Chapter Six: Twiggy's Guardian Angel

The white and sterile halls of the emergency wing seemed endless and imposing, Riley thought as she stared blankly down them. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she had a rigid posture. Her eyes were drying from the lack of blinking, but she numbly glared ahead anyways. She was still, silent, and resolute. Her mind kept stewing over the few random images.

Twiggy looking annoyed at Imy as the two bickered.

Twiggy's head hitting the dashboard.

Imy flying out the windshield.

Imy teleporting, then landing on the hard asphalt.

Riley looking just in time to see the car pull away.

Her mother's malicious laughter.

Her glazed over eyes suddenly snapped to attention, blinking rapidly to replace the moisture lost. She took a moment or two to gaze at her surroundings.

Across from her, a mother sat with her five year old son, who was absently playing with a few of the waiting room's toys and puzzles. The woman, as if sensing Riley's stare, jerked, and met Riley's eyes with cool composure. Underneath the façade, however, Riley could feel the anxiety and fear that was flowing through her.

Relax. She channeled to her, it will be fine. She closed her eyes and willed a feeble wave of hope and endurance towards the poor woman who seemed to sag slightly in her seat when it hit her. Her eyes looked upon Riley with fear, and she suddenly took her son by the hand and sat at the opposite end of the room.

She slowly shook her head. The entire prospect of being a Daughter had brought her nothing but misery. It had ruined everything. Her school work, her family, her life, her band-

Her friends.

All simple casualties of the mind-numbing horrific clandestine war that was upon her. It wasn't fair, no teenager should have to deal with this type of onslaught. And what made it worse was that she knew she was just getting started. She had only been a Daughter for two months, there was still two years left until she could finish.

She swallowed a hard lump in her throat. And what exactly happened when she finished? What could she do? Forget everything that had happened to her? Unlikely. Her entire life had been uprooted. Whereas Imy, Aria, or even Tessa could have the facts of their lives distorted, Riley would have to cope with an entire new identity. Her family had unraveled. What would happen if Jimena got sick of her?

When she saw the dark streak within her that she had inherited from her mother, what would she do? Kick her out? Have her fend for herself?

She had done that her entire life.

The situation was hopeless, even if she did end up choosing to become a guardian spirit, it only meant she was stuck in this war against the Atrox that she hadn't wanted to be a part of in the first place.

Sighing, as she felt hot tears beginning to sting her eyes at the utter hopelessness of it all, she cradled her head between her hands and tried to compose herself.

Twiggy and Imy hadn't come back after they had been rushed in on stretchers.

And about a half hour earlier, a surgeon had come out from working with Twiggy. All Riley could do was nod numbly as he tried to explain to her that Twiggy was in a coma and had severe hemorrhaging in his brain. She wasn't a medical expert, but even she didn't need to read the doctor's emotions to discover that Twiggy was in bad shape. Really bad shape.

Imy, though, was faring much better. The doctor had predicted a dislocated shoulder and perhaps a few bruised ribs. He was amazed at the fact that a girl could be thrown out of a car and hit the ground at such a velocity and not be in a body cast. Her powers had saved her, and she was lucky to be breathing.

Riley's own injuries were pale in comparison. The cut in her leg stitched up in moments, and a small abrasion on her forehead treated with rubbing alcohol.

But the physical hurts were nothing next to the psychological evaluations she was doing to herself. Her mother had tried to kill her. Kill her. The phrase kept re-circulating in her mind. And even though it was not apparent now, she knew deep down inside of her something had snapped, something that should have remained hidden.

Her mother's malicious laughter.

Yet the fact remained that Twiggy was in need of dire help. Her mind was still on the verge of panic, but she knew she had to make the phone call she was dreading to make.

Aria.

She hesitantly walked over to the services counter, clutching her arm and taking deep breaths. Her powers were out of control, and she was picking up all the negativity in the hospital. Normally she was the emotional rock, but the strain of her powers combined with the fact that two of her closest friends were on operating tables was beginning to drill into that stone. She was having an intense time trying to make syllables come out of her mouth.

"Phone?" she rasped shakily.

When the receptionist gave her a confused look, she tried again.

"Can I use the phone?" She muttered, hating how her voice cracked at the end of the question.

The receptionist, a lady Riley knew to be Rhonda by her nametag, handed her the phone, "Here you go honey. Dial two nines."

Riley could only manage a partial nod as she clumsily redialed the digits from memory, her heart thudded as she heard each individual ring.

Ring.

Ring.

Ring.

The tension was building and she felt she was going to start hysterically screaming if someone didn't answer.

"Hello?" came a chirpy answer.

Riley took a deep sigh, only now considering what she'd say.

"Hello?" came the chirp again, only this time more hesitant.

"Hi." Whispered Riley meekly, she tried once again to swallow the feeling of bile creeping up her throat, "Aria?"

The voice was now distinctly less chirpy, and more concerned, "No, this is her mother… Is something wrong?"

Riley ignored her, trying to get her voice to stabilize so she could talk to Aria, "May I please speak to Aria?"

There was a long pause on the other end.

"Hello?"

"Uhm, yes, hold on-" Came the voice of the mom.

She then heard the phone moved around and a few hushed whispers.

"This is Aria," Spoke a crisp voice that seemed slightly worried.

"Aria? Hi this is Riley."

The tone of concern dropped suddenly, "Oh. Hi. Whatever it is, I can't make it, I have other plans."

Riley was too upset to be annoyed or angry with the response, "Its not Daughter stuff. Well, not fully." She inhaled, "Look, I know you and I don't exactly get along, but…" She tried to find the correct wording, "Twiggy and Imy are in the hospital. I need your help."

There was a moment's pause on the other end of the phone, "What happened?"

Riley's hands were violently shaking, and she inhaled sharply, "A car crash. Imy's going to fine. But Twiggy-" She felt her throat closing up and a stinging sensation in her eyes. She would not, could not cry on the phone with Aria. She was strong, not weak, "But Twiggy might not make it."

Aria was silent for a few moments, "I'll be right there."

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Aria had arrived quickly for a person with such resentment for being a Daughter, Riley thought bitterly as she saw her enter through the automatic doors.

She took no notice of her arrival, however, for at the moment she was totally engrossed in staring at her hands. Studying each individual crease, each budding hangnail, each callous. The hands of a Goddess. She thought with a deadpan sincerity. So preoccupied was she at the study of her hands, that she didn't hear Aria when she approached her.

"Are you listening to me?" She heard snapped.

She slowly raised her head to discover that Aria was practically hovering over her. Her face twisted in impatience.

Riley murmured, "Come again?"

"Where's Twinny?" She stated, her brash tone cast aside as she stared at the defeated expression of Riley's eyes.

She felt guilty about it, but until now, Aria had thought Riley to be nothing but some little wind-up toy for this so called 'destiny.' A robot, with no personality, feelings, or concerns about the people around her. Perhaps it was because she was an outsider, or perhaps it was because she simply irritated Aria with her stony silence, but she had thought her to be an incredibly impressionable soldier who didn't care about anything or anyone, save this stupid war. Yet when she saw her sigh and the slumped posture, and when she uncovered that tiny crack of pain, Aria understood and knew everything in that small instant. Riley hated this war as much as Aria did, maybe more. And Riley was now hurting in a very human way.

She bit her lower lip and kneeled down beside where Riley was sitting, "Are you okay?" She whispered, feeling awkward.

Riley, who had been fighting so hard to keep her emotions bottled, lest they became incriminating, allowed a tiny tear to leak, "It was my mom." She gasped, "My mom."

"Your mom?" Asked Aria, confused.

"My mom… she tried to-" at this, Riley's long-lasting reserve brook down and she was weeping uncontrollably, "She tried to kill me! Me and my friends!" She glanced down and fingered her moon pendant, "Because of this!" She cried, ripping it off and throwing it on the floor, "Because of that stupid necklace!" She held her head in her hands once again and heaved huge sobs, "She's my mom." She spoke softly bitterly.

Aria gently rubbed against her back, trying as best as she could to comfort her, "It's okay," She murmured, "It's alright."

The only response she got was Riley's head shaking slowly. She allowed her face to come into view as her hands cradled her chin instead, "It's not okay." She grumbled, her voice taking a sinister look to it, "It will never be okay."

Aria deadlocked eyes with her reluctant goddess-in-arms, "What your mother did was wrong." She said, for once feeling that she had to take control, "You can't change that." She paused, ensuring that Riley was listening to her. She was. "But you can change what the outcome will be. I need you to get it together, and I need you to tell me where Twinny is before it's too late."

Riley didn't correct the name, but nodded mutely, as she used the heel of her hand to wipe away her tears, she sniffled, "I can take you to him."

The pair were walking down the isolated hallways as Riley searched for the room they were searching for. The doctor had said that he was in number 35, but that was clear on the other side of the wing. The two walked in an awkward silence.

"I'm sorry," Riley said quietly.

Aria raised an eyebrow, "What for?"

"For unloading on you back there. I'm sure you didn't need it." She said, not daring to look at her as she focused on her boots walking on the ground.

"It wasn't a problem." She stated bluntly. There was another awkward pause before she said, "I'm sorry too. About being such a pain about this Goddess stuff." She laughed, "Believe it or not, I thought I was the only one who hated it."

"No." Spoke Riley, her voice getting that edge that made Aria uneasy, "It's taken everything from me." She said so softly that Aria wasn't even sure she heard it correctly.

Aria didn't need to say it, but she knew from that point on that she would stop hating Riley.

The two approached Twiggy's room after a silent, yet oddly enough, now comfortable walk down four more halls.

Riley's eyes darted back and forth along the corridors as she grasped the doorknob, "We'll have to be fast." She said, stating the obvious.

Aria simply nodded and followed her into the hospital room.

Despite what the doctor had said, Riley still felt her stomach give a lurch when she saw Twiggy lying motionless on the hospital bed. Tubes and hooks were all over him, and a heart and brain monitor was adjacent to his bed.

She glanced over at Aria, who was paling in terror, "Riley," She muttered, "I don't know if I can do it."

Riley bit her lip, "Just try. Please?"

Aria nodded, and hesitantly approached the bed. Her thoughts raced back and forth between the three times she had ever summoned up enough courage to heal. Her brother, Imy, and Tessa. And, she though grimly, both of those times she had a small part of their pain reflected upon her. Her brother's burns left an ache, and giving consciousness to both Imy and Tessa had left her with a migraine. But this, this was big. Huge. She didn't know what the repercussions would be.

Her feet thudded slowly across the floor and she stood next to the bed. In her mind's eye, she realized how interesting the two of them, Twiggy and herself, must look. Twiggy, lying comatose, and Aria standing over him like a loved one saying goodbye. Except she wouldn't let him down. With one last furtive glance at Riley, she cracked her knuckles and spread her hands over Twiggy's rather greasy head.

For a moment, nothing happened, and Aria became increasingly worried. Noticing the irony that when she wanted her powers she didn't have them, she tried again. This time, her efforts were rewarded when the sky blue light was pulsating under her fingers. Whispering the silent Latin prayer, she closed her eyes, and plunged in.

Twiggy's mind was chaos. There were layers and layers of pain and hurt everywhere. Aria was beginning to wonder if trying to heal Twiggy was the best idea, she had no medical training, and trying to heal this miss would be like trying to finish a million piece jigsaw puzzle with knowing what the picture was. It was unbearable just to look at it.

Just when she was about to give up, her inner vision depicted what looked like a gray fog or mist, instead of being eerie, it was comforting. She knew instantly that this was Riley, trying to offer what little help she could.

She began to slowly unweave the threads, hoping that a wrong movement wouldn't be the one that would end Twiggy's life. As soon as she did that, she sighed, and was about to give up, but the little wisps of gray urged her to continue. To finish the job and to save him.

She nodded, not knowing whom to, but all the same she continued. Within a few more moments, there were no more entanglements. While not everything was fixed perfectly, she had done what she could and she felt positive that it would be able to heal itself. Getting the gist, Riley withdrew her powers, and she was thrust back into her physical self.

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Riley found herself having trouble breathing when Twiggy woke up.

It was not something huge or climatic, he simply opened his eyes for a moment, glanced at Aria, and went back to sleep. There was no heaving gasp, or arching of the back like you expected when someone awoken from a coma. It was simple.

But that didn't undermine the miracle that Aria had just conjured.

After Riley had withdrawn her power from Aria, she rushed over to her side. Aria's eyes had snapped open the moment after breaking the bond with Twiggy, and her face was contorted in a silent scream.

Riley grabbed her arm and helped her sit in a chair. "How're you doing?" She spoke gently.

"Not as bad as I thought," She responded dryly, "My head's killing me." There was a pause, "How long was I?"

Riley glanced down at her watch, "An hour."

"It seemed like only a couple of minutes."

There was another moment of silence as the two of them listened to Twiggy's now regular breathing. "That was a pretty amazing thing you did." Came Riley.

"Yah." She replied, still looking at the figure on the bed.

"So he's going to be ok?"

"Yah."

"Are you?"

Aria looked up at Riley was gazing at her with almost motherly concern, "Yes, I'm fine." She stared at her hands, "So these are what the hands of a Goddess look like."

Riley let out a chuckle devoid of any laughter.

"What's so funny?" Demanded Aria.

"Believe it or not, when you first arrived, I was thinking the same thing." She said, there was yet another moment of silence, "Imy's in room 23."

"I can't-" Objected Aria.

But Riley cut her off, raising her hand, "I'm not asking you to heal her. I was just wondering if you could tell her that Twigs over here is going to be fine."

Aria nodded confused, "Yes, I can, but why cant you?"

Riley shook her head and moved towards the door, "Because I'm not going to be around."

Now Aria was in total oblivion, "What?"

Riley's hand gripped the cold doorknob and she stood facing the door, "I've got a score to settle." She said in earnest, and walked out the door, while all Aria could do was stare in bewilderment at her retreating figure.

Twiggy could've died. Thought Riley with bitterness, If not for Aria, he would have.

Yes, her and her mother were going to have a nice, long, chat.

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How was that for a chapter, eh? That's a good chunk longer than the others, hope you enjoy it!

Next Up: Riley searches for her mother, only to receive help in the most unlikely of places. Naturally, a dislocated shoulder isn't going to stop Imy, as she tries to track down the driver of the car.

Reviews:

Shadow Goddess Akhet: You want to know the point to the Orpheus story?

Then I shall tell you

In a couple chapters

Bwawuawhauwhuawhuwahwa. Bwa. I'm evil.

Elephantsrocmysox: Aw poo. Lol I wanted to read that version :( oh well, thanks for trying though. I'm glad you're liking the story!

Sleepneeded911: Sorry I kept your anxiety building :(. Lol maybe good ole Cassie wants to kill Riley, maybe not lol I'll let you guess : ), yep so far I have summaries and plot lines for twelve books, but whether or not I write them remains to be seen, ya know how stuff goes, but I'm going to try my damnedest. Tymmie's my favorite character actually, so I was aiming to have him play a bigger role. Right now he's just the stereotypical villain, but I'm going to have more looksies into his actual character and background. Nope, never heard about it, I guess I'll have to check it out. Nope, sadly I don't know when book 13 is coming out, but if it makes you feel better harry potter number 6 comes out July 15. hope the update was soon enough ;)

Decorus Mortis: Yes, Cassandra's quite unpleasant when she hasn't had her coffee. ;)

Toodles

!nym!