A/N: Thanks for everyone's reviews, it meant the world. So here is the next chapter….
Catty knew better than to look into the dark abyss of Tymmie's eyes, instead she stared at the silver loop in the middle of his lower lip, which were only inches from hers. His lower lip quivered in response to her stare, then curled into a wicked half smile. "I need to talk to you." Tymmie's sultry smooth voice spoke in a low whisper. He didn't wait for her response, he reached for her arm and pulled her out the side door.
Catty winced at the sudden bright sunlight that hit her warmly. Tymmie was leaning in the shadow of the wall, his eyes watching over her hungrily. Catty rolled her eyes and put a hand on her hip. "What do you want?" She demanded.
Tymmie's eyes shot up from her belly to her eyes. "I need your help." He said simply, sliding upright against the wall.
Catty let out an uncontrollable snort. "Um, yeah, right. And what would a big bad Follower such as yourself need my help for?" Catty asked in disbelief.
"Stanton." Tymmie said curtly. He started to circle around Catty, his eyes lingering on her shoulders. "The Dark Prince needs to be taken care of. Since he is also an enemy of yours, I figured you wouldn't mind lending me a hand." He stopped in front of her now.
"Let me guess, with Stanton thrown out as the Atrox's right hand man, you'd be there to take his place." Catty rolled her eyes at this.
"Something like that." He said, sliding his hand up her arm. Catty tugged her arm out of his reach, but he quickly grabbed her arms, anger rising in his voice. "Listen," he ordered her roughly, "weather you choose to or not, when the time comes, I will find you and you will help me. I have made a bargain with the Atrox."
With his anger, an incredible force was brewing inside of him. Catty felt the heat building up inside of him. His fingers were digging into her. She could have fought him. She knew that, yet she let him hold her. Why? She knew it would take a little strength to break free of Tymmie's hold, but she could manage it. Yet she let him keep his hold on her. Catty, who was not a damsel in distress often, spoke after a few moments of silence, "you're hurting me." She said softly to the ground.
Tymmie immediately let go, putting his palms to his closed eyes, walking away with his back to her. The atmosphere around Catty and Tymmie slowly subsided until it was normal and calm. "Sorry." Catty heard him mumble from a distance. Did he just apologize for hurting her?
Catty stood in shock, mouth wide open. Tymmie turned and faced her. "I have made a bargain with the Atrox. When I feel the timing is just right, I will call for you." Tymmie started to walk off, but Catty's rage found words and she spoke her anger openly.
"How dare you! You made a bargain with the Atrox concerning me with out my knowledge or my permission. I will never consent to help you or the Atrox, no matter who the plot is against."
Tymmie was before Catty before she had time to breathe in. She knew not to look into his eyes, but it was too late. She was spinning uncontrollably in a whirlwind of thoughts and memories. Was he going to trap her in his mind forever? Once her initial fear subsided, Catty was able to note what was going on. She had never had much experience going through minds, but the few she did have gave her an idea what it was like, and this was very different. Instead of being pulled through a vast labyrinth of memories and thoughts, she was being taken through a black twirling tunnel filled with selective memories. Tymmie was hiding certain memories from her, but why?
Catty suddenly slammed back into reality, causing her to loose her balance and fall over. She found her bearings and stood slowly. Brushing the dirt off of her cloths, she took a look around. The sun was setting now. How long was she inside Tymmie's mind?
Tymmie was no where to be seen, but he was there. She could feel him. She pretended that she didn't notice him, however, and stepped back into the Jungle.
Heading towards the door, Catty made her way through the throng of people. When she was almost at the double doors heading out onto the streets of LA, a hand took her gently around the wrist and pulled her back. She looked into the face of her old friend Skye. "What have YOU been?" He asked with a toothy grin. When he noticed her not smiling, he asked, "are you alright?"
"Um, yeah, fine. I have something to take care of." Catty said, eyeing the room for signs of Tymmie.
"Did that guy give you any trouble?" Skye sounded concerned.
"No, no," she answered too quickly. "I just remembered I have to finish an art project." She lied and turned away from her old pal, a tear breaking off her cheek. She had never lied to Skye before, he was her oldest friend from childhood.
"Check ya later!" He called after her, not sounding convinced.
Out in the open, Catty cried freely. The stress placed on her over the last two days was really breaking her down. Without much thought, she put on her pads and slammed down her skating board. She decided then and there to head to Vanessa's house and call the other Goddesses. They will work this whole thing out together.
Catty, when she found herself in front of her friend, found herself holding back. She only told Vanessa about today's events. She could not bring herself to tell her about the kiss that they had shared last night. The abridged news still did give Vanessa enough worry about.
"So Tymmie wants you to help him to get rid of Stanton? Why you?" Vanessa asked. She bit her lower lip.
"It probably has something to do with my power, but he didn't really tell me his plan. He just said that when the time comes, he will get me. Then I will help them weather I want to or not." Catty threw her head into her hands. She suddenly felt nauseated.
"We should call the others." Vanessa said, picking up the cordless phone.
"No need." Jimena said from the open window in the kitchen. "I had a dream last night that was too real to be a dream."
Vanessa walked over to the double glass doors and unlocked them, admitting Jimena and Tianna into her home. "Where's Serena?" She asked when she noticed her absence.
"In my dream, Catty was forced into a plot against the Dark Prince, I thought telling her of my dream might alert her. I thought it would be best to get the facts straight before telling her." Jimena explained, propping herself against the counter.
"And what are the facts?" Tianna asked, looking kindly over to Catty.
With a deep breath, Catty began telling her story, starting at the Jungle. When she finished Jimena was staring off into space, deep in thought.
"Well, we can't tell Serena, can we? She'll go right to Stanton." Tianna sounded as troubled as Catty felt.
"I don't think we can right now." It pained Jimena to say it. "We need to find out what Tymmie's plan is first."
"We have to tell Serena!" Vanessa protested. "She is a Daughter too and she deserves to know, besides, she might be able to help us find out this plan of Tymmie's. And Stanton already knows of Tymmie's treachery, how much could it hurt if he were to know this new plan?"
"Alright." Jimena gave in, picking up the cordless phone next to Vanessa. She punched in Serena's home number. "No one's there." She said, pressing a button with vigor. She typed in seven more digits. "Serena, where are you chica?….Mmm. Who are you with?" Jimena's expression changed suddenly from confusion to shock and then to anger. "Well, there is a little problem involving Catty and you need to get over her now." The rest waited with baited breaths for a few seconds. "Well, if you can read my mind over the phone you will know how urgent it is." Jimena hung up the phone. "She's on her way."
"Where was she?" Vanessa asked.
Jimena shrugged.
"Who was she with?" Tianna knew very well whom Serena was with, but she wanted to here it.
Jimena shrugged again.
Catty started to feel odd. The outer edges of her vision started to blacken and blur, and an intense throbbing ached through her head. She fell to the floor. The last thing she heard was Vanessa's scream. The last things she saw were her friends crowding around her. Than blackness engulfed her and she was falling.