Chapter 79

Nodding, Brooklynn knew while Seth was performing the spell to open the dimension, she had to slice her hand again to coat the dagger Glen had. Randy would take out Seth while Glen took out Nemesis. Hopefully, the plan would go smoothly, and no deaths would occur. That was IF the daggers worked. This was all based on theory; it hadn't been tested yet, unfortunately, so it was due or die. As Seth began chanting, his voice rising with each word that came out of his mouth in old Latin, Brooklynn could see the clouds beginning to swirl.

"Now!" Glen had to shout out through the storm, rain beginning to pour down in gallons all over them. The roof was open, so there was no shelter from the storm.

Taking the dagger from Glen, Brooklynn used it to cut her hand and coated it with her blood before handing it back to him, nodding while the wind continued swirling around them viciously.

Rain in Texas was unusual, especially during the summer, and none of them had anticipated this. Within seconds, they were all drenched, the rain making it damn near impossible to see. Because nothing could ever come easy for them. Brooklynn was on her own with that bloody hand. Mark and Mickie were already moving into place and began casting, their auras clashing almost violently before starting to meld. He could feel the shift, feel the change.

Nemesis was coming.

Nemesis would miss the family reunion. Randy had no second thoughts about stabbing the teenage boy right through his heart.

Through slightly blurred vision, Brooklynn saw the sky open up, or that's what it looked like, her eyes widening at the black hole within the storm. The wind whipped so violently, it felt as though they were in the middle of a tornado. She could feel Mickie and Mark's magic surrounding her in a protective shield, but that didn't stop Seth from raising his hand to force her over to him.

"Whoa, what the hell is he doing?!"

"Randy, no! Stop! You have to wait until the dimension is open or Claira dies!" Beth shouted, stopping him from going toward Seth, who had his arm wrapped around Brooklynn's waist.

"DAD! LOOK, DAD! LOOK WHAT I HAVE FOR YOU! I DID IT!" Seth cackled, screaming at the top of his lungs and laughed, the sound bone-chilling. "COME TO ME, DAD! COME EXACT YOUR REVENGE!"

Brooklynn couldn't move, Seth's magic was too powerful, even with Mark and Mickie's magic combined trying to protect her. She couldn't even struggle and looked up at the black figure slowly made its way out of the dimension. Nemesis had returned.

"Brooklynn…how long have I waited for this moment." Nemesis hissed out, not fully out of the dimension yet and the lightning flashed, outlining his figure and even his ghostly face and red eyes.

"Get ready to scream for him, bitch!" Seth watched as Nemesis's hand wrapped around Brooklynn's throat while he remained in his circle, which gave him even more power.

"RANDY, NOW!"

A second later, Seth's screams of amusement and howling laughter turned into something else entirely as his gaze dropped down to his chest. The dagger, coated in Brooklynn's blood, was peering out. That actually took quite a bit of strength, Randy had to get that blade past and through bone.

Nemesis wasn't phased in the least, watching as his son died. "How quaint." His dark, booming voice echoed around them. A second later, his eyes flashed.

"Shit." Glen whispered the blood on his own dagger puddling on the ground beneath him before being washed away by the rain.

"Did you REALLY think it would be THAT easy to take me out, Brooklynn?" Nemesis crooned, keeping his hand around her throat and yanked her against him roughly, aligning her body with his. The right side to his left.

"Was hoping it would." Brooklynn rasped out, tears stinging her eyes and could feel her oxygen slowly being cut off. "You didn't…care about him at all, did you?"

"Of course not. Why would I? He was a means to an end." Nemesis looked down at his dead son, kicking him in the head and snorted before turning red eyes back on his prey. "A way for me out of that prison you and your precious circle put me in." Right now, he was holding the rest of the circle back with his own powers, which had generated quickly.

"Figures…"

"And now, I'm finally going to get my revenge. I'm finally going to rid this world of the Meyers bloodline once and for all. First, I'm going to kill you, Brooklynn, in front of them all. Your precious circle, the love of your life…and then I'm gonna hunt your daughter down and kill her too."

"Stay away from Claira!" Brooklynn managed to growl out, gritting her teeth and gasped when her throat tightened more. "Y-You won't…touch her…"

"And who pray tell is going to stop me?"

So much for not using that talisman… now was the time and Mark drew on it, funneling his energies into it, forcing Nemesis' hold to set him free. "Longissimus dies cito conditur…"

"And this day IS ending, Undertaker." Nemesis sneered. "Your strength is temporary, mine is eternal."

Acidic green eyes were assessing the situation, the dagger in Glen's hand, the lack of blood, Brooklynn and then finally he looked directly at Mickie. She had followed his gaze and nodded, tears beginning to stream down her face. God forgive them if they couldn't save her.

"I love you, Lynn…" Her name came out in a pained, heartbroken growl. "Forgive me, darlin'."

"NO!" Randy and everyone else, minus Mark and Mickie, screamed as that dagger went soaring at a dangerous speed out of Glen's hand and right through Brooklynn's right upper body.

Right through her lung and ribcage and straight into… Nemesis' heart.

Nemesis looked down at the bone dagger coated in Brooklynn's blood sticking out of his chest, slowly dissolving into a puddle at her feet. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" His strangled scream echoed throughout the night.

It felt like a gunshot just hit her from behind as Brooklynn watched Nemesis crumble right before her, her own body going with him. Blood pooled around her from the wound as her body hit the ground with a thud, some of the blood coating her braid as well. It was so hard to breathe, Brooklynn couldn't suck in a breath and felt as though she was choking, her eyes shutting. Flashbacks of her life went through her mind, from the time she could remember as a toddler, to meeting Mark, both as himself and Undertaker, to Nemesis being locked away, to Claira's birth, to all of her firsts, to getting married to Mark on the beach of Mexico, to splitting up and nearly losing herself, to reconciling and reuniting with Mark, putting their family back together.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Randy screamed, Nemesis' hold broken as he rushed to Brooklynn's side along with the others, dropping to his knees in front of her. "Brooklynn, BROOKLYNN, NO! Goddamn it, don't you dare die on me!" He didn't care that he was touching her with his bare hands, tears streaming down his cheeks. "SOMEONE CALL 911!"

"Oh move over!" Mickie sneered, using one of her knees to knock Randy aside as she took his spot, one arm going around Brooklynn's shoulders to move her into an upright position. "Mark, what do I do?"

The others were going to drive him crazy and, when Mickie actually warded them, just the three of them, in their own little bubble, he sighed in relief. Mickie had never done something like this. When she had healed Claira and Mila, those had been superficial, on the surface things she could see and touch. The bruising, she had known it had gone deep because of what she could see. She couldn't SEE the lung.

"Walk me through this."

Brooklynn was alive, but in shock and it'd take a bit longer for her to die. This wouldn't be a fun way to go. "All right…" It was time to save her.

Drowning in her own blood is what it felt like – a very slow and painful way to go. Blood seeped out the corner of her mouth while Mickie tried to heal her. Her body convulsed while trying to regain some sort of oxygen and from being in shock.

Brooklynn looked down at herself while Mickie and Mark worked diligently to heal her. Trish, Randy, and Melina were bawling their eyes out while Glenn, Steve and John waited with bated breath to see if Brooklynn would be revived.

"My sweet sister…"

Brooklynn turned and realized she was currently a ghost, her life hanging on by a thread. Tears slid down her cheeks as the realization struck her hard. "It's my time to go, isn't it?"

Julia sighed, placing a hand on her sister's shoulder and looked down at the horrific scene. "That depends…are you ready, Brooklynn? Are you ready to join me and go into the light? Do you feel as though you've accomplished everything you've wanted to? Are you ready to leave Mark and Claira?"

"No." Brooklynn's voice cracked, her hand covering her mouth and felt something pulsate within her. "No, I'm not…I love him and I just got him back. W-We need more time…"

"Then I suggest you get over there and fight for your life."

"I promise we'll see each other one day, Julia. I swear it, but…Mark needs me right now as much as I need him. I want to die with him, I can't leave him behind."

"True love." Julia sighed wistfully, hugging her sister tightly around the neck and closed her eyes. "I love you, Brooklynn."

"I love you too, Julia…" She hugged her twin back just as tightly as a white light engulfed them both.

A loud gasp of air came out of Brooklynn's mouth as her eyes flew open, the deathly wound gone. Mickie and Mark had just made it in the nick of time to save her life.

"Sleep." His hand was on her forehead in an instant, forcing her back down. Mark watched as Mickie surveyed the matching scars, Brooklynn nude from the waist down, due to them needing to see the wounds. The lung was healed, he had talked Mickie through it, and now… now it was the damage and trauma to her bones. He took over that, channeling through the talisman and when she was finished, so was he.

The big idiot… he was going to be out for a few days. Mickie let the ward drop, smiling weakly at the assembled people. "She's fine… just…. get us home."

When Brooklynn woke up, it was 5 days later, which wasn't a surprise to anyone. Magic could only go so far with a human body and she still needed time to heal from what happened. Slowly opening her eyes, it took several minutes to clear her vision as Brooklynn stared up at the ceiling, very slowly sitting up in bed. This was her bedroom, her and Mark's, so she surmised she was home. Why was her body so stiff though? What happened? Brooklynn didn't remember anything past being in Nemesis's grasp and…that was it. Her memory was blank after that. Frowning, she swung her legs over the side and pushed herself to stand, wincing at how sore she was. Bathroom first, then she would go investigate and find out if the world was coming to an end or if the plan worked.

"You fucking asshole, you better wake up!"

Claira, Milayna, and Dean had been called home and made it back rather… soon, considering where they had gotten too. Those kids had not dillydallied around, they had hauled ass. Mark was still on the couch, which was as far as the guys had gotten him before dropping him.

"You. Stupid. Prick." Mickie was PISSED. He KNEW better and he had still done it. He was alive, sure, but he wasn't waking up. Her eyes widened when she heard movement upstairs. "Brooklynn's up."

"Mom!" Claira shouted out of surprise when the door to her parents' room opened and saw her mother walk out, immediately rushing to her. "Oh thank god! Thank god you're awake! Mickie! MICKIE!"

Weak she may be, but she was also very alert and pulled her daughter into her arms, tears already running down her face. Nemesis was gone. Nemesis and Seth were both gone or else Claira wouldn't be here right now.

"Where's your Dad?" She asked quietly, just as Mickie came up the stairs and the look on her face spoke volumes. "Mickie, where's Mark? He wasn't in the room with me, so…where is he?"

"Mom…Dad is…"

"Downstairs, Brooklynn."

"Claire Bear, come on." Dean began pulling her downstairs away from her groggy mother. Brooklynn had assessed that Claira was fine and Claira needed to move. He drew her back against him as Mickie led the way over to the couch. Sleeping Beauty over there had apparently done something stupid and ran his battery out. He was glad to be a Normie.

"He used a talisman to boost himself, it kept the fatigue at bay, but after healing you, he dropped. He's alive, he's just… regenerating, I think."

"Wait, wait, WHAT? What do you mean he's regenerating? What do you mean he had to heal me? What the fuck happened?!" Not waiting for Mickie's response, Brooklynn rushed down the stairs, ignoring her own fatigued body screaming at her and stopped at the sight of Mark on the couch. He was sleeping, his chest rising and falling evenly and he looked a little pale. "Mark…" She slowly made her way over to him, fresh tears already falling down her face and dropped down beside him, taking his hand in hers. Warm. That was good, he was still warm to the touch. "What the hell happened?" Now she was asking Mickie, who had followed her downstairs, but her eyes never once left Mark.

"You know how he was constantly reminding us about the energy thing?" Mickie smiled awkwardly. "He wasn't wrong. We use our own energy to fuel our magic. When I zapped me and John home, it knocked my ass right out, I overstepped taking us both that far. Mark… for this, he used a talisman. It gave him unlimited energy, but… at a price. Now, he's sleeping and recovering all that energy. You should have seen him 2 days ago…"

"But why did he need to use that talisman in the first place?"

Mickie raised a slow brow, suddenly realizing Brooklynn didn't have any memory of what happened. "Oh god…"

"Shit, she doesn't remember…" Trish had stayed, along with Steve while Glen, Beth, and Melina went home to their loved ones. Randy was still here too and so was John since his wife refused to leave. "Brooklynn, you need to sit down and rest. You're still healing from what happened…"

"But what DID happen? I don't remember anything past Nemesis having a hold of me and that was it. It's all darkness after that…"

"Man, that shit was whack…" John grunted, still having some issues with what he had seen. "When Nemesis came out, he caused the blood on the dagger Glen had to wash away… it was no good." He explained, waving his hands while talking. "He and Mickie did this Jedi mind communication bullshit…"

"He used magic to snatch that dagger from Glen, Brooklynn." Mickie clarified, a hint of desperation lacing her voice because she knew this wasn't going to be something Brooklynn was going to like. "Mark and I both saw the problem and the solution at the same time. The only… the only source of Meyers blood was right there, pinned against Nemesis."

"He hurled that dagger right through you and straight into Nemesis' heart…" Randy finished, frowning. "It punctured your lung straight through, broke bones in your ribs and chest…"

Brooklynn sucked in a sharp breath, not preparing to hear that, but at the same time, she felt sheer relief flood through her. "Nemesis is dead then?" Mickie nodded and she returned it, her feelings for Mark not changing at all. It was a risk he took, using her life to bring down Nemesis and it was the right call. "He was right."

Translation: Longissimus dies cito conditur – The longest day soon