REUNION

"You...sick...bastard!" Irving hollered from behind clenched teeth. The pain was indescribable, as it was unlike anything the thief had ever felt before. Necro smiled politely and rested the blade carefully back on the tray.

"Flattery will get you nowhere." he said plainly. "Of course, as much as I enjoy my work, there is a way for this to cease. That is, if you are willing to pay the price for your freedom."

"My...freedom?" Irving gasped, hunched over slightly in his chained position. "W-what is the price?"

"The whore." Necro said, deliberately avoiding calling her Fay, just to push Irving even more over the edge. "Simply swear an oath to whatever god your worship that you shall never bother with her again and you are free to go."

"...never!" Irving hollered, the pain only amplifying his rage. Necro shook his head and picked up a large wooden hammer that rested on the far side of the table, beyond Irving's site.

"I was hoping you would say that." said Necro. "And you did not disappoint. With a mighty swing, he connected the hammer right into the right leg of the thief, instantly snapping the bone like a dry twig. Irving's scream was so loud it sounded like it could wake the dead. Blood dripped down his chest as the singed skin sizzled, his leg now hanging at an awkward angle due tot he hammer blow.

"The whore. Surrender her or suffer." Necro threatened. His face a mask of pain, Irving spit a bloody wad into his face.

"...go to hell..." he croaked.

"I may be going to hell, but today my friend, you are in Hell." Necro said. He took a sharp, pointy piece of metal and, after heating it up in the fire, slowly poked into the thief's right armpit.

The door led Fay into another hallway, “Shut up you damn brats!” She heard followed by a slap.

“Don't hit my sister!” She heard Alexander shout. She opened the door silently and saw Alexander repeatedly hitting a woman with his fists. Jillian was a few feet away, for once being the shy one. She cleared her throat and both children looked at her.

“Mama!” They both called running over to their mother. She bent down and hugged both children tightly at the same time.

The women previously being beaten by Alexander cleared her throat and Fay stood up, “You must be the new girl, and mother of these brats... I'm...”

“Unemployed,” She cut in, “Yeah... I don't know what happened, but your boss suffered from an arrow related death,” She sighed, smiling a little, “But what are you going to do? You hear about these things happening every day, but never expect them to happen to you,” She looked over at Jillian and saw a red hand shaped mark forming on her cheek, “Don't you ever lay a hand on my children again,” She told the woman, “Or I'll tear you limb from limb,” She threatened, small cracks formed in the ceiling and floor and vines started pushing through the cracks, “And don't think that I won't do it,” She told the woman, who just sat down on the bed after the news of the Baron's death, she had a shocked look on her face. She stood up after a second and walked from the room.

She bent down to her children's level once more, “Mommy, I kicked the fat guy in between the legs just like you said if I thought a man was going to hurt me,” Jillian proudly told her mother.

She smiled, “I'm so proud of you, and I heard that Alexander was defending his big sister.”

Alexander just nodded, “Yeah, the lady hit Jillian and I... I didn't like that...”

Fay heard a few steps behind her, “Alexander, Jillian, I want you to look out of the window, no matter what...” The two children nodded and looked at several birds flying by the window.

With inhuman speed Fay drew three arrows and put the two she wasn't using in her mouth. She quickly readied the two and let the arrow go, it shot through one of the guards necks and he fell to the ground. She saw the remaining two guards had bows pointed at Jillian and Alexander, she, rather roughly, pushed the two out of the way and took one of the guards out with an arrow. Finally seeing her as a threat the last of the guards fired his arrow at her, though his aim was off and it grazed her arm. She grimaced a little and picked the arrow up, she smiled and aimed as did the guard, she let the arrow go, as did the guard. He fell to the ground, she had killed the guard with his own arrow.

Jillian and Alexander turned around, “What's wrong with them?” Jillian asked.

“Mommy had to put them to sleep because they were trying to hurt us,” She explained before hearing another of Irving's pain filled screamed and jumped, her eyes were filling up with tears knowing that he was going through such pain for her and the children she previously didn't want him to even be in the same town as, “Come on, we have to save you father...” She let slip out, she covered her mouth.

“What was that mommy?” Alexander asked.

“Nothing, lets go,” She said standing up.

“But you said that daddy was dead...” Jillian said to her mother.

“I just...” She sighed and bent down again, and picked Alexander up, she knew that Jillian could run quickly, and not Alexander yet, “Come on, we don't have a lot of time, Jillian, tell me if you're getting tired, we're going to have to run, I want you to stay ahead of me a little and if you see anyone tell me, Alexander, look behind us, if you see anyone also tell me.”

“Alright mommy,” The two told her before they left the room.

Irving could barely breath as he was hunched over, the only thing holding him up were the chains shackled to his wrists. His chest was rising and falling in drastic heaves, his eyes wild and fully open. His chest was smeared with blood and soot, his body drenched with sweat. Throughout all of this, Necro Butcher was completely calm and relaxed, humming a song to himself as he toweled down the bloody scalpel.

"I shall ask you again, surrender your rights to the whore and you shall be set free."

Irving opened his mouth to swear, but nothing came out but an empty, hollow wheeze. His vision was blurry was the room was spinning around him like an out of control merry-go-round from hell. The pain had long since faded away, morphing and blending into an all out numbness that went though his body. Necro was right, he was in hell.

In his hazy mind, he had no idea where Fay and the kids were and as far as he knew, the could be gone for good.

"Well?" Necro said. "No response? Pitty. Oh well, more work for me, I suppose."

Necro took a hot coal from the fire that he was using with a pair of long metal pliers. With a sadistic smile on his face, he pressed the hot coal right over Irving's heart. The sound of Irving's tortured scream was even louder, as flesh seared, disgusting smelling smoke filled the room. In the back of his mind, though he hated to admit it, the thief was starting to pray for death.

Fay heard his scream, her heart was racing as her and her two children ran down the bleak gray hallway. She heard Irving's pain filled scream coming from the bottom of the stairs she was approaching, "Hurry up," She told Jillian.

Jillian looked up at her mother who was crying, she set Alexander down in the bottom of the stairs after she told Jillian to stop, “Both of you stay here... Only come if I tell you to, and call me if you need me...” She told her children, they were in a hall way with a dirt floor and numerous prison cells there was a large wooden door with a barred over window, she could see Irving inches away from his death and Necro calm and collected, he almost looked happy. Fay closed her eyes and below where Necro was standing numerous vines tied him up until he appeared to be a pillar of flora. Too bad she neglected to see the burning coal still in possession. She held out her hand and the wood of the door began to quickly rot until it was soft and with a swift kick the door was a pile of rotted wood on the ground along with.

She ran into the room and up to Irving, she picked up his head as vines and roots entered the locks on the shackles. She closed her eyes and the locks broke allowing her near death love to fall into her arms. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, as she examined what Necro had done to him, “It- It's going to be ok, I promise you...” She said lowering herself and Irving to the ground.

"...my fault.....my fault..." Irving kept repeating, completely unaware he was even doing so. His mind was broken, just like his body as everything felt like he was drowning under water. His head rested comfortably in Fay's lap, as he closed his eyes, admiring the softness of her legs. He rolled over so he was on his back, now looking straight up at her. He smiled faintly, happy to be in her embrace one last time. Even with his vision so cloudy, he could still pinpoint her general form.

"...love you..." he said very quietly. "....sorry...."

And closing his eyes, Irving Stone, master thief, passed away in the embrace of his beloved Fay.

"No, no, no, no..." She whispered over and over again, "Irving, this isn't funny! Wake up!" Tears were streaming freely from her emerald eyes, she shook him, "Wake up!" She cried. She put her head down to check for breathing, a pulse anything... Nothing... She thought. She looked over at the pillar of vines it was smoking, Good... Once that bastard gets out I'll rip him to pieces for what he did to Irving... She thought standing up, she hooked her arms under Irving's and drug him to where her children were.

"Mommy!" Jillian called. Her mom put her hand out to tell Jillian to refrain from talking.

"Jillian, I need you to be a big girl... A very big girl..." Her voice was shaky, and a few tears fell from her cheeks to her ground, "I... I need to go deal with the person who did this to... To him..." She said referring to Irving, "I want you to count to sixty, slowly, thirty times, if you get to thirty time and I'm not out of there," She said pointing to where she found Irving, "Leave Irving's body, run to Lucy's and tell her that I'm gone for good, and that I want her to take care of you and Alexander... Tell her I have a box of gold coins, and several pieces of jewelry that have been in our family for generations, tell her that she can sell all but one, I want you to pick what ever one you like," She smiled, pretty much ready to die.

She walked over to Alexander and kissed his cheeks she hugged him tightly, "I love you Alexander... You're just like your father, you'll grow up to be a great man, just stay on the right path, and everything will be fine," She told him.

She turned to Jillian and did the same thing, "I love you Jillian, just make sure, if I don't make it out of this, you don't follow the same path I did," She told her.

"But..."

"No buts..." She looked over to Irving, bent down and kissed him softly on the lips for what she thought would be the last time, "Good bye, I love you, all of you," She told them before walking through the doorway. She closed her eyes and the rotted wood blocked the view of the torture chamber. She waved her hands in the air and the vines rotted, letting Necro fall to the ground.

She just stood there with her hands on her hips, debating in her head how she wanted to kill him, she had no idea what she was up against though, which scared her the most about the situation she was in.

She was still crying and could somewhat feel her sanity slipping. Never in her life did she want to rip someone apart and watch their pain. Never did she want to prolong someone's suffering. Never did she actually want to kill.



Jillian was next to Irving's dead body, she could feel an odd tingling in her fingers she looked at Irving and held her hands over his body right over his heart. She closed her eyes and with out her knowing words in her mother's native tongue came from her mouth. Her hands started glowing white along with Irving's body.

Alex watched confused as his sister healed the person before him. He didn't really understand the concept of death, but from their old cat Daisy, he understood that death was permanent.

He stood up casually, dusting himself off as he cleared his throat. Opening a hidden compartment in his boot, he held a razor sharp dagger in his hand.

"Impressive. I was unaware that such a filthy whore as yourself would have the ability to do such a thing." he said, licking the blade a bit. "Of course, you are angry with me and I would agree, you have every right to be."

He took a step closer, his eyes mad and wild with a feverish, psychotic rage.

"I have faced bigger, badder and stronger than you, my dear. I applaud you for wishing to revenge your fallen lover, but I assure you, your attempt is futile, at best. I shall torture you slowly, just like I did him. And then your children too. Though, on second thought, I shall keep you alive so you can watch them die first."

Fay bit down hard, her teeth were showing a little, when she saw him take a step closer she did to, showing that she wasn't afraid. Tunnel vision was taking over her sight, she could see Necro and that was it, she drew her bow and an arrow, aiming at his eyes... a small target, and the path through the brain would not be immediately fatal, which would allow her time to treat him like the animal he was.

"You will never lay a hand on my children," The ground and walls around them began cracking and roots and vines slowly started coming out. In her blind rage she was losing control of her powers but didn't care, "And it's Fay by the way, I just thought you should know the name of the person who's going to make you feel pain for every single person you've ever harmed," She told him.

-

The white light faded from Jillian and Irving, she was panting and just let herself fall forward onto her father's body that was still holding warmth usually associated with life, she couldn't tell if he was breathing and thought she heard a heartbeat but that was her own blood rushing through the veins in her head, it was so loud the should was blocking out many sounds.

"Fay maybe your name, but whore is your profession. Even if you do manage to kill me, do you somehow expect to undo the damage you've done to your body? Do your trust?" he smirked and put his blade down, completely unarming himself.

"It's quite simple really. My death will accomplish nothing. You will still be a whore, your beloved will still be dead and you would still have massive amounts of genetic material deposited inside of you. You're broken, damaged, ruined. No man could ever love you by this point, as he was your last chance. Do you think any town will take you in? Hardly."

He smiled again, laughing loudly to himself.

"Do your worst. My life will end quickly, but your personal hell has just begun."

Fay laughed a little, "I'm not damaged, and I don't really care if any man will ever love me again, because I well never love a man as much as I love Irving," She told him before placing her pale hands over her racing heart, "I have our children too... and all the memories we made together," She grinned, "Your psychological torture and trying to weaken me with words, that's not going to work," She said with her hands on her hips. She had lowered her bow earlier but the arrow and arc were still in her thin fingers. The dirt floor continued to buckel a little in some spots and the walls started to crumble.

She decided to take her anger out on the psychotic man before her and placed her arrow back in her quiver. She charged at him taking a swing at the side of his face with her arm.

Necro made no attempt to even block or dodge the move, instead he stood in place as Fay's fist connected squarely on the side of his face. Being rather frail himself, he crumbled to the ground like a house of cards, smiling wickedly as blood freely trickled down his face.

"Heh heh heh...go ahead, destroy me. My death will accomplish nothing. It won't bring any one I've played with back nor will it bring him back. In the end, you'll still be a whore, your children will still be bastards and you'll still die miserable and alone."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Irving?"

"Yes....?

"Come closer Irving."

"....Mom?"

"Dear, it is not time yet."

"Mother...what's going on? Where am I? Where's Fay? Where are the kids?"

"It is not time yet. You must go."

"But...but wait! I have so much I need to tell you. Where's Father? What's going on?"

"Shhh, now is not the time, my child. Go. She needs you. They need you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jillian rested her head on Irving's chest, the little girl not caring if the blood smeared on her face. Her tiny heart was broken into thousands of pieces, as she closed her eyes while hot, bitter tears poured freely down her face. She clasped his hands in hers, holding them tightly as she felt his body go cold from the touch of death. Though, if the young one had opened her eyes, she would see that her delicate hands were now glowing a pale shade of light blue.

Fay didn't show any response to what Necro was saying. She saw that he had basically given up and put her booted foot on his chest, pressing in a little. She just smiled hearing his ribs cracking, she backed away before the injury was fatal.

She held her arms out and vines coming from the corners of the walls shot out and wrapped around Necro's arms and legs, they slowly started pulling back to the corners pulling Necro in four directions with the goal of ripping him apart.

She smiled evilly, some how enjoying every second of this. At the time she didn't feel horrible about enjoying someone's pain while slowly killing him or her. She made sure the retraction of the vines was slow. She waved her hand in the air and they raised, keeping him as far from the floor as possible.

Wounds slowly closed themselves shut, broken leg bones gradually fused themselves back into place, hiding any trace of any kind of damage or breakage. The internal bleeding was all but gone, as somehow, someway, Jillian was restoring life into her father's dead body.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Unghahahahahahahahaa." Necro laughed. "Yessss.....hurt me. FREE MY BODY! This prison of flesh, this rotting carcass of nerves and bone has been my tomb for far too long. Free me! Grant me the death I so rightfully crave! RESTORE MY SOUL TO HELL!"

Fay put Necro down, she smiled and released him, "I'm going to do something much worse the kill you," She told him, "I'm going to let you live..." She told him. She waved her hand again and the vines rotted and disappeared, "I may die a whore... But at least I won't die alone," She told him, turning her back to him. She snapped her fingers and the rotted wood previously blocking the view of the other one fell to the ground. She smiled and turned back to Necro a little, "Have a nice life."

For the first time in his entire life, Necro Butcher was scared. His face was a mask of revulsion and horror at this revelation, completely shocked that his desire of a painful death was to be denied.

"No...no!" he screamed. "How...how dare you! I demand you get back here and FINISH ME OFF!" he stood up and grabbed the same dagger he had nailed before and with fire in his ages, leaped at Fay, intent on slamming the sharp blade right down her throat.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

His leg was back to 100% and though his wounds had all healed, his body was still very low on blood. His heart beat was steady and constant, pumping the life giving fluid throughout his body. Light slowly came back to him, as the sounds and sights seemed to be smeared and murky, like a bad water coloring painting.

"...is...this...Heaven?" he whispered to himself.

"Daddy..." Jillian whispered seeing her father's jaw move a little, she saw his chest move up and down with each of his breaths.

Fay turned around when she heard Necro scream, she saw him charging at her with a dagger. Her brain told her to stop him but her body couldn't do anything, it wouldn't do anything.

Alexander saw someone attacking his mother with a blade. He felt his whole body tingle and without warning a wall of dirt rock and even some plants formed in front of his mother stopping the attack, though it was a little late and the knife's tip scratched right on the very top of her chest. She gasped a little.

"I'm not going to kill you, so don't even try it..." She told him. She didn't know where that attack had come from and turned her head around to see Alexander with his hands out, this made her smile.

Alexander had noticed that his father was breathing, “Jillian... Jillian saved daddy, so... so I had to save mommy...” He told her.

Fay smiled, the smile turned into a frown, “Honey...” She heard Irving groan a little and saw that his wounds had healed, “...How... how did that happen,” She asked not noticing that a trail of blood was slowly running through the cleft between her breasts.

The lack of blood had put Irving's body in a mild state of shock. He stood up slowly, uneasy on his feet like a new born deer. He arched his back like a cat, the joints and sinews cracking loudly in an almost musical manner.

"...my head..." he said quietly, trying to resist the urge to throw up. "I need...something to drink..."

"Alexander, could you please take down the wall you made?" She asked.

"...But..." He started but Fay cut him off.

"Just please do this for me," Alexander just sighed when he heard this and held his hand out the wall fell to the ground freeing Necro.

Fay walked back to Irving and put her hand around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder and her hand on his chest, "Well, you talked about me living in a personal hell? If this is hell, I'm glad I was such a bad girl," She told him, grinning. Alexander was holding onto his Father's leg which made her smile and Jillian was holding onto Fay's free hand. She heard Alexander refer to Irving as "daddy," but didn't know if he heard him. Other then the setting, and having a psychopath pretty much ready to kill them when ever he wanted she didn't want to be anywhere else, or with anyone else.

Slumping against her for support, Irving smiled weakly as his strength had yet to return 100%. He still wasn't quite sure what was going on, or how Necro Butcher wound up out cold on the floor, or how he had managed to speak with his late mother, but at this exact moment, he didn't care. All he wanted was to go home and fall asleep next to Fay.

"I...love you." he said weakly. "I h-hope you know what's going on...cause I don't."

Fay nodded, "Yeah, I do... I'll explain everything when we get back home." She told him.

Alexander looked up his father's long legs, "Mommy came and rescued us, then she found you and you died and she got angry and went to fight the man that killed you, then Jillian saved daddy and I saved mommy," He said in one breath.

Fay blushed a little and put her hand on Jillian's shoulder, "How she did that I don't know, since her father, from what I gathered is human, and that power's never been in my family..." She thought outloud.

It had been who knows how many hours later, back at Fay's place. Irving was helping her pack her items, as a cart that had rented was resting outside the run down house, the horse neighing every now and then, letting it's boredom known to anyone who would listen.

He needed a day or two to rest, but the thief was back in full force. He had just finished locking one of the many cases shut, when he turned towards Fay, a smile on his face.

"So...I guess this means we're back for good, eh?"

Fay just shrugged her back was turned to him and her upper half was in her wardrobe and she was kneeling on the ground, and emptying the secret compartment she used to hide things from her children, "I don't know... I still don't know if I can trust you..." She told him, pulling a box of her jewlery out, she opened it and ran her slender fingers over the jewlery she wore for her's and Irving's wedding, she smiled and closed the lid to the box, "Right now I just want someone to help me raise the kids and who knows what tomorrow..." She said before standing up and turning around, she was smiling.

Jillian and Alexander were out with the horse. Alexander held out his hands and plants grew infront of the horse who just bent its head down and ate the plants. Jillian just smiled and pet the horse's nose.

"Jillian, do you remember where we used to live," Alexander asked.

Jillian shook her head, "Nah... I was too young..." She told him

That smile of hers could always cheer Irving up no matter how down and out he would ever get. It was warm, beautiful, sunny and charming and it suited her perfectly. All he could do was just smile back at her.

"I died for you, Fay. He wanted me to give you up, to say I didn't want you anymore, but I refused. I died for you, because I love you." he said. Still smiling, he got down on one knee and grabbed her slender hand. "Fay...would you marry me? Again?"

Fay froze up, this was the first time he had ever formally proposed to her, before they just assumed that they were getting married and did it rather informally. This was a shock for her, and the last thing she expected. Before she realized what she was saying she had blurted out yes, and caught herself. She cleared her throat, "Yes, I will marry you. If and only if you promise to never be disloyal to our children or myself. Both Jillian barely remembers you, and Alexander met you for the first time two days ago, they don't have any bad memories of you, and now they'll remember what happens to them... I don't want them remembering their mother killing their father because she "lost her temper"" She told him.


“Though... Before we say anything, I want Jillian and Alexander to get to know you before we tell them anything,” She finished.

Irving stood up and hugged her tightly, wrapping his lanky arms around her sexy body. Planting a huge kiss on her cheek, he rested his hands on her shoulder,. staring straight into her eyes.

"I promise, there is no way in hell that I'm going to down that same path again. And you're right about the kids. There's a nice family friendly Inn not too far from here. The bartender owns me a favor, so about how the four of us head out? It'd be our real first time as a family."