World Refugees Final Mix

"Well, it's not like any of us could back out at this stage of the game."

Hex wondered where her cheerfulness was coming from. The atmosphere was dark and dreary, and she herself felt midnight weary. And, here comes the internal poet.

With her hands concealed here though...

She flexed her hand. For a split second, she could feel a pea sized shape in her hand. But, it only lasted that split second. OK, so who knows I'm the weakest person in the room? If Maleficent hasn't realized by now that I'm damn near crippled, then I'll eat my own socks. Tinuvial probably has an idea, because she's a clever and sneaky entity, and because I mentioned to her that this would be one of the possibilities of that engagement. Awiergen, on the other hand, probably has no idea.

She flexed again, her mind suddenly flashing back to a memory regarding the stones on the table.

"But, you know, I'm curious? Who lost our little 'game'?" And, despite the confidence in her voice, she could feel her heart thumping in her chest. I'd have been so much safer if I had just hitched ride back to earth, gotten a real job, and then spent the rest of my life in hiding.

But, that probably would have ended up with me dead, anyway. And... I don't think I could leave this fantastic world behind.

She wondered why she felt so alive, all of a sudden. Time to see if I'm the one paying the piper, I suppose.

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Tinuv leaned against a wall, putting a little distance between herself and the others. A long black dress made her seem little more than a shadow in the darkness.
After all, it's what she was.

She hadn't had time to work a glamoury over her appearance, and she was no longer strong enough to recreate her monstrous little pet. Only the lack of visibility hid her five-month pregnant form from sight.

Her dead grey eyes scrutinized Hex as she spoke. She did wonder exactly how the enthusiastic witch's plan had turned out, but as she'd been indisposed dealing with her own sudden loss of power, she had yet to weasel out the answer.

As to the game, she hardly cared. She knew she hadn't lost, although her part could have gone a little more smoothly.

There was no point in speaking just yet. The role of silent observer was familiar and comfortable.

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"It's almost becoming fun trying to get past Jalen now that he knows the truth about me."

Awiergan shrugged, smiling faintly. It actually hadn't been difficult getting away this time; she'd just put him into a little deeper sleep than he needed. She might've tried again to keep him under permanently, but there was a certain annoying shrieking that started up whenever she gave it much thought.

She really needed to do something about that.

Awiergan glanced over at the shadow that was Tinuvial and frowned. She really would have preferred if Amy hadn't spilled the secret about the baby. Now she was going to have to watch her back around her. Well, more than usual, anyway.

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"I am sure you have all noticed Enid's absence," Maleficent replied quietly. "She is elsewhere carrying out other business for me." She looked at each of the others. "As I am sure you have noticed, we are missing a crucial element." She gestured at the four stones. "Four hearts of Fallen Worlds. There were to be five. And as I promised you, in that absence, a member of the Academy will sacrifice her Heart to power our spell. Would any of you care for a chance to speak in your own defense?"

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And so, it begins. I'm going to wager my fate on nothing but words.

I wonder, for all that I avoid so many risks, why these big gambles that really make me feel alive?

Hex's heart sped up, but her self assured tone never wavered.

"Hey, I got my rock in on time, without a problem." Her hand flexed again in the darkness. Still barely anything. "And if you want to make an issue of the Refugee interference, then I'd like to point out that they had no idea what I was after, beyond something you want, and that they never saw the thing."

She shrugged, a clear smile playing across her lips.

"While I'll admit that things could have gone better, I feel they went about as well as can be expected."

And my cards are on the table. Let's see how they compare.

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At Maleficent's suggestion, Tinuviel narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips in something that wasn't quite a pout.

"I see no reason to defend myself, Mistress..." she intoned softly. "You know what I've accomplished and where I have failed. I trust your decision in the matter." With that she closed her eyes and tipped her head downward, as if she didn't care what Awiergan had to say.

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Oh, this just wasn't fair. She doubted that Maleficent would sacrifice her little pet, even if she deserved it.

"I'm taking care of your future apprentice." Awiergan said simply. She doubted that would help - if Maleficent wanted Eli, she could just take him - but it was worth a shot.

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Maleficent snorted. "I have little interest in the child. If you'll recall, I have one of my own that can be retrieved at any time."

She rested her hands gently on the Cornerstone of Darkness. "As you may have guessed, it was Enid who failed to return with a stone. She has already earned my mercy, fulfilling a task that she alone was suited for." The long slender fingers tapped. "Which means that another must pay the price. And certainly there are failures enough from each of you to justify it."

She turned her attention to Hex. "Your loyalty has never been certain. She have already acted against our allies. And you were the last to return with your stone." Maleficent paused. "But I have chosen to spare you. You alone do not share what is both our strength and our weakness. Should they find a way to turn our other selves against us, you alone will be immune."

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And, that's one bullet dodged.

She wanted to melt into a puddle with relief. But...

That leaves two ways for this unfold. Neither of which are going to be very pretty.

Clench. No, still useless.

But, that reminds me. I wonder, what'll happen to the 'Brighter' half of who ever suffers the penalty?

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Tinuviel's eyes snapped open, but her expression remained deceptively blank. Her mind lurched into racing speed, trying to weight the odds and predict what her mentor was up to. Surely she wouldn't be persecuted for losing her cover so completely... unless she had disastrously miscalculated.

There was also the possibility that Maleficent would pull another solution out of her dragon-winged sleeve. Subterfuge was the faerie's strong point, after all.

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Awiergan frowned, watching Maleficent in the sickly green light. She might not be sure where she was ranking, but at least she hadn't turned on her oh-so-wonderful 'co-workers' to help the Refugees. Hex was actually getting a pass on that?

She decided to stay silent on the subject (better for her health) and crossed her arms, resisting the urge to reach up and play with her pendant.

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Maleficent studied the other two Academy members. She looked at Tinuviel first, pursed her lips slightly, then turned her attention to Awiergen. "You may have brought your stone in safely, Aweirgen, but you have several failings. It was you who first drew the attention of the refugees during a time when we were intending to lie low. And you have repeatedly risked the goals of the Academy and my displeasure to pursue your own interests."

She paused, then went on. "I have decided to show you mercy on a condition. I will not sacrifice your heart to the cause . . . provided your foreswear any further contact with the child. He destroys your focus. Leave him to your other self. Should we decide in the future that he will be of use, one of your sisters in the Academy will deal with him."

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Ouch. 'What's precious to one, is dear to the other'. She's been given a good offer, but still, I wonder if Awiergan can really say that she'll honestly give up the kid?

Well, given that we're all a bunch of liars and decievers here, I suppose she could just say she's not going to interact with the kid anymore. However, she's living with him. It'd be one thing if she was performing operations in a different area, but I just can't see her passing up the chance to look after the kid she sees to be hers as much as her other does.

Hex's hand flexed. Hmm, still pea sized, but stabilizing. Hold it, and four, five, six and it's gone. Seven seconds materialized. Well, it's better than nothing.

Now, if Awiergan takes the deal, and I think she will, even if she probably won't hold to her word, that just leaves Tinuvial. Which is actually the more disturbing option, actually. That poor little- is it a fetus at this stage of development, or is there another name? I don't know. Well, I really don't think that this is just going to hit Tinuvial. These people are opposite sides of the some one else's coin. And, since the kid's incubating, again probably the wrong word but I don't care, in both of them, well, this doesn't end well for the kid. Best case scenario, Song and Tin get split in two, and the kid stays in Song's belly. Worst case scenario, Tin does the Black Mamba with Song, she gets pulled under, and the squirt gestates inside of a Heartless. I have no idea how that'd work, other than the kid probably having his/her Heart devoured once it exists properly.

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At first, Tinuv didn't fully register the danger she was in now. When Maleficent offered to spare Awiergan, she thought perhaps she'd been right about a back-up option. It took a few seconds for her to backtrack and consider that she was the option. It seemed so unlikely... She couldn't guess what she'd done to deserve this, compared to the others. Was it simply that she was the one most at risk of being conquered by her Other? If that did happen, the confidence would no doubt drive the Refugees on to destroy the rest of the Academy... Could that be it?

She was not afraid only because she couldn't be, but she certainly felt betrayed. Still she didn't speak, watching Maleficent warily, and waiting.

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Like hell the others will touch him- and she almost opened her mouth to say so. But- What was more important here, her survival or some brat she didn't need weighing her down anyway?

"Thank you for your mercy, Mistress. I swear to leave the child be." Awiergan bowed her head, mind already turning to Tinuvial's position. A small smile graced her lips for an instant, then vanished.

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Maleficent arched an eyebrow. She wondered how long the promise would hold. Not that it mattered. What mattered what that Awiergen stopped letting the child prove a distraction. So long as that ceased what she did or did not do did not matter.

"Tinuviel . . . your failure was certainly spectacular. You revealed the nature of the Academy to the refugees and you didn't even manage to kill the healer." Maleficent's gaze was cool. "I am quite displeased with you." She drew a black-leather-covered book from her sleeve and held it out to her apprentice. "These are your orders. I expect the rest of you to obey her in carrying out our directive."

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Talk about mixed messages.
Tinuviel accepted the book on reflex before she fully understood what Maleficent was implying. Even when she'd gone over the words in her head, it made no sense - not in that she didn't understand, but in that she simply couldn't belief it. Obey her? Well, she couldn't deny having certain... ambitions regarding the Academy, but to put her charge so suddenly, even if it was only in charge of one mission (or whatever was written inside the book)... There was no way she could have predicted this.

"Mistress..." she spoke demurely, "what about the sacrifice?"

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Maleficent gave the Academy members a small, secret smile. She lifted the first of the dark stones in her hand. "Primus," she whispered. The stone dissolved into pure darkness. With a short breath of air, Maleficent blew it towards the Cornerstone of Darkness, and the small darkness was absorbed into the greater.

"Secondus." She did the same with the second stone.

"Tertius."

"Quartus."

Maleficent met Tinuviel's gaze again. "Obey my commands, and I will be with you again soon." With a smlight gesture of her hand, Maleficent drew an orb of power from within herself. It was black laced through with an unhealthy green glow. "Quintus."

Maleficent's heart merged with the Cornerstone of Darkness. Even the faint green illumination that had lit the cavern vanished. The earth around them shook in response to the dread magic that had just occurred, vibrations rippling outward across the worlds.

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Hex wasn't one to be easily surprised.

However, there are certain exceptions to every rule.

"Well, that was was... unexpected." She said. It practicaly echoed in the silence.

As usual, Maleficent proves to be on a whole other level than me.

Forcibly removing one's own Heart? Even with a pre-planned ressurection, that was a bit further than she was willing to go.

"So, no time like the present. The Black Queen's been sacrificed. If we don't follow through, we're not even going to be able to get a Check."Chess termsWell,considering who leads us, it's not a bad example. The fact that Hex was just as curious about what was in that book as anyone else in the room was not the driving force behind her desire to get started.

Although it was certainly a contributing one.

"So, what's in the new playbook?"

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"Yes, what is in the book?"

There was a snap of fingers and the space by Awiergan's face lit with an orange flame. While she appeared collected, inside she was seething. That brat? Really? She'd be lying if she didn't admit having ambitions of her own, but that sucking up little-

Letting out a small sigh, she moved closer to the other two. At least with Maleficent gone she could still see Eli. Oh, she'd be careful at it; didn't need their wondrous new leader tattling when Maleficent came back.

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In a manner of something near reluctance, Tinuviel peered into the book, hiding its pages from the others' view. Rightly so, as the first instruction she read was to do just that.

"... We're to find and destroy her Nobody," she said. "Maleficent's," as if it wasn't clear. "Her heart has already been sacrificed, so freeing the other half will bring her back to us." She eyed Awiergan pointedly, well aware of their rivalry and how this all must irritate her.

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"... Our boss doesn't do easy orders, does she?"

Finding the damn Nobody is going to be a hassle in and of itself. If she decides to put up a fight, well, I may be shit out of luck. I don't have any combat magic worth a damn right now.

She let out a long breath, before putting on a cheery smile.

Ah crap, they're giving each other the Angry Eyes again.

"Well, at least it's simple." Let's try distracting them with work, and hoping that they're willing to wait until it's wrapped up before the spell slinging starts. "Any ideas where to start looking?"

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"How about castles belonging to other people?"

It was a snarky answer and Awiergan knew it, but at the moment she didn't feel all that inclined to help Tinuviel.

If you don't, it's gonna come back to bite you in the ass, which bites me in the ass. Which means-

"Oh all right." She hissed angrily. What was she doing listening in anyway? She thought she'd taken care of that, at least for tonight. She was going to have to wipe her memory of this little event when it was over.

"Maybe her Nobody would end up back in Enchanted Dominion?"

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