02x02 - Abomination

[bunniefuu]

Previously on Motherland:

Abigail: We don't know how, but this force protects us when we're threatened.

Anacostia: Just let me in.

Anacostia: I want to know how someone gets to be you.

Scylla: The Spree gave me a place to put my pain. I guess we're more alike than I thought.

Scylla: What are you doing?

Anacostia: I have no idea.

Willa: I warned all witches that the Camarilla is back.

Scylla: That's a fetch! She's been trapped!

Abigail: I really missed you.

Adil: I thought you were dead.

Khalida: He's changing. This is not his place.

Alder: The bond we shared will endure forever.

Alder: We're surrounded.

Nicte: I have a little surprise.

Tally: How can I help? Hello?

---

Abigail Bellweather and Raelle Collar: [VOCALIZING]

Izadora: It's been like this for days.

Sarah Alder: They haven't been able to recreate the phenomenon at all?

Izadora: I've thrown everything I could think of at them. Sonics, weather work, physical and environmental stressors. Nothing.

Alder: Disappointing. I've got a delegation coming from The Hague and I had hoped to tell them we had a new weapon in the coming fight against the Camarilla.

Alder: Soldiers, I want to thank you for your patience and cooperation, but we're suspending these tests.

Abigail: We can keep going, ma'am.

Alder: For now, it's more important that you join Cadet Craven for the start of w*r College.

Abigail: But ma'am, in the desert, this weapon--

Alder: Ah!

Abigail: Yes, ma'am.

Raelle: Thank you, ma'am.

Alder: We need to find a different way forward. Any ideas?

Izadora: A closer look at the effects of the event might shed some light. May I show you something that just arrived from the Tarim region?

---

Alder: I always feel so humbled in her presence.

Izadora: General.

Izadora: Direct from the epicenter of the event.

Alder: Extraordinary.

Izadora: I've never seen anything like it. Nothing human remains. I'm confident that my examination will tell us more about what it was that happened.

Alder: And whether we can make it happen again. Keep me informed.

---

Opening credits

---

Tally Craven: Are they going to keep testing you?

Raelle: Who knows? They don't tell us anything.

Abigail: I hope so. There's no way they're just gonna let it go.

Raelle: What, so you wanna keep being a lab rat?

Abigail: If it keeps us in the fight, yes. Don't you want to understand what happened?

Raelle: Yes, of course, I do. But I'd rather we figure it out ourselves than have Izadora poking and prodding us.

Abigail: How about you? Any more weird Alder dreams or snakebites?

Tally: It was centipedes. And no, but I almost wish I would have one. It was terrifying, but also kind of amazing.

Raelle: All right, Bells. I know you've been waiting for this day your whole life. So what are we in for?

Tally: Yeah, when do we meet our Company?

Abigail: This morning. But nobody says Company. Just call it our Coven.

Tally: Sekhmet. Egyptian?

Abigail: Every Coven is named after a w*r goddess.

Tally: Guys, apparently there are a lot of rumors going around about the three of us.

Raelle: What?

Tally: I guess some people are saying we only got in because your mom pulled strings.

Abigail: Let people talk. We'll show them what we're made of soon enough.

Abigail: Is that the VP's daughter?

Tally: Yeah. And they're having her stay on this side of the base until basic starts. Oh, she looks so lonely. I feel bad for her. I was still biddied when her father met with Alder. He seems freaked out by the whole witch thing.

---

Willa Collar: It's been a week. What have you learned?

Scylla Ramshorn: You were right. While I haven't heard anyone use the word Camarilla, it's clear that there's someone powerful pulling the strings. These rallies and vigils are too well funded. Too well organized.

Willa: We'll need more than that.

Scylla: Thank you. And, I, uh made friends. A couple, Bonnie and Shane. And they seem pretty well connected.

Willa: How so?

Scylla: Well, they always know when and where the next event is gonna be, like, before anyone else. Today they'll be at the mall.

Willa: Can you get close to them?

Scylla: I think so. The wife she seems lonely. I think she could use a friend.

Willa: Be careful. Don't lose sight of the mission. You know what can happen when you get too close.

Scylla: Why didn't you reach out to her?

Willa: Did you know that when Raelle was ten, I spent a total of eighteen days with my family?

Scylla: Yeah, she said it was like that a lot.

Willa: Because they didn't approve of who I married, they decided to keep me in the field and keep us apart. Every time I walked in the door and saw that my girl was growing up without me, I got angrier. And that anger grew until I lost sight of everything but the Spree's mission. In the end, she still grew up without me. I live with that every day. Then once we knew that the Camarilla had returned, I started thinking she might be better off safer in the army.

Scylla: What about now?

Willa: What would I even say?

---

M: Welcome to w*r College, Sekhmet.

M: I'm your Coven Leader. Call me M. Feel free to come to me with any questions you might have. You will have some of your general classes together as a Coven, but on most days you will be following your individual specializations. Once you've finished dealing with your super-cool hair, of course. Fear not. You're still bunking together as units. You'll find your rooms down the hall if you want to go ahead and stow your gear. Dismissed.

Background voice: All right.

Gregorio Shellbark: Been a while, Bellweather. Good to see you.

Abigail: Hi, Gregorio. Later.

M: Collar, can I borrow you for a sec?

---

Raelle: I'm sorry about earlier.

M: No need to apologize. I was staring at you.

Raelle: Why?

M: Your reputation precedes you. I just wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

Raelle, voice projected through Camarilla head: Gossip's a little high school, don't you think?

M: In w*r College, gossip is intel. There's only one thing I've heard that concerns me.

Raelle: Scylla.

M: That had to suck.

Raelle: Yeah.

Raelle, voice projected through Camarilla head: It did.

Raelle: It still does.

M: I just want to make sure that is all in the past. No more secrets that are going to come to light and reflect poorly on this Company?

Raelle: Well, believe me,

Raelle, voice projected through Camarilla head: I'm all done with secrets.

---

Tally: So, who is he?

Abigail: That's Gregorio. You've heard about him before. My Cavalier.

Raelle: Oh, yeah. At your debut?

Abigail: Mm-hmm.

Tally: Wait, the one that Libba stole from you?

Gregorio: No one stole me.

Gregorio: I'm not a possession.

Gregorio: [LAUGHS] You should see your faces. Look, the whole thing was a misunderstanding. Libba and I were actually together back then.

Abigail: I'm sorry. I never knew that.

Gregorio: No one did. We were keeping it secret. And then High Atlantic Tradition, and the stars, dictated that I be your Cavalier.

Abigail: Libba was never big on tradition.

Gregorio: Well, unless it was the tradition of giving you sh*t. She was fond of that one.

Abigail: Yeah.

Gregorio: You know, she would've liked your eulogy, though.

Abigail: You were there?

Gregorio: I thought it was beautiful.

Gregorio: And it was fun watching your mother squirm.

Tally: And now you're a male witch at w*r College. That must be exciting.

Gregorio: Yeah, you could just say witch.

Tally: Oh, I didn't mean to--

Gregorio: Hey. Kidding.

[LAUGHS]

Gregorio: Is she always this serious?

Abigail: Yeah.

M (background): Sekhmet! C.O. on deck!

---

Alder: I just wanted to wish you all well on your first day of w*r College and impress upon you the importance of the journey that you're on. It's not just about the Spree anymore. We are now, all of us, facing the return of an enemy that I thought was gone from this world forever. An enemy that wants nothing less but the eradication of our kind. I want the thought of that enemy, the Camarilla, to be in your mind always as you continue your training, driving you to excel, and develop the skills that we will need to destroy them.

Alder: I also want to encourage you to embrace the foundational principles of w*r College. To know, you must be constantly seeking the truth, no matter where it leads you. To dare, to be utterly fearless. Not just in facing the enemy, but also what lies inside you. To will, to effect change in the world around you with total control and conscious intention.

Alder: And to keep silent. You spoke the words in your oath: All Secrets Keep. It is this veil of silence that allows us to do what needs to be done to keep this Nation safe. These are the pillars on which your curriculum is built, and the precepts by which I live my own life. Take them to heart, and they will serve you well.

Alder: And with that, I'll leave you to get on with your day.

M: If you're gonna bring intrigue to class, you're gonna have to make sure that there's enough to share.

Abigail: I think this is the part where we keep silent.

---

Izadora: Carefully now.

Assistant: It looks like the Mycelium.

Izadora: It doesn't just look like it.

Izadora: This is part of our Mycelium. Somehow, she colonized a body that was half way around the world at the time.

Assistant: How is that possible?

Izadora: Through Raelle. That must have been her voice it was using. Raelle is the only person who has touched the Mycelium and walked away more-or-less unscathed. They're still connected somehow.

---

Shane: I'm pleased you've all turned out to pay your respects. But we must also raise our voices and let the powers that be know that we demand justice. We demand that the monsters responsible for this be held accountable! For too many years, the Spree have been waging a w*r. The victims of this w*r are not witches but decent God-fearing Americans. Let's not let their sacrifice be in vain.

Shane: Thank you.

Bonnie: Justine. I was wondering if I'd see you here.

Scylla: Hi. Yeah, no, I wanted to come and pay my respects. Shane is very inspiring.

Bonnie: He's good, right?

Scylla: He certainly is.

Anacostia Quartermaine: I lost both my parents in this attack, and, uh. I think about them all the time. And there's this hollow ache inside me where they used to be.

Bonnie: It's okay. I know it's hard to hear these stories.

Anacostia: I think about all of the ups and downs of life that I'll never get to share with them and for what? All because they were in the wrong place at...So, yeah. I think about them, but, I also think about that person, that witch...and I wonder: does she feel remorse? Does it keep her up at night, thinking about what she did? Is there anything human left in her?

---

Scylla: What the hell are you doing?

Anacostia: I can ask you the same thing. Revisiting some of your old haunts? Feeling nostalgic?

Scylla: You've been following me. That fetch that was you.

Scylla: Why haven't you arrested me?

Anacostia: 'Cause that's not what this is about.

Scylla: Mm. This is part of your quest to save me. To capitalize on the remorse that you think you felt when you linked with me. I'm sorry to disappoint, but you were wrong.

Anacostia: You mean the remorse that's been written all over your face from the moment you walked in here?

Anacostia: Look, you're right. That's how it started. But I've been watching you for weeks. It's got me curious. You're trying to infiltrate this movement. Figure out who's behind it.

Scylla: It's more complicated than that.

Anacostia: You think it's the Camarilla? Our ancient enemy has returned. Has the Spree changed its focus?

Scylla: Some of us have. Why reveal yourself now?

Anacostia: I saw an opportunity and I took it. Look, I want in on what you're doing.

Scylla: That's bullshit. What's really going on here?

Anacostia: There are things that I've seen lately. Things about the army, and Alder in particular, that just don't sit right. Including the decision to just throw you away. It just has me wondering if there might not be a different way.

Bonnie: Justine. There you are. We thought maybe you had left.

Scylla: Bonnie and Shane, this is, um...

Anacostia: Hi. I'm Amelia.

Bonnie: Your speech was so moving.

Shane: So sorry for your loss.

Anacostia: Thank you. It's hard being here.

Bonnie: So, uh, you two know each other?

Scylla: Yeah.

Anacostia: Um, we've seen each other at rallies the past few weeks.

Scylla: Yeah.

Anacostia: Feels like we're kindred spirits.

Anacostia: I'm so sorry, this is all a bit overwhelming. Does anyone else need a drink?

Shane: Definitely.

Anacostia: Yeah.

---

Tally: Hey. You okay?

Penelope Silver: Yeah, it's just my dad.

Tally: I get it. With me, it's my mom. We can't get through a call without it ending up in tears.

Raelle: Tal, we're gonna be late for class.

Tally: Don't worry. It'll get better.

---

Channing Grafton: Sorry I'm late, cadets. My name is Channing Grafton, and I will be your instructor for Mothertongue. I've asked Adil, our guest from the Tarim, to sit in since, unlike most American witches, he grew up speaking Mothertongue from birth. How many of you are wondering why you need to study this at all?

Raelle: Isn't it just for The Hague, at this point? Or High Atlantics? No offense.

Grafton (in Mothertongue): Jìmò k’áì ákháshè yavaì shù t’oyè k’anéì. Luwil shù lunyánèír Ébù mé ‘Ajèzó jìnà? [This witch has insulted me and must be punished. Will you stand the Right of Proxy for her?]

Tally: I lost you at the end. Will. You? Will you stand...?

Adil: He's challenging you to a duel.

Channing: There's no comparable term for it in English but, uh, Rite of Proxy is the closest. It's a tradition that's, uh, fallen out of favor in the recent times. So, besides being the root of all known languages, which I personally think is pretty cool, uh, there's certain work that can only be done using Mothertongue. And, uh, ask yourself this: how is it that Adil is able to speak perfect English, a language he's never studied? I see I finally have your attention. So,

Channing (in Mothertongue): Khàsémé àvá. [Let us begin.]

---

Tally: Excuse me, General. May I have a moment?

Alder: Craven. What can I do for you?

Tally: I've been thinking a lot about Penelope Silver.

Alder: What about her?

Tally: I'd like your permission to tutor her. To get her up to speed and ready to start Basic.

Alder: Your empathy, as ever, shines through. You have my blessing,

Tally: Thank you.

Aide: General? The Hague delegation has arrived and are waiting for you in your office.

Alder: Carry on, Cadet.

---

General Sharma: Hello, General Alder.

Alder: Khalida. What are you doing here?

Khalida: Discussing where Adil and I might settle.

Alder (in Mothertongue): Khàsémé àvá. [Let us begin.]

---

Sharma: In the interest of finding a permanent home for the Tarim, Khalida will be touring some of the other Council nations.

Khalida: General Alder, I am forever grateful to you, but you know my feelings about us remaining here.

Alder: If this is what you want, I'll arrange for a security detail.

Khalida: That won't be necessary. General Sharma has offered her protection.

Alder: Khalida, I wish you would reconsider. Talk to your brother. He was there, in the Tarim. He saw what the Camarilla is capable of.

Sharma: There have been reports of skirmishes with the Camarilla from several Council nations. And more outbreaks of that strange disease they created.

General Amis: We've been calling it the Witch Plague. Apparently it does not harm civilians.

Alder: No. It's clear that the Camarilla have engineered it as a weapon of witch genocide. The Camarilla have found a way to replicate our work, using technology powered by the stolen vocal cords of witches.

Amis: It's an abomination! Sarah, how can they have risen again without any of us knowing?

Alder: I don't know. But what is important now is that we come together to stamp them out, and remove the stain of their blood from this Earth forever. I will root them out and destroy them in my country. Can I count on you to do the same in yours?

---

Abigail: Should I be offended that your mind is clearly focused on something else?

Adil: I'm sorry. Khalida wants me to come with her on her world tour.

Abigail: Are you going to go with her?

Adil: I don't know.

Abigail: I hear you had lunch with Gregorio.

Adil: Can I ask you something? What is a Cavalier? It sounds intimate.

Abigail: Frequently, it is. But, not with me and Gregorio. We just never clicked that way.

Abigail: I'm glad you're making friends, though. Maybe that'll give you another reason to stay.

---

Alder: The work you did, with the bottle. What was that?

Nicte: Something of my own.

Alder: It's definitely not Canon.

Nicte: Maybe it could be?

Alder: I don't think The Hague would approve. But you saved our skins, and for that I am grateful.

Nicte: I'm happy to serve you, General.

Alder: I've been watching you. What you can do is rare, but it's too wild. You need to put that power in the service of your will.

Nicte: Maybe you could help me with that?

Alder: Yes. I think I could do that.

Nicte: Better?

Alder: Better.

[BELLS TOLLING]

---

[CANE TAP]

[HIGH PITCHED TONE]

Magda Verger: I am Major Magda Verger, and this is your introduction to Off-Canon work. This sort of work is forbidden to you, but our enemies will not hesitate to use it. And neither will I.

Verger: Let me be clear: you will not be learning how to use Off-Canon work. This is about learning to recognize it, and to resist it.

Abigail: Ma'am, is there any way we could turn that radiator down?

[TONE ENDS]

Verger: What radiator?

Verge: [LAUGHS] There are sounds all around us, at all times. Both above and below the range of our hearing. And all sorts of nastiness can be layered into those sounds. They can make you see, and do, terrible things. You must learn to recognize these sounds, and resist them. Learn to identify, and destroy their source.

Tally: Ma'am, has the army ever used this sort of work in combat?

Verger: No. This is the domain of our enemies. The Spree, in particular.

[BELL RINGING]

[BOOTS MARCHING]

---

Abigail: What is this? How the hell did we get here?

[CLOCKS TICKING, BIRDS CHIRPING]

Tally: It's an exercise.

Raelle: What, so we have to find a way out?

Tally: No, I don't think so.

[voice echoes, clock alarms]

Gregorio: How many clocks does one room need?

Abigail: What is going on?

Tally: We have to find the source of the working.

Abigail: Found it!

Tally: That's not it.

[Door creaking]

Tally: No!

[Clock bell]

Taelle: Stop!

Abigail: Why aren't you doing anything?

Tally: I am.

Tally: [gasps]

Tally: This way.

---

Anacostia: [laughs] You guys you guys are k*lling me.

Bonnie: I'm so glad we did this.

Scylla: Me, too!

Bonnie: It's been great to meet you both. You know, the movement the movement has been a bit of a boy's club. You know what I mean?

Shane: You've never complained before.

Bonnie: Oh, I'm I'm not complaining. I just think it's so nice having some ladies around. Speaking of the ladies, that's where I'm headed. Excuse me.

Shane: Well, here's to new friends

Anacostia: Oh!

Shane: and to ridding the world of monsters.

Anacostia: I can definitely drink to that.

Shane: Nice.

Anacostia: Oh!

Shane: I'm gonna get us some more beer. Be right back.

Scylla: This has gone way too far. Either you leave now, or I will.

Anacostia: I don't think that's a good idea. You said it yourself. There's a lot at stake here.

Scylla: That does not mean I want to work with the army.

Anacostia: And I don't want to work with the Spree. But. You sure you want to pull the plug just when it's getting interesting?

--

Tally: It's in here somewhere.

Gregorio: I hate these things.

Abigail: Screw this place.

Gregorio: Can this be over now?

Tally: Behind you! [echoes]

Gregorio: [panting]

Verger: Very good, Craven. No one has ever beaten The Dollhouse on their first try before.

Tally: I could see it. I could see sound.

Verger: Really? Interesting.

Gregorio: Good job. Um, it was the gas in here, but, uh, what was the source in the first room?

Tally: Th-there was no first room. We were here the whole time.

Verger: Well done.

Tally: Wait. Where's Abigail and Raelle?

---

Abigail: Hello?

Raelle: Hello?

Abigail: Hello?

Raelle: Hello?

Abigail: Let me out!

Abigail: Rae?

Raelle: Abigail?

Abigail: Rae?

Izadora: You touched her. And now you have to pay.

Raelle: Izadora, please no! Izadora, please! Please no!

Raelle: No! Abigail!

Izadora: You have no idea what you've done. The years of research that you've ruined! Years of my life that you stole!

Raelle: Abigail! No!

Izadora: You are an abomination, and you will die!

---

Izadora: It's conclusive. The phenomenon comes from Raelle, and Raelle alone.

Alder: What else?

Izadora: As we suspected, it's protective. The fear and the danger had to be real in order to trigger it. Thank you for approving the test.

Alder: It was a risk worth taking. How did Abigail handle it?

Izadora: She took a swing at me.

Alder: Ha! Not surprising.

Izadora: She recovered fine, but I think she's disappointed not to be a part of this.

Alder: Well, Bellweathers are nothing if not ambitious. So you'll continue testing Raelle?

Izadora: Yes, ma'am.

Alder: Good. Be careful with her. She just became one of our greatest assets.

---

Raelle: These people are all so damn manipulative. They couldn't care less what happens to us.

Abigail: That's part of being a soldier.

Raelle: What they did to us today has nothing to do with being a soldier. At this point, the only people I trust are you two.

Tally: What does it feel like, when it goes off?

Raelle: This time it felt like me wanting to k*ll Izadora. It's not like anything I've ever felt. It's exciting but it's terrifying. I felt incredibly powerful, but also like it was completely out of my control.

Raelle: Sorry. I--I don't, I don't even think I could do it justice, honestly.

Abigail: What happens next?

Raelle: More tests, apparently. Just what I was hoping to avoid.

Raelle: You okay?

Abigail: Yeah, I'm, uh I'm just really tired. I'm...gonna go back to the room.

---

Willa: So it was catch and release?

Scylla: I'm sorry. I--I should have been more careful.

Willa: What about her working alone? Do you believe it?

Scylla: I don't know. It's always very personal with Anacostia. Maybe.

Willa: Stay the course. But be careful, she's army. You can never really trust them.

---

Abigail: Khalida. Uh, have you seen your brother?

Khalida: It's my brother that I want to talk about.

Abigail: Sure. I'm going to my room if you want to talk there.

Khalida: This will only take a moment. I've agreed to let Adil stay here while I search for a home for our people.

Abigail: Oh. Good. I think he really likes it here.

Khalida: I'm grateful to you, Abigail, and I don't want you to get hurt. But you have to understand that this is not a permanent situation. In the end, my brother will always choose his people, just as you will always choose yours.

---

Tally: Okay, to truly understand the army, and our place in the world, you have to know our history.

Penelope: And knowing is one of the four principles, right?

Tally: [snaps] Oh, we are going to have you ready for Basic in no time.

Penelope: So where do we start?

Tally: At the very beginning. With Sarah Alder herself.

Penelope: Is she really three hundred years old?

Tally: Oh, she is. More than, in fact.

Penelope: My dad says that's why he doesn't trust her. He thinks that someone who lives that long couldn't really care about regular people. Sorry.

Tally: It's okay. A lot of people feel that way about her. I didn't always trust her myself.

Penelope: Tally, what is it?

Tally: There's something wrong with this photo.

Penelope: What do you mean?

Tally: Some sort of working has been used on it.

Tally: Do you, do you see a person there?

Penelope: No. There's no one there.

Tally: It's her. She's real.

Tally: And someone's trying to hide her existence.

---

Mothertongue transcriptions and translations provided by the conlang creator:
https://archiveofourown.org/works/32598 ... s/80864221