Time with Khavik

[Grace]

Ease off the guy, Benji.

I can assure you that Hannah was the reason behind everything he did. Even if he made mistakes along the way, and I'm not saying he did, he did what he did for his daughter. Despite any talk of a higher calling, I think he's still a father first.

And let us not forget who started all of this and on whom responsibility must ultimately fall. Khavik. Now is not the time to provide him with a consiliatory victory by letting these events divide us.

[Holister]

I just have doubts about a guy who considers his own daughter an " asset ".

[Grace]

Well, I don't see where he actually referred to her as such so maybe I missed it.

She is an asset though. She's demonstrated leadership skills and tactical planning skills. She has abilities and skills that set her above the norm. And with a little more training she'll be as capable as anyone else here.

Hannah is his daughter and that's how he sees her. We can debate his tactical decisions but there is no question in my mind about his love for her.

[Holister]

If you say so.

[Ron Caliburn]

I'd rather Hannah hated me and lived than loved me and died.

[Holister]

I expected an answer like that from you. Ever ask what Hannah wants though?

[Grace]

At least she's still around to ask.

[Holister]

That she is.

[Ron Caliburn]

And that's the part that mattered most.

[Holister]

Now go be a father for once and go take her out for ice cream and talk thngs out. That usually helps.

[Hannah]

Hi Ben

That's what we've spent pretty much the whole day doing . . . though it's tricky sometimes. Both of us were brought up to be good little soldiers . . . that gets in the way a lot when it's time to talk about feelings and the like.

It's not either of us are robots . . . I've seen my dad laugh and I've seen my dad cry. I even caught him blushing once, though I decided not to ask him and Wie why.

But when it's just to two of us, we fall into . . . I want to call it the Chain of Command. It's so businesslike and rigid. Sometimes it feels like he won't pay attention to me unless I start screaming at him.

Which is probably where most of our fights get started.

But Ben, you got it wrong about what happened the past little while. Yes I was upset at him, yes I was frustrated and sad and angry and a dozen other emotions all at once. But at the same time, he walked into the lion's den for me, three times so far this year . . and those are just the ones he's talked about.

I may be mad at him, but I know how much he cares for me, how much he's willing to risk for me.

Even if he and I never sort it out, I'm still going to know that.

Hannah

PS: I'll talk more about what happened with Khavik soon, I promise.

[Holister]

I happy to hear you folks are workin' things out.

But hearin' how you shot your pop got me to thinkin' and made me realize, " Hum? I should really move my guns to the station when Molly turns 13. "

[Hannah]

“Us, you’ll leave us to him.” I put my hands on my hips and smiled. “You’ve forgotten – in here, you’re just another figment of my imagination. I decide what happens.”

He immediately turned to face me and dropped to his knees. “NOOOOOOOO!!!! Please don’t kill me. I’ve only been doing what Khavik told me to – it’s his fault, really.”

“I’m not going to kill you. I have something else in mind.” I casually sat in a chair that appeared from nowhere. “You see, I got this idea from Cybermancer . . . well he didn’t give it to me directly, but I sort of came up with it because of him. You see, since you’re just a bad dream, I just focused on dreaming about what I would do to you if you ever were back in my mind. Step one was not letting you leave. Step two was watching you beg . . . seem familiar?”

“Please no . . . I can give you back the Oak King’s gift!!!” He crawled towards me on his hands and knees before sitting up with his hands clasped and his eyes wide in terror.

“Oh, you’re not going to give it back. I’m going to take it back.” I rose from my chair and plunged my hand into his chest. After a moment, fishing around I pulled out an acorn, which I promptly slipped into my pocket next to the holly sprig.. “But you took more from me than this, you took a part of me and I’m going to take it back.”

This time my hand drove deep into his skull and drew out behind it a silvery web of sparkling energy. “This is mine too.” The energy flowed into me, filling me with the fuel that my magics had been starved of for more than a year.

“Please no more.” He was weeping – his face was gaunt and drawn, as if he hadn’t eaten in weeks.

I sat back down in the chair. “Oh I am done with you . . . but I have some friends who aren’t.” The sound of the nightmare whimpering in terror was almost euphoric. “You see, the final step of my plan is to make sure you can never, ever become powerful or independent again. So I dreamt up a friend who would make sure of that.”

I clapped my hands and a lithe figure emerged from the shadows. “You’ll have to pardon me if I got the details wrong; I never met her in person. She may turn out to be faster and stronger than the original, but I assure you she hates you just as much as the real Celeste Darken would.”

Dream Celeste swept forward, gathering up the nightmare in her arms and sinking in her fangs. “She won’t kill you, but I assure you, every ounce of you that you took from me, she is going to reclaim for me. She will take all that you are and give it back to me. You are nothing more than a figment of my imagination now and that is all you ever will be.”

I sat there and watched for a momment . . . maybe I shouldn't have enjoyed it so much, but it was nice to finally trap him like that.

Remembering that my predicament mirrored the nightmare's, I forced myself back to wakefulness.

[Holister]

Nice job kiddo. Well played.

[Hannah]

I wish it had worked out so well with Khavik.

I snapped back to reality, as horrid as it was. My eyes eased open, even in the dimness of the room I could plainly see Khavik standing over me. He’d removed his shirt revealing a gridwork of scars on the right size of his well muscled chest. He was tracing his left hand lightly up and down my arm . . . well it wasn’t really his hand I guess. It looked like he had taken it off some sun-bleached corpse and grafted it on at the wrist. The fingers were tipped with claws made form lustrous gold. From a chain about his neck dangled what could have been a monkey’s paw, or perhaps a child’s hand, mummified with age.

“Surprised?” he raised his clawed hand and clenched it. “A memento from the dead your father . . . and them. Shadis Ferai. Oh, do not worry. I shall repay that in due time. I always repay in kind and worse . . . and expect to be repaid by those who owe me . . . you should be grateful your father and the second whore are dead.”

“No, I am just grateful to finally be rid of that walking bad dream.” I clenched my fist tight; the silver disc I had grabbed in the last moment before that thing had appeared was still there. “For that kindness, if you let me go I’ll call it all even.”

“Even, dear girl? ” his tone dripped with feigned surprise and sincre amusement. “No one is ever even with me. Especially not a human child too engrossed in preening herself with her own self-importance to even notice the cries for aid from lesser members of the Lazlo cult. ”

“I was kind of hoping you’d go for it, but I didn’t think you would. Then again, why would you. You obviously have all the cards here.” I sat up, keeping my body between Khavik and the disc. “You and I both know that you can do what you say and there’s nothing I can do to stop it, especially since my powers are gone.”

I grabbed for fire and summoned a pillar of flame right where he was standing, but he was too fast, sliding to the side like a cobra. I dropped off the table and ran for the door but he was there first, knocking me sprawling with the back of his hand.

I came up as fast as I could, just like I did back when I practiced with Darcy’s father . . . wait – no that wasn’t right, I practiced with Sifu Long. No, with Wie and Dad. I practiced with Wie and Dad.

Khavik had me by the throat before I could figure it out.

“Your father would be so disappointed in you, little girl. Trying those clumsy magics on me? For shame. Seems that all you really are good for is as a fairy’s concubine and whoring after their pet cats . . . though I hear you aren’t even good at that. ”

I kicked him as hard as I could in the crotch - he didn’t flinch – but he did throw me across the room. I smashed through the table I had laid on.

“Perhaps it is time for your new schooling, Hannah. What would you like, first? Pain? Murder? Betrayal? How to survive by drinking your own blood?”

“I know pain already Khavik, but I also know something you don’t.”

“Really ?”

“I know Death is on my side.” I held up the medallion.

He looked at the medallion for a few moments, like a collector with a new coin.

Then he started to laugh.

“Death? On your side? How little you know about such matters, child! And yet how delicious your arrogant little nose looks while in the air. You have a little chat with Death, and you think you are better than everyone else . . . no child, were Death on your side, you would be dead. You see, we do have an arrangement, Death and I . . .”

I stepped back to find the wall was already there.

[Cybermancer]

An interesting, inventive and creative solution to the problem of the your nightmare, Hannah. It does create a few concerns but it is not my place to second guess how you choose to solve your problems. And they are only concerns that may not amount to anything in any case.

It certainly seems that you are learning to manage where others have not been so successful. You'll never have the normal life you may yearn for but I think you may be well prepared for the life that awaits you.

[Ron Caliburn]

Yeah, I noticed that too.

[Holister]

Tough kid ya' got there Ron.

[Shang Li]

Death is one to respect, not to fear. Of course she does seem to become irritated when her appointments are delayed. For the spirits of men, she is patient. she knows we will all one day take comfort in her cold, comforting embrace.

[Holister]

Feared or respected Death is someone I don't plan on meetin' personally any time soon.

[Cybermancer]

I came up as fast as I could, just like I did back when I practiced with Darcy’s father . . . wait – no that wasn’t right, I practiced with Sifu Long. No, with Wie and Dad. I practiced with Wie and Dad.

Where do these memories come from? Does the nightmare retain knowledge gained from the minds that it invades?

And if so, just how much of those memories do you currently possess?

[Holister]

Another question that comes to mind is that does she want them in the first place, and how real are they?

[Cybermancer]

I'm not sure if Hannah wanting the memories is relevant. She has them regardless.

How real on the other hand is another good question.

[Holister]

Maybe Wie can get into her head and see what their worth?

[Hannah]

I don't think there's anything wrong with using Celeste int hat manner. She's strong and brave and a really good person. That and my nightmare was scared of her for some reason.

As for the memories . . . can't we just leave that alone? I think it would be an invasion of other people's privacy to look too far into that.

[Grace]

As for the memories . . . can't we just leave that alone? I think it would be an invasion of other people's privacy to look too far into that.

Thank you, Hannah.

[Shang Li]

They would need looked into, Ms. Hannah, if for no other reason than to increase your own awareness of which memories were yours, and which ones came from the nightmare.

The fact that you think of Ms. Solstice as "Celeste", when you know her as Elonwy Solstice is a cause for concern.

Mind, you I do not advocate snooping in those memories, despite the information about your enemies that could be found there, merely a thorough investigation of what memories are your own and which are not.

[Grace]

I am helping her with some of that, to the best of my abilities.

[Holister]

Wei might be better at this one, and you know she'll be descreet.

[Cybermancer]

Or maybe Hannah has a right to determine who goes poking around in her head. I'm sure the two talk to each other. If Hannah wants Miss Solstice to help in that capacity, she'll ask. If not, then it's not really anyone elses business.