Chapter 15: A Secret Discovered
A/N: Once again, I don't own Finding Nemo, which is where a part of this chapter comes from, which you will know what I mean when you get there.
"Ugh, what happened?" Craig asked, drool trickling down from the corner of his mouth.
"Hey shut up! We have to talk," Ashley ordered.
She saw Melissa leaning against a wall, not looking at Craig but not looking at anybody either. Her arms were crossed and she was still infuriated by Craig's arrival. "Hey G, should we call Duke? Talking to him might help," Ashley suggested.
"Ok. Then call him," said Gloria. "Tell him that Melissa got into a fight with someone."
"Gotcha," Ashley said.
"Hey why can't I talk? I want to know what the hell I'm doing here," Craig said.
Gloria was about to say something when Melissa stomped up to Craig. His eyes were struck with fear. Melissa glared at him and, raising her voice, bellowed, "If you don't shut your damn mouth, I'll kick your ass! You'd better do as we say you goddamn bastard or else!"
Craig was about to say something when Melissa stopped him. She slapped him hard across the face and was about to do more when Gloria, Ashley, Caitlin, and Jessica stopped her. It took all four of them to stop her. She struggled to get free, but she was overpowered. They finally got her outside the room they were in and left Gloria alone with her. "Melissa, what the hell is wrong with you? I told you to leave him alone!" Gloria demanded.
"That bastard's just asking for it! Why should I let him live? He's just going to cause us trouble!" Melissa shouted.
"Don't you fucking get it? We need him to see if he knows the one who's doing this! He might be able to help us finish this!"
"I don't want that guy in my sight! If he's helping us, then you can forget about me helping you!"
"Melissa, just work with this guy until we're finished! After this, I will never do something that'll anger you again."
"Hmph, I've heard that lie before."
The last thing Gloria saw was Melissa's rage filled eyes before she angrily walked away. Gloria sighed and thought about what Melissa had said. It was true that she had told Melissa this before on other personal issues but she had broken her promise. Although Melissa got mad for nearly anything, she truly despised people, especially her friends, doing things like breaking their promises or doing something that she specifically said to no longer do. But if she could find a way to—
"Gloria!" someone called out.
Gloria's thoughts were interrupted by Caitlin. She shut off her thinking and went inside the room again. "Look G, you wanted us to question him. But he won't answer!" Caitlin complained.
"Is that so?" Gloria scowled.
"What are you going to do about it? Slap me to death?" Craig sneered with an aggravating smile. Gloria just wanted to wipe that goddamn smile off his face. As much as she wanted to hurt him, she controlled herself.
"You answer our frickin' questions or I'll go pirate on you!" Caitlin threatened.
Gloria arched a brow. "Anyways," she said. "If you decide not to answer our questions then I will bring in your worst nightmare."
Craig was silent. Gloria could sense his fear and smiled in victory. "Now...are you going to answer our questions?" she asked.
Craig nodded. "If you have any more trouble, just call me," Gloria said.
"Okaydokey!" Caitlin said.
"Wait! Where are you going?" Jessica questioned.
"I have work to do," Gloria replied.
She left the room without hesitation. Ashley, Caitlin, and Jessica questioned Craig about his powers, when he got them, and stuff like that. Craig answered each and every one of them without giving them trouble. Gloria came back and Caitlin, Jessica, and Ashley filled her in on what they had learned. Gloria nodded in reply and said, "First you need to apologize to Melissa."
"What!" Craig hollered.
"You've got her pissed off, so you're gonna fix it."
"But she'll kill me! Even though I do feel bad for what I did."
"You should. But I'll give you a break. You have to apologize before Mel rests, got that?"
"Yes," Craig answered.
"One question," Gloria said. "Would you want to join our team?"
Ashley skipped a breath. Caitlin and Jessica were shocked. So was Craig. "Can we talk to you G?" Jessica asked. She and the others took her to another room to talk alone. "G, what are you doing?" Ashley asked.
"I'm adding him to the team. He might prove to be a good ally. I know all you guys hate him, but let's give him a chance," Gloria explained.
"Melissa's not going to like this," Ashley mentioned.
"And didn't you say once we're done with him, she can do what she wants with him?" Caitlin asked.
"Yes but I decided to change it to after this battle. And I know Melissa won't like this. But we'll have to try to convince her," Gloria retorted.
"So exactly what happened?" Duke asked.
"I can't say," Melissa replied.
Duke and Melissa were in her room, sitting at the edge of her bed. Duke had placed his arm around her shoulder. "Why not?" Duke asked.
Melissa had to think of something. Thanks to her friends, they told him that she got in a fight and now he wanted to know exactly how it happened. Now she had to find a way to explain what happened without telling him what really happened. "Melissa...is there something you're not telling me?" Duke asked.
Melissa had already made a mistake. She had been silent for too long, making Duke a bit suspicious. When she looked into his eyes, she soon knew that he wasn't going to fall for any more lies. "I want the truth Melissa," he demanded.
Melissa sighed and got up. Duke was about to get up as well but she placed a hand on his shoulder and gently pushed him back down. "Just listen. I'm not who you think I am," she said.
Duke raised a brow. "So...you're not Melissa?" he asked, puzzled.
"No! I mean, I'm not...human," Melissa said.
Melissa was trying to hold back tears. It was going to be hard to tell him the truth but she had no choice. She had lied to him long enough. "What do you mean?" Duke wondered.
He rose from the bed and headed towards her. This time Melissa didn't get him to sit down again. She had been silent for while but she finally got the courage to say what she had to say. She turned around and in a soft voice admitted to him, "I-I have...dragon blood in me. I'm more dragon than human."
Duke stared at her in shock. He took a few steps back, but stopped when Melissa started shedding tears. He knew he had made a mistake by doing that. She knew he would do something like that. Anyone would naturally fear someone who's part dragon. In a trembling voice, she explained to him the truth. "I've kept it a secret for a long time because I thought you'd hate me if I told you. I didn't know how you were going to react."
Duke walked up to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "You should know that I love you for who you are, not because of what you are," he explained.
"So you're ok with that?" said Melissa, quite surprised.
"Well…I wouldn't say that. Just need time. But even so, I wouldn't hate you. I mean c'mon! Why would you think that?"
"Because I am a monster inside. I'm human outside, but the real me is a real dragon. I didn't think you'd like me because of that." Melissa started wiping her tears away and began to relax again.
"I become friends with people by who they are, not what they are. So even if you can transform into—into a dragon or even if you have dragon blood in you, I'll still love you. Yeah…it'll take time for me to get used to it. But don't worry."
Duke looked at her with a smile and embraced her tightly. Melissa did the same. Maybe I should tell him about the others. He knows about my secret. Why shouldn't he know of the others?
"Duke I have more to tell you," she claimed, her head against his chest. She could hear his rumbling voice as he asked, "And what is that?"
She gently pushed her head off him and, looking up at him, said, "I'm not the only one."
"You're kidding," Duke smiled, chuckling a bit.
Melissa knew that he probably wouldn't believe that her friends were not completely human. Knowing someone who's really a dragon seemed to be enough for him, which explains him laughing a bit. "I'm not kidding," Melissa said, not mad, but not very happy either.
Duke's smiled disappeared from his face. "What?" his brow raised yet again and he gawked at her with wide opened eyes.
"Gloria, Caitlin, Jessica, and Ashley are also…different."
Duke's mouth was open a little and just stayed that way. But Melissa didn't wait for him to say anything. "Gloria and Ashley are vampires, Caitlin is a pirate, and Jessica is a witch. I'm the only dragon," she clarified.
"This has to be a dream. First I learn that you're a dragon and now my own friends? This world has gone mad! Somebody pinch me!" Duke cried. He started to freak.
Melissa had long since stopped crying. But now she was laughing a bit herself. She pinched his arm hard. Duke yelped in pain and demanded, "What was that for?"
"You said 'Somebody pinch me!' and I'm the only one here. Besides, I wanted to let you know that this is not a dream," Melissa explained with a smile.
"Mel, you have to be kidding me!" Duke yelled, shaking her by the shoulders.
Melissa grabbed his arms and got him to stop. "Duke, I'm not kidding. If you don't believe me, I can first show you that I really am a dragon and the others will have to prove themselves later."
She put her right arm in front of him. Her skin started changing! Glossy silver scales that shined like polished metal appeared. Muscles didn't appear like a dragon, but her hands changed into that of one. She even grew the long curved, sharp golden claws.
Duke stared in open-mouthed wonder and surprise. He stared at her arm. He gently placed his hand on her arm and felt the scales and the claws. He now believed that Melissa could really become a dragon. Melissa started turning back to normal. "You really can turn into a dragon," Duke said. He smiled again and added, "It's not everyday you're told that the person you love isn't really human."
"I know," she said, smiling. "C'mon! We need to go back to the lab. Then I can show you everyone's true self."
Duke cocked a brow again. "You—you have a lab?" he stuttered.
"Yep, along with a training area, examination room, and more," Melissa continued.
Duke's eyes went wide with interest. Although Melissa told him about her secret, about everyone else, and their underground lab, she didn't tell him about what they were doing now. She knew he would go into a worrying frenzy. She took Duke outside and opened the secret passage, which was no longer a secret, to the lab. "Duke before we go in, you have to promise that you will tell no one of what you will see behind this door. You mustn't tell anybody of this lab or my powers or anybody else's. Promise me," explained Melissa.
"You have my word," Duke said.
They went inside and Duke couldn't believe his eyes. Despite the dim light coming from the ceiling lights, which were starting to come on, he could see pictures on the wall, incised by a sharp object; pictures of monsters of different kinds and of elements. Together, they walked down a rocky corridor, which eventually became a corridor with walls covered in sapphire tiles, and saw lights go on as they continued. "So…where does this lead to?" Duke asked.
"It leads to the lab I told you about," Melissa replied, "which reminds me, I never told you why I was very pissed."
Melissa explained the incident that happened between her and Craig. But she had to lie about the real cause. Then when they reached the center of the underground lab, Melissa showed him around but made sure that they both kept their voices down. She didn't want Gloria and the others to know that they were there. Then someone with short brown hair and a black shirt with blue jeans walked towards them. Duke eyed him suspiciously. But Melissa didn't have the same expression. "What the hell do you want?" Melissa demanded with glaring eyes. "And I'm pretty sure that Gloria told you to stay away from me."
"Yeah well, I wanted to…apologize about what happened with the—" Craig started out when he suddenly stopped. He looked behind Melissa and Duke. They both stared at him with puzzled looks.
Gloria was behind both of them to make sure Craig said what she told him to say. But there was a problem. A very big problem. She didn't know about what Melissa had done, so she was quite surprised about Duke being here. She didn't even know how he got here. She used her hand and "sliced" her throat, the sign to stop Craig from saying anything about the thunder lizards. "Um…the fight. The fight about—about…which one of us was stronger. I'm very sorry. Can you forgive me?"
Duke raised an eyebrow and looked at Melissa. She never told me that it was about who was more powerful. She said that Craig appeared from nowhere and attacked them. "Why should I? You know that we didn't fight to decide who was more powerful. We—we fought because you came from nowhere and attacked us," Melissa said angrily. She still stuck with what she told Duke before.
Craig didn't seem to get it, but eventually he went along with it. "And there is no damn way I will forgive you, you goddamn bastard!" Melissa continued.
"Please Melissa! Why can't you forgive me?"
"Because we wouldn't be here wasting time! We would've been done with our mission! But no! You ruined our plans! You know damn well that you did! And you expect me to forgive you? Forget it!"
Melissa walked away, furious once again. Duke stared at her, very concerned. Craig turned to Duke and asked, "Can't you talk to her?"
A concerned and confused Duke answered, "Why should I even talk to her? You did a wrong thing. You can't expect her to forgive you now." Craig lowered his head in disappointment. "BUT…I know she isn't being fair. So I'll try, kid. But this doesn't mean we're friends. Just know that I hate people who anger Melissa or any of her friends and anybody who does it will have to go through me."
He walked away and ran to catch up to Melissa. Gloria and the others walked to Craig. "How the hell does Duke know about this lab?" Ashley asked.
"And more importantly, how did he know about what really happened?" Gloria asked.
"But it didn't seem like he knew about the real cause. And remember, he was told that Craig came from nowhere and attacked. Yeah, that's basically what happened, but he doesn't know about the thunder lizards," Caitlin mentioned.
"Yeah, Caitlin's right. He seemed more confused, like he didn't know about what really happened or why," Jessica added. "Is it possible that he knows of our secrets? I mean if he knows of the lab, then he presumably knows about us."
"We have to have a talk with Melissa," Gloria said, giving them an angry expression.
"Hey Mel, I need to talk to you," Duke said.
"What is it? If it's about Craig, then forget it!" Melissa returned.
Duke stopped. How am I supposed to talk to her without getting her mad? He also wanted to know about the mission Melissa had mentioned a few times. But if talking about Craig was going to make her angry, why ask about a mission that shouldn't be any of his business? He was about to go after her again when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "We need to have a private talk with Melissa," Gloria said.
Duke nodded and swallowed nervously. Gloria seemed angry and he didn't know if she was angry about him being here. Plus, he didn't know if Gloria and Melissa would get in a severe fight. For at times, they did. But he left it at that. He leaned against a wall, arms crossed across his chest, and waited.
Ashley, Caitlin, and Jessica passed him and ran to catch up with Gloria, who was also trying to catch up with Melissa. When they finally reached her, they pushed her into a room.
They all sat down and Gloria asked, "Melissa, how does Duke know about the lab?"
"Umm…I don't know. Hmm…let's see, what's the answer I'm looking for? Oh yes, now I know. Maybe it was because…I TOLD HIM!" Melissa shouted with sarcasm in her voice.
"Yeah, we know that," Gloria said. "We already figured that, Melissa. But why the hell did you tell him! He could tell other people and the government might go after us! We swore to keep our real identity as a secret. But no! You, being the stupid one, decides to tell Duke about it! Who knows what the hell he can do! Now we have to be more careful, now we still have to learn more about this black , and now we have to do something with Craig! Now you've made everything more complicated! How can you-"
"Maybe I had good reason!" Melissa interrupted, getting up. "You're calling me an idiot! You people have to think common sense! Eventually the people we love are going to find out!" Melissa's voice became softer but a little shaky. "It's like what they always say. Nothing lasts forever! And that includes secrets. Maybe some secrets do last forever, but most don't! We're not going to be able to hide our powers forever! Eventually there's going to be a time when we're forced to use our powers in public! In time, we have to tell the people we love and risk getting ourselves killed. We have to tell Leon, James, Johnny, and Orlando. How can you say that Duke will tell people about this? We all trust James, Johnny, Leon, Orlando, and Duke. It's not like we haven't told our boyfriends our secrets before. They haven't told anyone our secrets. Duke doesn't hate me and I know he won't tell anybody. We trust him like everyone else and like everyone else, he trusts in us. Guys, I know what you're afraid of and I know that you're afraid that they'll hate you. But that isn't going to happen. I know it. Why would they hate us just because of our powers when Duke and the others love us and chose us over everyone else? I know we can trust them. We HAVE to tell them. Eventually our family and other friends will find out that something weird is going on and will want to know. Eventually we have to tell them! It's better to have them know now than later. Who knows what'll happen if they learn later on. Yeah…they may think we're crazy at first but we have to tell them sooner or later, but either way, they're going to find out."
Everyone was speechless. Silence settled in the room for a long while. Then Jessica shattered the silence and agreed with her. "Melissa's right. We can't hide like this forever. Sooner or later there is going to be a time when we have to change in public to fight and protect the city! So we have to tell Leon, James, Johnny, and Orlando at least. We may not know how they're going to react, but we can at least let them know."
"Alright guys, let's talk about the other thing. Keep that in mind though. Just think about what Melissa and Jessica said. Anyway, I too have something to say. You may not like this Melissa," Gloria said with a sigh. "I—I asked Craig to…join the team."
Melissa's mouth hung open. It seemed like her right eye was twitching as well. "You WHAT!" she roared.
"She knows you don't like him but give him a chance. He could prove to be a powerful ally, even though you're like…100 times more powerful than he is. But still, you've got to give him a chance," Ashley uttered.
Melissa looked at her with the snake eyes. Gloria knew that that meant that she wasn't going to allow it. "I'll tell you what," Gloria said. "If Craig gets on your nerves a lot, then you will do as you wish with him and we'll remove him from the team. And if he doesn't, he'll remain a temporary team member. Deal?"
Melissa looked at her with her arms crossed. After a minute or two, she finally agreed, "Fine." Gloria and Melissa shook hands, which meant the deal was on. "Alright Melissa, now that we've got that settled, let's go home," Gloria said. She, Ashley, Caitlin, Jessica, and Melissa got up and exited the room. "Gloria, tell Duke and Craig to come in here. And think about what I said," Melissa said.
Gloria smiled and nodded. Duke and Craig entered soon after. Craig hid behind Duke. He grabbed Craig by the shoulder and pulled him out. They all sat down. "Ok, Craig. We have to do some talking," Melissa explained.
Craig was nervous. He was already sweating and had a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. Melissa smiled at him. He was just staring at her wondering why she was smiling. "And no, it doesn't have anything to do with hurting you anymore," Melissa stated.
Duke smiled, pleased that Melissa was going to be fair. "It doesn't?" Craig asked.
"No. Gloria and the others convinced me to give you chance. And I'm going to give you a chance. I want to get to know you first," she explained. "So that's what we're going to talk about."
"Ok," Craig said, more calm.
Duke, Melissa, and Craig spent the rest of the day talking about each other and the powers the two possessed. But they did not discuss anything about the thunder lizards or the conflict taking place.
2 days later…
Leon was heading to Jessica's house because she needed to talk to him about something. Gloria, Ashley, Melissa, and Caitlin were in her room, just talking. Earlier that afternoon, Jessica had called Melissa to tell her that she wanted everyone to come over because she was ready to do as Melissa said. She was ready to tell her secret. And she need all of them just in case she needed back-up and for support.
Jessica answered the door when Leon arrived. She kissed him hello and he did the same. Leon and Jessica then sat down in the family room. Leon, arms crossed, asked, "So what did you want to talk to me about?"
"Ok…I need to tell you something that I've kept to myself for a long time," Jessica returned. She sighed and was silent for a few seconds.
"Jessica? Are you ok?" questioned Leon.
"Leon, I'm really…a witch," muttered Jessica, getting straight to the point.
Leon just stared at her with a raised brow. He then started laughing. Jessica knew that she would have to do better than that. I'll have to do a spell to prove it to him, she thought.
Leon finally stopped laughing and said, "I'm sorry Jessica but I thought you said you were a witch."
It looked like he was going to laugh again if she said that she was again. He was still laughing a little. Jeez, he reminds me of Gloria and Melissa, Jessica thought. "Yes I am and if you don't believe me, I'll show you," she stated.
"Whatever," Leon said with a smile. He whipped his head around when he thought he had heard something, but didn't see anything. Under her breath, Jessica quickly said, "Deloi phoi." Leon turned back around and said, "I knew you were lying."
But he didn't see Jessica. This time he saw a gray cat with black stripes. "What the?" Leon said baffled by the sudden appearance of the cat and the disappearance of Jessica. He raised a brow again and had a puzzled expression on his face.
The cat suddenly started hissing and jumped on to his arm. "Ahhh!" Leon yelled. He started screaming like a little girl being chased by a dog!
Ashley, Gloria, Caitlin, and Melissa could hear what the two were saying because they were loud. They tried hard not to laugh but they couldn't help it. They laughed but not loudly.
Back downstairs, Leon was still trying to get the cat off. The cat finally jumped off, but not without scratching him. After a few seconds, the cat changed into Jessica. Leon stared at her with wide eyes and a hanging mouth. "How did you—how can you—when did you—how the HELL did you become a cat!" he stumbled.
Jessica came up to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. She then said, "I told you I'm a witch. Do you believe me now? Because I have more powers to show you if you don't."
"Well, did you have to scratch me?" Leon asked, lifting his bleeding arm. He lifted his arm to show Jessica the deep claw marks. But it wasn't gushing blood so it wasn't something to worry about.
"Oh, I'm sorry about that," Jessica apologized. "Hold on."
"No, I can wait. Do it again, but this time don't hurt me."
"Ok. Moi stern!"
Out of nowhere, something long and slender appeared from the floor. But it was completely made of pure rock. Once it was out of the ground, it wrapped its rocky body loosely around Jessica. Then a long forked tongue came from the rocky thing. Leon stood there amazed and confused at the same time. "This is a snake made of rock, obviously. I used a spell to summon it to do my bidding," Jessica clarified.
The snake came up to Leon and hissed in his face. Leon tried to stay away, afraid that the snake would hurt him. But it turned around and slithered back into the ground. "Now do you believe me?" Jessica asked, raising her own eyebrow with a smile. Leon nodded, still holding his arm. "I never did believe in that witchcraft crap," he admitted. "What other spells do you know?"
"Um…hold on a sec will ya?" Jessica asked.
She ran upstairs to her room. Melissa, Caitlin, Gloria, and Ashley were half-asleep. "Sorry guys," Jessica whispered. "But I'm almost up to where I will tell Leon of your guys' secrets."
"So can I call Duke?" Melissa asked in a soft voice.
"Why?"
"Because if we're going to prove to Leon that we are what we say we are, we might as well show Duke now. Although he believes me, he might still think that you guys aren't monsters."
"Hey, I'm not a monster!" Caitlin exclaimed.
She yelled loud enough for Leon to hear. He got up and stood on the first step. "Jess, is everything ok?" he asked.
Back upstairs, everyone was quiet. From the top step, Jessica cried out, "Yeah! Everything's fine."
"Caitlin, you're not supposed to yell!" Gloria whispered. "He's not supposed to know that we're here."
"Sorry," Caitlin said.
"Alright, just call Duke," Jessica said.
Melissa got the phone and quickly called while Jessica was looking for her book of spells, making a ton of noises so Leon couldn't hear Melissa. "This reminds me of 'The Dairy of Anne Frank'," Gloria noted.
"Why?" Ashley asked.
"Because we have to be quiet to avoid being caught here," Gloria answered.
Melissa was done with the phone and announced, "Duke's going to come in an hour."
"Hey Jess, what's taking so long?" Leon yelled from downstairs.
"Still looking for the book I need," Jessica answered. "You guys stay quiet ok?"
Ashley, Gloria, Melissa, and Caitlin nodded in reply. Jessica took her book, along with bandages, and went downstairs. "Sorry for taking so long," Jessica said.
"No prob," Leon said.
They stayed in the family room and Jessica talked about all spells that existed. Upstairs, Gloria and the others were on the bed, either lying down or sitting quietly on Jessica's bed. "I want to do something," Ashley whined.
"What?" Melissa asked.
"Let's play I Spy," Caitlin suggested.
"Whatever," Gloria returned lazily.
"Ok," Caitlin started out. "I'll start. I spy with my little eye something…gray with black stripes—"
"Jess's cat," Ashley cut in. Jessica's cat was outside, lying on the roof right by the window. Jessica periodically let the cat outside and her cat would always come back. Also, Gloria was allergic to cats.
"Darn. Can I go again?" Caitlin asked.
"Go as many times as you want," Gloria muttered.
"Ok. I spy with my little eye something…with yellow eyes and black—"
"Jess's cat," Gloria answered.
"Darn. Ok, I spy with my little eye something…with paws—"
"Jess's cat. And I'll guess the next one. Jess's cat," Gloria replied again.
"Ok, that's just creepy," Caitlin commented.
"What's creepy is you sounding like Dory of 'Finding Nemo'," Ashley remarked. "In fact, you just said exactly what she said."
"Let's just play something else," Caitlin said.
Back downstairs…
"Well now, do you believe me?" Jessica asked.
"I sure do," Leon replied.
Jessica was working on fixing Leon's arm. She first cleaned it with peroxide and then gently wrapped his arm with a white fabric used for deep wounds. She could've used her healing spell, but she thought it was just a waste of energy for deep claw marks that could easily heal in a few days. "But there's more," Jessica said. "My…our friends Melissa, Gloria, Ashley, and Caitlin are also different. Gloria and Ashley are white vampires, Melissa is a silver dragon, and Caitlin's a pirate."
"What?" Leon said both eyes wide once again. "You being a witch was enough, but now four of my own friends are vampires, a dragon, and a pirate? This I need to see."
"Ok," Jessica said. "Be right back!"
She ran upstairs again and went into her room. "You guys, I need you to go outside and pretend you just came in. Leon wants you guys to prove to him that you are what you are. Climb out my window, wait at least 20 minutes, and then pretend you just came. Got it?"
"Ok," Gloria said.
Jessica stayed for a few minutes, so Leon wouldn't be very suspicious, and afterwards ran back downstairs, claiming that she had just called the others. Melissa opened the window and started to climb out. But when she started getting down from the roof, she slipped and fell on her back on the ground. "Ouch," Melissa whispered in a weak voice and closed eyes.
Gloria climbed out but also slipped and fell off the roof. Melissa opened her eyes and saw Gloria. "No, no, no, no!" she begged.
Gloria landed on Melissa. She tried to breathe, but Gloria's body knocked the wind out of her. Leon and Jessica were watching TV and talking so they couldn't really hear. "Sorry Mel." Gloria tried to get up but didn't have a chance. Caitlin landed on her. "Why the hell do we keep slipping?" Caitlin demanded.
"You guys are slipping on bird poop," Ashley replied with a laugh.
"Eww!" Caitlin yelled but not too loud.
Ashley jumped off and landed on her feet without slipping. Everyone else got up and they all waited by Jessica's garage for 20 minutes.
18 minutes later…
"My butt's starting to hurt," Melissa complained.
"Mine's numb," Gloria said.
"Two more minutes to go," Ashley announced.
Gloria, Melissa, Ashley, and Caitlin sat in front of Jessica's garage in the shade. It was very hot and they were very tired. They started to grow impatient. It felt more like hours instead of minutes. A shiny blue Suburban pulled up to the driveway several seconds later. "The shine! It burns!" Caitlin whined, covering her eyes with her arms from the bright glare, playing around like she normally does.
"Duke!" Melissa yelled.
Duke came out of his car. Melissa walked up to him, hugged him, and kissed him on the lips. Duke kissed her back, walked to the shade, and asked, "What the hell are you guys doing out here? Its frickin' hot out here!"
"We'll explain later," Gloria said. "20 minutes up?"
Ashley looked at her watch and answered, "Yep!"
"Finally! Time goes by slow when you're on the ground for a long time," Caitlin noted.
"It felt like an hour," Ashley murmured.
"You do know that you came early, right?" Caitlin asked.
"Yes. Why does it matter?" Duke wondered.
"I dunno," Caitlin replied.
"So then…shall we get going?" Duke asked.
He placed his arm around Melissa's shoulder and all of them headed to Jessica's door. They rang the doorbell and Jessica answered it. Once everyone was done exchanging hellos, they went inside. It was nice and cool inside her house. Ashley quietly muttered, "How come you had us stay outside in the hot weather while you got to stay inside a nice cool house?"
"Because you had to come through the door as if you just came. If you stayed in my room, how on earth would you be able to come through the door? We couldn't let Leon know about your staying here and listening to what was going on," murmured Jessica.
"We could've just stayed in your room for 20 minutes and come out afterwards!"
"Oh…sorry about that then. I guess I was just not thinking."
Jessica led the others, including Duke and Leon, outside to her backyard. Duke leaned against the wall and Leon crossed his arms across his chest. "OK, just watch," she said.
Leon and Duke nodded and Jessica looked at Gloria and the others. They all nodded. Gloria and Ashley were the first to change. Duke and Leon watched in amazement as both girls became white, grew wings, and grew claws. They grew larger and other features changed. Their teeth grew into four long white fangs. Once the transformation was done, Ashley and Gloria spread their wings and screeched loudly. "Cool," muttered Duke with a smile.
"Holy Jesus Christ!" uttered Leon with his eyes wide open.
"Jeez, couldn't you think of a better compliment?" Ashley complained.
"This is our true form," Gloria mentioned. "We are real white vampires, but we won't hurt you, which you should already know. Vampires are far more different than what is said about them. But, of course, I think I'll leave that for later."
Then Caitlin stood in front of them. A blue spiral circled her entire body and concealed her within its coils of blue energy. Once it disappeared, her clothes changed and she was wearing a few new things. "Aye, this is me true form, lad," she said in a pirate accent. "And like G and Ash, pirates are different from what people say. Except what is said isn't all that different from what is true."
"Wow," Duke complimented.
"What the?" said Leon. He wasn't expecting Caitlin to look like herself and have very few changes after Gloria and Ashley's transformation.
Caitlin took out her sword Zarok and, as fast as lightning, placed the point of the blade on the bottom of Leon's chin. "Do you, lad, have a problem with that?" Caitlin grinned. She didn't want to hurt Leon or anything. Just scare him to death with her lethal weapon.
Leon gulped as he looked at the deadly sword. He then looked at Caitlin and shook his head in reply. Caitlin smiled and removed Zarok from Leon's chin and back into its sheath. "Well you know how I already look, but I'll also change," Jessica said.
She transformed into her true self as well. Leon didn't say anything but Duke commented, "Nice outfit."
"Now it's my turn," Melissa grinned.
She grew silver scales, large wings, and grew very tall. Jessica had created a barrier that surrounded the entire house. It prevented all people in the entire area from hearing them. It also created something like an illusion so everyone couldn't see Melissa or anybody. She stood on twos and spread her wings to its full length. She roared loudly, showing her teeth and big sharp fangs. "Yeah! That's my girl!" Duke yelled with a smile.
He and Leon looked up and felt like they would fall on their backs. Melissa towered before them. She lowered her head to have Jessica and Caitlin stand on her head. They held on to her long marble smooth horns as she hoisted her head up. Ashley and Gloria flew into the air and both stayed on either side of Melissa's head. Then Ashley, Gloria, and Melissa roared in happiness (and to amaze the two men more) as Jessica and Caitlin cheered. "Good show!" Duke shouted loudly.
"This has got to be a dream," Leon muttered to himself.
Melissa got on all fours to let Jessica and Caitlin get off. They all returned to normal soon after. "So…what do you think?" Jessica questioned.
"That was TIGHT! All of your forms are so cool! I have to see you guys fight now," Duke complimented.
"This has to be a dream!" Leon repeated again. He seemed to like it, but Leon seemed freaked at the same time. "This can't be real! This can't be real! Somebody pinch or slap me or something!"
"Yo dude, this is not a dream. I too believed that this was a dream when I learned of Melissa's true form," Duke said.
"This isn't real! This isn't real!" Leon kept shouting again.
Caitlin came up to him. "Snap out of it! It's real! This is a part of reality!" Caitlin reminded him.
She slapped him across his face, knocking some sense into him. Leon placed his hand on his aching cheek and cried, "Oww!"
Caitlin was going to slap him again when Leon said, "That's ok Caitlin! Freaking out over."
Caitlin lowered her hand. "Are we done? Because I have to get home and watch 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'," Gloria claimed.
"So do I," Ashley stated. "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" was a cancelled show but they had the DVD sets. Every now and then they wanted to see it. The show was very important to them as "Yu-Gi-Oh" is to Melissa and "The O.C." is to Jessica. "Point is…do you guys believe us?" Jessica asked.
"Yeah and don't worry. I won't tell anyone," Duke said.
"Neither will I," said Leon. Then he added, "I believe you now."
"Good. Now we can all settle down and head home." Jessica headed back inside, her friends right behind her. She led Gloria, Ashley, Caitlin, Duke, and Melissa to the door. They walked home while Leon stayed with Jessica and they spent a little more time together alone finally. But of course, Gloria, Ashley, and the others would have to work all day tomorrow because if they didn't, it could mean the destruction of the world.