Put Your Empty Hands In Mine

"Don't be so predictable, Gwen," Morgan said tiredly as Clara got to her feet, stumbling for the door, only to freeze. "There's nowhere to run."

Clara just stared at her, heart fracturing in her chest.

"So a word to the wise," Morgan said slowly, advancing on Clara, "if I were you, I would stay here for the next few minutes, because it's all about to begin. You don't want to get caught up in the chaos, honey."

"The feedback loop," Jenkins breathed, looking like he was going to collapse.

"There's been thousands of downloads of my little app," Morgan said lightly, "creating a super coven of sorts, and with 27 users currently online - the rule of three don't-cha-know - all hell is about to break loose. I'm not one for missing the party, but this time, I might just break with tradition."

Clara just stood there, fists clenched by her sides.

"What happens to those children when the backlash begins?" Jenkins asked, his voice cracking.

"What, don't like the idea of using magic to punish all those naughty little boys and girls?" Morgan pouted.

"God, you're the most evil creature I have ever beheld" -

- "Hold your tongue," Morgan spat, raising her hand, Jenkins doubling over, his hands flying to his throat, literally choking on his tongue.

Impulsively, Clara raised her own hands, her eyes flickering violet, but Morgan deflected the spell with a wave of her own hand, merely looking bored.

"You're rusty, Gwen," she said, suppressing a yawn. "Not quite the star student you used to be," she said regretfully, "and as for you Galeas," turning to the gagging Jenkins, "you've lost the little you had, or is it because you just don't want to raise a hand to the woman you love?"

Again, Clara aimed another attack at Morgan, only for Morgan to deflect it again, rolling her eyes.

"Stop humiliating yourself, honey," Morgan said, making for the door, "not even Tennyson could take me down, never mind you." And with that she left, leaving, as ever, a trail of destruction in her wake.

~*~

"We have to kill her," Jenkins rasped, reaching for Clara, but she backed away from him, blinded by tears. "Clara, please," he begged, forcing her to come forwards, "I can't do this alone."

"What - what about the children though?" Clara said, barely able to speak. "We have to save them!"

"We don't have time to do both," Jenkins said, straightening up, eyes filled with agony, "they'll have to be sacrificed for the greater good" -

Clara slapped him, the sound cracking like a whip around the Annex.

"You fool," Jenkins breathed, hatred contorting his face.

"Use your magic," Clara hissed, staring him down through her tears, "anything in your arsenal. Just bloody do something!"

"I can't," Jenkins said, bowing his head. "I... I cannot kill her."

"What, so you'll use me as your cat's paw instead?" Clara snapped. "Following her example, are we?"

"Not you," Jenkins said tiredly, "the others."

Clara stared at him. "Why does my magic not work?" she demanded from between gritted teeth. "I'm supposed to be Morgan's equal, but my spells are damp squibs compared to hers!"

"Because you're still Clara," Jenkins said, his voice cracking. "You and Guinevere are no longer in alignment. All you have at your fingertips is memories, Clara, the memory of your magic, and who you used to be. The truth just isn't enough."

"But what about before?" Clara said in disbelief. "In Rome, Bremen" -

- "The spells you were under conjured up facets of Guinevere, the queen, the witch, lending life to your memories, resurrecting you for one brief heartbeat" -

- "'You?' " Clara quoted. " 'Her?' Guinevere? Clara? Who am I, Jenkins? If I'm not Guinevere, or Clara, who the hell am I?"

Jenkins just looked away, unable to meet her eyes.

"You knew all along," Clara said, chin trembling, "all this time you were lying to me."

"I didn't know at first," Jenkins whispered, "when Flynn first brought you here, I - " he buried his face in his hands, - "it was only later, I uncovered fragments of the truth, Melisande, what she'd done to you - but the connections to Chamberlain House, the Serpent Brotherhood - I didn't know of that. I didn't even know somebody had tried to resurrect Guinevere until you turned up on my doorstep. Like a fool, I thought it was over, lost to the mists of time. But then you were there, and I knew then, that it was only a matter of time before Guinevere came back."

"My mother..." Clara breathed, half turning away from him.

"She covered her tracks too well," Jenkins said tiredly, raising his head. "Like I said, even if I had known, I wouldn't have been able to find you. It was the Library who led me to you - it's been trying to save you all this time - it sent you a Letter when you were seventeen, to bring you here, under its protection. But Melisande thwarted even that" -

- "It doesn't matter," Clara said, rounding on him, "none of it does. My life is a lie, I get it now. I - I accept that you lied to me, that you all did - Flynn, Charlene, Judson" -

- "I don't think Charlene and Judson knew," Jenkins said uneasily, unnerved by the expression in her eyes, "and as for Flynn, he was just trying to protect you" -

- "I don't care," Clara said, shrugging her shoulders, "and as for Eve and the others, they were just your dupes. But me? I'm not going to be your secret stooge anymore." And with that, she was gone, like so many before her.

~*~

Hands, put your empty hands in mine
And scars, show me all the scars you hide
And hey, if your wings are broken
Please take mine so yours can open too
Cause I'm gonna stand by you...

"Clara?" Jacob said, stepping in front of her, forcing her to stop her headless flight through the crowd. "Jeesh, you okay?" he said quietly, smoothing back a wave of brown hair. "You're lookin' a lil frazzled."

Clara just stared at her, waiting for him to see what she really was, the monster within. But there was nothing but concern, Jacob only seeing Clara, what he thought he knew. She exhaled sharply, the relief painful, twisting like a knife in her heart. What was left of the Benediction spell still lingered, its rags barely clothing Clara, just enough to conceal her true identity from sight. But Clara knew, and the knowledge made her finally break down, burying her face in Jacob's shoulder, her fingers almost clawing him in her desperate desire to hold onto all she had left.

"Hey, it's okay," Jacob soothed, wrapping his arms around her, fighting to hide his fear at the state she was in.

"Don't leave me," Clara whispered, digging her nails into him, "please don't leave me."

"I won't, I promise," Jacob said, dropping a fierce kiss on her brow.

"Clara?" Cassandra said in disbelief, stopping dead in her tracks, Ezekiel and Eve crashing into her. Before any of them could react, Clara had flung herself into Cassandra's arms, sobbing like a child, clinging to Cassandra, Ezekiel and Eve's attempts to detach her from Cassandra becoming a bizarre group hug instead; Ezekiel awkwardly patting Clara's head, Eve clasping Clara's shoulder, Cassandra holding her hand, Jacob hanging back, held hostage by a fear he didn't understand. Out of them all, he was the one closest to knowing the truth, but it was hidden in plain sight, leaving him lost, frightened.

"Morgan Le Fay built the app," Clara wept, "the feedback loop" -

- "It was Ukrainian programmers who built the app actually," Morgan corrected her, appearing out of nowhere, "I just constructed the wish-spell."

"Lucinda McCabe is Morgan Le Fay!?" Eve said, doing a comical double-take.

"You're hurting kids!?" Cassandra snapped, stepping forwards, letting go of Clara's hand. "That's just awful!"

"I never hurt anyone, darling," Morgan said, glancing at Clara. "But if you put magic in the hands of mortals, they'll inevitably destroy each other. All I do is sit back and wait for the rule of three to kick out its backlash."

"So you're doing it for a cheap thrill, then?" Ezekiel said, eying her up despite himself.

"Please," Morgan pouted, "all that magic floating around, all that destruction? I just skim off the top, recharge my powers, and stay forever young." With a flirtatious glance over her shoulder at Ezekiel, she then sashayed off, Ezekiel studying the sway of her hips with an expert eye. And then she was gone, fading into oblivion.

"Whoa," Ezekiel breathed.

"Zeke!" Cassandra hissed out of the corner of her mouth, elbowing him in the side.

"What!?" Ezekiel protested, put out.

"You're drooling," Eve said dryly.