30. Moment Of The Peace.

In the midst of the night, as Mimi's delicate thoughts echoed in his mind, Charles felt his heart shatter. The weight of despair settled upon him. Determined to bring solace, he gently laid Mimi to rest in the sanctuary he had created within his own thoughts.

It had become clear that Mimi never attended the gigs, and even Salvatore couldn't be reached. Mimi remained elusive, just like Adam, fleas, and even Reddington. Damon, with his cunning ways, had outwitted them all. The truth of the situation was becoming clearer with each passing day, leading Charles to create a haven of healing for Mimi within his mind, with the help of a higher power.

The following morning, Salvatore announced that he left Mimi in an Italian castle. Charles and Adam embarked on a journey to retrieve her. As they entered the castle's lobby, the sight before them was disheartening. A mound covered by a musty blanket lay on a large sofa. Charles fetched fresh sheets, and with care, they unwrapped the body.

The weight of it, twelve kilos, was a testament to the suffering Mimi had endured. Her face bore the marks of agony, her skin marred by infections that filled the air with a putrid stench. Charles tenderly arranged her features into a more serene expression, then wrapped her in clean sheets. Adam stood nearby, his eyes ablaze with a fiery yellow hue, his temper barely contained.

Gathering Mimi's fragile form in his arms, Charles and Adam teleported to a mansion in California. There, with the help of Colin, they would begin the arduous task of restoring Mimi. The process stretched over a month, during which they fought to return Mimi to her own body. Yet, even after their efforts, Mimi remained at a pitiful weight of twenty-two kilos.

Her body had been mutilated and filled with metals, causing repeated cleansing. Dresden and Constantine diligently extracted as much metal as they could, but it was a grueling task. They knew there were remnants left, but their own exhaustion forced them to pause for recovery. They would need a few more weeks to fully heal. Meanwhile, Mimi battled an infection, a silent enemy they could not yet confront.

Charles sighed with a mixture of relief and gratitude as he witnessed Mimi's eyelids flicker and heard her soft sigh. She was slowly awakening, fighting to return to the realm of the living.

The bright light enveloped the room, illuminating every corner without blinding me. I could feel my weakness and fatigue, but miraculously, there was no pain. As I returned to my body, my memories of being in their mind were hazy, a testament to my mental exhaustion. Struggling to focus my eyes, I turned my head and saw Charles sitting beside me, his weary appearance clear. His presence brought a comforting sense of safety and tranquility.

Offering a weak smile, I attempted to speak. "Hey."

Charles's face lit up with relief as he looked at me, gently stroking my arm. He whispered in a calming tone, "Hey yourself. Don't try to talk. Let me moisten your mouth."

He tenderly placed a moist sponge on my lips, allowing me to suck on it for a sip of water. My tongue explored my teeth, but the metallic taste persisted, a constant reminder of the poisoning I endured.

"Charles..." I struggled to convey, my voice feeble.

I wanted him to know about the metals, hoping they could be removed.

"Hush, it's not an emergency," he reassured me.

Determined, I opened my mouth, the glint of metal catching Charles's attention, furrowing his brows in concern.

"Hey, what's going on? Just hold on, Mimi. I'll fetch some equipment," he said, sensing my distress.

Aware of the four metals hidden in my molars, courtesy of Damon, I could feel the magnetic iron coating them, too.

"Four metals inside. Remove them," I whispered, my raspy voice barely carrying the words.

However, Charles had already moved away, unaware of my plea. Catching a glimpse of the metals in my mouth, he hurried to retrieve the dental tools, determined to investigate the source of my discomfort. Holding a dentist's mirror and scraper, he approached me with concern etched on his face.

"Remove the teeth, iridium..." I tried to speak, but my weakened voice failed me, producing only a feeble puff of air.

My throat was too raspy to articulate properly.

Charles looked at me, his eyes widening, and asked, "Did you say iridium?"

I nodded, unable to speak. "I'll take x-rays of your teeth for a closer look. If any of those metals are present, they will be easy to identify," Charles assured me, rising to retrieve the dental X-ray machine.

He positioned it near my head, gently aligning my head for a clearer view.

I was strong enough to stay in position for the time that it took to take pictures. Then he took the images. Adam was already looking at the pictures when Charles took the machine away. He had arrived shortly when Charles had told him that Mimi was awake.

The pictures weren't pretty. The metal had spilled all over the jawbone and fused into the jawbone itself. It was in the upper and lower jaw too, so this would require quite a damn extensive surgery and Colin too. 

Charles said quietly. " Salvatore must have put in more than once because there's so much of that."

Adam said, "Not necessarily. Look at these spots here, the metal is pulling the metal, and how damn much of it has been sticking into Mimi? Some of it has accumulated in the jawbone pulled by this metal. Even Dresden and Constantine pulled that amount of her. There had been an insane amount inside her."

" This means surgery for Mimi," Charles said.

Adam went to ask Mimosa because they would take bone grafts from Mimosa for Mimi's jaw. He would also call Colin and inform him, too. Charles went to pull the anesthetic already in place so he could get started.

I watched as Charles and Adam furrowed their brows at the images. They were speaking via their minds. Obviously nothing good. Then Adam strode out of the medbay, and Charles went to the medicine cabinet. And I didn't think he'd take aspirin from there. He pulled several jars and started to make the cocktail. Strong one, from what I could see.

Charles came back with the syringe and sat down next to my bed.

"Honey, the metals have leaked into your jawbone, then whatever other metals Salvatore has been pushing in has also accumulated. So we need to operate, and we need to take a bone from Mimosa because we have to remove quite a lot. Colin will come to help, too. We'll keep you asleep long enough for your jaw to ossify. Besides, you weigh 22 kilos at the moment, so you have to sleep. You are in no state to really be up and walking, skeleton."

Wow, 22 kilos. I can't remember when I was this light and awake. It's a miracle they've got me back in my body. I nodded. Charles brushed the hair from my forehead, and I winced. 

" What's honey? " His voice was concerned.

"Nothing. Damon just..." My voice was weak, but the memory of his touch made me shiver. 

Charles's expression darkened. " Oh, he did that?"

I nodded. Charles put the syringe in my IV and pressed the plunger.

"Don't worry, everything will be fine." He murmured to me as my eyes were getting so heavy and I passed out, the last thing feeling him stroking me.

Damon couldn't understand himself. Why does he always do that? 26 weeks? How did he feel, when part of the time he'd be watching like an outsider, like he had nothing to say? He remembered how he killed her. Felt her dying in his arms and that twisted pleasure, of seeing her lifeless corpse in his arms. A volcano, it must be a volcano. That's why. It was taking over, way too much. He had crossed the line. He felt like there was no way out.

Damon knew there was only one way to stop him or Volcano from ever hurting Mimi again. He knew he couldn't get himself killed. The volcano wouldn't let him, he'd tried, but he could get both weakened. Everything had been tried before. His mind had been blown off three times, and with no help, he had tried to put himself together, to find the pieces that weren't him. It didn't help. The volcano was just part of him and he knew that somehow; he had ruined the Azores for them. He could never take Mimi to the Azores again. 

He'd been gone, and then the heat of time brought them together for such a wonderful time, and then this. For the first couple of weeks, after he'd left Mimi's body in the Italian castle, he'd been in a state of euphoria.

But now he'd realized it was more the volcano that was content and happy than him. That his stabbing and calming no longer gave him strength. He knew that was it. Somehow, the volcano had taken strength out of it, making it its game, not his anymore.

And then there's always the collapse. Depression. Now he had a steely determination to end it all once and for all. Damon sought a certain witch and paid her a large sum. He asked one of his few credit friends or acquaintances, then to carry out the plan to completion because he could not.

Charles, Colin, and Adam had cut Mimi's jaw a few weeks ago, and she would soon wake up. Charles furrowed his brows as he read the email. What new animal had arrived at their zoo? Then he looked at his next messages. One was from Damon. He opened it.

Charles.

I have now done what I can to prevent anything like this from ever happening to Mimi again. I'm the new animal at the zoo. I am now in tick form and have been instructed to be given a drop of blood every six months. This is the only way to keep me and the volcano, which is behind all the evil, weak. What the volcano is, I don't know, but it has somehow become more different from me since those explosions, and I don't want it any other way. I am not sure if it is part of me, or then was Mimi right when she said that it was a different part, but I am keeping it under control, in any way I can. I know I will never deserve your, Adam's, or Mimi's forgiveness, but I would hope that you would keep my fate hidden from others, especially Mimi, for as long as possible. I'll leave all my money in your custody and all my credentials.

Damon

Charles read the message three times, then downloaded the credentials to a computer where no one would find them and deleted the message. He was left to wonder if, when the time came, Damon had that much courage. He sent a message to the zoo about the new acquisition and added instructions on how to keep an eye on Damon to make sure he didn't grow up. How to reduce or dilute the amount of blood.

He knew that when the time came, he would have to be firm with Mimi. She would try to save Damon. She would forgive him and try to help him. But if the volcano was different from Damon, this was the way to keep it under control. Charles recognized Damon's sacrifice, and he was ready to honor it.

I woke up again; I was groggy, and my mouth was dry. Charles was at it again, and once he wet my mouth.

He murmured to me, "Hey, your jaw is fine now, and the infection is gone. No more metals. You've slept for a month in total."

Yay, here comes another recovery time, I thought. I felt how weak my muscles were and just a little moving felt so exhausting, though I was drugged up to my eyes still. 

Charles said, "You're already 35 kilos, so it's worth the sleep."

I shifted in bed for a moment and groaned as I tried to change position and Charles put the side down and said, "Let's go to the bathroom. You can walk around a bit. You are pretty weak, not have many muscles, but moving will help. Don't worry, I support you."

He helped me out of bed and supported me to the toilet. My legs were shaking from the strain, but I got my business done and made it back with some difficulty. Charles helped me into bed, lifted me, and got a tray from the other table, which he placed on the table in front of me. He put sides up so I won't fall or try to move on my own just yet. 

I started to eat. I had also a lot of smoothies and bumps to be consumed as well. And then I was tired again, so I slept, ate, went to the toilet, and slowly but surely got stronger so that within a week, I could walk without support. I just needed to be patient and Charles and Adam were there for me, helping me and not minding when I snapped at them in my frustrations when I hated to be this weak. Once again, I had come out the winner and this was one experience that I could be without too. No more killing me.