Sydney watched as the vampire paced back and forth across the stone platform, hidden deep within the forest. Sage had been furious when they arrived; apparently she'd had another captive here not long ago. Whoever this captive was, they had somehow managed to escape, for now it was Sage and Sydney alone on the stone.

Sydney didn't like that at all. He did not let his unease show in his expression, of course, but Sage had somehow managed to contain his powers within this small circular area untouched by the storm, and that should not have been possible for anyone who was not a servant of a deity or deities as powerful as the Kildean pantheon. For that matter, being teleported away against his will should have been far more difficult than it had been for the vampire. No matter how it had happened, though, it had, and Sydney was helpless.

He hated being helpless.

Fortunately, that meant that any discomfort he felt could be easily masked by rage, and so he laughed a quiet, mocking laugh at her frustration. "Not quite so crafty as you believed, are you?"

She leveled a warning glance at him. "My last captive was a... special case," she told him. "I suppose it was impressive that I should be able to bring her here at all - if she wasn't so foolish, it would have been impossible. Still, it seems that she's pulled herself together enough to..."

Suddenly, her eyes narrowed in fury. "It was him. It had to be him! Of course he would come for her... and he would be logical enough to puzzle out the solution. He did this! Why didn't I expect his presence here?"

"Probably because you don't think your plans through before implementing them," Sydney pointed out casually, arms crossed across his chest. "Otherwise, you might have been able to actually make me believe that you were Hardin."

"Shut up." Her eyes blazed with green fire for a moment before she calmed. "...What's happened has happened. And, my sweet little Sydney, if my first captive has gone, that means that it's just the two of us here... all alone." She shot him a seductive smile. "Why don't we talk about that for awhile?"

"Hey, Hardin - open up already!"

Hardin was growing tired of Viktor's pounding, which thundered louder than the storm outside. He was in no mood to discuss Sydney, either.

"Come on... give us a break here, Hardin! You don't even realize how serious this is! Sydney could be in real trouble here!"

Viktor had been saying that for some time too, and it was wearing on Hardin little by little. It was unlikely to be true, considering Sydney's power - and besides, if some tramp of a vampire wanted to seduce him, he'd probably actually enjoy it. As for the rest of the world... in all honesty, it could go to hell for all he cared. The only regret he would have would be Joshua, and Hardin wondered briefly if he should simply take the boy and flee. Everyone else could burn.

...Except Sydney.

Hardin cursed silently under his breath. He didn't want to care what happened to Sydney. Not at all. He wondered which would be preferable - Sydney perishing along with this world, or Sydney living at the side of this vampire should she get her way.

Viktor was still pounding on the door, of course. "Hardin, you're being selfish! Can we at least talk about this? We really need your help!"

Finally Hardin crossed the room and opened the door just a crack, startling Viktor in mid-pound. "Of course I'm being selfish," he snapped. "I've been thinking of no one but him for years... maybe it's about time I began thinking about myself for a change."

"So what you really want is to wallow in self-pity while the world falls apart, is that it?"

"At the moment it feels right, yes."

"Like there are going to be any more moments if we don't hurry up and find Sydney?" Viktor growled in a rare show of temper. "Hope you're having a really damn good time, Hardin."

"What does finding Sydney have to do with anything? From what you were all saying earlier, this woman's plans don't depend on him - he's just a prize for her."

"Yes, and she's probably got him with her now, so finding Sydney will be finding her. Even if we can't do much to stop her ourselves, we can at least show up and try to stall her until Andrea and Kit do whatever they have to do to get rid of her. Don't you care what happens to this world?"

Hardin shook his head wearily, stepping away from the door. "Not anymore."

He'd left the door ajar, and so Viktor entered warily, uncertain about Hardin's state of mind. "Listen, Hardin - just because your personal life is screwed, it doesn't mean it's the end of the world. So, well, don't let it turn into the literal end of the world. Okay? It's all well and good if you want to screw yourself over, I guess, but don't condemn the rest of us with you."

Seated at the table by the window, Hardin didn't even look back at him. "As if the fate of the world rests in my hands. I'm just as helpless as you are, Viktor - what would I add even if I were to help?"

"Well, your abilities would make this go a lot faster," Viktor told him, sitting down on the bed. "Listen - even if you won't go with us... can you just... look for him? With your mind... you know what I mean."

"That would mean I'd have to look at him." I don't know if I can stand seeing him again, especially if he's with this vampire woman after all. And... if I see him in trouble, I'll lose it. I'll lose it completely.

"Just for a second, Hardin," Viktor urged him. "Just long enough to tell us where he is. And then Kain and I will go ourselves - you can stay here and act like a depressed teenager, whatever. Just do this one thing for us, okay?"

Hardin didn't answer, and Viktor leaned forward anxiously. "Come on, Hardin... I can't believe you really don't care if he's in danger or not. I think I know you better than that. I mean, we were talking the other night about love and everything... Love's stronger than petty differences, isn't it? Particularly when you have more than that between you. Even if Flik completely screwed me over, I'd still go drag his butt out of trouble if he got himself in over his head." Viktor stopped, smirking a little. "Okay, so more likely he'd be the one dragging my butt out of trouble, but you know what I mean, right? Or is what you felt for Sydney less than what Flik and I have?"

The question was almost a taunt, and Hardin frowned. "...All right, so I still..." He couldn't bring himself to say the words aloud again, and he sighed. "Fine. I'll use the Sight to find him for you. But after that, please just leave me alone."

"Hey, I agreed to that already," Viktor pointed out. "Thanks, Hardin... I really appreciate it. Seriously."

Hardin ignored him, already focusing on Sydney's signature energy patterns, trying to find them amidst the storm. Let's get this over with, then, if I must.

The storm seemed to be interfering somehow, but Hardin had known Sydney too well and for too long to be completely confused. He was somewhere in the forest... Hardin closed his eyes to better concentrate, and let the Sight spiral inward until it found the precise location. Seeing his face again felt like a punch in the stomach, but Hardin did his best to ignore it as he took a look around.

The brown-haired, green-eyed woman was facing Sydney with a rather lewd look upon her face, and Hardin could not help but feel outraged. It eased his mind a little, though, to see that Sydney's smile was pure distaste and mockery. "I found him," Hardin murmured to Viktor.

"Where?"

Hardin didn't hear, his attention focused on the round stone platform and the scene unfolding. "And what would I gain for this little... activity that you're asking of me?" Sydney was saying. "Or do you think I have feelings for you? Am I simply a whore to amuse you?"

"Aren't you?" the woman asked with a knowing grin. "After all, did you really expect to gain anything by sleeping with Sylvia the other night?"

"Yes, I did," Sydney stated simply. "I was expecting to gain absolute proof that I was not tied to any lover - the assurance that I had no emotional attachment whatsoever to a singular person, and I could take my pleasure where I found it." As Hardin watched, Sydney's face grew serious, his eyes darkened. "...But in actuality, what I did gain was the knowledge that I'm a hypocrite, precisely the type of sentimental fool that I've always laughed at."

Hardin's heart skipped a beat. Sydney couldn't really mean that he...

Viktor noticed the taller man's breath catching in his throat. "Hey... is everything okay?" Still watching the scene unfold, Hardin didn't even hear the question.

Sydney's lips curled upwards in a smirk once again as he continued. "And I hope I've gained nothing else from that encounter - from what I've heard about her past, anything else I could have gained might well be contagious, and I've not had my shots."

Back in his bedroom, Hardin burst out laughing uncontrollably despite himself. Viktor was peering at him, confused. "Hardin, what the hell is going on?" Hardin just shook his head and held up a hand for him to be quiet so he could concentrate. Gods, Sydney can be so unabashedly cruel... I've always loved that about him.

"How touching," the woman was telling Sydney. "The tin man has a heart. Well then, if you're so concerned about your feelings for other people, I suppose I'll have to use a different approach. You can appreciate a bargain, can't you, Sydney?"

"What, do you plan to offer me half off your usual price?"

The woman's smile vanished. "It's fortunate that you're so beautiful, or I would kill you now for your poor manners. However... I'm willing to be merciful for your sake - if you make love to me, I won't destroy your little continuum, or your precious John Hardin with it. How is that for a bargain?"

"Oh gods..." Hardin muttered. This vampire woman was really determined to have Sydney... and Hardin wondered if Sydney even knew that she was capable of going through with what she'd said.

"What is it?" Viktor asked, growing impatient. "Will you just tell me already?"

"She just told him that if he sleeps with her, she won't destroy this continuum," Hardin said quickly. "I've got to try to warn him..."

Reaching out mentally, Hardin tried to touch Sydney's mind, which had laid open to his contact for years. Each touch, though, seemed to be pulled away and dissolved into nothing, and Hardin frowned. Sydney had not simply closed himself off - he knew how that felt. This woman had done something to contain Sydney's abilities, it seemed, which would not allow the connection between them to be completed. It also explained why Sydney hadn't teleported himself out of there by now, Hardin thought with a sigh.

But then, Sydney was quite spiritually receptive. Perhaps there was another way, without making an actual mental connection... perhaps Hardin could do something he'd done once before, when he hadn't even known how to touch Sydney's mind yet... "Sydney!" he said sharply, pouring his entire being into the invisible extension of himself that stood within the circle with Sydney and the woman.

It worked. Sydney raised an eyebrow, ever so slightly, and his eyes darted momentarily to the place where Hardin's phantom self stood. They'd been in difficult situations before, the two of them, and Sydney knew how to let Hardin know he was listening without giving any obvious sign. His eyes did appear a bit startled this time, but under the circumstances it was to be expected; with any luck, the woman would mistake his surprise to be directed at her words.

"Sydney. She's serious. She really could do what she says, or so Bastian told Viktor and Flik. We're coming for you, Sydney - stall her if you can, but..." Hardin grimaced. "...If necessary, stop her in any way possible."

"Well, Sydney?" the woman prompted him.

The corners of Sydney's mouth turned down almost imperceptibly in the smallest hint of a frown. "Yes, any way," Hardin repeated. "...It's all right. If you have no choice... it isn't your fault. Just... hold on, Sydney. We'll be there as soon as we can."

Sydney turned his eyes towards his unseen companion and blinked, a wordless agreement. "Hmm..." he mused aloud, fully turning his attention back to the temptress before him. "If I have no choice, then tell me... are you willing to at least make it interesting for me as well as for yourself? What do you have in mind, exactly... or did you plan to have your way with me here on this rock? Not very comfortable for either of us, I would think..."

Hardin couldn't suppress a grin. Sydney had done it in plenty of even less comfortable places, and he knew it.

The woman did not, however. "Hmm, perhaps not... though it might be exciting... very primal... what do you think?"

"I think I'd prefer someplace a bit softer." Sydney stepped a bit closer to her, unafraid. "If this must be done... then why not in a luxurious bed...?" He gave her a coy smile. "That hair of yours would look quite stunning spilled across sheets of pale silk..."

She gave him an answering smile. "I thought perhaps you might get into the idea, once you made up your mind."

"I'm nothing if not imaginative."

That at least was a truth. Knowing this, and knowing that Sydney could toss off suggestions for the better part of an hour, if not more, Hardin let himself return to his body. "She's got Sydney trapped with her in some kind of barrier, deep in the forest... It might take some time to get there, but Sydney's stalling her. Let's go."

Viktor looked at him, raising an eyebrow, as Hardin went to the closet, reaching up to a high shelf. "So you changed your mind, huh? I'm glad... and thanks."

After a moment, Hardin pulled out his old sword - he hadn't used it for some time, but he'd kept it well-maintained nonetheless. You never knew when something might come up, and this situation proved it. "I'm sorry that I-"

"Will you stop that?" Viktor grinned at Hardin as he followed the taller man to the door. "Let's just go defeat the damsel in distress, all right? Kain's coming too, by the way."

"...Defeat the damsel in distress?" Hardin asked, not understanding.

"Well, yeah - the woman's up against not only our band - now including an outraged lover, from the look on your face," Viktor teased him, "but forces from the castle too. And somehow I don't think Sydney would like being trapped very much. If she's in there with him... if anyone's in distress now, I'd say it's her."