[Sullivan keeps his eyes on the witch and waits for the explanation that hopefully comes with that recognition. He doesn't really have a lot of patience for dramatic pauses, despite his laconic nature.]
It - it's about you, it's a direct line to you and, and ( he doesn't want to say it, because it's going to hurt. and there's a lot of pain that goes down this road. and if this is their road, then what road is Elena on right now? ) and your wife and -- ( his heart beats faster, looking around them now.
[Sullivan's face immediately goes flat, anger flashing as his voice goes cool. Lucas was not part of this - fuck with him all you want, his son has suffered a lot. And everything about this means that Ezra should probably choose very carefully what he says next.]
("Michael," Evelyn cautions, her sea legs back. But, she echoes her husband as she moves closer to the both of them. "Answer him," she emphasizes, not much better than her husband, but at least not in a rage.
He opens his mouth, to try and - no, there's no way of putting this that will make this any easier. )
In this use, it's a body for a body, a body connected to you both. If she can't have hers, ( because it went up in flames ) she will bring one ( he's not trying to dramatically pause, but it's not easy to say either. ) back.
[Sullivan blinks, trying to process the logic of that but he can't quite bring himself to get there.]
As what? Zombie? Ghoul? Demon? What're we dealing with here?
[What monster with his son's face is going to crawl out of the ground, because it's supposed to be a punishment, isn't it? A curse of some kind? Retribution for destroying her get out of jail free card?]
As himself. That rune is hereditary, it's an Othala. Hernandez personalized this for the most hurt, but not because you have to put him down again. That I can promise.
( Evelyn tries to work through what he says as he says it, but still she looks to her husband, incredulous.
[Michael doesn't understand. Mostly because he's not sure he wants to believe that he's being given this gift, because it can't be a gift if it's a trap.
But before Ezra can answer that question, Michael catches a sound (17), coming from the direction of the sarcophagus, and his hand immediately goes for his gun, turning to point it in the direction of the sound.]
("I don't know, my best guess - to distract you. Whoever is after her body is after her, but, I would need to see him in person. Do diagnostics."
Grayson Gilbert comes to with a gasp, soaking wet.
he's in darkness, except for the outline of light above him. he remembers swerving, going over the side of Wickery Bridge and hitting the water with a crash.
he remembers Elena's rescuer. save her, he said.
he's in a - he brings his hand up slowly - stone - sarcophogus? he doesn't have a lot of room to move, so he presses upward. his (10) moves the sarcophagus top up slightly, but doesn't only up and down with a bang.
Ezra turns toward the sound, as does Evelyn.
"Lucas?" she says it quietly, under her breath, and takes off, running along the pathway up to the sarcophagus. there is still the outline of char from triggering the spell.
"Lucas, can you hear me? Baby?"
She's too preoccupied with the hope it's him. She inspects the top and then pushes. a (14) almost does it, but it only moves an inch. she positions herself again and yells back.
[He tries to stop her, because there's still so much about this scenario that just screams of being something wrong, but she slips his grasp and runs for the sarcophagus before he can stop her.
Gritting his teeth, he goes to follow her and he lifts the lid, bracing himself for all kinds of pain, all over again, only to see -
- not his son. Not anyone he recognizes, which just makes this even more confusing.]
[He answers the second question first, because it's the easier of the questions. Habit keeps him from giving his name right away, but he will (tentatively) offer his arm out to the other man to help him out of the sarcophagus.]
We're not here to hurt you. Let's get you out of there, and we can talk.
["New Mexico," Michael confirms, because he's not going to address his wife's mental state right now to a stranger he pulled out of a stone sarcophagus. "I take it not where you expected to be."
Meanwhile, somewhere behind Ezra, Miranda wakes up in the water. She sucks in a breath as she comes to startled awareness, only there's no air to breath, there's just water that burns through her nostrils and sends her flailing.
Fortunately, the stream isn't that deep and she's able to force herself up to break the surface. She can't think of anything else right now but trying to survive, trying to breathe, so when she breaks the surface with a gasp, hand grasping the nearest thing she can find to try and pull herself to shore.
The fact that that thing happens to be Ezra's ankle is something she will apologize for later, when she's able to talk.]
( a stranger dripping wet, too. it's probably jarring. )
No, it's not.
( he expected to be dead, or in the hospital. in virginia. but, he doesn't know this guy, that woman or -- their -- son?
leaning against the sarcophagus, he sees the arm grab ezra, who jumps, "Guys," he says, immediately crouching to pull this woman out of the stream. )
Miranda!
( He jumps down from the platform and rushes to his wife's side, lowering himself down, too. )
Roll her on her side.
( If she's taken in water, he rubs her back, grateful for the help from this third stranger, who is concerned, but mostly looking at him because he wasn't expecting... him.
"I'm sorry," he calls behind them, to the Sullivans. "I swear. The spell is connected to you.")
Miranda, can you breathe? ( and then ) Spell?
( Evelyn can't hold back, her stomach turns in an instant and she doubles over again, emptying the diner food they'd had earlier on the stone pathway. )
[It takes some time before she can speak, before the water is forced from her lugs and she can grasp for the air again. Her hand reaches for her husband's however, and all she can do is try and breathe.
The spell is connected to them. Sullivan turns that over in his head and draws a conclusion that maybe they should have sooner (17).
He places a hand on Grayson's shoulder, apologetic at turning him away from his clearly suffering wife, but it's important:]
( he holds her hand, sitting with her. when Ezra can see they're okay, he stands back up and steps back, moving to Evelyn
"I'm sorry, I," he starts out, but she straightens up and slaps him across the face.
"Keep my son's name out of your mouth," she says, stretching her finger out, pointing at his face. "Get the fuck out of here," she says with disdain, done with him. She shoulder checks him, sucks in a breath and moves to the other side of Miranda. She brings herself down to her level, wiping water away from her forehead.
"You're okay,")
Uh... ( he gulps, right. he should... tell them? there is a lot going on here. ) Grayson Gilbert. And this is my wife, Miranda.
[He glances up at the witch, making eye contact and saying this for Ezra's benefit:]
Grayson and Miranda Gilbert.
[By which he means that Ezra better find out if he's doing that math properly. If they have Elena's relatives, then someone needs to go find his son and make sure the Winchesters haven't made things complicated.
Not that he thinks the boys a trigger happy, he thinks his son is just prone to doing something stupid.
But with that message sent, he crouches down next to Grayson and pulling out a flask, because he too is not going to deliver these people to Elena without proving that they are who they say they are.]
I'm sure you're very confused, but before we dig into this further, could you both do me a favor and take a sip of this?
"Of course," he says, but leaves it there before swiping one of the flashlights and booking it back down the tunnel.
Grayson watches Ezra run off, and then sees the realization dawn on Evelyn's face.
"Gilbert," she says. "Trust him. He's my husband and I -- will be - back," because she too, gets to her feet and launches.
Grayson is disoriented, a lot is happening quickly, and his (7) doesn't glean a lot besides this man's sincerity. So, with a confused look, he takes a sip from the flask, holds it out and shrugs. What now? )
[Michael helps Miranda shift into a sitting position, leaning against her husband before having her do the same. When neither of them smoke or wince or any other sign of the supernatural, he relaxes his shoulders a bit, allowing the beginning of this to start sinking in.]
My name is Michael Sullivan. I'm sure this all must be very disorienting, and I'm afraid we don't have a very adequate explanation as to why this is happening, but we're going to help you figure it out.
[Meanwhile in the middle of the tunnels, somehow all of these running people are going to collide, and Elena slows and comes up short when Ezra and Evelyn suddenly appear in front of her.
"Are my - " She can't even bring herself to say it, but she needs to know all the same.]
He is. Sam's got him. They're probably coming this way.
[Elena can't not give her that. She can't imagine what she would feel if it was her child on the line. She's already losing her mind at the idea of her parents.
Parents plural. Both of them.
She looks at Ezra, desperate for some kind of understanding.]
What does this mean?
[Michael ... doesn't know how to explain this so instead he takes a gamble and settles with: "A friend of your daughter's."
Miranda perks up and confirms his theory: "Elena?" Her voice is raspy and raw, but she needs to be sure. She needs to know her daughter survived.]
"I know," she says dismissively, moving around the group, speeding off again.
Ezra tries to formulate a good enough answer, head half shaking. "I only know that they are back. This isn't temporary. That rune on your arm. It tethered them," he says. "I need more time to know how the spell was tailored, but, Elena -- Go. Go to them," he says. He nods again. "They're alive."
Grayson furrows his brow. )
You and your wife and that - guy - are friends with our daughter? ( that's right, his wife doesn't know. he had her saved. ) She's alive, someone jumped in, I insisted he save... her. So, tell me why we're in New Mexico and why you three are friends of my teenage daughter.
[Elena nods and moves around him, pushing down the way her stomach roils at what she's about to face. Instead she just keeps moving down the tunnel, knowing Dean is behind her and they'll have to figure out the rest later.
Sullivan, on the other hand, winces at the word teenager, as that gives an indication of how long it's been for Elena. Clearly not as long for the Gilberts.]
Well, that's where it gets complicated. Because the Elena Gilbert I know is a doctor in her thirties. I'm going to have to guess that you both have been gone a long time.
[He says it as gently as he can, but while Elena is coming and will likely be the best person to fill in the blanks, this is all going to be a bit of a shock.]
( Ezra heads back in the direction of the tunnel entrances. Everyone can have their reunions. They need their space. They'll get to the witchy part of this later.
Grayson looks at his wife, finding her hand again, expression turning serious before distrust dawns on him and he looks back up. )
[Sullivan does feel bad that he can't better explain this to them, truly, because he barely understands this himself. But as he opens his mouth to make an attempt, to try and break this to them even more gently, footsteps sound in the corridor and he glances up, unable to help the relief when he sees who it is.]
Dad?
[It's hard to believe it's really them. It's always like they just stepped out of a twenty year-old photograph. Part of her feels like they should have changed in all the ways that she has, but death doesn't work that way.
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everyonelives2024-11-30 05:12 pm
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[Sullivan keeps his eyes on the witch and waits for the explanation that hopefully comes with that recognition. He doesn't really have a lot of patience for dramatic pauses, despite his laconic nature.]
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where is he? he's coming.
someone's coming. ) Your son.
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What about my son?
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He opens his mouth, to try and - no, there's no way of putting this that will make this any easier. )
In this use, it's a body for a body, a body connected to you both. If she can't have hers, ( because it went up in flames ) she will bring one ( he's not trying to dramatically pause, but it's not easy to say either. ) back.
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As what? Zombie? Ghoul? Demon? What're we dealing with here?
[What monster with his son's face is going to crawl out of the ground, because it's supposed to be a punishment, isn't it? A curse of some kind? Retribution for destroying her get out of jail free card?]
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( Evelyn tries to work through what he says as he says it, but still she looks to her husband, incredulous.
"Are you, is he telling us --" )
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[Michael doesn't understand. Mostly because he's not sure he wants to believe that he's being given this gift, because it can't be a gift if it's a trap.
But before Ezra can answer that question, Michael catches a sound (17), coming from the direction of the sarcophagus, and his hand immediately goes for his gun, turning to point it in the direction of the sound.]
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Grayson Gilbert comes to with a gasp, soaking wet.
he's in darkness, except for the outline of light above him. he remembers swerving, going over the side of Wickery Bridge and hitting the water with a crash.
he remembers Elena's rescuer. save her, he said.
he's in a - he brings his hand up slowly - stone - sarcophogus? he doesn't have a lot of room to move, so he presses upward. his (10) moves the sarcophagus top up slightly, but doesn't only up and down with a bang.
Ezra turns toward the sound, as does Evelyn.
"Lucas?" she says it quietly, under her breath, and takes off, running along the pathway up to the sarcophagus. there is still the outline of char from triggering the spell.
"Lucas, can you hear me? Baby?"
She's too preoccupied with the hope it's him. She inspects the top and then pushes. a (14) almost does it, but it only moves an inch. she positions herself again and yells back.
"Help me!" )
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[He tries to stop her, because there's still so much about this scenario that just screams of being something wrong, but she slips his grasp and runs for the sarcophagus before he can stop her.
Gritting his teeth, he goes to follow her and he lifts the lid, bracing himself for all kinds of pain, all over again, only to see -
- not his son. Not anyone he recognizes, which just makes this even more confusing.]
- the fuck?
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With her husband's help, they push the sarcophagus top off and they come face to face with Grayson. )
Who are you?
( He kicks himself up to a sitting position at least, on the defensive, pushing to the back corner. )
Where am I?
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[He answers the second question first, because it's the easier of the questions. Habit keeps him from giving his name right away, but he will (tentatively) offer his arm out to the other man to help him out of the sarcophagus.]
We're not here to hurt you. Let's get you out of there, and we can talk.
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( she leaves her husband to help him, because all she can do is step back, stumble down one step and turn away.
"New Mexico?" he asks accepting the offered help, as he climbs out. "Is she okay?" And then again. "New Mexico?" )
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Meanwhile, somewhere behind Ezra, Miranda wakes up in the water. She sucks in a breath as she comes to startled awareness, only there's no air to breath, there's just water that burns through her nostrils and sends her flailing.
Fortunately, the stream isn't that deep and she's able to force herself up to break the surface. She can't think of anything else right now but trying to survive, trying to breathe, so when she breaks the surface with a gasp, hand grasping the nearest thing she can find to try and pull herself to shore.
The fact that that thing happens to be Ezra's ankle is something she will apologize for later, when she's able to talk.]
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No, it's not.
( he expected to be dead, or in the hospital. in virginia. but, he doesn't know this guy, that woman or -- their -- son?
leaning against the sarcophagus, he sees the arm grab ezra, who jumps, "Guys," he says, immediately crouching to pull this woman out of the stream. )
Miranda!
( He jumps down from the platform and rushes to his wife's side, lowering himself down, too. )
Roll her on her side.
( If she's taken in water, he rubs her back, grateful for the help from this third stranger, who is concerned, but mostly looking at him because he wasn't expecting... him.
"I'm sorry," he calls behind them, to the Sullivans. "I swear. The spell is connected to you." )
Miranda, can you breathe? ( and then ) Spell?
( Evelyn can't hold back, her stomach turns in an instant and she doubles over again, emptying the diner food they'd had earlier on the stone pathway. )
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The spell is connected to them. Sullivan turns that over in his head and draws a conclusion that maybe they should have sooner (17).
He places a hand on Grayson's shoulder, apologetic at turning him away from his clearly suffering wife, but it's important:]
Your name. What's your name?
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"I'm sorry, I," he starts out, but she straightens up and slaps him across the face.
"Keep my son's name out of your mouth," she says, stretching her finger out, pointing at his face. "Get the fuck out of here," she says with disdain, done with him. She shoulder checks him, sucks in a breath and moves to the other side of Miranda. She brings herself down to her level, wiping water away from her forehead.
"You're okay," )
Uh... ( he gulps, right. he should... tell them? there is a lot going on here. ) Grayson Gilbert. And this is my wife, Miranda.
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[He glances up at the witch, making eye contact and saying this for Ezra's benefit:]
Grayson and Miranda Gilbert.
[By which he means that Ezra better find out if he's doing that math properly. If they have Elena's relatives, then someone needs to go find his son and make sure the Winchesters haven't made things complicated.
Not that he thinks the boys a trigger happy, he thinks his son is just prone to doing something stupid.
But with that message sent, he crouches down next to Grayson and pulling out a flask, because he too is not going to deliver these people to Elena without proving that they are who they say they are.]
I'm sure you're very confused, but before we dig into this further, could you both do me a favor and take a sip of this?
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"Of course," he says, but leaves it there before swiping one of the flashlights and booking it back down the tunnel.
Grayson watches Ezra run off, and then sees the realization dawn on Evelyn's face.
"Gilbert," she says. "Trust him. He's my husband and I -- will be - back," because she too, gets to her feet and launches.
Grayson is disoriented, a lot is happening quickly, and his (7) doesn't glean a lot besides this man's sincerity. So, with a confused look, he takes a sip from the flask, holds it out and shrugs. What now? )
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My name is Michael Sullivan. I'm sure this all must be very disorienting, and I'm afraid we don't have a very adequate explanation as to why this is happening, but we're going to help you figure it out.
[Meanwhile in the middle of the tunnels, somehow all of these running people are going to collide, and Elena slows and comes up short when Ezra and Evelyn suddenly appear in front of her.
"Are my - " She can't even bring herself to say it, but she needs to know all the same.]
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( Ezra stops short. "It's your parents, is," he starts before Evelyn interrupts.
"Was Lucas in the other tunnel?" she asks quickly. )
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[Elena can't not give her that. She can't imagine what she would feel if it was her child on the line. She's already losing her mind at the idea of her parents.
Parents plural. Both of them.
She looks at Ezra, desperate for some kind of understanding.]
What does this mean?
[Michael ... doesn't know how to explain this so instead he takes a gamble and settles with: "A friend of your daughter's."
Miranda perks up and confirms his theory: "Elena?" Her voice is raspy and raw, but she needs to be sure. She needs to know her daughter survived.]
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"Evelyn, you--"
"I know," she says dismissively, moving around the group, speeding off again.
Ezra tries to formulate a good enough answer, head half shaking. "I only know that they are back. This isn't temporary. That rune on your arm. It tethered them," he says. "I need more time to know how the spell was tailored, but, Elena -- Go. Go to them," he says. He nods again. "They're alive."
Grayson furrows his brow. )
You and your wife and that - guy - are friends with our daughter? ( that's right, his wife doesn't know. he had her saved. ) She's alive, someone jumped in, I insisted he save... her. So, tell me why we're in New Mexico and why you three are friends of my teenage daughter.
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Sullivan, on the other hand, winces at the word teenager, as that gives an indication of how long it's been for Elena. Clearly not as long for the Gilberts.]
Well, that's where it gets complicated. Because the Elena Gilbert I know is a doctor in her thirties. I'm going to have to guess that you both have been gone a long time.
[He says it as gently as he can, but while Elena is coming and will likely be the best person to fill in the blanks, this is all going to be a bit of a shock.]
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Grayson looks at his wife, finding her hand again, expression turning serious before distrust dawns on him and he looks back up. )
Who are you, what is all this?
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Dad?
[It's hard to believe it's really them. It's always like they just stepped out of a twenty year-old photograph. Part of her feels like they should have changed in all the ways that she has, but death doesn't work that way.
She knows that better than anyone.]
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