Mommy?

Charlotte is a MOTHER?!

"Don't get involved, sweetie." Charlotte changed topics. "Alex, dear, how have you been lately? You're awfully pale."

"Just tired." Alex mumbled.

"Oh, I knew I never should've sent you on that mission!" Charlotte fretted. Hearing that witch clucking over Alex like a mother hen made my blood boil, and I gritted my teeth, unbelievably furious at that back-stabbing, double-crossing traitor.

"You haven't touched your food!" Charlotte continued.

"Not hungry." Alex muttered. "May I be excused?"  I'm guessing Charlotte nodded, because the sound of a chair scraping the floor as it was pushed backwards filled my ears. Then a new sound started; footsteps, coming our way. I froze, knowing there was not enough time to hide. Alex walked in, and the direction he went was straight past us, and he totally missed our hidden posse. But then, of course, he turned around.

"Mother, may I watch some-" Alex had turned to ask his question, and his eyes widened with fright as he sighted us. Acting fast, Kate silently launched herself into the air, floating over to Alex, and kissed him right on the lips.

"Watch what?" Charlotte poked her head in to see only a shocked and now blushing Alex, as Kate had quickly retreated back to the wall.

"Um...." Alex stammered, trapped between his mother and Kate. Luckily, he chose the latter. "Uh....ca-can I watch some TV?"

"Oh, dear." Charlotte, to my horror, hurried over to Alex, feeling his forehead. "You're having those spells again. You need your medication."

"No, wait!" Alex tore himself from Charlotte's grasp. "I don't need it! Oliver needs it, not me!" The name 'Oliver' struck a chord in my head, but I couldn't quit place the memory.

"You shall call him 'Father', Alex, you understand?"

"He's not my father."

"Of course he is. Now, be a good boy and take the pill."

"No!" Alex shouted, and ran.

"Frank! Randy!" Charlotte called, and two guards came to her, holding a squirming Alex. "Give him the pill, then give one to Oliver." she ordered them then, talking to her son, "I'm terribly sorry, baby, but it's for your own good." She watched as Frank and Randy pinned Alex to the ground and forced a blue and green capsule down his throat. Once it was down, Charlotte and her guards moved back to the kitchen (not seeing us, fortunately), where a loud scuffle ensued, most likely due to the guards trying to get the Oliver guy to swallow a pill. As the fight raged, I decided now, while they were distracted, would be the best time to attack.

Bursting in, we saw Randy and Frank advancing on a strange man, who was trying to hop away, but a shackle around his ankle was preventing him from getting away.

We sprang into action. Kate and Dexter, attacking by air and with speed, took out the guards, while Peter used fiery methods to melt the chain attached to the man, who I guessed was Oliver. Sadie morphed into a bear and tackled Charlotte, her paws on Charlotte's chest, holding her down.

"I'm guessing you and I have mutual feelings for our friend Charlotte." Oliver commented drily, and helped himself to a gun from one of the now unconscious guards. Cocking it, he aimed the weapon, pointing it at Charlotte. Sadie moved out of the way, and Charlotte gazed up at Oliver fearfully.

"Oliver, please." Charlotte used a wheedling, begging tone. "You wouldn't kill your own wife, would you?"

"No, but you did." Oliver replied, and squeezed the trigger. "Hope you like wheelchairs, darling." Two shots were fired, and Charlotte screamed with pain as blood gushed from her two new wounds, one for each leg.

"You have no idea how much willpower it took not to just kill her." Oliver growled, and he ripped the hem of Charlotte's shirt. After stuffing the makeshift gag in her mouth, he stood, prepared to leave.

"Mother!" Alex had roused himself from the floor, and had started to rush to Charlotte's side, seeing her prone form on the floor. Before he could reach her, however, Oliver grabbed his shoulders, whipping Alex around to face him. Oliver bent down slightly, making eye contact with the boy, and I realized the two looked very alike. Same hair, eye color, stature, and face.

"Alex, listen to me." Oliver gripped Alex's shoulders, preventing him from reaching Charlotte. "It's the pill, Alex. Fight it."

"I know!" Alex seemed to openly loathe the man in front of him. "I know it might be the pill, but she's my MOTHER! And you shot her!"

"She needs to be contained."

"So you crippled her?"

"Alex! She's insane!"

"She's my Mother, you murderer!"

"I was careful with the gun. Worst case scenario: she uses a wheelchair. She can still do plenty of damage. Please, listen to me! We have to go!" Oliver begged Alex.

"Please, Alex." Kate pleaded, and her comment softened Alex tremendously.

"Well...." Alex hesitated, glancing at his mother, then relented. "Okay, fine."

"Finally." I groaned. "We need to go find Damien and Ella now, and you-" I pointed a loaded gun at Alex's head, will show us the way." Numerous exclamations of shock spread throughout the room.

"Adri!" Kate shrieked.

"Put it down." Peter commanded.

"No." Alex hung his head. "I deserve this."

"I'm glad we agree." I replied calmly. "Now, let's start with Ella. Where is she?" Alex swallowed.

"I'm terribly sorry. I-I didn't know Mother would kill so many." Alex stalled, and I narrowed my eyes.

"What are you saying?"

"I'm sorry." Alex whispered. "Ella...well, she-she's.......dead." Sadie stifled a gasp, Kate let out a half sob, half shriek, and Jeremy moved to put a comforting arm around me, but I held up a halting hand.

"Back off, creep." I hissed, and my second of sorrow quickly turned to anger. "Alex, where is Damien?" Alex's pause really freaked me out, and my face went pale.

"No." I said quietly, horrified.

"He's not dead." Alex quickly reassured me. "He's....changed, however."

"I don't have time for this." I snarled. "Take me now." Without another word, Alex scurried out the door and down the hallways, confident in his navigating abilities.

When we reached a dark blue door, Alex stopped, pulling a keycard out of his pocket. First, he scanned the keycard, then entered a code, and lastly, submitted his eyeball to a retinal scanner. After the lengthy tests, the door beeped, admitting us into a very tiny room with series of blinking and beeping buttons up and down the walls and another door only a few feet from the door we had just entered through.

"Oliver, it might be best if you just stay in this particular room for a while." Alex brought up, and Oliver opened his mouth, then closed it, thinking better of arguing. Seeing his consent, Alex turned and started to open the door, then faced us again.

"I have to warn you." he sounded a little guilty, maybe even nervous. "As soon as Damien arrived, he began causing all sorts of problems. However, it was very difficult to kill him, and so Mother did some brain meddling. He doesn't remember anything, and living in here has preserved that." Turning the knob on the second door, Alex pushed open the doorway, and what was unlike anything we could've anticipated.

Author's Note

Anybody remember Oliver?

Reviews

[CrimsonBlaze]

Oh my gosh the last time I heard of Oliver was this wierd British Vocaloid who sang Adele's song in what seemed like a narwhal trying out for American Idol. I also tend to have short term memory loss (sarcasm I forget things), and Oliver sounds awfully familiar yet I still can't recall.....OKAY THEN, OFF 2 N3XT CH4PT3R!