Creatures of the Night: The Clockwork Boy, 23/?
Title: The Clockwork Boy
Rating: R
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Universe: Creatures of the Night (Part 2)
Pairing: Reid/Austin, Morgan/Prentiss; JJ/Hotch
Genre: Supernatural/Drama
Summary: The BAU is divided by two cases that tests their loyalties. Some things are found. Some things are lost. Some things were never really meant to be.
Author’s Note: Long note today - first of all, many thanks to those who voted for Power Play in the CM Fan Fic Awards. It took third place in Best AU, which I was pretty pleased with, considering I’d thought it was too esoteric to register. Anyway, this chapter is mostly a thank-you gift for that, because I haven’t updated in forever, which brings me to my second point. Updates have been slow lately due to real life drama (which, if you really care, can be found chronicled here, at the Blog of Awesome. Also at the Blog of Awesome, you’ll be able to keep yourself updated on what stories I’m working on, and so on and so forth, self-indulgent advertising ends here).
Chapter Twenty-Three
They go back to the office.
Because really, after getting into a fight with an evil wizard, and being kept prisoner and then having your memory wiped and getting kicked out onto your ass, that’s really all you can do.
Actually, that’s not right, Emily corrects herself, because she’s the only one that had had her memory wiped. Jordan had been unconscious for most of it, and Rossi had only learned one really important thing - Elle Greenaway is alive. Alive and responsible for the deaths of their victims. Not the most comforting of situations.
Emily’s learned something important today - mind wipes give you a hell of a headache. She makes a note of it for the next time she has an encounter with one of those evil wizards. She washes a couple of painkillers down with half a glass of medical emergency blood - the med Agent had raised an eyebrow, because it’s the third time this week she’s had to make use of the stuff. She tips the rest of the glass out, because she’s not particularly interested in reinforcing the blood addiction, even if it is only rat’s blood.
The rest of the team has moved from Garcia’s lair, if only because with Emily and Rossi there, claustrophobia levels would shoot through the roof.
In any case, the air of sobriety that’s overtaken the group is hardly subtle. Both cases, now, are highly personal - a factor that the BAU are supposed to go out of their way to avoid. She finds it somewhat ironic that the only cases she’s actually been present for so far have been personal. She vaguely wonders whether the next case will see Garcia kidnapped by the Fairy Mafia, or have Rossi’s secret, long-lost evil twin out for revenge for one reason or another.
Even then, in her experience, the cases that aren’t personal are usually made personal, because magic and pheromones don’t really mix that well.
‘How’re you doing?’ JJ asks as they step into the conference room, even though Emily’s pretty sure they don’t really need to answer that question out loud.
‘We’ve been better,’ is Rossi’s answer, which has an undercurrent of acidity to it - not directed towards JJ, but at the whole situation.
When it comes down to it, they have two agents missing. One formerly presumed dead, and now murdering people, the other suffering an identity crisis in the hands of people who could well be serial killers themselves. At the heart of it, they’re a team, even if she doesn’t quite feel a part of it yet, and even if things have been a little shaky. They need to break it down together.
Emily takes a seat next to Morgan, who shuffles a little closer and puts a hand on her shoulder. ‘Are you alright?’ he asks, and she’s a little thrown by the question.
‘Been better.’ She echoes Rossi’s words, but she knows, and she’s fairly sure that everyone else knows that there’s more to it. There’s something at the back of her mind, something fuzzy, something she knows she should be able to see, but it’s like looking through the morning fog. All a haze.
Hotch breaks it down.
‘We need to find Spencer, and we need to find Elle,’ he says, as though it’s the simplest thing in the world, and sometimes he almost makes it seem as though it is. ‘We’re running the data we have on Reid’s kidnappers through the system.’ He almost hesitates on the words “kidnappers” but it’s so slight that Emily doubts anyone other than those assembled would have noticed it. ‘But we also believe that he might go back through his past in search for answers, which means we need to go to Argadnel.’
‘What about Elle?’ Garcia asks, hovering over the keyboard, and the question hangs heavy in the air. There’s unquestionable guilt on every one of their faces, as though they feel they could have stopped their former colleague’s descent into murder, if only they’d known she’s still alive. Nothing they can do about it now, though, save for tracking her down and making sure she doesn’t do it again.
Admittedly, Emily has less of a stake in this case - she’s only heard of Elle Greenaway, never met her. Even Spencer, she barely knows, but apparently becoming part of the team means living through the nightmares.
‘You four are going to Argadnel,’ Hotch says finally, looking at Morgan, JJ, Garcia, and finally, Emily. ‘Rossi and I will deal with the Elle situation. Garcia, is Agent Lynch capable enough to lend his expertise?’
‘Sure,’ buzzes Garcia. ‘And if you need me-’ She zips around the table, circling each member of the team. ‘-if you need any of us, we’re only a phone call away.’
It’s a sobering thought, but Emily can’t help but think that they’re all going to be needing each other in the days to come.
Rating: R
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Universe: Creatures of the Night (Part 2)
Pairing: Reid/Austin, Morgan/Prentiss; JJ/Hotch
Genre: Supernatural/Drama
Summary: The BAU is divided by two cases that tests their loyalties. Some things are found. Some things are lost. Some things were never really meant to be.
Author’s Note: Long note today - first of all, many thanks to those who voted for Power Play in the CM Fan Fic Awards. It took third place in Best AU, which I was pretty pleased with, considering I’d thought it was too esoteric to register. Anyway, this chapter is mostly a thank-you gift for that, because I haven’t updated in forever, which brings me to my second point. Updates have been slow lately due to real life drama (which, if you really care, can be found chronicled here, at the Blog of Awesome. Also at the Blog of Awesome, you’ll be able to keep yourself updated on what stories I’m working on, and so on and so forth, self-indulgent advertising ends here).
Chapter Twenty-Three
They go back to the office.
Because really, after getting into a fight with an evil wizard, and being kept prisoner and then having your memory wiped and getting kicked out onto your ass, that’s really all you can do.
Actually, that’s not right, Emily corrects herself, because she’s the only one that had had her memory wiped. Jordan had been unconscious for most of it, and Rossi had only learned one really important thing - Elle Greenaway is alive. Alive and responsible for the deaths of their victims. Not the most comforting of situations.
Emily’s learned something important today - mind wipes give you a hell of a headache. She makes a note of it for the next time she has an encounter with one of those evil wizards. She washes a couple of painkillers down with half a glass of medical emergency blood - the med Agent had raised an eyebrow, because it’s the third time this week she’s had to make use of the stuff. She tips the rest of the glass out, because she’s not particularly interested in reinforcing the blood addiction, even if it is only rat’s blood.
The rest of the team has moved from Garcia’s lair, if only because with Emily and Rossi there, claustrophobia levels would shoot through the roof.
In any case, the air of sobriety that’s overtaken the group is hardly subtle. Both cases, now, are highly personal - a factor that the BAU are supposed to go out of their way to avoid. She finds it somewhat ironic that the only cases she’s actually been present for so far have been personal. She vaguely wonders whether the next case will see Garcia kidnapped by the Fairy Mafia, or have Rossi’s secret, long-lost evil twin out for revenge for one reason or another.
Even then, in her experience, the cases that aren’t personal are usually made personal, because magic and pheromones don’t really mix that well.
‘How’re you doing?’ JJ asks as they step into the conference room, even though Emily’s pretty sure they don’t really need to answer that question out loud.
‘We’ve been better,’ is Rossi’s answer, which has an undercurrent of acidity to it - not directed towards JJ, but at the whole situation.
When it comes down to it, they have two agents missing. One formerly presumed dead, and now murdering people, the other suffering an identity crisis in the hands of people who could well be serial killers themselves. At the heart of it, they’re a team, even if she doesn’t quite feel a part of it yet, and even if things have been a little shaky. They need to break it down together.
Emily takes a seat next to Morgan, who shuffles a little closer and puts a hand on her shoulder. ‘Are you alright?’ he asks, and she’s a little thrown by the question.
‘Been better.’ She echoes Rossi’s words, but she knows, and she’s fairly sure that everyone else knows that there’s more to it. There’s something at the back of her mind, something fuzzy, something she knows she should be able to see, but it’s like looking through the morning fog. All a haze.
Hotch breaks it down.
‘We need to find Spencer, and we need to find Elle,’ he says, as though it’s the simplest thing in the world, and sometimes he almost makes it seem as though it is. ‘We’re running the data we have on Reid’s kidnappers through the system.’ He almost hesitates on the words “kidnappers” but it’s so slight that Emily doubts anyone other than those assembled would have noticed it. ‘But we also believe that he might go back through his past in search for answers, which means we need to go to Argadnel.’
‘What about Elle?’ Garcia asks, hovering over the keyboard, and the question hangs heavy in the air. There’s unquestionable guilt on every one of their faces, as though they feel they could have stopped their former colleague’s descent into murder, if only they’d known she’s still alive. Nothing they can do about it now, though, save for tracking her down and making sure she doesn’t do it again.
Admittedly, Emily has less of a stake in this case - she’s only heard of Elle Greenaway, never met her. Even Spencer, she barely knows, but apparently becoming part of the team means living through the nightmares.
‘You four are going to Argadnel,’ Hotch says finally, looking at Morgan, JJ, Garcia, and finally, Emily. ‘Rossi and I will deal with the Elle situation. Garcia, is Agent Lynch capable enough to lend his expertise?’
‘Sure,’ buzzes Garcia. ‘And if you need me-’ She zips around the table, circling each member of the team. ‘-if you need any of us, we’re only a phone call away.’
It’s a sobering thought, but Emily can’t help but think that they’re all going to be needing each other in the days to come.