It was a long morning for Aubrey, Chloe and Beca as they sat waiting for the sun to set. It was perhaps the worst part of being vampires, if they were anything else, Beca and Chloe could set out to help Stacie immediately, but as it was, every pivotal moment of their lives hinged around waiting for the sun to set.
By noon, Aubrey was fit to explode with anxiety and stress, pacing back and forth in the room they were sat in as Beca and Chloe could do nothing but watch on.
"Bree…" Chloe sighed softly, "Do you want something to eat? Or drink?"
"No." Aubrey shook her head, bottom lip chewed to tatters, not even glancing in Chloe's direction, "I'm fine."
Before either Beca or Chloe could argue that she was categorically not fine, Tony appeared in the room with a gentle smile on his face.
"Hey ladies. Did you get any sleep?"
"Not really." Beca half smiled, running a hand through her hair, "How about you? How's Thea?"
"She's still out." Tony shrugged, "It was a strong sleeping draft, she'll probably asleep for the rest of the day. Listen, Helena called me, she wants you guys to drop by the Council chambers as soon as you can. Apparently she's been trying to call you?"
"Oh." Aubrey frowned, "I think I left my phone at the office…"
"It's fine." Tony brushed it off, "Do you want me to portal you guys there now? You won't have to wait for the sun to set then."
"Yeah." Chloe nodded as Aubrey wordlessly grabbed her jacket and pulled it on, "Thanks Tony. You and Leo okay?"
"Surprisingly yes." Tony grinned, waving his hands in a circular motion as a portal started to form, "He's a little confused about the whole magic thing still, but he's really taking it in stride."
"I'm glad." Chloe beamed, "He's great Tony, really."
"I know." Tony shrugged, "Who'd have thought he'd date me…"
"You're great too." Chloe squeezed his arm, the portal fully formed as Aubrey strode through it, barely a sideways glance at Tony as Chloe frowned.
"Thanks Tony. Bree's a little…" Chloe shrugged, Tony giving her and Beca a sympathetic smile as they readied themselves to follow Aubrey.
"I know." He nodded, "I get it. I'll see you guys later."
Beca nudged Tony affectionately with her shoulder, following Chloe through the portal as they stepped into the Council chambers. Helena was waiting for them, a concerned look on her face as her attention was solely focused on her daughter. Aubrey stood off to the side, eyes cast down, chewing at a hangnail, her whole frame tense.
"Aubrey?" Helena pushed gently, Aubrey pulling away from her as her mom tried to put her hand on her arm.
"Tony said you needed us." Aubrey's voice was flat, forcing a professional demeanour as she looked up from the floor, "Do you have something?"
"Yes." Helena nodded, "Tony filled me in on the prophecy and Khalida. Obviously the Council doesn't want her released, but I don't need to tell you that. There's protocol in place for this eventuality though, and as our best defence in this fight, the protocol pertains directly to the four- three of you."
Aubrey's jaw clenched tighter but she said nothing as guilt crossed Helena's expression briefly, "So what do we have to do?"
"Come with me." Helena gestured with her head, striding confidently through the long halls of the Council building, "It's easier to show you."
As they walked, Beca noticed Chloe stiffen a little, frowning as she gently pressed her side into hers, "Are you okay?" She whispered.
Chloe turned her head and gave Beca a tight smile, nodding a little, "Yeah. Just… I always find it weird being here after the Gail thing."
"Sure." Beca nodded, head resting on her shoulder briefly on Chloe's shoulder, "Let me know if you need to leave okay?"
"Thanks." Chloe gave Beca's hand a quick squeeze, their attention dragged back to the present as they entered a large chamber.
There were scorch marks on the far wall, the shelving on it damaged and broken, still remnants of glass on the floor in front of it, but the rest of the room seemed intact. The walls were lined with old looking scrolls and books, ancient looking artefacts, and glass boxes and jars filled with different liquids and powders.
"What are we doing here?" Aubrey frowned a little, looking around her.
"This is the securest place in the whole building." Helena gestured around her, "It's where we keep some of the most dangerous relics in the realm. When Gail occupied the building, well…" Helena nodded to the damaged wall, "She managed to get through some of the protection spells and took whatever she could get her hands on. Including the location of Khalida's imprisonment."
"Great." Aubrey's frown grew deeper, "So you brought us here to tell us you don't where this world ending deity is, is that it? Because I'm not having a shit enough day."
"Not exactly." Helena smiled tightly, "We might not know where Alice and her sisters, Khalida, or Stacie is, but that doesn't mean that all hope is lost. The protocol put in place refers to weapons forged crafted for ancient gods that are strong enough to fight an immortal deity. Each one can only be wielded by a person worthy of it, I can't just pass you anything. But I have no doubt the three of you will find something in here that calls to you."
The members of Vampire Hunters Incorporated slowly walked around the room, eyes wandering over the artefacts lay before them. None of them knew what Helena meant by the fact that it would 'call to them' but the idea was intriguing. There were so many choices that lay before them, shields and armour and swords and staffs and… the list could go on for hours and they still wouldn't get halfway through the items that lay before them.
It was Aubrey who stopped first, eyeing up a pair of twin blades with a curious albeit cold look, her mom joining her.
"I can't say I'm surprised…" She smiled softly, pulling a key from her pocket that would release the enchanted mechanism on the cabinet, "Enyo's blades, Greek goddess of war. Sacker of cities, defender of the innocent… powerful, deadly, but just and fair too."
"Great." Aubrey mumbled, taking the scabbards first and fastening them around her waist before sheathing the blades, "Are we ready, can I go now?"
"What's this?"
Helena was interrupted before she could express her concern over Aubrey's attitude by Beca who was looking into a different cabinet, running her fingers through her hair as her eyes ran over the blade in front of her.
"That is Artemis' sword." Helena half smiled, trying to quash the trepidation she was feeling for Aubrey as she put her attention into explaining things to Beca instead, "Greek goddess of the hunt, halter of winds, defender of young women, patient, stealthy, loyal… sounds about right."
"Cool." Beca smirked a little, "So um… I just swing it like a regular sword right? It's not magic or anything?"
"No." Helena chuckled, "At least I don't think so. Between this and the shield in your bracelet, you'll be a regular warrior."
"I won't lie that's pretty cool…" Beca shrugged, taking the scabbard that Helena handed her and fastening it across her chest so that sword would be sheathed on her back.
She took the sword as it was handed to her, testing the balance of it a little. It was perfect, like it was made specifically for her. Her grin grew as she gave it a testing swing, realising she could hold it in one hand which made it even easier to equip the shield around her wrist.
"What about you Chloe?" Helena turned to her, smiling warmly as Beca sheathed the sword she'd been given, "Anything calling to you?"
"Um…" Chloe frowned deeply, hands twisting together in front of her, "I don't know… what if there's nothing in here for me? If I'm not… I don't know worthy or something?"
"I don't believe that." Beca shook her head, stepping closer to Chloe, "Just close your eyes Chlo. Take a minute and just… be. Don't think about it, just trust me."
"Okay." Chloe nodded, closing her eyes, feeling Beca take her hands in hers and squeeze them softly, "Just be… I can do that."
Chloe kept her eyes closed as Beca's thumbs stroked gently over the back of her knuckles. Nothing happened at first, Chloe feeling a little ridiculous honestly as she stood in the centre of the room like this. But then, in the corner of the dark laid before her closed eyes, there was a glimmer of gold, a low humming filling her ears as Chloe's eyes flickered open again.
"There…" She mumbled, gently dropping Beca's hand as she walked to the corner of the room, Helena following her with a knowing smile on her face, "That one… what is it?"
"Athena's spear." Helena grinned, "That makes sense. Greek goddess of wisdom, aider of heroes, courageous and often underestimated, freer of the persecuted."
"Huh…" Chloe bit her lip a little as Helena removed the spear from it's place of safe keeping and handing it to Chloe, "I don't know about all that…"
"I do." Beca grinned, watching as Chloe turned it in her hands, "Sounds right to me."
Chloe blushed a little as she looked over at Beca, Aubrey's sharp sigh catching their attention.
"Great. So we're done right? Because I need to figure out how the hell we're going to find them since you went and lost the documents we needed." Aubrey snapped, turning on her heel and intending to head back to the room they'd arrived him where Tony was keeping the portal open for their return.
Helena caught her arm, frowning deeply as Aubrey's head whipped around in her direction, eyes blazing angrily, "Aubrey… maybe you need to just take a minute, just to clear your head or-"
"Don't pretend you care." Aubrey snatched her arm away from her mom, "It's not a good look on you."
Helena opened her mouth to protest, to try and rationalise with her daughter, but Aubrey had already left the room. Beca followed her, quickly thanking Helena as she did, Chloe hanging back for a moment.
"I've got her." Chloe smiled softly, "This whole thing with Stacie, its just really gotten to her. But she's got me and Beca, we won't let anything happen to her."
"I don't think she should go out there like this…" Helena sighed, "She's… distracted."
"Of course she is." Chloe shrugged, "The love of her life is missing, the whole world is in danger, and she's got to figure out how to save both. Because… she can't save just one, she- she's got this terrible burden on her shoulders, and if she has to choose between Stacie and the rest of the world? I don't know who'll win that fight."
"It should be the world." Helena frowned, "She knows that…"
"Yeah." Chloe nodded with a heavy sigh, "But love makes duty and right seem so arbitrary. Like I said, Beca and I have her back. But you need to cut her some slack Helena. You're doing better than before but… Aubrey's still human. Don't forget that."
"Right." Helena smiled tightly, "I know… oh. Before you go…"
Chloe watched as Helena pulled a worn, leather bound book from the bag over shoulder, passing it to Chloe.
"Is this…?"
"Yeah." Helena nodded, "Everything you need is in there, and more. But it can wait until this Khalida mess is dealt with."
"Do you think we stand a chance?" Chloe's voice had gotten small, swallowing thickly as she looked back to Helena, "At all?"
"I think…" Helena's jaw clenched tightly, "That if anyone can stop Khalida it's you and your team. But I think you need Stacie, and even then…"
Helena shook her head a little, looking away from Chloe as tears welled in her eyes, "I hate sending her out there to face things like this you know? It's so much easier to pretend she's just another vampire hunter, but since Gail I… I can't do that anymore. I thought I'd never see her again and that… I wish I could send someone else, anyone else."
"I know." Chloe nodded, "Me too. We don't really see eye to eye, I don't think we ever will but… I know you love her, in your own weird way anyway. And so do I, so trust me to take care of her, okay?"
"I do." Helena cleared her throat as she wiped at her cheeks quickly, "I'm sending people to help. They'll meet you at the Academy. Don't let her leave without them."
"You got it." Chloe nodded, spear in hand as she turned to leave, "I'll keep her safe Helena."
"I know." Helena nodded, "Be careful Chloe. All of you."
"We will. We'll do our best anyway."
Beca flinched as a book sailed past her head, her attention turned to Aubrey who had thrown it, rather than the tome in front of her. It had been a frustrating afternoon since they'd gotten back, every book and manuscript they could find related to Khalida laid in front of them, but none of it containing anything that could hint towards where she had been sealed, and by extension where Stacie was being held. Aubrey was at the end of her tether.
"How am I supposed to save the damn world when I can't even find these assholes?!" Aubrey growled, hands bracing her against the table as her head dropped, Beca and Chloe looking on with concern.
"Aubrey, try and just breathe okay? There has to be something in all of this." Beca sighed softly, "We just need a little clue and then-"
"Then what?!" Aubrey snapped, "Unless it's a map that says, 'here's Khalida!' we're fucked. Forgive me if I'm not jumping for joy about the lack of information."
"Alright, dude, I've had enough." Beca's eyebrow arched sharply, "I get that you're scared and you're mad about everything, but I'm getting really sick of you snapping at us and throwing books at my head."
"I'm sorry, would you rather I ran away and sulked like a child in the sewers instead?" Aubrey narrowed her eyes, Beca's jaw clenching.
"I let that slide once Aubrey, but you're going to stop throwing that in my face right now." Beca growled, "It's entirely different, and more importantly, I came back. So how about you dial it back a notch, calm down, and remember that we're not the enemy here?"
"You sure about that?" Aubrey snorted, "Because I was having a pretty normal vampire hunting career until you showed up with all your baggage."
"That is enough." Chloe had gotten to her feet as Beca's expression fell from anger to shock and hurt, "Don't you dare put this on Beca! You are trying to push everyone away so you can go running off to try and do this on your own, but we're not going to let you do that! You're family, like it or not, we're doing this together. So sit your ass down, stop snapping at everyone, and start looking for information."
Aubrey opened and closed her mouth, tears welling in her eyes as she sank into a chair, pulling her knee into her chest as she rested her head on it, "I'm sorry…"
Chloe walked around the table, resting her hand on Aubrey's arm as she crouched next to her, smiling sadly at her, "I know. I get it okay? But you can't push us away, not now…"
"I just…" Aubrey shook her head, sniffling as she pulled her arms tighter around herself, "I don't know how we're going to win this, especially without Stace and her magic, I can't- I can't face losing you guys too."
"We always find a way through things Bree." Chloe frowned, gently stroking Aubrey's arm, "Look what we've overcome already-"
"But none of it is an apocalypse deity teamed up with the spawn of pure evil." Aubrey lifted her head, eyes full of fear and despair as she chewed on her already tattered bottom lip, "Chloe… this could be the end of the world, and Stacie's all alone and they're hurting her and I don't know how to find her, let alone even begin to start defeating the world ending immortal being they're summoning."
"We'll find her." Beca gave Aubrey a small and tight smile from the other side of the table, "We'll kick some ass, and then we'll come home and sleep for a month. Apocalypse-schmocalypse."
"Beca…" Aubrey's face creased with guilt, "I-"
"I know." Beca nodded, shrugging a little, "And it's okay. Kinda. I'm fine. Let's just find an answer and save the world okay? We can talk about it once we have."
"Okay." Aubrey's voice was small as she swallowed thickly, "Um… have either of you found anything?"
"Not really." Beca shook her head as Chloe rejoined her, grateful at being able to get back to the problem at hand, "There's this French one that alludes to some kind of hole… or grave, the word is the same. But there's nothing specific. There might be in this one…" Beca held up the book next to her, "But I can't read whatever language it's in."
"Let me see…" Aubrey gently took the book from Beca, frowning as she opened it and flicked through a few pages, "It's Greek. Ancient Greek. Not that it helps us because I can't read it either. Stacie can…"
"Want me to try?"
Their head whipped around in the direction of the door, finding the young vampire hunter Kate that they'd helped out last year grinning at them.
"You can read Ancient Greek?" Beca frowned, looking impressed as Kate walked in, followed by Abigail and Warren Mitchell. It was a welcome sight, they were going to need all the help they could get.
"I'm half Greek." Kate shrugged, "I don't know whether I can read the ancient stuff, but I can give it a try. Better than nothing right?"
"What are you guys doing here?" Aubrey let Kate take the book from her, wiping quickly at her cheeks.
"Helena called." Warren smiled warmly, giving Aubrey's shoulder a small squeeze as they joined Vampire Hunters Incorporated at the table, taking a book each, "We helped you defeat pure evil once, we all thought you might want some help doing it again."
Aubrey opened her mouth to argue with them, but was interrupted as more people entered the library they were sat in, watching in disbelief as Jesse, Michael, Tony, Olivia's twin sister Rachel, and Ellie joined them, everyone taking a manuscript or a book as they settled around the large table.
"I…" Aubrey shook her head a little, "This is so much more dangerous than when we went up against Gail, what are you doing?"
"Helping." Jesse grinned, "What, you're the only vampire hunter that can kick a little spawn of evil ass?"
"But Khalida-"
"Will still be as deadly with or without our help." Michael interrupted her, a kind smile on his face, "Besides, Tony and I might not be the prophesised ones, but we're related to them, that's gotta count for something right?"
"Does it?" Chloe raised her eyebrow.
"No." Tony chuckled, "But we can dream. Or at the very least help you find her."
"This isn't the same." Aubrey pursed her lips, getting up from her seat as she ran her hands through her hair, all eyes on her, "When we went up against Gail and her army, we had a plan, an army, a chance in hell… but now there's four Gail's and an ancient deity, the person that's supposed to stop them is being held prisoner by them and doesn't have her magic, and honestly… I don't see how we win this."
There was a still silence in the room as they looked at Aubrey and then each other. She had a point, the odds this time weren't just stacked against them, they were astronomically crippling. Seeing Aubrey, the voice of reason, the woman that had pulled all of them through their last crisis in one piece, be so terrified and pessimistic did nothing to reassure them; if anything it only scared them more. If Aubrey didn't think they could win, then what hope did they have?
"You're right." Ellie nodded slowly, sitting up a later straighter in her chair as everyone's attention turned to her, "This is different, and scarier, and way more dangerous… but we're not the same people we were last time either. We know what we're in for, we've trained more, we- we're just better than before. Sure, Stacie's not here, and that's not what we need, it's like the furthest thing from helpful, but that doesn't mean we can't get her back. We can still fix this, the world isn't over yet."
"She's right." Rachel agreed, "Ellie and I have been through Academy training since, almost everyone here faced Gail the first time, and even those that haven't know what she was capable of. It's public knowledge. So there's four of them, there's eleven of us, and all of us trained for this. By the time we get to this Khalida thing, we might have taken out Gail's daughters and prevented it anyway, and if not we'll have Stacie back. All we've got to do is find them."
"Right." Aubrey scoffed, shaking her head, "But how do we do that? How do we know they won't kill Stacie the minute we show up? How do we know we're even strong enough to take them on?"
"One step at a time." Jesse shrugged, getting up from his seat and slowly approaching Aubrey, resting his arm around her shoulders, "C'mon Posen, you taught me that. One problem at a time until we get to the end."
"I can't ask any of you to follow me into this…" Aubrey pulled away from Jesse, "Not when it's this dangerous, how am I supposed to put all of you in this much danger?"
"You're not putting us in anything." Michael shook his head, "They have torn into my family with reckless abandon, I'm sure as shit not letting them get away with it."
"Here, here." Tony mumbled darkly, jaw clenching a little as he put his arm around Ellie's shoulders, the young witches face having fallen as she sniffed softly.
"You really think we'd sit back and let Gail's offspring run rampant after all the damage she caused?" Warren sighed softly, "We all took the same oath Aubrey, to protect our realm from those that sought to destroy it. No matter what the danger is, it's our sworn duty."
"And it's our family too." Chloe pointed out, "You're not the only missing Stacie, or wanting to rescue her, or even wanting revenge Bree… whether you like it or not, we're all going to help find her, take out Gail's daughters, and stop an apocalypse. You're going to have more problems stopping us than you are convincing us to fight."
Aubrey looked around her, the corners of her eyes burning with tears. She hated this, without Stacie here she felt weak and vulnerable, she could feel that part of her was missing from where they had torn out their bond. What if that was the part of her that made her so strong, or brave, or capable? Because staring all of this in the face, she didn't feel any of those things. But as she looked at the people sat in front, the determination blazing in their eyes, the dedication to finding a way to stop this, Aubrey couldn't find a valid reason to stop them.
They'd all suffered because of this, every one of them was hurting from losing Sam, from the Conrad clan being under siege, from Stacie being taken from them. They wanted to fight, who was she to stop them?
"Okay." Aubrey nodded, jaw tight, "I know I can't stop you…"
"Damn right." Abigail grinned, "We got you. So what did you guys find?"
"Not much." Beca grumbled, "A couple of references to a hole, or a grave, or an abyss… nothing concreate enough to tell us where though."
"There's no way to use your bond to find Stacie?" Rachel asked, wincing as she saw the pain that crossed Aubrey's face.
"There's nothing left." Aubrey whispered, "I can't… there's nothing."
"Wait." Tony frowned deeply as he leant forward, "I don't know how true that is…"
"What do you mean?" Chloe tilted her head, Aubrey wordless as her hand rested on the scar on her chest, the one that reminded her of what had been stolen from her.
"Mom said she bound Iz's magic to Hunter right?" Tony mused, "Which would make him a magical creature in his own right, he has his own source of magic."
"So when they stripped Stacie of her powers…" Michael nodded, "Hunter wouldn't have disappeared like Fabien did, that's why when Gail bound Stacie's magic that time he didn't dissipate then either."
"Aubrey you can communicate with Hunter right?" A smile was beginning to tug at Tony's lips as Aubrey nodded, "Oh my god, I'm so smart, wait here a second!"
They watched as Tony hurriedly got to his feet, racing over to the shelves towards the back of the library and hurriedly returning with a huge map of the city.
"Clear me some space, c'mon!" He encouraged, spreading the map out before them as everyone quickly grabbed the manuscripts and the books strewn over the table and made room for it, "Do you guys know about the ancient rite to find a lost familiar?"
"Yeah." Beca nodded, "That's how we found Hunter when Gail used him as bait to lure us to the slaughterhouse."
"Great." Tony grinned, "I think I can reverse engineer it a little, work it so that Aubrey is the one looking for him and that might just get us a location."
"But how?" Aubrey frowned, trying desperately not to get her hopes up, "I can't feel him either, I can't hear him…"
"I know." Tony nodded, combing his long hair back from his face with his fingers, "But that doesn't mean the connection between you isn't still there, it just means you can't access it right now without Stacie's magic. But if it's still there then the rite will recognise it and hey presto, we have the location of Alice and her merry band of bitches."
"You really think it could work?" Chloe grinned, Tony shrugging a little.
"I think it's better than nothing."
"So what do I do?" Aubrey swallowed thickly, a quick glance in her direction making Chloe's heart soar; there was that fire that she knew, sparking in Aubrey's eyes at the idea that they might stand a chance.
"I need ten minutes to go over the rite and work it out so we can use you instead." Tony smiled warmly at her, "And a ceremonial blade of some sort, something magic and sharp."
"There's one in Professor Rotherham's office." Ellie got up quickly, "I'll go ask her for it."
She was gone in the blink of her eye, it not going unnoticed by anyone that knew her well that she was now in very good control of her super speed specialism. Ellie returned just as quickly, setting the dagger next to Tony who was pouring over his blue leatherbound notebook, pen in hand, brow creased in deep concentration.
It was several minutes before he set it down, nodding thoughtfully as he did, "Alright, I think I got it… we'll try this."
Aubrey nodded, taking the dagger as Tony passed it to her. She paused only for a moment before dragging it across her left palm, wincing only slightly as it cut into her. Aubrey squeezed her hand into a fist as she had Stacie do in what felt like a lifetime ago, watching as the droplets hit the map.
"That which was part of me and now lost, that which my soulmate has now forgot, let my blood be that which ties me to thee, come back my love, return to me…"
A collective breath was held as they all stared at the blood on the map, all of them desperate to see it work. Nothing was happening, tears welling in Aubrey's eyes as her hand started to lower. She couldn't find her… her bond with Stacie wasn't strong enough to find her, she was going to lose her…
"They're moving…" Kate let out a breathy chuckle as Aubrey watched the blood start to sluggishly drag itself over the page, shaking a little as she followed it. It was working.
"I'm a freaking genius!" Tony grinned, punching the air with both fists as Ellie rolled her eyes at him, "And they said I was the runt of the Conrads, who's the runt now Peter, huh?"
"Peter?" Ellie whispered to Michael who shook his head a little.
"He used to bully Tony at school. The guy was a prick."
"There…" Aubrey breathed, having ignored the entire exchange as she watched her blood cross the map, frowning as it settled on a small range of steep hills, "It says they're there… but there's nothing out there, it's just hills, right?"
"Caves."
Heads turned to face the door as Thea slowly entered the library. She looked exhausted and downtrodden, but still altogether better than she had when she'd first been rescued.
"They're hiding in a cave system, that must be where they're located."
"Mom…" Michael moved quickly to Thea's side, "You should be resting."
"While you all try and find Stacie?" Thea raised here eyebrow, "I don't think so. She's my daughter, I'm not going to sit around while other people rescue her."
"But your magic…" Ellie started, a concerned frown tugging at her expression.
"Is gone." Thea agreed, "But that doesn't mean I can't help, it just means I'm not as powerful as usual."
Michael had gently but insistently helped Thea to a seat, watching his mother carefully as she smiled softly up at him.
"Stop hovering, I'm fine Mike." She chuckled, cupping his cheek in her hand, "So what's next? What's your plan?"
"Well, I feel like it needs to be a little more elegant than just kill them…" Aubrey mumbled darkly, not seeming to notice her hand was still bleeding until Ellie gently took it and held her own over it, the orange healing glow making Aubrey's heart ache as it reminded her of Stacie.
"We've got time to iron out the specifics." Rachel smiled warmly, "The sun was coming up when we arrived, we'll have to wait a little while before we can get to the caves."
"Then let's do that." Chloe beamed, "Let's figure out how to kick some spawn of evil ass!"