Timoria

By Katrina Chance

Part 1:Preparation

                She stood, staring out over the water, lost in thought, like she had so many times before in the past few years.  Since her children were grown up now, she didn't need to spend so much time with them and they had taken on the investigation into what was happening to their family.

                She sighed.  So many things had happened, and the newest one took the cake.  Her mother-in-law had brought her husband back to life.  All along, she thought, we could have been together.  If only I had known.

                She shook her head.  Her thoughts could not go that way now.  She had to stay clearheaded and prepare for the perfect time to launch her own attack against her beloved and her mother-in-law.

                A voice called out to her at that moment and she turned her head to answer it.  "What is it, my child?"

                "Grandmother has really gone too far now, mother.  She caused our cousin to poison his own father with her biotoxin," her youngest son related to her.

                "Damn!  I had hoped she wouldn't do that.  But I guess it just means that it is time to make our move.  Tell your sisters and your brother to pack their bags and do the same to yours.  We'll be leaving for Port Charles in the morning," the woman told her youngest son.

                He nodded and headed back into the house, his mother following closely behind him, but veering off once they got to the staircase, with the son going to talk to his siblings and his mother heading up the stairs to her own room to pack her luggage.

                When she got to her room, she grabbed a file on the desk and headed for a zippered bag that hung on the knob of the closet door.  Slipping the file in the bag, she smiled and said, "Timoria will be ours soon and there is nothing that Helena can do about it."

                The woman let out a laugh as she grabbed her luggage off of the closet shelf and began to pack her clothes and other things she would need.  All her mementos were thrown into the suitcases, as she felt that they would not be returning to the house for a very long time.

                Stavros Cassadine roamed his mother's yacht, the time going so slow, he felt.  He and Helena had hoped to hear something by now.  Something to the effect that he had gotten his revenge on Luke, but they had heard nothing yet.  He was getting impatient.

                Stavros walked by his mother's office and was prepared to go in when he heard her talking with someone.  The voice was not one he immediately recognized.  Of course, he knew it was probably one of his mother's boytoys.  He began to walk away, but then changed his mind.  He quietly crept back to the door and listened to the conversation taking place inside.

                "Sergei, are you sure your men have not found Luke?"  Helena asked her most trusted employee.  He had worked for her for years, since before Nikolas was born.

                "Yes, Madame.  I told them to check in when they found him or if they had any news about him or Lucky," Sergei Andrei said to his mistress. 

                "Stavros and I are getting impatient.  He's been roaming the yacht since young Spencer injected his father with the biotoxin and I am afraid he may do something that I don't want him to do," Helena said.

                "Are you afraid he will look through the files on Mistress Alana and the explosion?"  Sergei asked her.

                "I am.  If he would come across that file, he would never forgive me, even though I did it for his own good," Helena told him.

                "Very true mistress.  If he were to find out that it was you and not Luke that killed Alana…" Sergei trailed off at the stricken look on Helena's face.

                "He would possibly abandon the plan and help Luke and his family, Alana's family, get their revenge on me for killing her and his first children," Helena said.

                Stavros did not stick around the door for very long after those words left Helena's mouth.  He could hardly believe what he had heard.  Helena had taken away his happiness.  She, not Luke, had killed Alana and their children.  Not a day went by that he didn't think about his beloved Alana and his children, his son Mathias and his daughters Dimitria and Diana, who had died over twenty years ago.  And now he knew who was truly responsible and she would be made to pay.

                It's too late, mother.  Timoria has come for you now.

                He walked down the hall and off the yacht, being careful that he wasn't seen and headed for the entrance to his mother's underground lab.  He knew where the only antidote to the biotoxin was and he was going to find Luke and give it to him.  It was time for him to start keeping the promise he had once made to Alana, to never go after her cousins and other family and to help them whenever necessary.

                Lucky Spencer paced the safe house that Elizabeth had Sonny take him to.  It was driving him crazy being locked up in the house, not allowed to leave.  He had been here for a few days and it seemed that Helena was trying to call to him through the programming.  What she didn't know was that there was a way for the programming to become null and void and there was a young woman on the way that knew how to do it, thanks to Elizabeth.

                The door of the safe house opened to reveal both Elizabeth and a young woman Lucky vaguely recognized.  Her red hair was familiar for some reason.  "Elizabeth, who is this?"

                "I'll let her tell you that," Elizabeth said.

                The young woman stepped forward, and looked the young man in the eye.  A young man she hadn't seen since… "My name is Ceara Lynn Lavery."

                "Cassie's half-sister!"

                "Yes.  I owe you for that, Lucky.  You told me about them and I made sure the man who raised me paid for lying to me all my life."
                "The man who raised you?"

                "Yes.  I met you when Cesar Faison had you.  He raised me.  But my mother knew the truth and she had left me a letter, which I had read shortly before I set up the explosion on the little boat that finally killed him.  It was my revenge on him for lying to me all my life."

                "So Helena wasn't responsible for that.  She didn't set up the explosion," Lucky said.

                "Correct.  It was me.  Helena just took advantage and she shouldn't have.  I was ready to do what was needed to remove the programming and that is why I am here.  To repay my debt to you.  That programming will be gone from your brain shortly."

                "And how do you plan on doing that?"

                "There is a way to destroy all of it by just telling one secret.  The secret that will destroy Helena and all her plans for your family.  I found it out myself from some files that Faison stole from the doctor that delivered Nikolas and performed the paternity test on him."

                "What could destroy Helena?" Lucky asked as he sat down on the couch, following Ceara's hand motioning him to sit down.  She followed and sat down beside him.

                "Simple.  The true paternity results.  What they proved will ruin all of Helena's plans."

                "What did they prove other than Stavros being Nik's father?"

                "The true ones proved that neither Stavros or Stefan is his father.  Nikolas is not a Cassadine at all."

                Lucky rose a hand to his head as a headache began to rage once he had heard Ceara's words.  Elizabeth rushed over to his side.

                "Lucky, what's wrong?"

                "This headache just came out of nowhere."

                "It's no ordinary headache, Lucky.  The programming is beginning to be destroyed.  Part of the secret has been told to you.  Once the full secret has been revealed, the pain will be worse.  That's why I wanted you to sit because you may have collapsed if you had been standing."

                "I understand.  But I need a little explanation for what you just said.  How can Stavros not be Nik's father?"

                "It's rather simple.  According to the records, Nikolas was born only eight months after your mom was taken to the island.  Which either meant that he was born a month early or Laura was already a month pregnant when she was kidnapped."

                "A month pregnant?  Is that possible?  Does that mean that Nik is…"

                "Yes.  Dr. Lastiris showed that Laura was further along than he told the Cassadines.  He did it to protect Nikolas and Laura.  If they had known the truth, they would have killed Laura.  So he lied to protect her.  When Nikolas was born and he did the paternity test, he saw the truth.  Stavros and Stefan weren't even close to being related to him.  He also had another sample there.  The sample belonging to your father.  That sample matched in paternity.  Lucky, Nikolas is your full brother.  Luke is his father."

                Lucky's headache got worse after those words.  Both girls could see he was in pain, but Ceara knew it was necessary.  It was eliminating the programming from his system.  Ceara pulled a syringe out of her pocket and uncovered it.  Elizabeth was a little suspicious until Ceara explained, "It's just a sedative, Elizabeth.  Lucky needs to rest."

                Elizabeth nodded and Lucky gave her a trusting look as both girls got up from the couch and Lucky laid down on it to sleep.  She gave him the sedative and within minutes he was asleep, the pain still slightly evident on his face.

                "Will he be alright?"

                "Yes, Elizabeth.  He will be fine.  After he sleeps for a few hours, the programming will be gone and there is nothing that Helena can do about that.  Thank god.  I'm glad Faison used that as the simplest way to get rid of the programming."

                "So am I.  It's just so much to take in.  Nikolas isn't a Cassadine at all.  I can hardly believe it."

                "I know.  Everyone will have to get used to this."

The next day

                The woman and her children stepped onto the tarmac on the private runway of the Port Charles Airport as she and her children exited their private plane.  She and the children had been ready for this day for a long time and now it had finally come.  They would get their Timoria on Helena for all she had done to them and to their extended family, which included her cousin and his family.

                They stepped through the airport terminal, rented a limo, and rode into Port Charles, heading for General Hospital first.  They had found out about Helena's secret underground lab just about a week before Lucky had given Luke the biotoxin.  Luckily, the woman knew all the codes that her mother-in-law would use to access the entrance to the lab and to the labyrinth that lead to it.

                The limo stopped at the hospital and only the woman got out.  Her children were to go to the docks and to Harborview Towers to speak with their family members, whether it was their aunt, their uncle, or their grandmother.

                The woman entered the hospital and headed straight for the elevator that lead to the labyrinth thirty stories below and the lab where she had been told that her dear cousin had been poisoned by the biotoxin.  She rode quickly down the thirty stories and walked through the labyrinth quickly, knowing the way from what she had remembered about the labyrinth plans her beloved had shown her over twenty years ago.

                Reaching the door to the lab, she keyed in the code for this door and entered to find the main room of the lab, and beyond, she knew, was the room where her beloved was brought back to life just a few months ago.  She walked over to the console on the wall and turned the knob, which opened the secret door.  She walked inside and walked over to where she figured her mother-in-law would be keeping the antidote to the biotoxin.  She began to look over the bottles and syringes when she heard a noise behind her.  She quickly turned around, pulling a gun out of her jacket pocket and pointing it at the sound.  When she saw who it was, her eyes widened.  She still couldn't believe it was true.  From the look on his face, he was just as surprised to see her as she was to see him.

                "Stavros, is it really you?"  she asked her beloved.

                "Alana?" Stavros asked the woman in front of him.  He was so surprised to see her.  His love, his sanity, his life was standing in front of him right at that moment.  Had his mother actually failed at something?

                Alana Lyndsey Meade-Cassadine nodded at her beloved husband and said, "Yes, my beloved.  I'm really here.  Your mother failed at trying to kill me and the children."

                "Dimitria, Mathias, Diana.  Where are they?" Stavros asked his wife, his true wife.

                "They, along with their younger sibling Natalia and Alexander, are on their way to confront their grandmother and to talk to their aunt and uncle."

                "You did have the children you were pregnant with when I thought I lost you?"

                "Yes, I did.  Their names are Natalia Eleni Stavrolavna Cassadine and Alexander Dimitri Stavrosovich Cassadine.  Alexander looks so much like you, Stavros.  He could be your twin, just twenty years younger."

                Stavros could no longer hold back.  He launched forward.  Alana dropped the gun to her side and ran to meet her husband.  Her beloved husband.  They crashed together in a passionate embrace that made it seem like the past twenty-six years had not gone by at all.  Their hands roamed each other as a long-overdue kiss started first as chaste, but quickly turned deeply passionate. 

                As the two parted minutes later, out of breath, they both laughed as they could see the love for each other in the eyes of their mates.  Alana could also see something else in her beloved's eyes.  A look of apology was forming on his face.

                "Alana, I'm so sorry.  I know I broke my promise to you, but I will rectify that.  I promise you."

                "Darling, I understand.  You believed what your mother told you.  But now, you can easily rectify it.  I heard about what your mother made Lucky do to my cousin and I will need your help.  After all, the biotoxin was your formula and if there is not a ready-made antidote here, you know how to make one in an instant.  We need to get that to Luke as soon as possible."

                "I did not have one made recently, which is why I came here.  Before I came here, I overheard my mother talking with one of her boytoys about the explosion and was ready to get my Timoria on her."

                "Well, now we can do it together.  Let's get busy!"

                The two laughed and together got to work on making the antidote for the biotoxin to give to Luke.

                Diana Lorelei Stavrolavna Cassadine rode up the elevator of Harborview Towers to go talk to her aunts about the atonement, Timoria, they needed to get on Helena for all of her treachery throughout the past twenty years against them and their extended family.  Her brothers Mathias and Alexander had gone to their grandmother's yacht to begin their work at getting Timoria, while Dimitria and Natalia had gone to Spoon Island to speak with their uncle.

                Upon arriving on the floor where she knew her aunts lived, she got off the elevator and headed to the penthouse where she had known her aunts were living for several months now.  She knocked on the door and a moment later a young woman with long red hair answered the door.  "Can I help you?" Kristina asked the young woman.

                "Aunt Kristina, I am your niece Diana Cassadine.  I came to talk to you and Aunt Alexis about a few things."

                "You are my niece?  How is that possible?" Kristina asked.

                Before Diana could answer, Alexis came up from behind Kristina and gazed in surprise at the young woman.  "Diana?  Is it really you?"

                "Aunt Alexis!" Diana exclaimed as she shot passed her younger aunt and went to the older one.  They embraced tightly.  The two women had not seen each other in over twenty years.

                "Oh my god!  Diana, I can't believe it!  How can this be?" Alexis exclaimed as she embraced her niece.

                "Don't worry, Aunt Alexis.  I'll tell you what happened.  But first, I need to talk to you about something," Diana said as they separated.

                Alexis nodded as she turned to Kristina.  "Kristina, this is Stavros's eldest daughter Diana Cassadine."

                "I didn't think that Stavros had any other children other than Nikolas," Kristina said as she and Diana shook hands.

                "Oh, yeah.  There are five of us that are older than Nikolas.  And he is only my half-brother.  My mother is Alana Meade-Cassadine."
                "Alana?  Is she here too?" Alexis asked.

                "Yes.  We all are here.  Mother, Mathias, Dimitria, Natalia, Alexander, and me.  We are all here to get Timoria on grandmother!" Diana exclaimed.

                "Is that why you're here?  Do you need my help?" Alexis asked.

                "Of course.  Grandmother has gone too far and we need to get our Timoria," Diana said determinedly.

                "I know.  What do you want us to do?" Alexis asked.

                "Come with me.  I need your help to talk to mom's cousin's family.  They trust you more than they would trust me.  Plus, we need to be on the lookout for Luke Spencer.  We need to find him," Diana said.

                "OK.  Kristina, grab your jacket.  We need to go talk to Laura with Diana," Alexis said.

                "You got it," Kristina said as she grabbed her jacket and the three women headed out the door.

                Ceara came down the stairs of the safehouse and noticed Elizabeth was sitting in a chair reading a book, waiting for Lucky to wake up.  He had slept through the night and had yet to awaken.

                Elizabeth looked up from her book and noticed Ceara coming down the stairs at that moment.  "Good morning, Ceara."

                "Good morning, Liz.  How did you sleep?" Ceara asked as she walked toward the couch to check on Lucky.

                "Pretty good, since I know that Lucky will be OK.  And it's all thanks to you.  You have gotten rid of the programming," Elizabeth said.

                At that moment, Lucky began to stir on the couch.  Both young women turn toward the couch as Lucky opens his eyes.

                "Good morning, Lucky.  How are you feeling today?" Ceara asked.

                "Pretty good.  My head is definitely feels a lot clearer.  I assume that is because the programming is gone," Lucky said.

                "Of course.  It freed a lot of your brain.  Now you are in control.  Helena has nothing on you now," Ceara said with a smile.

                "Thank god for that.  Helena has done enough damage to Lucky's family and to Lucky himself," Elizabeth said.

                "The damage will worsen unless we find dad.  Remember that day at dad's apartment a few days ago?"

                "Yes.  The day you told me to leave you," Elizabeth said.

                "Well, I remember what happened that day.  Helena and Stavros lured me to her underground lab and had me inject dad with something.  Initially I thought it was poison, but then dad showed up alive, but not necessarily well."

                Ceara spoke up then.  "It was some sort of drug or toxin meant to harm him.  I do seem to remember a biotoxin that Helena and Faison were working on when they had you, Lucky.  That could be what they forced you to inject in with."

                "Do you know of an antidote to it?" Lucky asked her.

                "Of course.  I have it here in my bag.  We just need to find Luke and give it to him," Ceara said.

                "So let's get going!" Elizabeth exclaimed.

                All three quickly got up and headed for the door, determined to find Luke.

                Dimitria Cassadine and her sister Natalia stepped off the launch onto Spoon Island, determined to get their uncle's help in getting Timoria on Helena.  Dimitria smiled as she remembered the promise she was to make with him.

                She walked up to the main door of Wyndemere and she knocked on the door.  The door was opened a minute later by Mrs. Lansbury.

                "Can I help you?" the woman asked.

                "Mrs. Lansbury, you should remember me.  Although 20 years is a long time," Dimitria said to her old nanny.

                Mrs. Lansbury looks at the young woman closely and gasps when she realizes who it is.  "Mistress Dimitria!"

                "Oh Mrs. Lansbury! It is good to see you," Dimitria says before she embraces her old nanny.

                Mrs. Lansbury also wraps her arms around the young woman whom she had not seen since she was six years old.  "It's good to see you as well, Mistress.  I've missed you terribly, Mistress Diana and Master Mathias as well."

                "They are here as well.  Diana went to see aunts Alexis and Kristina and Mathias went with our younger brother Alexander to see grandmother."  Dimitria turned when she heard footsteps behind her and saw her younger sister, who had finally caught up with her.  "Are you OK, Nata?"

                "Just slightly twisted my ankle when my heel got caught between those boards.  Thank got there were no other injuries or mother would have had my head," Natalia told her elder sister.

                Mrs. Lansbury looked at the younger woman, shock written on her face.  "Mistress, who is this?"

                "Mrs. Lansbury, this is my younger sister Natalia Eleni Stavrolavna Cassadine.  She and my younger brother Alexander are twins."   Dimitria then turns back to her sister, "Nata, this is Mrs. Lansbury.  She was Mathias and my nanny on the island, as well as father's and uncle's nanny."

                Natalia holds out her hand, which Mrs. Lansbury heartily shakes.  "It is nice to meet you, Natalia," Mrs. Lansbury says.  "It's nice to see some of the proof that there is that Helena didn't always succeed."

                "It's wonderful to meet you as well, Mrs. Lansbury.  I've heard so many stories about you from mother, Mat, Di, and Dimi," Natalia said.

                "I assume the two of you are here to see Master Stefan?" Mrs. Lansbury inquired.

                "Yes, we are.  Is he here?" Dimitria asked.

                "He is in the study with Miss Chloe Morgan, arguing," Mrs. Lansbury says as she lets both girls into the house.

                She leads them down the hall to the study and opens the door.  "Master Stefan, you nieces Dimitria and Natalia are here to see you."

                Stefan's eyes widened and he beckoned to Mrs. Lansbury.  "Let them in!"

                Mrs. Lansbury bowed slightly then let the young women into the room.

                Stefan stared at his nieces in shock, while Chloe looked confused.  She thought that Stefan had only Nikolas as a nephew.  She didn't know about the elder children of Stavros.

                "Hello, uncle.  It's nice to see you again," Dimitria said with a smile on her face.

                Stefan rose from his chair and embraced his eldest niece.  "It's wonderful to see you, Dimitria!  It's nice to know that mother didn't succeed in killing you all."  Then he turned to Natalia.  "It's nice to meet you, Natalia," he said, embracing her.

                "It's nice to meet you as well, uncle.  I have heard many stories about you and aunt Nicole," Natalia said warmly.

                "Ah, my Nicole, God rest her soul.  She will always have a piece of my heart buried with her," Stefan said.  Then he turned to Chloe.  "Chloe, these are Stavros's daughters, my nieces Dimitria and Natalia Cassadine.  Their mother is Stavros's one true wife Alana."

                "It's nice to meet the two of you.  I'm Chloe Morgan and I could become your aunt," she introduced herself, shaking both girls' hands.

                "So you are the famous designer!  I've seen many of your designs in the stores in Europe.  In fact, I bought one several weeks ago in Athens," Natalia said as she shook Chloe's hand.

                "You were in Greece?" Stefan asked his niece in wonder.

                "Yes, uncle.  We've lived on an island about 100 kilometers away from the Cassadine Island.  For the past few years, we've used mother's maiden name, Meade, instead of Cassadine," Dimitria explained to her uncle.

                "I understand.  So what brings the two of you here?" Stefan asks.

                "It is time, uncle.  Timoria will be ours.  Grandmother will pay for what she has done.  But in order for that to happen, we need your help," Natalia said.

                "Tell me what you want me to do," Stefan said.

                "Count me in.  I deserve this too," Chloe said.

                The girls nodded, knowing what Helena had done to her.

                Mathias and Alexander quietly boarded Helena's yacht.  They were trying to make sure that Helena would not see them.  They were trying to find their mother's old servant Andreas, who was loyal to their mother when they were younger.

                They came upon him in the sitting room, reading a book.  Andreas rose from his chair upon seeing the two of them entering the room.

                "Andreas, do not be alarmed.  We are not here to harm you," Mathias said to him.

                "Master Mathias!  You're alive!  Madame didn't succeed!" Andreas exclaimed.  He walked forward and embraced the young man.

                "No, grandmother didn't succeed.  She failed, thanks to aunt Nicole, god rest her soul," Mathias said as he embraced his mother's most loyal servant.  They parted and Mathias turned Andreas toward his brother.  "Andreas, this is my younger brother Alexander Dimitri Stavrosovich Cassadine."

                "Master Alexander, it is nice to meet you," Andreas said, shaking the young man's hand.

                "It's nice to meet you as well, Andreas.  We are here for a reason," Alexander said seriously.

                "Of course.  I will assist you any way I can.  In fact, I can bring you some additional help.  Follow me," Andreas said, beckoning both young men to follow him.

                They followed him out of the room and down a set of stairs to the hold of the yacht.  Andreas unlocked and opened the door to reveal a young woman about Alexander's age with long auburn hair and smoldering brown eyes tied to a chair.

                Both young men rushed forward and began to untie her, for they knew who this young woman was.  Their cousin Katerina Eleni Stefanolavna Cassadine, Stefan's daughter.

                "Cousin Katya, are you alright?" Mathias asked once the gag is removed.

                "Yes.  Grandmother hasn't harmed me.  But she killed mother right in front of me!  Her men stabbed her to death!" Katerina, called Katya by her father and cousins, cried as Mathias embraced her.  The event, which had happened twelve years ago, still haunted the young woman.

                "Don't you worry.  Grandmother will pay for killing aunt Nicole," Mathias told her as he comforted her.  He let her go and helped her up from the chair.  "Let's go.  We have work to do.  We will soon have our Timoria against grandmother."

                Katya nodded and followed her cousins and Andreas out the door.  Alexander handed her a gun and she gladly took it.  She would be ready to use it if they came upon Helena.

                The four made it off the yacht safely, without bumping into Helena once.  They quickly headed to the limo and got in.  Before Mathias could tell the driver where he wanted to go, his cell phone rang.

                Mathias flipped open the phone and greeted in his usual way, "Mathias Cassadine."

                "Mat, it's mom.  I need you to come to the hospital and pick us up."

                "Us?" Mathias asked his mother.

                "Yes, Mat, us.  Your father is with me and he is on our side.  Come and get us, quickly, before Helena spots us."

                "We are on our way," Mathias said.  He flipped closed the phone and directed the driver to head for GH.