232323

Chapter Twenty Three

232323

Life was a strange, mysterious force.

It tended to surprise you when you weren't expecting it, or it would stop for just an instant, and run backwards, making life harder.

Death was more of a constant.

Always there, always waiting patiently. An unlikely angel hanging around to take your soul on to the after life.

But to Kerry, both of them had been a major part of her life. She and her friends had been chosen by them to be part of a whole new type of drama, and they had paid for it.

They had paid and paid, bled and kept bleeding, sacrificed and been sacrificed. All for the so called greater good.

It had started with a single death.

George Denbrough.

It ended with a single death.

Eddie Kaspbrak.

The two constants had manipulated events so that they had no choice. Kill George and get Bill as the main leader. The one that would drive them into the depths of the Earth to kill a God.

Their parents were the worst type. Abusive, or absent, or maybe just set the parent up so that the child would get a face to face with IT.

They were thrown together. Hand picked. Maybe because of their parents, but if so, why them? The town had been brimming with children like them.

Maybe because they were the strongest, the most willing to help. The ones unable to turn their backs on the killing, and the disappearances.

Whatever the reason they had paid. They had cried tears and sobbed, and there had been nights were they couldn't sleep. Were they would wake up every few minutes, screaming their throats raw.

They were destroyed that first summer. Stan being the one that was destroyed the most.

Stan had seen something so horrible in the Standpipe that it left him with his sanity hanging by a thread. The boy had seen IT's Dead Lights, and that thread had snapped.

Their friend had slashed his wrists open in the bath, and used his own blood to write the word IT. A suicide note that explained everything.

How many people had to die to stop Gunab? How many children would became little more than dinner for a starving God?

How much more could she sacrifice without losing her very soul?

There was no hints this time. No unseen guide to show her what to do, or where to look. Nothing to give her the clues she needed to live through the year.

There would be portals stationed around Chicago. Doorway's into the Outside. There she would find her starting points, but first she had to find the doors.

How? How could she find them?

There was no Lucky Seven to tell stories about run ins with IT. No one to tell how they saw IT at this house, or this sewer entrance.

In a city this large, how was she going to figure it out? She couldn't just close her eyes and drop her finger on a map.

Damn it!

She growled under her breath, careful not to wake Kim. The last thing she needed was the blond figuring out Kerry was after IT the second.

Kerry frowned as the phone rang. She didn't trust it, not at all. Every time the phone rang recently it was always involving things she'd rather not get involved with.

She wasn't going to answer it this time. Of course if it was the ER....

She lifted the receiver hesitantly.

" Dr. Weaver speaking. "

" Wow, you're sounding awfully official. "

She slumped almost all the way down the bedroom chair.

" Hey, Bev. What's going on? "

" You made the news again. " The fashion designer said. " We wanted to make sure you weren't hurt. "

" I'm fine. " She tiredly repeated for the millionth time that month. " Just the same old, same old. IT taunts, I tremble. IT threatens me, I want to go running to Africa. "

" How bad is it? Honestly. "

" Honestly, I don't know. IT is so weak that IT can't hide from the adults and media. In a way that's limiting IT's actions. " Kerry sighed. " Then again, when IT was able to hide, it was easier on us. We didn't have to worry about the supernatural being exposed. "

" Damn. " Bev softly cursed. " Is the weakness limiting IT's ability to manipulate people? "

" If you mean getting humans to do bad things, then no. IT managed to drive a teen into causing the train wreck a few weeks ago. "

" Dead? "

" Her body was found a few days ago. It's the standard use them and lose them. "

" Jeez. Anything else happen? "

" IT sent me a package. "

" Oh? "

" Yeah. A balloon with a rather gruesome picture of me. When it popped blood was sprayed everywhere. " Kerry paused, but decided to fess up. " There was a message with it. "

" What did it say? "

" Tick Tock says the clock. Tock Tick it burns the wick. Killing time should be a crime, but killing you will be sublime. "

" Basically what IT always says then. "

" Yep. Just more crap about killing me. " She sighed. " Bev, something's off about IT. I just.. I don't know what. It's almost like IT knows me. "

" That's not possible. We killed IT. "

" I know. I know. The third egg was missing, and with how young IT looks, IT has to be the son. Still... "

" It'll come when it's time. You know that. It's how it works. "

" Doesn't make it any less frustrating. " She complained. " Everyone okay there? "

" If Bill spends anymore time pacing the house will collapse. Otherwise, everyone's fine. " Bev exhaled sharply. " We're worried about you. Are you sure you don't want us there? "

" It's not your fight, Bev. Not this time. The Turtle stopped us having children because of IT, but now you three have kids, and I don't. " Kerry felt anguish flood her. " I've tried like hell, but it doesn't work, and won't. Not until I kill IT's son. "

" I know. God, Ker, I know. But that doesn't matter, we'll come anyway. We swore an oath, and we meant it. Then and now. "

" I know, and I love you guys for it. " Kerry said. " But please, Bev, let me go. This time let me go. "

" We can't, Red. We're family. "

" You were the one that got away. " Kerry confessed. " My first crush, and my first love. "

" I love you too, and I still think I'd convert for you, but Richie..."

" .....is the one you want. Just like Kim is the one I want. I love her, maybe even as much as I love you. "

" Does she know that? "

" No, and I won't tell her. I can't let Gray get her, not like he did Audra. I don't think.... I don't think Kim could recover from the Dead Lights. " Kerry clenched her fist until the nails cut into her palm. " Not after what happened to her twin brother. "

" I get it, but once IT is dead...."

" Once I kill IT, I'll tell her. "

" Good. You deserve a chance to be happy. "

" All of us did, but not everyone got it. " Kerry bitterly recalled. " Not everyone survived. We lost Stan long before he killed himself, and then Eddie.... "

" There was nothing you could do. We all had parts to play, and we did. "

" Not all of us were willing. Not all of us were able. "

" But we did it anyway, and that is all we could do. "

" Was it? Was it really? I never told any of you the truth. Not about IT, or my role in things. "

" We knew, we all knew. You told us, remember, and we decided then that it was better that we didn't know. "

" I know. I do but I can't help feeling that if you did know. If you guys had known the whole story that you would have chosen differently. That Stan and the others would be alive now. "

" Maybe that's why we didn't want to know. Perhaps on some level we sensed that the truth would be better left untold because we would have backed down. " Bev agreed. " But Ker, we made that choice knowing that, and there's nothing that could have changed it. "

" Bev, you guys need to stay out of this. This time is different, I'm not sure how, but it is, and it has to do with what I never told you. "

" We'll stay, for now, but Kerry if things get out of control we're coming. " Bev grimly promised.

" I understand, but if you come here, I'll tell you guys everything. " She admitted. " If I do, it'll destroy Bill completely. Just like Stan was destroyed by the Dead Lights. "

" God, it's that bad? "

" It's far worse. " Kerry stated. " So much worse than anything you could ever dream. "

" Jesus. Alright, if it gets to that point, I'll stall. Just... Be careful, because if anything else happens to you.... "

" I get it. I'll try to stay off the news. "

" Try to stay out of trouble. " Bev snapped.

" That too. "

" I'll call you later. "

" Bye, Bev. "

Kerry hung up, her hand shaking. If they came, and she had no doubt they would, then all the stuff she'd kept from them would be for nothing.

' Please, Tsui, please keep them away from Chicago. I beg of you. '

They had to stay away. They just had to.

232323

Kim lay awake, her mind racing over everything she'd heard. She hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but when the phone rang she'd automatically woken up.

Dead Lights.

Kerry hadn't been lying. The red head honestly believed that story she told Kim, and from the sound of it, so did her friends.

Then there had been the clown. Pennywise.

Never in all her life had Kim felt that kind of fear. It was like some magical force had grabbed onto her terror and fanned it higher and higher.

Those eyes had been worse. Those monstrous silver eyes that were filled with an inhuman evil. A gleeful hate that had a life of it's own.

Even the life had been unearthly. The same laugh as Lane. The same voice as Lane. All of it echoing and carrying in the wind long after he'd disappeared.

There had been no shadow. Just like what Kerry had described in her story, the clown had no shadow. Nothing on the ground, or the walls, or anywhere else.

Like Gray wasn't really there.

What would science tell her that could explain it? What medical condition could dismiss the eyes, and the voice, and that laugh? What about the balloons? Why didn't they move under the force of the wind?

What.... What if Kerry was right? What if Gray was IT and an alien?

It would certainly explain everything, but then wouldn't that mean there was a God after all? That her brother's death had been for some master plan created by a higher being?

Wouldn't that mean that Kerry was in far graver danger than she thought? How could any human stop an alien serial killer?

Kerry said she was going after him. Her human, mortal lover was going after Gray, and if Gray wasn't human...

' Dear Lord, please don't let it be real. '

She actually said that she loved Kim. The red head did care about her. Something she had been doubting greatly.

" Did I wake you? "

Kim turned onto her back, latching onto the red head above. It took little strength on her part to pull Kerry on top of her.

" Kim, what....? "

She kissed her quiet, rolling them so that she was on top. She needed the red head more than she ever had before.

And this time, she would recognize each and every scar on her lover. She would see them, and she would examine each one.

This time she wouldn't get so caught up in a haze of lust that she ignored them. Because this time it was about love.

232323

Kim felt her frown deepening more and more the further she read. She had called in a favor from an ex-girlfriend that was a NY detective.

Terry had faxed her over two hundred pages of information. Files on Kerry and the rest of the Loser's Club. History detailing what Kerry referred to as the cycle. Along with everything she could her hands on referring to the Derry murders and disappearances.

The cycle was far worse than anything Kerry had indicated.

Gray spent 1740-1743 terrorizing the Derry settlers. Murder, violent accidents, disappearances, all resulting in the unsolved disappearances of the entire settlement.

1851. John Markson killed his whole family, and killed himself. The start of a year of murders and disappearances. Ending after ten tens committed ritual suicide.

1876-1879. For three years the murders continued. Children disappearing, sometimes their bodies turning up, but most of the time they didn't. It ended when a large group of lumberjacks were found murdered.

1904-1906. The cycle started when a lumberjack Claude Heroux murdered a group of men at a local bar with his axe. He was hanged to death by a mob of citizens.

The end of the normal child murders came when the Kitchener Ironworks blew up. It happened on Easter Sunday when families and their children were inside engaging in an egg hunt. 108 people died, 88 of which were children.

1929-1930. A group of citizens shot a gang to death, starting the cycle. It stopped when the KKK burned down The Blackspot, an African American army club.

After that came the 1957-1958 and 1984-1985 cycles. What stood out in all of it, was the clown Pennywise was always around for the beginning and ending disasters.

She flipped through the drawings and photos from those periods. Each one had the same clown. bald top, with orange hair. He was wearing a silver suit with orange pom-poms, and orange shoes.

The same clown that had confronted Kerry outside the diner. The same silver eyes, the same white makeup and blood red lips.

She shoved them into a file folder for now, and paged through the pages on the victims of Pennywise.

Bones that had been gnawed on by a large unknown animal. A few bodies were whole, but always showed the kind of injury that should have been impossible for an animal or even a human to commit.

Body parts ripped off like they were made of paper. Bones crushed to dust, organs ripped out. Strange bite marks that didn't match anything found on Earth.

The rest of the small amount of found bodies were torn almost completely apart. Mutilated beyond on form of recognition.

She found that in most reports there was slightly strange things. Adults hearing a scary hysterical laughter that was very deep. Much like the laugh of Pennywise.

There were a few reports of a clown, described like Pennywise. Always seen by a child, always connecting him to the victim in someway.

Yet according the the files it was always a hitchhiker, an abusive parent, a bum dad, or some other unproven theory.

There was Henry Bowers, too.

After the '58 flood the cops pulled the boy out of the sewers. His hair had turned white, and he was babbling about Frankenstein, and Carnivals, and clowns.

Strangely the boy had suddenly confessed to the '57-'58 murders, along with the murder of his own father.

His father's murder was easily proven. Bower's switch blade was covered in the older man's blood, and found on Bower's.

The other murders weren't anywhere near as clear cut. Henry was either in class during the kidnapping's, or seen around town during the time of death.

More strange, was that during the murder trial there was no mention of Pennywise, or monsters. Henry simply pled guilty, and was sentenced to Juniper Hill Asylum.

She shoved the files aside, and ran her hands through her hair. It was so damn confusing. Everything pointed to Kerry telling the truth, that Gray was an alien.

IT.

She grabbed the files on the Loser's Club and began to flip through them. There wasn't much to them.

Mostly incidents where they were hurt by Bowers and his friends. One detail was written in by an Officer Nell, saying the group helped him move a downed tree in the Barrens.

In other words the cop had lied about the dam incident.

The same cop apparently responded to scene when Bower's broke Eddie's arm. The break had been so bad that an ambulance had to be called.

Later in '85, Henry's body was found in Eddie's hotel room, dead. A piece of a letter opener was broken off in his stomach, and he was killed with a broken water bottle.

A switch blade with Mike Hanlon's blood on it, was found a few days later, in the Canal. Henry's finger prints were on it.

Kim sat back with a sharp scowl. She just didn't know what the think. If she believed Kerry's story then it explained everything. Every inconsistency, every mystery, every detail.

If she didn't, then not one thing made sense, and she definitely didn't want to believe.

She sighed. What was it that Sherlock Holmes said?

' Once you eliminate the impossible, what remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth. '

Well, damn.

242424

Chapter Twenty Four

242424

Kerry drained the last of her coffee, and tossed the foam cup into the trash can. Kim had been very, very frisky, and Kerry hadn't gotten more than an hour of sleep.

" Late night? " Abby asked with a knowing smirk.

" You could say that. " Kerry smiled slightly. " I'm having trouble house breaking Legaspi. "

" Maybe a few nights on the couch would help. "

" Where's the fun in that? "

" Good point, Dr. Weaver. " Abby chuckled.

She unlocked her locker, and swung it open, her body trembling in terror. She back pedaled quickly unable to tear her eyes away from it.

Several hundred orange pom-poms poured out, a number of bones with them. A young teens rib cage, a right arm and hand, and a left hip bone.

On the thumb was a silver ring. A ring that resembled a Cape File Snake. A highly poisonous South African snake that wrapped around the thumb several times, intertwining.

The metal had been tinted realistically. A white stripe running from the tip of the tail up to the head. The rest of the scales started a rich purple and gradually evolved into an incredible blue. The stomach was ivory colored, and the fake gems in the eyes were black.

A ring she herself had crafted and given to her surrogate big sister. A ring that she had been wearing when she was murdered.

She wasn't very aware of her back hitting the wall next to the lounge door. Instead her eyes rose to the inside of the locker door, and the message written in blood.

* Trisha Rayne Trumble

April 24, 1944 - January 2 1958

Beloved daughter, fag, & meal. *

Convulsing hands lit a cigarillo, nearly dropping it several times, and causing the lighter to clatter. She barely felt the smoke in her mouth, or tasted the sweetness of it's flavor.

" Close off the lounge, then contact the Detectives. " She ordered with a thick African accent.

She never spoke with it anymore, not even in private, or with friends. But it was always there, and while she had gained more control over it, she couldn't keep it out of her voice at the moment.

" Dr. Weaver...."

She felt a small stream of tears running from the corner of her eyes, and her knees collapsed under her. She slid down the wall, cradling her left leg to her chest, while her right leg folded under her.

" Do it Abby. " She said, her accent so thick now that it was getting hard to understand her. " Let Romano know that I'll be late starting my shift. "

" Yes, ma'am. " Abby reluctantly left the lounge.

" Vull wurm eet bose! " She spat with a trembling voice. " Vieslik moordenaar! "

" Calm down, Ker. " Kim whispered into her ear.

She took a shuddering breath, inhaling the smell of baby oil. The tall, warm body was pressed into her side, an arm laying across her shoulders.

Kim knew that she needed physical contact, but that she also needed her space.

" Bastard Gray left me another present. " She slurred with her accent.

" She was the best friend you told me about. The one his father killed in '58? "

" Ja. He killed her and now he's taunting me. Bastard vark esel! " She cursed fluently.

" You have to calm down, Ker. " Kim shushed. " You're letting him get to you. "

Kerry puffed hard at her cigarillo, trying to calm down, but the bones were keeping her emotions churning badly.

How the hell had Gray known? IT wouldn't have been hatched until after it's fathers death. So how could.....?

( The thing about the Gunab, Kerrigan, is that he is a true hermaphrodite, but his reproduction abilities are a defense mechanism. He will hatch eggs only if he believes he may die, that way if he should be killed, he will have a replacement body. )

Dear Tsui, she finally remembered what she'd been missing. What had seemed off about IT. Simba had once explained about the Gunab's breeding habits.

The Gunab was capable of entering bodies, something they'd witnessed over the years. According to Simba though, only similar bodies could hold IT's soul on a permanent basis.

Hence the eggs.

IT had been afraid they'd kill IT, so it had laid three eggs. Two she'd destroyed, but the third had escaped harm, allowing IT to transfer into the egg.

The weakness would also be logical. IT would have to burn up most of it's power stores to make the transfer, so naturally it would be more like an infant power wise.

But why Chicago? Why come after her? Why not stay in Derry and feed? The adults were willing to sacrifice their children to IT, it was a ceremony.

( Your soul is brimming with energy. )

IT had coveted her soul, and the power it contained. She had been the one to see IT the most, the one with the most run ins.

Over the years, her magic had grown greatly. Her studies into alternative medicine, and shamanism driving her power to new heights.

With all the power IT lost in the transfer, it would take a millennium to recover, but if IT ate her soul...

Her hands began convulsing worse. She finally understood. IT wasn't out for revenge, IT was after her power, so that it could boast IT's recovery rate.

Four million years IT had waited, storing it's energy and waiting impatiently for the day when IT could finally fight the Turtle.

Her soul, while not capable of replacing all that power, would speed up it's recovery rate. That was why IT targeted Native American Indian Shaman's when they were still around.

The more powerful the Shaman, the faster IT could regenerate the lost energy. The more Shaman's it ate, the more it sped up it's recovery.

And Kerry was very powerful.

" Verdoem skadu reusagtig! "

" I can't speak Afrikaans. " Kim reminded her.

" I know, I'm sorry, I just... " Kerry dropped her head in defeat. " I can't help it. "

" I understand. You're upset, so you're reverting to your first language. " Kim smiled gently. " Besides, that accent is sexy. You should use it more. "

She groaned. She doubted that she would be repressing it anytime soon, and now the staff would hear it.

Her eyes fell back on the bones, and she found she didn't care about her accent. Instead she felt consumed with rage, and horror.

The idea of her soul being eaten by IT was the most terrifying thing in all the world. Having to watch while her magic was used for such violence. Her soul being twisted into a crude afterimage of the real thing.

" Dr. Weaver? "

She didn't acknowledge the Detectives. She just didn't care.

" What happened? " Perry inquired, squatting in front of her.

" His son got around to locating the rest of Trisha's body. "

" How do you know the bones belong to Miss. Trumble? " Taylor asked from the locker.

" I made the ring. " Kerry wiped at her tears. " She also had a bad break in her ribs, it never healed right. "

" Alright. We'll get the Coroner in here to get the bones. It should be a simple matter of verifying the identity. " Perry stood back up. " I don't suppose you know how he got into your locker? "

" The combinations never change. So anyone that was previously assigned to it, would be able to get into it. "

" Any other questions can wait for now. Why don't you get out of here? You don't need to see this. " Taylor gently stated.

She didn't fight Kim as the blond helped her to her feet. She simply forced her feet out of the room, one step at a time.

" Dr. Weaver? You okay? " Carter asked from the desk.

" Fine. I'm fine. All of you get back to work. I'll be along in a minute. " She loudly declared, wishing she could suppress her accent again. " I'll be outside if anyone needs me. "

Because God knew she couldn't seem to help herself.

242424

Kim huddled close to her lover. She was careful to hide exactly how badly shaken she was from the latest incident.

She found herself more and more afraid that Kerry would be killed, and each incident seemed to prove that Gray could get to Kerry at anytime, anyplace.

It drove home just how much danger her lover was in. So much so that she had called in several favors to get her shifts changed to match Kerry's.

She wasn't leaving the red head alone for more than a few minutes at a time. She'd even started riding to work with her.

Another thing that was bothering her greatly was Kerry's emotional, and physical deaging. Somehow what few wrinkles Kerry had disappeared. The softness of her body had tightened.

Emotionally, the red head was blasting an electic collection of music ranging from the early fifties to current hits.

Kim personally loved Kerry's choices, but having grown used to her more eccentric tastes, she was horrified at the sudden switch.

Then there was the way her lover was dressing for work now. Black running shoes, black scrub pants, and a dark green scrub shirt. That wasn't mentioning the heavily altered attending's coat.

On the outside, it looked normal. On the inside it was riddled with so many pockets that Kim had given up trying to count them all. On the sides, on the back, in the sleeves.

" I want you to have something. " Kerry said, fishing into one of the many hidden pockets. " I meant to give it to you last night. "

Kim blushed at Kerry's scolding tone. She hadn't been able to keep her hands of the red head after hearing that Kerry loved her.

" What is it? " She asked, squinting at the small velvet bag in Kerry's hand.

" A necklace. I want you to promise that you won't take it off. " Kerry demanded. " Swear it, Kim. "

" Alright I swear. "

She took the hand made necklace. Instead of a chain, it had a leather string covered in strange beads. Hanging down was a piece of amber, shaped into a small feather.

It settled around her neck perfectly. It was light enough that she barely noticed it, and just long enough that it was hidden under her blouse.

" Are you going to be okay? " She inquired.

" No, but I'll survive. " Kerry smiled bitterly. " I always do. "

" Are you sure? I could talk to Romano about getting someone to finish your shift. "

" No. I'll do it. " Kerry dropped her cigarillo into the ashtray by the doors. " It'll keep my mind of things. "

Kim stared after the red head. She wasn't sure what to do anymore. If Gray was an alien then they were in over their heads, and she didn't know what to do.

242424

Time was running out.

IT was moving fast, and with how with IT was she wouldn't be surprised to find out that the cycle would be far shorter than normal.

After all, history had proven that IT could change the amount of time the cycle's took. Sometimes longer than a year, sometimes less.

This was going to be a short cycle. Otherwise, why would IT be targeting her so much. Gray wouldn't be after her if the cycle was approaching the end.

Her research was almost finished, and she had a plan. Not a good plan, but a plan. Still, she wasn't ready to face IT.

Not yet, at least.

Though she never was ready. Not the last two times, and not this time. There was just nothing for it. She would have to face IT when it was time, ready or not.

And that time was approaching quickly.

242424

For two weeks there was nothing.

252525

Chapter Twenty Five

252525

Kerry watched the elevator doors close, frowning in worry at the thought of Greene being left alone with Fossen. She was sure she'd seen Mark's eyes flash silver, but it had been so brief she couldn't be positive.

The whole day had been one major disaster after another. A baby had been missing for almost the entire shift, and then Fossen had gone on a rampage.

Romano had been worse than usual. Trying and failing, to fire Kim because she was gay. After that he'd turned his intentions to Kerry, and had ended up getting slapped down by Don.

IT.

Gunab's cycle was about in it's end stages. The result was it's powers enhancing everyone's darker emotions, creating a tidal wave of events.

Already she could feel something pulling on her, directing her deep under the ER. There were no sewer entrances nearby however, and the only other possibility was the old service tunnels.

Back when the hospital had first been built, the tunnels had been created a hundred feet under the basement levels.

It was a maze down there, so complicated and dangerous that they had been forced to close the floor off. An action prompted by the death of the Chief Of Staffs two year old daughter.

Now you had to have an elevator key to access the tunnels. A key that was held by all department heads, including Kerry.

She walked to the lounge slowly, hoping that the pull would fade if she stalled long enough. Just as she had hoped it would fade back in '58 and '85.

Instead it grew worse the further she moved from the bank of elevators. That in and of itself told her that the End Game had finally arrived.

She opened her locker and grabbed the tall, thin hard case. It easily came up to her shoulder, and inside it was her less than stellar plan.

She walked back toward the elevators, her ER keys stuffed in one of the many lab coat pockets. She was nervous, and worried about her plan.

If it worked there would be many consequences that she would have to live with. If it didn't there would be still be consequences and she would lose her soul.

In short, she was damned if she did, and damned if she didn't.

The elevator doors opened for her, and she stepped into the empty box. The necessary key slipped into the slot, twisting a quarter to the left with no effort on her part, and then the elevator began to descend.

She laid the case on the floor, and unsnapped it. It fell open in her hands, the hard foam inside tightly hugging the hand carved, grizzly staff.

It was twisted and gnarled, polished and smooth. The white color purely natural for the wood, and embedded with ivory.

Runes, and characters were deeply engraved into the different surfaces. Each one stained with her own blood, and treated with ox fat.

Leather strings were attached to the top part, with beads created from lion bone, and feathers of African penguins.

The bottom part swirled smaller and smaller until it came to a sharp point. Much like a unicorn horn, or the horn of a gazelle.

She stood back up, and held the staff in her left hand. Already her magic stirred, arching into the staff, and continuing back into her. Creating a circuit that would get stronger in a few minutes.

The elevator jerked to a stop, and the doors opened. She left the elevator, safe in the knowledge that as long as her key was in the slot the doors would stay open.

She could make a run for it if she had to.

" I'm here. " She said into the dim surroundings.

The elevators opened into a large room like area. Twelve tunnels ran off it, each one with a small light every fifteen feet, most of which were burnt out.

" I'm here. " She repeated, turning around and staring at the clown standing just feet from her.

" You can't do anything to me. You're too old. " IT smirked, though fear tinted the silver eyes. " Your precious club doesn't exist anymore. You have no silver weapons, and no imagination. "

Kerry lifted the staff and dropped it back to the floor.

Tap. Tap-Tap. Tap.

" Hoor ek. " She chanted, beating the tip of the staff against the floor.

Tap. Tap-Tap. Tap.

Five slivers appeared, creating a circle around IT.

" Bymekaarbring ek. "

Tap. Tap-Tap. Tap.

The silvers faded into gold spirits. Each one with a staff similar to hers. Each one adding to the beat. Each slightly different to her own, creating a symphony of rhythm.

Tap. Tap-Tap. Tap.

A Native American shaman that had been the first to exist in Maine. Ajene, Simba's dead teacher, and Kerry's surrogate father.

A famous Incan shaman named Huanca. A man that was known in the mystical community for his powers and healing abilities.

An Asian shaman that Kerry couldn't identify on sight. However this one was a female, something that was somewhat refreshing.

The last was a Celtic shaman. The man was also unknown to her. But his black eyes carried a wisdom that made her feel like an infant.

" Hoor ek. " She repeated.

Tap. Tap-Tap. Tap.

Six slivers appeared, scattered among them. They shimmered into white spirits, completing the circle, and increasing the growing energy.

Mike nodded to her, his solemn face splitting into a proud grin. Eddie clutched his inhaler despite being dead, his eyes skipping to IT and back to her. Stan frowned at her with concern, an apology on his lips.

Bill, Bev, and Richie were looking around in confusion but underlying that was determination to help her.

" Bymekaarbring ek. " She finished.

" Your magic tricks are meaningless. " IT snapped like a cornered dog. " I'm a God. I'm eternal. "

" Yes, you are. " She smiled slightly.

She thrust her magic out, combining with the energy of the others, and then she slammed her staff one last time onto the floor.

BOOM!

She exhaled and the world fell away.

The galaxy rushed by her, planets and moons that were still unknown to Earth passed by, and yet her soul kept going.

The stars began to fade, blackness surrounding everything, and then she was in a void. The Outside. The true home of the Gods.

The Macroverse.

" Why have you come here, little one? "

She turned awed green eyes to the Turtle. IT's nemesis, and Earth's creator. The God was larger than any planet, and wider than the universe. Yet it spoke in a gentle whisper.

" I come to you about the God Gunab. "

" I cannot interfere. "

" It's your planet, you created it. "

The Turtle shrugged carelessly. " It was an accident. I ate something that didn't agree with me. "

" Accident or not, Earth is your responsibility. You can't just ignore us. " She snapped.

" I can not interfere with another God. " He repeated solemnly.

" But he's interfering with you. "

" That is his decision. "

" Damn it, he's killing us off! If this continues there won't be an Earth left. "

" It was never supposed to come into being. It isn't important to the Macroverse, or it's future. "

" Obviously it is. Everything has a purpose, small or large. " She argued to the lazily blinking creature. " You just don't know what yet. "

" Perhaps. " He allowed slowly. " Perhaps not. "

" Why else would Gunab chose Earth? There are billions of planets, other dimensions, various timelines, and he chose this one. "

" Yes. " The Turtle agreed. " Still, your planet will die soon. "

" Soon for you? " Kerry questioned.

" Yes. "

" Human's don't have the life span of God's, to us a minute is a long time. " Kerry pointed out. " Look all I'm asking is that IT be relocated. Some other planet maybe, I don't care, just as long as he's not left on Earth. "

" There would be consequences. " The Turtle said. " It is our way. "

" I know. "

" Hmm. I suppose I can do that much, but nothing else. Even this small thing is against the rules of the Macroverse. "

" Thank you, Tsui. " She kneeled before the God.

Still, she was heavily disappointed in Tsui. The God just didn't care about Earth. Not about the people, or anything else.

They were nothing to the Turtle. There was no concern, no caring, nothing. They were being completely disregarded by the higher being.

She inhaled and found that she was standing outside the ER men's room. She blinked in confusion that swam away as a second set of memories were fed into her mind.

Memories far different than what had been occurring since Kim's suspension. In them there was no shooting, instead Kerry had gotten hip replacement surgery at Mercy.

She could remember not getting back with Kim, of sitting in an airport bar writing her a letter, and meeting a handsome man.

There were memories of Kim on duty in the prison ward. Of Romano firing Kim, and Kerry chasing him into the men's room.

' I'm afraid your race is not ready for our existence. ' The Turtle's voice echoed in her head.

She leaned heavily against the wall, her eyes tearing up. Out of every possible consequence, she had never considered that she would lose Kim.

She heard her various scars hiss, and glanced down in time to see the scars on her palms disappear. She had no doubt the rest of them were gone also.

Her staff was not with her, either. It would probably turn up in her basement, where she kept it stored.

The power that had been keeping her energetic and going since the summer of '58 slipped away. Power that the Turtle had been providing her with.

The body that had been so strong, so hyper despite her abuse of it, seemed to weaken greatly. It began to betray her in ways that she had never experienced.

Her breathing became harder and harder, the air distant and thick, making it impossible to grasp. The world churned around her, and her head felt light.

Thump-Thump. Thump-Thump.

She grabbed at her left arm where it connected to her shoulder. A piercing pain making her gasp through gritted teeth.

' I'm sorry, young one. '

" What's wrong, Kerry? " Robert left the men's room. " Decided to rejoin the winning team? "

The pain moved toward her heart, making the beating more hectic and deafening. The sounds of the ER faded to the booming noise of her failing heart.

She closed her eyes as Robert's face became serious with true concern. She triggered what was left of her magic, and reopened her eyes.

Kerry stared down at her body in Trauma One. Luka was working on her with the help of Romano.

" You've been busy. "

She smiled over at Mike as he walked out of the far wall. The man looked good for a dead man.

" Too bad you weren't a fully trained ER doc in '85. " Eddie commented stepping out of the shadows.

" Hiya, Ed's. " Richie smirked appearing white instead of the gold ghosts.

" I came as soon as I could. " Stan floated out of the floor.

" You're always in a rush. " Bev glared at her husband.

" How bad is it? " Bill asked quietly.

She sighed at the sudden attention of her six friends. They were all worried about her, and she didn't blame them one bit.

" Probably a heart attack. " She shrugged. " Insomnia, stress, junk food when I do eat. "

" I told you it wasn't healthy. " Bev scolded.

She felt rather sheepish under the combined glares of Bev and Mike. They had both told her on several occasions, but the truth was the loss of the Turtles power had been the initial catalyst.

Though if she had taken care of her body it wouldn't be such an issue. She had known that, and accepted it from the start.

She simply chose to ignore the situation. In a way she had believed that her plan would fail and IT would kill her.

So why should she care about a body that wouldn't live long? Why would she take care of of her body if she was going to die a violent death?

Unfortunately, she had never planned for her surviving the End Game. Now it was coming back and biting her on the ass.

" Clasp hands! " Bill ordered already grabbing Mike and Eddie's hands. " Complete the circle! "

Kerry grasped Bev and Stan's hands. The bond they'd had temporarily returned, the magic linking them together for that instant.

She leaned into Bev as the groups energy passed into her body. The entire group strained to keep her alive, and heal her body enough to be stabilized.

She felt her eyes sliding closed and reluctantly let Bev take her entire weight. Even separated from her body she could feel some of the pain, and it was taking a toll on her body.

" Don't break the circle! " Bill boomed.

" Kerry? Stay with us! " Bev pleaded.

She fought desperately against her exhaustion, but every ounce of power was going to her body, and without anything to hold onto....

" I'm sorry. "

252525

Tim towered over the hospital bed. He slumped forward in defeat, unable to stand seeing Kerry looking so lifeless.

He was her emergency contact so he'd been called immediately. Between that and being Chief of Staff at Mercy, he'd been able to get her transferred to Mercy the moment she was stable.

It was what she wanted.

She was like lit dynamite when she wanted something, and Kerry had come to long enough to make the demand.

Surprisingly Romano had caved to that and to her request that her heart attack be kept secret. The little man, in body and spirit, had been strangely cooperative and that made him suspicious of the dwarf.

It was all bad business.

Tim knew that she and Kim were on the outs. Kerry had this thing though, where she didn't want Kim knowing about the bad things in her life.

She wouldn't want Kim coming back to her because of this. She'd rather wait until she could be positive that they were back together for the right reasons. Reasons that would keep them together in the future.

His shoulders fell completely.

Despite how they'd met Kerry had quickly become a surrogate mother to him. Fifteen years younger than the red head, he'd been so messed up that he'd been in a tail spin.

He'd grown up watching his father beat his mother. However instead of becoming an abuser like his old man, he'd gone to the other side, dating abusive women.

At the time he'd met Kerry, he'd been in yet another bad relationship. Two years with Nat and he hadn't left her.

Kerry....

Kerry had gotten him out of Nat's clutches, letting him crash with her and Mike until he could get his own place.

More than that, she had set him down and helped him start the process of working through his issues. She'd forced him to face his problem, and had gone out of her way to triple check any woman he dated.

Anyone else would have laughed at the idea of him being abused by a woman. They would have believed he was lying, and that nothing happened he didn't want.

He shuffled over to the chair next to the bed, and lowered his body into it. It creaked under his weigh, shaking slightly before settling back down.

The same chair he'd been using for the last forty eight hours. The chair he would continue using until Kerry finally recovered.

Sit and wait.

That was all he could do for her.

Sit, and wait.

262626

Epilogue

262626

Kerry pushed the last of the paperwork away. She had split the paperwork with Susan once the blond had returned, but even with half of it, it was a devil to complete.

Perhaps that was why she was training Lewis to take over as Chief. Maybe she was finally to a point in her life where she could let go of success and concentrate on her own happiness.

She just wished Kim could share that joy with her. Instead Legaspi was cold and blunt when dealing with her.

She stood up from the chair and left her office. It was a habit now. Do the paperwork before her shift, and then after her shift, go home.

It was how it was. A change that had been started by her heart attack. One of many changes, just like her sleeping and eating habits.

" What the hell is going on with you? "

She reluctantly spun on her heels and sighed at the sight of the passionate fire fighter. She had dated Sandy on and off over the months, but it wasn't working out.

With the different timeline she was no longer out as a lesbian. She also wasn't taking to the Hispanics brash personality very well.

They were too alike in a lot of ways. It caused them to clash constantly, and to argue loudly. Oh, it led to incredible sex, but it wasn't what she wanted or needed.

" You want to clarify that? " She peered at the woman.

" Yeah, I want to clarify alright. I want to clarify whether you're gay or just on for the ride. " Sandy growled loudly.

Kerry felt herself struggling not to blush as everyone within a mile turned to stare at them.

" Let's talk about this in my office. "

" What?! You ashamed of me or something? "

" Unlike you, I'm not an exhibitionist. " Kerry snapped, losing her embarrassment.

" Oh hell no! " Sandy gaped in righteous fury. " You want an exhibit babe? I'll give you the best damn exhibit in Chicago. "

Kerry moaned as the Latino pulled her into a fiery kiss. Her toes curled from the passion, making her blood boil, and spots to flash behind her eyes.

" Hey, get your hands off her! "

Kerry felt Sandy disappear and opened her eyes, only to blink them in disbelief.

Kim Legaspi had a tight hold on Sandy's shoulder. The tall blond was towering over the fire fighter in a rage of her own.

" Who the hell are you? " Sandy demanded.

" Kim Legaspi. " Kim growled.

" Wait, Kim as in Kerry's ex? " Sandy narrowed her eyes getting even angrier. " Why the sudden interest? "

" You have no right outing her like that! "

" Last time I checked that was none of your business. " Sandy poked the blond in the shoulder. " What I do with my girlfriend has nothing to do with you. "

" Ex-girlfriend. " Kerry spoke up. " So if you two want to see who's got the biggest I'd suggest taking it out of my ER. "

" Kerry...."

" Babe...."

Kerry rolled her eyes at the equally baffled looks, and walked away. She wasn't a toy to fight over, and she wasn't going to be used in some weird lesbian pissing contest.

The red head wasn't stupid.

Kim had been waiting for Kerry to come out. The blond refused to make a move or to let them make up until then.

Now, Sandy had done just that. She'd outted Kerry. Booted her out of the closet. Evicted her. Repossessed her home.

The blonde would be chasing her now. Happily able to make up, and get back together.

" Kerry! Wait! " Kim called, running after her. " I'm sorry about that. I just... I can't stand the thought of you being assaulted like that. "

Kerry kept her face emtionless, despite wanting to beam with happiness.

" Don't let it happen again. " She shrugged.

" Let me make it up to you. "

Hook.

" I don't know..... " She hedged.

Line.

" Just coffee. "

Sinker.

Let the chase begin.

262626

Finite

262626