Authors Note: Hey! I hope everyone hasn't forgotten about this :( I know that it's been um... almost a year now, but I'm keeping to my New Years resolution and I am going to finish the story. No doubt about it. Hopefully, it won't take another year. Lol
This chapter is so very... just there. I don't know. I might revise it. At least it's not as hard to write anymore but since I'm just getting back into the swing now and this isn't a complete comedy and things ARE getting very serious... I'm a bit rusty... Tell me what you think!
Thank everyone so much for your reviews. They push me to actually want to finish this story :) Thanks!
A sense of triumph spread through out her veins as she stared down upon a lifeless Stanton. She'd finally done it. A slow smirk slipped over her lips. He had it coming all along...
The cries she'd heard before were drawing nearer and she glanced up to see Cassandra racing toward them. Figures. She raised a hand to stop the girl when another cry startled her.
"Serena!" She turned around to see Maggie, Catty, the future Stanton, and both Vanessa's gawking at her in utter horror. She cocked an eyebrow at them all.
"What?" she spat, her voice colder than usual. Didn't they want him gone? Weren't they just planning to kill his future self? Why was the past any different? She scowled at the way they were staring at her. Foolish girls. Maybe she'd just get rid of them all...
Her smirk widened.
But not like this.
Then, without warning, she fell to the sand, clutching at her chest. Ignoring the concerned cries from behind, she winced as the sickening sensation of bile rising in her throat overtook her. Within seconds, she was heaving into the sand, but this wasn't fluid. It was more like a gas. A blinding white hot gas. She grimaced at the foul taste and smell, like something rotten and burning. With every contraction, she felt her energy slipping away and the more gas that escaped the more she realized the horror of what she'd just done. When the last of it flowed from her lips, she fell upon the sand, her body wracked with pain. She wasn't sure which was worse, the feeling that strips of flesh had been ripped from her throat or the strange fatigue that had hazed over her. She tried to rise to a seated position, but her arms couldn't even gather enough strength to pull themselves up. Unable to move, she lay gaping in terror as the gas began to materialized into human form.
"Erica..." she managed to croak. So she'd been possessed... Her worried eyes found Stanton, a hysterical Cassandra at his side. She let out a soft cry at the sight of his pale, rigid form. He couldn't die, could he? Immortals didn't die. She turned back to see that Erica was now fully rejuvenated.
"I didn't..." Serena started, unable to keep the tremors from her voice. "You didn't kill him, did you?"
Her response was a well placed kick to the stomach. Serena uttered a low moan, her body twisting in agony. Erica leaned down over her squirming form, an amused glint in her eyes, and reared back again.
"Stop it!" About five voices cried out at the same time. Tears welling in her eyes, Serena looked up to see Catty and Vanessa holding hands, their power building. Maggie and the older Vanessa gave her worried looks, and Stanton was holding a sobbing Adonis. Poor kid. She frowned sympathetically. He was going to need some serious therapy after this...
She started to move her feet. The paralysis was lifting and the pain in her gut was slowly subsiding. If she was lucky, she'd be able to protect Maggie and Vanessa from harm while working on her mothering skills at the same time. Stanton was doing a good job, but he was weakening as well and the last thing she wanted him to do was faint in the boy's arms. She started to crawl over the sand when a foot came down on the material of her micro mini. She winced at the ripping sound. Why had she let Catty talk her into wearing a skirt? If she had just worn those low riders-
She cringed as a sharp pain caught her in the side and looked up to see Erica standing over her.
"You never answered my-" She bit her bottom lip as the girl slammed a foot down hard against her back.
"Are you sure you want to finish that sentence?"
Serena kept her mouth shut despite the string of obscenities running through her mind.
Erica gave a satisfied smirk and leaned down beside the unconscious Stanton, waving a frightened Cassandra away. She ran a pale finger over his blonde curls and down his neck. Serena's insides blazed with anger.
"Don't touch him!" she cried, before she could bite her tongue. She braced herself, expecting another attack, but the girl only laughed.
"He's so cute when he's dying," she gave her a wicked grin, all the while tracing her fingers over his skin in a circular motion.
Hope sprung into Serena's chest. Her lips parted but someone else asked the question.
"You mean he's not dead yet?" Cassandra sat a few feet away from them, her cheeks damp with tears.
Erica grimaced in disgust at her subordinate. "Don't get your hopes up." She smirked at Serena. "He's getting there."
Serena stared at him, her emerald eyes bright with determination. So he was alive. That meant that there was a still a chance that she could revive him. But how? Before she could even start to plan anything, two small arms closed around her waist.
"Mommy!"Adonis sobbed from behind her. She groaned. Just what she needed...
Turning about in his arms, she looked down to see teary green eyes.
"Are you okay?" he whimpered.
She raised an aching arm to run her fingers through his sandy blonde curls. "I'm fine." She put on her best everything-is-peachy-regardless-of-your-dying-father-behind-me smile and gently pulled his face to hers. "It's gonna be okay. Trust me. I'll make everything right again." She planted a kiss on his forehead and he clutched even tighter at the crimson material of her halter.
A mock sympathetic coo rose from her side. She turned around to see Alex standing there, twisting a strand of red about her finger.
"Mothers and the lies they tell their children." She leaned down beside them. "Wanna know the truth, little man?"
She reached out to touch Adonis's tear stained cheeks, but not before Serena could tear him out of her reach.
"Leave him alone!"
The girl frowned slowly. "I was talking to him." She leaned in closer, her aqua eyes taking on a strange glow. "Come here, baby."
Serena scoffed. Yeah right. "Like he'd really go to..." She gasped as Adonis's grip on her halter slowly loosened. "... you?"
"That's it, sweetie." she crooned. "Come to Alex."
Serena watched in horror as Adonis tried to wriggle out of her grip, his eyes almost as blank and dull as his father behind him.
Alex squealed in glee. "I love babies."
Serena yelped as Adonis's teeth came down hard on her arm and let him go. Before she could reach him again, Alex had swept him off of the ground. "No!"
"He's so beautiful." Alex whispered, a distant, yet deranged look in her eyes. "Can I keep him?" She'd started to tussle his blonde hair.
"Give him back!"
"I think I will." She giggled, poking playfully at his tiny nose. She smiled dreamily at Serena. "Keep him I mean."
"Alex, stop kidding around!" Another girl scolded from over her shoulder. Ebony stepped between the two, tossing her micro braids back. "Am I the only one doing my job around here? Remember what the Atrox said?"
"I remember what the Atrox said." spat Erica, who seemed disappointed that she had stopped the show. "We were just making sure that she didn't try to help her friends."
Ebony crossed her arms and rolled her neck, her dark brown eyes flaring with attitude. "Well, it doesn't take two of you to do that, does it?" She took Alex by the shoulder. "You take care of the humans." She motioned toward Maggie and the older Vanessa. "And you."
Erica raised an eyebrow challengingly.
"You can keep watching her."
She sneered back. "Whatever."
Alex scowled, laying Adonis back down on the sand. She turned to Serena, the same dreamy smile on her lips. "I'll be back." With that, she stood up and raced across the beach to where Maggie and Vanessa were. Serena bit her lip. She had to stop them...
"And what about Stanton?" Erica growled. "The other one?"
Ebony glanced over at the future Stanton, who sent back a searing glare. The girl returned it with a smirk. "He won't be moving for a while."
"And the two daughters?"
Ebony frowned at this. "I can't find them anywhere."
Serena's eyebrows furrowed. Had Catty and Vanessa escaped? Had they went to get help? Who would they run to?
Erica cursed. "Well, shouldn't you be looking then?"
"Well, maybe, if you hadn't been goofing off over here, miss thang-"
"Shhhh." Erica whispered.
"Bitch, don't shush —"
"Listen!"
Serena swallowed hard. Exactly what were they supposed to be listening for?
Two mischievous grins began to slip over the girls' lips.
That couldn't mean anything good...
"There it goes." Erica lifted a finger towards the ocean.
Serena narrowed her eyes, searching for anything suspicious, but all she could see were the varying shades of darkness from the heavens meeting the sea.
"I see it." Ebony hissed, lowly.
"Don't miss." Erica taunted softly.
"Shut up. You know I won't."
Why were they whispering?
Suddenly, a burst of wind gushed through out the area like a tornado, nearly sending Serena flying over the beach. The wind raged all of the way onto the ocean front before abruptly stopping. Serena gasped as the tides reversed and a wave rumbled backwards into the water. That was some kind of power...
She gulped as the girls fell into hysterics, their cruel laughter echoing shrilly across the beach.
"No!" Maggie cried, her voice breaking.
"Two down." Ebony smirked.
Two down?
Serena's eyes widened as a spray of dust whirled past. She remembered how Vanessa baited Stanton after he'd taken Inocencia and gasped. So they hadn't been building their powers, she thought, recalling the girls holding hands. Vanessa had went invisible and took Catty with her. They had probably been trying to lure the girls away from her, but since the wind storm... She grimaced. What happened to them if their molecules were dispersed? Could Vanessa keep them invisible long enough to find them all? What if she got too nervous and they snapped back together without all of their particles? Serena tried to block out the sickening mental picture that had shoved its way into her mind.
"Maggie!" she called, scooping Adonis up from the sand and racing towards the woman. The girls were too occupied with searching the sands for something to notice. She fell to her knees when she got there, her breathing ragged. How long would it take to gain her strength back?
Maggie stared straight ahead, as if in a daze. "It's Catty and Vanessa. They-"
"I know!" Serena rushed. "How can we help them? And Stanton-" She cut off, noticing the strange look in Maggie's eyes. She looked down and nearly scrambled away in surprise at the form of the unconscious older Vanessa lying at a twisted angle upon the sand.
"Wh- what happened?"
"Shhhh."
She looked up to see Alex staring deeply into Maggie's eyes, her red and black hair waving violently about.
"Maggie, no!"
Maggie blinked and looked down at her. "Serena?"
Alex frowned, crossing her arms. "You broke my concentration!"
That was kind of the point. She turned to Maggie. "Don't look her in the eyes!"
"Now I have to start alllll over again." Alex moaned in a sing-song voice.
Maggie started to shield herself, but before Alex's pupils could even begin to dilate again, a sudden burst of energy pierced through the night and Maggie fell to her knees. Serena had to hold her up so that she didn't fall face forward into the sand.
Serena's confused expression mirrored Alex's until she turned around to see Ebony and Erica standing behind her, two moon amulets gleaming from their necks. The dreamy smile slipped back across her lips. "That'll work..."
Serena's fists tightened to the point that her nails were tearing into her skin. Maggie and Stanton were out and who knows what had happened to Catty and Vanessa... This was a mess and she, being the least experienced Goddess of them all, had no clue how to fix it. There was only one option now. She eyed the parking lot pleadingly and closed her eyes.
Please Jimena. Please Jimena. Please Jimena. Please.
She opened her eyes and groaned. No such luck...
It wasn't as if Jimena was that dependable anyway... She remembered the episode back in the past and wondered why she'd made the wish anyway. Knowing Jimena, she'd probably find some way to turn this all around on Stanton...
She sighed. Maybe surrender was the best option. After all, what else did they have to lose?
Something shiny glinted from underneath Maggie and she leaned down to get a better look at it. A silver chain. She carefully pulled it out from underneath the woman and as she expected, there was the carving of an ancient rune. She held it tightly in her palms and it seemed to pulse with an unknown energy. Smiling, she slipped it into a small pouch on the side of her mini. The last thing she wanted was to have something else taken away... That's when suspicion crossed her features. How had Maggie got hold of the charm anyway? Hadn't she dropped it? Had Maggie hidden it to make sure that she couldn't contact him again? Serena frowned, suddenly not so sorry that the woman had been attacked.
"You brought my baby." She looked up to see Alex beaming at her.
Serena clenched her teeth. She wasn't still stuck on that was she? Apparently, yes.
Swooping down, she plucked Adonis from his mother's arms and held him close to her. "Isn't he adorable?"
"Give me that!" Ebony snatched the child away. The sudden jerk had awakened him and he stared fearfully down at Serena. Ebony smirked. "We'll keep him for her good behavior."
"Put him down!" A harsh voice grunted. They all turned to see Stanton sending loathing glares in their direction.
Erica gave a short giggle, her hands on her hips. "I don't think that you're in any situation to be making commands, pretty boy."
Alex giggled excitedly. "Let's play with him!"
Erica rolled her eyes. "No, you whore." An incredibly wicked sneer twisted her features. "I have a better idea. Since you're so tough..." She walked towards him, her strides long and seductive. When she reached him, her fingers found their way around his neck and wrenched his face up so that their eyes would meet. "You'll be the first to go."
He groaned as the silver chains visibly slit deeper into his wrists. Serena winced in compassion.
"No!" she cried out, determinedly. "I'll go first!"
"Serena-" Stanton was cut off by a sharp blow to the jaw.
"Pay attention when I'm talking to you." Erica threatened, tracing her finger down his lips and pulling it away just before he could sink his teeth into it.
Serena was starting to get pissed off. Who the hell did she think she was slapping him like that? Even she couldn't do that and get away with it. "Hey!" she started before Ebony took her by the shoulder and jerked her backwards.
"Behave." she seethed, holding a frightened Adonis in front of her.
Serena swallowed hard. "Okay."
"Stanton." Erica was still holding him tightly by the neck, her fingernails clawing into his skin. "I've heard all about you."
"Then we can skip introductions." he growled, his voice strained. "If you're going to kill me, do it now."
Her high pitched giggle grated on Serena's ear drums. "Not just yet."
Stanton gave a low chuckle. "You're not a-"
"Tell me I'm not a killer, Stanton." She pulled him closer, her eyes wild with malice. "I want to hear it before I slit your throat right in front of your son."
She stared at him expectantly and he bit his lip.
"I thought so," she sneered. "Well, you do know when to shut up. I'll give you that."
Her fingers found Serena's amulet and a few reddish sparks ignited from its surface. A silver aura enclosed her.
"The Atrox has given us orders to disown and destroy you."
Serena gasped as the two other daughters began to summon their energy beside her. Adonis had began to bite and scratch at Ebony's arms but she showed no signs of weakening.
Fear flashed through Stanton's features, but just as quickly vanished.
"Stubborn til the end, aren't you?" Erica roughly held him back by his blonde bangs and stared into his eyes, as if searching for something.
Serena scowled. So she was looking for tears. How sardonic could these girls be? Erica was the sadist. Ebony was the attitude. And Alex... Alex was just weird...
"Not going to beg me for mercy?"
Stanton's hard, stony expression hadn't changed.
"Fine then." Erica seemed disappointed. "It's too bad really." She took him forcefully by the chin and leaned in to breathe across his cheek. "I could've been your Goddess." With that, she kissed him harshly. In response to his resistance, she bit at his lips forcing them to part.
"Hey! Stop that!" Serena bellowed, shielding Adonis's wide eyes. Why did they insist on claiming her family for their own? First her son. Now her husband. She bubbled in anger as the girl traced a finger down his chest and as much as she hated to admit it, he probably deserved it...
Finally, Erica pulled away before kneeing him hard in the stomach.
"Forgive me, your majesty." She curtsied teasingly as he moaned into the sand, his teeth gritted.
"Ooooh!" Alex sang, running at Stanton. "My turn!"
Ebony caught her by the arm. "Concentrate!" She glared at them both. "We're supposed to be killing him. Not raping him." Her fingers closed tightly around her stolen amulet, a serious gleam in her eyes. "Let's do this." She dropped her hold on the struggling Adonis and he dived back into Serena's arms.
"Damn..." Alex groaned, her excitement deflating. "Erica gets to have all the fun..."
"You know it." Erica smirked, her power rippling about her now. "On the count of three."
"No!" Serena cried. Picking Adonis up, she dodged across the beach and fell to her knees at Stanton's side. "How do I loosen these?"
"I don't know." he sighed in exasperation, toying with the cuff on his right arm. "Maggie said some sort of prayer-"
"One!"
"Do you remember what it was?"
"No, I'm trying-ouch!"
"Sorry..."
"Two!"
"Run!" Both of them cried at Adonis and his eyes began to water again.
"I don't remember." Stanton groaned. "You have to get him out of here-"
"I'm not leaving you!" She scolded him, her mind rapidly scanning for a prayer. Where was the Latin when she needed it? Taking a deep breath, she took him by the wrists and started to chant the only prayer she did know. "O Mater, Luna
"Serena!"
"Three!"
Stanton threw himself onto the sand in front of Adonis and she gasped as a blinding white light charged toward them, hardly aware of the chant still echoing from her throat.
Ahem... Well it's... interesting if anything. The next... (Checks notebook) 2 or 3 chapters are all basically action chapters and I do hate writing them although I am a bit excited about writing the next chapter. (Bounces) Then the last 2 are mellow and so is the epilogue... of course.
Although, I'm sure this chapter could be so... much better, it was surprisingly easy to write. And maybe thats why it could be so much better... I went through my plans for this story and revised them trying to cut out plot holes even though I'm sure you'll find a million once I'm done. Even the plot holes have plot holes in a story like this. Hoping to minimize them... The story goes up to exactly 29 chapters including the epilogue, unless I combine one, making it 28. Please tell me what you thought of this chapter. Thanks.