Moon Demon
By: Princess Ashley
Chapter 4: Payasa
"I can't believe Vanessa." Jimena whispered, her head almost touching her knees as she sat on the love seat in Serena's living room. Collin made to put his arm around her, but touch better of it, and just let her calm down a bit. He looked over at Catty. She had her head on the arm of the couch, sighing every five minutes, as if trying to make sure this was all real. Tianna had her head on Derek's lap. She was thoroughly exhausted from fighting the arms of the Followers. And plus a huge amount of guilt was lying in her lap at the thought that she might have been the reason that Vanessa doubted Catty's friendship. Tianna had never felt so bad. And while the others were pondering how Vanessa could do something like that to them, Tianna was pondering ways to make up for the loneliness she had caused Vanessa.
"She was lonely. She had every right to do what she did." Tianna whispered back, voicing her thoughts.
The other daughters looked at her in shock, and Derek looked at her with questioning eyes. Tianna sighed. "What's done is done. She's a demon now, of her own will. She doesn't where the shackles anymore. She wears them as a symbol of her devotion to the Atrox. And I'm sure it will treat her with more respect than we did. We should have known how she was feeling." She expressed. And the others looked at Serena, silently asking if she had known anything.
She looked crestfallen. "I didn't even think to check her mind." She said, looking down. "I guess I was so worried that she would find out what we were doing that I just forgot." She looked completely helpless. Then she looked up. "The Atrox." She trailed off, thinking about something, realization hitting her. Then she snapped out of it. "That Atrox! That's it!" Everyone looked at her as if questioning her sanity. "When Zahi was trying to convert me, the Atrox offered me something that I had never told anyone about. It was my secret desire, and I wanted it so much it clouded my mind! That's it! The Atrox must have offered Vanessa something that she couldn't resist!" She cried. Everyone seemed to break out of their stupor and started to get hopeful looks in their eyes.
Catty was breathing hard. "We need to find out what the Atrox offered her! Maybe it wasn't us that made her leave." She smiled brightly as she felt some of the guilt leave her. Everyone appeared to have lost their gloominess. Except for one.
Tianna was loosing herself in her despair. They had lost their guilt by blaming the Atrox for their mistake. She was the only one who couldn't loose it. It was their fault, and more her fault than anyone's. She had to do something, and whatever it was, she had to do it alone.
~
Vanessa walked down Wilshire Street. This was where the rivaling gang of Ninth Street, Jimena's old gang, hung out. She could make out the pounding of drums and screeching guitars as they hit the high notes. She wore jean hip-huggers, a fishnet black shirt over a dark blue tank top, covered by a black leather trench coat. She wore black ankle-breakers with a lot of straps covering her feet. Her hair had added black and red streaks, and was curled and pulled into a half ponytail, and black mascara. Her lips were covered in dark red gloss, making them even more visible despite the late hour.
She walked haughtily past the garage, and as she traced the minds of the occupants, she could tell they were all looking at her.
"Vanessa!" She turned to look at her caller.
Payasa was making her way towards her, her body covered in black and chains; her jeans were too impossibly low to be considered appropriate. Payasa had recently gotten her eyebrow pierced, and Vanessa had to admit it looked good on her.
"What are you doing down here? You wanna get jumped?" She asked, looking at the other members of Wilshire 5, all the males looking at Vanessa with hunger in their eyes. A boy came up to them to stand beside Payasa. Like Payasa, he was in all black, save for the silver chains and blue ribbons hanging from his Gothic style pants. Vanessa heard Jimena talk about him and his reputation once. This was Tavio.
"Tavio, Vanessa. Vanessa, Tavio." Payasa introduced, waving off the interference.
"What are you doing down here, Cleveland. Why aren't you with your goody- goody groupies?" He asked, his recently acquired lip ring glinting in the streetlight's glare.
"Just checking out the order." She said, not afraid at all, and he seemed to get her confidence, and he smiled at her.
He flicked his head over towards the garage, where most of Wilshire 5 were dancing, to what sounded like Good Charlotte. 'How uncharacteristic.' She thought. He smiled at her, almost guessing her thoughts. "We listen to whatever we want to. It's not all about body banging." He put his hands on her hips. "Dance with me, Vanessa." He said, his handsome face getting closer to hers. She smiled slightly, enjoying her control. Payasa led the way back to the garage, and Tavio pulled Vanessa to him, and the others seemed to fall into step behind them. Vanessa swung her hips from side to side, enticing her male audience, and admiring glances from the females. Tavio was thrilled to have her as a dance partner. She was happy. 'Why didn't I ever join a gang when I was human?' She asked herself, realizing all the fun she was missing out on being the good girl.
~
"So, what made you turn retro girl?" Payasa asked, as she and Vanessa walked down the street, making the turn towards Vanessa's old street, and unknowingly, towards Serena's house.
"Nothing retro. I just opened up my eyes a bit, got away," She answered. "Found myself."
Payasa rolled her eyes. "You sound like you're on the 'Soul Station.' Just tell me. I already know about the whole goddesses thing, and despite what you think, you can trust me." She said, looking at her expectantly.
Vanessa turned to her. "I'm a demon." She said bluntly.
Payasa's carefully drawn eyebrows shot up. Vanessa almost laughed.
"Truly. I can read your mind, have fire growing from my footsteps, and basically anything I want. The Daughters want to get me back, and I'm not in any hurry to get back to them."
"They bag ya?" Payasa asked, as if she understood.
"Basically." Vanessa nodded. "They decided that Tianna was of more value than me, and I found out, and now I'm against them. End of story."
"Not completely. You're a demon. Is that, like, worse than a Follower? Like that Stanton guy?" She asked. Vanessa smiled at Stanton's name, remembering the previous night.
"Man, Serena's going to be pissed at you." Payasa said, breaking Vanessa out of her thoughts. "What?" She asked dumbly. "I mean, you have a thing for Stanton. And now that you're a Follower, or some dark.thing," She said, not finding the right word. "You have the perfect chance to get him." She said, smiling, as if she couldn't have made a better choice herself. Vanessa was suddenly reminded that she was talking the cold-hearted gang member Payasa again. But she appreciated that she wasn't taking the Daughter's side.
"Actually, I've liked him for a while. And he's made it clear that he liked me first. I was the first girl he really kissed and felt something. I was reading his mind the night before they summoned me back to earth." She sighted dreamily, remembering her experiences in space. No places to go, no people to see, and no time to rush her, because every minute was an eternity there. What felt like centuries in space were actually only a few months on earth.
"Ah. So, where does your new crew hang?" Payasa asked, wiggling her painted eyebrows, and Vanessa got the impression that she was planning on stopping by.
"The Dungeon. It's like a black market to the regular markets. It's hidden to look like just some other department store." She said, giving Payasa the details on where she could find it and what it looked like.
Payasa had a bright smile on her face as if Christmas had come early. "Are there enough sexy Followers to go around?" She asked, a minx's grin on her face. Vanessa smiled, thankful for another friend that wasn't a Follower.
"Sure are. I have a feeling that you just might meet a lot of new friends. There's a party there tonight. Bring your friends, it's going to be full house tonight." Vanessa said.
Payasa got a thoughtful look on her face. "What about the Daughters?" She asked, thoughts on her former friend Jimena.
"If they are foolish enough to come there after Stanton and Hector's warning, then they deserve to get squashed." Vanessa said, as they walked past a house, that they soon recognized as Serena's. And even worse, there were six dark faces looking out at them. Vanessa grabbed Payasa's hand and leaned in the shadows, taking Payasa with her.
~
"Why the hell is Payasa hanging out with Vanessa?" Jimena asked. She was surprised to say the least when she looked out the window and found her old friend holding a casual conversation with Vanessa as if they were best friends. "Payasa must have figured out that Vanessa's a demon. Sounds just the thing she would do." She sat back down on the loveseat, folding her arms and pouting.
Serena turned to them. "Payasa is going with Vanessa to the Dungeon tonight. There's a party. I read her mind. Payasa knows Vanessa's a demon and yet she still goes. What's wrong with her? Does she want to become a Follower?" She asked, everyone looking at Jimena who knew her the best.
"Maybe not. But if she thought Vanessa was there. Payasa used to admire Vanessa for being so nice all the time. I think that trust might still be in her. And I'm guessing that Vanessa needs a friend that is other than a Follower. I'm pretty sure I'd like to get away from them every once in a while, even if I was one of them." Jimena said.
"Should we go after her? Make sure she's going to be okay?" Collin asked, all knowing that he probably wouldn't be invited if they did decide to go.
"Hector just about gave us our death warrant last time he saw us. If we did go, we'd have to go without our amulets, and we'd have to have a complete makeover. But that would take to much time. Isn't there something we can do to make sure that Payasa and whoever else she may bring will be okay?" Jimena asked, looking at Serena.
"Well, I'm no witch. But according to Maggie, Selene might be able to help us." Serena said, going upstairs to get a book that Maggie had let her borrow.
"Whoa! Time out. You mean you're gonna call on the big chick herself just to disguise yourselves?" Derek asked, his arm around a preoccupied Tianna's shoulders.
Serena came back down. She turned the pages till she got to one of the last pages of the book that was marked with a pink tab. She scrolled down the page until she found what she was looking for. "Aha! I found it. It's called the 'lunae pen.' The warrior of the moon used it to disguise herself from enemies. It might work for us as well." She said.
"How do we get it?" Catty asked.
"There's an incantation here. Collin, I need seven of the purifying candles in the kitchen, and some charcoal." Collin and Jimena went to get the necessary items.
They came back, and Serena took the charcoal, and drew a triangle, and then an upside down triangle on top of it, so it looked like the Star of David. She placed six candles at all of the points, and one in the middle. She took a match from beside the fireplace, and struck it, gently lighting all the candles, the middle on last.
She blew out the match, and looked at the book. "Okay, this is ancient Roman, it's supposed to sound funny." Then she began.
'Amon moon, Amon day, guardiana lunae hagst garith Selena, goddess of the moon.'
The candles went out, as a small wind blew from overhead, and a small pink pen appeared in front of Serena. She gasped, dropping the book and grasping the pen. She looked up at the others. "It worked. I'm actually holding the weapon of disguise used by the warriors that fought for the moon."
Jimena sighed. "Hurry up and see if it works." Serena took one last look at the book, and then stood up, still holding the pen. She held it above her head. She envisioned herself in a completely different look, like that of a punkie schoolgirl.
Suddenly, her vision was black, and in a second back to normal. She looked down at herself. She was in a pair of light flare jeans, with signatures, writing and pictures all over them. Her hair was black and short, and jelled, sticking away from her face in swoosh waves. She had on a old Backstreet boys 2001 Tour shirt, and what looked like the wrist band of the bouncy balls on a string, along with many other funny bracelets. Her shoes were All-stars. She looked at the others, and squealed in delight at her new look.
The others quickly wanted to try the pen out, and luckily, they let Derek and Collin come along. Tianna was the only one who didn't seem as outgoing as the rest were. If they were going spy on Vanessa, Tianna wouldn't be apart of it. But Derek convinced her to come for the fun. And since she was going, she decided that she would have a talk with Vanessa, alone.
TBC
Chapter 4: Payasa
"I can't believe Vanessa." Jimena whispered, her head almost touching her knees as she sat on the love seat in Serena's living room. Collin made to put his arm around her, but touch better of it, and just let her calm down a bit. He looked over at Catty. She had her head on the arm of the couch, sighing every five minutes, as if trying to make sure this was all real. Tianna had her head on Derek's lap. She was thoroughly exhausted from fighting the arms of the Followers. And plus a huge amount of guilt was lying in her lap at the thought that she might have been the reason that Vanessa doubted Catty's friendship. Tianna had never felt so bad. And while the others were pondering how Vanessa could do something like that to them, Tianna was pondering ways to make up for the loneliness she had caused Vanessa.
"She was lonely. She had every right to do what she did." Tianna whispered back, voicing her thoughts.
The other daughters looked at her in shock, and Derek looked at her with questioning eyes. Tianna sighed. "What's done is done. She's a demon now, of her own will. She doesn't where the shackles anymore. She wears them as a symbol of her devotion to the Atrox. And I'm sure it will treat her with more respect than we did. We should have known how she was feeling." She expressed. And the others looked at Serena, silently asking if she had known anything.
She looked crestfallen. "I didn't even think to check her mind." She said, looking down. "I guess I was so worried that she would find out what we were doing that I just forgot." She looked completely helpless. Then she looked up. "The Atrox." She trailed off, thinking about something, realization hitting her. Then she snapped out of it. "That Atrox! That's it!" Everyone looked at her as if questioning her sanity. "When Zahi was trying to convert me, the Atrox offered me something that I had never told anyone about. It was my secret desire, and I wanted it so much it clouded my mind! That's it! The Atrox must have offered Vanessa something that she couldn't resist!" She cried. Everyone seemed to break out of their stupor and started to get hopeful looks in their eyes.
Catty was breathing hard. "We need to find out what the Atrox offered her! Maybe it wasn't us that made her leave." She smiled brightly as she felt some of the guilt leave her. Everyone appeared to have lost their gloominess. Except for one.
Tianna was loosing herself in her despair. They had lost their guilt by blaming the Atrox for their mistake. She was the only one who couldn't loose it. It was their fault, and more her fault than anyone's. She had to do something, and whatever it was, she had to do it alone.
~
Vanessa walked down Wilshire Street. This was where the rivaling gang of Ninth Street, Jimena's old gang, hung out. She could make out the pounding of drums and screeching guitars as they hit the high notes. She wore jean hip-huggers, a fishnet black shirt over a dark blue tank top, covered by a black leather trench coat. She wore black ankle-breakers with a lot of straps covering her feet. Her hair had added black and red streaks, and was curled and pulled into a half ponytail, and black mascara. Her lips were covered in dark red gloss, making them even more visible despite the late hour.
She walked haughtily past the garage, and as she traced the minds of the occupants, she could tell they were all looking at her.
"Vanessa!" She turned to look at her caller.
Payasa was making her way towards her, her body covered in black and chains; her jeans were too impossibly low to be considered appropriate. Payasa had recently gotten her eyebrow pierced, and Vanessa had to admit it looked good on her.
"What are you doing down here? You wanna get jumped?" She asked, looking at the other members of Wilshire 5, all the males looking at Vanessa with hunger in their eyes. A boy came up to them to stand beside Payasa. Like Payasa, he was in all black, save for the silver chains and blue ribbons hanging from his Gothic style pants. Vanessa heard Jimena talk about him and his reputation once. This was Tavio.
"Tavio, Vanessa. Vanessa, Tavio." Payasa introduced, waving off the interference.
"What are you doing down here, Cleveland. Why aren't you with your goody- goody groupies?" He asked, his recently acquired lip ring glinting in the streetlight's glare.
"Just checking out the order." She said, not afraid at all, and he seemed to get her confidence, and he smiled at her.
He flicked his head over towards the garage, where most of Wilshire 5 were dancing, to what sounded like Good Charlotte. 'How uncharacteristic.' She thought. He smiled at her, almost guessing her thoughts. "We listen to whatever we want to. It's not all about body banging." He put his hands on her hips. "Dance with me, Vanessa." He said, his handsome face getting closer to hers. She smiled slightly, enjoying her control. Payasa led the way back to the garage, and Tavio pulled Vanessa to him, and the others seemed to fall into step behind them. Vanessa swung her hips from side to side, enticing her male audience, and admiring glances from the females. Tavio was thrilled to have her as a dance partner. She was happy. 'Why didn't I ever join a gang when I was human?' She asked herself, realizing all the fun she was missing out on being the good girl.
~
"So, what made you turn retro girl?" Payasa asked, as she and Vanessa walked down the street, making the turn towards Vanessa's old street, and unknowingly, towards Serena's house.
"Nothing retro. I just opened up my eyes a bit, got away," She answered. "Found myself."
Payasa rolled her eyes. "You sound like you're on the 'Soul Station.' Just tell me. I already know about the whole goddesses thing, and despite what you think, you can trust me." She said, looking at her expectantly.
Vanessa turned to her. "I'm a demon." She said bluntly.
Payasa's carefully drawn eyebrows shot up. Vanessa almost laughed.
"Truly. I can read your mind, have fire growing from my footsteps, and basically anything I want. The Daughters want to get me back, and I'm not in any hurry to get back to them."
"They bag ya?" Payasa asked, as if she understood.
"Basically." Vanessa nodded. "They decided that Tianna was of more value than me, and I found out, and now I'm against them. End of story."
"Not completely. You're a demon. Is that, like, worse than a Follower? Like that Stanton guy?" She asked. Vanessa smiled at Stanton's name, remembering the previous night.
"Man, Serena's going to be pissed at you." Payasa said, breaking Vanessa out of her thoughts. "What?" She asked dumbly. "I mean, you have a thing for Stanton. And now that you're a Follower, or some dark.thing," She said, not finding the right word. "You have the perfect chance to get him." She said, smiling, as if she couldn't have made a better choice herself. Vanessa was suddenly reminded that she was talking the cold-hearted gang member Payasa again. But she appreciated that she wasn't taking the Daughter's side.
"Actually, I've liked him for a while. And he's made it clear that he liked me first. I was the first girl he really kissed and felt something. I was reading his mind the night before they summoned me back to earth." She sighted dreamily, remembering her experiences in space. No places to go, no people to see, and no time to rush her, because every minute was an eternity there. What felt like centuries in space were actually only a few months on earth.
"Ah. So, where does your new crew hang?" Payasa asked, wiggling her painted eyebrows, and Vanessa got the impression that she was planning on stopping by.
"The Dungeon. It's like a black market to the regular markets. It's hidden to look like just some other department store." She said, giving Payasa the details on where she could find it and what it looked like.
Payasa had a bright smile on her face as if Christmas had come early. "Are there enough sexy Followers to go around?" She asked, a minx's grin on her face. Vanessa smiled, thankful for another friend that wasn't a Follower.
"Sure are. I have a feeling that you just might meet a lot of new friends. There's a party there tonight. Bring your friends, it's going to be full house tonight." Vanessa said.
Payasa got a thoughtful look on her face. "What about the Daughters?" She asked, thoughts on her former friend Jimena.
"If they are foolish enough to come there after Stanton and Hector's warning, then they deserve to get squashed." Vanessa said, as they walked past a house, that they soon recognized as Serena's. And even worse, there were six dark faces looking out at them. Vanessa grabbed Payasa's hand and leaned in the shadows, taking Payasa with her.
~
"Why the hell is Payasa hanging out with Vanessa?" Jimena asked. She was surprised to say the least when she looked out the window and found her old friend holding a casual conversation with Vanessa as if they were best friends. "Payasa must have figured out that Vanessa's a demon. Sounds just the thing she would do." She sat back down on the loveseat, folding her arms and pouting.
Serena turned to them. "Payasa is going with Vanessa to the Dungeon tonight. There's a party. I read her mind. Payasa knows Vanessa's a demon and yet she still goes. What's wrong with her? Does she want to become a Follower?" She asked, everyone looking at Jimena who knew her the best.
"Maybe not. But if she thought Vanessa was there. Payasa used to admire Vanessa for being so nice all the time. I think that trust might still be in her. And I'm guessing that Vanessa needs a friend that is other than a Follower. I'm pretty sure I'd like to get away from them every once in a while, even if I was one of them." Jimena said.
"Should we go after her? Make sure she's going to be okay?" Collin asked, all knowing that he probably wouldn't be invited if they did decide to go.
"Hector just about gave us our death warrant last time he saw us. If we did go, we'd have to go without our amulets, and we'd have to have a complete makeover. But that would take to much time. Isn't there something we can do to make sure that Payasa and whoever else she may bring will be okay?" Jimena asked, looking at Serena.
"Well, I'm no witch. But according to Maggie, Selene might be able to help us." Serena said, going upstairs to get a book that Maggie had let her borrow.
"Whoa! Time out. You mean you're gonna call on the big chick herself just to disguise yourselves?" Derek asked, his arm around a preoccupied Tianna's shoulders.
Serena came back down. She turned the pages till she got to one of the last pages of the book that was marked with a pink tab. She scrolled down the page until she found what she was looking for. "Aha! I found it. It's called the 'lunae pen.' The warrior of the moon used it to disguise herself from enemies. It might work for us as well." She said.
"How do we get it?" Catty asked.
"There's an incantation here. Collin, I need seven of the purifying candles in the kitchen, and some charcoal." Collin and Jimena went to get the necessary items.
They came back, and Serena took the charcoal, and drew a triangle, and then an upside down triangle on top of it, so it looked like the Star of David. She placed six candles at all of the points, and one in the middle. She took a match from beside the fireplace, and struck it, gently lighting all the candles, the middle on last.
She blew out the match, and looked at the book. "Okay, this is ancient Roman, it's supposed to sound funny." Then she began.
'Amon moon, Amon day, guardiana lunae hagst garith Selena, goddess of the moon.'
The candles went out, as a small wind blew from overhead, and a small pink pen appeared in front of Serena. She gasped, dropping the book and grasping the pen. She looked up at the others. "It worked. I'm actually holding the weapon of disguise used by the warriors that fought for the moon."
Jimena sighed. "Hurry up and see if it works." Serena took one last look at the book, and then stood up, still holding the pen. She held it above her head. She envisioned herself in a completely different look, like that of a punkie schoolgirl.
Suddenly, her vision was black, and in a second back to normal. She looked down at herself. She was in a pair of light flare jeans, with signatures, writing and pictures all over them. Her hair was black and short, and jelled, sticking away from her face in swoosh waves. She had on a old Backstreet boys 2001 Tour shirt, and what looked like the wrist band of the bouncy balls on a string, along with many other funny bracelets. Her shoes were All-stars. She looked at the others, and squealed in delight at her new look.
The others quickly wanted to try the pen out, and luckily, they let Derek and Collin come along. Tianna was the only one who didn't seem as outgoing as the rest were. If they were going spy on Vanessa, Tianna wouldn't be apart of it. But Derek convinced her to come for the fun. And since she was going, she decided that she would have a talk with Vanessa, alone.
TBC
