Fay - T (Open)

They were moving.

Morgan's fingers curled into fists. She felt so powerless, so weak. There was nothing that she could do. With an irritated jerk, she buckled Kyron in and then sat back in her seat. Then she turned away, to stare out of the window.

How had this day gone so wrong?

-----------------

Tadi walked past the car, giving it only a quick glance as it drove by. He paused, blinked, and turned to watch as it disappeared from view.

Morgan?

No, it couldn't have been. Could it?

Kyron grimaced as he felt the car lunge forward, trying not look nervous. He turned to Morgan and whispered, "I'm guessing city life isn't always like this."

Morgan glanced over at Kyron and then back out the window. "No," she muttered. "It's not."

How could he been so calm, making small talk at a time like this? Didn't he understand what was going on? Didn't he understand how bad things could get? She was on the verge of hyperventilating, and all he could mention was stupid city life?

Kyron frowned, seeing the expression on Morgan's face. He could understand how she was feeling. He was just as scared as she was. He looked at her and said, "Stay calm. There's nothing we can do if we allow ourselves to panic."

Xorn noted both Kyron and Morgan's fearful expressions. Mortals were so frightful and mistrusting...in a way, it was amusing as well as tiring. he had been up-front with them, and yet Morgan especially acted as if she were being sent to her death.

The lich pondered on that slightly; if he did take her as an apprentice, she would eventually have to become a lich as well, technically dieing. In retrospect, she did have a right to fear death, but not yet...she had a long way to go before she had the magic capabilities and capacity for that journey.

The boy, as fearful as he was, at least attempted civility and cooperation, even going so far as to soothe the girl's panic. His natural talents could benefit from LoP training; he would be recommended post questioning.

And Aaron...he was staying to himself, saying not a word, but no doubt making sure that Morgan would stay under control should she snap. What was he up to? Xorn intended to find out, and even with the authority to do whatever was necessary, it was always better to have witnesses present. The authority to do anything, does not necessarily mean that one can do anything...not that the mortals needed to know that--if Aaron did not already know.

"Calm?" she muttered as her fingers curled into fists. "Calm?!" Morgan turned to face Kyron, with anything but a calm expression on her face. But her eyes flickered towards Xorn and she lowered her voice. "What if they take us off-planet? What if they torture us? What if they never let us go? What if...?" Her breathing quickened as she spoke, until it was short, sharp gasps.

Aaron glanced back only briefly at his daughter, and then turned his gaze back to where they were going. The last thing that he had wanted was to drag the irritating little brat into this. She knew nothing, but that was part of what made her dangerous to him. But there was nothing he could do about it now--simply watch and wait.

Kyron gripped the girl's shoulder frowning at her and whispering quietly so that man didn't hear, "I don't like this anymore than you do, Morgan, but if we panic, we'll never find a way to escape! We need to wait for the right opportunity!"

She stared at Kyron with wide eyes, her breath still wild. "Escape?" Of course. Why hadn't she thought of that? She had Fay; she could get out of this situation. It was just like with the Enforcers. They had never locked her up yet. She could do this.

"Y-yeah," she said with a slight nod of her head. Then as fast as her panic had come, it was gone. Determination shown in her brown eyes. She would not be taken alive. They did not know who they were dealing with. She was Morgan Raye, and she would not be taken down so easily!

"Let's do this."

Kyron felt himself smile a bit despite himself. He had only known Morgan for about a day and he was already admiring her determination. If she kept her temper, he was sure they'd be able to escape. He looked out the window, wondering if if they could just run out when they stopped.

Xorn could not hear everything that was said in the back seat, but he could hear Morgan's breathing calm...very suspicious. Glancing in the mirror, he noticed the look of determination on the girl's face. Planning an escape? More than likely; a mortal like her seemed to make a habit of getting away from the local authorities.

But maybe she was planning something else...no, illogical; as much fear as she displayed earlier, a mouse may attack the cat when backed into a corner, but she retains her wits and would not attack someone she knows is more powerful than she.

Unfortunately for her, she had never met anything like him. Preparing a sleep spell, he awaited from her to make her move. Mortals always had to make things difficult; it shamed him to think that he too was once mortal, but that was a thing of the distant past.

Morgan followed Kyron’s gaze, catching onto his plan in only a few seconds. It was one of those plans that Tadi would call foolish and stupid, but that was her style. The creepy officer wanted her father, and could not go after her and Kyron without leaving him.

Her hand moved to the handle of the door and she glanced back at Kyron. “Three,” she mouthed, unwilling to wait until they had reached their destination. “Two.”

-----------------

No. It couldn’t be here. It couldn’t be Morgan.

Tadi ran, racing towards Morgan’s home. She would be there; she had to be there. She hadn’t done something stupid in the time that he had been gone, had she? But that wasn’t an Enforcer car.

He skidded to a halt in front of her house. Everything looked normal, the same. His nose wrinkled at the unnatural scent in the air, and he gave a slow shake of his head. “No,” he whispered and raced forward. Everything was not all right.

The door flew open under his touch and he called out Morgan’s name, but there was no answer. Only silence, and that strange scent.

Tadi slammed a fist against the wall.

“No.”

Xorn could see the station as he rounding the next corner. The streets were becoming more active as Xorn was forced to slow down, weaving between cars every chance he had. The girl apparently had not noticed that he had cast an enchantment on the door to seal it. The handle was useless, had been the moment they left the house.

Maybe useless was not entirely accurate, as it did serve as a lure for a trap. The sleep spell was not for her, at least not directly, as it was used to trap the door. The moment young Morgan attempted to escape, the trap would trigger, and she would be less of a nuisance untill she woke up.

She could be troublesome and irritating on her apprenticeship, but for things to get that far they had to make some progress...that and it was somewhat amusing.

"1," Kyron whispered as the car slowed, turning the handle on his own car door and frowning when it wouldn't open the door. It seemed they were locked in. No matter. He closed his eyes and murmured, "Gaia."

With that done, he felt strength enter his forearm. It was a temporary Nil so he'd have to be quick. He pushed at the door, causing it to twist open, allowing just enough room for him to squeeze through. He gestured for Morgan to follow and with that done, jumped out and rolled to the side as he landed, grunting as he felt himself scrape his elbows.

But Morgan was ahead of him. Her buckle was off, the door was shoved open and she was leaping from the moving vehicle at the same moment that he motioned for her to follow. She hit the ground running, but the impact jarred her, and a moment later she had fallen and was rolling. She tried to get up, to get out of the road and away from the honking, swerving cars, but her body was shutting down.

No!

Her head fell back to the ground and her eyes slid shut, against her will.

------------

Aaron swore as the two teens jumped. He didn't care much what happened to the boy, but the last thing that he needed was for his daughter injure or kill herself. He threw open his door as the car slowed and hurried to the still form of Morgan, ignoring the chaos of the cars around him.

"You're going to be the death of me," he muttered as he placed a finger underneath her chin. There was still a pulse. His placed an arm under her legs and his other across her back before lifting her up. "Idiots. The both of you."

Kyron's eyes widened when he heard a shout. He looked around to see Morgan's father lifting Morgan's body. Without a second thought, he ran over to her, concern written all over his face. He spoke, "Is she alright?"

As he saw the events take place, he exited the driver's side and was right behind Aaron as he checked his daughter's pulse. Halting and redirecting the oncoming traffic, Xorn glared at the boy, "She is asleep, child; and lucky to be alive after your impetuous act of foolishness. All I requested, was your cooperation, and things could have proceeded smoothly. You have brought this upon yourself, boy..."

He had a terrible habit of underestimating mortals, and this recent event had proven as much. Touching Kyron's forehead, Xorn cast a spell, locking Kyron's mind away and leaving him able to do nothing but watch, trapped inside his own head.

"She's fine," Aaron answered shortly. He turned and headed back towards the car. They were causing a scene, which was the last thing that he wanted. He looked down at Morgan as he walked. She looked almost peaceful, lost within the realm of sleep. Too bad that same thing couldn't be said when she was awake.

Embarrassing, completely and utterly embarrassing. His first real mission planet-side, and it was already being botched by children...it was certainly times like this when he berated himself for treating the mortals lightly; he should have rendered them all unconscious for the trip, but no, he had to give them the benefit of civility, as should be imparted to all sentient beings...at least in theory.

Currently, in his hands and being hefted into the car, were two positive examples on why humans were not deserving of such liberties; they took it for granted, expecting others to treat them decently while they behaved as feral animals would, if said feral animals had a capacity for abstract thought.

As irritated as he was, Xorn could not help but feel...excitement, somewhere deep in his old bones. Conflict is the spice of life, and Morgan was indeed confrontational, awakening that spark that he had long since forgotten: genuine amusement and interest. She had will, she most definitively had plenty of will, where his very image frightened people into obedience, she stood against him, scared to death, she still fought him...she was perfect.

"Unfortunately," he thought as he placed the boy in the car, closing the door he proceeded to seat himself back in the driver's side, "with her natural tie to this planet's magic, she will have to be trained here." Closing what little distance between them and the station. No doubt word will have gotten to his Superior and anyone else would naturally be wise enough not to say anything--just because the LoP frowned upon incinerating other co-workers, did not mean he would not.

Kyron blinked, feeling a strange sensation as his consciousness was forced back. He couldn't smell, he couldn't feel. All he could do was listen and watch. He couldn't even move his head to do those more efficiently. He had never seen magic like this

He watched the man that did this to him, silently asking what he had done.

Aaron's expression was calm as they pulled into the station. He had no real reason to fear. "I'm sorry for that," he said to the officer as he nodded back at the sleeping form of Morgan. "Like I said, she's quite a handful."

----------------

It didn't take Tadi long to search the entire house, verifying that nobody was home. And once back outside, there was no scent to trance. He couldn't follow cars, like he could people.

He stood at the edge of the Raye property, simply staring at the street before him. That had to have been her, in the car. Why hadn't he followed it, instead of coming here?

He needed to put out an alert for her. Not through the Enforcers, as they couldn't be trusted, but through Occult, and the other youth resistance forces out there. There was only a handful of them, but they were the ones that could be counted on.

"Mr. Raye, you have been my cooperative with me thus far, and I will admit that she is quiet an firey spirit. Depending on her fate, as she does have quite a record, she may be recommended for community service of sorts. As for you...." Xorn turned and looked Aaron straight in the eyes with his empty glowing sockets, "You are guilty in my opinion, I may not know what, but I will find out. Pray that I do not have the opportunity to handle your interogation...if it comes to that."

The lich turned his piercing gaze off of Aaron, looking over the steering wheel, "If you would please exit the vehicle and approach the awaiting LoP officers. The children will be retrieved momentarily."

Aaron didn't speak, but simply opened the door and placed his feet on the ground. He walked over to the waiting officers and gave them a polite hello.

Xorn did not know who he was dealing with. Aaron would not give away anything, no matter what they did to him. He was a careful man, and there was very little evidence that he couldn't explain away. He would walk away from this after only a week or so, and life would go on normally again.

Of that, he was certain.

Now that that was out of the way, he stepped out of the vehicle to motion a few LoP officers over to retrieve the children, speaking to an officer off-hand as Aaron was being led into detainment, "I need officers sent to their estate for a thorough inspection. Also, grab the architectural schematics. Be on the lookout for anything that does not seem to fit, or is out of place. Report any findings directly to, me. If, for any reason, you are unable to contact me, you report to the Commander."

As the officer nodded and moved to gather more men, Xorn looked in the direction Aaron was being taken, "Well played, for a mortal." Straightening his coat, he followed behind the officers as they boarded the ship, another officer tapping his shoulder, "Uh, sir? The Commander would like a word with you upon return."

"Of course..." replied the lich simply as the doors closed behind him.

Tadi stared at the street, unmoving even though he had a plan. His was Morgan's protector, her best friend... and he had let her down.

His ears picked up the soft prickle of shoes on grass, and he turned in alarm. Hale was there, making his way towards the Raye home. Tadi blinked, as he watched his older brother slip inside. Hale never visited... Something was wrong.

---------

Hale stood in the center of the hidden office. The place was such a mess. He gave a slight shake of his head. And here he had thought that Aaron was the careful one.

"Search."

Immediately everything in the room flew into action. Anything that dealt with Eta and their project flew to him, landing before his feet. It always amazed him how a single word could hold such power. In only a minute, everything that he had come for in the office was before him. The pile was large, coming to his waist.

He stepped past it, and back outside of the hidden room.

"Search," he commanded. The spell filled the rest of the house, bringing him everything he needed. This stack wasn't as large, the hidden office he had come from being Aaron's primary workplace. Now all that was left was to check computers, then he could gather the two stacks and get out of here.

He strode into the second office, not noticing the tabby cat that watched him from around the corner.

Kyron frowned as he and Morgan were led away. He felt frustration well up within himself. He couldn't do anything! How could that man be so powerful? It didn't make sense. He didn't even seem to be using Fay. Were there other disciplines that manipulated energies like the Fay? The thought was chilling. Off-world technology was bad enough. What would happen if he faced off-world magic?