Lydia has a run in one on one with The Caretaker.
A bright light shone directly in Lydia’s face making her cringe. She was sitting in a steel chair and a dark room. She was bound to the chair as she tried to move. The young girl had no idea what was going and her body was aching. It felt like she had been hit by a truck and as she pulled against the restraints she could feel it cutting into her skin. What had even happened? The last thing she remembered was sitting on the sofa at home. How did she get here? Maybe it was some type of nightmare that she was having.
The Caretaker walked into the room, but they were disguised to Lydia as Aiden. The Caretaker needed the strawberry blonde to know that they were one in the same. They were cut from the same cloth and it was time that she knew the truth. She had been told for so long that she was a banshee, but her powers went far beyond that of a normal banshee. They were just messengers of death and nothing else. Lydia however did have the gift of death telling, but it wasn’t because she was a banshee. It was because she was a witch.
Of course her powers had seen touches of things here and there, but had yet to be fully harnessed. They were curious to see just how powerful she was because it was a rare gift for a witch to have death perception. She could be great if she used her powers for the right reasons and The Caretaker was willing to help the young woman get there. If she picked the right side then she could protect the people from the Supernatural.
Aiden walked in front of the groggy redhead with a devious smirk playing on his lips. “Do you miss me, Lydia?” he asked, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked at her. Aiden walked closer to her that his breath was right against her skin. His lips nearly ghosting over the skin of her neck. It sent a child of disgust down her spine and it reminded her of what Peter had done to her. “Not in the way you want me to,” Lydia replied. She swallowed hard as she looked at him and he just smirked at her.
“Lydia, how would you feel if I told you that you aren’t a banshee?” he asked her, raising an eyebrow. “What if I told you that you were so much more and you had the potential to be great?”
She was so confused by what he was talking about, but she could barely thinking straight at all. Lydia really didn’t care about power, but she did want to know what he meant about the banshee thing. She had been told that was what she was and so she just went with it. She never questioned some of the other gifts that came along with and maybe she should have. “W-what are you talking about?” she asked him to which he replied with a smirk, “You’re a witch Lydia.”
What? That didn’t make any sense. Witches were real? Since when exactly? Aiden came over to her and put the object that was charged with a lot of emotional energy near her ear. Just like the other times Lydia could hear it. “You hear something,” he said to her. “It’s called a death whisper. It’s a rare gift. Now, let’s find out about your others.”
She felt terrified as this was going on. It was then she realized that this wasn’t really Aiden. He would never do this to her. The fog that was clouding her mind was gone now. “No.” she replied coldly. She wouldn’t listen to them. “You’re not Aiden, you’re not real,” she said. The Caretaker grew angry at Lydia’s declaration and decided to teach her a lesson. They didn’t lift their disguise as they walked over to her and slapped her clear across the face. “DON’T STEP OUT OF LINE AGAIN!” they called to her.
“Let me out! Let me go!” she tried to scream but her voice was almost weak. She was shaking not as they untied her from the chair, dropping her onto the floor. “Defend yourself Lydia or else you’ll pay the price.” A sinister chuckle leaving their lips as they looked at her. The former banshee had no idea what she was supposed to do. She stood up slowly, her body trembling slightly.
Aiden held his hand out and began to squeeze it shut. Lydia felt her throat tighten as if his hand was pressed against it. Lydia was being levitated as she kicked and tried free herself from this grip. She couldn’t breathe. Her chest felt like it was on fire as she struggled to get a single breath. “Defend yourself!” they demanded. Lydia honestly didn’t know how to do that. Her eyes began to bulge and she literally felt like she was about to die. She was seeing spots all around her when she suddenly collapsed onto the floor.
“That was pathetic!” Aiden spat as he had released his grip on her. The imprint around her neck as if someone had actually been strangling her. Lydia was on her hands and knees as she gasped for air. Her hand moved to her stomach as she worried about the baby. “Please,” she coughed as she heaved. “D-don’t hurt the baby,” she trailed off. She could feel the tears pricking the corner of her eyes and they slowly spilled down her cheeks. “Then get up and defend yourself!” Aiden barked at her as he jerked her up by the arm. It was clear that another bruise would take place there soon. “Stop it, you’re hurting me,” she cried out, almost forgetting again that this wasn’t Aiden.
They threw Lydia back and she stumbled to catch her balance so that she didn’t fall. Her legs were wobbly as she stood, but she was standing and that was all that mattered. She had to do this, she had to protect the baby. The Caretaker used their power to shove Lydia back and she stumbled as she tried to out run the blasts. She had no clue how she was supposed to do that. How did she activate powers she didn’t even know she had? “Come on, Lydia, you feel it. I know you do.”
The strawberry blonde shut her eyes and all of the noise disappeared around her. She was only focused on her breath when it was like some type of instinct kicked in for her. She screamed, loudly the sound echoing throughout the walls and a sonic wave being sent out to knock Aiden back. He was able to hold his ground somewhat better. “That’s a start,” he smirked.
It was like the sound barrier was almost some type of shield for her. That had never happened for her before and she had no idea where it came from. Aiden threw another blast at her and this time she was able to throw the shield up without needed to scream. “Good, we’re making progress.” Lydia could feel the power surging through her now.
She had always just been the helpless human, but now she could protect herself and it felt good. Her green orbs darkened and The Caretaker smirked. They weren’t tapping into the good in Lydia, her need to protect the unborn child and twisting it for their own benefit. The idea was to show Lydia that they weren’t so different after all. She could kill someone she cared about just as easily, if it needed to be done.
Aiden threw another blast of energy at her and it knocked her back this time. She felt the anger boil up inside of her. She did not want anything to happen to this baby and she would do anything to protect it. “Back off before I rip out your jugular,” Lydia shot at him, her eyes narrowing at her. The Caretaker had this way of being able to pull out even the most innocent in people and turning it dark. “Come and get me,” they smirked at the witch, throwing another attack her way.
Lydia focused her mind on somehow getting them and was able to somehow make them go crippled, almost like she freezing him from the inside. It was like she was controlling them from them inside. She was able to move Aiden and he was almost paralyzed it seemed as she threw him against the wall. He began to bleed profusely and just like that the darkness in Lydia’s emerald orbs snapped back to their normal shade. She was pulled out of her trance. Her heart was pounding as she ran over to him. It hadn’t even occurred to her that this still wasn’t Aiden. She bent down to his level. She had her hand gently on his face as he was bleeding from the mouth. He was coughing up blood and Lydia was trembling. Before she could even say anything though Aiden began to laugh, spitting out the blood with a devious smirk. They grabbed Lydia’s arm throwing her onto the ground. He knew that her powers were mental and that’s what he had been trying to get her to do. She had been able to manipulate his blood from the inside with her mind. He wondered how much more Lydia was capable of, but for now he was done with her.
Aiden smacked Lydia in the mouth, watching as it began to bleed. He picked her up and slammed her back into the wall. She was trembling in his grip as he spoke to her. “See, Lydia, we’re one in the same. You’d kill to protect those that need to be protect from people like me and you,” the sneered at her. Lydia was gasping the color draining from her face as he spoke into her ear. “And you’ll give in. You like the idea of being able to protect too much. Your powers will grow and when they do, I hope you’ll make the smart decision and join me. You’ll see I could be your biggest asset.” He loosened his grip on her throat. Lydia refused to believe that, but it was hard. She spit in his face as she flailed not willing to give into this. “Big mistake, Ariel,” The Caretaker snapped, dropping Lydia onto the ground. She quickly guarded her stomach as she hit the ground and they went to kick her there. Her arms took most of the force and she trembled violently as she began to spit up blood.
The Caretaker was more than pleased and finally stopped appearing to her as Aiden. She looked at them through half lidded eyes as she clenched onto her stomach, not able to see anything really. She needed the baby to be okay. She couldn’t deal with another loss, she couldn’t. Lydia was heaving for breath as the crimson color stained her lips from the blood. The metallic the only thing she could taste as a single tear rolled down her cheek. “Stiles,” she spoke as barely an audible whisper, as she curled into a small ball, trying to guard what she hoped was still their baby.
