Nearly cascading from the covers, she pushed herself from the bed and raced over to slip her arms around the boy. She ruffled his wild blonde curls and stared down at him. He was dressed in the same light blue pajama suit that he had gone to bed in, unfamiliar action figures sprawled through out the material as well as a few crumbs. His emerald eyes quivered, mirroring her own. She held him closer. "What happened?"

He grasped at the sleeves of her robe, his expression pale and pain- stricken.

"It's okay", she breathed lightly into his hair. "Now tell me what happened". If Maggie and her treacherous band of daughters had laid one finger on the child, she wasn't sure what she'd do.

Adonis gradually slipped away from her to speak, his fingers still clawing at her robe. "Dad's in trouble", he moaned, his eyes fearful.

"I know", she whispered desolately, almost able to taste the bitter anger rising in the back of her throat. "But don't worry. I'm going to fix it". Actually, she had no idea where to start. How could she? The room was locked and with Adonis around… Adonis? Suspicion gathered from within her and her eyes narrowed.

"How did you get here?"

He whined. "You'll kill me if I tell you-"

"Tell me" she scolded, not meaning to sound so harsh. But who could blame her? As time pressed on, it seemed more and more difficult to trust anyone. Including her own blood.

"Okay", Adonis gulped. "I snuck out"

"You what?"

"I told you you'd be mad!"

"Go on", she prompted him.

"When you put Heaven to bed, you woke me up and I couldn't go back to sleep, so I left the room". He looked up, testing her expression for the slightest irritation, before going on. "I couldn't find you. I heard a lot of splashing outside but that was it".

A small blush rose in her cheeks.

"So I left and went to the kitchen to get something to eat"

That explained the crumbs…

"But I only got vegetables", he warned. "I swear!"

She smirked at his lie, eying the two crossed fingers behind his back. He definitely took after his father…

"And when I came back…" he swallowed hard, pulling apprehensively at the toes of his pajama suit.

"And when you came back?"

"There was a hole", he squeaked.

"What?"

"In the air. There was a hole in the air"

She looked up thoughtfully. He must have seen Catty's tunnel.

"Go ahead. I believe you"

He seemed surprised at this. "O- okay. So you and this lady went in the hole and…… are you mad?"

"No", she gave him a comforting smile, wishing he would proceed.

"And I… really?"

"Really"

"And I snuck in after you. I almost got shot!" he beamed excitedly, mimicking Catty's daring demeanor towards the same situation.

"Yeah", she rolled her eyes. "And you're lucky that you're standing here right now. So then what happened?"

He shrugged. "I followed you up here"

"Why didn't you say anything?"

Suddenly he shivered and clutched his shoulders. Lifting a finger, he pointed to a picture of Jimena's grandmother on the wall. "She kept staring at me".

Okay, something wasn't adding up here… "Why didn't she say anything?" Serena, asked, embracing her knees, her emerald eyes skeptical. Adonis's story was acceptable, but there was a huge pothole in it. Witnesses were plenty and she couldn't help but to feel suspicious of the fact that-

"No one saw you?" she asked, hugging her knees tighter, her fingers digging into the blue cotton pajama pants.

"What?" His eyes grew wide.

"Why didn't anyone see you all that time?"

He looked in the opposite direction as if searching for an answer and then turned back around, shifting his feet nervously. "You are mad".

"Adonis!"

He sat in screaming silence, occasionally scratching at his blonde bangs. Finally, she groaned in annoyance.

"Tell me-" She cut off in mid- sentence as he snapped his head around with the pace of a swinging knife blade, his eyes dark and agitated. Letting a small gasp travel up her throat, she slid backwards.

"Where did you get that?" he asked, pointing at the charm resting against her chest.

"Stanton", she gulped, burdened with the possibility that he may not have been on her side. "Your father gave it to me". She raised an eyebrow, watching as his eyes scanned the room rapidly.

"It's cool", he responded before picking up one of Jimena's boots from the carpet. "This is cool too".

Relief flooded Serena's features. Last time she checked, a teenage girl's foot wear was on the bottom of the page on a child's wish list. She was smart enough to know when someone was trying to change the subject. "Adonis", she started again. "Why didn't anyone see you?"

His distraction plan foiled, he scowled at her and stuck out his bottom lip in a pout. "Remember when you said there had to be a way out of here?"

Serena nodded, remembering. "And you said' There is'" She cocked an eyebrow. "How?"

Adonis trembled, his fingers shaking. He closed his eyes and lifted a hand into the air, flailing it about for countless seconds.

"Adonis?" she asked, concerned now. Then, without warning, the hand started to flicker gently as if viewed through a burning flame or a heat wave. She gasped as it slowly faded away. Well, not quite. It was actually becoming dark and billowy, strangely resembling-

"Shadow", she breathed, her eyes entranced. So that explained how he'd snuck pass Jimena and Stanton into the portal and why she and Catty hadn't spotted him. Everyone had simply assumed that he was nothing more than a shade dancing over the walls. Everyone but Jimena's grandmother. She eyed her picture and let a half smile curve onto her lips. She wouldn't put it pass the old woman. She seemed to hold the knowledge of ancients and knew more about the mystic than Maggie and the daughters put together. Low sobs echoed from her side, bringing her ponderings to a halt. She looked down to see Adonis bawling into her lap, his arms folded over his head. She frowned in sympathy and embraced him, resting her cheek against his golden tresses.

"Am I in trouble?" he sobbed. "Is something wrong with me?"

"No", she whispered in his ear. "I'm proud of you"

He turned his head to her, his tears dampening her skin. "You are?"

"Mmhmm", she kissed his small, chubby cheek. "Do you know who else'll be proud?"

He stared up at her expectantly, his innocent eyes compelled now.

"Your father", she answered, standing up and pulling him with her. "But we have to find him first". Tossing the robe from her bodice, she grabbed one of Jimena's black hoodies and slipped it over her head. Then taking the boots, from the carpet, she forced them on. She turned to smile at Adonis who was now wiping the wetness from his face. "You look funny", he squeaked.

She looked down at her dark hoodie, blue pajama pants, and boots. It was true. In fact, funny was more of an understatement. "Thanks", she smirked sarcastically at him.

He climbed on top on Jimena's bed, materializing his hands in and out of shadow mode. "Am I going to get stuck like this?"

"No"

"Or die?"

"No"

"Or disappear forever?" he giggled, jumping up and down on the mattress.

"No", she grinned, attacking his sides with her fingers. "Now stop before you jinx yourself"

He exploded with laughter and, transforming into shadow, he slipped out of her hold and off of the bed.

"That's enough", she warned playfully before guiding him to a small crack in the window. She closed her eyes and smiled as the milky glow fell over her again. "Can you carry me in shadow?"

He nodded. "I carry my action figures all the time!"

She swallowed hard. That was a little bit different, but regardless of her doubts, she took his hand in hers, trying not to think about what chaos would ensue if they materialized back while half way out of the hole. "Work your magic"

"I can?" he asked, bewildered.

She nodded, giving him a reassuring smile. "Any time now"

"Cool!" he shouted in glee and, taking her by the arm, they both began to fade into shadow.

"Shh!" she warned her. "Keep it down or they'll catch us"

"Okay!" he said just as loudly, excited by their predicament.

She shook her head and sighed nostalgically at the familiar sensation of her molecules fading into shadow. Her eyes shot open as an unwelcome voice traveled through out their midst.

"Serena!" she heard Jimena's voice from outside the door. Adonis started to say something, but Serena clamped a hand over his mouth.

"I'm not talking to you!" she called back.

"I thought I heard voices in there!"

"If your hearing voices, maybe you should get your head checked", she snarled. Go, she pushed the words into Adonis's mind. His eyes widened, but he said nothing and simply continued dissolving their human forms.

"Look, I'm sorry-"

"I don't want to hear it!" Serena cut her off.

I won't let him die.

Liar…

"You don't understand!"

"Leave me alone!"

Silence. She released a relieved sigh and let her shadow form float towards the window. She gasped as the darkness before her, namely Adonis, curved into a string like fashion and forced itself through the opening. An odd feeling swept over her and she felt herself growing thinner and thinner with each passing second until she was almost non existent. Her eyes, if she had any at the moment, would have nearly bulged out when she took in her long, skinny form. America's top models would kill for this, she thought as they sailed down onto the earth, landing roughly on the hard cracked cement. She grimaced as her mixed molecules snapped back together combining with the impact of her human body and the ground. Rubbing at a bruised hip, she turned to Adonis who was pulling himself to his feet.

"Are you okay?" she asked, examining him.

"I think so", he mumbled. "My knee hurts".

"It's okay", she lifted him into her arms, as he wasn't wearing any shoes. "But don't you practice better landing with your dolls?"

"Action figures", he corrected her, apparently very defensive of them. She laughed at his all too familiar scowl as she had received it from his father a hundred times before.

"Where are we?" he whispered, softly and she could sense the fear in his tone. Taking in the scene before her, she could tell why. The neighborhood was nothing like her home in Long Beach or even her new home in the notorious Los Angeles. The tall brick apartment buildings were dark and menacing. Thugs hung out on either corner of the street, no doubt drug dealing. More gunshots than usual thundered through the night sky and she could smell the putrid odor of smoke from a garbage fire somewhere. Holding Adonis tighter to her chest, she continued down the block, walking faster this time.

"Mom?" She winced as he tugged softly at the red curls spilling over her shoulders.

"Yeah?"

"What's wrong with Jimena?"

A rush of anger shot through her veins. "Your guess is as good as mine", she answered bitterly, thinking of the future Jimena. She just couldn't bring herself to understand how someone she'd known for over ten years could betray her this way.

"She seemed mad when I left"

"Really?" Serena sneered inwardly, suddenly pleased with her little episode back at Jimena's house. She was more than happy to have caused the woman trouble. "What did she do to make you think she was so mad?"

"She grabbed dad and…" She cocked an eyebrow.

"And what? She grabbed him and what?"

He said nothing, too busy staring ahead of him.

She groaned. "You're not going to try to change the subject again are-" Following his gaze, she swallowed hard. A group of teenagers stood in front of them, blocking their way, four guys and a girl. The guys were all roughed up, gang tattoos covering their skin. They glared daggers at her and she had to fight the instinct to turn around and race as fast as she could back to Jimena's house. The girl stepped forward, wisps of her dark hair falling loose from her scrunchie. She wore a huge T shirt and jeans three times her size. Serena grimaced, wondering just what she was hiding in there. She was pretty. Well, she would have been, anyway, had she not layered her face with mounds of unnecessary cosmetics. Taking a cigarette from her mouth, she tossed it on the ground and crossed her arms.

"Nuevo?" she asked. "Ain't never seen you around here before"

"I was just leaving", Serena stepped to her side, but one of the guys blocked her.

"Que? What? You tired of us or somethin?"

Adonis's fingers dug deeper into her arms and she narrowed her eyes, thinking of her powers.

"Look", she started. "I don't want to hurt you"

They seemed to think this was funny. The girl doubled over with laughter and her friends joined in, sending chills down Serena's spine. The girl pulled back up, still clutching her stomach. Her eyes caught Serena's charm and momentary fear flashed through them.

"Olvídese de ella", she snarled. "Forget her. She ain't about nada"

She turned around and Serena started to sigh in relief when one of the guys spoke up.

"Hey!" he stared at her in awe.

Damn, Serena thought, wondering what he found so interesting.

"Payasa!" he called for the girl. "Come here"

"Que?" Payasa asked, angrily tossing back a few lonely strands of dark hair. "What the hell? I can't be wasting mi tiempa on this puta!"

"Take it off" He ordered Serena roughly, pulling at her hoodie. When she didn't move, he glowered over her. "Take that shit off!"

"Fine!" Serena scowled and lowered Adonis to the sidewalk, where he took a few quick steps back.She shoved the hoodie offand tossed it at them. Grabbing Adonis, she turned the other way only to be blocked again.

"Dammit", she cursed before spinning around to see them staring at the back of the hoodie. She raised an eyebrow.

"What-" she started.

"Shut the fuck up, bitch", Payasa scolded her and then wrenched the hoodie away to look at it. Gradually, the bitter look fell from her face, and she looked up to stare at Serena, her eyes trembling. "Where did you get this?"

"I took it", Serena shrugged, telling the truth.

Payasa laughed. "This is Risky's. You're gonna sit your mentira ass here and tell me you took Risky's shit?"

Risky? "Yeah…" Serena ran her eyes over the hoodie. Sure enough, on the back in graffiti print read "RISKY". She gulped, wondering why she hadn't noticed that before. She had been in such a rush that she had grabbed the first thing she saw.

"Por que? Why?"

"Because", Serena said the first thing that came to mind. "I liked it"

They all gawked at her, wide eyed.

"Because she liked it", one of the guys shook his head. "This motherfucker…"

Payasa roared in disbelief. "Risky don't let no one take her shit. She don't even let no one in her casa unless they're in El Nueve"

El Nueve? "Oh", she cried in recognition. "You mean Jimena!"

Their eyes widened.

"Yo kid", a guy called for Adonis and Serena stepped in front of him, using her hands to keep him away from them. Adonis peeked out from around her legs, his expression terrified.

"You got a name?"

Serena's eyes narrowed. "Don't tell them-"

"Adonis", he answered. She groaned. Kids…

"Adonna", he asked. "Is she telling the truth?"

He nodded.

"But how?" Payasa asked.

"I'll tell you how" her friend answered. "She's either rollin with El Nueve or Jimena's muerto somewhere. Dead".

A glint of anger sparked in Serena's eyes at the mention of Jimena and she clutched her shoulders, venting off frustration. They took this as a warning sign.

"Come on. Ella no está digno de él. She's not worth it. " Payasa tossed the hoodie back at Serena and motioned to her gang. "We're already in enemy territory. Let's get the hell out of here". She motioned to a big black van. Serena, her arms crossed, eyed it, wishing that she had some way out of here.

"Que?" Payasa gazed at Serena's stare. "What? You need a ride?"

Serena's eyes lit up, a determined smile curving about her lips. Well, if they were offering…

"And then it froze in mid- air! It was so cool!" Adonis squealed from the back seat of the van, making gunshot noises. Two of the guys had dared to start a conversation with him in the back of the car and ever since then they had regretted it, as he just wouldn't shut up. Normally they probably would have kicked them both out, but somehow the black hoodie gave her special privileges. She groaned at the irony of it all. Jimena had gotten her into trouble and in the same night worked her out of it without even being present. She looked out of the window perplexed. This only made it more difficult to hate her.

"Is this bothering you?" Adonis poked at Payasa's leg.

"Si", Payasa growled.

"What?" Adonis asked, confused, still poking her. "Are you Chinese?"

Struggling to suppress giggles, Serena grabbed his hand and lowered it to the seat.

"Pull my finger" Adonis shoved his finger in the driver's face.

"Your home" the boy almost hollered in frustration and turned around, waiting for them to get out.

Serena nodded at their impatience and opening the door, she climbed out of the car, pulling Adonis with her.

"Bye!" Adonis waved at them.

"Adios". Payasa called before slamming the door and with that, they were gone, rap music blasting from their speakers as they sped off into the night.

"Come on", Serena sighed, grabbing Adonis's hand and leading him up to the door of the Spanish style home. She had wanted to visit her old home in Long Beach, as she knew her family would still be there, but here, she could at least pick up a few things before heading back to the future. Placing her palms on one of the front windows, she gradually slid it up and then kicked out the screen. Adonis grinned, wide eyes as it hit the floor inside, scraping against the wood.

"Kick ass!" he exclaimed.

"What?"

"Nothing…"

Rolling her eyes, she straddled the sill and climbed in. Then reaching over, she picked up Adonis and lifted him into the house. Squinting through the darkness, she made her way across the living area, her footsteps reverberating through out the empty room.

Adonis made ghostly noises and she hushed him. Ghosts were the least of their worries… Walking up a staircase, she turned into a hallway and finally found what was to be her new room. Yes! She cut the wall light on and as she expected, there in a corner sat a pile of moving boxes. She just hoped that they contained what she needed. She eyed their labels. Serena's books and magazines. Serena's radio. Serena's clothes. Serena's shoes. Serena's girl junk. She rolled her eyes. Collin must have marked them. Grabbing the last box, she tore the tape off , turned it over, and let the contents fall out over the floor. Her hands ran across the items. Brushes. Combs. Hair dye. Earrings. She grinned, finally finding what she was looking for. The moon amulet glowed luminously as if it had been awaiting her arrival. Touching it, comforting warmth spread through her body, giving her strength. Now confident and possibly stronger, she stood to her feet and slipped it around her neck, over Stanton's silver charm. They clinked together creating a spark between them. Adonis stared at it, his eyes wide. "Can I touch it?"

"Sure", she let him wrap his tiny fingers around it, hoping that some of its pure energy would rub off on him.

"Cool", he grinned, squinting as its light shined into his eyes.

"I know-" she started when the hairs on the back of her neck began to prickle. The odd sensation that they weren't alone rushed through her and she swallowed hard.

"Mommy", Adonis raised a finger to point behind her.

Taking a deep breath, she grasped her moon amulet and spun around.

"Serena?" A boy spoke from the doorway before moving forward to step into the light.

(Sigh) Stanton. Will. Be back. Very soon. Okay...

REVIEW CORNER:

MiniSparky- Yeah. Confusing isn't it? Can't answer any of your questions. You'll never figure it out tho! MWAHAHAHAHA! Dont hurt yer self! Oh, and yeah Jimena betrayed her. You will find out how and why and blah blah blah soon. Like I would really risk my life and hurt Stanton... lol

TayTay09- Oh yeah! Adonis totally has magic powers!

AngelofDarkness1566- You are oh so welcome

Christine Marquez- I believe that if the daughters thought it was for a good cause, they would, seeing as how they are from the past and dont know Serena. And they only know Stanton as his past self. But its cool. Theyll feel guilty soon.

Elephantsrocmysox- IS ADONIS A DOTM? LOLOLOLOLOL! That would push my story from humorous to goofy beyond reason lol

Demon Dea- (pats head) Relax. I got this all under control.

DarkGoddess57- Heh... Stanton wasn't in it. Sorry. Ur not gonna like... hunt me down now are you?

Moonlightchild4- Kewl! Thanx! Oh and thanx 4 ur Payasa info!

Shadowings- You'll see

Moraq- Stanton is good! Lol I thought... I had put that point across. Confuzzled now. lol

Waitara- NEW REVIEWER! Hola! Sorry if I spelled your name wrong! Glad you like it!