The Boy Who Still Has a Lot of Good to Do (tw)

It had been at the hotel, where his father had invited him for a nice lunch - which already there had sounded far too good to be true. Ajax later on had been invited up to his parents room, as his parents would like a chat with him about something. Atlas hadn't been invited, he had noticed the second he stepped in - because he had thought she would at least have been there. Then the next thing was predicted, Ajax had known it would be a matter of time before his father would hear about the fact, that Ajax had awoken the archangel Michael's attention to the family. A disaster really. Ajax had awaited his punishment for that and he got it. The first punch was always the first, it sat the tone for the following. He could feel the burn on his face as his father's fists collided with the dream demon's jaw. Ajax didn't remember when he hit the floor, but he did almost rolled together in a ball as he accepted the kicks that was the follow up to the punches. The words echoed in his head, "fucking disgusting. You are a disgrace. Stupid, idiotic.. worthless piece oh shit," Ajax couldn't hear himself scream as the voices echoed in his head. He wanted out, to just be able to zone out of everything. A kick in the face had him granting his wish for a few seconds, the black spots showed on his face - he closed his eyes for a little while. Pictured the little witch who held his heart, her piercing blue eyes looking at him, that little smile he sometimes managed to see. It gave him some kind of piece, and it was nice zoning out - and everything seemed quite for just a little while. He also knew someone who was feeling just how much pain he was in right now - if not worse. He could almost imagine how painful a demon's rage could feel on a human body.

Ajax opened his eyes and got up on his feet. He spit blood on the floor and looked up at his father. "You call yourself a father huh," he hissed a little bit, clearly able to talk at least a back now. His confidence had grown since he had met Saga, even if he hadn't realized it. He wasn't as scared to take a stand and fight back, not anymore. The next punch went right through Ajax, as he phased through it. "You disgust me," the dream demon confessed right in his father's face. The wave of empty words and threats went over him - he remembered something. He had the power to alter things somewhere, he had the ability to put him to justice. And even if Ajax had promised himself that he would never use his prison like ability - he now was standing here and it was all he could think about was that he wanted him to pay. Not even for hurting him, but also for the pain he had cost Cecilia, who he still was linked too. So he placed his hand on his father's arm, and it took two seconds before his mind was locked away, in a prison of his own nightmares. Ajax zoned out, and walked over to his mother and did the same - not thinking twice. It was first after he realized that he was in pain, his rib was possibly broken a few places and his leg hurt like hell. He could barely take a deep breath in with out it hurting.

He phased through the floors and it took hours before he reached the academy. Ajax wasn't sure if Saga was home yet, but one thing he did know was, he didn't want her to see him like this. And he could do little to help Cecilia, maybe he could walk by or call to Lucas? If it wasn't for sharing his mind and life with Cecilia, he wouldn't have known they knew each other and right now it was the only connection he could think off. There was no way he would be calling the archangel for help. Ajax managed to phase through the walls of the academy and inside. It was hard to not be seen, but he knew a few blind spots and finally he made it to his room. Ajax almost collapsed on the floor before reaching the bed. He shouted out in pain and looked at himself so bloody and bruised. Ajax knew he would heal, it would take some days - but he would survive.

Peace and quite. Caroline sat with some of her friends, chatting like nothing in the world was wrong. She had a normal conversation, just like before she started at the academy. A small mumble of someone being bruised reached Carolines ears. At first she didn’t think much of it, until one of her friends reached for Carolines arm. “I think you should go,” the friend said nodding towards Ajax, who was about to phase through a wall. Carolines eyes followed her friends, seeing him.
“Shit,” she almost whispered before she got up and left her bag with her friends. She only brought her phone. Being somewhat unharmed and clear, Caroline rushed after him. Luckily, she could walk through walls, just like him, and even if she lost sight of him, she had an idea of where he went.

She reached his door, listening to him shout in pain. She was already worried, and it was clear on her face. She phased through the door and saw how he laid down, looking like something which had been through a meat cleaver. “Oh my…” she whispered before she approached him. “Ajax, what happened?” she asked kneeling down close to him. Her mind was racing. She should’ve called for help – just some sort. “Do you want me to get someone?” A healer? A werewolf? Erin? Benjamin? Her eyes wandered across his body, considering if there was anything she could do, but she felt hopeless.

He looked up as Caroline phased through the door, he wasn't completely used to her being able to do that. Ajax couldn't even pull up a smile if he wanted to, his jaw was most likely broken along with so many other parts of him. It was a wonder how he even had made it this far, a quick thought went to Joseph - and even if the siphoner always was on his nerves, perhaps he was the reason why Ajax didn't feel so much pain at the moment. "It's a long story," he mumbled a little looking very uncomfortable. "I don't want anyone to ask too many questions," he said low, it took way to much energy for him to talk. "Can you get me some blood from the mini fridge?" Of course Ajax had his own fridge in his room, money was the last thing the demon needed in life. "And just.. don't leave me alone," he said in a lower voice, as his face pained even more. He felt a slow burn on his cheek, where his jaw already was killing him - and he wondered if something had happened, or if he was just pained from speaking. All of his skin painted in blue, purple and red colors. He just watched her carefully, it seemed like an end of something, but he wasn't going to let the fear of death get a grib on him. Not now, he wasn't the only one in danger - and he hoped someone had found Cecilia where-ever she was. Joseph could heal himself, the bastard had even better healing than Ajax. He just hoped that Benjamin had more luck with convincing Pandora to break the curse, because he couldn't stand being the reason for anyone to suffer.

Caroline breathed out by the nose, as he said it was a long story. She already knew that by the look of him. He was completely bruised! She pulled on a slight smile, mostly trying to calm her own nerves, but hopefully it would calm him too. He definitely looked like shit, and he probably knew that already. She nodded, letting her eyes focus on his bruised face. “Of course,” she almost whispered to him. It was clear to her that it everything seemed to be painful, even talking. She wouldn’t let anyone get to him if he didn’t wish for that. But he couldn’t just lay here, wounded and hurt. Could she run to meet Erin and hope she could do whatever she sometimes could? Caroline still wasn’t sure of how she sometimes temporarily gained powers, but she knew she could to some extent.

Get be some blood. Caroline immediately looked towards the minifridge, before she looked back at him, sending him a quick smile, “Yes, of course,” she said and got to her feet and turned to approach the minifridge. She stopped immediately, when he heard his voice behind her, and she looked over her shoulder. “I’ll stay. I promise,” she said with a gentle smile. She was worried for him and the idea of being able to help him by somehow gaining healing powers was flushed away. She couldn’t leave him. Worry painted her face as he seemed to be in more pain. She therefore chose to hurry to the mini fridge and grabbed whatever kind of blood there was in there. Bottle, bag, whatever he had. She tried to close the door, but her hand phased through it; she didn’t feel like she had time for another try, so she let the minifridge stand open, as she hurried back to him.

If it was a bottle she would quickly unscrew the cap. “Do you have to drink it?” she asked with the bottle and the cap in each hand. If he gave some kind of affirmation, she would get on her knees. If he tried to do something himself, she would insist that she did it and that he should try to relax. Help is here. She would gently place a hand under his head, looking for any sign of pain, and make sure his head was somewhat raised so he could drink without drowining from it. If it didn't inflict too much pain, she would pour the red liquid as gently and slowly into his open mouth, hopefully not making a mess; stopping whenever it seemed like he couldn’t drink more. If he in some way declined the need to drink she would look confused at him. “What do you need it for then?” she would ask.

If it was a bag of blood she would stand next to him, looking somewhat confused. She was no nurse. “What do you need this for?” she asked and looked at the bag. “As a drop?” she added looking back to him. Hopefully he could give her some kind of answer without inflicting more pain to himself.

Caroline came back with the bottle, and now wasn't the time for him to realize that she had never seen him drink blood before. Ajax was a dream demon, he could gain strength from dreams and nightmares - and blood. Blood was when everything else seemed impossible and he needed something to work fast, like right now. He needed for his body to heal quicker. "I need to drink it," he managed to say and gave her a forced yet firm smile. Caroline helped him lift his head, and he felt the bottle close to his lips. He started drinking it, his jaw was broken so it didn't really make it painless, but at least whatever held the pain down helped him drink without a problem. He could feel it battle the damage in his body, how it healed up the nerves that had taken most of the damage. Ajax feared any internal bleedings, but not because he was having a hard time healing up because of the blood - but because of the link. Ajax was so worried that Cecilia wasn't going to recover from this experience - or at least be able to walk away from it after. He could finally breathe a little bit better, the blood was working. "In case I need more than what was in the bottle," he lifted himself a little exhausted up on his elbows. He moved his hands to his ribs, feeling them heal up. Ajax was overall dizzy and confused, but at the same time he didn't allow himself to fade away.

"Listen to me.. if I blackout for too long.. find Pandora.. If you can't find her, then you find Benjamin, he might be able to find her. She is the only one who can break the curse completely," he wasn't going to give further explanations to what the curse was, but he needed it gone. But he also needed to close his eyes and connect to the mind-space he shared with Cecilia, making sure she was alright, making sure she wasn't scared. "I'm sorry you had to see me like this," he then said as he took a sharp inhale and gave her a little nod. Then he closed his eyes, disconnecting himself from reality and entered the main space - after all he did have someone to find. And it was time for a goodbye. It was about time he closed the mental connection he had to the siphoner and the human.

Caroline couldn’t help but look worried while she poured the thick red liquid into his mouth. Sometimes she felt like there was things she didn’t know of for a reason. Like his need for blood. She had never seen him need blood, and it didn’t really scare her; but it felt surreal – just like everything else.
Her eyes were extremely observant and tried to capture every movement he made, so he wouldn’t drown in blood. He felt bad enough already. When it seemed like he didn’t need more or that the bottle was empty, she removed it and screw the cap back on. “Shh shh,” she said as she tried to move around, hoping that he would stay in bed.

Even though he already had her full attention, she listened to every word he said with worry painted all over her. She nodded as she repeated the names he mentioned. “Yes, yes. Of course,” she said not really understanding what kind of curse it was or how bad it was. Was it going to kill him?
As he apologized for letting her see him like this, tears appeared in her eyes. “No, don’t apologize,” she whispered. “Rest now,” she said. The blue eyes never left him.

He could already feel the blood healing his system slowly and painfully. The pain was perhaps just himself placing some guilt of not having stopped his father earlier - before it had come to this. With his parents now in their mind prisons, he could have done that a long time ago - but right now it hadn't been just Ajax taking the punches. He felt bad about that. He felt bad about everything.  Even if Caroline whispered for him not to apologize for it, he wanted to he needed to. He needed to tell Cecilia especially that he was sorry. Sorry for causing her this pain, even if he wasn't in control of his father's actions. There was also no way that he would admit that this was his father's doing. Rest now, he wished he could rest - or he could rest - but he couldn't get himself to do so. Not in this pain. What if he never woke up from this rest? What if Cecilia didn't make it? Then this would be the last thing he saw, but he could handle it. "You know.. I never meant to hurt you right?" He took a sharper breath in, "I know you told me to rest.. but I need to know I said it.." he knew either this would end in a good way or a bad. Either way, there was a few things he liked to say. "You are by far the most important person in my life.. You are my person. Don't ever question that, okay?" He gave her a slight nod before he forced himself to close his eyes and render himself into a stage of deep sleep. He needed to recover.

I never meant to hurt you, she nodded and tried to pull a smile. She knew they both only wanted the best for each other, but sometimes that desire led to stupid actions. I need to know I said it, she tried to keep her cool as much as possible and continued nodding, “I know,” she whispered her reply forcing a smile. She was glad to hear him say it. It meant a lot. You’re the most important person in my life. It felt like her heart was ripping into pieces. She shook her head, changed her mind, and nodded. “I won’t,” she answered. Ajax was clearly her person. No matter what they went through, they always found their way around things and she was certain that she couldn’t live without him. She loved him too much to not have him in her life. She wouldn’t let him die, no matter what. “You’re my person too,” she confessed, even though she was quite sure he knew already. He closed his eyes and seemed fall asleep – he was still breathing. She felt how her tears seemed to let loose, running down her cheeks, “You’re not allowed to die,” she demanded, even though he probably couldn’t hear her. “I won’t let you,” she cried. She wanted him to know, but she was scared that if she touched him, that it would break something that was already close to break. She was a mere puny human, sitting next to her dream demon friend and didn’t dare to touch him, because she feared to break his bones. It seemed nuts.

She sat there waiting impatiently, not really knowing whether how long ‘too long’ was. Tears still flooded down her face, and made everything seem blurry. Afraid that he was dying, she occasionally checked his pulse. After approximately ten minutes she started to panic and immediately called for Benjamin. She didn’t know Pandora other than by looks, and she was sure that Benjamin would be able to do whatever he could to help. Caroline couldn’t leave Ajax. The phone was picked up.
“Benjamin he-”
“Find Pandora,” she cried, and got to her feet, looking at Ajax beaten body. “Make her break the curse,” she sobbed.
“Count on me,” he replied. “Are you going to be okay?”
“Not if he’s not making it!” she yelped and let her hand find its way to her forehead, as if it would calm her down.
“I’ll find her,” he then repeated before he hung up, leaving Caroline to sob.

She tried walking around, hoping that the sobbing would leave her. She covered her eyes and stood still, trying to collect herself and control her breathing. A sound came from the bed and she immediately silenced herself and rushed over to him, putting a knee on the bed and her hands on his pillow, on each side of his head. She still didn’t dare to touch him. Her eyes flickered from any feature he had, searching for any sign of what she should do. Her tears still streaming down her cheeks, and when they reached her curve on her face, it would drip down onto the pillow or his face. She wanted to hug him tightly, glad that he woke up, but the fear of making things worse kept her from it.

He gained strength in his dreams, like his own personal buffet of wandering to different places. It was easier if he just had stayed linked to Cecilia's head, then he could have feed on her dreams as well, and yet, as a dream wanderer he could walk miles and reach out where ever he wanted. The world was filled with golden strings when he went into this stage, and when he followed them he was lead to people who slept so nice and tight. It was giving him the strength he needed, and he did even go to see the human - she was alright, as alright as someone could be, and he made sure that good dreams were at reach before he made his way back to his own head. Then he opened his eyes again, after quite some time and his ears tuned in on the sobbing. Ajax could only imagine how terrified Caroline was in this moment. He looked at her and breathed out. He could feel the small tears on his cheek, and he lifted up his hand and placed it on her cheek. His muscles a bit sore, but he could manage. He used his thumb to move the tear away, and pulled a small smile. "It's okay Caroline, I'm fine," he whispered underneath his breath while letting his two-colored eyes stay on her. He had always hated to see her cry, but to see her cry over not knowing what was going to happen to him was something else. Ajax had never wanted her to fear losing him, he had always promised he wouldn't go anywhere. "I'm going to be alright," he assured her on the next inhale.

Through the clouded eyes, she could see how he lifted his hand to place it on her cheek and soon after try some tears away. She could even see him pulling a smile. “I’m glad,” she responded whispering, and slightly hoarse. Though she was quite sure he wasn’t really ‘fine’ yet. He needed more time to heal and recover. Her blue eyes shined way more than usual, whether if it was the tears or just seeing that he seemed to feel just a bit better, was unclear. He told her, that he was going to be alright, which made her sniff and lift a hand to dry the tears from the other cheek. You better,” she said trying to pull a smile as soon as the hand was on the pillow again. “Don’t ever scare me like that,” she chuckled with tears ready to stream down her cheeks again. With an exhausted exhale, closing her eyes, taking her time, she tried to calm herself just a bit more down. As she reopened the eyes, she gently placed a hand on top of the hand on her cheek. “Can I get you anything?” she asked having somewhat more control of the smile she formed on her lips, even though the redness under her eyes and in her eyes made it clear she had been crying. She was willing to go and fetch him whatever he needed, as long as it provided him something to feel better.

Ajax was indeed Caroline’s person and no matter what, she couldn’t imagine a world without him in it – no matter what Elenora told her and no matter if what Elenora told her seemed to be right. He meant too much for Caroline to just let him go or to hate him for more than a week… Maybe only a day.