Remuré Memorium- Part 14
Author: dream-edge
Title: Remuré Memorium
Summary: The hardest thing to say is nothing at all. When Dillon and Ziggy are separated from the rest of the team a secret Ziggy never should have kept will be revealed. Ziggy doesn't expect forgiveness.
Rating: M
Pairings: Dillon/Ziggy
Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers or anything related to the franchise.
Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11| Chapter 12 | Chapter 13
Remuré Memorium
Chapter 14
Dillon had no words for the fear that crashed through him then. It was a mind-numbing fear, the kind that locked the lungs and froze the body. Following right after that, was a vicious, brutal anger that left no word for mercy. It was a breathless moment before Dillon realized neither emotion belonged to him.
He turned his head to look at his lover. Very little of the emotion on Ziggy's face was comforting. He was so pale; it looked as if all of his blood had somehow slipped from his body. His eyes, though, seemed black as coal and filled with such an ugly hate. "No." Ziggy said, his voice to blank. "I'm not going back there."
"We have to." Tenaya told him, but even she looked a little sick. Ziggy didn't bother to respond. Instead he turned abruptly on his heel and fled. Dillon shot his sister an irritated glare before rushing after Ziggy.
"What was that about?" Summer asked quietly.
Tenaya winced and tangled her fingers in the short hairs at the nape of her neck. "Well, the thing is, and I might be wrong, my memory's a little fuzzy, but the last time Ziggy was actually at the Grover manor, he got disowned."
There was a long moment of silence before Summer asked, in a voice that was pretty poison, "He was what?"
Tenaya thought it was probably a good thing Jacob Grover- was Ziggy's father's name Jacob, or was it Jason? No, she was pretty sure it was Jacob- was dead. They didn't need Summer getting arrested for bloody murder right now.
-0-0-
Dillon climbed into the driver's seat of his car, turning his head to gaze at his passenger. Ziggy was crumbled in the passenger seat, head leaning against the glass. A strange calm was flowing through the bond; Dillon felt as if he was standing over thin ice, and what was waiting for him beneath was far from pretty. "Wanna talk about it?" he asked quietly.
Ziggy paused for a long moment then sighed. "My blood father was an ass. And possibly insane. Any chance we can leave it at that?" he asked, voice small and vulnerable. The ice cracked slightly.
"Yes. But we have to go." When Ziggy winced away from him, Dillon reached out to place a gentle hand on his shoulder. "You know we have to. I don't know much but I doubt we should ignore the word of a Seer." Ziggy went sickly, deathly pale, the ice cracking. "We have to go. What scares you so much about that place?"
The ice shattered and something like betrayal flooded down the link. "Because I… it was supposed to be home. The manor had been in the family for generations but to me, it was never home. My father hated me because I out-powered him, because I didn't have enough control, because I wouldn't be his puppet. My mother… Mother was terrified of me… The only memories I have of that house are of my mother looking at me like I was some sort of wild animal. I don't want to go back there."
The words themselves hurt but it was the voice that broke his heart. Ziggy's voice was blank, reciting simple facts he had accepted long ago. Dillon carefully grabbed Ziggy's hand and pressed a kiss to his knuckles. "Screw them." He said, making a small smile crack across Ziggy's face.
Ziggy turned his head to look at him, brown eyes no longer pained. "Do you know your father said the same thing?" he asked, voice gaining life. Dillon smiled slightly. "I guess I had to get it from somewhere."
"Your mother was one hell of a woman." Ziggy agreed, smile completely unfurling across his lips. Dillon laughed softly.
"There is another problem with your sister's plan." Ziggy told him. "One that has nothing to do with my personal feelings about the matter." When Dillon raised an eyebrow in question, Ziggy sad, grimacing a little. "I don't think she remembers, but Grover Manor is in northern Maine."
Dillon took one quick minute to remember where Maine was himself before uttering a dry "Ah."
-0-0-
"You do realize Maine is several days away and you blew up the Go-onger when you went to Kenmore?" Colonel Truman asked, rather patiently in his opinion. His son merely nodded, still standing at attention. "Well then, tell me, how are you planning to get there."
"Magic." Scott said simply.
"Magic?" Colonel Truman repeated dubiously.
"Magic." Scott confirmed.
"Enough with the echo." Ziggy snapped from his side, expression dark. His stance, curled slightly into himself, showed that he still disagreed with the idea of going. However, since Ziggy admitted all his reasons were severely personal, he was keeping his complaints to himself. The only reason Ziggy was here was because Scott preferred someone who remembered their magical training to convince his father. "Yes, look, magic!" Ziggy continued, fulfilling that exact role, only much more bitterly sarcastic than Scott had been hoping for. He spun one hand in a circle, brightly colored lights trailing after his fingers before going off in a small explosion. "Happy?" Ziggy asked him moodily from the corner of his mouth before making an odd motion with his hand, pulling a… "Is that a thermos?" He asked bemusedly. "Did you just conjure a thermos from thin air?"
"Oh, don't be stupid." Ziggy sniffed, sounding scarily like a combination of Dillon and Tenaya. Scott had to make sure he started hanging out with other people before the two completely corrupted him. "That's a waste of energy. I had Dillon make me coffee then merely called it from the Garage." Ziggy said.
"Because that's normal." Scott said.
Ziggy gave him a look that was finally not moody or belligerent but was amused and so tellingly at his expense. "It is for me." He said.
"Magic?" The Colonel finally asked, voice weak.
"Get used to it." Ziggy ordered, not even a hint of pity in his tone.
"What is with you today?" Scott asked, making Ziggy scowl.
"My mother didn't hug me enough as a child." Ziggy said calmly, watching him over the lip of his thermos. Scott was afraid Ziggy was actually telling the truth.
"What do you need for this trip?" Colonel Truman asked, trying admirably to regain his composure.
Ziggy just shook his head. "I can handle it all. We're just here to be polite." He said with an odd, completely blank smile on his face.
"Thank you for your time." Scott said with his own tight smile, grabbing Ziggy's collar to guide him out of the control room before he said something to get the Colonel angry. "et in the car." He ordered shortly, pushing Ziggy towards the passenger door. A sheepish look briefly crossed Ziggy's face as he got into the car, banishing his coffee cause he knew what Scott would say about it. Scott sighed as he followed. "You mind explaining that?"
"Tenaya told me what we're after." Ziggy said tiredly and exasperated. "It's a sword."
Scott resisted the urge to slam on the brakes and struggled to keep his eyes on the road instead of looking at Ziggy incredulously like he wanted to. "Well, okay. Not just a sword, I suppose." Ziggy continued. "My family was rather good at enchanting objects, especially weapons such as swords so we're going after one in particular. Still… principal of the thing." He said, waving one hand absently. Scott resisted the urge to grab Ziggy's hands and make them stay still so things didn't just appear in front of him. Fucking magic.
"I unnerve you." Ziggy said suddenly, giving him an unreadable look.
"Your sense of humor unnerves me." Scott corrected, making Ziggy laugh, bad mood gone.
When they arrived back at the Garage, Scott gently pushed Ziggy towards Dillon. "He's a nuisance." Scott said, tone conveying it wasn't a problem. Ziggy snuggled into Dillon's arms, self-satisfied smile on his face that made Scott sigh. He shook his head and walked into the lab to report to K just as Tenaya dashed towards the two bonded, carrying a large sheet of paper.
"I think this is right." Tenaya said, shoving the paper at him. Ziggy sighed, pulling away from Dillon's arms and taking it from her, running a quick eye over the carefully scribed runes. He blinked. "Did you use a calligraphy brush?" he asked then shook his head quickly. "No, wait, where did you find a calligraphy brush?"
Tenaya blushed, rubbing the back of her head. Ziggy wasn't sure if he had picked up that habit from her or she from him. "Is that a problem?" she asked. Ziggy shook his head, turning his eyes back to the paper. "It looks fine." He said after carefully looking over the Gate spell and handed it back. Tenaya grinned at him before yanking it back and dashing away. Ziggy watched her bemused before looking at Dillon, who was resting his head in the curve of Ziggy's shoulder. "Hey you."
Dillon smiled and pressed a kiss against his shoulder like a secret. "You're certainly feeling better." He said. Ziggy made a non-committal sound, leaning into the solid strength of Dillon's body. "I'm just not looking forward to tomorrow."
"You're really tense." Dillon muttered. Ziggy smiled when he felt Dillon's hands travel to his sides. "Tickle and die." He warned. Dillon chuckled against his ear, arms moving to his waist to tug him closer. "We'll manage." Dillon said.
-0-0-
The thing was, Ziggy always slept on his back. So Dillon had never noticed it. Now that he had, it was fair, perhaps a bit of an understatement, to say his was angry. Livid would perhaps be a better term. Ziggy froze in the process of changing for bed when the emotion spun across the bond and didn't even react when Dillon placed a hand on his shoulder, holding him in place. "Who did this?" Dillon asked, voice too soft, trailing a finger slowly down the brutal scar on his back. It ran slightly diagonally down the left side of his back, almost to his spine.
"You'll get angry." Ziggy warned. Dillon's hand tightened on his shoulder. "I'm already angry." He replied, voice tight. Ziggy sighed and carefully reached out to take the hand on his shoulder. "A parting gift from my father."
Everything coming from Dillon just shut down. There was a long moment of nothing that worried Ziggy more than the anger had.
Dillon stumbled away from him, shock and horror written in everything he was. Ziggy turned around as Dillon sat down on the bed. "He… he abused you?" Dillon finally managed.
"Not really. It was the first time he raised a hand against me."
"With a knife!" Dillon snapped.
"It was sword, actually." Ziggy corrected, so matter-of-factly that Dillon just wanted to shake some sense into him.
"I'm going to kill." Dillon vowed. "He's already dead." Ziggy said, kneeling down between his legs. "And your father beat him senseless when it happened."
"Why wasn't I the one hurting him?" he snarled.
Ziggy sighed and laid his head on one of Dillon's knees. Dillon relaxed slightly, brushing his fingers through Ziggy's hair. "You were more concerned with making sure I didn't bleed to death before one of the Kane Healers arrived." Ziggy informed him.
"What did you do? To make him do that?" Dillon asked, unsure if he really wanted an answer.
Ziggy raised brown eyes up to him. "I didn't do what he wanted me to." He said. "My father… he wasn't right, Dillon. He went mad somewhere along the way. Me choosing to do what I wanted was just a kind of last straw."
"You believe that?" he asked. Ziggy's eyes dropped. "I have to."
Dillon sighed heavily and pulled Ziggy up onto the bed with him, letting them both fall back onto the pillows. "One day. Then we can rave the damn manor to the ground."
Ziggy's grin was hidden in his shoulder. "Can we?" he asked in a happy, dreamy tone.
"No one'll miss it." Dillon agreed. Ziggy laughed softly as he settled in to sleep.
-0-0-
Dillon watched Ziggy write out the runes Tenaya had shown them yesterday, this time in magic, across the entrance to the Garage. The magic was bright and Dillon couldn't ascribe a color to it. Which he knew from talking to the others was better than most. Summer said she couldn't focus on it, that every time she looked her eyes just glided right past. Dillon sighed, turning to look at the young woman standing next to him. "Do you know Ziggy's father hurt him?" He asked Tenaya.
Tenaya's eyes flickered towards him, her blindfold still hanging loosely around her neck in case her powers acted up again. "Yes, of course. Ziggy was terrified of him." She said, making him frown.
"Ziggy said he only hurt him once."
Tenaya's expression was blank for a long moment, the expression she still sometimes got when she struggled to piece her memories together. Finally, she sighed. "He's good it, telling half-truths so he doesn't have to technically lie. He doesn't like worrying us, so he figured out how to do it early on, enough to fool the bond at least." She paused for a moment, frowning as she struggled to explain what he had lived through with her. "Jacob never laid a hand on Ziggy until that scar on his back. But the threat of it was always there with him. And more than that, for the longest time, Ziggy wanted his approval and could never get it. Jacob had these impossible expectations of Ziggy. It was all psychological." Tenaya smiled slightly. "It's amazing Ziggy came out so well. Although it might be because he spent so little time at that house as a child."
"Ziggy said his father was crazy."
"That's… rather polite. He went completely insane. But then again, Ziggy's more the exception than the rule concerning Grovers. That whole family was always a little… off." Tenaya said, smiling slightly.
"Anything else he probably didn't tell me?" he asked. From the way Tenaya averted her eyes, he'd said Ziggy had. "What is it?"
"Jacob Grover, from the time he was a child, had this idea that he could unite our families. And he saw Ziggy and I as a way to do that; we were puppets in his mind, not people. I don't know why Father agreed to the marriage, but he grew up with Jacob and it wasn't till he really got to know Ziggy that he realized how far his friend had fallen from sanity. And then the bond started appearing and everything just kind of fell apart for a while when Jacob found out. He called Ziggy home and ordered him to stop everything. But Ziggy, he loved you so much and he'd seen what a father is supposed to be so he refused. Jacob snapped. Jacob disowned him, then tried to destroy the bond."
"I thought you couldn't do that."
"Once it's completed no. Only the strongest Sorcerers can break a complete Reiniku Heri and those that can, know better. But when it's just forming, it's vulnerable. And Jacob's sword was highly enchanted by old, old magic. If he had succeeded, the both of you would have probably gone at least half-mad. Father, and the Kane elders were furious. It broke the treaty between our families. We're lucky a war didn't start and that the Grover elders were willing to give Ziggy to us." A darkly bitter smile crossed her face. "They backed up Jacob's decision to disown Ziggy, so they really didn't have much choice when we asked for him. Well, we didn't really ask. We just stormed into the manor and took him away before anyone could react." Something viciously satisfied filled her eyes. "I hope you regain your memories just for the memory of their faces when we did it."
He sighed heavily and looked over at his lover to see he was almost done. "See you on the other side." He said, walking forward to wrap his arms around Ziggy, careful not to interrupt the movement of Ziggy's hands. The last rune fell into place, the magic pulled inward to a point in the middle of the garage door, then pushed outward towards the edges in a kaleidoscope of magic. After a moment, the magic settled and the image of an iron gate and long driveway filled the entryway of the Garage.
Ziggy slumped in his hold from the use of magic and reached for his hand, sighing in relief when the bond flooded warmth and magic through his body. "I get to burn it when we're done, right? Exercise a few demons?"
Dillon nodded and offered him a soft smile. He looked over his shoulder at the others. "Ready?" he asked. The others nodded, a few shrugging on the backpacks that held extra supplies in case something went wrong. Scott stepped up before a strange expression crossed his face and he motioned with his hand towards the Gate. "You can go first." He told them. Dillon snorted. "Scardy-cat." He muttered under his breath but obediently stepped through the Gate with Ziggy in hand.
Title: Remuré Memorium
Summary: The hardest thing to say is nothing at all. When Dillon and Ziggy are separated from the rest of the team a secret Ziggy never should have kept will be revealed. Ziggy doesn't expect forgiveness.
Rating: M
Pairings: Dillon/Ziggy
Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers or anything related to the franchise.
Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11| Chapter 12 | Chapter 13
Remuré Memorium
Chapter 14
Dillon had no words for the fear that crashed through him then. It was a mind-numbing fear, the kind that locked the lungs and froze the body. Following right after that, was a vicious, brutal anger that left no word for mercy. It was a breathless moment before Dillon realized neither emotion belonged to him.
He turned his head to look at his lover. Very little of the emotion on Ziggy's face was comforting. He was so pale; it looked as if all of his blood had somehow slipped from his body. His eyes, though, seemed black as coal and filled with such an ugly hate. "No." Ziggy said, his voice to blank. "I'm not going back there."
"We have to." Tenaya told him, but even she looked a little sick. Ziggy didn't bother to respond. Instead he turned abruptly on his heel and fled. Dillon shot his sister an irritated glare before rushing after Ziggy.
"What was that about?" Summer asked quietly.
Tenaya winced and tangled her fingers in the short hairs at the nape of her neck. "Well, the thing is, and I might be wrong, my memory's a little fuzzy, but the last time Ziggy was actually at the Grover manor, he got disowned."
There was a long moment of silence before Summer asked, in a voice that was pretty poison, "He was what?"
Tenaya thought it was probably a good thing Jacob Grover- was Ziggy's father's name Jacob, or was it Jason? No, she was pretty sure it was Jacob- was dead. They didn't need Summer getting arrested for bloody murder right now.
-0-0-
Dillon climbed into the driver's seat of his car, turning his head to gaze at his passenger. Ziggy was crumbled in the passenger seat, head leaning against the glass. A strange calm was flowing through the bond; Dillon felt as if he was standing over thin ice, and what was waiting for him beneath was far from pretty. "Wanna talk about it?" he asked quietly.
Ziggy paused for a long moment then sighed. "My blood father was an ass. And possibly insane. Any chance we can leave it at that?" he asked, voice small and vulnerable. The ice cracked slightly.
"Yes. But we have to go." When Ziggy winced away from him, Dillon reached out to place a gentle hand on his shoulder. "You know we have to. I don't know much but I doubt we should ignore the word of a Seer." Ziggy went sickly, deathly pale, the ice cracking. "We have to go. What scares you so much about that place?"
The ice shattered and something like betrayal flooded down the link. "Because I… it was supposed to be home. The manor had been in the family for generations but to me, it was never home. My father hated me because I out-powered him, because I didn't have enough control, because I wouldn't be his puppet. My mother… Mother was terrified of me… The only memories I have of that house are of my mother looking at me like I was some sort of wild animal. I don't want to go back there."
The words themselves hurt but it was the voice that broke his heart. Ziggy's voice was blank, reciting simple facts he had accepted long ago. Dillon carefully grabbed Ziggy's hand and pressed a kiss to his knuckles. "Screw them." He said, making a small smile crack across Ziggy's face.
Ziggy turned his head to look at him, brown eyes no longer pained. "Do you know your father said the same thing?" he asked, voice gaining life. Dillon smiled slightly. "I guess I had to get it from somewhere."
"Your mother was one hell of a woman." Ziggy agreed, smile completely unfurling across his lips. Dillon laughed softly.
"There is another problem with your sister's plan." Ziggy told him. "One that has nothing to do with my personal feelings about the matter." When Dillon raised an eyebrow in question, Ziggy sad, grimacing a little. "I don't think she remembers, but Grover Manor is in northern Maine."
Dillon took one quick minute to remember where Maine was himself before uttering a dry "Ah."
-0-0-
"You do realize Maine is several days away and you blew up the Go-onger when you went to Kenmore?" Colonel Truman asked, rather patiently in his opinion. His son merely nodded, still standing at attention. "Well then, tell me, how are you planning to get there."
"Magic." Scott said simply.
"Magic?" Colonel Truman repeated dubiously.
"Magic." Scott confirmed.
"Enough with the echo." Ziggy snapped from his side, expression dark. His stance, curled slightly into himself, showed that he still disagreed with the idea of going. However, since Ziggy admitted all his reasons were severely personal, he was keeping his complaints to himself. The only reason Ziggy was here was because Scott preferred someone who remembered their magical training to convince his father. "Yes, look, magic!" Ziggy continued, fulfilling that exact role, only much more bitterly sarcastic than Scott had been hoping for. He spun one hand in a circle, brightly colored lights trailing after his fingers before going off in a small explosion. "Happy?" Ziggy asked him moodily from the corner of his mouth before making an odd motion with his hand, pulling a… "Is that a thermos?" He asked bemusedly. "Did you just conjure a thermos from thin air?"
"Oh, don't be stupid." Ziggy sniffed, sounding scarily like a combination of Dillon and Tenaya. Scott had to make sure he started hanging out with other people before the two completely corrupted him. "That's a waste of energy. I had Dillon make me coffee then merely called it from the Garage." Ziggy said.
"Because that's normal." Scott said.
Ziggy gave him a look that was finally not moody or belligerent but was amused and so tellingly at his expense. "It is for me." He said.
"Magic?" The Colonel finally asked, voice weak.
"Get used to it." Ziggy ordered, not even a hint of pity in his tone.
"What is with you today?" Scott asked, making Ziggy scowl.
"My mother didn't hug me enough as a child." Ziggy said calmly, watching him over the lip of his thermos. Scott was afraid Ziggy was actually telling the truth.
"What do you need for this trip?" Colonel Truman asked, trying admirably to regain his composure.
Ziggy just shook his head. "I can handle it all. We're just here to be polite." He said with an odd, completely blank smile on his face.
"Thank you for your time." Scott said with his own tight smile, grabbing Ziggy's collar to guide him out of the control room before he said something to get the Colonel angry. "et in the car." He ordered shortly, pushing Ziggy towards the passenger door. A sheepish look briefly crossed Ziggy's face as he got into the car, banishing his coffee cause he knew what Scott would say about it. Scott sighed as he followed. "You mind explaining that?"
"Tenaya told me what we're after." Ziggy said tiredly and exasperated. "It's a sword."
Scott resisted the urge to slam on the brakes and struggled to keep his eyes on the road instead of looking at Ziggy incredulously like he wanted to. "Well, okay. Not just a sword, I suppose." Ziggy continued. "My family was rather good at enchanting objects, especially weapons such as swords so we're going after one in particular. Still… principal of the thing." He said, waving one hand absently. Scott resisted the urge to grab Ziggy's hands and make them stay still so things didn't just appear in front of him. Fucking magic.
"I unnerve you." Ziggy said suddenly, giving him an unreadable look.
"Your sense of humor unnerves me." Scott corrected, making Ziggy laugh, bad mood gone.
When they arrived back at the Garage, Scott gently pushed Ziggy towards Dillon. "He's a nuisance." Scott said, tone conveying it wasn't a problem. Ziggy snuggled into Dillon's arms, self-satisfied smile on his face that made Scott sigh. He shook his head and walked into the lab to report to K just as Tenaya dashed towards the two bonded, carrying a large sheet of paper.
"I think this is right." Tenaya said, shoving the paper at him. Ziggy sighed, pulling away from Dillon's arms and taking it from her, running a quick eye over the carefully scribed runes. He blinked. "Did you use a calligraphy brush?" he asked then shook his head quickly. "No, wait, where did you find a calligraphy brush?"
Tenaya blushed, rubbing the back of her head. Ziggy wasn't sure if he had picked up that habit from her or she from him. "Is that a problem?" she asked. Ziggy shook his head, turning his eyes back to the paper. "It looks fine." He said after carefully looking over the Gate spell and handed it back. Tenaya grinned at him before yanking it back and dashing away. Ziggy watched her bemused before looking at Dillon, who was resting his head in the curve of Ziggy's shoulder. "Hey you."
Dillon smiled and pressed a kiss against his shoulder like a secret. "You're certainly feeling better." He said. Ziggy made a non-committal sound, leaning into the solid strength of Dillon's body. "I'm just not looking forward to tomorrow."
"You're really tense." Dillon muttered. Ziggy smiled when he felt Dillon's hands travel to his sides. "Tickle and die." He warned. Dillon chuckled against his ear, arms moving to his waist to tug him closer. "We'll manage." Dillon said.
-0-0-
The thing was, Ziggy always slept on his back. So Dillon had never noticed it. Now that he had, it was fair, perhaps a bit of an understatement, to say his was angry. Livid would perhaps be a better term. Ziggy froze in the process of changing for bed when the emotion spun across the bond and didn't even react when Dillon placed a hand on his shoulder, holding him in place. "Who did this?" Dillon asked, voice too soft, trailing a finger slowly down the brutal scar on his back. It ran slightly diagonally down the left side of his back, almost to his spine.
"You'll get angry." Ziggy warned. Dillon's hand tightened on his shoulder. "I'm already angry." He replied, voice tight. Ziggy sighed and carefully reached out to take the hand on his shoulder. "A parting gift from my father."
Everything coming from Dillon just shut down. There was a long moment of nothing that worried Ziggy more than the anger had.
Dillon stumbled away from him, shock and horror written in everything he was. Ziggy turned around as Dillon sat down on the bed. "He… he abused you?" Dillon finally managed.
"Not really. It was the first time he raised a hand against me."
"With a knife!" Dillon snapped.
"It was sword, actually." Ziggy corrected, so matter-of-factly that Dillon just wanted to shake some sense into him.
"I'm going to kill." Dillon vowed. "He's already dead." Ziggy said, kneeling down between his legs. "And your father beat him senseless when it happened."
"Why wasn't I the one hurting him?" he snarled.
Ziggy sighed and laid his head on one of Dillon's knees. Dillon relaxed slightly, brushing his fingers through Ziggy's hair. "You were more concerned with making sure I didn't bleed to death before one of the Kane Healers arrived." Ziggy informed him.
"What did you do? To make him do that?" Dillon asked, unsure if he really wanted an answer.
Ziggy raised brown eyes up to him. "I didn't do what he wanted me to." He said. "My father… he wasn't right, Dillon. He went mad somewhere along the way. Me choosing to do what I wanted was just a kind of last straw."
"You believe that?" he asked. Ziggy's eyes dropped. "I have to."
Dillon sighed heavily and pulled Ziggy up onto the bed with him, letting them both fall back onto the pillows. "One day. Then we can rave the damn manor to the ground."
Ziggy's grin was hidden in his shoulder. "Can we?" he asked in a happy, dreamy tone.
"No one'll miss it." Dillon agreed. Ziggy laughed softly as he settled in to sleep.
-0-0-
Dillon watched Ziggy write out the runes Tenaya had shown them yesterday, this time in magic, across the entrance to the Garage. The magic was bright and Dillon couldn't ascribe a color to it. Which he knew from talking to the others was better than most. Summer said she couldn't focus on it, that every time she looked her eyes just glided right past. Dillon sighed, turning to look at the young woman standing next to him. "Do you know Ziggy's father hurt him?" He asked Tenaya.
Tenaya's eyes flickered towards him, her blindfold still hanging loosely around her neck in case her powers acted up again. "Yes, of course. Ziggy was terrified of him." She said, making him frown.
"Ziggy said he only hurt him once."
Tenaya's expression was blank for a long moment, the expression she still sometimes got when she struggled to piece her memories together. Finally, she sighed. "He's good it, telling half-truths so he doesn't have to technically lie. He doesn't like worrying us, so he figured out how to do it early on, enough to fool the bond at least." She paused for a moment, frowning as she struggled to explain what he had lived through with her. "Jacob never laid a hand on Ziggy until that scar on his back. But the threat of it was always there with him. And more than that, for the longest time, Ziggy wanted his approval and could never get it. Jacob had these impossible expectations of Ziggy. It was all psychological." Tenaya smiled slightly. "It's amazing Ziggy came out so well. Although it might be because he spent so little time at that house as a child."
"Ziggy said his father was crazy."
"That's… rather polite. He went completely insane. But then again, Ziggy's more the exception than the rule concerning Grovers. That whole family was always a little… off." Tenaya said, smiling slightly.
"Anything else he probably didn't tell me?" he asked. From the way Tenaya averted her eyes, he'd said Ziggy had. "What is it?"
"Jacob Grover, from the time he was a child, had this idea that he could unite our families. And he saw Ziggy and I as a way to do that; we were puppets in his mind, not people. I don't know why Father agreed to the marriage, but he grew up with Jacob and it wasn't till he really got to know Ziggy that he realized how far his friend had fallen from sanity. And then the bond started appearing and everything just kind of fell apart for a while when Jacob found out. He called Ziggy home and ordered him to stop everything. But Ziggy, he loved you so much and he'd seen what a father is supposed to be so he refused. Jacob snapped. Jacob disowned him, then tried to destroy the bond."
"I thought you couldn't do that."
"Once it's completed no. Only the strongest Sorcerers can break a complete Reiniku Heri and those that can, know better. But when it's just forming, it's vulnerable. And Jacob's sword was highly enchanted by old, old magic. If he had succeeded, the both of you would have probably gone at least half-mad. Father, and the Kane elders were furious. It broke the treaty between our families. We're lucky a war didn't start and that the Grover elders were willing to give Ziggy to us." A darkly bitter smile crossed her face. "They backed up Jacob's decision to disown Ziggy, so they really didn't have much choice when we asked for him. Well, we didn't really ask. We just stormed into the manor and took him away before anyone could react." Something viciously satisfied filled her eyes. "I hope you regain your memories just for the memory of their faces when we did it."
He sighed heavily and looked over at his lover to see he was almost done. "See you on the other side." He said, walking forward to wrap his arms around Ziggy, careful not to interrupt the movement of Ziggy's hands. The last rune fell into place, the magic pulled inward to a point in the middle of the garage door, then pushed outward towards the edges in a kaleidoscope of magic. After a moment, the magic settled and the image of an iron gate and long driveway filled the entryway of the Garage.
Ziggy slumped in his hold from the use of magic and reached for his hand, sighing in relief when the bond flooded warmth and magic through his body. "I get to burn it when we're done, right? Exercise a few demons?"
Dillon nodded and offered him a soft smile. He looked over his shoulder at the others. "Ready?" he asked. The others nodded, a few shrugging on the backpacks that held extra supplies in case something went wrong. Scott stepped up before a strange expression crossed his face and he motioned with his hand towards the Gate. "You can go first." He told them. Dillon snorted. "Scardy-cat." He muttered under his breath but obediently stepped through the Gate with Ziggy in hand.