Future 2.0

"Great, she's an idiot." Muttered Santos from outside the room. Thade sighed, he was right.

Remmi listened, and waited for the signal, his favorite signal, the 'you can do what ever you want with her' signal.

Dawn saw the expression. She got that a lot. She narrowed her eyes.

"I'm not telling you A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G," she stated defiantly. She would have folded her arms stubbornly if she'd not been tied up.

"Of course you are." Said Thade. The air closed in around Dawn's neck, threatening to sufficate her.

Remmi would have laughed if had any mirth left in his body.

Tusumi could feel the fear for her life flash inside Dawn. But, almost surprisingly, a wave of defiance and refusal washed over it. He was mildly surprised and disappointed - he'd always thought Dawn at this age as meek and afraid and timid. Turns out, she could have backbone. But why was she so intent on . . . doing whatever she came here to do?

"No."

Suddenly, someting invisible slashed at Dawn's face. There were two shallow slices in her cheekbones. Not deep or painful, but most certaintly it smarted, and it was bleeding.

Tusumi just looked at her curiously. "You will tell us everything. Or . . . face the consequences."

"If... you tell us... we can bring Jason back for you and your older self." Said Thade.

Santos, from outside, was going to object and say it wasn't possible, when he realized that Thade was lying on purpose.

Dawn looked uncertainly at Thade. "You can't do that. Only real powerful witches and warlocks can do that without killing themselves, and its the darkest of magics. Besides they come back . . . wrong. Different. He wouldn't be Jason."

Tusumi rolled his eyes. "Someone's been doing their homework. But, then how could Phoebe bring back Joey?"

Dawn bit her lip. These guys knew her. "He's an animal. It's much less complicated and complex for non-sentient beings."

Tusumi narrowed his eyes slightly. This girl knew her necromancy from the book. "That was back in your time, Dawn. Things can change in twenty years, even magic. We, after all, are the four sons of Erika, one of the most powerful sorceresses of the twenty first century, and Dick, who had a demon sealed inside him. We were raised by our godmother's, L-Fang and Phoebe, who were wonderful witches in their time."

Dawn noticed the 'were' in confusion. "Their not dead, though."

"Ah, but now they waist their time. We were babysat as children by Venna, Emerald, and you. Missy taught us to fight. No One taught us to be smart. Seguei taught us how to grow calm and emotionless after years of killing. Kanuki taught us true evil. And the other Bad Guys all added things." Tusumi cocked his head. "We are basically all the powerful traits of every Bad Guy in four. If anybody could bring back Jason, it would be us."

Santos mouthed words to himself with his eyes closed. It looked as though he was casting a spell, but he wasn't.

Thade read his mind, and his lips moved at the same time as Santos's.

"Jason was born with his own power to revive himself, so it would be very easy for us to bring him back. The way I know this is that right now L-Fang and Nightmare are arguing over who killed him the first time." It wasn't now, but Santos saw it coming in about five minutes.

Remmi waited for the girl to do somthing stupid. He knew it was only a matter of time.

"I still refuse," Dawn said calmly, but firmly. She glanced edgily at Remmi, who looked hungry for blood(not in the eating blood way, but in the metaphorical way).

((Remmi's outside the room. ^^; ))

"Darling, we just want to make things better." Said Thade. "Haven't you always wanted to-- dare I say-- be a princess?"

"The times have changed now."

His words were true-- even L-Fang was kind of different.

Meanwhile...

"Haa-cha!" Laughed L-Fang as she jumped over Nightmare. "You know, I saw a girl who looked a lot like Dawn."

Nightmare grabbed L-Fang's arm as she jumped. "Jazzmin would have been proud." Said Nightmare, looking at L-Fang's smooth purple painted nails. "Did you now?"

Dawn looked up, looking sort of creeped out. "I don't like princesses. It requires wearing a dress. And don't call me 'darling'," she made a face. "You aren't my mother."

"But Dawn," Tusumi said. "Wouldn't you like a mother? Your true one?"

Dawn looked up. "She's dead."

Tusumi closed his eyes. "Have you not been listening? We can fix that. Think how nice that would be, sweetheart. Your own mother, all to yourself. You lived your life without a mother . . . well, not one worth calling a mother. Just women who didn't really like you, but took pity on the poor, unwanted, orphaned, neglected little girl in the foster homes, eh?"

Dawn was trembling with fury. "You - you - "

"Hush, Dawnie," Tusumi soothed. "I was only stating what they thought. But your mother! The one that loved you, and watched, horrified, as you were ripped from her arms by a social worker at five years old. Wouldn't you like to have her back? We could bring her back, you know."

Dawn's eyes brightened, and then her eyebrows furrowed. "I don't need a mother. I have - "

"'Who do you have?" Tusumi asked. "Phoebe? That's a laugh. She's got seven of her own kids to deal with. Jason - dead. Missy? Not quite the motherly type. Our own dear mother, Erika? Dead. Cole? He had a sister of his own to put up with - he doesn't want you. You have no one."

"Mothers are highly over-rated people," Dawn mumbled, but she sounded more like she was trying to convince herself.

"And Dawnie, if we brought her back, you two would be welcome to live here. You could be a princess . . . not all princesses have to wear dresses. People would respect you, for once in your life. You'd have a family - you're own mother, and us, of course. No one would ever call you unwanted again."

Dawn looked up. "Er, um, well, I don't need a family. I can do well on my own, you know." But she had a weird look in her eyes, like she was tempted greatly. Tusumi could feel her longing to say yes.

Tusumi looked like he was about smile. They had her.

"I can see it now-- at the dinnertable, you and your mother as a family. Laughing and sharing the day's events together in words, the servants bringing you cheesecake and such. And possibly even a visit from dear old Jason. Wouldn't you like that?" He smiled, but oddly, it was a warm (CROOKEDLOLZ) smile. It had no sense of evil on it, just kindness.

Like Santos always said-- he would make a great actor. TO BE OR NOT TO BE-- THAT IS THE time that Thade shut him up.

Tusumi used his power to make all Dawn's uncertainty and distrust go away.

Suddenly, strangely, Dawn found she had complete faith and trust in these strange brothers. They weren't evil; her older self and No One had it all wrong. They were just misunderstood.

Dawn nodded dreamily at Thade.

Thade did look kind. He was that sort of evil, with Tusumi's help it was like you could want to bask in his warm gaze forever.

Like Edward Cullen, without the sparkles. And he was evil.

((LOL))

Remmi frowned, he could smell it, kindess, happy, how aweful, when would he get to have her?

Tusumi could pull of that sort of concerned, best-friendish, I-only-want-to-do-what's-best-for-you-and-others sort of aura. He could look sweet. He could look cool. He could, for God's sake, look manly and heroic, and he could give a Kanuki a run for his money in the chest hair department(Tusumi's a fox, so of course he has fur all over his body, and I couldn't help it). XD

"Now, Dawnie," Tusumi said, lifting Dawn's chin with one finger in a very Edward-ish way, "we just need your help. Why are you here?"

In the Dungeons . . .

Older Dawn sat up, a throbbing in her temple.

"That looks like it smarts," a voice said. Older Dawn looked up to see a thirty-five-year old Venna. Demons age slower, but in caution against anyone immortal(or close to), the Pups/Leaders had made everyone age normally.

Venna was . . . different. She was wearing a shirt like this:



She had no makeup on, and a long black denim skirt on, and black leather cowgirl boots. Her hair wasn't died - it was honey blond, having darkened in the absence of hair die.

She looked like a punk that had been forced to grow up and go into the real world. But, strangely, the look worked for her. She had tattooes on her arms and shoulders and ankles.

"Venna! Teleport us out!" Older Dawn said urgently, referring to herself and No One who was unconcious on the floor next to her. "Remmi's gone! You can do it!"

Venna surveyed her. Her eyes had lost their twinkle, their mischief, their sense of fun. "No."

"Why not?"

"A), because they would find out. They always do. I've always kept my peace with them. I warn them if people start feeling fierce vengeance against them. I haven't ratted you guys out before becuase . . . we were friends before. B), because the cells are bewitched against magic. People can't leave by magic, or enter by magic. There are no windows. The doors locked. Your stuck."

"Then why are you here?" Older Dawn asked, annoyed.

Venna's eyes flashed with a bit of their old troublemaking joy. "To irritate you."

"It's working."

"I know."

No One pushed himself up, his bones sore because of the harsh handling that they did with him. He was expecting to be feeling grassy grounds of where he usually had to sleep, but instead he felt cold stoney floors of his prison.

He stood up to see Dawn, and Venna, who he had never really had any contact with.

-Back at the HQ-

Johnny stood up. "They shouldn't be taking this long. Somthing has happended!" He turned to Pop. "Take care of them." he pointed to the two childen who sat playing with legos.

Pop nodded and Johnny left the house.

Dawn narrowed her eyes at Venna. "Venna . . . "

Venna rolled her eyes. "Oh, stop whining. There's a simple trick that can get you out without magic." She pulled a hair pin out of her hair, and with ease, picked the lock.

"How'd you do that?" Dawn asked, not moving, amazed that such a simple trick worked.

"They're so conceited. They don't even think such easy tricks will work against the all powerful Leaders." Venna made a face.

As Venna pushed the door open,

a shadow on the wall moved. Massco stepped out. He could be very small when he wanted to he, but as he moved into the light, he grew.

"Going somewhere?" his voice was so deep and so gruff that it was to understand him.

Venna froze. She turned to Dawn, and flashed a smile. "Bye!" She waved at Massco, and then, in a pop, she was gone.

((I thought you said they couldn't use magic to get out?))

((She's not in the cell. She's in the hallway. But I could make it so she can't.))