A/N: Okay, last chapter, and last batch of shout-outs! Hope you like it!
G.R.A.C.E. G.R.A.C.E. G.R.A.C.E.
Shay: Emotional turmoil and instability is a factor in all relationships…is the only thing I can think of to defend myself, because I honestly, the worse it gets for these couples, the more fun I have writing. But I swear, by the end of these three chapters, all of that will be resolved…somewhat. You'll see. Honestly, I thought up the power switch thing on the spot. Not the actual switching of powers, I wanted to do that for a while, but the reason for the switch. I knew I couldn't avoid it forever, and I randomly had this idea one day while I was pacing around my dining table (I do that a lot, and a lot of my best ideas come from doing that even if I'm not trying to get an idea). Yup, Ellie's a dancer who's awed by popularity. Cheerleading is perfect for her. The idea for the three of them cheering came randomly too. I had an idea long ago that Lana would convince Rae to join cheer, and that would deepen the Rae/Gabi conflict, but that didn't end up happening, and this was like my way of still having another GRACE girl (or in this case, girls) who had no business cheering, cheer. Getting along and being friends? Sure. Getting back together? Not for a while, if at all. I intended to put them back together, but that just seems like too much 'perfect/happily ever after' you know?
Misa: Yes, it's true, Jake and Rae were a lot of people's favorites at one point or another. But I had to. It was so unrealistic for Jake to keep being in this relationship in which his girlfriend keeps lying to him, and he just keeps accepting it. They have to be done. I am sorry for messing with your emotions though. Tony's liked Caty for a long time, for even longer than she liked him. He's not going to mess up whatever relationship she's currently in, but he's not going to give up either. Caty and Brian made great strides-all the strides actually-as you saw. Just because he's not over Alyssa doesn't mean he's not into Ellie, because he is. It's not easy to let go of your first love. I'm glad you liked it. The cheer part seems to be a fan favorite, and I had a whole lot of fun writing it. Yes, that is the right expression, and you'll just have to keep reading to find out. I promise you there's going to be a twist that hopefully no one saw coming. Hope you enjoyed the last two chapters and this one!
G.R.A.C.E. G.R.A.C.E. G.R.A.C.E.
Gabi burst into her house as she changed out of guardian form. She knew that wasn't smart, with all the lights her body emitted as she changed back, but she halfway hoped Luc would be in the living room and see her so she could explain what was going on instead of giving him a vague goodbye.
Luc was not in the living room however. When Gabi slammed the door behind her, Sienna walked out of the kitchen.
"Gabi, thank goodness you're alright!" she cried.
Gabi rolled her eyes at her step mother's dramatics. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"Well, I got a call about the fire."
"The fire?" Gabi asked before remembering their cover to fight the monsters. "Oh right. Well it wasn't too bad, but we were dismissed anyway."
"Yes, that was addressed in the call too," Sienna said.
Gabi just nodded. The house was quiet. She knew her father was probably at work and Eva and Luc were shut up in their rooms. She wanted to say something to her father, but hopefully this wouldn't be the last battle. In case it was, she needed to see her brother.
"Luc!" Gabi called as she walked to his room.
"Gabi, Luc isn't home," Sienna said, following her brunette step daughter. "School is still in session, remember? You're only home because of the fire."
Gabi realized she was right. Checking her phone, she realized there was still over an hour before Luc got home. Oh well. The team could wait for her.
"I was going to go hang out with some friends, but I guess I'll wait for Luc."
Sienna frowned. "Honey, Luc isn't coming home. He's on his trip remember?"
Gabi hated when Sienna called her 'honey' as if she was Gabi's real mother or something, but completely ignored this when Sienna said 'trip.'
Of course! Luc was on his fifth grade field trip. It was a three day camping trip. Gabi and Luc said their goodbyes yesterday just in case. How could she have forgotten?
But that meant she wouldn't see Luc before she went to Kandrakar and fought in this potentially life threatening battle. Sure all her battles were life threatening, but this one could be life ending. There was no guarantee they'd all survive.
In fact, including KARMA, the group that went crazy, only three of the Thousand Year Guardians won with their lives, and none came out unscathed. They'd lost other friends or endured irreparable injuries. All Gabi wanted was to say a final goodbye to her brother before that happened. And now she couldn't see him?
"Well then, I'll go to his school. Maybe they haven't left yet," Gabi decided.
"They have. They left at 10 o'clock this morning."
"I'll drive down to the campsite."
"Gabi, it's in Delaware!"
Gabi bit her quivering lip.
"Honey, what's wrong? Why do you want to see Luc so badly?"
Gabi didn't know how to reply to that. She couldn't very well tell Sienna she was going to another world where she might engage in a battle she may never come back from.
"I j-just...I need to see him!" Gabi wailed. Before she even realized what was happening, she was sobbing. "I just w-wanted to say goodbye, that's all. I love him so much and I just wi-wish he knew."
"Oh sweetie, trust me, he knows. No one makes anyone feel as loved as you make Luc feel," Sienna promised.
"I didn't see him this morning," Gabi blubbered. "I didn't say bye or tell him I love him and I always…" Gabi was crying too hard to continue.
Sienna didn't say anything. She just pulled Gabi into a hug. And though Gabi would never in a million years admit it, it was actually nice. Warm, comforting...safe. She wrapped her arms around Sienna and hugged her back. If Sienna was surprised, she didn't say anything. She just tightened her grip, not asking anymore questions.
For a few minutes, Gabi just sobbed in Sienna's arms, not even thinking about who it was that was hugging her. Then Josh burst through the door. At first, the shock of seeing Sienna and Gabi hugging overwhelmed him, but he snapped himself out of it when he realized Gabi was crying.
Neither female looked up when Josh came in, so he had to put his hand on Gabi's back to let her know he was there. When she saw him, she broke away from Sienna-gently-and hugged him instead.
'I'll take care of it,' he mouthed to Sienna.
She nodded and went to the kitchen.
"Want to tell me what's going on?" Josh asked as he led Gabi to his room.
"Luc's gone. He's on his field trip."
Josh didn't say anything. He just chewed on the inside of his cheek nervously. That's why he tried to stop her.
"You remembered," Gabi realized. "I didn't."
"You were overwhelmed at the prospect of this being our final battle. But I don't think it is."
"How are you so sure?"
"Not everything in the prophecy has come to pass yet."
"Alyssa and I were talking about that," Gabi said. "A few days ago I mean. And we realized not everything has to pass before the final battle. Nothing in the prophecy has been straightforward so far. Rin is the Child of Magic, but no one knows why. She's not blood related to Caty. Why is someone with no relation to us in the prophecy? And it was an altermere that perished in the land of rain. Nothing is happening in order either. The rest of the prophecy could all unfold during this battle. And this is the final battle because if we lose to whoever this enemy is now, and then he gets the Heart of Meridian, we have no chance of winning anyway. So we have to pull out all the stops to win now."
Gabi let out what seemed like her last sob as she dried her eyes.
Josh was silent. Why did no one else think of this? Why did Alyssa and Gabi keep these thoughts to themselves? This could be the final battle, and if that was true, then…
"I'm sorry you didn't get to say goodbye to Luc," Josh said. "And I really don't want to steal the moment or anything, but I need to tell you something."
Gabi looked at him with curious eyes. "What?"
"I love you," Josh said. "I know I've never said it before, but I mean it. I don't just have strong feelings for you. I love you."
Gabi blushed. "Um...I love you too." And she meant it. She'd just been too scared to tell him before since he was already so hesitant about starting a relationship. She didn't want to scare him away with more than he was ready for.
"And I'm ready to take the leap."
Gabi's eyes widened. "Are you serious?"
"Yeah. I've let fear stop me, but I've been scared long enough. I love you and I want to be with you. We'll get through this Gabi, I promise. We'll win, we'll survive this, and after that, we'll be together."
Gabi actually laughed in glee. He was right. They'd win. Why did she doubt that? They were strong. They'd defeat this enemy, and all their others. Gabi would survive, and she'd get to see Luc in three days, and when she did, she could tell him that she and Josh were together. He'd been hoping Gabi and Josh would go out ever since he moved in, even when he knew Gabi was with Jake, who he liked.
"We'll be together," she repeated and kissed him to seal the deal.
G.R.A.C.E. G.R.A.C.E. G.R.A.C.E.
Rae was pacing around the basement of The Silver Dragon when Gabi and Josh walked in.
She looked up hopefully, then groaned.
"Someone's not happy to see us," Gabi said, rolling her eyes, back to her normal self. So normal that she bit Sienna's head off when she asked if Gabi was okay, and again when she asked where Gabi and Josh were going.
Gabi looked around the room. Jake was trying to talk a pacing Rae. Chris and Cara were laughing at something on Cara's phone. Caty was telling Lili something, and Lili was nodding. Maybe Caty was asking for a favor. Brian, Nina, and Misha, true to form, were doing homework. Alyssa and James were also laughing at some private joke, but Alyssa looked up when Gabi and Josh entered and walked towards them, a smile on her face.
"Do my eyes deceive me? Are you two holding hands?" she asked excitedly.
Jake, who was trying to calm Rae down, looked up for a minute before returning to his ex.
Josh turned red, but Gabi just smiled widely.
"Why yes we are," she said.
"I took the leap," Josh said shyly.
Alyssa squealed in joy, which was a very un-Alyssa like move, and hugged them both. "Oh, I'm so happy for you!" she cried. Then she gave them both stern looks. "Josh, I don't care if you're my brother. If you hurt Gabi, you should run. And Gabi, I don't care how close we are or how close we get, the same goes for you. Don't hurt Josh."
Both nodded, bewildered.
"Where is everyone?" Gabi asked. Three people were missing.
"Sage is grabbing Rae a coke to try and calm her down," Alyssa said. "And Ellie and Adam aren't here yet. That's what's freaking Rae out. She's getting impatient. And no one knows where they are either. At least with you guys, Josh texted Rae when he got to your house, and you texted when you were on your way. I texted Ellie to ask her if they were heading here and all she replied was 'Still gotta do something.' Vague."
Gabi nodded. Rae tended to fly off the handle when people were late. The Keeper was annoyingly punctual. But it's not like she set up a time frame.
Gabi felt Josh let go of her hand. She looked at him. He gave her a smile, then nodded over to Sage, who was giving Rae a glass. Gabi nodded. They needed to tell her, and Josh wanted to be the one to do it.
Alyssa and Gabi watched with rapt attention as Sage's face registered the news and her expression went from curious to shocked to glee. She squealed like Alyssa had and tackled Josh in a hug. Both the Earth and fire guardians breathed a sigh of relief. Sure Sage had given Gabi her blessing, but that was different from being happy about their dating. They were glad to see she liked it.
"So what did you tell Luc?" Alyssa asked.
Gabi explained he wasn't there.
"Oh Gabi, I'm so sorry," Alyssa said.
Gabi waved it away, not wanting to think about it-or the fact that she took comfort in Sienna. "So how did everybody else's goodbyes go?" Gabi asked
"Well, my mom was predictably worried, but understood. Thank God she's good with the guardian thing now. The hard part was telling my father."
"Nigel was at home?"
"No. Mom made me call him!"
"Ouch. So how'd he take it?"
"He demanded I don't go, which is weird because he wasn't in support of my mom taking my powers all those months ago. But after I told him, Mom took the phone and calmed him down. He's not happy, and he still doesn't want me to go, but he's not threatening to lock me up and throw away the key."
Gabi laughed.
"Rae's mom was tougher. I don't know the details, but she freaked out, shrieking and saying things to shrilly for either Rae or Jake to understand, burst into tears, and even though she didn't forbid Rae from going, she hugged her for nearly ten minutes, telling her to be careful the whole time and refusing to let go until Jake literally had to pull Rae out of her embrace."
Gabi giggled at that.
"Caty's parents were still at work, and her grandparents had taken Rin out. They left a note for Caty, but they didn't say where they were. Caty called her house from here and left a message saying she has study group tonight, and she's sleeping over here, so Hay Lin can corroborate if Iris calls, which she probably won't. They usually don't check up on Caty as long as she tells them what she's up to. If Caty doesn't come back, then Lili's supposed to tell them the truth, and tell them about Rin's powers too."
"I can only imagine how they'd take that," Gabi said. "Personally, I think Caty should tell her parents about Rin regardless. What if Rin still needs the suppressant root by the time Caty goes to college? What if she forgets to sneak some into Rin's food, or doesn't come home for a month and she spontaneously combusts?"
"I don't think she can make herself explode," Alyssa said slowly, "but I see your point."
Gabi's eyes were laughing. "So what about Hay Lin and Eric?"
"They always knew this day would come, but they're still worried. Eric wanted to come with us, but Chris and Cara convinced him to stay here. They said he should stay in case Hay Lin needed protection, but I think the real reason was that they didn't want him to lose focus and go crazy if one of them gets hurt."
"Makes sense," Gabi said. "If something happens to Josh…"
"Yeah. Or James. Or Rae," Alyssa said.
"Or Caty."
"Or Ellie."
"Between the two of us, it's or anyone," Gabi said. "We need to be careful. We can't let our emotions rule us during our battle."
Alyssa bit her lip. "Yeah," she said softly, looking at James. "Excuse me a minute."
She went over to James. "Can we talk?"
"Sounds serious."
"It is. We need to like...temporarily break up."
"What?" James looked perplexed.
"We're too invested in each other. And if this is our final battle in which anything could happen, if one of us gets hurt, the other won't be focused. And we can't afford to lose focus."
"And you think breaking up will change that?" James asked, sounding angry. "Because it won't. Broken up or together, I will worry about you just as much."
"Me too," Alyssa said. "But what are we supposed to do?"
James let out a breath, wracking his brain for anything to take the miserable look off his girlfriend's face.
"I mean, we can't worry about protecting each other," Alyssa went on.
"I can't do that. My first instinct will always be to protect you."
"It can't be," Alyssa said.
"Well what do you want to do?"
"I don't know!"
James sighed. He wanted to make Alyssa feel better, and honestly, he understood where she was coming from. He had an idea, but it was a bad one. A very bad one. He didn't like it one bit. But if it would give Alyssa peace of mind, wasn't it worth it?
"Okay, what about this? Let's make a pact that during the battle, we'll block each other out."
"Didn't we just establish there's no possibly way we could do that?" Alyssa asked.
James eyes clouded over. As he spoke, he looked like his words were causing him physical pain. They caused Alyssa physical pain as well, to hear them.
"If there's one thing I learned from being on this team, it's that anything is possible as long as you have the right tools on your side. I was really interested in magic. That's probably how Sage and I got so close. We talked about magic a lot at first. And she told me about this spell she can do. It's from something called the Emotional Manipulation skill set. Sage can make it so we don't love each other anymore."
"What? No! Why would someone even know a spell like that? No, wait, I don't actually care why. We are not doing that, you hear me?"
"Lyssa, I don't want to do it at all. But it will help us get rid of this tunnel vision we have when it comes to each other. And it's not like we won't care about each other. We just won't be in love. You'll feel about me the way you feel about Caty or Gabi. We'll be friends. And everyone around us will know it's a spell, but we won't. We'll forget we were in love, and won't know there's a spell on us, so it won't be hurting us."
"No! No way James! I'm not doing that! You know how I feel about memory tampering after everything I've been through. I don't want to forget I'm in love with you. I can control myself and my emotions better than that. I don't need that."
"I know you don't. But I do. That's what you're really worried about, isn't it? Not us, but me? How I'll react if you get hurt."
"I…" Alyssa trailed off. She'd always been good at controlling her emotions. Her mother was like that and she recently found out Caleb was too.
"And as much as I don't want to, I'm going to ask Sage to use the spell on me."
"But why?" Alyssa asked, aghast.
"Because you need it. You may not want to admit it, but you won't be able to concentrate on the battle if you know I won't be able to. You wanted this."
"No I didn't!"
"You wanted something! You wanted a solution. That's why you brought this up in the first place. And I'm not saying you wanted me to forget my feelings for you. I know you don't want that. You didn't know this is what the solution would be. But you can't go back on it now."
"Yes I can! This is not a solution James, this is craziness."
"No, it's practical. You're just being cynical."
"No, it's just the principle!"
"What do you guys think?" James asked the room, because, unlike his girlfriend, he'd noticed that everyone was listening to their conversation since it started.
Everyone wore 'deer in headlights' expressions, realizing they'd been caught. In their defense though, both were talking loudly, and if they wanted to have a private conversation, they shouldn't have done it in the basement they were all in.
"Well?" James asked, genuinely curious.
Everyone muttered an answer, not one of them cohesive.
"Well you guys are a lot of help," James said sarcastically.
"You're my best friend," Jake finally spoke up, "but you're insane if you want to do this."
"I think it makes sense," Sage piped up.
"Great," Alyssa muttered. Sage was the one who could do the spell. If she thought it was a good idea, then she'd do it.
"No, it makes zero sense," Gabi argued.
"I agree," Brian said.
"I totally get why James wants to do it," Caty said.
Brian stared at her incredulously.
"I do too," Rae backed up.
"Rae!" Alyssa cried, looking betrayed.
"I think it's none of our business," Chris spoke up. "Our opinions can be taken into account if James and Alyssa want them, but this is their decision, and we shouldn't confuse them by arguing about it and taking sides."
James let out a breath and Alyssa groaned. Why had she brought this up in the first place? James was right; she'd wanted a solution. She wanted to figure out if there was a way the two of them could block each other out. If James could block Alyssa out. But she hadn't realized what it would mean.
"What do we even know about this spell? How do we know it works? Or that it'll wear off?"
"It will work," Sage said, looking almost offended. Her expression changed to her usual kind one when she spoke the next sentence. "And there's a counterspell that I can also successfully perform after the battle is over."
"But how does it even work?" Gabi asked. "How does he just forget that Alyssa is his girlfriend?"
"It's like...when James looks at Alyssa now, he feels love. After I cast the spell, all he'll feel is friendship, and he won't remember that he ever felt anything else unless one of us tells him, and even if we tell him, which we shouldn't do, he won't care. He won't be able to fall back in love with Alyssa until I use the counterspell."
"That sounds terrible. Immoral," Jake said, making nearly everyone in the room shift uncomfortably. After all, they'd all agreed with Rae when she wanted to erase his memories the first time. After thinking it through, at that point in time, even Alyssa would've supported it if she'd still been friends with them. She was friends with Jake, but not close enough for her to want him to know the way she currently did, and she'd agree it was dangerous and that he should forget.
"Before we go any further on this issue," Alyssa said in James head, "do you think I'm being selfish by allowing Jake to keep his memories? Knowing does put him in danger, especially now. Like Rae said, he's really close to most of us."
"If you're being selfish, then so are the rest of us. But it'll like Jake said. It's immoral to erase someone's memories, which I know you know. So we can't do that, especially to him, because we already did it once."
"If it's immoral to erase Jake's memories, then how is it not immoral to erase yours?"
"Because I'm asking for this. We erased Jake's memories without his knowledge or consent, and it would be the same if we erased his memories this time. But I'm giving my consent for this."
"Well, I'm not."
"It's not really your choice is it? It's my memoirs and my mind."
"And it's for my benefit. I'm not letting you do this for me."
"Then let me do this for me. Giving you peace of mind is something I want."
"That's still for my benefit!"
"It's for our benefit."
"James, you're practically conning me into saying yes. I'm too smart for that."
"That's just it Alyssa. I don't need you to say yes. I'm going to do it one way or another. It'll be a lot better for you if you get on board."
Alyssa couldn't understand how he could say something so infuriating in a tone that still made her melt. James didn't just ooze charm; he was charm. That was his whole being. Or maybe Alyssa just loved him that much.
"Fine! I'm on board," Alyssa said finally, hardly believing she was saying it.
"How did she decide that? They were just staring at each other for five minutes," Jake said, confused.
"They were having a telepathic conversation," Rae said. "Like, in their heads."
"I know what telepathic means," Jake said, a laugh in his voice. "So is that what you guys were doing every time some of you stared at each other not saying a word?"
"Mostly," Rae said. "If it was just Alyssa and I, then sometimes we were just having a conversation with our eyes. That's not a guardian talent. Just a best friend talent."
"Even though my best friend opposed my viewpoint," Alyssa said.
Rae shot her an apologetic look, then spoke in her head. "Chris said this was a private matter, and you can't get more private than a mental link. But I know that's not why you started talking in your minds. What was the reason?"
Alyssa shifted uncomfortably. "We were talking about Jake and whether or not we should erase his memories."
"And?" Rae asked excitedly. Were they going to let her keep him in the dark like she wanted?
"And we decided not," Alyssa said. "Sorry. But you should know, I can read your mind, and you're lying to yourself by saying you want to erase his memories. Deep down, you love that you can finally tell him this stuff."
Rae glared at the fire guardian.
"Payback for taking James' side over mine," Alyssa teased.
"Are you guys doing it now?" Brian asked.
"Guilty," Alyssa admitted.
"Wow. Can you speak in my mind?" Jake asked.
"Do you want me to?"
Jake paused. "I don't know. Read my mind instead. What am I thinking?"
"You're thinking that if you try hard enough, I won't be able to read your mind, and maybe you're right, but you're not good at blocking me. And now you're scared because you don't want me to know all your secrets. And now you're wondering if I know…" Alyssa stopped, partly because Jake's face was getting paler and paler and partly because she knew she shouldn't say the next thing out loud.
"Now you're wondering if I know whether or not Rae would take you back. And I do know. But I'm not going to tell you, because your relationship is a lot more complicated than you think."
Jake looked startled for a moment, hearing Alyssa's voice in his head, then frowned at her words. What did that mean?
"Should I prepare the spell?" Sage interrupted nervously.
Alyssa's face darkened.
"Yes," James said firmly.
"No," Rae countered. "We wait for Ellie." Then she began to pace again.
"If she ever gets here," she whispered to herself.
G.R.A.C.E. G.R.A.C.E. G.R.A.C.E.
Adam turned to Ellie and opened his mouth to speak, but then decided against it and looked ahead again.
"Adam, God! That's like the twentieth time you've done that. If you have something to say, just say it!" Ellie cried.
"It's just...abuse? My God Ellie, why didn't you say anything?"
On the way to Marcus's house, Ellie explained to Adam everything she had kept a secret for years. She told him about the abuse she faced. How in the beginning, her mother would apologize after she hit them, how Alyssa found out and why they split up, how it stopped for a while, how Ellie's uncle walked back into their life, starting the abuse again, why they couldn't tell when Jason turned 18, and why they couldn't tell now.
She told him about Caty snooping, about telling Chris, how he told the other guardians, how she ended up attacking her mother and uncle, and how Gavin reacted to her powers. She told him all about her dad, and how she had to make her family forget, which lead to the story of how Jason found out about her powers.
Adam didn't say a word all the while. When she was done with the story, they'd reached Marcus's apartment. Ellie tried to beat around the bush when she told jason what was happening, but he saw through her and demanded the full story. He knew about the prophecy already, so she just told him it could be the final battle, and to her surprise, and immense relief, he didn't try to forbid her from going. Instead, he just hugged her tightly and told her to be safe.
She told Gavin the reason she stopped by was just to say hi, gave him a hug goodbye, and left. She told a still 'silent as a ninja' Adam she had one more thing to do before they met up with everyone else at The Silver Dragon. As she led the way, Adam tried to finally say something, but found it difficult until this very moment.
"I was scared. If you knew what if you told the police and an investigation was launched and Mom got taken away? Gavin and I didn't want that to happen."
"Didn't want that?"
"I know now that she'll never come back. She'll never be my mom again. Not the mom that loved me anyway."
"So why don't you tell the police now?"
Ellie nearly stopped walking. That was the question she was hoping no one would ask, and up until now, no one had. She had answer ready, but she also knew if someone asked her that question, they'd also question her answer. But she didn't want to lie or avoid anymore. At least not with Adam.
"Because I don't really need to to tell the police, do I? Jason's gone, I moved out. Jason found an apartment that the two of us can live in. We can move in as soon as school ends, so we won't be imposing on Marcus or Alyssa too much longer. Mom is still Mom with Gavin, and Uncle Tim is leaving him alone, so why should we tell? Gavin can keep Mom."
"And what happens if you mother or uncle demands you home? What happens if your mother can't stop your uncle from hurting Gavin? What happens if your mother loses it and starts hurting him too? You always knew in the back of your mind she'd never come back, but that's because she hurt you when you were little. She's been nothing but sweet to Gavin for almost 17 years. He's too far gone. No matter how much she hurts him, he'll never believe she's truly gone. He'll do everything in his power to remind her how much she's supposed to love him. And that's dangerous. You have to tell the police, to protect your brother and yourself."
Ellie didn't say anything. She knew Adam was right, but as long as no one brought it up, she figured she could forget about it. Adam would be the one to dig deeper and figure it out.
"Well, I have a plan," Ellie said. "Hopefully, it'll work, and I won't need to get the police involved."
Adam opened his mouth to ask what that plan was, but as he took in his surroundings, he didn't need to. He figured it out.
"Ellie, no."
"I have to."
"For what? For Gavin? Just tell the police. That'll protect him too, and you don't have to put yourself in danger. Sure he'll be mad, but he'll understand, and if he doesn't, then he's a lousy brother. Jason would never let you do this for him, so why are you doing it for Gavin? He's not nearly worth it."
"It's not for him, it's for me," Ellie said. "And if it helps Gavin in the process, then that's an added bonus. I am putting myself in danger, but not with this. With the battle we're engaging in today. If it's not the final battle, I'll be okay. The prophecy says we all survive to face this enemy in the final battle, but if it is the final battle, if there's a chance I could die today...I couldn't go face that without trying."
Adam sighed. This was not a good idea. He knew the minute he saw Ellie's apartment building in front of him that she was going to go back into her house for the first time since she moved in with Alyssa, to say goodbye to her mother, who she still loved, despite everything. Ellie was not stupid. She knew Betty wasn't the same woman who doted on Ellie. She was pretty sure she'd never see that woman again, and the woman she called Mom now was someone she was scared of. But she still loved her, and she needed to say goodbye. And, if she could, she needed to see if there was a chance of bringing her old self back.
"Okay," he said, knowing there was no changing Ellie's mind once she was set on something. "Let's go."
Ellie gave him a coy smile, one that he recognized. It was the smile she wore when she was going to tell him something she knew he wouldn't like hearing. And this time, Adam knew what that was.
"No. Ellie, no! I'm not letting you go in there alone."
"Adam, I'll be fine. I checked everything out with Gavin while you were talking to Jason. My uncle is at work and will be until late tonight and my mother is in a good mood. You can come inside the building with me, and even wait in front of the elevator of my floor, but I need to go in and speak to her on my own. I have my powers. You didn't see this today, but I can go invisible, and I have a limited ability to fly even without my wings, because I control air. I'll be able to make a quick escape if I need to."
"Invisible? Like, disappear from sight, invisible?"
Ellie nodded.
"Wow," Adam breathed, putting a hand on his head. Unlike Brian and Jake, who were in awe of the guardians, Adam got more and more uncomfortable as he saw and found out more and more of the story. Ellie had a bad feeling Adam was going to cave and ask her to erase his memories. She could manipulate them so that he'd forget the guardian stuff, but not that they made up, but it would only be a matter of time before he asked what she was hiding again.
Adam broke out of his reverie and said, "If you use this invisibility, or any other power, your mother will see. What are you going to do, knock her out and erase her memories again? You can only erase complete days from her mind for so long before she decides she's going crazy and tries to get help."
"And what will that do? The memory flower is powerful magic. No amount of help could get her remember what I did to her if I'm forced to do it again."
Adam closed his eyes, as if trying to steady himself. "Alright, fine. But forget the elevator. I'm waiting right outside the door. Your door. And you're leaving the door unlocked. Using your powers on your mother is a last resort, and if she seems hostile at any point, you're leaving."
Ellie nodded, knowing she could promise that. She wasn't brave enough to stay anyway.
Adam stayed out of sight as Ellie unlocked her front door and opened it up. She entered her apartment and closed the door behind her, but didn't lock it, staying true to her promise.
Her mother was the couch, a bottle of vodka in her hand. She hadn't noticed Ellie yet. Ellie braced herself and said, "Hey Mom."
She hadn't meant for the words to come out so weak sounding, but they did.
Betty Kramer looked up, and into the eyes of her only daughter. "Oh. It's you. What are you doing here?" she asked, clearly not caring about the answer.
Ellie breathed a sigh of relief. She was in a good mood if she was talking calmly instead of lunging at her, and considering the fact that she didn't call her Emily or Erin, she wasn't drunk yet (Betty always used Ellie's name when addressing her if she was drunk, but she also forgot Ellie's name when she was drunk so she called her whatever name she could think of so long as it started with the letter 'E').
"I wanted to see you," Ellie said meekly.
"Why?"
"It's been a long time since I have."
"Yes it has. Where have you been?"
Ellie shrugged. "That's not important. I just wanted to see you in case I don't get another chance to."
Betty didn't ask what this meant. "And that useless brother of yours? Where is he?"
Ellie fought to stay in control. She had to remain sweet if she wanted to bring her mother back, but hearing her call Jason 'useless' made her mad. Jason was anything but.
Ellie walked over to the couch and snatched the bottle from her hands.
"Hey! Give that back you ungrateful brat!" Betty demanded.
Ellie ignored her. Ungrateful brat was not bad by Betty's standards, so most likely, dumping the vodka in the sink like she was doing right now, wouldn't result in a beating.
"You're wasting it," Betty whined. "Money down the drain."
"We don't have money to spend on alcohol as it is," Ellie said.
"We?" Betty sneered. "Last time I checked you don't live here anymore, so what do you care?"
"I don't live here anymore?" Ellie asked.
"You haven't been here in a month. Neither have your clothes, your books, or any of the items you deem important."
Ellie was surprised her mother had even noticed.
"So I figured you moved out. And you don't have any bags with you, so it doesn't seem like you're moving back in."
"You're right, I'm not. I'm living with a friend. And Jason and I are moving in together at the end of the month."
"Good," Betty said.
Good? What did that mean?
Ellie looked at her mother. Betty had a sad smile on her face. "You shouldn't live in this house any longer."
That didn't sound like she was kicking Ellie out. That sounded more like advice. And was that relief in her voice?
"Mom, do you remember when I was ten and I told you about the brownies Alyssa, Adam, and I made at Alyssa's house, but I couldn't remember the whole recipe? Remember how we made twenty batches of brownies all with different amounts of ingredients just so we could find the right recipe?" Ellie asked, hoping a good memory would help Betty remember she was supposed to love her kids.
To Ellie's surprise, Betty nodded.
"It was hard to get you to eat anything but sweets at that age, and even though it wasn't good for you, I fed you desserts so you'd at least eat something. I would make cheesecake and cookies, but you were getting tired of both. You seemed excited about these brownies, so I had to find the recipe so I could make something else you'd be willing to eat."
Ellie smiled at that. "Why didn't you just call Taranee?"
"Taranee and I went to Sheffield together, and we didn't exactly get along. I was pretty terrible to her, and she never really forgave me."
"What did you do?" Ellie asked, because holding a grudge didn't sound like Taranee.
"It was the usual mean girl stuff. I was popular in high school, and Taranee was friends with a few popular girls, but not popular herself. I mainly just teased her, but the thing she hold against me was when I cheated on her brother with her ex-boyfriend Nigel. He'd broken up with her a couple months ago, but she wasn't over him, plus my current boyfriend, the one I cheated on, was her brother Peter. It didn't go over well. She broke my nose, which got me kicked off the cheerleading team for the rest of that year, and told her brother, making him break up with me and start dating this girl Audrey who I heard he eventually married. The ordeal did bring her and Nigel back together though."
Ellie was awed. She knew Betty and Taranee went to Sheffield together. Betty was two years older than Taranee. She also knew she got kicked off the cheerleading team in her junior year because her broken nose would reflect badly on the team's overall image (whoever was captain that year was meaner than the old Gabi and Traci put together), but she didn't know the reason.
It did make sense now why Taranee stiffened and wore an un-Taranee like, tight-lipped smile every time Ellie brought up her mother. Adam, Alyssa, and Ellie always wondered about that, but never asked.
"She and Nigel are married now."
"I know. I guess they were meant to be. Like I thought Kurt and I were."
Kurt was Ellie's father. Ellie knew that he and Betty started dating in their senior year. She was cheer captain, and he was the quarterback. They went to the same college on athletic scholarships, got married right after college graduation, and had Jason a few years later. Then came Gavin and Ellie. Ellie remembered the fights her parents got in very well, but she also remembered how lovey dovey they used to be. She wondered what changed.
"Why don't you bake anymore?"
Betty didn't answer.
"Why did you change Mom?" Ellie asked suddenly, taking the plunge. "You used to love me. Why don't you love me anymore? Why do you only love Gavin?"
Betty didn't look surprised at Ellie's outburst. "It's easier to love him. Tim doesn't hate him as much. But without you and Jason here, that might change."
Ellie frowned. What did that mean exactly?
Betty frowned as well, looking pained. She looked torn for a moment, then gave Ellie a mournful look before getting up and grabbing a beer from the fridge.
"There's not reason for you be here you little bitch. Get out!" she commanded, though she didn't sound nearly as malicious as she usually did. Ellie knew their moment was over however, and left, locking the door behind her.
"What happened? How'd it go?" Adam asked.
Ellie gave him the play-by-play as they walked to The Silver Dragon.
"It was confusing. I don't understand what she meant or why she suddenly got angry," Ellie said. "And why didn't sound as mean as usual."
"It sounds to me like the abuse comes from the influence of your uncle. I don't think she really wants to hurt you. Maybe your uncle makes her. And she wants you and Jason to move out so that you don't have to be in that environment anymore. She got angry and made you leave because she didn't want to reveal all that to you. She's worried about Gavin because he's the only one of you home now, but she can probably protect him for the rest of summer, and then he'll be gone again. You and Jason can't leave just yet, so she prefers you move out."
Ellie thought about that. "It hurts a lot when Uncle Tim hits me. But if Mom hits me, she usually leaves me alone. He only hits me if Mom isn't home and I am, or if Mom didn't touch me that day. And I know Mom is strong, and it hurts when she hits me, but not enough for me to scream. I scream so that she'll be satisfied. She always hits me less when I scream. But I know she can hit me hard enough to make me really scream, but she doesn't."
"Maybe that's it. Maybe she's worried your uncle will hurt you, so she hits you so he won't. She doesn't do it too hard, but you being a good enough actress to pull off real screams helps her sell it. As long as it seems to your uncle that you're getting hurt, he'll lay off and let your mother take care of it."
"But my uncle wasn't around when she first started hitting me. And the insults and the drinking weren't his influence."
"It's just a theory," Adam said. "I don't know for sure."
The Silver Dragon appeared.
"Adam, if I don't make it back from this battle-"
"El, don't talk like that. You will."
"If I don't," Ellie said firmly, "I need you tell Jason this theory, along with the exact conversation. Okay?"
Adam sighed, but nodded. "Yeah, okay. And Gavin too?"
"No. There might be a way to bring Mom back if this is really because of Uncle Tim. But unless Jason and I find a solution, Gavin can never, ever know."
Adam nodded. The pair entered The Silver Dragon and went downstairs to see Alyssa and James making out like it was the last time they would ever see each other (which it might be), Caty, Brian, and her friends doing homework (seriously?), Gabi, Lili, Chris, Cara, Sage, and Josh laughing about something (were Gabi and Josh holding hands?!) and Rae pacing around while Jake tried to calm her down.
Rae looked up as the pair appeared.
"Thank God!" she cried gratefully. She turned to the others. "Alright, we're all here. I guess the first thing we need is for Sage to do the spell."
Ellie frowned. "What spell?"
G.R.A.C.E. G.R.A.C.E. G.R.A.C.E.
A/N: This was kind of an awkward place to end it, but it was getting too long, even for three chapters. Next is the battle, but not the final battle. We still have a little ways to go. The good news is, people who like reading this story will get a lot more. The bad news is, people who want this story to end will get a lot more. Though, I guess if you want to the story to end, you probably stopped reading by now. Anyway guys, please review and I'll try to write as fast as possible!
