Fic: Masked Part II (i)
He stares at her in disbelief, as her eyes burn and she screams at him to get away, and he takes a step back because of the pure fear in her voice. (Is she afraid of him, or for him?)
He knows its the latter when that gleam of a terrified girl goes blank, when those gold eyes become predator's eyes, when her body starts to twist. He's watched Arc's transformations a hundred times, but this is different--more violent than fluid, more unnatural; her limbs jerk as they change and the scream in her throat goes raw with pain. Thick black fur sprouts over her body; her clothes rip as her thin frame grows strong and muscular and as two large wings extend from her back. Her head changes shape, jutting out into a large cat's muzzle, fangs bared. When the transformation ends there's nothing of Freya left in the creature before him, just a panther with wings and bloodlust.
The creature throws itself at him and he dodges to the side, coming up against bars that trap him in. He flattens himself against them and gathers power at his palms, but doesn't release it. This is still Freya, he thinks, even if she's lost beneath layers of animal instinct and predator brutality and rage. The creature turns and snarls, then looks across the warehouse to where Shadowman is against the wall.
He knows the thought that must go through her head there, the recognition of that man hurt me and the animal reaction to it. Merlin is suddenly the last thing on her mind, and she ignores him, racing through the open cell door and bounding across the warehouse.
He has half a mind to let her tear the man that captured her to pieces, but doesn't want her to return to herself covered in blood. She deserves revenge, but he's supposed to be a hero; he's supposed to fight for justice, not vengeance.
Arc, stop her but try not to hurt her, he says mentally, and races after her. Across the room Arc turns to face the beast charging at him, abandoning the dog form for dragon, the transformation like water sliding over rock, smooth and fluid. She leaps at him and he retaliates, meeting her in mid air, trying to use his weight to pin her down. She slashes at his underside with her claws, scoring a hit that makes him growl in pain, and she tries to flip him over, searching for his jugular. But he is a creature of the air and he is in the body that he was born to--she is still a human beneath the beast . Arc manages to pin her, pressing down on her with all his weight, claws loose around her throat. She struggles and thrashes but he grimly presses down harder.
Merlin comes up to them and reaches out his magic, feeling the current of energies around her. There's definitely an element that isn't natural here, something twisted in the magic around her, but too deeply ingrained for him to root it out, too much a part of her to be removed or healed. He looks down at the metal ring he is holding in his hands, the one he grabbed before running after her--when it was broken, the beast was released. He takes a breath and walks forward.
"Hold her tight, Arc." The dragon complies and the creature gives a yowl. He kneels carefully next to it, avoiding the head, and reaches out, thinking that he might be able to stretch the metal long enough to seal it around her neck and hope that works--the minute it touches her she subsides a little, a high-pitched whine building in her throat, and to his surprise the metal expands, lengthening until he can fit it around her neck. The moment he seals it she shudders and goes limp, drastically reverting to her human form, the transformation much less violent this time. She turns her head to look at him, the gold bleeding back into brown, and then her eyes roll back into her head. She is just a girl again, unconscious and naked on the concrete floor of a warehouse. He pulls a little square of fabric from his belt, mutters a spell, and it expands into a full-sized blanket that he wraps gingerly around her.
"That was interesting," a voice says from the doorway of the warehouse. He lifts his head to look--Rose rushes in and kneels on the other side of Freya, checking the girl's vitals carefully. Paladin lingers by the doorway, an unconscious Shadowman floating in the air beside him. "He tried to get away while you were distracted," Pal says. "Good thing you called us."
Merlin smiles tiredly. "It's about time you showed up." He looks at Rose. "Is she going to be okay?"
She looks up at him, lips pursed. "From a first glance, she's dehydrated, malnourished, she’s been tortured, she’s now magically exhausted, and god only knows what kind of mental trauma she's been through, not to mention..." she trails off, the implications clear in her voice. Merlin thinks of Sabre saying he likes to carry off young girls and use them as toys and it’s really all he can do to not go over and kill the man that’s done this. Rose sighs and he touches her arm lightly--she’s an empath, not a healer, and even with Freya unconscious he’s sure that she’s getting a blast of the terror and horror that the girl has been through. “I don’t know if she’ll be okay, War,” she says, using the shortened version of his codename. “Physically, it doesn’t look like she’s too badly injured, and I think she might have advanced healing abilities. I can’t imagine being able to survive a transformation like that one without it. She needs food, water, and rest, definitely. But mentally? I have no idea.” He nods, sitting back on his heels, and she looks at him intently. “What are you going to do with her? You can’t hand her over to the doctors with her magic the way it is.”
"I'm going to take her home. I might be able to help her with her magic, and if I can’t I might know someone who can.”
"She'll know who you are. And where you live."
"That's a risk I'm willing to take. She asked me for help,” he says firmly.
"She also tried to eat you," Paladin remarks, coming a bit closer. "Just a little bit," he says defensively both of them glare at him.
Merlin shakes his head. "Pal, can you bring him in?" He asks with a jerk of his head towards Shadowman.
"Of course. Can you manage her on your own?"
He nods and scoops her up into his arms. He could use magic to lift her, but she weighs next to nothing and he doesn't want her to wake feeling a strange magic pulsing around her, not when she's been at the mercy of dark magic, not when her own magic has been so thoroughly twisted against her. He walks over to Arc, patting the dragon on the shoulder. "You okay?"
I want a nap and a cow, the dragon replies. In that order.
"I'll see what I can do. Are you too tired to fly us home?"
The dragon snorts. Get on you prat. Merlin grins and cradles Freya closer to his chest, sliding onto the dragon's back. Paladin throws the doors of the warehouse open for them and they take off, Merlin holding her body carefully, feeling how fragile it is in his grip, feeling the sluggish beat of her pulse beneath his fingers. The flight seems too long, even though it's the quickest possible way to get home, short of teleportation (something that Merlin can do, but it drains his energy and is too "loud" on the plane of magical energy, and he's already tired enough without trying to draw more attention to himself). Arc brings them down gently onto the roof of their building and goes from dragon to owl, guiding them smoothly down the stairs to the fourth floor. Halfway there Merlin taps his communicator. "Will, get ready to open the door in about a minute. And get the med kit out."
When he reaches the flat the door is already open, Will leaning against the door frame with a tight, worried expression on his face. He blinks when he sees the girl in Merlin's arm and steps back. "I thought I told you to keep in contact," he says faintly.
"Since when do I listen to you?" Merlin replies, the banter half-hearted as he lays Freya out on the couch. Will whistles softly, looking her over.
"What do you need?" His friend asks. Merlin rubs his forehead, thinking.
"Got the med kit?" He asks, and Will hands it to him. "Um...a towel, a flannel, a bowl of water, the strongest painkiller we have, a cup of juice, and some clothes for her, something loose. Elastic waistband."
"On it," Will says without a moment of hesitation.
Merlin sits next to the couch, sagging against it for a moment. He removes his mask, putting it down next to him and pulls his gloves off as well. Will comes back quickly, a bottle of water in one hand and a towel, a pair of jogging bottoms, and one of his t-shirts in the other. He places them down gently and then disappears, coming back a moment later with a bottle of orange juice and a packet of tablets that he rests on the floor.
"What happened?" He asks softly, crouching down next to Merlin.
Merlin extracts the flannel from the pile of clothes and dips it into the bowl of water, then gently dabs at a long cut running down Freya's arm. "Shadowman. She's been his prisoner, dunno how long. Her name's Freya."
"How long has she been unconscious?"
"Twenty minutes? I think it's mostly magical exhaustion, no telling when she'll come out of it."
"Magical exhaustion?" Will asks, eyebrow raised.
Quietly, Merlin tells the whole story, gently cleaning the dirt from her skin. Will works next to him, swiping antiseptic over her wounds and bandaging the worst cuts and scrapes. Hesitantly they peel back the blanket wrapped around her to check over her torso, Merlin feeling gently for broken ribs. He pulls the blanket back over her, sitting back. "I don't think anything is broken but..she needs to wake up. She needs food and water."
"Shouldn't we have a doctor look her over?"
Merlin rests his head gently on the arm of the couch. "Probably. But I need her to be awake before we start taking her places and having strangers poke her. She's been through hell."
"Good point." Will looks him over. "Go take a shower and go to bed, Merl. I'll watch over her and get you if she wakes up."
"Don't you have work in the morning?" He asks through a yawn, standing up to comply with his friend's orders.
Will waves a hand dismissively. "I've come down with a nasty case of the flu. They can get by without me, but we all know Pendragon can't last five minutes without you."
"Unfortunately true," he says, and slouches down the hallway into the bathroom. He leans against the wall, letting the hot water rush over him for a few minutes before scrubbing himself down. When he gets out, he manages to force his limbs into a t-shirt and pyjama bottoms. His bed is infinitely appealing, but instead he comes into the living room. Will is in their armchair, the tv on mute, but he is paying more attention to Freya than he is to the images flickering on screen.
His friend tilts his head when he comes into the room. "Didn't I tell you to go to bed?"
"Who's the superhero here?" He asks, smiling tiredly.
"Exactly why you should listen to me. Your mental capacity is questionable at best."
"Shush." He sits on the floor, leaning his head against Will's knee and yawning.
"How's your magic?" Will asks softly.
"Fine. This is all physical. I got thrown into a wall, you know."
"Poor baby," Will says with a grin.
On the couch, Freya gives a low moan and the two men are at her side in a moment, Will hanging back just a bit, Merlin crouching at her side, placing his mask back on his face. She spasms a little and then her eyes flutter open, staring blankly at the ceiling before she gasps and jolts upright, hands grappling for something to hold on to, fear wild in her eyes.
"It's okay," Merlin says, careful not to touch her but holding his hands out. She twists hard, staring at him and pressing herself back against the couch, sinking against the cushions. "It's okay Freya. Remember me? Warlock?"
Her breath slows, hands releasing their grip on the couch a bit. "Yes," she says softly. She glances around, tensing when she sees Will, who gives her a softer smile than his usual grin.
"It's okay, this is my friend Will. You're safe here."
"What--what happened?" She asks, and then her eyes go wide and she grapples to seize him, grabbing his shoulders. "I-I changed--did I hurt anyone? Did I hurt you? What--"
"No, you didn't hurt anyone. No one is hurt. Once you changed back you fainted. This is my house--I thought it best to bring you back here. I didn't want to take you to a hospital without you being awake." He cuts himself off. "I'm rambling a bit, sorry." He smiles gently at her and pulls the mask from his face. "I'm Merlin."
She takes a few deep breaths and manages to smile back. "Thank you for helping me."
He ducks his head and hands her the bottle of juice by his feet. "Here, drink this. You're dehydrated." He opens the packet of tablets as well, handing her one of them. "And this should help with the aches and pains. Try and drink down the juice and then we'll get you some toast and see if you can keep it down."
Will moves slowly, bending to pick up the bundle of clothes and offering it to her. "Here, you can wear this. And we'll get you a shower too, once you think you can stand alright."
She takes the offered clothes, clutching them to her chest tightly and pulling the blanket around herself more securely. "Thank you. You-you don't have to--"
Merlin opens his mouth to answer but Will beats him to it. "Of course we do, love. You're with friends now, and we're here for whatever you need."
She smiles tightly and sips her juice. Merlin has a million questions he wants to ask her, but instead he stands and offers her a grin. "Let's see about that toast, shall we?"
Part II (j)