TITLE: Darkchildren and Werewolves
AUTHOR: MikeJaffa
SYNOPSIS: Illyana and Rahne run into a character from Rahne's fairy tale. Then things get weird.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: After my last few Illyana/Rahne fics, I wanted to write something…lighter. I don't know if it really fits the bill, but I hope it works.
DISCLAIMER: The New Mutants are owned by Marvel. I am making no money off writing this fic.

"'What do you want, you silly demon?'" Rahne Sinclair quoted to herself. She was sitting at the kitchen table in Professor Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, dressed in her PJs and a bathrobe. While Magneto and Dani, Sam, and Shan had gone to Newark Airport to greet Lady Moira, Rahne had been left at the school where she had been laid up with, of all things, kennel cough for the past week. It turned out that being a werewolf left her open to both human and canine diseases. Even with the medicine Lady Moira had sent from Scotland by FedEx, Rahne had been bedridden for days.

Rahne wasn't alone at the house. Warlock and Doug were running diagnostics in the danger room while Illyana busied herself with—of all things—house cleaning. All had periodically looked in on Rahne. She had finally felt well enough to get out of bed and try to eat something and make progress on the fairy tale she had started weeks ago.

So far, she had not made any progress.

She closed her eyes and put herself in the place of her heroine, the enchanted princess Alystraea, facing the armored demon, Princess Evelle (who apart from being grown up and having horns, a tail, and red skin, looked like an adult Illyana), on the border between Alystraea's enchanted forest and Evelle's blasted demonic kingdom. And as she had for weeks, Evelle just stood there.

"Come on," Rahne muttered, "I haven't got all day. What do you want?"

Rahne jumped at Illyana Rasputin's voice: "What I want is a slice of cake and a soda while I take a break." She walked past Rahne and headed for the refrigerator and opened it.

"Sorry," Rhane said, as Illyana cut herself a slice of cake. "I wasn't talking to you."

Illyana turned to face Rahne. Then she frowned, and her lower lip trembled. "Oh, Rahne," she said sadly. "There's another witch, isn't there?"

"Wot?"

"I thought I was the only spawn of Satan for you," Illyana went on melodramatically, "but I guess you're too used to my evil to quote scriptures about it anymore. WAAAAAAHH!" She made a show of mock sniffles and said, "Who is it? Is it Tarot from the Hellions? It is her, isn't it? Tell me, Rahne. I'm a big demon. I can take it."

"Oh, give it a rest! You should know you're the only witch in my life—" Rahne broke off, then wondered at herself, "Why did I put it that way?"

Illyana smiled and chuckled as she brought her cake and soda to the table and sat facing Rahne. "I'm just teasing you, Rahne. Seriously, what are you doing?" She ate some cake.

"I'm working on a story."

Illyana's chewing slowed and she swallowed. "The last time you did that-"

"I know, but nothing has happened this time."

"Ok. Can I read it?"

"If you don't laugh at me."

"I won't."

Rahne passed the book to Illyana.

Illyana read it. A smile twitched at her lips. "Rumblebun. That's cute…. Prince Duncan! Sounds like 'Berto…. sounds a LOT like 'Berto. Can't blame ya…" She read some more. "Princess Evelle! Oooh, the plot thickens…. And you modeled her after me! How sweet. I love the name…here we are, 'All right, you silly demon-' Silly? Moi? I guess Aly meant it in a good way."

"'Aly'? Hmmm…."

"Anyway '—you silly demon. What do you want?' Aaaaaaannnnnddddddd…." She flipped the page and flipped back. "…hasn't said anything yet. What a cliffhanger! Now I'm dying of curiosity." She closed the book and passed it back. "Love it. I'm hooked. Can I read it when it's done?"

"Sure, if I get it done." She coughed. "I've been stuck for a month. It's got into my dreams. And then there's this bloody infection, if you'll excuse my language…"

"Oh, that bug won't get you. You're on the mend."

"You can tell that just from looking at me? What am I saying? Of course, you can."

"Seeing souls can come in handy, Rahne."

"Oh." Rahne cleared her throat. "Anything else you can do?"

"If you're asking if I can make pet demons like Demon Bear did, theoretically, yes."

"'Theoretically'?"

Illyana looked away for a moment; she seemed a million miles away. Then she looked back at Rahne. "Let's just say the Demon Bear made it look easy. I wouldn't even try something like that unless it was absolutely necessary, and I had no other option. And leave it at that."

Rahne looked at Illyana, then said, "Ok."

Illyana grinned. "Great!" She'd finished her cake and drank her soda. She stood up. "Back to work. No rest for the wicked."

"Oh, is that why you never sleep?"

"Cute."

Rhane turned back to her book as Illyana left the kitchen. Then Rahne heard some thumps and grunts from outside. Rahne had just decided to turn around when the noises stopped.

Then Illyana called, "Rahne, can you come in here for a minute?"

Rahne left the kitchen. She found Illyana with her hair a little tussled. But at arm's length, she held what looked like a two-foot-tall 3-D cartoon rabbit by the ridiculously long ears.

Rahne's eyes widened. "Rumblebun!?"

Rumblebun ineffectually punched and kicked. "I have Evelle on the ropes, princess! I'll protect you!"

"No, no," Rhane said. "Evelle and I have, um, an accord. A truce. She's, uh, not a threat. Illy—Evelle, please put him down."

Illyana put the rabbit down. He glared up at her while hopping closer to Rahne.

Rahne knelt and stroked his ears. "There, there, Love. She didn't hurt you too badly, did she? Now, how did you get there?"

"I don't know. I was in my den, and then I was facing…her. What is this place, princess?"

"Um…"

Illyana called from the entrance to the den: "Excuse me…Aly? Can we have a little high-level conference?"

"Of course." Rahne turned back to Rumblebun. "Princess business. I'll be right back."

"Ok."

In the den, Illyana said, "Do I have to state the obvious?"

"That that's not really one of the characters in me fairy tale come to life?" Rahne said. "Yes, I know."

"You sure? I mean, are you sure you're being objective about this? Because it looks like you're buying into it."

"Do you have a better idea than playing al-" Rahne broke off. Both girls looked down.

Rumblebun stood between them, smiling, looking up with unbridled enthusiasm.

Illyana slapped a hand over her eyes. "I am never going to hear the end of this. Never, ever, ever, ever."

"Ok," Rahne said, "let's start with the obvious: this isn't one of your creatures."

"No, there's nothing like that in Limbo."

A high, squeaky voice said, "Squidge! Of course not—squidge! —because I got out—squidge!"

Illyana spun to the source of the voice, a creature about the size of a rabbit but with longer arms, buck teeth, and large, triangular ears sitting on the arm of the sofa. "Squidge!?" she yelped.

Squidge leapt into her arms. "Hi, 'Yana! Squidge!"

Rahne's eyes almost bugged out of her head as Illyana began rocking the little creature in her arms. It was as if years had vanished and she was acting like a little girl. If Rahne hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she never would have believed it.

Illyana said, "Oh, Squidgey, Squidgey, Squidgey! I've missed you so much." She gave it a kiss on the head. "But how did you get here? The last time I saw you…" She choked off. "I thought…"

"I don't know what happened either—squidge! —but I'm here now—squidge! –and I can stay with you forever."

"Of course!" Illyana happily brought Squidge up to her cheek. "I'll take good care of you. And you can meet my friends and join the team and we'll be happy forever."

Rahne took a step closer. "Um, Illyana, can I have a word-"

Illyana glared. "Don't you hurt my Squidge!"

"I wouldn't dream of it," Rahne said. "I'm just wondering…how you know him."

"He was my pet in Limbo when I was a little girl. I raised him from birth, and he loves me."

"Squidge!" Squidge interjected. "And I love you more than anyone. Squidge!"

"Yes, Squidge, you do."

Rahne said, "It's just that you never mentioned him before. What happened?"

Illyana turned away. "Time is strange in Limbo. He's here now. That's all that matters."

"Illyana," Rahne said. "What. Happened. To. Squidge?"

Red smoke billowed in the room. A voice boomed out of it: "Squidge died after my darkchild turned him into a monster!" A red hand came out of the smoke and grabbed Illyana's sleeve. The hand, a left hand, was attached to the body of a man with red skin, horns, and a tail.

"Belasco!" Illyana wailed, panic stricken.

Rahne ignored Illyana's uncharacteristic panic as she started seeing the pattern, from Rumblebun to Squide to Belasco…

Belasco grinned. "Did you think I didn't know you were here? I wanted Xavier and his whelps to do some of my work for me. But now it is time for you to come with me, and together, we can make the last two-"

Rahne interrupted, "You'll be in big trouble when Reverend Craig gets here!"

Belasco frowned. "Who?"

"The man who raised me," Rahne said. "He's got God on his side. His faith has shriven demons-"

A bearded man burst into the den. "Demon!" he shouted, holding a Bible in front of him. "I rebuke you in the name of Jesus."

Belasco hissed and let go of Illyana, who seemed disoriented.

Craig crossed to Rahne. "Child," he said, "I had a long talk with Lady Moira-"

"No, you didn't!" Rahne said. "You're not real." She turned to Illyana. "None of them are real. We think of them, and then they appear."

Illyana stared blankly. Then she opened her right hand and the soulsword appeared in it, armor coating her left arm and right leg. A flash of silver light and Rumblebun, Squidge, Belasco, and Reverend Craig disappeared.

Rahne turned back to Illyana. The wonder and joy on the young sorceress' face had faded to be replaced by what Rahne found a more familiar emotion:

Berserker rage.

Rahne almost found it reassuring. Almost. She said, "They vanished when you summoned your sword. So we were under a spell."

"Yes," Illyana growled. "And I know where the source is: the danger room."

"Doug and Warlock." She went to stand beside Illyana. "All right let's go!"

"You up to this?"

"You have to ask?"

A stepping disk flashed under them, and they were in Limbo. Another disk and they were in the danger room.

Doug and Warlock were propped up against the wall.

Rahne changed to half wolf and went over to them. "Doug's just out," she said, "but I can't tell about Warlock-"

Illyana squinted at Doug and Warlock. "They'll be all right."

"How do you-? Oh, right."

"Our enemies are up in the control room."

As they vaulted up the stairs, they heard a voice man's voice with an Irish accent say, "Pull yourself together, Paddy! So what if they're mutants? They're still just kids. Cast the spell again!"

"No, Sean," another Irish voice said. "You don't understand. One of them is-"

Illyana and Rahne burst in. There were a dozen…Rhane couldn't say midgets. They were middle aged men with long beards and green outfits and all about two feet tall. The room was a mess as panels had been opened and monitors had been taken down. Parts and wires were strewn over the floor.

Illyana brandished her sword and snarled, "Pissed off! Oh, and you're magical beings, meaning my sword can kill you…or worse. Not a good day to be you."

Rahne sputtered, "What are they? They look like leprechauns."

"They are leprechauns," Illyana answered.

"What are they doing?"

"Robbing us. Where do you think their gold comes from? And other dimensions don't have as much tech as Earth's universe. It goes for a pretty penny there. My guess they bought the spell they used at an interdimensional trading post. If we hadn't broken it, they would have stripped the house of everything more advanced than a nail before it wore off."

"Huh. Why do they have gold at the end of the rainbow?"

"That goes back to when one of their con men was selling the rainbow bridge to Asgard. Word is the Asgardians are still steamed."

A leprechaun smiled, and when he spoke, they recognized Sean's voice: "Aye, but a lovely scam it was-"

Illyana took a step forward. The leprechauns flinched, and Sean finished, "…but I can see the other point of view."

A white-haired little man was sitting on the floor in the middle of the group, looking a little groggy. He spoke with the second voice Illyana and Rahne had heard: "I started to tell you, Sean, one of them is a demon child! The spell won't work on her now that she knows what to expect."

Illyana growled, "And you're going to pay for it. And I'm not feeling forgiving enough to just kill you."

"No, no!" Sean stammered. "This was all a misunderstanding. We thought this, uh, was a Shi'ar base. We can get this stuff anywhere. We'll put it all back and make sure your friends are ok."

Illyana raised her sword. "You think that will be enough after what your bargain basement spell did to me?" she snarled.

Sean fell to his knees. "Mercy, demon princess!" he wailed. "We'll do anything."

Rahne put her hand on Illyana's hands. The girls exchanged glances; it was clear Rahne didn't want any bloodshed.

Illyana calmed herself with effort and turned to Sean. "What exactly did you have in mind?"

8

8

"I really shouldn't," Rahne said as she accepted a slice of cake from one of the leprechauns. A violin sonata played on the stereo system as the little green-garbed men busied themselves with cleaning the house.

Illyana had her own slice of cake. "Rahne, take it from me: it takes a lot more than the odd slice of cake when you're under the weather to corrupt a soul in any noticeable way."

"Um, ok, but I'll be double-checking with my preacher on Sunday." She ate a bite of cake.

"By all means, get a second opinion. You spend an extra hour there anyway. But how are you going explain why you're asking?"

"Well, it could be honest to say you practice an 'alternative religion' and we disagree on spiritual matters." She ate another bite of cake. "Speaking of awkward questions, how are you going to explain all this to Magneto? He was most insistent that you not summon any creatures to do your work for you. Will the leprechauns be done before he gets back? When is he getting back, anyway?"

"That's a good question," Illyana said. "I lost track of time. But I guess if the plane wasn't too late and the traffic wasn't too heavy, Magneto and the others should be back…"

Sean walked in and announced with stiff formality, "M'ladies, presenting Lady Moira MacTaggert, Headmaster Magneto, and associates." Magneto walked in, hands in his suit pockets, disturbingly affable in his demeanor, Moira, Dani, Shan, and Sam following behind.

Illyana and Rahne couldn't hide their alarm. Illyana squeaked, "Right about now." Both girls put their cake on the coffee table and stood before Magneto.

Magneto was smiling. "'M'Ladies.' I like what you're doing with the place. Tell me…where did you get the new help?"

"Ah," Illyana said, "well, as you can see, they're leprechauns."

"Leprechauns?" Magneto asked.

"Aye," Rahne said. "They were here to rob us. That's where they get their gold. They're thieves."

"This crew was going to strip the place of its high tech," Illyana explained, "especially the stuff from the Shi'ar empire."

"They had us bewitched with a spell, but we broke it and, uh…."

"…uh, well, Rhane didn't think I should slaughter them, and I'm not sure how to send them back to their own dimension. So this seemed like a decent way to keep them out of trouble."

"I see," Magneto said. "Well, I think I am still on speaking terms with someone who knows someone who knows someone who can get them home. Why don't you two wait in my office?"

Illyana and Rahne trooped out of the den.

Magneto turned to Dani, Sam, and Shan. "Help Douglas and Warlock. And then all of you can check the house over. Especially the silverware."

Dani said, "On it," and the three kids left.

Moira said, "Well, Illyana and Rahne seem to be getting along. I'd been worried after that exorcism she told me about."

"Yes," Magneto said. "Then again, there's an old acting saying: Never work with children or animals. I think we can amend that to darkchildren and werewolves."

8

8

'What do you want, you silly demon?' Alystraea asks. 'I haven't got all day.'

'Goblins have crossed the river to the south,' Evelle answers. 'Since it's near both our borders, I thought you would like to have a look.'

'That I would.'

'Well then, since you said you're pressed for time, let's go.'

And so Alystraea mounts her white charger and Evelle gets on her dark warhorse and the two princesses ride away…

…and Rahne woke up.

8

8

8

8

Clutching her notebook, Rahne took a deep breath and knocked on Illyanna's door.

The door opened a crack. Rahne couldn't see who was there and guessed Illyanna hadn't opened it.

Rahne said, "Excuse me for calling at this late hour, but is your mistress available? It's not urgent."

The door closed partway for a moment, then opened again. Rahne crept into the room. She couldn't see anyone but Illyana, but doubted they were alone.

Illyana was sitting up in bed, rubbing her eyes. "Hey, kiddo."

"Sorry I woke you."

"It's no problem, and it was nice of you not to barge in. What's up?"

Rahne sat on the edge of the bed. "I added a few lines to my story."

Illyana turned on the light and accepted the notebook. She read the new passage and said, "Yuoogh! Goblins. They'll be a problem."

"You sure?"

"Demons consider goblins to be low-lifes, so yeah, the princesses have their work cut out for them." She closed the book, passed it back, and grew more serious. "Thanks."

"For what?"

"For holding me back. Those little green scabs…punched too many buttons."

"You and me both."

"But you kept your head and did the right thing. I try but sometimes, I have a little trouble seeing it."

"No problem. Anytime." She got up to leave.

"Hey, Rahne. Not to be critical, but do you have any idea how your story ends?"

Rahne paused at the door and smiled. "Not yet. But I think it's off to a good start."