a testament to her resilience, but also her friends' support.

As time passed, Kaapo felt his fear turning to restlessness. He didn't understand what was going on, so he simply moved when Lyra directed him to. It wasn't long until Lyra seemed to hesitate longer than usual.

"Axel?" The flame haired man nodded and Lyra licked her lips. "You need to move three squares ahead." Axel nodded, taking a step forward when Lyra shouted, "Wait!" Axel paused, turning to look at her in confusion. Kaapo mimicked the action.

"You'll be captured too. But I think if you duck and run off the board where the captured white pieces are you'll be fine."

"You think?"

Lyra's mouth opened and then closed. Before she could say anything Fiona stepped in. "Lyra's right Axel. None of the chess pieces are alive—I think they only need to swing at something. You just need to move quickly." She paused. "You'll be fine." Kaapo could hear the underlying uncertainty in her words, but he doubted most of the others could.

Axel hesitated a few more seconds, and then nodded. He moved slowly until he was on the third square, his body tensed, ready to duck. The white pawn ahead moved toward him, an arm appearing to swing at Axel. Kaapo found himself holding his breath as he watched Axel stay still until the very last minute. Then he swerved to the side before running off the board, his black cloak flying behind him ridiculously. Luckily, none of the white pieces followed him.

In front of him, Fiona's shoulders relaxed, though her posture remained stiff as ever. Kaapo studied her; she had surprised him today. He'd been certain she'd take control over the game, but she'd ceded control to Lyra, albeit reluctantly. Hell, she'd even spoken up for Lyra to the French girl. It made him proud, and a little more hopeful that at least some of them would meet their families again.

The rest of the game passed in a blur of directions and the scraping of marble against the chess board. The only clear part was when Lyra informed him it was his turn to be captured, and Kaapo's veins flooded with adrenaline. His steps felt heavy against the board, and he waited anxiously as the white rook moved toward him. One, two, three. Kaapo ducked, feeling an arm hit the tail end of his dreads as he turned and ran.

Even though he hadn't run that far, Kaapo found himself panting as though he'd run a mile. The small group that had also been captured huddled around him, Axel, Aurei, and Zanna among them. Though he barely knew any of them, there was a sense of ease and comfort standing with them, one that came with being in danger together. He found himself standing closer to them, as though he had known them far longer than a mere week.

"Fiona, if you move two squares to the left you can checkmate the king," Lyra said, relief clear in her voice. Barely had she spoken when the door that had seemingly been sealed shut burst open with a loud scraping sound to reveal a young brown haired man who was panting, brandishing a stick in the air. Kaapo's eyes widened in surprise, but before anyone could say anything a shrill scream pierced the air.

As one, everyone in the room turned to see Matoaka stumble off of her square. In the split second before her hair obscured her face, Kaapo saw terror spread across her face. One of the white pieces had turned toward her, its arms spreading. Without thinking he started towards her, panic building in his throat.

"Flipendo!" The boy's shout startled Kaapo enough that his steps faltered, and he watched in disbelief as the rook that had been targeting Matoaka stopped before flying backwards with a loud bang before shattering into pieces that flew all across the room. Matoaka remained unharmed. Silence fell as the marble exploded, all eyes on the newcomer before Fiona broke the silence by moving two spaces to the left.

There was a moment where nothing happened, and then the disembodied voice came back, congratulating them on their win. The white pieces moved back to their spots, and 12 black pieces appeared in their starting positions, leaving four spots open. Without warning everyone was on the small strip outside of the chessboard, and the voice was speaking again, calling Calleigh, Brock, Lyra, and someone named Will to the second game.

Kaapo blinked in confusion, and then realized that it was talking about the boy who had saved Matoaka. No, no. not another kid. He looked away, unable to stop the disgust at his own compliance, but there was nothing he could do; Will had already taken his place as a black knight, a resigned look on his face. Kaapo wondered what or who was being held over his head to gain such quick obedience.

He could hear Fiona speaking again, but her words turned to background noise when Matoaka flung herself at him, skinny arms wrapping tightly around him. Kaapo hugged her back tightly, something in his chest loosening. She was alive. She was alive and unhurt. The Native American girl was shaking, and Kaapo held her even tighter.

"You're okay, you're okay and I'm going to make sure you always are," he promised, but he knew the words were a pale comfort to the young girl. Whatever Matoaka's response might have been was cut off by a sharp gasp of pain.

"Hwayoung?"

Kaapo turned to see the young Asian girl, Kim something, holding her stomach, her shirt quickly turning from pink to red. Something white was sticking out of her chest—shrapnel from the chess piece that had exploded. Fiona was at her side in an instant, hands running over the girl's torso with sure fingers. The expression on her face didn't bode well for Hwayoung's condition. At the chessboard, Lyra turned to look at them, but Fiona didn't seem to notice.

"Keep going Lyra," Kaapo said, nodding slightly towards Fiona when she looked up. A grateful expression crossed the redhead's face before concern washed over it. After a moment, Kaapo gently disentangled himself from Matoaka, putting her into the arms of a startled Aurei before moving to stand by Fiona and Hwayoung.

"Hwayoung?" he said quietly, and the small girl looked up at him, tears streaking her face. Kaapo reached, covering her hand with his. It was small, half the size of his, and quickly turning pale as the blood left it. Blood was rapidly spurting out of her chest, and distantly Kaapo realized that the shrapnel must have hit the aorta for it to bleed so heavily.

"Hwayoung?" Fiona's had turned high pitched and panicked, her hands clenching Hwayoung's shirt tightly. "Hwayoung!" Kaapo's blood turned cold when the young girl didn't respond, and he reached slowly for her neck, checking for a pulse. There wasn't one.

"Fiona, she's dead," he said gently, and the redhead's face crumpled. For the first time since he'd met her, that practiced blankness was gone, replaced with raw emotion that seemed foreign on her face. Anger, and a sadness that seemed so deep he wanted to call it grief. He wanted to say something else, to comfort her, but he knew anything he might say would go unheard. So instead he did what he had done when his mother found out Kanai was in jail, what he'd done when Leisha lost her sister, when Matoaka had lost Biera. He held her, and murmured quiet reassurances that he wasn't sure any of them believed. As he held her, he wondered how many more times she could take watching one of them die.

10. TARDIS_at_221b_

Fin winced as his head slammed into the wall of the TARDIS. He could feel the pressure building as Mariana squeezed his neck, choking him.

"I'm not going to ask again. Where is my locket?" She said menacingly, her grip tightening.

"I told you, I don't know," he hissed back.

He started to raise his hand, attempting to break her hold, but she pulled away just in time. She kept her hand extended, as though she was still holding him against the wall. For a second, he looked confused as to what she was doing, but he then found that he was unable to move. She laughed as she watched the surprise spread across his face.

"Last chance. Where is it?"

She could hear Ellie behind her, desperately urging her to stop.

Her fingers tightened and his face began to turn purple. After a second, he managed to choke out a reply, but it was fairly unintelligible. Mariana lessened her hold enough for him to reach into his pocket and procure the locket.

She brought the locket carefully into her open hand and released him. He slumped to the floor, massaging his neck.

As she placed the locket over her head, she turned to look at the rest of the team. They were all a few feet further away and more nervous-looking than they had been previously.

"Come on guys. We don't have time for this, we've got real problems to deal with," Charlotte said pointedly, looking at Mariana and Fin.

"You are a problem," Mariana snapped at Fin, crossing her arms and pushing through the TARDIS doors.

She found herself in a clearing in the middle of a forest. The light cast strange shadows on the ground as it filtered through the trees. To her left, if she looked through the leaves, was a towering castle. Just ahead of her was a stone path, marked with shimmering lights. Everything looked like something out of a fairy tale. Soon, the rest of the crew joined her outside.

"So, remind me – what are we supposed to be doing here?" Ajax asked curiously.

"Well, I don't know exactly. All I was told is that we should arrive here – wherever here is – and that our mission should become obvious," Ellie replied.

"That isn't very helpful. Aren't you supposed to be the leader here?" Fin commented.

"Oh shut up, you don't know any more than she does!" Mariana shouted back, clenching her fists.

"Everybody just calm down. Bickering isn't going to help anyone. We need to figure—"

Ajax was cut off by a high-pitched scream. A young woman crashed through the tree line. Her black hair was riddled with leaves and twigs, and her dress was tattered and ripped. She had a frantic look on her face as she raced toward them. She accidentally collided with Six, knocking both of them to the ground.

She apologized hurriedly as a man burst through the trees.

"Come on Snow, she's almost here!", He shouted, grabbing hold of her hand.

"Wait, who's coming?" Ellie shouted, nervous for the answer.

The girl, they believed her name was Snow, answered, "The Evil Queen, of course! She's been hunting me down and she almost caught me!"

The man shouted, "Get out of here before she catches you too!", and they ran off, hand-in-hand.

Charlotte turned towards Six and asked, "Was that Snow White?"

"Who?" she replied.

"The girl that ran into you, was that Snow White?" Charlotte's question was only met with an inquisitive look, so she continued, "You know the one from the fairy tale. Didn't you hear that one growing up?"

Six muttered a quiet "no". We didn't have much time for stories in the lab, she thought to herself.

Merryweather reached up to tap Charlotte's shoulder. She spoke sweetly, yet commandingly. "Yes, dear, that was Snow White. In fact, everyone here is from a fairy tale, but before we get into that I should tell you that she wasn't kidding about the Evil Queen. We need to get out of here. Follow me, everyone."

Suddenly screams pierced the air behind them. A tan girl with black hair fell through the tree line and landed on her back, unmoving. A boy with blonde hair landed next to her.

The team began to run, but Charlotte was hit with a beam of light and fell to the ground. Ajax tried to go back to her, but Ellie grabbed his shoulder and pushed him towards the path.

"There's no time. We have to go!" She shouted, holding back her own tears.

Merryweather led everyone down the same path that Snow White took. Eventually, they came to another clearing, this one with a large house situated in the center of it. The house was old, with stone sides and sloping brown roof. Merryweather knocked on the old wooden door, 3 times. It opened slowly to reveal a very short man in tattered clothes. Soon, several similar people could be seen behind him.

"Everyone, meet the seven dwarves," Merryweather announced.

"Doc".

"Grumpy".

"Happy".

"Sleepy".

"Bashful".

"Sneezy".

"Dopey".

They each introduced themselves with a small wave as the crew was ushered inside. Snow peered cautiously around the corner.

"I'm terribly sorry about earlier, but I'm glad to see you all safe. I hope I didn't get you caught up in all this," Snow apologized quickly.

"Not all of us," Ajax said, quietly, trying to push the image of Charlotte falling from his mind.

A moment of silence passed before Ellie began to speak.

"Actually, I think we are right where we're supposed to be," Ellie's realized. "What if this is what we're supposed to do here – I think they want us to help Snow."

"No way," Six replied quickly, almost on instinct.

"Come on, don't you want to help the poor girl?" Merryweather asked, attempting to encourage her.

"Frankly, no, I don't. I'm not going to put myself in danger for some girl I don't even know," she replied, stomping out of the cabin.

She trudged through the soft grass, muttering angrily under her breath.

Suddenly she felt a hand reach across her neck. The woman's long fingernails dug into her skin. She concentrated, feeling the gravity pulling the hand down and shifted it sharply backwards. The woman was pinned against a nearby tree.

It seemed Six had finally met the Evil Queen. She wore a dark dress with a high ruffled collar. Her jet-black hair was set in a complex bun on top of her head, though it was now flattened against the tree. She scowled angrily, trying to pry herself free.

Suddenly Six was hit with a spell from the Evil Queen, suspending her in place. She could still hear and see everything going on, but she was unable to move. The Evil Queen dusted herself off and approached her, producing a small vial containing dark liquid from a concealed pocket.

"Do as I say, or there will be consequences," she threatened, emphasizing the bottle.

The rest of the team began to file out of the cabin, followed by Snow White and Prince Charming.

"At long last. Snow White, I've been waiting for you to show up. I didn't think I could last much longer, I was getting so tired of chasing after you."

She reached out, using her magic to pull Snow to the front of the crowd. Suddenly, Merryweather pulled out her wand and pointed it towards Six, releasing her from the spell. She smiled triumphantly, sure that Six would attack the Queen. Instead, Six stood complacently.

"Good choice. Why don't you do the honors?" the Queen commanded, gesturing towards Snow. Snow stared back, a pleading look in her eyes.

Without a second thought, Six raised her hand, directing one of the pavement stones high in the air before bringing it down sharply, shattering it. Her nose began to bleed as she sent one of the shards flying towards Snow. She heard a scream as it made contact – with Merryweather. Six released her hold, and Merryweather fell to the ground, bleeding from her stomach. Six felt no remorse. She had done only what she needed to in order to keep herself alive.

She landed abruptly on her back as a shockwave rippled through the air. An older woman, dressed very similarly to Merryweather, had appeared and sent the Evil Queen flying with a spell from her wand. She continued to advance, seemingly fueled by blind anger. Spells flew through the air until they collided. A dark purple beam emanated from the Evil Queen, connecting to the old woman's pink spell. The two spells almost seemed as if they were fighting. Eventually, the old woman's seemed to overtake the Queen's, and she disappeared in flash of light.

Without pausing, the woman raced to Merryweather's side, placing her hand over the wound. She tried several spells, but it seemed nothing was working.

"Stay with me Merry," she murmered, tears falling freely from her eyes.

"Oh Flora, I didn't think I'd ever see you cry - certainly not for me. I'd always thought you'd be rather glad to see me go." Merryweather teased, coughing weakly as she spoke.

"Well, maybe at one point," she teased back, before continuing more seriously, "Of course not."

Merryweather grabbed her arm gently as she said, "Thank you for staying with me. Give my love to Fauna."

"You're not going anywhere. I simply won't allow it," Flora said adamantly.

"I'm sorry, but I've never really played by your rules," she managed to choke out, before going limp.

She turned back towards Six, fury in her eyes.

"You. How could you?" She demanded.

"I'm sorry. It was kill or be killed, I had no choice." Six said, trying to keep her voice as even as possible.

"Of course you did! You didn't even hesitate! She risked her life trying to free you from that woman's spell, and you killed her for it," Flora shouted back.

"I only did what I had to do, and I won't apologize for it anymore." Six said again, beginning to raise her voice.

"You didn't have to kill her, you didn't have to kill anyone!" She fired back, almost hysterical.

"The Queen was going to kill me if I didn't act first!" Six shouted, becoming fed up. She raised her hands, concentrating on the woman standing before her. Before she could attack, she was pulled roughly to the ground by an unseen force. Mariana put her hand over Six's mouth and nose, blocking her airway just long enough to knock her out, debilitating her. She heard someone apologizing as she fell unconscious.

11. ZSB2000 

Steven stumbled through forest despite his mind racing with thousands of images of possibilities. It was the only way he could see through the blinding branches and swerving shadows.

But it wasn't enough.

The branches weren't just barring his way anymore – they groped and pulled at him until he was in their binding grasp. They wrapped around his arms and their thorns dug into his flesh.

Steven cried out, the searing pain growing stronger as he tried to resist.

I just need some time.

She appeared in front of him with a billow of purple smoke, a sadistic smile playing on her dark lips. Her fingers latched onto his chin as she forced him to look into her eyes.

Steven tried to think straight.

"Bitch."

Her smile grew wide to show a perfect set of white teeth with a chilling laugh. "That's Queen Bitch to you."

...

I just need a moment in my own space, he thought to himself.

Steven ignored the table and the people around it. Instead he listened to the jukebox. He read the menu. He looked out the window to see cars passing by.

It was the scents and sounds of a life he had long ago thought he'd never see again. Oddly, he felt out of place, as if he didn't belong anymore. Despite the problems at hand, life seemed too good – too sweet for him to savour without doubts.

"How are you doing, sweetheart?" An older woman with silver hair who owned the diner peeped over her glasses, partially polite and partially concerned.

"I'm okay." Steven took a moment to respond, awkwardly stammering in the process.

She gave him a look and shook her head. "Well, isn't that what we all say?"

"Oh, but Regina, we should welcome our newcomers before dumping all our problems on them!" The woman they called 'Snow White' had a round, rosy face and short, black hair. The people everywhere seemed to be from some fairy tale or story. If Steven hadn't seen the possibilities of several worlds, he might not have believed it. Snow White sat to his right with an infant cradled in her arms. Her husband, David, was beside her. In their short time in Storybrook, Steven had never seen them apart.

"If they stay here any longer it will become their problem too. We might as well tell them what we're up against instead of wasting time." Regina sat across from Snow White on Steven's left. At first Steven wondered who she was, but it appeared that she was the redeemed Evil Queen.

Snow White sighed and seemed to give up in agreement. Some of the other strangers around the table noticed this and finished their conversations quickly.

Despite the challenges they faced, the camaraderie and family bonds the people shared began to remind Steven of what it was to have family. In his years of service to the Unseelie, sometimes he thought back to the old days in pointless conversations with his old self. Back when his mother used to hold him and before devastation invaded his life. He had no respect for life back then. But did he have any more now? He watched kids die because they weren't good enough and did nothing about it. Had anything changed? That's what he constantly told his younger self; that he wished somebody would have told him.

If you want love, you're going to have to go through the pain.

If you want love, you're going to have to learn how to change.

If you want trust, you're going to have to give some away.

He regretted it. He regretted it all. He regretted leaving his family. Now that he knew he could control his power, Steven wished it all back.

"A disillusioned woman with ice powers wants to brainwash Emma and Elsa into her exclusive trio magic club," said Hook as the table turned their focus to the current situation. Steven almost refused to believe he was the classic character from Peter Pan due to the complete lack of feathered hat and stringy mustache. He resembled an early two-thousand's era emo rocker with a better haircut and stubble. He also appeared to be redeemed and in a relationship with Snow White's daughter, Emma, both of whom happened to be the same age. The whole 'curse' ordeal was loosely explained to Thurinor and the rest of the group by Henry, Emma's son. It still confused Steven.

"And Regina's alter ego is walking around with who-knows-what up her sleeve," Hook continued.

"If you see me in an outlandish purple dress, you should probably steer clear," Regina added with a bitter tone.

Emma leaned her elbows on the table and clasped her hands in front of her. "So far we have no plan."

"Um, yes we do," Hook interjected, "You don't get hypnotized." Everyone in the room rolled their eyes except Emma who tried to hide a smile.

Henry spoke up from the other end of the table, "What if we pitted the two against each other? If they fight and weaken themselves, maybe we can stop them?"

Regina nodded, "That could work. They need a conflicting motive, however."

During this time, the rest of Steven's 'team' had been completely quiet, probably from confusion. Steven was at a loss as well. These people seemed to deal with this kind of conflict as if they did so daily.

Kyoka raised her hand, trying to appear confident, but blushing anyway. "Us three have water powers, including powers to turn that water into ice. If you need anyone to give her a challenge, we're your best bet."

The moment the team had left Chicago, their powers returned. Steven was surprised to find that it was harder to turn on his abilities rather then shut them down. It was natural to keep them suppressed so he could observe normal life without the constant stream of images running through his head.

"With everyone's help... we could do this," Regina grinned.

A plan had been born.

...

"Give it to me," The Evil Queen sneered. Her painted talons dug into his skin as he remained silent.

"I wouldn't give it to you even if it meant killing myself," Steven spat, his voice faltering as the thorns dug into his calves and thighs.

A grin spread across her face. "That can be arranged."

"But you don't want that," Steven replied, mirroring her smile.

"Why not?"

"Because I know what you need to live."

...

"Test, test," Kaida's voice crackled through the ear piece.

"All clear," Steven acknowledged as he watched her from a tree top. He had provided advanced communication buds from old hearing aids and parts he found around town. It took the triplets a bit of time to get used to them, but it was worth it in the end. As long as Steven could see them, he could help direct the best outcome.

Emma stood in front of the triplets, ready to face the Snow Queen. She would be here any moment.

"Are you sure you want to fight, Kaida? There's still a chance of reopening that wound," Kanaye said, perhaps forgetting he could be heard by two other people.

"It's too late to turn back. Besides, I could beat you in less than minute without breaking a sweat," Kaida quipped.

There was and audible sigh through the ear piece, "Kaida, please."

"It won't be him you'll be fighting," Emma cut in, "It's her."

The Snow Queen approached them barefoot, ice coating the ground behind her. She wore a long, white dress with dangling sleeves.

"I don't want to fight you Emma," she said, "I want to love you."

"Love doesn't threaten lives." Emma stared her down with obvious contempt.

"So you have new friends? Did they come to see a show? A monster?" The Snow Queen's voice was smooth as ice, yet just as sharp.

Kaida scoffed, "We are the show."

Steven knew before it came. Kaida balled her fists and snapped her arms horizontally over her chest, one arm over the other. After a short moment, she jerked her arms out and around her. Suddenly the forest floor vegetation withered and died as water rose out of it into a stream encircling the triplets.

"What...?" the Snow Queen stuttered, her blue eyes wide with wonder.

Steven expected it from her, but he didn't expect the same reaction from Kyoka and Kanaye.

"Kaida, how..."

"Shut up and use it!" Kaida shouted as she pulled her bent arms in with fists up, taking a portion of the water to form into small ice spikes.

"Aim a little to the left," Steven said.

Kaida jut out her arms and the spikes raced for the Snow Queen. In shock, the Queen could only muster an ice shield, but since Kaida listened to Steven, one spike caused a gash in her right arm.

She turned back to them with a shadow over her eyes. "Alright. I'll fight dirty."

The Queen returned the attack, aiming at all four opponents. Emma crouched while the others shielded themselves or dodged it and used the ice against her.

Emma began to use her light magic and the fight heated with Steven giving small bits of instruction – to stall here, or attack there.

It was going well until Kaida collapsed, distracting her siblings.

The Snow Queen froze their upper bodies to the trees despite Steven screaming in to the earpiece. The Queen blocked Emma with another shield, quickly freezing her feet to the ground and her hands together.

Before she ran away, she glanced at Kaida. Making an ice sled, she ran off into the forest, dragging Kaida behind her.

...

The Evil Queen reached into his jacket and pulled out a white arrow. "I don't need it. I have this."

"Ha! But that's all you have. There's more," Steven hissed.

She backed away for a moment in consideration. "Well... then I guess you won't mind if I do this!" The Evil Queen shoved her hand into his chest, causing a gasp from Steven. She yanked out his heart and stared at it as if it was delicious. The outside glowed red, but there were black tendrils inside, reaching for the rest of the brightness to snuff out.

"You're not so righteous yourself," she mused. She smiled as she brought his heart to her lips, "Tell me what you know."

...

Emma had used her magic to break herself and the other two out of the ice. It was kind of ridiculous that the 'waterbenders' couldn't power their own elements without flailing their arms about.

"We're not hydrokinetic!" Kyoka argued as if it was supposed to make sense to Steven.

They hadn't just lost in the fact they had been defeated by her and lost a member, the plan hadn't worked on the other end.

Snow White, David, and Regina were supposed to have baited the Evil Queen to end up in the same space where they would have convinced them to hate each other. Apparently she was too busy working on something else to ruin Snow's life with.

Thurinor had said something to point of 'it was a really bad plan to begin with'. Even in the diner he had opposed it. They were too impatient to hear him out on an idea he had. Everyone wanted to talk over him. Actually, everyone wanted to talk over everyone.

"There has to be a way to get her out of there!" Kanaye nearly shouted in the frustrated meeting in Regina's office.

"Kanaye, we can't just march up to her own palace. She defeated us once, she'll slaughter us then. I'm already weakened from that last fight," Kyoka tried to reason with him.

The voices rose up again, arguing against a mass of noise. Steven leaned his head back on the wall and sighed. Everyone was talking too fast. Everything was happening too fast.

As a kid he used to think life was moving so slow he'd watch it go by. He'd look out the window of his bus ride. He thought the world was so small through his closed eyes. If only he had known.

He always tried to control things. He was so good at everything and everything had to be perfect. But in the end that's what controlled him.

Maybe that's why I'm controlling.

"Wait!" Kyoka and Kanaye shouted at the same time. The room fell silent.

"Kaida's awake!" Kyoka said as he put a hand to the ear piece she hadn't taken out. "She says the Queen has a weapon... a bow and arrow... a white bow and arrow. It's imbued with a special magic to kill beings of dark magic... She wants to use it if Regina, her evil self, or Rumplestiltskin... she might be able to steal it and get out if she's distracted."

David snapped his fingers and exclaimed, "We can do a distraction!"

Kyoka held up a finger to silence him and frowned. "Her wound reopened. It doesn't look good."

Emma nodded, "Alright! Hook and I will make a distraction. Regina, if there's anyone who knows anything about magically imbued items..."

"No. Don't say it."

...

"The Snow Queen was planning to kill you with that. She made it. She can make another one," Steven said. The information was wrenched from him. The Evil Queen completely controlled his mind and body. But as Steven tried to fight it, he realized he could choose his words. It was the truth, but it wasn't all of it.

The branches and thorns slowly loosened their grip so he stood there like a puppet without strings. He wanted to scream from the pain, but she wouldn't let him. She truly was sadistic.

"Tell me about Snow White's plan," she whispered.

Steven resisted, his face turning red and beginning to shake.

"Tell me. About. Snow White's. Plan."

He had to relent, "She's going to do what the Snow Queen planned to do. She's going to kill you with the arrow."

...

Rumpelstilskin seemed to be just as displeased at their appearance in his shop as they were.

"For once, could you leave me out of this? Just one day?" he had asked exasperated. "But for the sake of having peace, I'll help you." Regina had chortled at that comment and he glared at her, reminding her he was helping without a price.

They had figured out the spell the Snow Queen used. Its origin was ancient, deadly, and all-round confusing to Steven.

Steven sincerely questioned how this would help them at all. If Kaida could get the bow and arrow out of the Snow Queen's lair, they could use it to kill both queens and be done with it.

When he voiced his concerns, he was met with a vague answer by Rumpelstiltskin: "Magic comes with a price."

The Snow Queen already had the weapon so she must have already paid the price. All they would be doing is using it for her.

Somehow, Steven wasn't surprised when Thurinor agreed with the vague answer. Despite his obvious distrust of Rumpelstiltskin, he spoke 'ancient magic nonsense' and seemed to understand everything that came out of his mouth.

Steven had rigged the ear pieces so that they broadcasted on two walky-talkies. One went with Emma while the other went with Kanaye.

Every once in a while he would check in on Kaida to make sure she was still okay. But then she said something.

Steven had seen the images of everyone turning to the device in concern, making him say, "Something's wrong."

The walky-talky came on, "I have the bow and arrow," Kaida whispered, "I think the distraction is working. I don't know what's happening, but she's been gone longer. I was able to get to another room, but it's hard not to leave a blood trail. Oh no, she's coming back!"

They held their breath as all they could do was hope for silence.

"AHH!" A piercing scream came through.

"Kaida, no!" Kanaye grabbed the walky-talky, clutching it as if it were Kaida.

A faint voice carried through and the room leaned in to hear. "What are you doing, thief?"

Kaida began to moan in pain.

"You're more trouble than you're worth."

A second voice came in, one that was not Emma's or anyone else they knew, "Stop!" the female voice screamed, "I stood by and watched one witch try to kill my sister, but I won't do it again!"

Kaida shouted, "No!"

There was a moment of silence before she spoke again, "Get the – agh! Get the bow and arrow!"

Kanaye gripped the walky-talky, "Kaida, what's happening?"

Everyone was thinking the same thing.

"Trap her and come with me!" said the stranger.

"No!" Kaida coughed, "I can't. And if I stop bloodbending, she'll kill us both! Take them and run! I can't do this... much longer."

"But the ice in your side! You'll die!"

"I said go!" Kaida yelled.

Kyoka jumped up, "Kaida, don't do it! You can't!"

Kaida grunted and coughed before giving a raspy chuckle, "Too late, sister. I think that girl knows what she's doing. Get the bow and arrow from her."

The Snow Queen's voice brokenly cried, "You won't do it. You won't."

"Watch me."

Kaida screamed in pain once more. There was a thump and some static rolled through the walky-talky, making Kyoka snatch it from her brother's hands and smack it.

Kaida's faint voice ended the static, "She's dead... I killed her... I killed her with her own ice spear. Heh, it's like the guy I overheard in the shop... all magic comes with a price."

...

The Evil Queen threw back her head and laughed. "And how will she when I have it?"

"You don't!"

She whipped around to see Snow White with the real arrow, knocked and pulled in its bow aimed at her.

Rose Red stood beside Snow White, happily reunited with her sister. Behind them were Kanaye and Kaida, the grieving pair. All the others including Thurinor and Ingithora had come as well to see the downfall of the Evil Queen.

In his last stretch, Steven lost and saved family. They may not have been his family, but he had atoned for his sins.

He knew what was going to happen next and he could do nothing about it. But he was okay with it... because it made everything matter to him for the first time in ten years.

The older I get I feel like I'm always trying to save time.

Talking to the voices in my head that make me think twice – telling me it doesn't mean it's wrong because it feels right.

The Queen turned her head back to Steven, the same venomous smile on her face.

I'm scared that one day I'll wake up and wonder where the time goes.

Talk about the past like it's the present while I rock slow.

I'll sit in the living room and laugh with kids of my own.

Snow White loosed the arrow as the Evil Queen squeezed his heart.

I'll tell them:

If you want love, you're going to have to go through the pain.

I wish they would have told me.

If you want love, you're going to have to learn how to change.

I wish somebody would have told me.

If you want trust, you're going to have to give some away.

If you want love...

If you want love...

12. OliviaBinfield

Light danced in the icicles, shards of brightness twisting and twirling in the frozen water. It was beautiful. And yet so terrible. Tam had never been able to master the ice; she'd always found that fire and air came easier to her. Her grip on water was reasonable, her power over earth minimal at best, but never in all her months of training at the great ice city of north Oria, had she been able to control Ice.

She'd wanted to, of course. It had disappointed her mother so greatly when the most she could muster were a few measly ice cubes. This place, Storybrooke, looked nothing like -name-, city of her childhood. That place had been all elegance, all beauty and all brutality. But their brutality was cleaner, somehow. More precise, sharper. In that city gorgeously crafted ice statues were everywhere. So realistic you could almost mistake them for being actual people. And like there was in every city on the outer-edges of Oria, body's swung from the gates, held together by frosted rope or hoisted up with ice spears poking out through flesh and blood, stained a crimson colour.

Beautiful, but terrible.

And that city was nothing like this. The ice here hadn't been carefully painted over a landscape, it had been blasted across with no care for anything at all. Rage flicked in that pale ice, and an echo of pain. Her kind could feel that kind of thing, they called it echos.It wasn't the real pain, wasn't the same sting of experiencing it. But when something is made in a state of pain or rage or "intense emotion" as her mother would put it, it leaves traces. Echoes.

And this desolate place was practically gleaming with it. The boy in front of her, the one with a sword and a lion-skin coat, Carron, was moving forward carefully. The ones named Kira and Matheus, wizards, both of them, followed side by side. And the other three girls who had arrived with her took up the back. A sense of distrust was thick in the air, and Tam reasoned that if things had been different they'd all be trying to kill each other right now, rather than working together.

Though Tam probably wouldn't be one of those doing the killing. A painfeeler was conscious of what they caused others. When you can feel what your enemy feels, everything else is irrelevant. Executions were quick, torture unthinkable. It was one of the reasons why her race were so peaceful. A war would be so agonising that neither side could win; it would just be never-ending suffering.

"Who are we looking for again?" Called the girl with the curly red hair, Elle, from the back.

"The supposed "Snow Queen"- Ingrid - The one responsible for all this mess in the first place."

Elle tilted her head, nodding to herself. "And we know where she is? Because of the sponsor?"

"Yes. At the outskirts of the forest- the north woods. We find her. Defeat her. Done." Carron snapped back.

"But-" Lysia began, before a sharp explosion of cold ice cut her off. White snow streaked across the sky, a blur of pale blues and greys. It was chaos born anew, a nightmare of sound and sight and ice.

"She knows we're here- she has to!" Swore Kira, muttering under her breath. "She's toying with us, that's what she's doing!"

Tam shook her head, eyes closed. Pain. Too much. There was always too much. It was so hard in this realm, where pain was not shared. Where everyone was alone in their own little boxes of misery and all the torture and heartbreak of the world was heaped into the one person who could feel it all.

It swamped her utterly, the weight of that pain. It was mental pain, mostly, which was different from physical pain. Softer, harder to understand. Like clouds in the sky, you see the outline, know what they mean but you can not truly understand. When a painfeeler meets someone new, in a single instant - one that feels like an eternity - they experience all the physical pain they have every felt, or caused others.

Flashes. Ice and cold and blood and tears and love and loss and hearts, beating hearts, hearts that beat to the tune of indescribable torture.

"It's not- it's not the snow queen. It's people. The citizens. It's the people of the town." She murmured. Before the blackness wormed its way into her mind, and dragged her down, into the depths of the unfathomable dark.


•••

Lysia was beginning to get extremely tired of all this nonsense. It was ridiculous having such a perfect weapon, one with great power, rendered so useless by such a simple thing.

It was so dreadfully infuriating. The painfeeler, or whatever she was, lay shaking in the ground now. Leaving the others to deal with the inhabitants of this gods-forsaken realm.

It was a girl with a short, black hair cut who spoke first, looking down at Tam.

"Is she alright? What's wrong with her?"

Then another voice-

"Why does that matter? Who are they? Why are they here?"

A young woman stepped forward, one with unusual white-blonde hair. "Have you seen my sister?"

Then another voice, and another, until it was too much to keep track of, one after another, louder and louder and-

It took barely a thought. Just a simple second and then, gone. The man, the short one, angry-looking. Who had been shouting. He was now on the floor, lying still.

Lysia's voice was deathly quiet as she addressed them. "She is fine. I do not know or care where your sister is. Your ... friend over here is also fine. I have merely dropped his pulse. He's unconscious, that is all. We are here to help you, as ridiculous as that might sound. We are here to free you from the Snow Queen. So if you would all be so kind as to stop talking, before I steal the air away from your lungs."

Silence followed. Such a beautiful thing, silence. It was a pity that there was not enough of it in the world.

"Now." Lysia continued. "Who is in charge here?"

Another young woman, with short black hair stepped forward, eyes flickering.

"I'm Regina, the, well, I suppose you would say the former Mayor of this town, and if you would stop threatening my citizens and leave us in peace, as we do not need anyone's help-"

Lysia rolled her eyes, letting out a bark of dry laughter. It was Elle who stepped forward now, shooting an irritated glance in the ravkan's direction.

"Madame Mayor, please excuse my friend's rudeness. However, we will be here to help, as we simply have no choice in the matter-"

"That simply won't be necessary." Regina snapped, snapping her fingers. Elle disappeared In a puff of purple smoke, and fire flickered to life in her hands, angled towards Lysia herself. "Threaten anyone again and you'll live just long enough to regret it."

"Regina!" Hissed the woman who had spoken first. "You don't need to-"

"No."

Tam. Lysia had almost forgotten about her, seeming as all she'd been good for so far was whimpering in pain. It was so highly irritating. But now, something had changed. Her hands moved, as if she was painting. The air shifted, shimmering silver as birds made of water flew over and crashed down to the ground, drenching the woman - Regina - and freezing as the remaining droplets touched the ground.

"There will be no fighting. We may each help each other. My name is Tamandua Lurzon. The person you formerly had fire aimed at is Lysia of Ravka, who calls herself a Heartrender. She can control people's bodies to wield damage to them- I'd advise staying on her good side. The woman you just vanished was Elle. That is Carron, and the other two are Kira and Matheus, fellow magic users. You are the Evil Queen Regina. Greetings."

The queen, as Tam had put it, swallowed. "How could you possibly know that? And I've changed I'm not evil anymore-"

Her unusual eyes glittered with something unsaid, a brilliant blue coloured in veins of orange-red.
"Pain is a language, just like any other."

There was an awkward silence , before a young bow pushed his way through. "Can I help? It could be Operation -"

Regina's face softened, turning to face the boy. "No Henry, this is no place for children. This is a battle we have to fight on our own." His face fell, but Lysia smiled. They would help.
"I'm coming with you,Tamandua. And if anyone has any objections-"

"Please- call me Tam. And of course you can come- but if you would return our friend-"

Regina rolled her eyes, waving her hand. Elle appeared again, purple smoke fizzing out of existence. Her eyes danced in shock, as another person stepped forward. The woman with white blonde hair.

"I can help too- I want to find my sister. I'm Elsa. I can control the Ice too-"

Another woman stepped forward, followed by a one-handed man garbed in black attire. "We can help too-"

The one with the short hair cut stepped forward.

"No, Snow. You have to look after the child. We have to look after Neal."

"But-"

Lysia shut out the voices.

Rolling her eyes, she retreated to a corner with Carron, whose eyes were darkening with every passing moment.

"We're wasting time." She hissed.

"Patience, Lysia. Perhaps these people can help. Either way, it makes the job easier. The sooner we can kill this snow queen, the sooner we can leave." Carron answered back.

Lysia let out a little bark of laughter. "That's all is it? Killing is so simple now is it?"

Carron shrugged. "I'd think it would be for you, at least. Don't you kill all the time?"

Lysia paused. It wasn't as if she could argue with that.
Truth was truth.

•••

Elle was beginning to get annoyed by being sidelined all the time. Left on the sides, without anyone caring. She was just some extra, useless baggage.

She didn't have magic, and didn't have the advantage of being the first one to face this nightmare, like Carron had. She was new and powerless and frankly, a waste of space.

If Elle had been watching this from the comfort of her own home, back in San Fransokyo, she would have placed a large amount of money on her dying first. Elle was practically first in line for the grim reaper's scythe.

And now it was less like an elite mission and more like a bloody party. Too many people, all with magic or some otherwise unspecified heroic qualities. Everything she lacked. Doubtless, none of the people here had been scarred and ruined by their own mother when they were younger.

Tam was laughing along with the Elsa woman, her face smiling and lit up in understanding. Elle on the other hand, wanted to punch the witch in the face. Everything about her was wrong. It was wrong to understand and feel someone else's pain. Pain should be kept to yourself. Tam had undertaken the greatest invasion of privacy that she'd ever seen.

It was wrong for her to spy on that raw and vulnerable part of her- and eventually the witch would pay. But for the moment they were stuck together trying to survive.

Fate or luck or whatever you wanted to call it was such a bitter and twisted thing.


"I'm sorry for Gay I did to you earlier." A voice interrupted her train of higher- it was the black-haired woman. Regina.

"I'd expect as much from someone styling herself as the "Evil" Queen." Elle spat back.

"Perhaps we haven't made that good of a first impression, but I've changed- I'm not evil, I just-"

"Of course you're not evil. Don't get yourself worked up about it."

"I- Thank you- I mean-"

"Evil doesn't exist. The world is not black and white. Not divided between good and villain. It is merely painted into shades of grey. Some people are darker shades that others, but that's all it is. Shades of grey."

"Maybe in your world. But there are villains and heroes here, and I'm-"

"You're as villain as you want to be, miss evil queen. My eye, you see it? Slightly discoloured? You don't notice when you first look. But it's like someone's moved the furniture slightly in a room you walk in often. You can't quite put your finger on what it is, but you know something is wrong. But eventually you realise what it is. My mother did that to me. She was in a drunken rage, wasn't thinking. Wasn't feeling. I went blind. I spent half my life crafting a bionic eye. So I could see again. The other half trying to find a way to stop myself feeling all these useless emotions. My mother wasn't evil. She was a bad woman who did bad things.The fact she's evil doesn't stop her from haunting my dreams, or stop me from fearing her. But she's not evil. And neither are you. Because evil doesn't exist."

"I'm sorry that your mother did that to you. My mother-"

"Didn't try to kill you. Don't be sorry when you don't mean it. Just leave me alone, alright? Didn't realise you fairytale types were so unable to understand subtext."

And with that Elle stormed off, the wind billowing behind her. Funny thing was, it almost sounded like it was laughing.

•••

"What's wrong with you Kira?" Matheus asked. "You've been acting weird ever since we left Erudite."

"It's just- this whole thing. It's ridiculous. Like we're some pawns on a chess set, being moved while the players just laugh and laugh and we stumble about."

"Kira-"

"No. I've had enough. Of all l of this. I want to go home, to a place where I can look at the stars in peace without fearing that today is my last day."

"We can survive Kira. The world is full of possibilities. There's more out there. We can endure. We can see a new dawn, and the next, and the next- you just have to trust me, Kira."

She didn't reply. Matheus turned around, opening his mouth to begin another speech, to explain as to why she should carry on.


The world shattered around him. It wasn't Kira who screamed; it was Tam. She was shaking. Her hands clutching her stomach.

Though she was not the one who was dying.

But it was his falcao who lay bleeding on the floor. A spear of ice protruding from her chest. A beautiful woman stood over her, flurries of snow and ice spiralling away from her feet.

The Snow Queen.

"Matheus-" she whispered.

"Oh, do stop whimpering. Such a pathetic waste of power. Don't you think."

"I'll kill you for this, I'll-"

"Hardly. I've given her what she wants. She's no one's pawn anymore."

"You'll pay-"

She held up her hand, and the air was sucked out of his lungs. Gasping for breath- he couldn't breathe. He was-

"Silence. Now you see, now is when the fun begins."

And then her magic exploded.

•••

Carron wrapped his hands around the lion skin cloak. It would deflect any weapons that came at him, and he so dearly hoped it deflected the ice. If it didn't well- he was in great trouble.

They weren't even near the snow lair yet. This was a warning.

It was all a game to her, wasn't it? An impossible game.

The metal in his hand was cold, so cold. A reminder of the price of failure. The sword glinted, reflecting the light of the icicles, and the beautiful snowflake dress the queen wore- her majesty held as much grace, beauty, awe and terror as the ice around her did.

"Drop him, right now or I'll crack open your skull." Growled Lysia, hands held out threateningly in front of her.

The Snow Queen smiled, her eyes dancing with light. "Then why don't you do it?"

He was thinking the same thing- why in the name of the seven had she not done it already? What was wrong with her?

"If you ask me, it's because you're scared. All those years, terrorising homes, killing children, savouring the fear of all those who looked at your power and shook in pure petrification. But there was no one to fight back, was there? No other Heartrenders. You're scared because I can fight back. And you don't know if you have what it takes, do you. And I'll tell you a secret, Lysia. You. Don't."

Lysia let it a snarl, a noise that was purely animal. "You know nothing about me, Ingrid. Nothing." Her hands pushed out, and someone screamed. Malice glittered on the queen's face, as her hand twisted and broke off, pale white lone gleaming in the light of the sun, blood and flesh dropping onto the ground. A white cloud of smoke enveloped her, and Matheus dropped, gasping on the floor.

She appeared again, her hand reforming. Ice growing back. Her face screamed murder, but a clash of a sword interrupted her. Carron saw only flashes- dark skin, a white tattoo- but he also saw blood. Saw the Snow Queen retreat back.

"You'll pay." She whispered, disappearing once again. Ice magic burst from her, freezing another person.

"What's wrong with you? You let her get away!" Regina accused Lysia, shaking off the Queen's earlier, non-lethal icy blast of magic. "And who, might I add, are you?"

"Name's Marr." The soldier replied. "Though you might know me here as Arthur. I'm an ex-knight turned assassin, I suppose you might say. I'm here to join the newcomers to our land. The ones who the Snow Queen just threatened to kill."

"Welcome then, Marr." Carron interjected. It would be good to have another guy on the team, he supposed.

He was about to say something else when Lysia cut him off, and both he and Marr were pushed to the back.

"I don't understand what came over me." Lysia apologised.

"Well I do understand. It's obvious to me that you're clearly a coward."

"Regina. Enough" snapped another blonde haired woman, Emma. "Petty bickering isn't going to get us anywhere."

Carron swallowed, his heart beating madly in his chest. Matheus was still in shock, Lysia fuming silently, while Elle-

"Where's Tam?" He stuttered. "Where is she?" She wasn't here, she was gone. Just gone.

•••

Good riddance, that was Elle said to all this. Tam was useless in a fight, anyhow. About as helpful as a hole in the head, to be frank.

A growl rumbled through the forest. A shadow moved through the trees, and then a matching white shadow on the other side. Claws scraped against the earth, as two tigers stood side by side, staring into Elle's eyes.

"They're brothers," whispered a voice. It was Tam, pulling herself off the ground. "They will protect me. They have promised- you mustn't harm them."

Elle rolled her eyes. "Great. Now the painfeeler has some animal buddies to hang out with. You going to burst into a magical singsong now and command them to do the laundry? No, don't answer that. You don't get it."

Lysia came up behind them, her face twisted into a frown. "You can talk to animals?"

"Of course I can. I might lack trivial language, but it's the third law of shapeshifting. If you can take their form, you can speak their language." Tam stood up, stroking the black tiger. "I'm safe now. You don't have to worry about me."

Elle snorted. "Yeah, because you've been bloody useless so far. What's the point in being able to control the elements and talk to beasts and take whatever form you fancy if you can't do anything?"

"Everything costs something, Elle. I'd expect you to understand that." Tam cocked her head, and Elle felt her anger rising.

How dare she intrude on her like that, how could she-

"What's going on here?" Regina said, stalking forward. "Oh. You found the other one, I see. And now we have company. Wonderful."

"They say sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, Regina." Elle sighed.

"Funny, they don't have that saying where I'm from." Regina snapped back.

"Wait-" The blonde one, Emma said. Honestly, there far too many names for Elle to be bothered to get them all right. "You said earlier that pain was a language. Do you know why the Snow Queen is doing what she's doing?"

Tam nodded. Her voice was quiet, deathly so.

"Once upon a time there were three sisters, and they were happy, all joined together by love unbreakable. But the eldest lost faith in love, so resorted to something easier. And then the eldest accidentally tripped the middle child, and she fell so terribly. So terribly, she broke into a million pieces. And the younger sister was scared, and so sent the older one away, where she could never hurt anyone again. But the oldest sister came back. And she was alone. And all she wanted was to love again. For a new family. One that wouldn't break."

"What kind of nonsense is this? It's garbage. Do you even have any magic at all? I'm beginning to think you're a fraud, and that the water thing was al some kind of trick-" Regina began.

"I. Am. Not. A. Fraud." Tam was growing angry now, all the pressure building up inside of her. Birds flew around her head, birds made of fire. "You see these birds? They're mine. I made them. And if I wanted to they'd tear you to pieces. But my species do not cause pain unless absolutely necessary. So you can shut up, and we can go and defeat this queen. And it's not rubbish. It's a story."

Elle let out another snort. She had to admit she was surprised- she didn't think that Tam had it in her. Though it appeared she was wrong.

And Elle disliked being wrong.

•••

"This is it- the snow lair." Lysia remarked. "Tam, you and the ... tigers take the back. Carron, you can go upfront with Elle and I. Regina and Matheus and the guy with the hook, cover the sides. Emma, Elsa, you go in the middle. Clearly she's after you because of whatever nonsense of unbreakable family or well, I don't know. And I don't care."

"What makes you so expert on battle plans, heartrender?" Emma asked, eying the cave.

"I was a General in the Corpralki army. I know a thing or two about fighting."

"I thought you said to use that you were an assassin-for-hire."

Lysia smiled. "Yeah, well. That too. It's called multitasking."

Tam closed her eyes, almost peacefully. "She's close. I can sense her."

Lysia nodded to herself. She could do this. She would not falter. She would kill the queen, if it was the last thing she did.

•••

Ice, Ice, everywhere. It was a beautiful lair, truly. Snow stalagmites grew up and down from the walls of the cave. A mirror shone from the side.

Matheus didn't care about any of that, though. He wanted one thing. To avenge the woman who killed Kira. His falcão.

"You're surrounded, Ingrid. You have to stop." It was Emma who approached. But Ingrid merely smiled fondly at them.

"I don't have to do anything." She replied. "And you should all stop hiding. Why don't you come out here and play?"

She lifted her hand, the one Lysia had severed. It was ice now, pure ice. And with one simple wave, the snow began to reform. Monsters rising up from the deep.

For Kira.

Matheus lifted his sword, and charged.

•••

Tam's firebirds swooped and dived, sending streams of red and gold flickering as they burnt upon the ice and snow. Water formed, droplets becoming spears that worked their way into the ice monsters. Elsa was frantically scrabbling against them, dismantling them as Ingrid continued to build them up.

The two tigers circled her, one lashing out as the beasts neared. Protecting her.

Pain pierced her soul. It was like being burnt alive, ripped in two. Torn apart, it hurt so much. It ached like nothing else did.

So, so much pain-

It was Matheus. Bones crushed by the weight of a snow demon.

Another died with him crushed, one more frozen by a burst of magic. A third swallowed by the ice monster.

She was so preoccupied with screaming that she did not notice the icicle that pierced her lungs.

•••

"Tam!" Lysia shrieked. The firebirds were falling, their brilliant flame surrendering unto ash.

"Lysia.. you need to defeat the Snow Queen. What are you doing here?"

Lysia glared at her. "Look down."

Silence. The shards of blood red ice that bloomed from the wound melted in shock. "I'm-"

"Dying. Yes. But I can fix that. I'm not a healer, but it's the same power. I can stop it from progressing- at least, until we find a way to fix it. Seems you're not that useless after all. And I wouldn't let a good weapon die."

She held out her hands, roughly patching together flesh and tissue. Tam smiled in thanks, but her lips moved as if to speak.

"Don't kill her- she's just like us. Alone. Unloved. That's all she wants. A family. Someone to rely on."

"Family is overrated!" Called Elle. "Now- Lysia - come. We have work to do."

•••

Work indeed, Elle thought to herself. Love. Pah. Love would be better off if it had never existed in the first place. Then the world would be nice and simple, perhaps not so grey.

Lysia's were darkened, as she looked out upon the Snow Queen.

She was staring down at Emma and Elsa, Hook dangling in the air between them, the air being choked away. The pure misery and loss on her face - it was Emma's face, she thought, though perhaps it was Elsa's; how was she supposed to know? - was pathetic. Love made you weak, the evidence was clear as starlight in front of her.

It made you get backed into a corner and unable to escape.

Then brilliant white magic seared through the air, hitting Ingrid. Making her stumble.

Immediately, Lysia stepped forward. It took barely a twitch from her for the ice queen to collapse on the floor, shuddering and gasping for breath. The guy with the hook fell to the ground, but Elsa stood up. Racing towards them.

"You can't kill her- she's my aunt! She might have done. As things but that doesn't mean she deserves to die!"

The other blonde nodded, the white magic vanishing from her hands. "Good always wins, Lysia- and giving in to vengeance or hatred means that you will never truly succeed. This is a mistake- you can't give in to the darkness-"

"Shut up. Don't give me any of that good over evil, nonsense. In my world, your rules don't apply. Whoever is the strongest is the one who survives. I love death- it's so beautiful. And fascinating. And do you think I care if I add one more person to my body count? I used to slaughter the village children as punishment for those who disobeyed. I'd explode their chests, one by one. Boom, dead. Much like this."

She clicked her fingers. The Snow Queen's heart imploded, blood and flesh staining the white walls of the cave, as the ice slowly began to melt.

"No!" Shrieked Elsa, staring down at the corpse. "I'll never find my sister. I'll be alone..."

"Maybe she was a good woman. Maybe she was a sister who loved. But none of that matters to me. I had a job. I followed through."

Lysia smiled once more, triumph lighting up her face. "Though if it bothers you that much, Good defeated her. I was simply finishing the job."

13. jaypvie

Jasmine's eyes struggled to adjust to the semidarkness after the bright light of the transportation. The first thing she noticed was a figure slumped against a nearby wall. As the others stepped off the train, a gaunt, pale face turned toward her.

Nate?!

Jasmine's breathing hitched, her heart flooded with emotions — relief and worry, anger and love. She ran up to him and flung her arms around him, her eyes brimming with tears. Hesitantly, Nate returned the embrace. "Jas?" he muttered.

"It's me," she whispered, burying her face in his shirt. "Nate... Merlin, I thought I'd never see you again." Her voice shook. "What happened while I was gone? Are the others okay?"

"We've been looking for you. Jas, you've been gone for months." Nate sighed, running a hand through her hair before pulling away slightly, his arms still around her. "And... and we tracked down a... a portal of some sort. I've never seen anything like it. And these guys came through it — I don't know what they were — they call themselves fey." His voice lowered. "They took our families, Jas. They said we've got to fight other teams to the death. Is... is this what you've been doing all along?"

"Not exactly. It's like..." Jasmine hesitated. "More like a series of challenges. Some include fighting, but not all of them. And — and there are all these different worlds. It's really..." She shook her head, letting out a nervous laugh. "It's amazing. Terrifying, but still kind of amazing."

"I'm just glad you're okay," Nate said seriously, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. His hand lingered on her cheek.

"Okay, you lovebirds done or what?" Jasmine turned, startled, as Thomas strolled up to them, a smile plastered on his face. "Sorry to interrupt, but, well... you guys aren't the only ones here, you know?"

"Right," she muttered, her cheeks heating up. Her eyes flicked across the other eight faces. Lucinda, the new mentor, was smiling, and so was Ruth; the others mostly looked as awkward as Jasmine felt, apart from Sapphire, who seemed preoccupied with a little silver hairclip. "Sorry. Uh, where are we this time?"

As if on cue, the lights in the room went on, revealing two rows of white marble statues a couple of meters away. Another two rows stood across the room, but they were made of black stone, instead of white. The floor was covered in black and white tiles.

"McGonagall's chess game," Thomas muttered. "Unbelievable."

Jasmine frowned. "How did you know about that? I thought you were a Muggle."

Thomas's eyes widened for a moment, but he regained his composure so quickly that Jasmine wondered if she'd imagined it. "Oh, I am, but my niece is a witch. Apparently there was a lot of gossip about it. What was it protecting again, a Sorcerer's Stone?"

"Philosopher's Stone," Nate corrected him absent-mindedly. "Really, why do Americans have to change every single name?"

"So, what..." Jasmine observed the board. "Do we just play the chess game? Like Harry and his friends did?"

"We're supposed to pick a figure each and move along with it," Denji explained. "Ozai sent me something for you. You can use these if you're in danger; they'll let you use your power once." He held up several vials of silver liquid. Jasmine recognized the potion he'd given her last task; however, the dose was significantly smaller. "One for every one of us with magic or powers. Well..." He hesitated. "Almost every one of us. The condition is that we use it offensively," he glanced at Amanda, "so you won't get any, and you, boy..." He turned to Kai. "You've offended him during the last task, so he didn't send you any, either. But I have to say you impressed me. I misjudged you. If you want mine, you can have it."

Kai accepted the vial and bowed, pressing a fist onto the palm of his other hand. "Thank you. I'm sorry if I've offended you earlier; I know better now."

Denji nodded firmly before turning to the others. "All right. Now, how are we going to do this?"

***

Thomas struggled to climb onto the stone horse's back. The others had already taken their positions. Rock Man was the king, obviously, Fairy and Flame Boy were rooks, Freckles was the other knight, and Sarah and Wizard Boy were bishops. They'd offered Cindy, the other mentor, to be the queen, but she declined it; instead, her protégé, Smiley, took the position.

Thomas cursed as he pulled himself up, his shoulder aching again. The golden strand of hair — from a Disney movie — had helped, and so did the treatment in Erudite, but the newly-recovered muscles were still rather weak. They weren't particularly strong before the injury, either, but it felt good to blame it on something other than lack of exercise.

He had to stop flaunting his knowledge of the places they went to. Freckles believed his explanation this time, but how much longer could he keep up the ruse? But still, the information he had was useful. He'd just need an inconspicuous way to share it.

Flame Boy was still looking at Wizard Boy and Freckles talking. His face called to mind a puppy someone just kicked. When did he start crushing on her, anyway? They weren't even in the same faction last task.

Thomas glanced across the board. He could see another team getting into positions. Let's see, who are these guys? Most of them look uninteresting. A couple of Vikings — though they could be from Game of Thrones, too. A girl in Hogwarts robes, with a green tie — Slytherin. The king, probably their mentor, is...

He froze. Kortana. The FBI investigator who'd been working on his case. And the woman next to her — that's Peppy. The bad guys took them as well, huh?

Thomas shook his head. Doesn't matter. I need to focus on the game.

***

Ruth fidgeted on her spot as the opposing knight destroyed a pawn next to her. For the first time in decades, she felt truly vulnerable. Her movements were sluggish, her muscles weak, and her senses weren't nearly as sharp as they'd been for the last ninety years.

Thomas's voice cut through the air. "Purple Hair, two spaces forward!"

"Are you crazy? That'll get her killed!" Nathan's eyes darted across the board, taking in the situation. "Jasmine could block that rook, then use magic to escape."

"Can't afford to lose a knight this early on, kid. Try to keep up."

"I am keeping up, I just don't want..." Nathan sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Go ahead. Do what he says. I've got your back."

Hesitantly, Amanda stepped forward. An enemy rook moved in to capture her, raising his sword. Nathan drank the liquid in his vial.

"Expelliarmus!" The blade clattered to the floor, and the rook stumbled, pushed back by the force of the spell. Amanda used the opportunity, racing across the floor before any of the statues could reach her, coming to a stop behind the enemy lines.

"Well, that's all from me then," she said, rolling her eyes. "You guys better win this thing."

***

Martin was furious.

His so-called teammates hadn't consulted him once, and only moved him between empty squares, not allowing him within an arm's reach of the enemies. He'd chosen the allegedly most powerful figure because he wanted in on the action, not to follow a bunch of pointless orders! If these were the real Hunger Games, he'd be the only person still standing.

"Martin! We need you on D4!"

Martin glared at Nathan, before looking around. Another empty field, of course, and the only ones he could attack from there were his own teammates. Apparently the rules didn't allow that. From here, on the other hand...

He moved diagonally, stopping in front of a tower-shaped figure. The man standing on its base looked startled, but Martin didn't hesitate. He raised his arms, feeling the statue behind him move. The white queen raised her sword, stabbing the man with brutal force. Warm blood sprayed Martin's face.

Now that was more like it.

***

Thomas felt his blood run cold as Smiley ran across the board again, a maniacal grin on his face. The statue followed him like an obedient dog, ready to eliminate its master's enemies. Freckles already had to use a defense spell to prevent a black pawn from killing her, and she was out of the game.

The red-stained marble sword sliced across a woman's neck, and she fell to her knees, blood gushing from her throat. Thomas met Kortana's gaze. The terror on her face mirrored his own. However, she pulled herself together, calling out the next order.

"Pawn to E6!"

What? That doesn't make any... Smiley's eyes lit up as he noticed the opening in front of Kortana. A diagonal move would bring him right in front of her.

It's a trap. She figured out he barely knows the rules. Her fingers wrapped around the hilt of her sword. Earlier, the king statues had retreated from the board as soon as the mentors took their places, leaving only their weapons behind.

For a moment, Thomas considered calling out to the kid, pointing out the trap. But, dammit, Kortana was actually a decent person, and the boy was pretty much a psychopath. And Smiley's actions were likelier to get his team killed than to win the game.

Smiley grinned again as he moved to stand in front of Kortana. "Don't you think I know the rules? I know the king can't move. You're as good as dead now."

"Not quite." Her voice, quiet but clear, cut through the room like a dagger through silk. "I think you weren't paying attention. The king can barely move, yes. But in this case, one space is enough." She raised her sword, hands steady despite her hesitant expression. Smiley's eyes widened in realization. Thomas turned away, unable to look, but he still heard the soft thud of a falling body and the sharp crack of a statue breaking.

***

There was so much blood.

Ruth clamped a hand over her mouth and nose, trying to drown out the scent. She hadn't had a chance to drink ever since she was captured, and while the hunger has been weaker ever since her powers vanished, it was never completely gone.

Come on... you've endured worse than this. Get yourself together, Ruth!

She closed her eyes, focusing on a random memory to distract herself. Greece, fifteen years ago. That would do. She pictured the turquoise water, cold on her skin. The scent of salt. The first rays of sunlight at dawn, uncomfortably hot for a vampire, even with a daylight ring. The grainy texture of sand under her feet.

The hunger weakened. Just a bit, but enough for her to regain control. Some sort of control, at least.

"Redhead! C5!"

Ruth moved diagonally, stopping on the same field as a Viking-like man, one of the opposing bishops. Her statue moved to attack him, and she bit her lip. I'm not hungry. I'm not hungry...

But the man grabbed the statue's arm and tossed it to the side. "You're not the only ones with sponsorships, woman," he said, grinning, then sent a punch flying toward her at an inhuman speed. Ruth tried to dodge, but it sent her tumbling to the floor.

"You're breaking the rules," she said, pushing herself up.

The man pinned her to the ground. "I make the rules here." He reached for a knife on his belt.

Ruth's fingers wrapped around the vial in her pocket. No. If everything comes back at once...

But the blade in the man's hand gave her no choice. She uncapped the vial, downing the contents in one gulp.

Her senses came rushing back. The room seemed to snap into focus. Ruth could see every hairline crack on the tiles, every speckle of dust on the man's clothes. She tasted the remnants of the potion in her mouth, unlike anything she'd come across before, sour yet sweet, bubbling like mineral water on her tongue. The sharp, pervading scent of blood made her teeth elongate in anticipation.

The vampire kicked the man off herself and stood up slowly, brushing herself off as her mind struggled to suppress her instincts. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the pulsing artery on his neck. Hunger drowned out the voice of her humanity that begged her to let him go.

The vampire bent down, her teeth sinking into the man's neck. A harmony of tastes exploded in her mouth. He'd been drinking recently, the alcohol lacing his blood added a foul undertone to it, but the beast in her didn't care. It was food, at last.

Ruth managed to pull away once her hunger had subsided, filled with so much guilt and disgust that she barely noticed her senses dimming again. Almost a century of practicing self-control, and I still can't hold back. I will never stop being a monster. Tears streaked the red stains on her face, and she curled up on the floor, sobbing.

***

"Check."

Kai came out of his stupor and turned. The remaining black rook had a clear path to the earthbender. He could see Nathan eye the board carefully, imagining the possible future moves unfold.

"I'll block her," the wizard said quietly. "Denji, you'll be able to avoid her afterwards. Thomas, Sarah, it's up to you after that."

"You can't defend," Kai protested. "You're going to get killed."

"It's a possibility, yeah. But it's the best chance we have." Nathan sighed. "Listen, I don't want any more lives wasted, okay? I've been on the sidelines way too many times while others died to keep people safe. It's my turn now."

Kai glanced at Jasmine. She was looking at the board, her forehead creased with worry. The way she'd talked with Nathan, the way she smiled at him... she loved him, that much was evident. His death would hurt her.

"Can you win if I take the hit?" Nathan opened his mouth to object, but Kai continued. "I have the potion. I can defend with my bending. I can escape, unlike you. Can you make a winning strategy with a bishop instead of a rook?"

Nathan scanned the board again. "I..." His lips moved silently for a few moments. "Yeah. Yeah, I think so."

"That's settled, then." Kai smiled half-heartedly at the wizard. "Rook to D3!" His tower slid sideways until he was facing the other rook. He drank the potion, and energy surged through his body, flames flickering to life on his fingertips.

The black tower moved forward, coming to a stop in front of Kai. The person in its shadow was younger than he'd first thought, a light-haired girl no older than Jasmine. She hesitated at the sight of fire in his hands.

I should attack her. Kai raised his hand, the fire in it coalescing into a ball. I don't want to hurt her, but I have to do this.

No. That's what they always told us, isn't it? Better to kill than to be killed. But is it really?

This is what the Fire Lord wants. To burn what we are in the flames we send at our enemies, until the only thing remaining is a weapon in his hand.

I won't be his weapon anymore.

Kai lowered his hand, letting the fire disperse. The black tower opened, revealing another statue inside, a vaguely humanoid form with a smooth surface where its face should have been. It reached for him faster than he would have thought possible, its half-formed hands closing around his neck before he could even think of running.

There was a sickening crack sound. Kai Piandao's body went limp.

***

"Checkmate."

Ruth couldn't find the strength to feel happy. Her team gathered slowly, a tired, haunted expression on each face. Sarah was glaring daggers at her, not even trying to conceal the sword she still held.

"You're a vampire," she accused. Ruth nodded. "You're a danger to us all."

"Just get it over with. Quickly, please," the redhead whispered, her eyes filling with tears again.

Sarah swung her blade. It stopped midair.

Sapphire was flying behind her, arms raised, eyes glowing with ethereal light. The fairy had spent most of the chess game napping atop her tower, but now she seemed wide awake and furious.

"How dare you?" she said in a voice as clear as a mountain spring. "She is what she is. It cannot be changed. That doesn't mean she should die!"

"No," Ruth whispered hoarsely. "She's right. I've been fighting the hunger for so long — I thought I was controlling it. But it can't be controlled. I can't be controlled."

"Nonsense." The fairy's eyes narrowed. "I know other blooddrinkers. They got by perfectly fine as long as there was a decent supply. You've got six corpses around here, they won't be needing their blood, might as well use that."

"That's... it's just wrong!" Ruth bit her lip. "I can't last much longer. I'm going to kill people if I go on like this! I could kill one of you!"

"Now you're just throwing a tantrum," the fairy scolded her. "Kill us? There are plenty of other people out there, and apparently you're supposed to kill them. You humans are weird." She shrugged. "Normally I wouldn't care, but I wanna know why you're like that. You're supposed to be all darkness, but you're mostly light. It's weird, but I like it."

The fairy looked into their eyes. "There's been enough death today. Wouldn't you agree?"

"I..." Sarah began, but she stopped mid-sentence. Instead, she dropped the sword and stormed off, fuming.

"We should get going," Denji said quietly.