[Fic] Truthiness [Complete]

[Adrian Moss]

"Thanks," he responded. Here he was being called Forrest Gump again. It would probably have pissed him off more if he only realized who this Gumpy guy was. As it was, he knew it was a put down because he was stupid and that hurt.

He quickly decided that lashing out wasn't the proper response because this Sherman would butcher him with words and his uncle had drilled it into him that you didn't beat on people littler than him ... unless they were monsters.

So, he got out of the car, smiled weakly to Livy and gave a "Sure", as he turned to leave.

Ash's comments were nicer and started pulling him out of his funk as he headed for the door. Sherman's words melted away into the abyss were unpleasent thoughts went to in Reider's World. Now, if only the Amazons didn't glare at him too much, he was going to tell Sapphire all about his night, and the Son of Lugh.

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Later that night… (June 9, 2009)

The horrors of last night were gone; Liv lay sleeping next to Wakiki. She felt warm and safe in their two-bedroom apartment, curled against Wakiki with her arm over his back. He was on his stomach, his face turned away and his arm slung off the bed. No matter how many times she put it back, he just moved it off in his sleep again. She’d given up on it a long time ago, despite the fact that it looked uncomfortable.

She should be happy, enjoying her life after she’d come so close to losing it. But she was troubled by something; there was a nagging fear that told her something was wrong. It seemed so far away from here, from her safe home, but it pressed on her like a weight.

Something was out there. And it didn’t like her very much.

Shivering, Liv pulled closer to Wakiki, making him mutter drowsily. In the dim light that crept in around their curtains, she looked at him, studying the handsome face she’d loved as long as she could remember. He was her rock, and she wasn’t sure what she’d do without him. What would she do if something happened to him?

“Wha’s wron’?” he muttered, rolling his head over so that he could look at her.

“Nothing,” she murmured, kissing his bare shoulder. “Go back to sleep, hon.”

“Somet’in’s wron’,” he yawned.

“Can’t sleep,” she confessed, rubbing his back gently, his skin soft and supple.

He pulled himself up on his elbows, sleepiness slowly fading as more and more of his brain was forced to access his speech and reason centers. “Is last night botherin’ you?”

“Maybe a little,” she murmured.

“It must have been scary,” he replied, then leaned over to kiss her. She took the comfort he offered her, but he couldn’t chase the fear away.

That fear redoubled when someone knocked on the door. Liv was up on her hands and knees, wary as the blankets slid off of her, before the echoes from the knock had faded. Wakiki was just as nervous and suddenly awake. “Wait here,” he said, exiting the bed in his flannel pants and scooping up the .38.

Liv slipped off the bed, nodding and moving to a corner where she could half-hide if someone found their way into the room. She also pulled on a pair of pants, though she kept the same shirt. She’d barely settled in when Wakiki came back in the room, turning on the light, his expression unsettled. “Hon, you need to come to the living room,” he said softly. “There’s a woman here, and she says she’s your mom.”

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Livy felt her jaw drop. Her first year at BU, she’d spent much time looking for her mother. It was the last place anyone knew her to be, but all her inquiries had turned up leads that were years old. No one had seen her since she had disappeared several months pregnant. No one had seen her again until she’d shown up at Haruo’s house, holding a baby girl. “I’ll be right there,” she murmured.

He nodded, then stepped forward and kneeled next to her, pulling her into a hug. He kissed her and murmured, “I’m here if you need me.”

She nodded happily and he left the room. She could hear voices talking – one familiar, one strange. She drew a deep breath and rose to her feet. Putting her head high, she walked out into their small living area.

Beautiful. Graceful. Elegant. These words and more were the only way to describe the woman before her. Cocoa skin was accented by a white sun dress, and the soft smell of rum filled the air. Thick, black hair hung in curls, framing a perfect heart-shaped face. Jewelry flashed on her body, at wrist, fingers and throat. She was leaning against the arm of the couch, her long legs crossed before her. Liv immediately felt ugly in comparison, a unique sensation for her.

“Oh… mah… Gawd,” the woman – Julie, Liv remembered – said, rising to her feet as her eyes went wide. “Cherie, look at how beautiful you are,” she cooed, her thick Southern accent coying. She stepped forward and caught Livy in a hug; startled, Livy hugged her back. Her birth mother’s statement warmed her a little; having a woman who looked like that calling you beautiful was heartening. Livy was a little more confident when she pulled back.

“Why are you here?” Livy asked. This was her mother; she knew it. She could see it in her features; felt it in her heart. There was an undeniable connection to this woman that she had never felt with anyone, not even Father or Wakiki. “I mean… why show up now? After twenty years, you didn’t seem very interested in me.” Livy heard the hurt in her voice; Wakiki moved to stand behind her, showing his clear support. “Need a kidney or something?”

“You’ll be regretting those words ‘afore I’m done talkin’,” Julie told her, growing serious. “When I tell ya why I weren’t ‘round, ya’ll see my side. An ya’ll agree.”

“Fine, if you think so,” Livy said, crossing her arms. This wasn’t how she thought it would go. She thought that Julie would break down with remorse over abandoning her. If her mother thought she’d be easily swayed by some story about Julie’s career taking time from a baby, she was in for a shock.

“I am not Julie Jenings,” Julie said, a delicate eyebrow rising. “I am Erzulie Dantor, wife to Damballa, Ogoun and Agwe, Loa of the Voodun. As a girl-woman, I’m young and flighty and in love; as a mother, I’m the protector of mothers and children and lesbians; as an old woman, I’m angry and bitter because no one can love me anymore. I am all this and more.” Just as Livy was about to laugh and question Julie’s sanity aloud, Julie changed. Her skin darkened while her dress became a robe made of rainbows; oddly, she somehow gained beauty, passing into inhuman attractiveness. As Livy and Wakiki gaped, Erzulie showed her true glory. “And you are my daughter, Olivia.”

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Olivia sat down, her legs giving out. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. This was all completely impossible. Her long-absent mother, a goddess – or whatever a Loa is. “How?”

“I assume you’re questioning the reality of gods and goddesses rather than questioning how babies are made?” Erzulie asked, bemused. At Liv’s shocked nod, her mother began. “We are real. We exist. There are many pantheons, and they all have children beget on humans, called Scions. I’m going to awaken you to your nature, so that you’ll be a Scion. This will give you great power, but I fear you will not thank me for it. You see, there is a war.”

“I… I’m mostly a pacifist.” Liv blurted stupidly. Realizing how dumb that sounded, she said, “I’m no warrior, lack of conviction regarding violence aside.”

“This sounds dangerous,” Wakiki said, putting his hand on Liv’s shoulder possessively.

“It is, but she is involved no matter what,” Erzulie said, frowning. “The only way I could remove her from this war is to remove her from the world. If it makes you feel better, there was no war when you were conceived. You were made in love. You were made to love – of all of my children, you love the hardest and the fiercest – the poor and the defeated, the powerful and the mighty – all are in your heart, Olivia. You burn with the pain of others, for love for them.

“I named you Olivia, because it means peace. And Sachi means ‘blessed’ in your father’s language,” Erzulie said softly. You were made to love, but you will have to fight, too. For that, I’m sorry.”

“I… war? What war?” Livy said, trying to grasp the important parts. The rest, the thought that somehow her mother had molded her from conception to be a certain way, was too enormous to digest. War was easy. War she understood.

“The Titans are the chaotic elements that bring death and destruction, and their spawn are the monsters of old. In those times, Scions were the defenders of humanity. In time, millennia ago, they were all sealed away in the Underworld, and the Gods all withdrew from the world, for the most part,” Erzulie said, her face sad as she recounted the history and Livy’s true heritage. “Recently, the Titanspawn have freed themselves, and are preying on humanity again. And that is the war – to save man from the offspring of the elements of destruction, waged by the offspring of the Gods.”

“No offense,” Wakiki said, “but the gods of old weren’t exactly what I’d call the paragons of stability themselves. The Greek Pantheon alone – I assume they’re real? Anyway, the Dodekatheist pantheon alone caused enough chaos, assuming the old myths are real.” He shook his head, looking dazed. “This is… oddly, my useless degree is looking less and less useless all the time.”

“Indeed,” Erzulie said. “Since your relationship binds you to my daughter already, I would have you serve as a guide and tutor for her. You know the ways around the myths and legends, and she’ll need someone helping her. Someone I can trust to put her first.”

Liv flushed at the mention of her relationship to her brother, but there was no judgment in Erzulie’s eyes. “Bet your ass she comes first,” Wakiki snapped.

“Good. I have other gifts for you as well, Daughter,” Erzulie said, stepping close and pulling Liv to her feet. She cradled her daughter’s face in her hands and softly kissed her forehead; Liv gasped as something pulsed through her. The air filled with the scent of rum and tobacco, and the young Scion heard the staccato of drums. Both quickly faded, and Olivia felt like herself again. But when she looked at her brother, he was staring at her, and she knew something was different about her – she carried a mark of her divine heritage on her.

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Before she could see what that mark was, Erzulie was drawing a bundle of red cloth from within her own robes. Liv took the outstretched gift; before she pulled back, Erzulie caught her hand and dropped a necklace in it as well. “The robes will offer you protection, as will the necklace. The robes are a general type of armor, and will allow you to access internal gifts that I have just given you. The necklace once belonged to a Scion who survived Nero’s burning of Rome, and this necklace will allow you to pass through a riot unharmed and will grant immunity to fire. And I give you these.”

Walking to the door, Erzulie opened it; ten men walked in and fell to their knees before Olivia. “We are here to serve and protect you, Scion,” one man said, bowing his head. The others mirrored him, while Erzulie smiled with pleasure. Liv realized that they were the ones who had been trailing her for a while.

“These are some of my most devoted followers from here in Boston,” Erzulie said. “I had them following you for the past several days. When I realized that one of my enemies was targeting you, I knew I had to make you into a Scion, so that you would have a fighting chance.” Her expression was sorrowful as she said, “I never wanted to pull you into this war, Daughter.” After a moment, her face hardened with resolve. “You have much to learn, and these men can begin to teach you. In time, you’ll need more training than they can provide, but we’ll deal with that later. For now, it is a start.” Smiling at the men, she said, “You can go, now that she’s seen you.”

With another bow of their head, the men left. The one who had spoken paused at the door. “I will have two men watching tonight. Later, Ms. Olivia, we can talk about the permanent guard schedule.”

Liv nodded, too shell-shocked to do anything other run the links of the chain through her fingers and feel the silk of the robe. “Julie… Erzulie… what do you mean for me to do?” she asked as the door shut.

“I mean for you to survive, and to protect humanity,” Erzulie said seriously. “That is all I ask. In time, you may become a goddess in your own right, but let us worry about that later – much later. For now, a final gift: words.

“There are many other Scions in Boston, too many,” Erzulie told her. “Scions and gods alike bent and twist Fate – the more of one or the other that there are in one area, the more momentous events will be. Be very careful. Seek out the other Scions with care – not all have humanity’s or even their divine parent’s best interests at heart. You will find it beneficial to team up with a small group of Scions, but trust no one until you know them, not even Scions of the Loa, not that there are many around here. You’ll know other Scions by scent and sound – when you see them, you’ll smell and hear clues to their pantheon.” Erzulie rattled off the markers of the other sons and daughters of the Gods, and Olivia tried to soak it in. She was still in shock, and it was hard to process it all.

Erzulie’s sharp eyes noted her dazed look and smiled. “I see you have enough for tonight. I’ll let you get back to sleep. Good night, and I’ll return later to discuss more. I’m sure you’ll have questions once you’ve had a chance to process.” She gave Olivia another hug and a kiss on the forehead before leaving.

There was a long moment of silence. Then Wakiki grabbed her and pulled her into a tight hug. “It’ll be alright,” he promised, though they both knew he couldn’t guarantee that. The false comfort was enough, and Liv held him close as he guided her back to bed.

They kept their arms around each other as they settled back under the covers. After realizing that sleep wasn’t coming, Liv whispered, “Can you make me forget all this, for a while?”

“Gladly,” he murmured and pulled her closer still, seeking to offer her refuge in the release of her body.

It was a very Erzulie thing to do, though Liv didn’t realize how much of her mother she carried in her heart and personality. She’d learn that and more in the trials to come.

[Ouroboros]

3 exp for Livy

2 exp for the rest