The phone was ringing in the San Diego control room and Tanya picked it up, "Luna foundation, Tanya speaking."
"Hi Tanya, its Alex. May I speak to Derek please?" said the woman on the other side.
"Sure Alex." Tanya handed over the phone to Derek.
"Hi Alex," he said. "Is everything all right?"
"Yes, all is fine. I was just wandering if anything happened on your side," she asked.
"No." he answered. "Sorry Alex, none of them is back yet. Are there any pressing matters at the house?"
"No. We received an artifact from the SF museum to check, so we are all working on that," she answered.
"Ok then," said Derek. "I'll call you the minute anything happens," he promised her.
"You do that," she said before hanging up.
Taylor/CommodeTaylor walked into the room followed by Commode. They found themselves in a small village. It seemed to be a nice peaceful place but they knew it probably wouldn't be long before they find out the reason they are there.
They decided to take a look around the place to see if any other "people" or beings are there.
"Burn witch, burn," they heard people screaming, and followed the sound. They arrived at the center of the village and were amazed by what they saw. All the villagers were standing around in a circle. In the middle of the circle, a young woman was tied to a poll and small pieces of wood were scattered around her from all sides. The man standing near her, who seemed to be the priest of the village shouted, "Let's burn the witch," and the people were answering him by saying, "Burn witch, burn."
Taylor started pushing her way through the circle of people shouting, "Stop it, stop it at once. Have you people gone mad?"
Commode was pushing his way trying to catch her and stop her from doing something stupid but was obviously too late.
"Who are you?" asked the priest.
"Taylor, Taylor Lambert," she answered. "What has this woman done to make you believe she is a witch?" she asked.
"She seduced the mayor. An honest man. A man of family. She dragged him with a potion she concocted."
"And that means she's a witch? How can you be so…..?" Com reached her at that moment and grabbed her arm.
"Don't say something you'll regret," he suggested. Then looking at the priest asked, "Have you tested her witches ability? Every one can make a potion from plants and seeds. That does not automatically make them a witch."
"Siege them," said the priest to his people, and four large men stepped forward and held on to both Com and Taylor.
The priest lowered the torch he was holding, and lighted the wood around the young woman. She started screaming in fear, and Commode who was by far stronger then the two men holding him jumped out of their grip and ran into the fire tearing the ropes that were holding her. Her clothes were on fire so he took off what was left of his coat and put the fire out with it.
Com was angry and when he raised his head to face the priest, everyone could see his vampire looks.
People started screaming "Vampire. He's a vampire. Commode felt them closing in on him when suddenly a few men with cross bows and wooden arrows appeared from behind him. Taylor saw them as well. She ran toward him.
The crowed surrounding him cleared a path for her. And she was standing next to him. "Please," she said. "He is not evil. Don't hurt him. The priest laughed at her plea and said, "Ready, aim, fire."
Taylor couldn't accept the fact that she will have to live with out him and as soon as the arrows were shot she positioned her self in front of him. Before Commode had a chance to react and push her out of the way, the arrows hit her in the back. Three arrows penetrated her flesh and she slid down to the ground blood running out from the side of her mouth.
"I'm sorry Com. I'm so sorry. I guess it was not meant to be."
Commode looked up looking for the people but they all vanished. He felt his bonds loosen and fell down to the ground next to Taylor. He took out the arrows still in her body and picked her up in his arms. "Are you satisfied now?" he screamed in agony. "Why did you let her die? It was my wish, I should have been dead now instead of her."
"You can still save her," said the voice he heard a few times before.
"How?" he asked.
"Make her like you."
"You mean turn her into a vampire?" Commode thought for a moment then he said, "I'd rather she'll stay dead then become an evil vampire, which is what will happen. No way. I will never allow her to become what I was. She is not evil, never have been, never will be."
He sat on the ground still holding on to her body, when a bright white light surrounded them both.
When the light disappeared, Com saw they were no longer in the village. They where inside a room, it was so white, almost blinding.
Taylor was lying on the floor next to him. Suddenly he heard her moaning and mumbling something incoherent. He bent down and looked at her back. The wounds were gone. Healed as if she was never hurt. He was amazed and helped her back to her feet.
"Taylor, are you ok?" he asked concerned.
"Yes. At least I think so. What happened? The last thing I remember, the arrows hit me. How did we get here?" she asked.
"You both passed the test," they heard a voice saying. They turned and saw a small stairway, at the top were standing two beings. They seemed almost human but they were the color of silver.
"Who are you," asked Commode.
"We are the oracles. We are the ones who gave you a chance to fulfill your wish," said the mail oracle.
"We had to make sure you two are ready for the change that will come in your lives if the wish is granted. We had to make sure you are right for each other," said the female oracle.
"So what now? Is he human now?" asked Taylor.
"No, not yet. He will be after he drinks this potion," said the female. "Come here Commode," she commanded.
He stepped forward to her and reached out his hand for the potion.
"Not so fast Commode. If you drink this potion there is no way back. You will become a human with all the limitations of the human body. Something you didn't have to face while being a vampire. There is still a chance for you to change your mind. No harm will be done."
Commode looked at Taylor. He stared at her for a second then turned over to the oracle. "She is worth it," he said softly.
"Then the potion is yours," she said giving him the cup. "Drink it."
Com took the cup of her hands and immediately drank the green fluid that was in it in one sip.
He stepped back to where Taylor was. Suddenly sharp pains went through his body. He fell down to the floor feeling a rush of blood going through his veins. Suddenly he felt his heart start to beat. He took Taylor's arm and put it on his chest. "I'm coming to life," he said. "Can you feel it?" he asked her.
Taylor's hand felt the new restored beating heart. "Yes," she said. "I can feel it."
A few minutes later the pain in his body subsided and Taylor helped him up. A door was opened behind them and the oracles pointed in that direction.
"Your wish has been granted. Now you can leave."
Taylor and Commode headed for the door. As soon as they passed the threshold they found themselves out in the open air. The sun was shining and Com panicked trying to cover him self.
"Com, You are human now. Sunlight can not hurt you anymore," said Taylor quietly.
Commode stood up straight in the sunlight. He hasn't been in the sun in nearly 400 hundred years. Then suddenly he started laughing.
"We did it," he said. "We made our dream come true." He looked around and said, "Isn't that the house's back yard?"
Taylor looked around and said, "Yes, it is the San Diego back yard. Let's go in the house and tell all we are back.
They headed to the front of the house holding hands, and when they reached the front, they knocked on the door.
Tyree opened the door and couldn't believe his eyes. "Taylor, Commode. Is that really you guys?"
He pulled them in and led them straight to the control room. "Derek, look who's back," he said.
Derek looked up and saw the couple. "Did it work?" he asked.
"Yes," said Taylor thrilled. She had a big smile on her face. "Com, is now as human as the rest of us," she said.
"And are you happy about it Com?" asked Tyree and Derek together.
"I am. Very happy." He looked at all of them and suddenly turned to face Taylor. He got down on one knee before her. "Taylor Lambert, will you marry me?" he asked.
Taylor fell down to her knees in front of him, and put her arms around him. "Yes," she said.
They held on to each other for a minute, when suddenly Com asked, "How long have we been missing?"
"Five days," answered Derek. "Have you by any chance met Nick and Julia while inside?" he asked.
"Julia? I thought she was dead." Said Taylor.
"Yes, she died. But she came back and made the wish as well. She and Nick went in there about 3 days ago," said Derek.
Taylor and Commode looked at each other then at Derek. "I'm sure they'll be ok," said Taylor.
She looked at her self; she was dirty and tired. "I'm going upstairs to take a shower," she said.
She was heading out of the room when she heard Com's voice behind her. "Would you like some company?" he asked.
Taylor looked back and smiled. Then she held out her hand to him. "I'd love the company," she said, and holding on to Com's hand, the two of them headed upstairs.
"I hope Nick and Julia will be as successful," said Derek. "I hope they'll be back soon."
Julia/Nick
Julia and Nick went in the next room they had opened. They saw themselves in a forest. They started looking around but there was no sign of danger. They were both very tired after the fight they had with the demons just a while ago, so they found a shaded spot and sat down together. Soon they were both asleep.
When Nick woke up, Julia was no where to be seen. Nick felt a panic in his heart. He got up and started calling, "Julia, Julia where the hell are you?" He started looking around for her continuing calling her name, but nothing.
"Hey Boyle, looking for me?" he heard her voice from behind him.
"Don't do that to me again," he said. "We promised no to part, remember?"
"Yes I do. I just had to go… Well you know…"
He smiled. "Next time tell me, ok?"
"Sure," she said.
"Hey Nick, what's all the panic about. I only went to relieve myself, what the hell…?"
Nick turned around and to his surprise, besides the Julia that was standing next to him, there was another Julia standing on his other side.