Watching and Listening - An Empires SMP AU

Phantoms

          She glanced at Jimmy, who was bruised and bleeding and still unconscious, but still alive. For now, at any rate. She couldn't afford to let her guard down even to try and bring him inside and into shelter. At any moment the phantoms could kill them both.

           "Hey, leave Gem alone!" Shouted a heavily-accented voice, and the shout was accompanied with a volley of arrows that took out seven phantoms at once. Gem looked down from her perch atop her roof to see Scott of Chromia standing in front of her house, wielding a bow and several quivers of arrows. He looked back at her and winked.

           "Scott?!" Gem said in disbelief. "How-" "No time to explain now!" Scott yelled back. He threw her a sword and she caught it, using the momentum to skewer three phantoms at once. Then she whipped the sword around and the dead bodies flew off and struck other mobs like morbid projectiles. Scott whistled, then proved that he was just as good a shot by shooting several phantoms with one arrow.

         The duo fought phantoms for the next hour, both either consciously or subconsciously showing off their monster slaying skills. Corpse littered the ground, and Gem did not relish the thought of having to clean up the remains.

           Thankfully, when dawn broke and the sun rose, its beams caused the light-sensitive phantoms to combust and fall; looking like ugly meteors, and the dead bodies caught fire as well, burning up every last trace of the phantoms except for the wing membrane. "Thank you, sun," Gem sighed in relief and exhaustion.

           Scott did a flip and jumped onto her roof, startling her so much she almost skewered her with his sword. He dodged, though, and took the borrowed blade back. "Easy now, princess," Scott smirked, then he noticed Jimmy, who he previously thought was just another dead phantom.

           His eyes widened in horror and he rushed towards the sheriff. "Jimmy! What-" "We need to get him healing potions," Gem instructed, and Scott nodded. He cradled the sheriff in his arms and jumped off the roof, gracefully landing on his feet like a cat and likewise not hurting himself. Gem flew down and unlocked the door so all three of them could get in.

           They put him in Gem's bed and healed him up with a splash potion. They watched the elixir slowly knit his wounds back together, Scott every so often glancing at Gem's bloody ax, which was still held tightly in her hand. Finally he spoke.

           "Gem, I thought you were a pacifist." Gem froze. Oh no. He's suspicious. She turned toward him, trying to put on an innocent face. But she knew she was in hot water now. Watching Scott play in the life games, he could easily tell when someone was lying to him, and her neighbor was cynical and skeptical by nature.

           "Jimmy's my ally," Gem said. "And he was in trouble. He woke me up by landing on my roof, and I wasn't about to just go back to sleep and do nothing. What were you doing in Dawn with conveniently-timed help?" Scott shrugged. "I'm a light sleeper. The phantoms woke me up when they flew past, screeching. I worried about whoever it was they were chasing and decided to follow them with weapons." He sobered as he glanced at Jimmy again. "Turned out it was Jimmy."

           Gem nodded in understanding. The two of them didn't say anything else for a few more minutes afterward. Then Scott broke the silence again. "Gem, there's something... wrong about you, and even if I don't know what it is, I know it's there." Gem felt her heart almost stop. What should I do? Play dumb? No, that might convince him he's right to be suspicious. Ask him to keep my secret? Then he definitely knows he's right!

           As Gem panicked, Scott put a comforting hand on her shoulder. She looked at him. "Gem, I know you've got a secret. Everyone has one. And you're my ally. So I'm going to trust you and give you the benefit of the doubt for now." He paused, and Gem heaved a sigh of relief. "One thing. I do want to know the full story someday." Gem smiled. "Okay. That could be arranged. Thanks, Scott."

---

           Jimena woke up with a sense of urgency that she couldn't explain. She knew she had another strange dream, but for the life of her, she couldn't remember what it was about. Annoyed, she went to False's house and knocked on the door. There wasn't any answer. She went back to her house and found the hidden spare key that False had told her about and unlocked the door.

           False wasn't in the living room, or the kitchen, and Ginny's food bowl was empty, suggesting that since False hadn't done her morning chores yet, she was mostly likely still asleep. Jimena tapped lightly on her bedroom door. There was no sound coming from the other end. Jimena opened the door, and then False attacked her.

           Jimena was thrown to the ground, False leaning on top of her chest, eyes wild. They looked at each other for a few seconds, shocked. Then False got up. "Jimena, I am so sorry," She said, and held out her hand. Jimena took it and the architect pulled her to her feet. "What was that about?" She asked. False's attack didn't bother her too much. She had the same uncomfortable contended feeling inside her again, though this time it didn't last long.

           "Bad dream," False murmured. She squinted. "I... Can't remember what it was." She looked at Jimena. "It was very startling when you opened the door like that." "Sorry," Jimena replied. There was a pause. "Uh, breakfast?" Jimena asked, trying to break the tension. False nodded, but still looked pensive. That can be remedied. "No eggs," She teased, and False friendly-punched her all the way to the kitchen.

           Jimena offered to take Ginny out for a walk after they ate the stale pancakes, and False, in a guilty mood, tried to keep her happy and let her. Jimena fished around False's storage room for the next ten minutes, looking for a collar and leash. Eventually she had what she needed, and she walked outside, cat in hand, and whistling.

           The cold mountain air clung to the two of them like icy hands, and Jimena wished she had a jacket. Ginny, with her thick coat of fur, was warm enough. Light fog settled down, a low-lying cloud that the mountain top poked its head into. It was funny to walk through it, the fog dampening whatever lay within it. The two walked out of the cloud as drenched as if they'd been drizzled on, and Ginny, attempting to dry her uncomfortably damp fur, found out that she disliked wet clouds.

           Suddenly the hairs on the back of Jimena's neck prickled, and she tensed, waiting. She was overcome with the sensation one got when they suspected they were being watched. Jimena looked around, and so did Ginny. Neither saw anyone. "Hello?" Jimena called. "Is anyone out there?" There was no answer.

           Jimena tried to continue to walk Ginny in peace, but the fact that it seemed like someone was spying on her was not comforting. She finished one lap around Cogsmeade's little village and immediately went back to False's house. Then she felt a little tickle by her ear and stopped. Jimena thought that she could almost hear a voice saying something, but it was just out of her range of hearing.

           Someone watching me... And now voices in my head? Jimena wondered. I'm either going mad or being haunted. Neither were pleasant thoughts. Just then, the girl and cat rounded a corner and bumped into Pumpkin Jack, who was leaning against a wall. He spun on his stick support, looking like a dancing scarecrow. The odd sight didn't help Jimena's frazzled nerves. "Was it you?" She asked. "Were you the one haunting me?" Pumpkin Jack gave no answer and continued to spin.