entrancelogs | 019 ƒ closed } { oh brother where art thou

[Kol has been a bit distracted, sister, dear. Surely, she'll understand once he has a chance to explain.

He's about to start a new set of torture therapy on his kept pet when his device buzzes in his pocket. He hums curiously and twirls the knife between his fingers, spinning it toward Jessica, telling her to 'Give it a whirl, darling' before he answers his sister.]

The lab on the first floor.
We've got a bit of catching up to do, sister.

[ ... She knows the lab on the first floor. She's been there before. It's Fitz's lab and there's something about the tone of that text that gets under her skin in a way she doesn't like, yet can't put a finger on yet.

But she comes all the same, making her way downstairs to meet with her brother and find out what's going on.]

[Kol is glad she opts to ditch to texts because this is a conversation much better held in person. He's waiting outside in the hall, if only to be able to prepare her for what's on the other side of the door. Freya is surely not unused to her brothers' particular sportsplay, but to walk into the middle of it unwittingly is a bit over-kill.

But first.

That's a hug coming her way. Because actually, it's really, really good to see her.]

First of all, I'm sorry. [He mutters as he pulls away.] I wouldn't have been out of pocket that long if I'd had a choice.

[She takes the hug, but that just makes her even more concerned. She rubs his back gently, but that's not going to distract her from the moment at hand.]

What happened?

Remember when Jess went missing, after Wynonna and Doc's wedding? A couple weeks into her disappearance, Fitz contacted me, practically challenged me. So, naturally I confronted him.

[With the not-so-good Doctor's obvious hatred of all the supernaturally inclined community, it can't be a surprise he would do so.]

It didn't work out so well, he managed to incapacitate me and added to his vampire experiment collection. [There's something grave and dark in his eyes and his voice as he recalls it, but he won't detail it to her in so many words.] But that event, the one with the weird pumpkin people and the skeletons? It set us free to turn the table, and we did. And we've kept him in our custody since.

[As far as Kol sees it, Fitz has suffered nothing more than what he deserved. Fair is fair, eye for an eye, etcetera.]

[Freya's face doesn't give away much. Something has been off with Fitz since his last trip home, and she's been trying not to dwell on it too much, but harming her family? Not something she's particularly fond of at anyone's hand. Whether she owes him a debt or not, she's not willing to let something like that stand.

Still, her eyes go cold in that scary Freya way, and she steps back from her brother, looking over the rest of the room.]

Are you alright? Is Jessica?

[Not a dumb question, in a world where you can die and be brought back easily.]

I'm fine. [What's a little torture, really?] And so's Jess. I mean, physically. She might be a bit wrecked otherwise, but she seems pretty together, despite it.

[A shrug.] M'sure she'd be happy to tell you herself, if you'd like to talk to her?

[She nods, waiting for him to lead the way.]

And to Fitz, if that's alright. Not to check on his well-being, but on trying to get to the bottom of this.

[Something is Off and she wants to know what.]

Yeah, absolutely. [He nods and leads the way to where they have Fitz occupied.]

Jessica, darling! We have company. My sister would like to chat.

[ They catch her in the middle of bringing the knife up to her mouth to lick it, but that's probably weird and gross, so she quickly drops it to her side.

The blood all over her, that's completely normal, though. ]

Oh, hey there! [ She puts on a grin, waving with the hand holding the knife before switching to her free one. ] How's it goin'?

[ Is this awkward? She's not sure if this is awkward. ]

[Given the amount of torture she's seen at the hands of her siblings - and some she's initiated herself >.> - Freya doesn't seem phased by the amount of blood or the circumstances, she just focuses on Jessica for the moment.]

Kol told me what happened. Are you alright?

[ Her grip on the knife tightens, and a dark look flashes across her face as she shoots a glare in Fitz's direction. Kol then gets a look, too, but it's more petulant than anything. She'd kind of hoped that she'd get to speak on the subject with Freya on her own terms.

Lips puckered up in vague annoyance, she drops the knife somewhere near Fitz, not caring if it lands near him or in him. ]

God, I'm fine! It's like...whatever. It's over.

[ There's a silence as she broods. These people and their need to know if she's okay. It's so dumb and stupid and sweet!

After a quiet huff, she crosses her arms, roughly jabbing an elbow into Fitz's side when he groans. ]

Kol's helpin' me get over it.

Mmm. About that.

[She gently reaches forward, taking the knife from her with one hand.]

I was wondering if I could borrow your toy for a little while. Fitz and I need to have a bit of a chat.

[ She'd remembered her Maker saying something along the lines of how when vampires stayed around one another long enough, they started getting more...vampire-y. That seems to be the case here, because on any other day, Jessica probably wouldn't do this. She really likes Freya. Admires her! But she's trying to touch a guaranteed meal, one that deserves to be where it is.

Her fangs shoot out and she hisses, snapping a hand around Freya's wrist before the knife can go any further. Anyone who might show Fitz even the smallest bit of kindness was a threat, no matter how much she liked them. ]

No.

[Kol has spent most of this conversation just on the side, listening, letting the ladies talk. But when Jess suddenly goes on the defensive when his sister says she wants to have her own chat with the awful Doctor, both brows shoot up.]

I wouldn't, if I were you. [But it's all the warning he might be able to give her, if she doesn't heed it.]

[Normally Freya would be a little more patient, but she couldn't risk Fitz running out of deaths before she determined what was going on. So when Jessica lunges for her and reaches for her wrist, her hand twists, and a thrust of power bursts through the air, as well as the small capillaries in young vampire's brain - a warning shot, really.]

I really don't want to be difficult about this, Jessica, but I think it's my turn.

[ And it is then that Jessica learns not to fuck with witches.

There's an ear-piercing scream as she lets go and falls to one knee, hardly knowing what pain she wants to focus on. It's all so bad. Sweet, darling Freya was hiding this from her the whole time?!

Once it's all over and her healing ability has done its job, she pushes herself up, glaring so, so hard. The message has gone through, however, and she shuffles over to Kol's side in defeat, avoiding everyone's gaze.

Assholes. ]

[Kol winces, both from the scream and from very personal knowledge of exactly what she's feeling just now-- and Freya's sure to have not gone full-force on her, even, just enough to make her point.]

I did try to warn you. [He gives her a bit of a shrug, not looking nearly as apologetic as he maybe should.]

Let me know if you need anything, sister. [He nods between her and their captive.]

Don't worry. I promise he won't enjoy it.

[That's more for Jessica than Kol, because being a Mikaelson and having been tortured, Kol likely knows that his sister isn't inclined to be pleasant. Freya then offers him a small smile and a nod, before turning back to their captive and playing with the edge of the blade.]

I think we're overdue for a little chat, don't you?

[Fitz, for his part, doesn't acknowledge that Freya has even arrived. He hasn't moved much in the last few hours, really, aside from the occasional moan or wheeze when they cut too deep. He stares out toward the middle distance, impassive.

He hears her. He just doesn't see a reason to answer right now.]

[Of course he doesn't. She takes a deep breath, before taking another step closer.]

We could do this the easy way, the medium way or the hard way. The easy way is you simply answer my questions. The medium way, is I go get my brother and he compels the things I want to know out of you. You've been bled enough by now, if you had any vervain in your system, at this point it's likely gone. The hard way, is I do this magically, and trust me when I say that is going to be painful.

[She smirks.]

So let's start at the beginning. When you came back from your last trip home, you didn't actually remember being here before, did you?

[His jaw works for a moment as a cough runs through him. Displaced blood bursts from his mouth and joins the mess on his chin before he speaks in a dry, cracking tone.]

....you lot keep saying that like you expect "vervain" to be a naturally-occurring resource in my body.

[Is it a threat? Because he has no idea what it is or how it's relevant. All it is now is a way to avoid this latest interrogation.]

Edited 2018-12-09 17:41 (UTC)

Which answers that question all the same, so thank you.

[She knows previous Fitz knew about vervain. She's also not going to answer why it's relevant, so she's just going to continue.]

Why did you pretend to be?

[It's another misstep, but he's tired of counting them all by now. There's been an unlimited number of accidents that brought him to this point.

The "why" is a question that doesn't seem to immediately concern her, though. He goes silent again. He doesn't owe answers to any of them.]

[Back to silence again. That's fine. She'd provoke an answer out of him one way or another, but it seems that she needed to change her tactics. She reaches for one of the nearby stools, before dragging it closer, sitting herself down in front of him.]

I am curious how you tortured my brother, without knowledge of the herb, however. Or was he simply an experiment, to see if you could test his limits? You wanted to test the extent of his healing, the breadth of his strength, the properties of his blood?

[She pauses, before resettling.]

You know, back in our world, there have been doctors like you for centuries. They stumble into the supernatural world, and think that they can manipulate it for their own gain. They treat people like my siblings like animals in their little experiments, and then they're so surprised when they bite back.

[This line of questioning is easier. He can discuss this without giving away anything of particular importance. This, at least, is the work he relishes.]

They're both animals. Wild, rabid. I told everyone they needed to be handled. My warnings were ignored.

[So he took matters into his own hands. He fails to see how he isn't the hero of this story.]

[A smile crosses her face, but it's definitely not a happy one.]

I know my brother has his ... vices, let's say ... but you kidnapped someone he cared about and was torturing her. Did you expect him not to react?

[She tips her head to the side curiously.]

Wouldn't you do the same, if it was someone you loved? Not Jemma, perhaps, those feelings seem to have faded, but ... certainly there's someone you care about more than yourself? Someone you would kill for, if you believed it would save them?

[Ophelia warned him about exactly this. The slavery, the imprisonment, the betrayals of this world. He finally looks at Freya, again with only half of an answer.]

She attacked me first.

Well, she's young. Impulsive. These things happen.

[She's also willing to bet that Jessica had a reason, the girl doesn't strike her as someone who is that impulsive, even if there is a certain amount of risk that comes with fledgling control.]

It's quite a leap from "attack" to "torture."

Self-defense research. [There's no one here to rely on. They're all already sublimated under the will of the supernatural.]

Mmmm. Some of which you should have already known, if you were the Fitz we knew.

[Which he doesn't seem to be anymore. But, from her experience with Rip Hunter, she knows it's not quite that simple.]

Which is honestly part of the reason why I'm so curious. Is this something that was done to you, or is this simply just the consequences of Wonderland being Wonderland?

[This again. Naturally, she would be the one who cared more for that sniveling nothing. He only regrets not having the energy to be more openly disgusted.]

The weak thing you knew left months ago. He's gone and won't be coming back.

Oh. Well that's a shame. I'm much less fond of you.

[But "left." That implies alternate world. That implies two separate Fitzs. But still, she wants to be certain, and she doesn't believe he'll answer it directly.]

How many times have you died in Wonderland?

[That's a big question, given how the last stretch of time has been a blur of pain and semiconsciousness. His eyes flit back over her shoulder.]

You'd have to ask your monster friends about that. If I've died at all, it's under their care.

Mmmm. But you haven't died prior to this?

[She pauses for a moment, before glancing back over her shoulder and speaking towards her brother.]

Kol? How many times have you killed him?

[She doesn't phrase it as an if, mostly because she wouldn't be judging him if he has, but she can't help but be curious. She also doesn't raise her voice really, just keeps it with that eerily calm way she has. She's not stressed. Fitz probably should be though.]

[ It hasn't been easy to stay silent. But even with the fear of Freya zapping her with witch voodoo looming over her head, Dr. Fuckhead has been saying so much bullshit that her fiery nature can no longer be tamed.

She's not shielding herself behind Kol, though. It's a trick of the light! ]

You'd better be glad Kol won't let me do it again, shitstain!

[ It made torture less fun or whatever, he'd said. Something like that. She kind of drowned out all of the more stupid intricacies that came with making a human suffer. Dying was just a reset button, for fuck's sake. It meant more free blood, too, so... ]

[Freya turned and glanced to her for a moment, trying to make sense of the threat.]

So that's a yes, then? How long was he dead for?

[ She makes a face and shrugs. Does it matter, really? ]

A few days? I dunno.

[ His first words when he came back should've been to thank her for the goddamn rest. Didn't really work out that way, though. ]

[ ... Freya pauses and turns her attention on Jessica completely, the kind of intensity that makes her terrifying on more than one occasion. She's not blind to the fact that she's put Jessica through a lot, but now she's sitting on the edge of a question she needs answered.]

Jessica, I need you to be specific. How long was he dead?

[Every day counts in Wonderland.]

[ Jessica's terrified, all right. But she's more terrified of not answering and what consequences that might bring.

Just in case, she puts more of Kol's body between her and Freya. It might not help, but it makes her feel better as she racks her brain. ]

Um. Uh.

[ She holds her forehead, whimpering quietly. Claire keeps popping up in her mind and distracting her. ]

Three...? [ Her hand drops and she nods a few times. ] Three days.

[ God, these Mikaelsons were going to be the death of her. Er, second death. ]

[Kol hates this guy with a lot of passion. Not quite everything in him levels of hate, that's really reserved for a very specific set of people named his parents. But it's the next level down, perhaps. Every word out of his mouth rubs wrong across Kol and he has to bite his tongue on more than one occasion during his sister's interrogation.

However, this part of the conversation, he can give answers on.]

Three. It was definitely three days, the last time.

[The answer sits with her for a moment, and in that moment, she's tempted to just leave it be. To let her brother and Jessica have their fun and not think any more on the subject. She's not saying that Fitz deserves to be saved from this in any way. He likely deserves all of this and more.

But in her gut she knows that something was done to the man who used to be her friend. Who they talked about choices and consequences, who she knew felt remorse for the things he's done. She knew that once upon a time, this used to be a man with a conscience. Who cared.

And after what he's done for her, she feels it's only fair that she at least try to bring that man back somehow, if it were at all possible. The steely Mikaelson stare fades as she weighs the options in her mind, and when she looks up at her brother again, there's a resignation to her expression.]

I need you to let me take him.

[There's a shift in his sister's expression when she addresses him again, the sort of thing that leaves air sucked out of the room and not much room for argument.

Not that Kol ever minded if there was room for it or not, really.]

Why? [His head cocks slightly, curiosity taking over any annoyance that might have otherwise taken place.]

Because unfortunately I owe him.

[She takes a deep breath, before crossing her arms in front of her chest.]

Earlier in Fitz's stay in Wonderland, when he was, as he so aptly put it, a "weak thing" he performed a rather large boon for me. And I know that when he left Wonderland, before this lovely individual took his place, he had two deaths. Because the second of those deaths was with me.

[It's more complicated than that, but Freya can't let Fitz fester in this mindset. There has to be some way to release the conscience that was trapped underneath.]

That and likely the best way to punish someone is with their own conscience. Less satisfying, I'm sure, but far more effective.

Edited 2018-12-10 00:06 (UTC)

[He knew she had reasons, and considering she's told him about that particular favor, he isn't surprised it's a little tied into those reasons. And maybe if he hadn't had the time with Fitz, he would be less amenable to his sister's demands. But considering...]

If you insist. I've seen not a single ounce of anything like the man you've told me of before in this one. I'm not sure it'll work. But, if you'd like to try... [A sweep of one arm towards the Doctor.] by all means, sister.

[There's a grateful look there, because she appreciates him not making her force the issue.]

If I do fail, you're more than welcome to have him back to play with him some more.

[But until she's ready to give up, Fitz is going to remain in her care. She pushes up to her feet and makes her way back over to Fitz with a bit of a smirk.]

We're going to have some fun, you and I. Though ... likely more fun for me than it is for you.

[She's welcome to make that face all she'd like. He's already had time to resign himself to this. A shift in venues will change nothing. The only protest he can make is silence, to not give them the dread they so clearly want to see from him.

Father would want him to die before he begged for his life.]

019 ƒ closed } { oh brother where art thou

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