Chapter Text
~~"Another cycle is starting." Kate explained as we gathered in the living room. "The Operator will be gone for a time.
She was speaking to us all but looking right at Kaslyn, and I didn't like her expression. Expressionless all except for a tiny smile on her face, barely noticeable, unless you had seen that look on her before and were familiar with her bullshit.
"So that's why He was not here to greet me..." Laughing Jack hummed and rubbed his chin.
Hoody ordered. "You'll be required to go to the monitor room if you are going to stay, should you leave and return."
"Of course, of course!" He waved him off and snickered. "Assumed so, already ready to, hehehe~"
Kaslyn was looking back at Kate with an actually blank look, she wasn't ever able to keep eye contact. She kept going between the floor, Kate, the floor, me and repeat. She was dissociating a bit, I could tell, her shoulders were hunched and tense. Her head tilted down slightly.
"Usual rules for absence periods... Given the rifts, the perimeter will be shrunk to a third it's reach."
I tuned her out. Just looking at Rouge and Jane who were standing in the doorway, trying to get them to look at me so I could mouth a, "What the hell are you two doing here?" Neither did, though, Rouge was cleaning her claw weapons, Jane was leaning against the hinge and had her full attention on Kate.
"Though, of course, the elephant in the room..."
She lifted her head, but I saw her eye was looking up at the corner of the ceiling like she did sometimes. Like a damn cat, staring at shit that's never there.
"Kaslyn's test will be the day He comes back, whether she's ready or not."~~
I sat on the deck, Kaslyn between my knees sitting on the steps. I was massaging her neck and shoulders at first, lit up a cigarette after a few minutes only for her to frown and whip her head around to glare at me. I'd rolled my eyes, took a long drag, then put it out. The sun was starting to go down.
"Welcome back to reality," I muttered under my breath and ruffled her hair. Then, I started French braiding it as best I could with all the layers, brushing it with my fingers. "Still no tremors or anything?"
I heard her hum no.
"You're not lying to me?" I tugged a little.
She murmured. "I'm fine, and not lying."
"Good. Better not be."
"Or what?" I could hear the little smirk on Kaslyn's face.
Rolling my eyes, I ran my fingers through her hair to undo the crappy looking braid.
"We should train tonight," she murmured and leaned into my touch, "since..."
~~"Something's not right in her head, dude." BEN said, tapping the side of his skull.
The room had cleared out, except for two of the ghosts, the clown and myself. Kaslyn was getting another once-over with E.J, just in case, L.J had just come out of the monitor room and headed back here. Dark Link was finishing up dinner.
"Something isn't right in all of our heads. Your point?"
"She's just not all the way back, you know, just still standing in the doorway..." Sally commented, sitting on the floor playing Jenga with BEN.
I raised an eyebrow at that and saw L.J stifle a laugh. "The fuck did you just say to me?"
"Deciding whether or not to come innnnn..." She trailed off and bit on her tongue as she focused on wiggling a piece out without the tower falling.
BEN looked like he didn't know if he wanted to laugh or back away. "What, Sally?"
"I got it!" All she did was cheer, pumping her fist when she got it out. "It's gonna fall, I'm gonna win!"
I sighed and rubbed between my eyebrows with my knuckle. "Alright, Samara Morgan, tone it down."
"Mwahaha!" That earned me an exaggerated evil laugh sort of thing, which turned into real laughter when BEN knocked the tower over trying to take his piece. "I told you!"
L.J squatted down next to her and ruffled her hair, picking up one of the Jenga blocks with his other hand. "So, if she's not fully back, who's the one inside?"
"Don't encourage her!" I growled, not liking the mental image him saying that gave me.
Sally just grinned, flopping on her back and reaching back to grab Charlie, who was seated on the floor leaning against the front of the couch.
"IIIIII know what's insiiiiide..." The clown waggled his fingers, dropping the block, building suspense a moment before he started carefully tickling the kid with his claws. "Aha!"
Between her gasps for breath and more wild giggling, squirming around on the carpet while she was at his mercy, she said. "Just get... Her... Stop it! Get her... Ice cream, she'll be happy... A-And come back!"
"Doctor's orders~" L.J sing-songed, indulging her, still tickling. "Fetch the ice cream!"
I gave BEN a look, which he understood and nodded, before I walked away.~~
"... Yeah, sure, why not?"
Kate's POV
I tilted my head back, putting in my eye drops and blinking, putting them back only when the burn stopped and my vision cleared a bit. Continuing getting dressed after, twirling my mask around a finger via one of the straps once ready to go. Skipping, humming to myself, heading right to the staircase.
"What's got you in such a plea-" Sadie's voice behind me cut off when I hopped up onto the railing. Her tone got harsher when she asked. "You're going to-"
Sliding down, I ignored her, but felt her try and grab me before I got too far away.
"You're gonna maul her!" She yelled down.
Better than Rouge.
"There's a reason you're not ever supposed to be the first one!"
"Jeff was the first, Kagekao was the second, and besides I'm in charge." Landing on my feet, I spun around and pointed up at her. "You're welcome to supervise."
Sneering, Sadie crossed her arms over her chest. "Itching to have someone beneath you finally, aren't you?"
"Pot meet kettle."
He wasn't wrong, they really do just see her as a trembling little kit, don't they...?
"Let's find out." I put on my mask and left the house.
Whether she starts thumping, trancing or fighting back...
* * *
Jeff had Kaslyn out in the clearing as per usual. Side-stepping easily, near every blow of hers, growling for her to pay attention when he landed a punch to her ribs but nodding in approval when she managed to dodge the swing of his blade even so. The goal he had, seemingly, was for her to disarm him judging by her occasional lunges and grabs.
The sun had gone down, I could tell he was going to wrap it up soon, but then both of them began to sense they were being watched at nearly the same time. I watched as she got twitchy, pausing and curling in on herself a bit, slowly turning in a circle. He looked like he was going to yell at her, but went quiet and stopped, taking on a defensive stance by instinct.
"Hey, you."
I grinned when Kaslyn's head whipped up and she looked directly at me. As predicted, though, she didn't even realize she was. And, both of their attention was stolen away when I saw Sadie’s faint glow coming into view anyhow. The bait had been taken.
Her ire and irritation, the promise of havoc it tended to cause, seemed to have led BEN and Laughing Jack to follow but no matter. My grip on the tree tightened and I felt muscles in my face twitch as He began to use my eyes to see.
Trial one, start.
•to be continued in chapter 18•