Serena's muscles tensed as the wave of white light crashed over them. She waited for searing pain, but the sensation was quite different from anything she'd expected. Unlike the blinding hot gas that Erica used to possess her victims, this light was calm and soothing. Like the moonlight, it bathed her in a silver ambience, washing away the fear in her past and giving her hope for the future. She leaned back, letting the glow envelop her senses.
Is this what it feels like to die?
At the thought of dying, her eyes flashed wide open. That's when she noticed something. The light wasn't coming from the daughters' direction. In fact, they looked almost as confused as she did.
"What is it?" Erica demanded, her eyes darting about nervously.
"We'll deal with it later." Ebony lifted her palm once again. "Now!"
Everything happened at once.
Dark, crackling energy pierced through the atmosphere and headed straight in their direction, two twin beams of silver light came at them from either side, and then came the incantation.
"Emitte lucem et veritatem!"
Serena gasped as the silver beams caught Stanton on each side and all four of his shackles evaporated into thin air, leaving nothing but a few clouds of silvery dust. Then, before she could make the first move, he took Adonis by the waist, grabbed her ankle, and ran as far from the daughters' attack as he could. A loud explosion sounded from behind them and the force of its impact sent them flying a good five yards across the beach. She winced as her back collided with a particularly solid patch of land and barely managed to roll out of the way as Stanton and Adonis pummeled down after her.
"Ow..." She moaned weakly into the sand. She heard Adonis whimpering behind her and decided to force herself to turn back around regardless of her aching back, legs, and reddening skin due to being dragged through the sand by her ankle. If she wasn't so worried about Stanton, she'd give him a piece of her mind...
"I wanna go home." Adonis sobbed and she pulled him into her lap, rocking him gently back and forth. She started to tell him that everything would be okay, but at this point, she doubted that even Adonis, in all of his innocence and naivety, would believe that.
"Don't worry." She looked down to see Stanton pulling himself up from the sand, the anger apparent in his eyes. "I'll get you home." He turned to Serena, concern in his deep blue eyes. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." She smiled, her sand scraped legs forgotten, and threw her arms around his neck. "You?"
"I think so..." he responded absently, wiping away a thin trail of blood that had crept down his jaw. He stared at the dark crimson substance on his fingers, and she realized that they were both thinking the same thing. Stanton may have been damn hard to kill, but it could be done. He was immortal to some degree, but when it came down to it, he was just as fragile as anyone else and that fact scared the hell out of them both. She bit her lip to keep tears from welling up in her eyes. "I... I thought-"
"Shhh..." He gently cupped her face in his hands and gave her a reassuring smile. "It's alright. I'm okay now." He kissed her lightly on the forehead before looking up, his eyes scanning the area in confusion. "But who..." He trailed off, but she didn't need for him to finish. The same question was running through her mind.
"Look!" Adonis raised a small finger to the right and she heard Stanton give a low whistle.
"That explains a few things..."
Serena followed their gaze to see a woman in a black pantsuit approaching them, long dark curls thrashing wildly in the wind. A huge smile slipped over Serena's lips. "Jimena!" she cried, charging for the woman and wrapping her in a huge bear hug. Adonis followed closely behind, his arms closing tightly around her waist.
"Hey!" Jimena cried, attempting unsuccessfully to pry them away. "I didn't do it alone, you know." She managed to tear an arm out of Serena's grasp and gestured straight ahead where another girl was headed towards them. They would have been identical had it not been for an obvious age difference and the stunning silver halter dress...
"Told you I wouldn't let him die." The younger Jimena flashed them a confident smile as she drew nearer and Serena immediately tackled her as well.
Jimena fell to her knees and groaned as Adonis took hold of her legs. "Igualmente." she grunted. "Good to see you too..."
The older Jimena stood above them laughing, her eyes soft and dreamy, as if recalling some far off memory. "You got here just in time." she told her counterpart. "I wouldn't have been able to undo all those chains by myself."
The past Jimena smiled back. "I was gonna say the same to y- OUCH!"
"Sorry." Serena grinned sheepishly, realizing she'd been holding her too tightly. "I just..." She trailed off, unable to express how grateful she was through words. "Thanks, Jimena..."
Adonis smiled up at Jimena from her legs. "Thanks Aunt Jimena." He glanced at the older woman. "I want a twin..."
They all laughed and Serena smoothed his blonde bangs back. "You already have a twin."
"A boy one!"
"Sorry, chico." The future Jimena patted him softly on the head. "I don't think your madre wants to go through that again."
Serena stared down at her son. She'd never thought about it before. Childbirth... "Was it that bad?"
"Are you kidding?" Jimena cocked an eyebrow. "I thought you were gonna mate somebody! I don't know who was more hysterical. You or Stanton..."
"Er..." Serena started to pale.
"Speaking of which..." Jimena stared off in Stanton's direction, who was still seated upon the ground, watching them all with mild amusement. "Hey vato! I don't know if you noticed yet, so I'm gonna make it easier for you. We just saved your life!"
A half smile started to work its way across his lips, but he seemed to think better of it. "If I remember correctly, Jimena, you were the one who had me tied down in the first place." He sneered. "So you'll excuse me if I'm not jumping for joy."
A sudden jolt of memories flooded back to Serena and like lightening, she flung herself away from both Jimenas. "You tried to kill him!"
The past Jimena snorted. "Quick isn't she?"
"She's working on it." The other explained, slapping a hand to her forehead. "Serena, tell me you aren't thinking what I think you're thinking..."
"I think she's referring to that time you betrayed her, captured me and tried to have me kill-"
"Shut up, smartass."
"But I could be wrong..."
Serena pulled Adonis away from the two. "Don't try to bullshit me, Jimena. I know what you did." Her fists clenched. All of this, and she was still trying to trick her? How stupid did she think she was?!
To her surprise, Jimena laughed. "Come on, Serena! Do you honestly think I'd try to kill Stanton?"
Stanton scoffed and Serena glared daggers at the woman. Ask a stupid question…
"Fine." Jimena sighed. "I'll rephrase that. Do you think after over ten years of being your best friend I'd have the nerve to murder someone you care so much about?"
There was a prolonged silence.
No. Serena didn't think that. At least she hadn't anyway.
"B- but Adonis said he saw you all arguing and you grabbed him."
Adonis nodded, his fingers nervously clutching the dark material of her skirt.
Low laughter rose in Jimena's throat. "Did he tell you what I was arguing about?"
Serena blinked. "Er..."
"I was trying to convince Maggie to let him go." She crossed her arms tightly, her dark eyes conflicted. "It was... hard. Fighting her like that. I hadn't seen her in so many years and..." She took a deep breath. "Maggie overpowered me and left with Stanton. I think she came back looking for me, but Collin and I were already gone by then." Her expression warped into one of disgust. "Of course it would've been easier to get here if we didn't have those diablos to worry about." She motioned toward the sea of followers surrounding the beach. Serena furrowed her eyebrows, wondering why they hadn't attacked already. Did they only jump at their mistress's command?
"And the grabbing me part?" Stanton asked, although his tone was more curious than bitter.
Jimena snarled. "I was trying to save your ass!" She turned to a giggling Adonis. "Did you tell her that he was unconscious?"
He gave her a big innocent smile and shrugged. "I might have forgotten to mention it."
Stanton snickered a little and Jimena rolled her eyes. "Maldiga...You take after your father too much, you know that?" She tapped him softly on the nose and smiled. "And I'll be damned if I have to put up with two of you."
Her smile was contagious. Serena didn't know why, but somehow she believed that she was telling the truth. And she didn't need any proof to be sure of that. All she needed was her word. "I'm sorry, Jimena."
Jimena shrugged. "No problemo. It's okay. If I was in your shoes, I'd probably think the same thing."
Serena gave her an appreciative smile before turning to smirk at Stanton. "Don't you have something you want to say?"
He was standing now, his arms and legs still healing from the various cuts and bruises. "No." He scooped Adonis up into his arms and spun the boy around. "Not really."
Both Jimenas scowled at him and Serena groaned. This was neither the time nor the place for petty arguments and she'd be damned if they lost because her best friend and her lover were too stubborn to get along. "Stanton."
"Fine." He whispered something into a laughing Adonis's ear.
Adonis nodded slowly. "Daddy says he's really sorry."
Serena cocked an eyebrow. "Stanton."
"Right." Stanton smirked. "I almost forgot." He whispered something else in Adonis's ear.
"And thank you!"
"Stanton!"
Stanton sighed. "Thanks Jimena." He gave her a small grin. "Sorry."
"Apology accepted."
"And what's your excuse?" He rounded on the younger Jimena. She looked up at him, her eyes cold enough to freeze hell over.
"Ninguna excusa. I don't got one."
"I figured that." He sneered in Jimena's direction. "You weren't so nice ten years ago."
"Neither were you."
"I had a premonition." The younger girl cut into their conversation. "Of what would happen here tonight. I tried to get here as soon as possible to stop them, but like she said, some diablos got in the way..."
Serena nodded in understanding, but more pressing matters screamed from the back of her mind. Where were Vanessa and Catty? Could they find all of their molecules? She turned toward the shore where the younger Stanton still lay lifeless on the sand and a familiar panic took hold of her. "Hey Jimena?" she asked, her voice higher than usual.
"Hm?"
"Yeah?"
"Can you-"
"Hi kids!"
They all turned around to see two rogue daughters waving at them, each of them dripping wet with ocean water.
Jimena snorted. "So you chicas can swim." She turned to her past self. "We'll have to aim somewhere else next time."
"You caught us off guard!" Erica growled.
Alex whined. "That wasn't very nice..." She smiled sweetly at Adonis and he tightened his grip on Stanton's shirt.
"Arrepentido. Sorry." Jimena smirked, putting her hands to her hips. "Too bad about your amiga."
"Don't worry." Erica laughed coolly and Serena was barely able to cry out in warning before the fire blazed a trail in their direction. "That's exactly what we wanted you to think."
Both Jimenas let out a cry of pain as they skidded across the sand, flames licking at their feet.
Serena cursed as Ebony stepped into the scene, juggling two balls of fire in each hand. She rushed to the girls' side where they were both already trying to rise to their feet- with no luck.
"Dammit!" The future Jimena cursed, her hair falling in disarray over her face. She bent down, desperately trying to remove a pair of black leather sandals from her feet.
"Can you stand?" Serena fell to her knees examining the red blotches that now scorched across the bare skin.
"I'm trying!"
Stanton leaned down, reaching for the younger girl. "Let me help you."
She batted his arm away. "I can do it myself!" A small cry of pain escaped her throat as she hoisted herself onto her knees only to fall back down again.
Serena clicked her tongue ring nervously against her teeth. "This is no time to be stubborn!"
Erica's cold laughter sent chills through out her body.
"Stupid girls..."
"Where, oh, where have the smart people gone?" Alex taunted.
"Hurts, doesn't it?" Ebony stepped between the two, the fire in her palms now transformed into spheres of rushing water. "You should have known better than to send me to the ocean." She kicked the older Jimena in the side. "Poseidon and I are good friends. Didn't you know that?"
Jimena winced a bit, but she refused to let her stony expression waver. Serena admired her resolve. "Who are you?"
"We're goddesses." Alex sang.
"Daughters of the moon."
Jimena raised an eyebrow. "But how-"
"You know, Pandia," Erica spat. "It's not easy growing up. Especially when you can do things like read minds or possess people... or tell the future." She shot her a knowing look and Jimena glowered back. "So you can't imagine how surprised I was when I somehow found myself in my mother's body controlling her every move-"
"Or when I started hearing peoples' thoughts." Serena winced at Alex's confession. She could relate...
Ebony just stood to the side, her arms crossed. She apparently wanted no part in this tale.
"You know the feeling." Erica stared directly at Serena as if seeing into her mind. "But unlike us, you had someone to guide you through it. To tell you that you weren't just a freak. That nothing was the matter with you." She frowned bitterly as if tasting something bad. "We should've been so lucky."
Jimena's cold expression seemed to melt and Serena understood why. If Maggie's legacy had been passed on to Jimena, it would be her job to find the new daughters and inform them.
"I..." Jimena trailed off. "I didn't know-"
"Just because the Atrox is defeated doesn't mean we cease to exist!" Erica snapped. "The daughters' devotion to the Earth is eternal."
"We all met Samantha online." Alex continued. "She was looking for people like her. People with powers."
"Freaks." Erica gave a harsh laugh.
"She was a shape shifter and she'd been practicing for a long time. She helped us improve on our gifts-"
"Our burdens."
"- and get stronger. At first we just used them to goof off. To get into clubs and movies free or to make people do things they wouldn't normally do. You know. Stupid stuff."
"But then Ebony met this guy. Mark. He was really hot."
Ebony rolled her eyes.
"And some of his friends were cool too. They recognized our powers right away. It was different." A slight smile formed on her lips. "We didn't have to hide anything from them. They weren't like other guys."
"That's when they told us about the Atrox. About the power that it could give us. About our destiny. Everything that you didn't tell us."
Serena saw Jimena cringe out of the corner of her eye.
"They wanted to free it and if we helped them, all of our dreams could come true." Erica explained.
"Samantha didn't like that too much." Alex giggled.
"Samantha didn't like it at all..."
Serena gulped, having a pretty good idea what happened to Samantha...
"But first we had to get rid of all of you. Past and future."
Alex giggled. "And you made it easier for us by being here." She gave Serena a smug grin. "You were begging to be slaughtered." She sighed tiredly. "It was tough keeping you here though. I had to constantly mess with your memory and thoughts. And others kept interfering..."
"And I had to keep an eye on you." Erica put in before giving Adonis a teasing smile. "And your son was more than helpful."
Serena bit her lip. She couldn't believe how easily she'd been tricked. So this was why she'd forgotten all of Maggie's warnings. And Collin had never tried to hurt her in the past. It was her possessed son that Selene had come to warn her against. And to think Wally had tried to tell her...
"As we expected, everyone came flocking to the present to save you. Even him." She pointed to the past Stanton's rigid form and Serena prayed that he was still alive.
"They even gift wrapped you for us." Alex winked at Stanton, whose glare was almost as piercing as Jimena's.
"Where's Serena?" he demanded and she knew he meant her future self.
"She's alive." Erica laughed dryly. "And as slippery as ever."
He smiled a little. "Glad to hear."
"Don't get your hopes up." She smirked. "She'll be here. But don't fret." She whispered in a mocking motherly tone. "We'll save her for last."
"So!" Ebony broke her long silence, the impatience clear in her eyes. "Any last words?"
Serena's tensed and stood to her feet. Stanton placed Adonis on the ground. The younger Jimena managed to stand up regardless of the several burn marks scorched across her legs. Serena waited for the older Jimena to rise but the woman just sat there staring off into space.
"Jimena..." She leaned down. "I know how you feel, but we have to fight."
Jimena continued to stare ahead, but her lips parted. "If I hadn't abandoned them..."
"It's not your fault!" Serena cried, trying to keep the frustration from her voice. "You didn't know-"
"That's no excuse." She shook her head. "I deserve to die."
Serena gasped, followed by the younger Jimena and Adonis. Even Stanton seemed a little surprised. Finally someone broke the silence.
"Are you loco, chica?!" A hand reached out and roughly pulled the woman to her feet. "I'm not gonna let myself die!"
The older Jimena shook her head. "I shouldn't have-"
"No time for regrets." The younger girl looked herself solemnly in the eye. "That's always been your way, right?" She smirked. "You're not goin debil on me, are you? Soft?"
A slow smile slipped over Jimena's lips.
"Besides," She motioned toward the Serena, Adonis, and Stanton. "They don't got a chance without us. I seen em." She winked at Serena out of the corner of her eye. "And I didn't waste my time saving that vato's life for him to turn right back around and die, eh?"
Jimena nodded. "Act now. Think later. Just like the old days."
They gave each other a handshake that Serena had never seen before.
"Just like the old days."
An aggravated sigh came from ahead. "Anymore last words?" Erica hissed.
"I have to go potty!" Adonis announced.
"Why don't you go in those bushes up there?"
"Are you kidding, Serena? That looks like poison ivy!"
"Well, fine. Why don't you pick a spot?"
"I HAVE TO POTTY!"
"Shhh. How about that bench-"
"Oh, my God, Stanton! People sit there!"
"Well, if you want to be all motherly about it..."
"I AM A MOTHER!"
"I HAVE TO GO REALLY BAD!"
"I'll take him!" Alex held her arms out.
"NO!" Both parents scolded her.
Erica looked as if she would explode at any minute and Serena figured that it would be in their best interest to make a decision.
"Bushes."
Stanton nodded reluctantly and Adonis ran off in that direction.
"Ready now?" Alex asked, her voice calm compared to the other two who looked as if they were ready to rip every strand of their hair out.
"Ready." Serena stared her down, determined not to let a trace of uncertainty show through. They were weak, without amulets, and most of their team was knocked out, but they still had a fighting chance. She hoped...
"Finally." Ebony spun around, facing the mass of followers. "Attack them!"
Serena gulped. This was so unfair. She grasped Stanton tightly by the hand and backed away.
What's going to happen?
His eyes narrowed at the crowd. Nothing, apparently.
She blinked. "Huh?"
Sure enough, the followers were just as immobile as they'd been a second ago. It was as if they hadn't even heard her command.
"What's wrong?" Ebony paced back and forth, biting nervously at her fingernails. "Why aren't they doing anything?!"
Erica tugged at her long dark tresses. "Didn't we do it right?"
"Hey!" Alex took a few steps forward, her eyebrows crinkled. "Do you feel that?"
Serena started to glance around when an overwhelming sensation fell over her. Like thousands of spiders creeping across her skin. She looked to both Jimenas for help but from the terrified expression on their faces, they felt the same way. Stanton had suddenly dropped to his knees where he was searching frantically for something in the sand.
"Stanton, what-"
She was cut off when a large, pitch black portal formed and a man stepped out, his eyes just as black as the darkness from which he came. A slow snake-like smile crept over his lips and the three daughters all staggered back in fear.
W-" Ebony was the first to speak. "We didn't-"
"Relax." The man hissed. The sound was almost inhuman. "I can take it from here."
PLEASE READ THIS! I BEG OF YOU. I just made a few minor changes in this chapter nothing too cereal. I meant to do an all out rewrite and if anyone thinks it calls for it PLEASE tell me. I just have one request now. The Potty scene. I think the potty scene is distracting and not needed. If I get two people who agree with me I will remove it. Thoughts?