This chapter is probably more dramatic than the rest. Especially at the end but that's because the story is progressing I guess. I think I made Stanton too goofy at one part but that's for you to decide. READ ON!

Catty? Serena thought, watching intently as the brunette tossed her long straight tresses back and put a hand to her slim waist. She flashed Serena a killer smile. Wasn't she supposed to be dead? Or worse? Her thoughts rewound to play Vanessa's tortured sobs from the night before.

I miss her so much. It's not logical for people to just disappear like that.

Realization dawned over her. This was the Catty from her time frame. She didn't even know of her own death yet. Serena gave them both a forced smile. "Maggie sent you?"

Vanessa nodded. "And apparently just in time", Grabbing Serena by the arm, she wrenched her from beside Stanton and then turned to glare at Catty. "We had to land at least fifty times before we got to the right place. And I told you to stop kidding around with Michael"

"You know you loooooooove him", Catty teased her. "I heard he was going to ask you out at Planet Bang tonight. We should have gone. I can take us-"

"Concentrate", Vanessa scolded her, unable to hold back the rising heat in her cheeks at the mention of Michael. Serena cocked an eyebrow. They'd been dating since high school?

"Just what I need", Stanton muttered, cynically. "A party".

"But that's what we came to do", Catty nudged him with her hips and shrugged at the death glare Vanessa gave her.

"Come on", Vanessa rolled her eyes and took Catty by the hand. They both placed their hands upon their chests to clutch two moon amulets. Then as if on cue, they began to chant, low and haunting. At first Serena couldn't identify their words but they grew louder and louder until finally she could somewhat make out what they were saying. Oh Mat- Ter- Luna. Re- Gee- Nah- No- See- As- A- Dee- Vo- Me- Nunk.

O Mater Luna. Regina Nocias. Adiuvo me nunc

Hadn't she used that exact phrase just the other day? She closed her eyes in thought, searching for meaning or at least some sort of clue as to what they meant. Mater. Mother. Nocias. Night. How did she know all of this? She'd never taken Latin before. She gasped. How did she know that the words they spoke were originated from the dead language?

Oh, mother of the moon. Queen of night. Help us now.

They were both Goddesses. Daughters of the Moon. Of course they would ask Selene for help. Her eyes grew thoughtful as she watched them in their cry for assistance, their voices resounding against the barren walls. They had drowned out the music and howls of youth from the windows. Now all that remained was the beseeching prayer and Serena's slow and steady breathing. She began to speculate if it would actually work when a milky glow shot out from both their amulets. The lights crossed each other, creating a luminous "X" over the dark room. She heard Stanton mumble a vulgarity and turned to see him backing away. "Where do you think you're going?"

Vanessa raised an eyebrow at Catty. "I thought she wanted him gone"

Serena ignored them and pointed to the still unconscious Inocencia. "You can't just leave her like this".

He nodded. "You're right".Then before she could stop him, he materialized into to shadow and sunk onto the ground, moving along the floorboards. The huddled shade stopped at Inocencia and the child was enveloped into a mass of darkness.

"That's not what I meant!" Serena shrieked and dashed after him, but, as usual, he was too fast for her.

"Let me", Vanessa volunteered and Catty folded her arms, giving her a surprised look. Serena mirrored this action. What could she do? Vanessa always seemed to be the only one who had no idea what was going on. It would be a miracle if she possessed any supernatural powers. Serena's words shoved right back down her throat as Vanessa began to disappear right in front of her eyes. No. She had to be seeing things. Rubbing at her eyelids roughly with her fists, she looked up again to see that even more of Vanessa had vanished. She turned to Catty, sure that she was stark white by now. "Wh- what is she doing?"

Catty just laughed. "That's her power. Vanessa can go invisible. I can travel through time. You can read minds. And Jimena has premonitions". She returned Serena's bewildered expression with a sympathetic look. "I know. I know. We only found out about the whole Goddess shebang two days ago, but we've been working really hard since then". She shot a worried glance at Vanessa. Well, what used to be Vanessa. Now she was simply a head bobbing in midair. "Are you sure you know what your doing? You might get nervo-"

"You're making me nervous!"

"Fine!" Catty threw her hands up in surrender. They both watched as Vanessa completely disappeared.

Serena balled her fists tightly to her sides as the looming shadow spread over the room like a virus, stopping at the nearest window. He was getting away and Vanessa was no where to be seen. She closed her eyes and concentrated on her energies, picking up and drifting thoughts that she could find.

Those ear rings are cute. Serena turned to see Catty staring vigilantly at her silver hoop earrings. The girl abruptly looked up when she felt Serena's gaze. "Oh, I'm sorry! I was just admiring your-"

"I know", Serena cut her off and continued to inspect the room for Vanessa and Stanton. Catty's head slowly peeked into her vision.

"You look weird. Your pupils are dilating and-"

"Shhh!" Serena hissed, attempting to keep focus.

"Sorry", Catty whispered foolishly.

She could sense something strong now. A building emotion. Anxiety. A rush of excitement. Success!

Got him! The familiar voice rang through out Serena's mind and she felt her pupils returning to their natural size. The feeling of being lost in a psychological chaos dimmed and she could completely focus on the visual world.

"Vanessa!" she called. No answer. Her eyebrows furrowed and Catty crossed her arms. Why wouldn't she answer? The two sat in an excruciating silence for the next minute or so before Catty finally gathered the courage to say what they had both been thinking. She shifted to her side, nervously.

"M- maybe she…" The sentence trailed off and she gawked, open mouthed at the area behind Serena. She lifted a trembling finger.

Serena swallowed hard, debating the decision to either face what ever was there or take off across the hardwood floors to see just how far she would get before it- whatever it was- caught her. You're a Goddess, she egged herself. Come on. Just turn around. No way was she turning around. She sighed in shame. At the rate she was going, she could have been stabbed, mourned, and buried somewhere in the ground with thousands of other weak, defenseless wimps like herself. She wasn't going to let that happen. Wincing, she took one slow step to the right. Another. Then another. Until finally she came face to face with…

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Her shadow! Her shadow? She groaned and before she could turn back to Catty and give her a piece of her mind, she noticed something peculiar. She'd never realized that bulge on her head before. And wasn't she slightly larger than usual? Terror gripped her chest as the blackest darkness flowed out of her shadow to materialize in front of her. Stanton stood before her now, a trembling Inocencia in his arms. When the child saw her, she immediately gave Stanton a weak shove and stumbled across the room to wrap her arms about Serena. She clutched at the silky material of her white camisole. "I'm cold".

"It's okay", Serena bent down to whisper into her ear, surprised at the chill of her skin. She looked up to glare at Stanton, but the gaze wasn't returned as his anger was fixated on the far left window. Serena cocked an eyebrow. "What are you staring at?"

As if to answer her question, a swirl of dust began to gather around the area until it all came together to form… VANESSA?

"You're okay!" Catty screamed and ran over to embrace her. Vanessa groaned and rubbed at her shoulders. "Not so hard! I'm still sore from snapping back together like that".

"What happened?" Catty squealed in excitement. "Tell me all about it".

"Not now!"

"Please?"

Vanessa gave her a half smile. "Fine. But just this one time". Serena grinned, getting the feeling that Catty had pouted her way into "just this one time" a thousand times before. She leaned in, Inocencia still enclosed in her arms, to hear what she had to say. Vanessa had tried to head Stanton off and had succeeded for quite some time. That was until she'd started to lose her nerve and almost fell out of the window.

"Then how come you're not splat on the ground right now?" Serena asked, feeling stupid immediately afterwards. She hadn't meant to put it so harshly.

"I don't know". Curiosity bloomed in Vanessa's beautiful azure eyes. She gazed over Catty's shoulder at Stanton. "I thought maybe you could tell me".

Serena looked to Stanton. He was staring down now, his arms crossed. Was it possible that he had rescued Vanessa from her fall? He obviously caught her thoughts.

"I did", he nodded, his eyes still trailing over the floor boards. A hopeful smile curved about her lips. "Then you aren't as bad as I thought you were?" He had just saved the life of a daughter. That had to account for something, right? Or not… A low chuckle rose from his throat and she hugged the broken Inocencia closer.

"I- I guess that means yes".

"Don't get your hopes up, Goddess", he sneered. "I saved her because I had to".

Vanessa's eyes narrowed. "Why?"

His expression grew solemn and he threw a sideways glance at Inocencia before averting his attentions back to them. "You almost saved my life"

What? Vanessa apparently felt the same way. "No I didn't"

He gave her a soft smile. "You did. But we'll get to that later". His eyes returned to the ground. "I didn't want this, you know". Vanessa and Catty eyed him suspiciously, and Serena would have done the same had it not been for the compassion flooding her heart.

"You mean you didn't choose to be…" She trailed off, as she wasn't sure exactly what he was.

"Invitus"

"Invi- what?"

He smirked at her confusion. "Invitus. A chosen one. Some are favored by the Atrox, rather than those who take it upon themselves".

"And you're trying to tell me that you didn't?" She laughed, unable to believe that she had actually felt the least bit of sympathy for him. He was to be the Prince of Night. Of course he had chosen his fate. "You're lying. Only a demon could do something like this". She gave a sad smile at Inocencia and ran her fingers through her dark bangs.

"I was human"

"You're anything but human" her voice grew steadily louder. "You hurt a child!"

"I was a child!"

A cold silence floated over the room, as everyone had quieted at his sudden outburst. Even the ever hyper Catty. He went on.

"I was but a child when the Atrox turned me to the darkness. I had no choice. I lost my family. My childhood. You want me to feel emotion, but emotion is dead to me as is any past memory of my human life. And why shouldn't it be? What do I have to live for?" He shook with mounting rage. "You preach about morals: Hope. Love. Justice", he spat. "Well, where was your justice when they came for me and forced me into the night? Where was your love when I was sitting in the shadows, crying for a father that never returned? Where was your hope, Serena? I waited. And waited. But it never came. And it never will. Not to me or you. So don't give me that idealistic bullshit about what's right or wrong. Don't tell me what I am. Just get over yourself and come back down to reality. It's a bitch and you're living in it".

Serena ran her quivering fingers absentmindedly through her hair. She wasn't sure if her leg was numb from Inocencia sitting on it or the piercing guilt that had just engulfed her entire person. She started to apologize, but Vanessa spoke for her.

"I'm sorry", she whispered frailly.

"You say that now", he smirked. "But in another five minutes you'll be trying to knock me out the window again".

Probably, Serena thought bitterly.

"But I don't want your sympathy", he muttered before gazing down at Inocencia. She grimaced at the agony in his blue eyes. "I shouldn't have".

"It's okay", she comforted him. What was she saying? He had just turned her best friend's daughter and her Godchild to the dark side. It was definitely NOT okay. But still, she felt herself sliding her arms around him in condolence. Wasn't Ino the one that needed help? He gently pushed her to the side, his pride obviously bruised, but she only persisted. She didn't want him to be alone and having seen the best sides of him, she knew he wasn't as evil as the image he projected. Well maybe a little… She felt him surrender to her embrace and slowly closed her eyes, relaxing in his arms.

"Serena?"

"Mmm hmm?" she breathed from his chest.

"I'm sorry"

"It's okay-" she started before trailing off abruptly. Two strained moans were heard from the opposite side of the room. Her eyes shooting open, she looked up to see Cassandra and Karyl holding the other two daughters. A rejuvenated Tymmie held the abandoned Inocencia to his side, a malicious smile hovering over his face. Her pupils taking an emerald fire, she glowered at Stanton. His eyes had returned to their usual dangerous gold and a sly smirk played on his lips.

"YOU!" she roared.

"Me", he nodded, taking both her wrists behind her back and pulling her roughly backwards towards him, his chin resting on her shoulder. "You didn't think I was that much of a punk ass did you?"

She didn't respond. Had she really been so willing to believe that he was innocent?

"You did?" he whispered with mock surprise into her ear. "I'm disappointed in you. I heard you were the wisest"

"I can't believe you", she muttered, trying to hold back tears.

"Don't cry", he trailed a fingertip over her cheek. "It gets boring after a while".

She tried to kick him from her position, but he only grabbed her by her hair and wrenched it backwards.

"Ow!" she yelped in pain.

"And there's more where that came from if you don't stop fighting me. Now listen"

"Why?" she asked, sarcasm lacing her voice. "So you can tell me another one of your phony stories?"

"You'll love this one. Trust me", he laughed at the last words as if he had made a joke. "Now once upon a time-"

She groaned and he pulled at a strand of her hair. "Ouch!"

"Listen", he warned. "Once upon a time there was a girl named…?"

"Serena?"

"Serena. And I told Serena. I said, "Serena?" Serena said…"

Silence.

"Serena said…"

She bit her lip to keep from screaming in anger and let out a small. "Yes?"

He pulled her by her hair to avert her attentions to the daughters. They looked as if they were entranced, their eyes cold and vacant "If you don't turn yourself over to the Atrox, I'm going to trap them in my memories"

She cocked an eyebrow. She had been expecting murder or death, but this? She gave a nervous laugh. "Wh- what?"

He sneered. "Believe me, there are things much worse than death" He spun her around to face Inocencia. "Take her for instance".

She swallowed hard.

"If you were to surrender yourself, I'd turn her back to normal"

Hope flowered in her chest. "You would?"

He nodded and turned her to face him. She gasped at the cruel anticipation in his phosphorescent eyes. "So what have you decided?"

Nervous laughter. "I- I have to decide now? Don't I get like a day or something?"

"I never did"

She scowled. "You were lying"

"How do you know that?" he snapped impatiently. "Well?"

She turned to glance at the lifeless daughters and then Inocencia. "Fine", she whispered and lifted her head to face him, determined not to go out like a wimp. Finally, catching his eyes, she stared into them, waiting for an odd sensation. It never came.

"What-"

"Wait", he put a finger to her lips and looked to his side as if sensing something. She noticed that the other three had done the same, all staring intently in the same direction. She gradually slipped out of his arms without him noticing, but before she could plan her next move, a burst of white light shot out from the spot they'd been observing and a raven haired girl in a purple halter and black capris tumbled out.

"Jimena!" Serena cried out in relief.

"Jimena", Stanton muttered less enthusiastically.

Jimena pushed herself up from the ground and eyed the room warily. After she had given it the once over, she turned to Serena. "Damn, chica, do I have to do everything?"

Serena just smiled and shrugged, glad to hear her voice again. She watched as Karyl and Cassandra focused their attentions on her, probably trying to invade her mind. That wasn't going to happen. Serena immediately reached out to their thoughts. Drinking. Drugs. Sex. She grimaced. Was this the basis of a follower's life? Remembering her mission, she groaned. Now how was she supposed to do this again? A thousand memories and thoughts were racing before her inner eye at the speed of light. All she had to do was manage to rearrange them before getting lost. Using all of her focus she scanned their thoughts and intertwined them as if she were untangling a ball of yarn. She felt their confusion and then was immediately thrown from their minds. She yelped as a force hit her head and stumbled back. Her vision returning, she looked up to see Karyl and Cassandra swaying waywardly back and forth. Jimena had caught both Vanessa and Catty and was looking at her in surprise. Maybe even admiration. Giving Serena a half smile, she took her moon amulet and shined the light in the other two daughters' faces. They shot up from their limp positions right away.

"Did we miss anything?" Catty asked, her eyes wide.

Vanessa rubbed at her blonde bangs. "What happened?"

"Serena'll explain. I'll get the kid", Jimena raced across the room to Inocencia. Tymmie's eyes narrowed and he backed away.

"So?" Vanessa asked. "What happened? The last thing I remember is Stanton telling us his sob story and then…" she trailed off.

"I know!" Catty piped up. "It was so cool. Fainting like that".

"What?" Vanessa roared.

"Well I've never fainted before…"

"Catty!"

"Just kidding with you, Nessa"

Serena couldn't help but to smile at their argument. No wonder Vanessa missed her so much. They seemed inseparable. She heard a groan and looked over to see Jimena struggling with Tymmie. He had cornered her against the wall, his eyes glowing a cat- like yellow. It was apparent that she wanted to move from her constant tremors and jerks, but he was somehow holding her in place. Jumping up from her place beside Vanessa and Catty, she made her way hurriedly across the room to assist Jimena, careful not to stare into anyone's eyes. She turned back to ask Vanessa and Catty for help to see that Stanton was nearing them. Oh shit. She cursed to herself, debating on who to help first. Stanton was stronger than Tymmie, but it was Jimena who was in immediate danger. Barricading all entrances of her mind, she neared them and attempted to throw off his thoughts as she had earlier. She tried to venture in but was forced roughly back into her own mind. He had seen her coming, and she wasn't strong enough to break his barrier. Oh well… Using her knee, she came at him from behind and thrust it up between his legs. Jimena's eyes instantly returned to normal and he doubled over in pain. At this, she gave a devious grin, and tossing back a lock of raven black, she kneed him from the other side, straight into his chest. Serena watched wide eyed as he crumpled to the ground. He reached for Jimena's ankle, but they both attacked his wrist and it withered back down.

Ésa es una mala diosa del asno. That's one bad ass Goddess.

Serena grinned at her compliment. "Thanks!"

Jimena's head shot up, apparently surprised that she had caught her thoughts. Then just when Serena thought she was going to give her an earful, Jimena flashed her a devilish smile. "No. Gracias. Thank you.We're gonna make a great equipo". She reached out to take her hand, but a familiar voice intervened.

"How cute", Stanton muttered sarcastically. Cassandra and Karyl were back at his side now, their eyes full of malice. Vanessa and Catty were both hunched over, their breathing labored. They seemed exhausted.

"Come on", Jimena took Serena by the arm and pulled her towards them. She joined hands with the rest of the daughters and they all began to chant. O Mater Luna. Regina Nocias. Adiuvo me nunc. Serena soon joined in and she could feel something powerful arising from within them. Their amulets shone silvery white now against the background evening sky and a milky aura radiated from their bodies. It seemed to reach out and scar the followers, but it obviously wasn't stopping them. As their chant went on, Serena could feel their powers weakening and the darkness growing strong. She swallowed hard as Tymmie finally got up and came to join them. Vanessa and Catty had grown weaker now, their auras dimming. Only Jimena and Serena managed to keep them bright. Then out of the corner of her eye, she saw something scaling the walls. A shadow. Stanton? Hope clutched her chest, but it quickly collapsed as someone else stepped out from the shade. Her vision blurry now, she could hardly see, but it definitely wasn't Stanton. The figure seemed to be draped in darkness as it materialized in a dark corner of the room and right away she could feel its eyes on her. She grimaced. Vanessa had collapsed to the wooden floor boards, her hands still loosely gripping Catty's and Jimena's. Jimena cursed, but continued to chant, louder this time. Serena joined her, regardless of the temporary blindness covering her eyes. All she could see now were dark figures looming over her, no longer able to make out the new follower that had just arrived. "O Mater Luna. Regina Nocias. Adiuvo me nunc. O Mater Luna…" Jimena gave her a rough shove and she went on. "Regina Nocias. Adiuva me nunc". She winced as Catty's grip loosened and fell somewhere into the pursuing darkness. It was just her and Jimena now. Her and Jimena. Wait. That wasn't Jimena. She turned to her side in a struggle to see through the darkness. A patch of it subsided and she could make out a woman's face, vivid and beautiful. The words flowed smoothly from her lips with no trouble at all and Serena could feel her encouragement for her to do the same. Selene? Serena thought, but she received no answer. Her words grew stronger now and the flow of opposing energies seemed to reverse. Light was now pushing its way through the darkness and their strengths gradually built until she could feel the rest of the daughters rising to their feet. Then suddenly the darkness vanished and the follower's energy evaporated into thin air. And so had they apparently. Serena blinked and rubbed at her eyes. "Are they-"

"No" ,Jimena cut her off. "They just realized that they were defeated and left"

Vanessa groaned. "But how?"

"No se" Jimena crossed her arms and fell back against the wall. "I really don't know".

Serena clutched her knees to her chest. Should she tell them about Selene?" Before she could decide, Catty ran to the window. "Look!"

They all strolled over and looked down to see a dazzling parade marching down Disney Land's main street. Dreamy music floated from the foundation as well as mouthwatering aromas of cotton candy, funnel cakes, and other theme park treats. One of the characters looked up and gasped in surprise to see the girls staring out of the window. They all doubled over in laughter.

"How are you gonna get us out of this one?" Vanessa sighed.

"Well look at it this way", Catty smiled. "This is the first time you can't say it's my fault".

Then in a matter of seconds, the doors opened and a group of people came bustling in. Serena recognized them at once.

"Maggie!" she exclaimed and rushed towards her. "What are you doing here?"

She smiled. "I came to get the girls". She pointed towards the rest of the crowd. "They've been looking for you".

Serena looked up to see Jimena, Collin, Stanton, Adonis, Heaven, and Michael all staring at her. With the exception of Vanessa. She was staring at something else. Or someone.

"Catty?" she asked, wide eyed, nearing the back of the room. Catty gave the past Vanessa a strange look.

"You cut your hair", she mumbled to her.

Collin and Stanton immediately took Vanessa by the shoulders and dragged her back towards the door.

"Wait!" Catty jumped up, but Maggie took her by the arm. She spun around angrily. "She wants to see me".

"She can't" The future Jimena sighed desolately at Vanessa's tortured sobs outside of the door. "We're going to have to clear her memory".

Serena shook at each shrill cry that escaped from Vanessa's throat and the past Vanessa watched wide eyed from the floor boards.

"Come on, girls", Maggie gestured for them to follow her.

"But-" Catty complained.

"But nothing", she led them to the far right corner and took a small white wand from her purse. She turned to the future Jimena. "I'll see you in an hour"

Jimena nodded and waved before wrapping an arm gently over Serena's shoulders, as she was still worried about Vanessa. "Relax, chica. It was hard choice, but she had to make one".

Serena nodded and then eyed the unconscious Inocencia in the back of the room. She gulped. "Jimena. There's probably something you should know".

Okay. Argh… lol I tried to make it interesting, but action writing is definitely not my thing. Lol. Oh and I'm sorry I've been taking so long to update lately! I have to take the ACT and stuff and ARGH Its annoying lol

REVIEW CORNER:

Mini Sparky- Yeah she dropped the towel. Very humiliating O.o Two reviews! Kewl! Sorry about the slow updates!

AngelofDarkness1566- Thanks updating now!

Keiko- It's the same as the book and follows the same story line. I mean… okay what I'm trying to say is., This could happen first and then the book could go exactly as planned. You will see why as you read on. If I ever finish it which I plan to! If my outline goes as correct there should be 10 more chapters before I'm done.

Elephantsrocmysox- WOO HOO! Glad you love it!

Christine Marquez- Well if it starts getting childish again, please tell me. Be honest. But not too harsh O.o

Shadowings- (GASP) JESUS! Lol j/k Er… I don't know… I think I am going to make it pretty steamy. I just don't know WHEN lol

Moonlightchild4- Okay Michael will most likely not find out O.o And I don't know if Im going to add those other people but you read my mind about one. And since I need help Ill tell you who. Payasa. Will you please tell me everything you know about her in your review? And how she is connected to Jimena? YOU ARE GOING TO REVIEW ARENT YOU? LOL j/k Thanx for being an awesome reviewer!

LJthePain- OOOOOOOOOOOH! New reviewer! Glad you loved how long it was!

Sheila- THANX FOR THE COMPLIMENTS, NEW REVIEWER! The book is definitely worth it! BUY IT! BUY IT NOW!

DarkGoddess57- lol I'm not going to steal review area O.o

TayTay09- WOOOOOO! ANOTHER NEW REVIEWER! Lol she didn't know it was her husband because she didn't know that they were even in the future. If I woke up with some guy in the morning, expecting my own bed, I would think it was some kidnapper too. GLAD YOU LIKE IT!