/8. Strike Back/

I tried to ignore the feeling and that creepy shadow. I turned with every intention on getting back to my training when I was met with the cold, hallow purple eyes of Blaire. I let out a small yelp and held my chest, staring at my friend with wide eyes. "That message, it's not a good thing" she muttered. I laughed nervously and scratched my head.

"Oh don't let it get to you, Blaire. It's just someone from the Underworld trying to be funny" I giggled.

"We don't have a very great sense of humor in the Underworld. That was a message from the underlings of Aurora. Their coming, Anna" Blaire growled slightly, her eyes showing pure hatred for a second. I stared at the girl before me. "Aurora had underlings?" I asked carefully. Blaire nodded and walked closer to me until she was right in front of me. "Aurora was a very notorious vampire in the Underworld. When you were as known as her, you're bound to have underlings and other demons that want to fallow in her footsteps." She whispered. I felt something clench in my chest. "Now that she's dead…" Blaire trailed off.

"Their all going to come after her murderer and everyone they hold dear…their after me." I finished her sentence; feeling like the world was going to fall apart at my feet. Blaire nodded. "You have to find some way to get them to stop without someone getting killed. Well, someone you hold dear anyway" She cooed before clasping my hand in hers.

"You won't do this alone" She told me before placing her head on my shoulder.

~Later~

I grabbed JC and pulled him into the hallway of the gym. I pushed him against a wall and glared at him. He stared blankly at me before a small smile crept onto his face. If he wasn't one of my closest friends, I'd slap that smile right off of his face.

"You! You knew she had followers, didn't you?" I barked. He kept that small smile on his face the whole time. "Why, yes I did" He cooed, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall. This irritated me. "So why did you tell me to kill her? You knew her followers would come after everyone I hold dear!" I hissed. His smile fell.

"What?"

"You heard me! Their coming! Their coming after my friends and family now!"

~Justin~

I went to go look for Traci so I could help her make a new finisher like she asked me too. Wade told me she went into the hallway with JC so I went to go find her. As soon as I closed the door that separated the gym and the hallway, I heard Traci screaming.

"-Their coming after my friends and family now!"

I don't know why but I didn't present myself to them. This sounded serious.

"How do you know?" JC questioned, his voice sounding slightly frustrated.

"A shadow in the gym! They sent me a message from the Underworld! Even Blaire saw it!" Traci shot back, her voice loud with no sign of quieting down.

"When I told you to kill Aurora, I thought her underlings would give up!" JC retorted.

"Give up? Give up? You told me to kill their leader! No their not giving up! Their angry and their coming to tear my world apart! Everyone I hold dear is in danger!" Traci barked venom dripping from her voice.

"Traci, if you didn't kill Aurora, she would've killed your South African friend. Once Aurora has her claws into someone, she won't let go until their dead. That night that you killed her, it was only two options. Kill her, or let her kill Justin Gabriel" JC grunted.

My eyes grew. Suddenly, Heath and Wade's words seemed clear to me.

'Traci saved your life, Gabriel'

She had to take out that vampire. This is my fault…

"…You're right I guess. I couldn't let her hurt Justin, I just couldn't! JC, I'm going to need backup taking those bastards down" Traci muttered, lowering her voice finally. I didn't wait to hear his reply; I slipped out of the hall feeling sick. This is all my fault…

~JC~

I let my eyes flicker over to the doorway where Gabriel was hiding. Traci was so worked up that she couldn't smell him come in. I ignored his presence and opened my eyes.

"Vlad, Blaire, and I would love to help" I grinned.

~Delilah~

"Flutter!"

I stopped walking and turned slightly, hearing someone use my old nickname. I saw Sai jog up to me and she panted when she made it to me. "Hey Sai" I said nonchalantly. She held up a finger telling me to wait until she got her breath back.

Someone needs to hit the treadmill...

"Ok *pant* have you noticed something off about your brother lately?" She questioned, looking up at me. I glanced over at Damin who was sparring with Vlad flawlessly.

"Something's always off about Damin" I shot back, looking back at her. She crossed her arms. "No, besides his usual…'off-ness'!" Sai cried. I turned again and watched my brother carefully. Vlad managed to jab him in the jaw, his fist effortlessly busting Damin's lip open. Then Damin did the creepiest thing.

He smiled.

Damin hates being hit in the face!

"Yes. Damin has been behaving weird lately" I grunted. Sai frowned. "I'm worried. He's been like this since yesterday" She muttered. My eyes narrowed.

Damin was like this before he started abusing Traci.* I placed my hand on her shoulder. "Don't sweat it, Sai. He's just going through a phase. Let me know if this continues" I muttered. She nodded and I walked off.

~Later~

~Wade~

Justin told us everything that he overheard in the gym.

"So, what you're saying is…because of you, we could all get killed by monsters from the Underworld?" David asked slowly. Justin nodded slowly. "More or less" He muttered. "Oh ok" David shrugged. Heath just sat wide-eyed while Husky and Michael exchanged a look.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" David roared, lunging at Justin. The South African shrieked and ducked out of the way and I grabbed David. "Calm down, O! Hurting him is not going to get us anywhere!" I growled, trying to hold the flailing man down. Justin stared wide-eyed at David while he hid behind Husky.

"ENOUGH!" I roared, directly in Otunga's ear. He screamed and I dropped him. "Fighting each other is not going to help! We have to stay alive, got that? We need to work together!" I barked, glaring at each and every one of them. They all put their heads down and I relaxed.

"Hello" Came a little voice. I slowly looked down at my feet and saw the face of that little girl, Blaire. I screamed and jumped away from the spot where I was standing. The lights went out and then suddenly the only light in the room came from a lavender flame. The flame moved until it separated and lit up the room. We all started at the small girl standing where I once was.

"My name is Blaire." She cooed. When she knew no one was going to interrupt her, she continued.

"As you may know, I am very close friends with Traci. I can also sense that you all somehow know you're in danger. I may not look like it but I am very powerful. I will assist Traci and the others in protecting you so you have nothing to worry about" She whispered, her round purple eyes gazing at each and every one of us. She went to leave but Heath stopped her.

"Powers!" He blurted. Blaire paused and half-turned. "Powers?" She repeated curiously. Heath nodded slowly. "Yes…powers" He murmured. Justin nudged Heath but the ginger ignored him.

"What about them?" Blaire questioned, turning fully towards us.

"We need powers to protect ourselves. We can't keep being babysat by the others; we deserve to have the ability to be able to protect ourselves." Heath grunted. Blaire stared at Heath with a blank expression. "So you're saying I should just grant you all with powers and the problem will be solved?" She questioned. Heath nodded.

"Out of the question!" She hissed, the flames growing brighter.

Heath looked crestfallen and we all sighed. Blaire studied our faces care fully before sighing herself. "Listen, I cannot grant powers like that, it is beyond me. But I can give you a little taste of how it feels to have powers. Abuse them and I'll make sure all of you burn" She stated flatly. To prove her point, she held out her arm, a brilliant lavender flame wrapping around the limb before it all went to the palm of her hand as a fireball.

We gulped. She looked like she was ready to throw it.

"I'm good" Husky grunted, patting his chest. "I'm not scared of no demons" He grinned. We stared at him like he was an idiot. He may be one.

"I admire your bravery, but it will only get you slaughtered in this situation" Blaire stated coldly. This little girl isn't holding anything back! Husky's grin fell flat and he looked scared. Blaire smiled slightly and threw her fireball at us. We all tried to leap out of the way but it split and entered all of us.

I felt like my insides were burning for what felt like forever and we all screamed in agony. I heard a snap; probably the snap of Blaire's fingers and then the pain was gone.

I opened my eyes and looked around. Heath was holding his head and then two, fuzzy ginger ears popped from his head he also had an orange-striped tail. He shrieked but then slumped against Justin. Justin looked the same. I felt something beneath me and I shifted. There was a bushy gray tail there. I felt my head and felt two large ears as well.

I looked over at David and saw he had vampire fangs; Husky and Michael were nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Husky and Michael?" David grunted. Blaire walked over to our window and pointed out of it. We looked and saw a griffin and then looked down and saw an elephant. "Michael's the griffin" Blaire stated with a giggle. She snapped her fingers and then they appeared in our room again, looking just fine. Now all of us gazed at Justin.

"What power does Justin have?" I questioned. Blaire walked over to Justin and placed her hand on his head. A red jolt of electricity shocked her and she fell with a small scream of pain. We all stared wide eyed at the small girl in pain and then Justin. Blaire whimpered but stood again.

"Come with me" She muttered before exiting the room. We all did as the lithe teen instructed.

~On the roof~

We looked around and then Blaire turned. She snapped her fingers and her flames surrounded everyone except Justin. He went to help us but then she swiped her hand over the air and a gust of wind blew him over the edge.

"JUSTIN!"

~Justin~

I felt the wind zoom past me as I fell. I turned my head and saw Blaire looking down from the edge of the hotel building. Then I heard her in my head.

'Think. You can only fly to avoid you're doom. Fly.'

Fly? Fly? I closed my eyes and thought about it. Traci flies! And if I die here, I'll never get to see her again…

'Think like that, Justin. If you want to see Traci ever again, FLY!' Blaire hissed in my mind.

"Traci…" I whispered before I felt something. A small red light twinkled in front of me and I reached for it. I felt lighter all of a sudden and then I had one thought on my mind.

'Up'

~Blaire~

I stepped back as a large red dragon zoomed up to the roof. I cancelled my fire so the others could see.

"That…THAT'S Justin?" Heath questioned, his tail twitching. I tilted my head and nodded. A rumble ripped from the dragon's core and I glanced up at Justin.

"Why did you give him dragon powers? Why am I an elephant?" Husky growled. I closed my eyes. "I didn't give you powers. I gave you the ability to use powers that you would have if you were born with them." I stated. "…However, there's something I don't understand…" I muttered. "What's that?" Wade questioned, his wolf ears twitching.

"I still don't have the power to grant someone the ability to use their dragon aura" I muttered. They all stared at me. I facepalmed and sighed.

"I don't have enough power to grant anyone temporary dragon powers, its far too much power." I muttered.

"Which means…" David trailed off.

"It means Justin had to already be a dragon. I just awakened his powers." I finished just as Justin returned to normal and collapsed on the roof.

~Delilah~

I was on a mission.

I looked high and low for Vlad or JC and I thanked every star in the sky when I saw Vlad leaving the elevator. I practically tackled him into a wall. "What are you doing, Delilah?" He grunted.

"I have something to ask you!" I hissed. He nodded, giving me the ok to talk.

"You said on the trip from the Overworld to the Underworld, Damin, Sai, and Traci lost their memories right?" I questioned, making eye-contact with him. "Yes." He muttered. "How?" I asked quickly.

"When Damin and Sai kidnapped Traci, she was most likely still struggling. Damin and Sai lost their focus and then the rip in the dimensions must have reacted to that loss of focus and sent them through a turbulent zone. I can only give u a hypothesis but I would suppose they were tossed around violently like clothes in a washing machine and that caused them to loose fragments of their memory" Vlad replied. I paced around. "But they didn't loose fragments from all around. They specifically lost the time line in which Traci dated Damin and when Damin and Sai did all of that. They forgot about Damin going psycho, killing Traci's dogs, abusing her, raping the twins, Meg, Maggie, and Jackie, cheating on her with Sai, trying to kill all of us, and-""-And blowing Blaire's arm off" Vlad finished with a feral growl. I knew it was a touchy subject but I had to get my point through. "Yes. My question is, why? Why that specific part?" I questioned, stopping my pacing for a moment to stand in front of him.

"I believe it's because someone wanted to forget, wish it all never happened. JC and I believe both Traci and Sai wanted to forget that" Vlad answered. "I understand why Traci would want to forget…but why Sai?" I questioned, resuming my pacing. "It doesn't make sense…" I growled.

"It does" Vlad countered, his gaze fixed on me. "How?" I muttered. "Damin never loved Sai like she did. He used her to get what he wanted. She thought if everyone could just forget about that part, she'd have a shot at getting your brother to love her" He stated. I thought about it and that was logical. And that would be something Sai would believe. She was spoiled, she was rich. If she didn't like something, she could pay someone people off to make everyone forget, that was her mindset, and this was no different.

"You're right. But I think we have a serious problem" I sighed, rubbing my temple. Vlad stood straight. "And that problem would be…?" He trailed off.

"Damin might be getting his memory back"

Silence~

Vlad stared at me like I had two heads. "WHAT?" He roared. I nodded. "He's been behaving like he did before he started abusing Traci" I told him. Vlad's pale face turned red with anger. "We can't let the same thing that happened last time, happen again!" He barked. I put my head against the wall by his shoulder. "I know that, Vlad, but we can't just swoop in and kick my brother's ass. Then he'll remember everything and we're all going to be screwed" I muttered.

"What do you suggest we do then?" He grunted, looking at me from the corner of his eyes.

"Watch him closely, don't let him get like he did before" I exhaled. He nodded and pushed himself off of the wall. "I'm going to inform JC" He grunted. "Glad we had this chat" I cooed before walking in the direction of Rey and my room.

~Later~

~Traci~

I yawned and headed over to the diner in the hotel. I was almost to the elevator when a hand snaked around and clamped over my mouth. My eyes grew and I swirled around to elbow my captor in the ribs.

"Whoa there, vampire angel!" Came a voice. I slipped out of my captor's grasp and glared daggers at Alex. "What do you want, Riley?" I hissed. He scratched his head and sighed. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry, Traci" He murmured. I watched his face to look for any sign that he was lying. There was none. "Fine, I forgive you" I muttered. His face lit up.

"Do you want lunch?" He question. I giggled. "Sure, but you're paying" I grinned. He nodded and we walked to the diner together.

~Malli~

I groaned and shook my head. I love my sister's but having twin sisters is such a bother sometimes.

~15 minutes earlier~

"Malli?" My sisters whimpered, both of them sitting on me while I lay on the couch. "Yes?" I grunted.

"We're in love" They both mused. My eyes grew and I sat up. "You're in WHAT?" I questioned, eyes wide. They both smiled down at me.

"Heath is jus' so dreamy! He's really nice and he gave me his jacket because I was cold!" Nirvana giggled, clinging to Heath's Avenged Sevenfold jacket.

"Wade is very romantic, big brother! He's always flirting with me and he's helped me train! I can tell he has a big wanker too!" Minerva snickered. I stared at the twin women sitting on me. My sisters.

"Umm…" I really didn't know how to respond to that. "I'm happy for you both. Minerva, I'mma have to watch you" I muttered. They both smirked down at me. "Shouldn't we be watching you, big brother?" They questioned. I raised a brow. "Jus wha are you two talking about?" I questioned.

"Drew McIntyre" They chimed. I froze up. Shit!

"There's nothing to watch for" I murmured. They stood and grinned. "Of course there isn't!" They giggled with all the sarcasm in the world. I stared blankly at them as they skipped away.

~Present~

I growled. "There's nothing going on" I mumbled to myself as I roamed the halls. I wasn't paying attention and then I ran smack into someone's chest. I fell back on my bum and growled.

"Bloody hell!" I grunted. I looked up to see two, green eyes looking down at me. Ted. I stared up at him before helping myself up. "Sorry about that, Malli" He muttered. I nodded and dusted my pants off. "No problem, Ted" I grinned at him before walking past him. I felt and heard him turn. "How's…Cici?" He questioned. I paused and thought about telling him. Telling him about Justin.

I decided not to.

"You'll have to talk to her and find out yourself, Teddy" I replied with a small grin. I started to walk but I felt him grab my elbow and pull me back a bit. I glanced back at him then his hand. "Tell me, Malli" He pleaded. I sighed. "No, Ted. You talk to her and ask her. Maryese can shove it for all I care, but if you need to talk to Traci, your girlfriend should let you and shut the hell up when you do" I grunted. He looked a bit taken back. Then he had a small glint in his eye. I never did like that glint…"C'mon, Malli. If you love me-"That's where I had to cut him off.

"That's the problem. I don't love you anymore, Teddy. I've moved on from the one-sided love. Now, if you excuse me, I have twins to chase down" I lied through my teeth but it seemed to work because Ted was too stunned to say or do anything else so I turned and strode away.

I turned a corner quickly and ran into someone else. I was about to fall again but this person grabbed my wrist and hoisted me back up. I looked up and saw a different pair of green eyes looking down at me. My eyes grew. "Sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going" Came a deep Scottish voice. "No, its ok, Drew" I laughed nervously. He smiled at me. "Where were you heading?" He questioned. I shrugged. "I was going to go look for my sisters but their probably off hunting for the Nexus" I said with a chuckle. Drew chuckled as well. "In that case, would you like to watch a movie with me?" He questioned innocently. I stared blankly at him and then he pouted.

Aww!

"Fine, I'll watch a movie with you, but I pick!" I told him, walking into his room. He kicked the do or closed and I looked around.

When you're in the WWE, you get the best rooms in the hotel. However, the more known you are, the better your room is. Most of the time, if you didn't get a crappy room, you get partnered up with someone. If you're really great and Vince likes you, you get a room all to yourself. Like Drew did. My mouth must've been hanging open because Drew walked by and closed it with his pointer finger. "You like?" He snickered. I nodded slowly and he sat on the loveseat. "Oh the joy of being a 'chosen one'" He cooed before patting the spot beside him. I gulped.

It's going to be a long night…

~Traci~

I giggled and sipped at my smoothie. Riley was a pretty fun guy. "-So then I was like, 'so? What makes it green?'" He shrugged with a funny look on his face. I snickered at his story until my phone rang. I frowned and answered it.

"Hello?"

"…Cici…we have a problem" It was Blaire. I felt my heart skip a beat.

"What's wrong?" I questioned. There was a roar in the back round then someone screamed, it sounded like David!

"Their here…NO! BACK OFF!"

*Dial Tone*

My eyes grew and I stood, my chair hitting the floor. Alex looked up at me with wide eyes and I glanced at him. "There's trouble. Get to The Miz as soon as you can and STAY WITH HIM!" I growled. He nodded and I took off running. It sounded like they were on the r-

I was cut off by something slamming violently into me. I managed to stay on my feet and I glanced to the left, where I was hit. There were demons in the lobby and Damin and Sai were fending them off. Damin looked like he was enjoying himself, hacking the demons to pieces while Sai mumbled spells in a panicked tone. I kicked a demon away and took flight, flying down the corridor, heading to the roof. On the way, I saw my friends fighting the beasts off and this made my anger rise. I heard a bark and then Aaron appear beside me, flying at my speed. "Good boy, lets go!" I hissed, zooming down the hall.

~Malli~

I was having a lot of fun here with drew when the hotel rumbled. I felt someone else in the room and then something jumped out of the floor, aiming its claws at Drew's neck. I was about to leap over him to attack whatever was going to attack him but he beat me to it. He growled and grabbed it by the neck, a powerful aura rolling off of him in waves. My eyes grew as he stood and threw the beast to the floor before slamming his foot down on its neck, killing it.

He turned towards me and froze. He must've seen the curious look on my face. "I may not be all human…or human at all" He chuckled, scratching his head. I crossed my arms and half-smiled. "No shit. What are you then, Scotty?" I questioned, tilting my head. He walked over to me and brushed my hair behind my ear. I exhaled and relaxed to his touch. "I'm the same as you, Brit" He countered. I looked up and saw two ears appear on his head, the same color as his hair and then he turned, showing me his bum, where a tail was.

Although I wasn't paying much attention to his tail…

He saw this and chuckled, tilting my face up with his thumb and pointer finger. "After this, would you like to go on a date with me, Brit?" He questioned, giving my bum a squeeze. I yelped, accidentally leaning into him. Just what he wanted. "I didn't know you rolled like that, Scotty" I retorted. He smirked. "And I didn't know you could make such cute sounds like that, so what do you say?" He cooed, his spearmint breath tickling my face. I giggled and let my ears and tail pop out. "I'd love to, Scotty, now let's kick some ass" I snickered, just as more beasts appeared in Drew's room.

~Blaire~

"I didn't think they'd come so soon!" I hissed, throwing fireball after fireball at the beasts appearing left and right. I'm glad I granted the Nexus boys their temporary powers now; they served as good back up.

After Justin electrocuted a dozen monsters, someone slammed through the door to the roof. I turned slightly to see Traci and her Spirit Hound pup run to the roof. She looked at the super powered Nexus and then at me. "I'll ask later" She grunted before letting her fangs and claws extend. She instantly began biting and clawing at the monsters as Aaron did the same.

I let my guard down and something kicked me. I was close to the edge of the building and I fell over. My eyes grew and I screamed. I felt someone grab my hand and I looked up. It was Jeff Hardy. "Need a hand?" He grinned. I relaxed and let him pull me back up. "Yeah, and maybe another arm, please" I smiled. He grinned and helped me up. "I need to fly for a sec" I told the vampire. He nodded and wrapped his arms around my waist before flying up.

"Move!" I hissed. They all got out of the way and I let my fireballs rain down, killing everything it touched. I smiled and Jeff flew down. JC walked to the roof, covered in blood that wasn't his. "That's it, Vlad and I managed to seal the rift where they were coming from" he cooed. We all relaxed except Traci. She stood in front of me and crossed her arms. "Do you want to explain that?" She questioned, pointing to elephant Husky and dragon Justin.

"Um…"

~Malli~

I grinned and sat back on Drew's couch, throwing a blood-stained rag away. He came back and glanced at my back, which I kept off of the seat because one of those little bastards gashed my back.

"Take you're shirt off" He demanded. I raised a brow at him. He smirked. "Not like that, Edwards, I'm going to bandage your gash up" He retorted. I sighed and stood, slipping my back T-shirt over my head. Its not like I have a problem with taking my shirt off in front of this sexy man, no. It's because-

"Where did that scar on your back come from?" He questioned when I turned. I looked away. "Not everyone agreed with me being who I am. It was either being beat down because I'm bi or because I'm a were" I shrugged. "The other scars healed, except that one" I grunted. He stepped closer and I could feel him gazing at it. "How did you get it?" He whispered.

"I got it from my bloody father" I hissed, clenching my fists. I heard him growl in disgust. Was it disgust for me? I was about to turn when his hands trailed over the 11 ½ inch scar going from my left shoulder blade to the center of my back. I arched my back and shuddered. He paused. "What's wrong?" He questioned. I turned my neck so I could look at him.

"It's sensitive, don't ask me why" I grunted. He clicked his tongue before telling me to be still. He rubbed the gash with some ointment and I growled. "Calm down, Malli, I'm just making sure there's no poison in it and that you don't get an infection" He muttered. I bit my lip and let him continue. He then bandaged up the wound tight but not too tight with some special bandage that felt tingly.

"My family specializes in making bandages like this in the Sotiris District. It speeds up the healing process. You should be all healed up by morning" He murmured before hugging me from behind and nuzzling his face into the crook of my neck. I chuckled and touched his face. "Just what are you doing, Scotty?" I questioned. He chuckled. "Oh nothing, Brit" He murmured. I turned so he could hug me properly but then we fell with him on top of me. I felt my face head up and then his door opened. "Big brother, are you in here-"Minerva grabbed Nirvana's wrist and they both gazed at Drew and I.

"Well, well, well! I knew it!" Minerva smirked. I felt my face go beet red. Nirvana squealed and took a picture. My eyes grew. "We'll leave you two alone. Drew, you better 'ave a big wanker for my big brother" She winked before skipping away. I looked up at Drew and he smirked. "Y'know I'm going to bother you about this right?" He chuckled. I nodded and let my head rest against the floor.

Bloody hell…

(A/N) I forgot to say that back when Damin blew up a warehouse in the Underworld, he actually blew off Blaire's leg. But I changed it to her arm =P

*: Damin and Traci dated in High School and he abused her after she threatened to leave him.

I really liked this chapter ^-^ and I did it all in a day!