Past Mixes With Present

Chapter 1

Her eyes opened with a crack as she looked around the most luxuriously decorated room she had ever seen yet it was familiar to her. As Kayla sat up on the bed she had been resting on, she smiled at the dog sleeping in the corner on a pillow.

"Ah, I see the prodigal daughter has awakened," She turned towards the door and smiled before launching herself at the man who stood there, throwing herself into his arms.

"Father, you're back!" She pulled back after kissing the man on his stubbled cheek. "What sort of adventures did you get into this time? Anything dangerous?" She was practically bouncing with excitement causing her father to laugh.

"Calm, Cryara, all your questions will be answered when dinner is prepared. Now come sit and tell me what mischief you have been a part of since I have been absent." Taking her hand, he led her to some chairs by the fire that was currently roaring.

"But, my King Khufu," Her voice rang with innocence as she smiled when they sat, "I am a princess... princesses do not cause mischief."

"They do if they are not named Cryara and if King Khufu didn't spoil her completely rotten instead of teaching her how to be a princess," Cryara/Kayla's head turned to see the most stunning woman she had ever seen walking into her room with a smile on her face which expanded the playful tone of her voice. "She has once again been playing tricks on the guards who try and follower her around the city."

"I told you I don't need guards following me. I carry a knife with me at all times." Cryara unsheathed a knife at her waist and held it out for Khufu to inspect. As he looked it over, he nodded.

"You have taken extremely good care of the blade I gave you for your last birthday, Cryara." Her bright smile from his compliment melted his heart as he looked upon her. "But you know you need guards when you leave the palace." Cryara huffed as she hunched over slightly, causing Khufu to chuckle.

"Anyways, the cooks wanted me to tell you that dinner is ready, my love and heart." Shayara had those nicknames for her family. Khufu was her love and Cryara was her heart for she said she couldn't live without either or both.

"Then let us retire to the dining hall for dinner." Khufu held out his arm for Shayara while he bent down to kiss Cryara on her forehead before they all made their way through the palace to the dining hall where everyone waited for the King's return.

Dinner went as planned with the King finally returning home from a trip abroad and Cryara spent her time in a corner while everyone else demanded her father's time. As she sat drinking her wine, she picked at the food on her plate. Cryara hated sharing her father's time with so many people at once.

"A princess should not be so lonely during a party," a voice sounded and Cryara smiled as she gazed up into the face of her favorite guard. He was the only one she allowed go with her anywhere because he did not hover. He also did not judge her out of ordinary behavior.

"Well there is nothing keeping my attention, Kreton," Cryara smiled as he nodded before holding out his hand to her. There had been a different aspect to their relationship lately which she was curious about. Could it be the guard had feelings for her and she for him?

"Then let us join the others on the dance floor and your attention will be held and kept by me," His smile dazzled her for a moment before she looked around and took his hand, standing slowly. Following him to the wooden floor, she took his other hand while he led her around the dance floor. Khufu stood off to the side watching this take place with a scowl marring his features.

"Come, my love," Shayara walked up and took his hand with her own. "Let her be. She is experiencing love for the first time. Let her have this one adventure on her own and take me to dance." He smiled down at his lovely wife before leading her out near their daughter so he could keep an eye on her.

"Your father is aware of my evil plan I see," Kreton said as he smiled down at Cryara. At first he did not like the insolent girl but after months of befriending her, he had grown fond of her then eventually fell in love with her.

"And what evil plan is that?" Cryara asked as she glanced over to see the scowl on her father's face. She tilted her head at him before turning back to Kreton with a confused look which only caused his smile to widen as he took her hand and led her outside to a balcony. "Whatever are we doing out here?" She asked the guard with short blonde hair and dark eyes as he turned to face her.

"Do you really not know? I figured one of the other guards had told you by now," Kreton said as his hand came up to cup her cheek.

"Yes I have heard talk but I am not one to listen to idle gossip of men who have nothing better to do in their day," Cryara said in a defensive manner.

"It isn't considered gossip if it is true," Kreton said not knowing how to gauge the gasp that escaped from Cryara. "Yes, it is true. My heart does and forever will lie in your hands." Slowly his head leaned down until his lips just barely pressed against hers.

Cryara stood shocked for a moment before a warmth spread through her and she knew she would never be able to live without this man. With slight hesitance, she leaned into his touch and pressed her lips to his with a more firm touch.

Suddenly, his hold on her loosened and she heard him gasp for breath. Her confused look washed over him as she backed away from his lips and then a blood curdling scream as she saw a spear sticking from his abdomen.

"Father!" She screamed as tears started to stream down her cheeks. Kneeling beside him, placing his head in her lap while she grasped his hand, she screamed until Khufu was beside her.

"What happened, Cryara," He asked, his heart clenching at her pain because of the dying man in her arms.

"I don't know! He kissed me then he was struck with that!" She used her free hand to point to the spear before it returned to stroke Kreton's cheek. "You have to help him!"

"They cannot," Kreton said barely above a whisper before coughing up blood as his hand squeezed hers. "I am slipping to the other side."

"No! You can't!" Cryara cried as more tears fell, her mother joining them. "Please stay with me..." His hand reached up to weakly caress her cheek to wipe away some tears.

"Tonight was the happiest of my life, Cryara. We will see each other again for I will always search for you no matter how many times we are reborn." As he finished, his final breath was expelled and his eyes fell closed. Shayara hugged her daughter with a fierce grip as she screamed out in pain. Khufu, enraged at seeing his beloved daughter in so much pain, stood and turned to his guards.

"I want you to search the entire city to find the one who did this!" Turning to his wife cradling their daughter, his voice softened. "Shayara, take her to her room and stay there until the search is done." His heart clenched with agony as a guard scooped his daughter up and moved beside Shayara to Cryara's chambers. "We will find who has hurt my family in this way. Go!" Drawing his sword, Khufu moved after his guards to aid in the search.

Shayara's voice calmed her daughter a she ran a brush through her long hair while singing. Only small hiccups were the sign of the continuous crying over the loss of her newly found love. Even the guard standing at the door felt the girl's pain. Though they made fun of Kreton, they all respected how close he was able to come to the heavily guarded young woman.

Cryara sat up straight when she heard the signs of battle cries from outside and she rushed forward to her balcony. A foreign army rushed the gates of the castle right when her door burst open and she turned to see her father and she rushed to him, her tears fresh as her arms surrounded him and his around her.

"I'm so sorry, Cryara." He whispered into her ear. He knew what was coming and, just as he couldn't save her from the pain of the loss of her love, he couldn't save her from the impending invasion. "I love you."

"I love you, daddy," She only used that word when she was most vulnerable and his eyes closed as he cherished it. He turned his head when his captain showed up and reached for Cryara's hand. "What's going on?"

"You are not safe here. This captain will take you somewhere and you must promise me to stay there." Khufu said as he turned to Shayara and drew her into his arms. "There is an attack coming. I want you to go with our daughter."

"That won't be necessary," The captain called out and Khufu turned to see Cryara in his arms with a knife at her throat.

"You're the spy?" Khufu's words held a shocked undertone while he saw the fear in his daughter's eyes while soldiers poured in from the foreign army.

"You've been running this kingdom into the ground so I figured I'd be the dutiful citizen and relieve of your position as King." The captain snarled as his hold tightened, causing Cryara to bite her lip.

"Oh please, like you could run a country. You were too busy with the maids." She snapped over her shoulder. "You thought no one would notice your discretions?"

"Your daughter really does have a mouth on her," the Captain said as he gripped her head with both hands.

"No, don't!" Khufu said but it was too late. The crack of Cryara's neck resounded through the room followed by Shayara's scream. "Cryara!"

Somewhere in Metropolis, a man sat next to some trash dumpsters, his friend trying to convince him to come back to the museum and back home. Suddenly, he looked up, having a lucid moment through all the voices, and said three words that haunted his friend.

"Cryara is home."

It was just a normal day in Metropolis General Hospital when suddenly everything went haywire. The electricity started flickering and it all seemed to be coming from one room: Kayla Sanders' room. The electric fit ended as soon as they reached the room and the only thing anyone could hear was a flatline beeping saying she was gone.

"Quick! Get me a crash cart!" A nurse shouted above all the ruckus as she jumped onto the bed and started performing CPR on the girl whose head just rolled to the side, her lips losing color fast.

They tried for ten minutes to get her back but it was no use. Whatever had come through the hospital had taken Kayla with it. As the nurse walked over to the doctor, her voice was barely above a whisper as they spoke about what to do.

"Who is her emergency contact?" She asked reaching for the chart in the doctor's hands.

"Oliver Queen and he is going to be beyond upset." The doctor said and the nurse's eyes widened. He was right, when Oliver found out they would be lucky to keep their jobs. "I'll call him now."

Pushing Lois against the wall of his penthouse apartment, their lips molded together as clothes were nearly torn open. They had been dating a couple of months now and they just couldn't seem to get enough of each other. Right as his shirt was unbuttoned and thrown to the ground, his cell phone went off.

"Ignore it," Lois pleaded through panted breaths as her lips attacked the column of his throat when he took it out of his pocket.

"I... I can't." Oliver said as he backed away from her, recognizing the number. "This is Oliver Queen," came his answer as he stood there, his posture stiff. As the doctor spoke to him, Lois watched as his demeanor completely changed. "What the hell are you talking about? What does it have to do with her?" Now his voice became hard and cold which worried Lois more than anything.

"Who is it? What's going on?" As she slowly approached him, she was surprised when he held up a finger to her, which he never did the entire time they had been dating.

"Wait, what? She's... gone?" Oliver's voice broke as he sat down on his couch and ran a hand over his face. "No, I'll be right there. Keep the doctor informed." He hung up the phone and just stared at it for a moment and Lois could swear she saw tears building in his eyes but he just stood and walked over to the door. "I'm sorry, Lois, I need a raincheck. Something's come up that I need to do." She didn't even have time to respond before he was gone.

Whispers rode through the breeze coming from the vent blowing right on Kayla in the morgue. Suddenly, her eyes opened and she looked around as she shot up quickly. Where was this strange place. One second she was seeing images of the cold room she was in and the next, of a warm palace with people surrounding her, dancing and feasting and drinking.

Shivering, she stood and tried to find a warm spot in the room but a sound coming down the hallway spooked her and she headed towards a corner. As her vision sharpened, she felt her fangs elongate as she silently crouched and prepared to strike anyone who entered this room.

"No, you're going to let me see her if I have to beat your face in to do it!" Came a harsh growl before two figures busted into the room, one chasing after the other but both stopped when they saw the empty table. "Is this some kind of joke, doctor? Where is Kayla Sanders?"

This man knew her? His voice was so familiar but she just couldn't place it. Shaking her head as visions kept dancing in front of her between the feast and this room, she let out a low growl as she bared her fangs. When both men turned, one was frightened while the familiar one looked relieved and... happy? Who was he? Then it all compounded in her brain and a shrill scream left her as she put her hands over her ears.

His face, both from the dream and then from her apparent past, kept going back and forth and a pain exploded throughout her body as she fell to the floor and cradled into the fetal position as scream after scream left her.

Oliver stood motionless for a moment wondering what the hell was going on before rushing to her side and trying to get her to uncurl herself.

"Kayla! It's me, Oliver! What's wrong?" Fear spread through him, having never seen her in this kind of shape before. Then as suddenly as the onslaught came on, it was gone and Kayla was silent yet breathing deeply on the floor before her mismatched eyes came up.

"Oliver?" She asked, her voice hoarse and weak and it was then Oliver noticed she was naked from being on the morgue's table. Quickly tearing his jacket off his body, he helped cover her up while she sat up looking confused. "What's going on?"

"You have no idea what just happened?" His expression was one of confusion then turned into him looking flabbergasted while he helped her stand on her shaky legs she had not used in so long.

"I had the weirdest dream then woke up down here. Where the hell am I and why am I in the morgue?" She looked around with an almost frantic look on her face while he led her to a chair, shooting the doctor a glare.

"Do you think we can get her some clothes before she freezes to death?" That spurred the scared doctor into action and he sprang from the room to look for some scrubs for her while Oliver knelt down in front of her. "What happened? You looked as if you didn't know me then fell to the ground screaming bloody murder..."

"I don't know... I just remember waking up then finding myself on the floor." Kayla ran a hand through her hair and noticed how long it was. "Oliver, how long have I been out of it?" Her eyes narrowed when he acted like he didn't want to answer at first. "Oliver! How long?"

"About a year and a half... I tried to give you the same injection of refined meteor rock that healed you last time but something went wrong. You have been slowly healing cell by cell for a year and a half..." His explanation threw Kayla for a loop while she absorbed all the information.

"I've been out that long?" She looked out into the hallway and stopped. "I know this hospital... Are we in Metropolis?" Her question was one of curiosity and a bit of surprise. "I didn't think you'd risk moving me."

"I didn't want to but work and other things has brought me out here. I rode with you the whole way in the chopper while all my things were moved into my penthouse apartment." His eyes searched hers as she continued looking around until the doctor came back. "Doc I need to talk to you."

As Kayla changed, she heard both males talking then a female voice rang out and that peaked her interest and she barely cracked the door open to see a woman standing there seemingly distraught that Oliver wasn't telling her what was wrong. Then the woman reached for Oliver's hand and linked their fingers and it set in for Kayla. He had moved on while she had slept. Though she had no right to, tears built behind her eyes and she moved back from the door, her chest clenching as she thought about it.

Before she could lose it where everyone could see, she cleaned herself up, took a deep breath, and walked into the hallway to stand in front of Oliver.

"Mr. Queen, I thank you very much for the care you have provided for me. You have gone above and beyond for the treatment of an employee. If you could help me, I just need my things transferred back into my name then I will be out of your way." She hated the look of confusion in Oliver's eyes then it dawned on him and he let go of the woman's hand.

"And you are?" The unknown woman rudely asked as if Kayla were encroaching on her property or something of the sort.

"My name is Kayla Sanders and I was Mr. Queen's assistant before a terrible accident befell me and landed me in a coma. Once the doctors are done with their tests, sir, I'd like to begin job searching since I'm sure the position was filled long ago. Doctor?" She turned to the man in the lab coat and gestured down the hallway. "Shall we? Or is there another doctor I need to see for these tests?" After that, she left Oliver confused and almost hurt in the hallway with Lois Lane.

It took a few hours to get everything done and squared away but once it was, she was looking in the newspaper for an apartment while waiting for a cab to take her to Oliver's apartment. He had hid her Angel equipment and clothes there as well as some of her personal things in case she woke up. A smile lit up her features as a nice loft apartment was in the ads and she circled it. Once she had her things, she would go find this place. She had enough money saved to more than pay for the year lease they were asking for.

"Kayla?" Her head shot up when she heard her name being called. "Is that really you?"

"Lex Luthor," His name was more of a sarcastic tone since she really didn't want to see the man but she stood and offered her hand anyway. "Very nice to see you again."

"You as well. I heard you were here. Glad to see you up and about." Then her eyes widened when she saw Lana Lang walk up behind Lex and loop her arm through his.

"Kayla? Wow, you've changed." Her smile seemed genuine but Kayla had never liked the girl and had to stop from rolling her eyes.

"Wow, you haven't, Lana. Who would have thought?" Kayla looked over her shoulder to see the taxi pulling up. "I'm afraid that is me. Good to see you, Lex. Lana." Turning around, she walked out of the hospital and into the taxi.

She tried taking a few deep breaths as the lift took her up to Oliver's apartment. Nerves wracked and stomach churning, she cautiously stepped out of the elevator to see him standing there with a smile. Kayla tried to return it, but it wasn't possible as she looked around the place.

"It suits you. Definitely your style." As she slowly turned, her nerves only heightened if it were possible as her eyes caught a glimpse of a picture that included the two of them at one of the functions she helped set up. She tried to will the pain away but it wouldn't. "I'm guessing you have my things here?"

"I have some of it, yeah." He tried to walk towards her and frowned when she backed away from him. "Kayla, look..."

"No, you don't need to explain. It's just all new to me. It just doesn't feel like a year and a half... I'll just have to adjust to how things have... changed." She tried not to choke on the last word but her voice broke and she could curse herself. "Really, I just came for my things. Both mine and Angel's."

He tried to speak again but she walked to the universal remote and pressed a button that usually hid compartments around his apartments and wasn't shocked when the "clock" mural opened to reveal everything.

"That didn't surprise me at all." She said as she went into the drawers until she found her clothes, weapons, and masks. "What does my mother think? Where is my father?"

"She knows you're safe here. She has made a few trips out and I give her daily updates. I still have to call her to tell her you're awake." When Kayla turned, bag of things in hand, she saw him leaning against the door frame of the hidden room. "I made sure your father would never see the light of day again outside of a prison cell."

"Thank you very much. I'm sure my mother will want to come see me." She paused when Oliver stepped away from the frame and approached her. "Oliver..."

"Kayla, I'm so sorry." As he tried to apologize, she pushed past him, not ready to have that conversation yet. It was all too fresh and she was scared of what would happen if she lost it. She stopped before getting into the elevator and turned.

"Tell me, how did I end up in a coma for over a year without healing?" His sigh was heard across the room and she could feel the guilt behind it and tilted her head, waiting for his response.

"I tried to give you the same dose of refined meteor rock that healed you faster last time. You had a reaction to it and your body rejected it somehow and it made your body reset. The way the doctor described it was your body healing one cell at a time." Remorse shone through his gaze and he wanted to say something else, but Kayla retreated into the elevator to process everything.

How do you start all over when the life you had become accustomed to had been stolen while you slept your life away?