theresalwayshope | 015} now look up, well the skies are black {and they're getting darker all the time}

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015} now look up, well the skies are black {and they're getting darker all the time}

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[When the scream rings out, Allison drops like a lead weight.

It's a sound she knows well, the banshee's howl. It's painful, it's terrible, and it's terrifying because she's helpless. She would fear a dupe, if she hadn't smelled Lydia personally, if she hadn't known her for the short time they ran together...

As it is, she can't think of anything. The scream won't allow for it.

She regains awareness in the middle of the earthquake and the dark, confused and terrified and totally without direction.

Something breaks. The dark is endless.

Then...it's over.

Blinking against the sudden light, Allison flinches at the assault of new sights and sounds. She's in a room she doesn't know...a living room space, warm and neat yet lived in.

Her nostrils flare, sorting through the scents: human (Allison), rabbit, hay. There's gun oil, lead and gunpowder (bullets), the distant smells of cosmetics and breath mints and old traces of her father's aftershave. Turning in a slow circle, she spots pictures on one wall, photos of her...and on the coffee table, she takes note of a folding combat knife sitting next to some magazines.

Reaching out, she picks it up...flicks it open, then shut again.

All clues point to this space...belonging to her somehow, but there are weapons in it.

Tucking the knife into the back of her jeans, she fumbles in her pockets, looking for her comm. Finding it, her hands shake as she flicks it on, her face filling the feed a moment later. The fear is open on her features...and those that know Allison Argent well, as well as those who met her in the arena, may note enough differences in her demeanor to determine that something's very wrong.]

Everyone in the pack, please check in...I think there's something wrong.

[Allison kills the feed, then puts her comm back in her pocket, venturing cautiously out of her cabin. The doors in the corridor are familiar, but somehow wrong...

The number on the door matches. The infirmary is just down the hall. There is no question in her mind, this is her cabin. If not for the strange doors and the absence of her old room at home behind her door, she'd have sworn this was her Barge.

But, as she goes cautiously investigating the different levels of the ship (excluding warden areas at first, because she obviously doesn't have access), she slowly comes to realize that she's not where she belongs.

This ship is not the Barge she knows.]

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And I would have...if you had asked.

[She wants to think she can hear it in his snarling: a sense of loss, a shred of regret.]

You made me because you wanted a Beta, and you lost me. If you want more than a lapdog to slaughter...if you want a mate, an equal...

[She trails off, and in spite of herself her eyes begin to glow, the wolf in her rearing its head at the idea of a companion, of a partner.]

...it's not too late. I'm here, Scott.

I bit you because I wanted us to be together forever!

[He draws back the second it's out of his mouth, because no, that's not what he wanted to say, that's weakness coming out of his mouth and he can't stand it. His jaw clenches, and fangs protrude past his lips.]

It doesn't matter. I don't forgive you.

[She ignores the second part, concentrating on the outburst. She's heard him talk like this before, but never seen him recoil from it: it's not an enticement, it's an exclamation of pain, of loss.

She wants to cry for that glimpse of her Scott, but she struggles for her composure.]

Tell me about it, Scott. Tell me how it can be for us...I'm here. We're stuck in a whole different world, we can have anything we want...be anyone we want to.

Who would I be if I were your mate?

Didn't you hear me?

[The growl is on his tongue, reverberates across his teeth.]

I don't forgive you! I don't care where we are - and you're stupider than I thought if you think this is a place where we can have anything - you turned your back on me. I don't want you anymore.

[It's a lie. He covers it with anger, with red eyes and fury, because he doesn't want to ever think about how much he wants her again. And he knows he won't be able to help it.]

[Allison listens to him. She listens to him snarl and curse her name and rebuke everything he ever felt for her. She lets his venom touch her, lets herself really feel his hatred.

She listens...and she smiles, slow and gentle.

Because it's impossible to hate someone that deeply without loving them.]

You're an Alpha, Scott. And if that can be enough...if I can be enough...you can still have me. No questions, no judgment. Just walk away...and come to me.

I'm waiting for you, Scott...I forgive you, I still love you, and I'm waiting for you.

[He roars.

He doesn't know what else to do, he doesn't know how to listen to her because he wants to say yes, and he wants to kill her for this, for making him look weak, for making him feel weak.

It's not enough. He knows that. It's never going to be enough.]

When I'm the strongest alpha there ever was, when no one can even hope to stop me, you still won't be enough!

[The roar steals her breath...even now, he's still an Alpha and she's still a Beta, and in her marrow, she feels the roar drag at her animal half, feels the threat of submission.

She stands her ground. The light in her eyes doesn't dim...it blazes brilliant gold, and before his eyes, a visible ring of scarlet can be seen in the feed.

Instead of answering, she draws a breath, throws back her head, and howls.

Calling out to him...offering him the means to find her.]

[There is abject fury on his face when she howls, fury and something else, something that is almost longing. It's twisted in him, sickened, because he was not built for such love and such hate. His hand slams against the communicator, ending the feed.

But he is on his feet and moving, prowling through the Barge, following her sound. He'll find her. He'll strangle the noise out of her. He'll kiss her until he can't breathe. He has no idea what he'll do, but he has to find her.]

[Allison waits for Scott with infinite patience...she's ready to face him, if afraid, but she's not stupid. She won't let him into her cabin, her den, without knowing what he'll do...

So when she howls, it's from the stairwell between second and third levels. She leans back against the wall, arms folded, breathing to keep herself calm...and she waits.

She waits until she catches his scent, well before she sees him, and unfolds her arms. Her heart is racing...she's scared and she's hopeful at the same time.

The future has never been so uncertain...but at least now, she does see a future.

On a deep breath, she speaks clearly, but quietly, knowing she will be heard.]

I'm here, Scott. I'm yours...all you have to do is come to me.

[He lets her speak, just for a moment, just to get those first few words out. Then he snarls and jolts forward, grabbing her shoulders and slamming her into the wall. His teeth are bared, but a lot of the facial tics that have defined his appearance have started to fade. His strength is going, too.]

You were never this stupid before, Allison.

[He shifts, lets go of one shoulder to wrap his hand around her throat.]

You stupid....stupid girl! You were always mine!

[The breath was driven from her lungs...but Scott had attacked her before and it had nearly crippled her.

She was still standing, and not just because of the hand wrapped around her throat. Even that felt weak as she reached up on reflex to grab his wrist and pull...and felt give there, felt breath return to her. Even his face...

For a moment, Allison stared, gentle sorrow in her eyes as she realized what was happening.

With her free hand, she reached up to touch his cheek...then spoke quietly.]

Not yet...but I will be.

[Her hand slid into his hair then, drawing him down so she could kiss him the same way she'd kissed his counterpart in the arena.]

[He's so tense he's shaking, and that doesn't make it any easier to hold his hand against his throat, doesn't make it any easier to resist her pull even though his neck is so tense he can feel every muscle standing out. His teeth are still sharp when her mouth brushes his, and he doesn't move, doesn't pull away. His jaw unclenches. His mouth softens against hers. The fangs recede, just a little. Just a little.

It wouldn't be so bad to give in a little, would it? Would that really make him weak?

Abruptly, his hand tightens at her throat, straining against her hand, and he snarls against her mouth, biting at her lip. It's not playful.]

I hate you. I hate you.

I love you...I never stopped loving you.

[She felt him soften. She could feel him in there. Pulling back, she kissed each corner of his mouth, his cheek, the corner of his jaw.]

I love you, Scott...my Scott.

[She kisses him again, fights his grip...holds onto him as their lips meet, unwilling to release him.

Unwilling to give up on him.]

[He gave up a long time ago.

No - he didn't give up. He just reset his gaze, decided that the power he wanted was more important. Would always be more important.

He won't give up his power.]

I would have loved you forever.

[He growls it against her mouth, and finally pulls away, using the hand on her throat to shove her back against the wall as he does. He steps past her, up the steps.]

Now you're just getting in my way.

[Putting his hand on the rail, he leans down toward her.]

No one's going to stop me from getting what I want, Allison. Not even you.

[He scares her this way. There will never be a time he doesn't...but she can see with clear eyes now. Beneath the monster, she can see the True Alpha, and she doesn't think she'll ever be able to look at this version of him without seeing his counterpart.

She'd put her love for Scott behind her a long time ago, but it never did die...and now, looking into his angry features, his hand wrapped around her throat...she knows it never will.

And as she watches him, the ring of red in her eyes grows larger as she reaches up to touch his face, the other back on his wrist to force his hand away from her throat.]

I won't have to. You'll make the right choice. [She turns her head, and she kisses the palm of the hand he had wrapped around her neck, still startled by the ability to overpower him.] You'll come back to me...and I'll wait as long as it takes.

Because I love you.

[She's stronger than him.

She's stronger than him and her eyes are red and he's so fucking terrified that his eyes dart around, making certain of his exits. It's a cowardly reaction. It's a weak one. He fucking hates it.

Her jerks back from her kiss, wrenching his hand to make her let go of him, and takes a few quick steps backwards, up the stairs. He almost stumbles, catches himself against the railing.]

If you think I'll ever come crawling back, you're out of your fucking mind. I don't want to be with someone who wants a different version of me.

[He snarls it out, takes another step back, up, heading for the next landing.]

You don't love me. You love him. Don't get it confused. He was fucking awful at that, too.

I love you. He's in you, Scott...I've seen it.

[She straightens as he stumbles back, the gold a thin ring at the edges of her irises, now being swallowed by red as she stands tall before him, serene with conviction and the confidence of her renewed strength.]

Haven't you ever wondered what it could have been like if things were just a little bit different? If every day for us had been like my seventeenth birthday? If you didn't work so hard to try and win me over, show me what a strong wolf you are...if you'd just...wanted to be with me? Why couldn't that be enough?

[The color in her eyes terrifies him. If she rises - if she becomes - he'll be insignificant. He'll be nothing, he'll be surpassed and left to scream his rage or - or worse. Maybe not from her, but anyone she turns, physically or just to her side, she'll make them strong--

Scott recognizes that his thoughts are a tumble of nonsense, spikes of fear, but it's so hard to swallow it down. He can't entirely manage it, but he leans toward her, using the steps up he's taken as a height advantage. His teeth are bared, the snarl on his mouth - but his eyes are wide, and afraid.]

How clear do I have to be, Allison? You're not enough for me.

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015} now look up, well the skies are black {and they're getting darker all the time}

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