In an effort to get this all done by Christmas, here's another chapter for y'all (or at least Raya). Excuse the shortness of it, but it's not like anyone's reading it anyway… (except Raya)…
James gasped at the person standing before him. She was wearing an immaculately white gown that ran to her feet and a golden glow seemed to emanate from her body. Her long brown hair blew behind her like a fan was blowing it.
"M-Mom?" James asked in disbelief. "But you're…"
"I know," Lauren answered. "I wasn't supposed to come here, but I did. Y'all need my help."
"You scared the sh…" James began.
"Shh," Lauren said, putting a finger to her lips. "I can't stay for long. Listen to me. Thomas, this warlock you're fighting, is a master of cloning. You've all been fighting his clones from the beginning. Even though he weakens when one of his clones is killed, he has still managed to have enough strength to create more."
"What?" James asked. "Are you serious?"
"Yes," Lauren answered. "Let me finish. If that wasn't bad enough, he also has limited copycat powers, meaning that he can copy your powers for short periods."
"I guess that explains why we saw him with different powers at different times," James postulated.
"Believe me," Lauren said. "If Thomas came to the point where he could make multiple clones of himself with all three of your powers at the same time, he would have a serious advantage over y'all."
"Well," James said, "it's not like we're ahead right now as it is."
"You three need to work together," Lauren explained. "You need to find Thomas' original body. That's the one y'all have to kill to end all of this."
"Why wasn't any of this in the Book?" James questioned.
"We all thought that we had vanquished him," Lauren answered. "He never came back, but now it seems like he's making his move. Before any of us could do anything, we were…you know…"
"I know," James said, biting his lip. "But how are we gonna find the real Thomas if we can't get past these stupid clones, which are lifelike, by the way?"
"Y'all have to find out on your own," Lauren said. "You have it in you. As the oldest, you have no choice but to lead your brothers. Tap into the relationship that the three of y'all have. The rest will take care of itself."
"Of course," James said. "The cryptic is always appreciated. Look, how…how are you and Dad doing?"
"We're fine," Lauren said. "Don't worry about us, though. We'll always be watching over y'all, no matter what happens. I have to go now. Tell Matt and Wesley I love them and that we'll see each other again. I'll make sure of that."
With that, her voice faded away, along with her body. James sighed, a million thoughts running through his head. Everything suddenly seemed so strange to him. His attention quickly turned back to Thomas as he saw the warlock began to stir from a distance. He made sure he had everything and ran out of the alley, eager to tell his brothers what had just happened to him.
Yay! Lauren did a cameo and came to Jimmy's help! How exciting! Coming up next: things get worse as Matthew's condition becomes serious, but can another stranger be of any help to anybody?