Gabrielle turned in her bed as her alarm went off, she rolled over and quickly hit the button on her alarm clock to stop its loud beeping. Then she felt a familiar form next to her, which she knew was Skyler's. She remembered what happened earlier and sat up as she wiped the sand from her eyes. As she looked over, she wondered if the painkillers left his system yet, and when her eyes met Skyler's form, she found he was still fast asleep.
"Skyler, are you alright? Wake up," she whispered, lightly grabbing his arm and shaking him awake.
He slowly opened his eyes and rose from her bed. He wore the same thing as the last time he woke up next to her, only this time he had bloody bandages around his neck. He groaned and brought his hand up to the nape of it, then sucked air through his teeth as he touched it, and his hand recoiled back.
"It still hurts? I hope the pain goes away soon," she said as she placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Didn't think touching it would hurt that bad, now I know better," he grumbled as he got up, her hand sliding off of his shoulder in the process.
"Does light magic really hurt that bad all the time?" Gabrielle asked as she got up herself.
"It won't do that much anymore, after this I'm basically safe if anybody who knows extremely powerful light magic tries to kill me. Except for maybe you." He turned around and looked at her, a look of relief on his face.
"I'm glad you're functioning better, I thought you would still be under the painkillers… Wait, what do you mean 'except for maybe you'? Why would I try to kill you?" She turned back at him with a mix of worry and shock plastered onto her face.
"That's the only person the mark you gave me won't protect me from. And I'm the only person that the mark I gave you won't protect you from," he said and then pointed to the mark on her finger.
"So you're saying that if someone with black magic tried to kill me, it wouldn't affect me as much?" Gabrielle said as she walked to her closet.
"Exactly, though it's not to be handed out like candy, marking someone is very serious. It should only be used if someone's life is in great danger," he said as he walked to the door.
"Are you saying my life was in danger? How?" Gabrielle asked, looking back from her closet as she was in the middle of getting together her work dress.
"You could have woken up at Elega a few months later, but I found out that a certain someone was back, and I didn't know what he would do."
"You mean that Warlock you were talking about before? Oh, darn, what else was there?" she said, she remembered him saying something about a Warlock some time ago, and something about a throne, but she couldn't remember the rest of it, and it drove her nuts.
"Yeah, I thought it was right to tell you about it. I thought the throne was secure because my friend, who you saw before, he was at the door, he was holding it." Skyler turned back away from the door and leaned on it while he folded his arms.
"Holding it for who, you?" she asked and stood up.
"Yeah. I was still in bad shape after the big fight that happened which resulted in all of the Lords of Darkness getting killed, so I had Pain hold the fort. Unfortunately, someone attacked him, overpowered him and stole the throne," he said as he shook his head.
"I have a hard time believing you are the rightful king of darkness." She turned back to her closet and grabbed her work dress.
"For a time I was trained to take on that role once it was given to me, until they found I wouldn't break," he said and stood back up.
"I had no idea," she said as she whipped back around, still clutching her work dress. "What do you mean 'break?"
"They didn't exactly want someone who could think for themself, they wanted a puppet. Those who aren't accustomed to being one are broken down mentally and rebuilt to serve that role," he said as he turned around and put his hand on the doorknob.
"That's terrible, that won't happen to me, will it?" she said and tried to find her work hat while still looking in his direction.
"No, of course not. Parliament doesn't dirty themselves with those kinds of tactics," he said as he opened the door.
"That's a relief… Ah, you remember where the phone is, don't you? You can call your friend to bring you your clothes again, I've got to get ready," she said and turned back around and finally found her work hat, grabbed it and started to walk to the bathroom.
"I know where it is, and thanks," he said as he walked out.
Gabrielle quickly got ready and went out into the living room. Skyler was sitting on the couch watching television.
"I'll just drink a breakfast shake and be off, I hope that's ok," she said, then walked to the fridge and grabbed one from it's six pack container, then promptly drank it.
"You don't need my permission to do anything in your own house, silly. Oh, I heard it's 'take your kids to work day,' say hi to my half-brother for me, you'll recognize him by the metallic silver stripes in his hair," Skyler said as he relaxed on the couch.
"Silver stripes, huh? What a weird hairstyle," she said with a giggle, and walked to the door.
"He was born with them, funnily enough, that's what Dr. Gage said." He chuckled, then crossed his legs.
"Well, I'd better get going now, love you, bye!" she said as she opened the door to leave.
"Love you too, have a good day at work," he said as he looked back up at her as she left.
Gabrielle went inside the hospital and walked up to the monitor to slide her card. Behind the desk was a different person, it was a woman with black hair styled downwards into points at the ends. She was rubbing the pale skin of her lower arm while her red colored eyes seemed deep in thought.
"Good morning," Gabrielle said meekly, since the woman behind the counter seemed imposing. It must have been the vibes she was giving off, because her body language wasn't all that noteworthy, it just felt like there was something off about her.
"Yeah, whatever," The woman grumbled with a sharp and slightly raspy voice, never once taking her eyes off the monitor in front of her.
"Don't mind her, she's always like that," an unfamiliar voice came from behind Gabrielle.
She turned around, and a young man stood behind her, it was Skyler's half-brother, she knew because of the large vertical metallic silver stripes in his chin length hair. He looked back at her with equally metallic silver eyes, she couldn't tell if it was a trick of her eyes but she could have sworn that the colors of his eyes were moving like waves. He had gloves that went up to his elbows, and sharp claws on his hands as well, which was strange since his father didn't have them too. She wondered to herself how everyone with claws on their hands keep getting elbow-length gloves.
"Oh, you're Skyler's half-brother aren't you?" Gabrielle asked and gave a small bow.
"Oh, he's told you about me? He usually doesn't talk about me to other people, that's a first. The name's Drake." He outstretched a hand for a handshake, and gave her a small smile.
"Don't do it, he might poke you with those sharp claws of his." The woman grinned haughtily, she was looking away from the monitor and had her head tilted slightly.
"Shut it Madina, don't make me tell her more about you." Drake leaned to the side to see past Gabrielle and frowned at Madina.
"Now now, you two, stop it," Gabrielle said and put a hand in between the two.
"Alright, sorry." Drake said and stood back up, his face turning red out of embarrassment.
"I told you to focus on your work instead of instigating things with my son, Madina," Dr. Gage said as he walked in.
"Oh, Doctor, you're here. I was just about to go to room 204." Gabrielle said and put her hand back down to her side.
"Speaking of that, you'll have to follow me there, I have something to show you," Dr. Gage said as he walked to the smaller hallway where all the rooms were.
She followed Dr. Gage, Drake following closely behind her, to room 204 where Elaine was staying at. They went in, and Elaine was connected to only a heart monitor and a feeding tube, and she was no longer intubated. Her eyes were closed and she seemed to be in a deep sleep.
On a desk next to her hospital bed, there was a strange machine. It had metal on the top and bottom and blue glass for the middle portion that had a faint red glow inside of it, and it had wires coming out of it.
"I've devised a treatment for Elaine. I will tell you where I got the ingredients for it later, but for now, I would like you to simply sit back and observe," Dr Gage said as he grabbed the wires from the table and threaded them over to Elaine.
Just as soon as he connected her to the device, her eyes shot open and she rose from the hospital bed all by herself.
"What in the fresh hell?" Drake said as he covered his mouth in surprise
"Drake, you cherub, is that really you?" Elaine asked and smiled warmly, revealing her fanged upper canines. Her eyes had no iris or pupil and were pure white, and she was turning her head from side to side, as if she was trying to find out where his voice was coming from.
"How is she moving on her own? This is incredible! You told me it would take her at least another two weeks to even wake up, let alone sit up without any help!" Gabrielle said excitedly, she was full of adrenaline from witnessing such a medical miracle.
"Hmm? A voice I don't recognize? Drake, do you know this person?" Elaine said, turning her head towards him.
"She knows Skyler, father told me about her, hey wait a minute," Drake said, his eyes turning red and his teeth along with his jaw morphed into an identical maw that Skyler had once shown Gabrielle.
"There's no need for that, Drake. Don't scare the nurse," Dr. Gage said defensively, stepping back from his son.
"I recognize that essence, is she here? And did she allow you to do this? What did you do to her?" Drake said in a menacing and demanding tone, his maw unmoving.
"I told her about what her sister was going through, of course she did. I would never do anything to her without her consent, you and I both know that. I didn't hurt her at all, and I'm honestly offended that you think I did," Dr. Gage scolded Drake, and never once broke eye contact with him while doing so.
Gabrielle was silent and frozen in fear. She felt that this was different than the last time she saw a maw like that, it wasn't relaxed like when she saw Skyler's face transform into that, it was more sinister.
"So she is here! Where is she? You never told me Mother was here! I want to see Mother, right now!" Drake was talking himself into a tizzy, there was a mix of anger and desperation in his voice.
"If I knew this was how you'd be acting I would have never let you come here, what's gotten into you?" Dr. Gage asked, he looked stone faced but there was apparent worry in his voice.
"I don't have time for this. I need to see Mother, now!" Drake shouted as he moved his hand towards his chest, leaving a ghostly snapshot of his hand behind it.
"Please forgive me for this, Drake," Dr. Gage said and raised his wrist. A loud click resounded and a needle flew out of the sleeve of his coat, striking Drake in the neck.
Drake yelped and recoiled backwards, gripping the needle that was poking out of his neck. He pulled it out, walked a few steps backwards and crumpled backwards onto the wall.
Gabrielle turned around and walked up to Drake's unconscious body.
"Stop! I wouldn't do that, he could wake up at any time and attack you, please leave him there for at least a few minutes before you go to retrieve him." Dr. Gage stepped forward and put a hand into his pocket, he pulled out another needle and loaded it into the contraption that shot one at Drake earlier.
"So this is my sister's essence you are using, you never told me that last time you did this. You shouldn't have brought Drake here, he wasn't like this before his separate personality merged back into him, now every hint of his mother makes him go crazy." Elaine said gravely as she blindly looked over to the wires connecting her to the machine.
"I never knew that until just now," Dr. Gage said and stepped forward, away from the wires.
"I gave him a brush she was using for comfort reasons. He proceeded to freak out and demand information on where she was, when I had gotten the brush from her months prior. He didn't like hearing that, and proceeded to have a mental breakdown." Elaine looked back up and in Dr. Gage's direction while she brought her other hand to the wires on her elbow.
"I wasn't about to reveal where she was because of how he was acting. His behavior would spook her," Dr. Gage said as he walked over and picked up the spent needle next to Drake's sleeping form, which had become normal again.
"What's going on in here? I heard Drake- oh jeez." Skyler had just walked in on the current scene and jumped back when he saw Drake crumpled up on the floor.
"Why didn't you tell Dr. Gage that Drake can't handle any hint of your mother without going ballistic?" Elaine asked Skyler with a disappointed tone in her voice.
"Now that you've said it, I did feel her presence when I walked in… Wait a second, how are you sitting up and talking to me? I don't understand anything anymore.." Skyler brought a hand up to his head.
"Skyler! Thank goodness you're here! How is your neck?" Gabrielle asked as she quickly walked up to him.
"It still stings a little, but that's not the big issue here, what happened to Drake?" Skyler said as he kneeled down over Drake.
"He was acting violently, so I gave him the same tranquilizers as you, when you asked for them. I had some leftover," Dr. Gage said, then looked back at Drake with a sad expression.
"Anything in relation to Mother makes him go bonkers lately, it's weird, I can't explain it. I think it'd be best if I brought him to my place for a while," Skyler said and picked him up off the floor, carrying him in his arms.
"That's too bad, she's visiting the hospital right now, and I'm not sure when you'll be able to see her again, as it has always been like that with her," Dr. Gage said with remorse, turning back slowly to face the machine behind him.
"That's fine, us both being immortal makes the chance of me and her meeting up again one hundred percent. Doesn't matter how many different worlds she falls into, she'll come back eventually." Skyler turned around with the fast asleep Drake in his arms.
"I'll see you tonight, won't I Skyler?" Gabrielle asked as she spun around to face him, wondering if watching his half-brother would take priority over everything else.
"Of course you will, I'll have Pain take care of him after he wakes up," Skyler said as he slowly walked out.
Once the two left the room, she turned back around. Elaine had her head lowered and was gripping the white hospital gown she was in. Gabrielle was confused, was the treatment not working?
Dr. Gage walked up to her and lightly placed a hand on her shoulder. "Now now, I'm sure he'll show up soon," he said as he knelt down.
"I completely forgot until Skyler made me remember… He's been here while I was asleep, right?" Elaine said with a shaky voice and looked up at Dr. Gage with the beginnings of tears in her milky white eyes.
"He's been here every day, I have visitor list to prove it," Dr. Gage said, taking his hand off her shoulder and brought a bluetooth ear piece out of his pocket.
He puts it on his ear and walks to the doorway. "Madina, I'm in room 204, could you get the visitor list for me?" he nodded a few seconds later and then took off the earpiece after shutting it off and then put it back in his pocket.
Madina's grumbles echoed off the sterile walls as she got closer to the room, getting closer until her thin form slinked into view. She handed Dr. Gage the visitor list on its clipboard with an intense scowl on her face.
"Madina, if you don't want to work here you could just quit, you know." Dr. Gage lightly grabbed the list from her hand.
"I can't pay my bills with random gigs from nobodies, I'm still climbing that ladder, remember?" Madina said, her scowl deflating into a look of defeat and depression.
"Also, I'm glad you decided to take my advice, it really is much better hearing you talk without your sentences being littered with curse words," Dr. Gage said as he turned around and walked back to Elaine.
"Oh so many colorful things I could say, but can't. You will just have to feel my rage and displeasure instead." Madina turned around and walked away.
"Let's forget she ever said that." Dr. Gage knelt down and skimmed through the list.
"You'll have to read it out for me, I can't see it." Elaine reached out and felt for Dr. Gage, then found his arm and gave his sleeve a light tug.
"Let's go over the last week, ah, here, he's come in sometimes multiple times each day. Other than Skyler, Pain has been here every day as well, and Kalan has come to check on you every other day." Dr. Gage stood back up, pulling free of Elaine's flimsy grip.
"Do you think he'll show up today?" Elaine asked, looking in Dr. Gage's general direction.
"What do you mean he has it?" A voice similar to Pain's but angrier echoed so far that it reached their ears.
"He's here!" Elaine said excitedly, putting closed hands to her cheeks excitedly.
"Uh oh, I'm in trouble now, I'll be right back," Dr. Gage said with a chuckle as he took the visitor list to the front.
"You mean Pain and that guy are two separate people? They sound exactly the same, how does that work?" Gabrielle asked, looking to Elaine for answers.
"Oh that, it's a long story but… They used to be the same person. You'll be able to tell they are different when you see Hex. They also act like two different people, too." Elaine took her hands off her face and gripped her hospital gown again, wrinkling it.
"I'll ask you about it later then." Gabrielle walked up to check Elaine's vitals, which were all normal.
Loud and fast footsteps thundered down the hall, coupled with heavy panting. A man who looked exactly like Pain, short and small framed with the same hairstyle, entered. His skin was a normal flesh color, which was the only thing that made him and Pain physically look different.
"Elaine!" He shouted with tired relief in his voice and ran up to her, he threw his arms around her in a tight embrace.
"Hex, it's been too long." Elaine returned his embrace, and moved her hand slowly across his back.
"I love you so much, I've waited so long for this moment." He put a hand on the back of her head and ran his fingers through her hair.
"I love you, too, and I've been waiting to tell you that again for a long, long time." Elaine rested her chin on his shoulder and closed her eyes.
"I'm back, I see you two are getting along just fine." Dr. Gage walked back inside.
"Is this any different than how they've acted towards each other before?" Gabrielle asked as she turned towards him.
"They used to hate each other, actually," Dr. Gage said, a relieved look on his face.
"Used to," Hex said, not moving from the spot he was in.
"There's a very good reason for the sudden change, but it's still a fresh wound so I wouldn't ask," Dr. Gage said as he turned around and walked to the doorway.
"Okay, I won't," Gabrielle said, looking at the two lovers wistfully, thinking back to her intimate encounter with Skyler.
"I have someone I want you to meet, if you would follow me," Dr. Gage said, gesturing towards the hallway.
"Are you saying that I can meet her?" Gabrielle asked, her eyes wide with shock.
"Yes, follow me to the elevator." Dr. Gage turned the corner and walked further down the hallway.
"I didn't know we had an elevator, I wouldn't have taken the stairs all this time if I knew." Gabrielle followed closely behind him as they walked further down the hall.
He took a sharp right at the end of the hall, the elevator was crammed into a tiny corner, facing the bathrooms. He pressed the button to call it, and it opened.
"Do you use it often?" Gabrielle said as she walked in with him.
"Yes, I have to. I can't constrain myself to one realm of existence. This elevator connects me to all of the hospitals I have built in this dimension and the next. I had moved Elaine from the floor she was on to here so you could take care of her, which is why Hex had to come here by his own volition." he pressed the button that was labeled with the number Four, and folded his hands behind his back.
"You have two hospitals in two different dimensions? I thought this was just a regular hospital." Gabrielle put a hand to her head, all the confusing information she was getting was scrambling her brain.
"There's nothing regular about me and my job, I didn't arrive where you first met me until I was already thirty years old. I was from a completely different dimension, much like Elega, but greener." Dr. Gage grabbed the rail as the elevator rumbled.
"How do you know about Elega?" Gabrielle asked as she walked backwards and grabbed the railing behind her.
"I visit there from time to time, Drake has taken me there before to show me the new technology he has been working on. I also know that it is where Skyler was reborn into his new body, though it looked different back then. His hands and halfway up his lower arms were completely metal, and he had four fingers instead of five. His feet and halfway up his shin were metal, and he had four toes as well, only there was a fifth toe on the back of the back of his heel," he said, looking up at nothing.
"What changed him to how he looks like now?" she said as she gripped the railing behind her.
"After he killed his uncle, he had enough power to change his physical form a bit. He used the power he gained from slaying the Centaur Brothers to complete his body. The exposed metal parts of his body were an addition his father made, to take away the skin on their upper arms and lower legs was, to Skyler's mother, akin of taking an entire sense away from them. It was like leaving them deaf or blind." Dr. Gage lowered his head and gripped the railing hard.
"That's terrible, I guess that's one of the many reasons why he hated his father," Gabrielle said, taking a hand off of the railing to brush the hair out of her face.
"Believe me, I would have treated him differently. That monster didn't fully appreciate Deeana or the powers she wields, he was too busy thinking about world domination. An heir was only a means to an end for him, he spat on the precious gift of life he was given, it was painful to watch," he said as he shook his head in disbelief.
"How long does it take to get to the fourth floor? We've been in here a while." Gabrielle frantically looked around, wondering if everything was working as intended.
"There are only two floors in the building you know, and I don't have an elevator to the upper floor in the other building at Lyserge, only to the basement, so that makes three. The fourth floor goes to a floor that doesn't exist in your reality, so it will take some time to get there." he gripped the railings again as another rumble shook the cab of the elevator again.
The light dinging sound that signaled that they reached their desired floor rang out, and the doors slid open. The musty smell of old sheets permeated the air. She stepped past Dr. Gage and entered the fourth floor. There were a bunch of couches covered with white linens, one with a damp spot on one of the seats, like someone was doused with water.
On a couch in the right side of the room laid a short and lanky girl covered in bandages. Her long blonde hair was splayed out beneath her, and she had a large white seal plush that she was hugging. Her eyes were much like Madina's, only they were more innocent looking. The claws on her hands and feet wiggled a little in their places, and the single claw on the back of each of her feet dug into the couch.
"Max, why did you bring a nurse here? I said I was fine." The girl rolled over and sat up, looking at Gabrielle with a soft and inquisitive gaze.
"Well, my dear, she's been hearing a lot about you from your sons, mostly Skyler. I thought she should meet the woman who brought her beloved back into the realm of the living." he stepped out as well, the doors closing behind him.
"Beloved? Oh, the markings on her finger, I see. So he finally has a beloved? I'm so happy for him, he's been through a lot and needs the support." Deeana hugged the plushie in her arms tightly, the features on the bottom of her face moving upwards slightly, though there was no discernable mouth or nose behind her bandages.
"You're Skyler's mom? But you're so small, how old are you?" Gabrielle asked, kneeling down slightly so she could be head-to-head with Deeana.
"I've forgotten again, Max, can you use that thing again that tells my age in human years?" Deeana pointed to Dr. Gage's pocket, resting her chin on the plushie in her arms.
"Alright, one second." Dr. Gage rummaged through the pocket she pointed too and took out a small finger clamp device with a screen on top. He walked up to her and put it on her middle finger.
"Twenty eight, it says." Dr. Gage pointed to the screen, which lit up with the exact numbers that he said.
"Oh dear, I'm almost thirty. Did you ever freak out when you became thirty, Max?" Deeana asked, looking up at him, the lights in the room reflecting off of her eyes.
"Not really, I don't have much time to worry about age." he took off the device and put it back into his pocket.
"Is Elaine doing fine? Did the treatment go as planned?" Deanna criss-crossed her legs together and leaned back onto the couch.
"Yes, as soon as I hooked her up to it, she sprang up and started chattering like she used to," Dr.Gage laughed and patted Deeana's head.
"That's good. I hope I gave you enough for her complete recovery, I'm not sure when I'll teleport away again." Deeana lowered her head, resting her chin on the soft plushie again.
"That's why I extracted as much as I could in those three days, I'm sure that it's enough." he took his hand off her head and brushed her bangs aside.
"How are Skyler and Drake, by the way? It's been so long since Drake has last seen me." Deeana messed with her hair and put her bangs back in place.
"Drake needs to stay away from the hospital Elaine is in for a while, I will be taking him back to Lyserge City in the morning. Skyler however is doing great, he just came in this morning and all his brain readings are mostly stable, the most stable I've seen them since before he was reborn." Dr. Gage turned and started to walk back to the elevator.
"I see, I sensed that Drake wasn't doing so well, I suppose that's how bad it is. I really wish he hadn't cannibalized his other self, they were supposed to be in separate bodies for a reason. If he felt so threatened, he should have killed him instead of absorbing him back into himself. You'll find out a way to suppress that other side of him, won't you?" Deeana asked as she put the plushie down next to her and got up.
"I really don't like making my own son an unwilling patient, but when he was acting out today, something felt very wrong. I hope I can convince him to come in so I can figure out how to treat his strange behavior." Dr. Gage pressed the first floor button on the elevator, and the doors opened.
"I'm glad you came to visit me, I hope to see you soon." Deeana quickly walked over to him and tugged on his sleeve.
"You know you can just call me if you feel lonely." he turned around and ran his hand across her cheek.
"I don't want to distract you from your work, you know that," she said and stepped back a bit.
"I told you to call me when you find yourself in a familiar place, didn't I?" he asked as he walked over and held his hand out in front of the door to stop it from closing.
"Alright, I'll think about it." She folded her arms and looked away.
"Are we going already? There's still so much I want to ask her." Gabrielle walked over to them at a brisk pace.
"I'm afraid we both need to get back to work. It was nice seeing you again, I hope your journeys aren't as bad as that last one you told me about. Goodbye, Dee." He stepped into the elevator cab with a small smile on his face and waved at her.
"Goodbye Max, I'll miss you. Oh, and it was nice meeting you, miss." Deeana turned to Gabrielle who was walking into the elevator with him.
"It was nice meeting you too, I hope I can talk to you more soon," Gabrielle said and waved to her as the door shut.
"Why do they call themselves Forsaken, anyways?" she said and turned to Dr. Gage.
"They have two names actually, the Forsaken name is the one everyone else gave them, but they are known between each other as the Fallen. The name Forsaken could mean forsaken by god, but Fallen definitely means fallen angel. Every one of them has scars across their scapulas, including Drake, who only gained them when he was… Actually, I'd rather not talk about that." he turned away and quickly grabbed onto the railing.
"Skyler told me about it, that Deeana's blood didn't activate within him until he, well…" Gabrielle looked away as well, Drake is his son, and talking about something as painful as that was extremely difficult.
"I know very well what you mean, let's forget about that and get back to work," Dr. Gage said and looked back up at her, then nodded.
She nodded back, this was a huge piece of the puzzle for her, meeting Skyler's mother. She wondered why Deeana was covered in bandages though, and wondered what she really looked like under them, since she couldn't see her nose or mouth. She also wondered why Deeana wasn't acting erratically even though her eyes were red, since when Drake's eyes went red he started acting unstable. There was so much about this world she still didn't know, and now she has to seek answers both in this world and Elega, which will prove difficult.