How lovely the silence of growing things

[Brayden Smith]

"Oh! Here? Look here?"

Brayden looked at Rip instead; he found Rip much easier on the eyes than some glowing rectangle. Was this modern magic? The Brayden of this time would have known how to use it but sadly he was holding down the throne, allowing him to be out here inhabiting this body. At any rate it worked and the glowing screen changed—to a picture of Jack. Undoubtedly, Jack translated very well onto this screen, whatever it was.

A means of communication? Ah. Yes. Brayden watched with keen interest as Rip held the device to his ear and began to speak into it. The exchange seemed stilted even to him, and poor darling Rip was nervous speaking to—essentially himself. Had he never met Jack before then? Brayden wasn't surprised.

Keith likely wanted to keep Rip as a backup, as his trump card to lock down a part of his soul to this time and this place. That way Brayden could not reincarnate, without all of Jack's soul having passed on to the next life. Golems, after all, were not bound by time restrictions the way humans and fae were.

As the device was pushed towards him, Brayden started. He looked at it suspiciously and then spoke into it Very Loudly. "Jack? Jack! I need you to come here right away! There's not much time to explain, my love, but I need you here! I must give you something before I have to... go." He glanced at Rip. "Tell him where we are. If he can't get here in time, I... I'll give it to you to safeguard, okay? But you must not let Keith get his hands on it!"

[Ripper Nightshade]

"See? It's him! And you have to hurry--hurry to the motel!"

"What motel? What the hell is going on?"

Jack's voice sounded weird now, as if he was moving. There was a rustling sound and somebody in the background saying something about a tracker. Jack's voice was muffled when he said something back, like he was covering the phone.

When he came back, he asked again, "What motel?"

Rip told him the address, the same one he had been given by Allie to meet Brayden. Again, he heard Jack in the background, talking to somebody else, relaying the information Brayden had given him. There was confusion in his voice and then the sound of a door opening. "Hurry," Jack said. "Something fucked is going on." Then to Rip, "I'll be there ASAP. Don't you fucking move from where you are."

"Okay," Rip said... and then hung up, because he didn't see the point in staying on the line any longer. Gingerly, he placed the phone down on the table next to his card, from when he first arrived. Then he looked over at Brayden, who seemed anxious.

"He said he'll be here a sap," he said, not sure what it meant but it didn't sound like it was that fast. "He doesn't want me to move but I... I don't want to be here when he gets here... I'm sure you can give what you have to Jack. He's... the real Jack, after all. And he won't let Keith do anything to you. He never... would have let this happen to you..."

[Brayden Smith]

The exchange didn't sound like it was going well for Jack but if it lent speed to his feet and haste to his movements, Brayden was all for it. He heard some words here and there, but the device transmitted mostly to Rip, who faithfully did as he was asked and relayed their location to Jack. Then the device darkened and Rip indicated that Jack would be here a sap, whatever that meant.

Jargon of these confusing modern times, Brayden supposed...

"But Rip." Brayden hung on to him—literally, he clung to Rip with both arms about him, as though he would physically wrestle Rip if need be. "I want you here. I need you here. You are a part of me and you need to hear what I have to say, too. It's very important. This is not only for Jack." He loosened one arm to try and tug Rip over to the bed, to sit. "You are a part of me," Brayden repeated gently. "And I am a part of you, too, my love."

[Ripper Nightshade]

Why did this person have such power over him? It was almost as if he overrode everybody else, this Brayden Smith. Was that why Pax wanted him to meet with him? That didn't make sense; shouldn't he want him to stay away? Keith had kept him away from him... up until now. But he'd used Rip. He used him to... do... terrible things. Rip could never see him the same way again, even as his creator. Rip had always been nervous about failing him, scared of displeasing him. This was new, though. Rather than fear, he was angry. Rip... did not often feel that way. He never really had occasion to.

All Brayden had to do was say that he wanted him here. Needed him here. He would stay. But he held onto him and he said that Rip was a part of him. He said it twice. Rip didn't understand what it meant logically but on an emotional level, he sort of did.

This was what it meant to be a half of a whole. Except that he wasn't. But he was. Maybe not half. But partially. He was weak to Brayden, and so he let him tug him to the bed and he sat down like an obedient child.

"I feel it," he said, "that what you say is true. But I don't understand it. I'm just a golem with a stolen piece of Jack inside me..." He looked over at Brayden sadly. "Do I have to give it back now?"

[Brayden Smith]

As they sat, Brayden slipped a hand into Rip's and threaded their fingers together, letting their clasped hands settle in his lap. He leaned in and rested his head against Rip's shoulder, just as he did a very long time ago under that spreading honeysuckle that shielded them from prying eyes, when he confessed his love for Jack.

The crown prince of the House of Dreams and a prince of the Fallen were not meant to be together. Their people were enemies; they were at war. Yet, from the moment their eyes met, a sense of destiny had fallen over them that could not be ignored. They were soul mates; Brayden knew that from the beginning. Even if Keith had Jack first and even though Jack had been in love with him, everything changed once Brayden caught them together. Keith conspired against his own people, hoping to become King and Jack was misled by his lies, thinking that all Keith wanted was to unite their people.

But a love scorned was a dangerous thing. As Brayden and Jack grew closer, Keith seemed to grow more unhinged. The night that he broke into Brayden's chambers and slew him, he set off a chain of events that not even he could have predicted. And here they were. Jack's soul was split and Brayden was inhabiting a body that was both his and not his at the same time.

"No... What is yours is yours. It wouldn't be right to take it from you." Brayden could not take a life and removing Rip's soul amounted to just that. He smiled at Rip, taking him in, the light catching in his hair, in his eyes. "Besides, it has already started to grow. Maybe one day it will become whole, and you will meet a new soul mate."

[Ripper Nightshade]

Aw, this... this felt right. Cozy and warm. It made his heart feel full and bubbly and toasty, like a nice hot bath. (He admitted to vastly preferring baths to showers once he experienced one for the first time.) Slowly, he closed his eyes, despite the great anxiety he felt about the real Jack coming and the terrible guilt he still felt over killing Brayden. Even if he was alive now, it had felt all too real, when he was lying there on the motel floor, no longer breathing.

Just remembering it made him feel emotional and he swallowed hard, opening his eyes and lifting his head. The horror of it stuck to his chest, shaking him and freezing him. He looked over at Brayden, noticing that he was studying him again. Brayden seemed to do that a lot. But he smiled because Brayden smiled, even if he felt sad inside.

"Maybe," he said, but he didn't know how he felt about it. Why did this feel so right, then? Because of the part of him that was still Jack? If his soul grew more, the way Brayden said it would, could it be a soul apart from him?

He wanted to say more but he heard voices approaching and it was uncanny, hearing what sounded like his own voice, but outside of his head. A moment later, there was a couple of knocks on the door.

"Brayden? Are you in there?"

[Brayden Smith]

There wasn't a lot known about the growth of souls inside of golems, since they weren't generally made to be fully sentient. They were usually more like automatons, meant to carry out menial tasks. Of the few that did have souls, their personalities tended to drift apart from the original owner of their souls over time. Brayden hoped that this was the case with Rip. If his soul grew apart from Jack's and into its own, he would be free from Keith's influence. The threads that bound golem and creator would snap and maybe he could live out the rest of his life in peace.

Not having much time meant that he couldn't personally oversee Rip's growth but Brayden had high hopes for him. His soul had already begun to grow; that meant someone here was nurturing it. Someone had shown him love, compassion, tenderness and he responded to it. That was a good thing because Brayden wouldn't be here for much longer. He needed to allow the other Brayden time to say his goodbyes, too...

Thankfully Jack arrived soon, and as soon as Brayden heard his voice, he rose. His heart already leapt up into his throat and his soul trembled knowing that its mate was beyond the door. Every life, Jack's soul was reborn, while Brayden remained trapped in that other realm, hoping and praying that this time and in this life, the cycle could be broken, hoping that he could survive one of Keith's attacks and finally defeat him.

"Jack..." Brayden hurried to the door and flung it open. He gasped. It... was him... He was in Jack's arms in hardly any time at all, holding him tightly and whispering his name like a sacred prayer. Not his earthly name but his True Name, that only Brayden could know. "It's really you..."

Behind Jack, someone cleared his throat softly. "Why... are there two of you?" The man asked, looking extremely grave. He edged inside and placed himself between Jack and Rip, staring at the latter. "Who are you?"

[Jack Ripley]

From the moment he got the call from Brayden's phone, something felt off. Honestly, he should have known something was off when Brayden left for the "grocery store" with a knowing wink at Jack. He had no idea what it was meant to convey but he assumed, perhaps, that Brayden was going to bring back a gift of some sort for the two of them to share later.

What he didn't expect was somebody who sounded a lot like HIMSELF talking on the other end. He thought it was a sick joke or maybe a recording but those were new things he was saying, not anything Jack could remember saying. But it could still be a joke... up until the part where Brayden got on the phone and mentioned Keith. At that point, everything was serious.

He made no small effort in getting to him as soon as possible. The second he was at the door, he was knocking and when it opened--he could safely say he wasn't expecting what he saw.

Brayden, that he expected. And his arms around him were beyond reassuring. Relief flooded through his entire body as he hugged him back, tight and close, making sure he was real and that he was fine.

"Are you okay?" he asked, because he thought for sure that Brayden was being kept here by... by... himself? Jack still couldn't believe it. He stared at the other him over Brayden's shoulder, still holding him close and tight, like he might stop embracing Jack if he thought that imposter was him.

But he knew. He had to know because Brayden whispered his True Name into his ear and that was enough for him to know that 1. Brayden wasn't fooled and 2. That Brayden wasn't whatever this other Jack was. He closed his eyes briefly, and only because Ken was there to handle things. If he hadn't been there, no way would he close his eyes around another him.

When he opened his eyes, the other Jack was stepping backwards and looking highly uncomfortable.

"I'm Rip. I'm a... golem."

Jack stared and it began slotting into place. Keith, golem, Brayden. That bastard tried to trick Brayden with one of his golems! Jack pulled back from Brayden, hands on his face as he looked at him urgently.

"You're okay, right?"

[Brayden Smith]

"He tried to save me from Keith," Brayden said hurriedly, in case Jack or his intimidating friend tried to harm Rip. "He fought to save me. Rip is our friend. Please don't hurt him."

Jack's friend made a noncommittal sound in the back of his throat but kept his eyes on Rip, though he made no moves to harm him. Brayden turned briefly to smile at Rip before he returned his gaze onto Jack, taking him in avidly. He had already memorized this face and committed it to permanent memory, but having him here and being able to hold him was an indescribably joyful thing.

But...

Brayden shook his head gently, as much as he could given that Jack held his face in his hands. "Keith..." he began, turning his gaze downward. "I am not your Brayden, Jack. I am... a Brayden and I've been waiting for you to break this cycle. I took over your Brayden's body to tell you something very important, and there isn't much time."

He touched the outside of Jack's wrist, still unable to look up at him. He didn't want to see the look in Jack's eyes when he realized that he was too late. That was a look he had seen a thousand times, each and every life that he lived where Brayden had to die at Keith's hands. "I'm sorry my love. I've bought some time for your Brayden to say goodbye, and then we will both have to go. But you can save him. I put his body into stasis until you can find a celestial soul weaver. They can reconnect your Brayden's soul back to this body, but you must hurry before his soul moves on."

[Jack Ripley]

Tried? What did he mean by tried? Jack didn't have any real animosity towards the other him, especially not if he saved Brayden. But what did the TRY part mean...? Jack furrowed his brows.

"I won't," he said, in response to hurting Rip. He had no desire to hurt... Rip. And he could guess where that name came from. Sigh. Ripper, that stupid ass nickname from his junior high and high school years with Keith. Rip the golem could keep the name; Jack never really liked it, to be honest.

And why was Brayden looking down, not at him? Shouldn't he be excited to see him? Shouldn't he be relieved, too? Then he realized that Brayden never said he was okay. And he was trying to summon up the will to tell him bad news. Jack swallowed hard.

Not his Brayden? A Brayden? Another golem, maybe...? But no, he said he was in his Brayden's body... Jack wasn't understanding what was happening. So all he could get out was a confused, "What?"

And then again, "What?" His heart dropped. What did he mean that he would have to go? Goodbye? What was he going on about right now? Jack shook his head.

"I don't understand. I can save him...? But you're saying he has to go? What the hell does that mean? Can I save him or not?"

[Brayden Smith]

"I'm so sorry." His eyes flooded with heat as he shook his head again, desperately wishing that he didn't have to be part of this. "Keith killed him. Me. Both of our souls are in purgatory, in the realm I created when Keith killed me the first time because I could not bear to... to leave you." And his Jack could not join him there because he died naturally—of a broken heart—and his soul moved on to its next reincarnation.

"Brayden's soul will stay with me there. His body will remain here with you. My magic will protect this physical body for a time, so that you can find a celestial. A celestial soul weaver, remember that. You must find one and have them reconnect Brayden's soul to his body."

Finally he looked up, cupping Jack's confused face. It would dawn on him later, he was sure. The enormity of this loss wasn't something that came easily. "Your Brayden's powers awakened, Jack. None of my reincarnations have been able to do that before, so I think this time you both can break the cycle. If you can stop Keith from killing Brayden and if you can live out this life together..." He smiled through the overwhelming sadness, daring once again to hope.

"Free me, Jack. Free us. All of us. Don't let Keith win! I'll teach your Brayden all I know while you find a celestial to revive him. Okay? And please protect Rip, too. He has a part of your soul inside of him, and that soul has to have a chance to grow. Don't let Keith get his hands on either of us."

[Jack Ripley]

"But I--!" Rip tried to say something and Jack barely even glanced at him. Whatever he was going to say, he went quiet again and Jack was grateful. Right now, he didn't have time for him. Brayden--whichever Brayden this was--had important things to impart and he didn't need his attention divided in such a crucial moment.

And all he was hanging onto was the part where Brayden could still come back. He refused to believe that he was dead--more that he was in some kind of magical stasis. Which was the truth, was it not? Besides, he said Brayden's powers awakened. And that they were both on the brink of breaking the cycle. That meant he wasn't dead. He could still be reached. In his dreams. In visions.

"Keith won't get near either of you," he said, with certainty that he wasn't fully aware he actually felt. After all, he already managed to slip past him twice now. But Brayden would stay close and Rip... he had no idea what to even do with him. Part of him was intrigued but part of him was a little weirded out that Keith went to such great lengths to have a part of him in his life. Also, gross.

"Between myself and all the people Brayden somehow gathered together, I'm sure we can find a celestial soul weaver." Jack didn't even know any celestials--hadn't even heard the term as a noun before--but he was dead sure that they could find one. There were too many heads in the supernatural game around him to be blind to it. Somebody had to have a lead.

[Brayden Smith]

"I knew I could count on you." Brayden was so proud of how far his Jack had come! His Jack was capable and brave and resourceful—as he had been in all of his former lives, but particularly the first. The one he fell in love with without intending to, setting off this entire chain of events.

He embraced Jack again, tightly, and then pulled away. "I'll let your Brayden back now." Reaching up, he touched Jack's cheek, his temple, his dark curls. "I love you, Jack. We both love you."

Brayden closed his eyes. Everything faded to black and then he was back in the other realm, looking at himself seated nervously upon the large throne. "He knows what to do to save us. I've bought you as much time as I could to say goodbye." Brayden sat while he rose, smiling. "We're close, Brayden. You two can do this."

~~~~

Bray opened his eyes to Jack and he let out a soft cry as he held him tightly. "Jack! Jack I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't stop him. I tried but he—"

[Jack Ripley]

"I love you," he said faintly, feeling oddly lonely in the moment. It was just a few seconds, probably, but inside of those seconds, there was nothing inside of Brayden, nothing but a quiet, disturbing stillness that closed his throat. But, he wanted to say, what about those visions of their future? Were they only possibilities? Were they only carrots to keep him moving forward?

And then the empty nothingness disappeared and Brayden opened his eyes. Jack searched his gaze but knew in an instant that it was his Brayden. As if other Braydens were not the same. But they were. They were all one and the same. His gaze was soft and sad but hopeful at the same time as he caressed Brayden's face. It didn't feel real. It still felt like some kind of cosmic joke that nobody was laughing at.

Because he was here, very much here. And he was talking to him and looking at him and always, always apologizing. Jack pressed two fingers to Brayden's lips.

"Stop. Stop apologizing." As if Brayden was at fault for... Jack couldn't even think the word. "Listen, Brayden..." He didn't know how long there even was before... something happened and Brayden stopped being able to talk. But it seemed important to tell him. "Those words you were finding in my visions, they were clues, left by you... past you. One of them was dream. Remember armed? So... so you were right... about that."

He was just talking to talk though, it felt like. As if... if he stopped, Brayden would stop living because he wouldn't be listening.

[Brayden Smith]

"I'm sor...ry..." He trailed off as he did the very thing Jack told him not to and then let out an exasperated, soft, mirthless laugh at himself. He couldn't help it. Everything was his fault--or it felt like it was. It felt like he shouldered the burden for... everything, and needed people to know that he felt remorse for their actions.

But they didn't have much time, so he let Jack say what he needed to say without interruption and only nodded slowly. "Yes. Dream." The House of Dreams, the Prince of Dreams--that was him. He stroked Jack's face, hair, down the side of his neck and along his shoulders, trying to touch him one last time, one desperate last time. "The other one is betrayal."

Betrayed by Keith, the man who arranged the attack so that young Prince Brayden could... die.

"Don't go back to the visions, Jack. It's not worth it. I'll just... talk to the other me. And I can find you in your dreams, right? So we won't really be apart, it's just... just for a little while until..." Until Jack could find the person to bring him back to life. Bray kissed him, softly at first and then with mounting desperation as he felt himself beginning to fade.

"Jack. Jack I love you. Always. Always. Don't give up, okay? Don't... don't give... up..."

And then he was back in that dark place again, looking at himself seated upon the throne.