A/N: This is part 2 of my old fic. Posting it here 'cuz wewe lovely peeps need some background for Chasing Shadows. Part one is link. Warning: Implied rape and sexual-ness. So this is T I guess (because it doesn't actually go into the details)? *shrug*
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When she woke, all she saw was blazing light. Was she dead? she wondered. Was this heaven? But her head still throbbed, although not as strongly as before, and she didn’t think that would happen if she was really in heaven. She groaned...her chest felt tight, as if someone was sitting on it...was someone sitting on her? It was possible...her breath was coming in short ragged gasps...the world was swimming again, whirling around in rapid circles...she wanted it to slow down...she was getting dizzy...nausea was building...she struggled to keep everything down...she wasn’t sure if it worked, because she was engulfed in darkness again. But this time, she sensed that she was still awake. And a sekunde later, the lights came on. Her eyes burned with the change in brightness, but gradually, the room came into focus. It was a bedroom...she was seeing spots...was that blood splattered across the walls? au just a trick of the light? Shit, someone’s coming...She moaned loudly.
“Eager, are we?”
No. She did not want to hear that voice. She tried to get away, but she found her arms and legs were cuffed to the kitanda in addition to her head. And why were her legs so spread out? It was quite uncomfortable, really. She wanted to ask him if he would let her put them together, au at least not spread so wide...she gulped as she realized why they were in that position. And he was busy with something, she could see the juu of his head...he was crouched on the floor, she presumed...she didn’t really want to know what he was doing, but already her mind was filled with horrid possibilities. She started to feel nauseous again, so she pushed the sick thoughts away...Think of butterflies she told herself desperately. Butterflies, and meadows...and prancing little bunnies... Did bunnies even prance? She wasn’t sure...Damn, it wasn’t working...she groaned again, hoping it wasn’t too loud. She didn’t want a response from him. Her head was swimming...he was getting up...was he...naked? She knew he was shirtless...a twisted, messed-up part of her mind was exploding at the sight of his very well-defined abs...but that thought just made her feel even sicker. No. She wouldn’t let it happen. She couldn’t. His cold, empty gray eyes seemed to soften slightly at her cowering, shivering form, chained to the bed. She didn’t like that look for him either, she decided. A tear slid down her face, and she gave a small whimper. She immediately regretted it; the teen had started to make a strange noise, almost like...was he purring? au crooning? She knew she was coming off as weak, but...oh, it hurt so bad! Everything hurt...she must have a concussion, a pretty bad one...she had to be strong, but it was getting to be so hard...She hummed to herself, and it seemed to work. Her mind was starting to straighten out. The world had stopped spinning, she thanked the lord for that. No, she decided. It wasn’t helping. She wanted to scream, but bit her lip...another tear rolled down her cheek...dammit, why did her eyes have to be so wet?...Tesla’s triumphant face loomed in front of hers.
    “Relax, my dear princess. It’s all going to be okay. I know how much wewe want me...”
    Aisling wanted to scream again, and this time, she very nearly did. “You sick bastard! You’re lyi---mghfh!” That last line was muffled as he suddenly pressed his lips to her mouth. That twisted part of her mind had to notice that he was actually quite a good kisser. That thought alone nearly made her retch, and she blamed the concussion...her brain must have been affected. After what felt like hours---the concussion clearly messed up her gauging power---Tesla finally broke his lips away from hers.
    Aisling growled angrily. “If wewe even think about doing that again, I’ll...”
    Tesla smirked. “You’ll what? Kiss me back? Because, quite frankly, that would be just dandy. Anyways, talk is cheap. Let’s get down to business, shall we?”
    This time, Aisling really did scream. No, she did zaidi than just scream, she shrieked bloody murder. Thrashing in her bonds, tears streaming down her face, her shrill cry pierced the room. He clamped a hand down on her mouth, and she bit down, tasting the uchungu, chungu flesh. The world was spinning yet again...a whirlwind of pain shot through her...he was attacking her with his free hand, smashing at her...she heard a sickening crunch and icy daggers of pain shot out from her ankle...she thrashed wildly...he was getting closer...she was pretty sure he had Lost his pants at some point...he might’ve been still wearing his boxers...looming over her... “Nooo!” she wailed. “You can’t do this! wewe can’t!”
    “What’s stopping me?” he purred, his voice surprisingly calm. Still getting closer...the pain intensifying...he’s doing it, she thought...it’s happening...pain everywhere...her bonds were getting warm...getting hot, scalding, burning...could they just make it a little less hot?
    “I could, but how else am I going to melt the kitanda so I can get wewe out of here?”
Shut up, Tesla, she thought angrily...stop kusoma my mind...or wait...melt the bed? Get her out of here? That wasn’t...She lifted her head, to find that the bonds had melted away. The weight of Tesla’s body was no longer pressed on her. Two blue eyes were staring at her. She knew those eyes.
    “Jackson?” she asked, unable to believe what she was seeing.
    “No time for talk!” he replied, and he was right, because Tesla was back on the bed, and was simultaneously fighting Jackson and trying to advance on Aisling. With a mwepesi, teleka strike of his sword, Jackson had sliced Tesla’s side open, causing him to fall off the kitanda and lay on the floor, writhing in pain before growing still.
    “Well, that takes care of him,” Jackson said, smiling, as he scooped the bleeding, bruised Aisling off the bed, and settled her in his arms. Aisling, who usually refused to be carried in such a fashion, was zaidi than willing to oblige. She whimpered softly, and Jackson responded kwa gently stroking her hair.
    “It’s okay...” he alisema softly, and Aisling gave a weak smile. It felt amazing to be in Jackson’s arms, even though there was an unpleasant ringing in her ears, and every part of her body ached. He looked at her ankle, which was bent at an awkward angle, and gently touched it. She shrieked in pain. “Calm down,” he said, still stroking her hair. “I think it might be broken. We need to get wewe some help.”
    He could see that she was barely conscious, and losing a lot of blood. There was a rather nasty gash across her forehead, not to mention the broken ankle and numerous other cuts and bruises on her body.
    “Call...team...com link...” she moaned, and fell silent. Jackson fumbled for his comm, and while he did so, it was all Aisling could do to stay conscious. She wanted this to be over. She hoped that they would get help...she was so tired...couldn’t she just close her eyes for just one second?...

    When she opened them again, she was on a kitanda again. But this time, it felt different, less dangerous. The throbbing in her head was gone now, although it felt tight, as if something was pressing it. As the room came into focus, she realized where she was: she was in the infirmary, back in the cave. Everything came back to her in a rush, and with the memories came a strange feeling: shame. She knew that Tesla hadn’t actually done it; Jackson had rescued her in time, but looking back, she hadn’t seemed strong at all. She didn’t want to be weak, but with the way she had acted, she was. The worst part was that Tesla was right. I am just a little princess, she thought miserably. A damsel in distress, just waiting around for my knight in shining armor to come save me. At that thought, her eyes began to water. Why? she thought. Why can’t I handle it strongly, without crying? A tear slid down her cheek, before she could stop it. Footsteps. She quickly pretended to be asleep, as Jackson came into the room. He wasn’t fooled though.
    “Aisling?” Ignore it, she thought. “Come on, it’s just me...” She felt the kitanda sag down slightly, as he sat down inayofuata to her. Fine, she decided, and opened her eyes.
    “Feeling better?” He asked, and she nodded slowly.
    “W-what--am I hurt?”
    He nodded. “You have a pretty bad concussion, plus a fractured ankle--it turned out not to be broken after all--plus some other minor injuries. But you’re still here, and that’s what’s important. You’re still alive.”
    Her mind was whirling with questions. “But did he end up...” She trailed off, unable to say it, but he understood anyway. “No. We got you, just in the nick of time.” He laughed. “Ironic, actually. His name really is Nick. Nicholas McLaugin, known to us as Tesla. Turns out he was a pretty new recruit of Kaos. His mission was to hunt us down. Pretty sure that what he did---almost did--to you, wasn’t part of the plan.”
    “B-but how did wewe get to me?”
    Jackson gave a small smile. “That’s a story for another day. wewe need your rest.”
    Aisling wasn’t ready to sleep, though. One zaidi swali was plaguing her mind.
    “D-did I seem...weak, at all? Because I felt pretty weak.....” she trailed off, once again unable to find the words. Jackson merely smiled.
    “No, not at all. Whatever he might’ve said...I may have been your knight in shining armor, but in no way were wewe a damsel in distress.”
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A/N: Dawhhhhhh! Cheesy ending, I know, but I wrote this a long time zamani and I'm better now (I hope). And anyway, this thing is important background to Chasing Shadows. Please please PLEASE tell me what wewe think!!!!!!