A/N: I like the way this chapter went. It got...really interesting near the end. I didn't quite expect this from any of them. Sorry it took so long - life got kinda nuts! I promise I haven't forgotten this. I have an idea for the end. I think the last chapter may be coming soon...after that, if you like my writing, I'll be posting a Phantom of the Opera fic I've been working on for awhile...

I hope this is worth the wait!

On with da shtory.

-Cali :)

Kieran didn't solidify completely until she was in the fire, and the scream that had escaped her invisible throat pierced the air when the top half of her body solidified. Hearing the throat-tearing note, Kieran stopped and her first reaction was to shift into shadow. As soon as she tried, though, she felt the flames reach out and wrap around her, holding her to her form. "Let me go!" she yelled at it, and tried to wrench her arms out of its viselike grip to no avail. "STANTON!" she screamed, and the fire moved and seeped into her lungs, cutting off her scream with a destructive cough. The fire that had danced with her and played with her so eagerly before was now chilling her to the bone, causing her to shiver too much to speak.

Stanton rushed towards the fire, but as soon as he reached out to the flames, his arm shook and ached. He swore, realizing she was trapped in the fire and there was nothing he could do about it.

Kieran tried shifting into shadow again, and the fire lashed out more violently this time, searing her like white hot whips. She gasped at its agression as it lifted her into the air, stopping her completely from fighting it. She writhed in its clutches, and it tightened its grip on her.

So this was what it was like to be picked on by a bully, Kieran mused, realizing it was throwing her around and teasing her, taunting her as it played with and in her dress. She felt tears leaking from her closed eyes and looked down to see them freeze on her cheeks. Stanton, she called, and he knew she was scared.

The daughters stared at the blaze, seeing flashes of the girl's dress through the thickening flames. They knew they couldn't do anything. When Serena had been turned and Jimena had had to shove her back into the fire, it had almost killed her. None of them wanted to risk it, no matter how much they cared aout Kieran.

The flame that had caressed her body so gently before whipped itself around her neck, pulling energy out of her. Kieran felt her body go numb and willed her arms to move, but found that they stayed firmly in place, spread like wings.

Stanton stood helpless at the edge of the fire, shivering at its chill. He reached out to Kieran. Give me your hand - I'll pull you out!

Kieran struggled against the flames that were holding her so firmly in place and tried to reach out to him. It seemed, though, that the harder she tried to move, the tighter the fire's hold became on her. She felt the flame wrapped around her neck begin to tighten and she wondered numbly if the fire was going to kill her instead of turn her mortal.

KIA! Stanton yelled in her mind, his usually calm voice panicked and enraged.

I love you, Kieran thought to him with her fading telepathy, and felt the world blurring and blackening.

Stanton felt Kieran fade and rounded on the daughters. "Do you see what you've done?" he roared, gesturing with his entire arm. Kieran hung limp in the fire, motionless and silent. "She was happy, and you destroyed her! You've killed her!"

Serena stared, feeling a familiar want to comfort him, but stopped herself. "No one can be happy a follower of the Atrox. You said it yourself - there's no love there," she reminded him, and Stanton flinched, his hard gaze shifting to a pained one.

"I didn't want to turn her," he whispered to no one in particular, looking down.

Serena watched as he sank to his knees, wrapping his arms around himself, and a familiar longing to wrap her arms around him invaded her conscious. "Serena." Jimena gripped her friend's arm as if she could sense her turmoil.

"I wasn't going to turn her," Stanton almost sobbed. "I didn't mean for it to go this far...I was going to break it off tonight..." With his back to the fire, he didn't see it begin to die. "Cassandra," he snarled, his voice beginning to shake with anger, "stole her hope, and I..." his shaking voice gave way to a sigh. "I lost control..."

"Don't apologize to us," Jimena snapped, interrupting Serena, who had been about to speak. "Kieran's life is the one you destroyed - not ours."

"She was happy!" Stanton roared, his voice cracking terribly on the word. "She had incredible capabilities, innate ability, and you had to 'save' her! I didn't kill her Jimena. That was never my intent. I may have destroyed her life, but you...you took it."

"No," Catty interjected. "If you hadn't turned her in the first place, we never would've had to - "

"Don't you dare finish that sentence, goddess. Don't you dare place the blame on me! I loved her! Do you really think I wanted to destroy her?" His voice had risen almost shrilly and his eyes burned angrily as he glared at the Daughters.

"Followers destroy everything anyone cares about," Tianna snapped. "Why wouldn't they destroy things they claim to care about?"

"No," Stanton insisted, "it's not like that. You don't understand."

"Oh, I think we understand perfectly," Vanessa said calmly. "You knew exactly what would happen if you turned her."

"Yes, which is why I wasn't going to -"

"And you knew we'd have to save her." Catty folded her arms stubbornly, glaring daggers at him.

"But you didn't - "

"We released her," Serena said quietly, steeling herself for what she knew would be a very awkward moment in a while. "At least now she doesn't have to live the awful life you're stuck with, a life without real love."

"She was - "

"Will you give up on that?" Jimena snapped. "She would not have been happy as a follower. No one could."

"She loved me! She could've been with me, like she wanted to!"

"Damn it, Stanton, I loved you!" Serena suddenly burst out, silencing everyone and drawing all attention to herself. "I loved you and I wanted to be with you, but I guess things just don't always work out the way we want them to, do they?" she snapped, tears filling her bright green eyes as her voice became harsher. "You screwed up, we screwed up, and there's nothing that can be done about it!"

Stanton's brows furrowed further and he pushed into Serena's mind only to be pushed back out with such force that he actually stumbled backwards. She was glaring ice cold daggers into his eyes. Serena has quite the stubborn and strong mind block up, and Stanton couldn't even get through.

"If you insipid, ignorant girls had left well enough alone, Kieran and I would be back at the squat winding down our party," Stanton spat. Without his consent, his power began to build up in him. "You interfering maggots have wrecked my plans for the last time!" At his roar, he let all his built up power fly at the girls.

Serena and Tianna both shot energy at the power he'd sent out, pushing against it. Serena, however, could easily sense his anger rising. Vanessa, get us out of here!

At Serena's order, Vanessa closed her eyes tightly in concentration and felt her molecules expanding almost instantly.

Stanton pressed harder with his power against the girls', aiming to destroy them. He wasn't playing anymore and he was sick of their little games.

"Vanssa!" Serena yelled aloud, and felt her molecules begin to expand as Vanessa's power moved through them. Stanton pressed harder once more with a sudden burst of energy, and Serena and Tianna lost control.

The immortal's power blasted through their molecules and Vanessa pulled her now invisible friends into the air, flying quickly.

Stanton shifted into shadow and tried to follow them for awhile before giving up, unable to see or sense them, as all of them had probably concentrated on keeping their minds blank.

By the time Stanton got back to the bluffs and Kieran, the cold fire had dwindled to nothing but chilly smoke. Kieran lay stretched out and pale over the smoldering logs. Walking carefully, as if afraid to touch her, Stanton reached Kieran. Gingerly, he bent down and lifted her limp form.

"Kia," he whispered sadly, and laid her gently on the ground. Kneeling down next to her, Stanton traced her jawline, his eyes filling as he knelt further and kissed her forehead. "I'm so sorry," he murmured to her, and placed her hands on her stomach in a relaxed position. Kissing her cold and unresponsive lips one more time, he stood and turned his back to her. He couldn't bear to go back to the squat just yet, so he sat down on the edge of the bluffs and looked out into the lightening sky. It was still a deep cobalt blue, beautiful in a serene way. He suspected the sun would be rising soon.

"Well that's a shame," a voice said, surprising him.

"Leave me alone, Cassandra," Stanton whispered, holding his head in his hands.

"Are you sure? You look like you could use someone..." At a look from him, Cassandra's voice trailed off. "Fine. I'll stop," she said quietly. "I'll see you later," she said, and began to walk away.

Stanton glanced at Kieran again, and a whole new sadness filled him.

It hadn't hit him until now that he'd never be able to hear her laugh, her voice, or feel her arms around him again.

Pulling his knees to his chest, Stanton let the realization sink in: He had let five teenage girls kill the girl he loved.

A/N: SOB Saaaaaaaaad...or is it? DUNDUNDUNNNnnnnnnnnnnn...I had the idea of making this last longer, but I think that'd be overdoing it, almost. Besides, that would totally undermine the whole idea of some characters...

Anyway.

I think we have one more chapter to go.

What do you think?

-Cali :)