Thomas rushed up to his mother. "Mommy?"
Nicole looked at the boy, who'd thankfully managed to stay out of the mess with Pleter. Feeling relieved that he was alright, she grabbed him and hugged him. At least her son was safe, she thought to herself.
"Mommy?" Thomas asked when she'd finally pulled away from him. "Why don't you fix him?" He pointed to Peter.
Nicole looked at Peter and then at Thomas. Her eyes filled with tears. "Oh Thomas, I wish I could," she began.
"You can," Thomas insisted. "You can, Mommy, you can. Save him. Bring him back." His brown eyes began to fill with tears, and Nicole felt her heart start to break.
"I'm sorry," she began again, but then paused. She couldn't, could she? "Maybe I can," she mumbled, more to herself than to Thomas.
She stood up and walked over to Pleter. She placed her hands on his body and focused hard. After a few moments, she let go. Then, stepping up to Peter, she reversed the process. Peter's eyes began to flicker, and he moaned in pain. By the time he was fully awake, though, Nicole had left the room.
Peter awakened to find Thomas sitting next to him, huggin him tightly. "Thomas?" he asked, finding his head hurt. "What happened?"
He looked around the kitchen and saw Pleter lying next to him. He peered at the man's face and shivered, not wanting to think of what had happened.
Nicole re-entered the room. Without a word or even a glance to Peter and Thomas, she went to Pleter and placed her hands on his chest. After a few moments, she stood up again and left the room.
Peter turned to Thomas. "What is she doing?"
Thomas shrugged.
Davy awakened his eyes to see that someone was standing over Mike. His eyes took a few moments to focus and then he realized it was Nicole. But by the time he'd realized this, she was leaving.
"'Ey, wait," he called, standing up. But Nicole was gone.
"Davy?" Mike asked. Davy turned around in surprise. "What happened?"
Davy shook his head. "I don't know, Mike," he replied. "I 'aven't a clue."
A few moments passed and then they heard a door slam and feet running down the hallway. Micky burst into the room.
"Mike, Davy, it's Pleter," he called. Then he stopped.
"I know," Mike replied. He stood up. "I think we better find out what's goin' on."
"Mike, where are we going?" Davy asked.
"Next door," Mike replied.
The three burst into the back door of the house next to the Pad to find two Peters.
One was most obviously Peter, and he was standing up, hugging his wife and child in what appeared to Mike, Davy, and Micky to be a happy reunion.
The other was lying on the floor and they determined that he, therefore, had to be Pleter by default.
"What's going on?" Micky asked.
Peter looked at them and shrugged. "I have no idea," he replied.
"I know," Nicole spoke up. Peter glanced at her.
"You do?" he asked. She nodded.
"Yeah," she answered. "I do."
"Well, tell us," Mike demanded of his sister.
She frowned in concentration. "Pleter's ability is to take souls," she told them, and the others gasped.
"That's why it seems like there's no one there," Davy realized, remembering how spooky Micky had looked.
"Right," Nicole replied, nodding. "From what I can tell, Pleter went to your place and took care of you three before he came over here." The others nodded, accepting this.
"But how did you stop him?" Micky asked.
"I used my ability," she replied. "When I saw what he'd done to Peter, I was worried. Then Pleter sneaked up on me. I was afraid. He started to take my soul," she explained. Her voice was low and her eyes unfocused as she remembered. "I felt some pain," she recalled, and the other four nodded their agreement.
"And my instinct was to give it back to him with my ability. And then I somehow took his soul, I guess. I mean, that would explain why he's this way."
The others exchanged shocked glances.
"Well, what do we do with him now?" Mike asked. "Do we leave 'em like that?"
Nicole shook her head. 'No," she replied with a shudder.
"Let him go then?" Micky asked. "He'll just come back."
"No," Peter replied, not liking that idea. "We can't do that."
"I know," Davy replied. "I've got a plan."
"Okay, hun, you ready?" Peter asked. Nicole nodded. Peter squeezed her hand for moral support, and she smiled back at him.
Nicoel stepped up to Pleter, who was lying on the floor. She sat in front of him and shut her eyes, concentrating. Pleter began to stir slightly, so she broke off, leaving him half-concious.
"Okay Davy," she called. Davy nodded, but instead of stepping forward he nodded to Thomas, who stepped forward.
"Go ahead Thomas," he whispered.
"Thomas?" Nicole asked. "But Davy, I thought you...?"
Davy smiled. "Don't worry," he replied. "Thomas can 'andle it." Thomas nodded.
Nicole stepped back from the half-concious man and THoams stepped up to him. He focused on his half-opened eyes and spoke clearly to the man.
"Listen to me," he told Pleter. "You're going to wake up and then you're going to leave. You're not going to remember any fo this and you're not going to bother us again. Okay?" Pleter seemed to nod, bobbing his head up and down.
Thomas stepped back. Then Nicole stepped forward and finished her job, allowing Pleter to awaken fully.
There was a moment of tension as Pleter awakened and looked around the house. What would he do? But instead of saying anything, they remained silent.
Pleter shook his head and stood up. He turned and walked out the back door without so much as a glance towards the others, who heaved a collective sigh of relief as he left.
"He's gone," Micky commented.
"Yep," Davy said.
"Let's just hope he doesn't come back," Mike continued.
Nicole just smiled up at Peter and then down at Thomas. The sun began to rise and the kitchen slowly began to get brighter.
"It's morning," Peter commented. "How about we all head out to breakfast?" The others agreed, and the group happily headed out the front door, glad the ordeal was over.
