Archive: Sure. Just send an email to me first so I know where to link to.

Pairings: Clana, some Chlex, Clark-Kyla.

Notes: Smallville and its characters belong to DC and the WB. Miranda is my character. Please send comments to dante0220@yahoo.com.

Spoilers: Anything up through Phoenix. One should really see “Skinwalker” too.



Chapter 1 [Kent Farm]

Clark shook his head as he watched the love of his life gallop away on horseback. After all of the dreaming, time, and effort for him to get close to her, it was for naught. Why does this always happen to me? WHY?

He straightened the sign hanging overhead. That afternoon had brought so much promise. Lex had returned from his harrowing adventure just in time to save the Kents’ farm. Lana had saved his parents from Morgan Edge’s goons just hours earlier. Finally, she had promised to embrace him no matter what his secrets were. Were we seeing the same thing? Well, Kent, too late now. Looks like your ability to put your foot in your mouth is still your best talent. Stepping down off the ladder, he found his mother looking up sadly at him. “Mom, are you okay?”

Martha sighed and rubbed her forehead. How I wish that his gifts didn’t come with such a high price. While returning from town, she had witnessed the interchange between Clark and Lana. “What did you say to her, Clark?”

He rolled his eyes. Now the world is watching. Oh great. “I told her that I couldn’t be there for her. I can’t risk her safety.”

She arched her eyebrow while considering the point. Given the recent red meteor episode and the standoff in the barn, he had reason to think that way. Still, she knew that Lana would feel differently. “And what did Lana have to say about this?”

“She told me that she could keep the secret whatever it is. She wants to know me, Mom. I basically told her that the ‘red-me’, Kal-El, is me, the real me. She didn’t flinch,” he recounted.

“Lana won’t, Clark. She loves you,” she told him.

“I know, Mom, but I can’t keep exposing her to danger. Edge and his goons would hurt her, Dad, and you to get to me. I can’t stand by and let you get hurt,” he disagreed.

“Clark, you can’t protect the world. I know you want to but you can’t,” she advised frankly.

“I can try!” he snapped, speeding off out of sight and leaving his mother standing there.

Clark, I wish you would realize that powers or not, you still need to live your life. Not for the last time, she wished that the Secret wasn’t so cumbersome.



Chapter 2

Lana rode her horse through the tall waving grasses, trying to put as much distance between her and the Kent farm. She was long overdue at the stables and at the Sullivans’ house. She had a shift at the Talon in an hour, but she didn’t really care about anything except the pain in her chest. He doesn’t want to hurt me but that’s all he does. Doesn’t he understand that? Three months of waiting and worrying. I can’t believe he said that. Damn it. I’m not made of glass.

At that point, the horse whinnied at her.

“What is it, Max?” she asked, looking at her mount and then at the landscape around them. “The caves? What are we doing here?”

The horse snorted as if to say, ‘You led, I followed.’

“As if I expected an answer,” she muttered, dismounting.

The answers you seek are in here, a voice in her head told her.

“What the?” she asked, looking around. “Who said that?”

The strange female voice continued, If you want to know about Clark, then enter.

Lana glanced about again nervously. “Umm, okay.” She edged her way into the main cavern. As she did so, she studied the wall paintings. While admiring their intricacies and detail in the past, she had never really how many of them were there.

If you look at them long enough, Lana, you will see a story there, the Voice indicated.

The former cheerleader eyed her surroundings suspiciously. “I feel as if I should know you. Why don’t you come out?”

You do. Well at least you did, the Voice replied. Close your eyes and all will be revealed to you.

This is really weird. Lana shook her head, not understanding what the Voice was telling her. This must be why Clark is acting the way he is. Clark, I’m doing this for you. When she had done so, she said, “All right, now what?”

Now open them.

Close them? Open them? Now we’re past weird. As Lana opened her eyes, she noticed that they were no longer in the cavern. Instead, she stood in the middle of a field. In the distance, she could make out a stand of oak trees. And in front of her, she saw a cloaked figure. “If I know you, then can I see your face?”

“Most certainly,” the figure replied, lowering her hood and removing the cloak to reveal herself. The woman wore a buckskin top and leggings of Native American design. Her long dark hair hung in a braid down her back. She smiled warmly at the newcomer. “Hi, Lana.”

“Kyla Buckwater? But you’re dead,” Lana assumed, staring incredulously at the other woman.

“In a manner of speaking. True, I did pass onto this realm, but I never did truly leave you all,” Kyla explained.

“Then I’m dead,” Lana guessed, frowning. And I never told him how I really felt.

Kyla smiled. “You aren’t dead, Lana. This is the spirit plane but you are visiting and I am your guide. Believe me, I am your friend. We have a lot in common, you know.”

“Such as?” Lana asked.

“We both care for Clark.”

Lana shook her head. Terrific. Dealing with Chloe’s feelings was bad enough. Now I’m competing with a ghost.

“Lana, I’m not competing with you. Trust in yourself. You are the One,” the spirit told her.

“The one what?” Lana wondered.

“The One. Clark’s intended,” Kyla declared. “Before you can take the next step, however, you need to know his secret.”

“And you know?”

Kyla nodded. “Yes, I do. We shared our secrets before I passed on.”

“You have secrets?” Lana inquired. “Of course you do. Everyone has secrets they keep from me. Why shouldn’t you be any different?”

“Actually, you have your secrets too, Lana. It’s all right. You don’t have to worry. Can you deal with my secret?” Kyla wondered. Seeing the other nod, she concentrated, shifting into her wolf form.

“You just changed. How?” Lana asked, staring at the wolf.

I told you we all have our secrets. Follow me, Lana. I will show you what you want to know.

Lana followed hesitantly. Now we are well past strange. Chloe should be here. For a while, she walked after the guide through the field and into the grove.

In front of a particularly massive oak, the wolf stopped and yipped.

In response, a triangular symbol glowed in its center.

“What’s that?” Lana asked.

A greeting, a male voice answered from the tree. You Earthers are a stubborn race.

Lana fought back her fear, allowing her indignation to take charge. Recalling Clark’s cryptic comments about the Voice, she realized, “You’re the voice threatening Clark!”

I am of no threat to him. I am his father, Jor-El. You, however, are a threat to me.

She gaped. “But you’re dead.”

Yes, I died along with my planet. However, my dreams live on through my son, Kal-El. You will forget him.

Her mind scrambled with that information for a moment. Remembering that Clark went by ‘Kal’ in Metropolis, her indignation rose another notch. “Why should I? Clark deserves to build his own life! He should be around people who love him! All you’re doing is messing up his life!”

His life is mine to direct.

“No it isn’t! Why can’t you see that? Maybe you’re his natural father but Jonathan Kent is his real father!” she asserted, stomping her foot into the grass at her feet. “And we care for him!”

As much as you can love someone you don’t truly know.

“And whose fault is that? You have him so scared that he won’t open up to anyone!” She pointed at him, continuing, “This secret can’t be that bad! I can deal with it!”

Really? What would you do for my son’s love?

“I would do anything for Clark,” she told him without hesitation.

Very well. Prepare yourself, Lana Lang.

Suddenly, a brilliant glow lit up the whole grove, blinding Lana in the process. She felt a buzzing in her head and saw a streaming flow of events involving Clark as he really was before her. For several minutes, she managed to withstand the download before blacking out.

Jor-El allowed the dreamscape to disappear, putting them back in the cavern.

The wolf howled.

No, she is not hurt. Go and find Kal-El.

The wolf bounded away from the scene, heading for the exit.




Chapter 3 [Talon-Four hours later]

Chloe rushed into the café and huffed breathlessly. For the past three hours, she had looked for Lana and nobody knew anything about her whereabouts. “Great. Not here either.”

Miranda, Lana’s ‘lieutenant’, came over and greeted, “Hey, Chloe, ummm….have you seen Lana?”

“She isn’t here?” the reporter asked.

Miri shook her head. “She never showed up for her shift. That’s not like her.”

Definitely not. Chloe knew that Lana was punctual to a fault. It would take something really bad to make her miss a shift. Seeing Lex Luthor walk in, she waved to him.

He approached them with a smile on his face. “Miss Sullivan, what’s the latest buzz in Smallville?”

“Lana’s missing, Lex. She was due back at my house two hours ago from her horseback ride.”

“She never showed up here, Mr. Luthor,” Miri added.

He frowned. Something’s really wrong here. Taking out his cell phone, he dialed the Smallville Riders’ Club and spoke to their foreman for several minutes. “She hasn’t come back there yet.”

“What about Clark?” Miri suggested.

Why didn’t I think of that? He almost kicked himself for that oversight. Dialing again, he waited through three dial tones before getting an answer. “Hi, Mrs. Kent? Yes, it’s Lex Luthor. I was wondering if you know where Lana is?”

Martha took a deep breath. “She and Clark were talking earlier this afternoon. Then she rode off in a hurry. Why?”

“She hasn’t shown up for her shift at the Talon nor has she checked in at the stables or with the Sullivans. I was hoping to speak to Clark,” he replied.

Lana, I hope you didn’t do something foolish. She imagined the younger woman riding recklessly and injuring herself in her grief. “I’ll get him. He’s in the loft.” She set the phone down and ran out to the barn.

“Clark!” she called. Getting no answer, she hurried up the stairs to his Fortress of Solitude. There she found her son sulking on the couch. “Clark, come on! We have a problem!”

“What is it?” he asked sadly.

She shook her head. “It’s Lana.”

“She doesn’t want to see me, Mom. I told you that,” he argued.

“Clark, she’s missing. Nobody has seen her since she left here,” she pointed out.

That got his attention. Even if we can’t be together, I can’t let anything happen. He jumped off the couch. “I have to find her!”

“Lex is waiting on the phone,” she told him.

He rushed down the stairs at super speed, heading for the house. However, a single sight stopped him dead in his tracks.

The white wolf looked expectantly at him and barked twice.

“A wolf here?” Martha asked, wondering how they were going to hold it off from the farm animals.

Clark shook his head. There’s something about the eyes.

Then a voice in his head agreed, Indeed there is, Clark. But then, only Nuam would know me.

He looked around expectantly, trying to find the source for the voice in his head. “Nuam? But only one person ever called me that.”

“Clark, don’t anger it,” his mother advised, her face now turning white.

“It’s okay, Mom. Isn’t it, Kyla?” he replied before turning back to the wolf.

Kyla’s spirit shifted back to her buckskin-clad human form before responding, “Nothing will happen to your farm. I do have to speak to you, Clark.”

“I need to look for Lana. Can’t this wait?” he wondered.

“This is about Lana. I know where she is,” the spirit told him.

“Is she all right? Tell me!” he demanded.

Suddenly, Jor-El’s voice said, Your friend is here with me, Kal-El. Come to me.

“What is it?” Martha asked, seeing his face go red with anger.

“My father has her,” he told his mother. Looking at Kyla, he told her, “Either lead me to them or let me go.”

“The caves, Clark. They’re in the caves,” Kyla informed him before vanishing into the gathering dusk.

“Clark, what does Jor-El want with Lana?” Martha inquired.

“He’s using her to get to me. This just proves what I was saying before!” he retorted sharply before speeding off toward the caves.

Martha stood there for a minute, wondering what she was going to say to Lex. Finally, she headed for the house, hoping that it would be enough that Clark had the situation under control.

Chapter 4 [The Caves]

Lana stirred and opened her eyes. She was back in the cavern once again. Looking around, she saw that the Kryptonian symbols glowed at her. In addition, she had another surprise. She could understand them now. How did this happen?

I told you that you would know his secrets, Lana Lang. The Voice echoed throughout her mind.

She scratched her head, trying to draw the random thoughts running rampant there together. Before she had blacked out, she saw images of Clark doing impossible things: running super fast, lifting heavy things, shrugging off bullets like raindrops, walking through fire, and flying through the tornado to save her two years earlier. I know I shouldn’t believe this but it makes sense. If it were anyone else, I wouldn’t believe it. Worse, I would be scared stiff. However, it is Clark.

He will be here soon. Along with the Voice, the male image wrapped in light appeared again.

Of course. “He seems to know when I’m in trouble,” she sighed. Here we go again.

I told him you were here. Soon, we will see which is stronger: heredity or love.

Her eyes stared dumbfounded at him. What is he talking about? Great. This time, I really stepped into a deep mess. Sorry, Clark. Lana sat on the cold stone floor and waited for Clark to make his appearance.


****

Meantime, Clark stopped in front of the caves, not knowing which one to search first. This could take all day at normal speed. I wish I could rush through them but Lana might see me.

That is the least of your concerns, my Son.

“What have you done with her? Tell me!” Clark bellowed into the entrance.

I have only granted her wish, Kal-El.

“You didn’t tell her, did you? What are you trying to do? Stop trying to ruin my life!” the teenager yelled. “Where is she?”

Come to me, Kal-El, and you will find what you seek.

She probably thinks I’m a monster or worse after what he told her. He ran into the caves, looking for her. “Lana!” he called out repeatedly, hoping that she would be all right.

Finally, her voice responded, “Clark!”

He rushed into the next cavern to find her standing against the far wall. In the area’s center, Jor-El’s glowing form waited for him. It took you long enough, Kal-El. Stop denying what you are.