Chapter Twenty-Six
Sharpay bit her lip nervously as she and Troy stood back while Chad and the gang went to talk to the hypnotist. Chad had managed to swing tickets to see Jamie Anderson, the hypnotist from before, the very next day. They had sat through the performance, no one in their group volunteering to get hypnotized, more interesting in talk to the hypnotist than being part of the show.
She felt a squeeze on her hand and looked up at Troy who smiled gently at her. He ran his thumb across her hand, calming her significantly, "Don't worry," he whispered to her, watching as the hypnotist glanced at them and nodded, "We have wills of steel remember?"
She nodded, but still couldn't help but think that this time might be different. Chad came back and told them that Jamie would see them all in her dressing room back stage. They followed Chad to the room and took a seat that Jamie offered. They couldn't really explain what had happened to them since the last show so Jamie offered to put them in a trance, relaxing them so that she could get some answers.
They glanced at their friends who nodded before agreeing to her plan. Jamie started putting them in a trance, the group watching as they fell forward onto each other. Jamie snapped her fingers for them to 'wake up' and as soon as she did so, Troy and Sharpay jolted to a sitting position, unseeing eyes flying open.
"How are you feeling?" Jamie asked.
"Fine," they replied at the same time, creeping out their friends slightly.
"Do you know who you are?" She asked.
"Sharpay Evans," Sharpay answered as Troy said, "Troy Bolton."
"Good, good," she said. She glanced at the group unsure of where to go from there.
"Ask them about the last show," Chad said.
She nodded, turning back to Troy and Sharpay, "Now, I want you to think back, back to the last few weeks, back to the past…" She paused a moment, giving them time to process her command. "Where are you?" Jamie asked.
"Boston," they said, "Massachusetts."
"Boston?" Chad asked, what the hell were they talking about?
"Boston?" Jamie questioned, utterly confused.
They nodded, "1953."
"1953?" she asked, her eyes getting wide.
The group looked at each other, "That's impossible," Taylor said.
"Yeah," Ryan added, "Our parents weren't even conceived in 1953."
The group rolled their eyes at him turning back to their two friends.
"Do you know who you are?" Jamie asked.
They nodded, "Tom Brando," Troy said.
"Tom Brando?!" Jamie asked getting excited. "The Tom Brando?"
"Who's Tom Brando?" Gabriella asked, the name seemed familiar to her but she couldn't quite figure where she'd heard it before.
"Tom Brando was a politician in the 1950s." Jamie answered, "He was running for Senator when…"
She trailed as Troy nodded, "He was shot."
"Shot?" Kelsi asked a quiver of fear in her voice.
Jamie nodded, "Tom Brando was assassinated just before the election. His campaign team didn't like the direction his personal life was going in. They didn't think it went with is image."
"His personal life?" Jason asked.
"He was engaged…to a teacher…" Jamie said deep in thought, "I can't quite remember her name right now…it was something like…"
"Susan Elliot," Sharpay answered.
Jamie turned to her, the wheels in her head spinning as fast as possible, "You?" she asked. Sharpay nodded as Jamie shivered, she turned back to the group, "Susan Elliot was shot first, the sniper that was hired for Tom was supposed to take out Susan first."
"Why?" Ryan asked, not understanding why they would have had to take out Susan…Sharpay…"
"They were supposed to be wed…after they had their first child." Jamie answered, as the girls let out a gasp. Jamie nodded, elaborating for the men, "Susan was pregnant…out of wedlock. Something unacceptable in 1953."
"My god…" Gabriella muttered.
Jamie nodded again and turned back to Troy and Sharpay, she got the feeling that that wasn't the end. "I want you to…think back…farther," she said. She glanced at the group seeing their eyes widen as the implication of what she was doing set in.
"Do you know where you are?" she asked, focusing her attention back to the two before her.
They nodded, "Nous sommes en Francé," they answered.
"What?" Chad asked.
"Speak English," Jamie said.
"We are in France," They replied, a slight accent underlying their words.
"The year?"
"1847," they replied.
"Do you know who you are?"
"I am Soleil Everard," Sharpay answered.
"I am Treves Beaufort." Troy continued.
"Treves Beaufort?" Taylor asked, Troy nodded. "Wasn't he…a painter?" she asked the group. "He had a few paintings in the art museum."
"Yeah," Jason said, "I remember seeing them."
"What happened?" Jamie asked, returning their attention back to the two teens.
"My husband died," Sharpay said.
"Treves?" Kelsi asked, tears coming to her eyes again.
Sharpay shook her head, Troy answered, "I am married."
"Married?" Chad asked, eyes widening.
"A family friend," Troy said, "Our parents arranged it."
"Did you know each other?" Jamie cut in.
They nodded, "I came to stay with them when my husband died." Sharpay started.
"We fell in love." Troy finished.
"What happened?" Jamie continued, it wasn't about finding out what happened at the last show anymore…now it was about finding out about the two before her.
"My wife…" Troy started.
"She found out," Sharpay added, "Put arsenic in my tea…poisoned me…"
The group gasped, "What happened to Treves?" Jamie managed to get out.
"I found the arsenic," Troy answered, "I drank it too."
"So…suicide wasn't out of the question?" Kelsi squeaked utterly terrified at the prospect. The two nodded.
Jamie shook her head, "Think back again, go farther into your pasts…where are you?"
A moment later, they answered, "England."
"The time?"
"1229," they said not hearing the gasps from their friends.
1229? That was a hell of a long time ago.
"1229?" Ryan asked.
"That was near the 6th crusade…right?" Gabriella asked turning to Taylor who nodded.
"Do you know who you are?" Jamie questioned.
"Lady Sarah Emory," Sharpay spoke. They group looked at each other, they had never heard of her before.
"Theodore Bennet," Troy added, "I am a soldier."
"Did you know each other?"
They nodded, "I was brought to Emory manor for my wounds," Troy said, "Sarah found me."
"We fell in love…" Sharpay joined in, "but he returned to the battle."
Jamie bit her lip, almost guessing would happen next, "And then?"
"I was struck down in battle," Troy said, monotone.
"I took my life when I found out." Sharpay concluded.
"You killed yourself?" Ryan asked, shocked at his…sister's…actions.
She nodded, "I hung myself."
The girls gasped again, latching onto the boys they had come with.
Jamie swallowed the lump in her throat, unsure of whether she wanted to continue. She looked up at Chad; he took a breath and nodded for her to go on.
She nodded, "Think back, farther…where are you?"
"Nos es Romae," they said.
"Speak English," Jamie commanded again.
"We are in Rome," the replied.
"And the year?"
They seemed to think a moment, "505 BC."
"Wow…" Ryan started, he hadn't been expecting that.
"Who are you?"
"Quintus Julius Trenus," Troy answered, "Son of Senator Quintus Julius Brunus."
"And you?" Jamie asked turning to Sharpay.
"Sericia Eudo," she said softly, almost as if she were afraid to speak. "I am a slave."
"A slave?" Taylor asked appalled.
Chad shook his head, "No," he said, seeing what Taylor was thinking, how could Sharpay be a slave if she wasn't black. "Back then, the Romans had slaves from every race and color…usually prisoners or capturers of war."
They looked at him, shock evident in their eyes, "What?" He asked, "I pay attention sometimes…"
"Did anything happen to you two?" Jamie questioned.
"They killed me," Sharpay said, "When they found out."
"When who found out what?" Ryan asked.
"The patricians found out I wished to wed Sericia," Troy stated. "They do not take kindly to marrying beneath their status."
"Wait…" Gabriella started, "Sericia…was she your slave?"
Troy nodded, "I tried to stop them…they killed me too."
"Have you lived before that?" Jamie asked, unsure of whether or not they were finished. They nodded slowly, Jamie sighed, "Think back, farther into your past…where are you."
They said something unintelligible, unlike anything that any of them had heard. "Speak English."
"We are in Egypt."
Jamie's eyes widened, these two were just all over the place, "What year is it?"
There was a long pause, almost as if they were both calculating the age they had lived in. "2492 BC."
The group nearly blanched at that, how many lives had the two lived? "Who are you?"
"I am Tehuti, pharaoh." Troy answered, straightening his posture slightly.
"And I am Subira, priestess of Amun for the pharaoh," Sharpay replied.
"What happened to you?" Jamie asked, fear gripping her stomach as she realized the fate of their pasts.
"A war," Troy said angrily.
"Rademens wanted me back," Sharpay took over.
"Rademens?" Jason asked.
"My rival," Troy answered, "I beat him, he offered Subira as payment for his life."
"Then he attacked," Sharpay added.
"I fought and was struck down," Troy concluded.
"And you," Jamie started, turning to Sharpay, "Rademens took you back?"
Sharpay shook her head, "No, I was watching from the wall of the palace…I fell…"
Jamie shook her head; she didn't want to know the rest of their pasts. "Come back now, come back to the present." She said hurriedly.
"What do you think that was all about?" Chad asked as Jamie worked on bringing them to the present.
"I don't know," Kelsi started, "But it sound like…their…"
"Past lives?" Gabriella asked, Kelsi nodded. "I think that's what it was."
"Are you here?" Jamie asked the two teens. They nodded. "What did you just speak of?" she asked, trying to confirm what the kids had talked about.
"Our pasts," Sharpay answered.
"Our lives," Troy added.
"Your past lives?" Jamie asked, they nodded. "Do you remember them?" they nodded again as something occurred to her, "Since the show…" they nodded. Jamie turned to Chad and the rest of the group. "When they were hypnotized before…it must have triggered something in their memories that made them remember all that."
They started to nod slowly, it made sense. It explained so much about what had happened the last few months, all their actions and spaceyness.
"You both remember everything?" Gabriella asked. "Each other?"
They nodded again, "We never have before."
Jamie shook her head in confusion, "Elaborate," she said.
"We are to be together in each life…in every life," They replied, "But never before have we remembered out other lives."
"This is the first time?" Jamie asked.
They nodded, "We were not supposed to remember."
"How do you know that?" Taylor asked.
They didn't answer. Jamie's brow furrowed in thought, "Maybe…" she started, "If the hypnotism allowed them to remember the past…allowing them to be this relaxed might…let them realize the future?"
Taylor and Gabriella, clearly the smartest of the group seemed to get what she was saying while everyone else just looked confused. "You mean…" Gabriella started, "They're accessing that part of their brain that's perceptive of the future?"
Taylor nodded, getting it exactly, "Kinda like how 'psychics' can predict the future…they're getting a sense of what's to come."
Troy and Sharpay nodded at that, shocking the group. "Remembering our past has let us examine what might happen in the future."
"What do you mean?" Ryan asked.
"We were able to see the signs, warn ourselves," they said.
Gabriella nodded, "Like at my party…with the lime."
Sharpay nodded, "Sharpay recalled the tea that Genevieve gave her."
"Genevieve?" Jamie asked, ignoring how Sharpay had referred to herself in the third person.
"My wife," Troy answered.
"Describe," Jamie commanded.
"Tall, brown eyes, brown hair…" Troy started.
"Genevieve?" Taylor asked as if something had occurred to her. Each of their past had had the same initials S.E. and T.B. "Gabriella?" she asked turning to face her friend.
Gabriella paled considerably as Sharpay shook her head. "Being brunette with a G name is coincidence…it is of no importance and will never appear again."
"Though it does explain Troy's affection towards Gabriella, she reminded him of his friend Genevieve…he was comfortable around her," Troy concluded.
Gabriella let out a relieved sigh, "Oh thank god," she murmured taking Ryan's hand in her own, "I don't think I could handle being reincarnated."
"What about me?" Ryan asked, "Sharpay's my sister…am I there every time?"
Troy shook his head, "Your presence is irrelevant…your absence would not affect the time line."
Ryan looked completely heart broken to hear that he was that insignificant. As if sensing his torment, Sharpay spoke, "Siblings change each time…some times they are there…sometimes they are not…"
"Elaborate," Jamie said.
"Susan had an older sister, Soleil had a younger brother, Sarah was an only child, Sericia was taken from her family three sisters and two brothers, and Subira never knew her family." Sharpay replied.
"So…what happens if something happens to one of you?" Kelsi asked. It seemed like, from their pasts, they'd end it all if they couldn't be with the person they loved. They turned an unseeing eye to Kelsi, giving her a blank stare that answered her question. They would do what they must to be together.
"Man…makes me happy that Sharpay didn't die when she fell down the stairs." Chad muttered to himself, but everyone heard him. A shiver ran down their spines as they realized just what Troy could have done if that had taken a bad turn…
"Had their memories not been recovered," Troy said monotone, catching their attention, drawing it away from Chad, "There would have been once close call."
"Elaborate," Jamie said.
"College, summer before junior year, Sharpay would be broadsided on the way home from a night course." Sharpay said.
"She would be hospitalized," Troy continued, "Doctors would not know if she would make it…they doubt it."
"Troy's roommate would return to the dorm to see Troy about to jump, a rope tied around his neck." Sharpay added.
"He would stop Troy," Troy stated.
"Two days later, Sharpay would awake." She said.
"And Troy would propose," Troy finished.
"Wow…" Jason muttered.
"So…if this had never happened, Troy would still be with me and not with Sharpay?" Gabriella asked worriedly, taking Ryan's hand in her own.
"No…that is not true," the two said in unison.
The group stared in confusion at the two before Taylor spoke, realizing that the two probably couldn't see their confused expressions, "What are you talking about?"
"Without their current knowledge they would have joined regardless…" the two said once again. "They would create the ends…"
"The ends?" Chad asked.
"Sharpay started the end," Sharpay said, creepily referring to herself in third person once again, "She ended her union with the boy Zeke…"
"Nearly six months later, Troy would end the union with the girl Gabriella." Troy finished.
"Why?" Gabriella asked, nearly in tears. It was hard hearing that regardless of everything, Troy would have still left her for Sharpay.
"Pressures greater than that of the previous year would be laid upon Troy," Sharpay said.
"And he would seek solace in the one soul that understood the weight of expectations." Troy added.
"Sharpay would understand…" Sharpay started when Ryan cut her off.
"Why?"
"A report in literature of their college expectations would spark the next level of their relationship," Sharpay explained.
"Sharpay would write of attending college for her parents, doing as they wished and not what she wanted…Troy would see a kindred soul." Troy concluded.
"They would speak…a relationship would grow." Sharpay said.
"A week after the musical, of which they would be the leads, the union with Gabriella was to end. A month later…prom…would mark the beginning." Troy stated.
"But you both remember, it must affect this life time," Taylor thought out loud.
The two nodded at the same time before speaking as one yet again, "Had they not remembered, they would have attended rival collages, dated, married, had three children…twin boys and one girl…before dieing in a car accident on thanksgiving with their children…"
"And…and now?" Ryan asked, in fear of his sister's fate.
They smiled softly, "Now they have learned from their pasts, they know how it affects their present, they see how it affects their future. They shall live to an old age as was always meant. They shall attend the same college, doing that which they love, they shall become engaged the summer before their junior year, marry at the end of their senior, they shall have three children as was said, and pass on peacefully in their sleep, five years after the birth of their great granddaughter."
"That's it?" Chad asked, "And that's the end of it all?"
They shook their head, "The end is only the beginning. Two centuries later a new life will begin."
"I am to be an assassin, sent to eliminate a strong public figure and his son." Sharpay said unaware of the wince that Ryan emitted at the thought of his sister being an assassin.
"She is to be injured on the way to her target," Troy continued, "My son finds her and we take her in. A relationship is created…"
"And I am unable to complete my mission," Sharpay finished, "The agency sends their men to finish us off."
"We both die fighting," Troy added, "But my son escapes…150 years later…"
"We don't need to know," Gabriella said.
"As you wish," They said.
"I think we've figured it all out," Jamie said, looking to Chad for approval. He nodded and she turned back to the two to bring them back and snap them out of their trance.
Troy and Sharpay blinked a few times when Jamie snapped her fingers before their eyes. They looked around at their friends, who were all smiling at them. They looked at them all, a questioning look in their eyes. "What?" they asked, had they revealed something embarrassing?
"Nothing," Chad said, shaking his head. He thanked Jamie with the rest of the gang while Sharpay and Troy waited out side, needing some air.
Troy wrapped his arm around Sharpay's shoulders holding her close as they headed to the cars to wait for everyone.
He looked down at her, just watching her leaning against him serenely. He smiled; he couldn't believe he'd been as lucky as he was, to be with her. And this time, it looked like everything might actually go well for them. He couldn't explain how he knew; he just had this feeling…like everything was going to be ok for once…
"What are you thinking about?" Sharpay asked, looking up at him.
She was so beautiful, he couldn't understand something though. "Why do you think we didn't get together sooner?" he asked her, he had been wondering that for a while now and couldn't think of any specific reason why they hadn't been an item…at least before Gabriella came.
"Well…" Sharpay started, "I guess it's cause we never met when we were that young before. And things are more complicated now what with cooties and…"
"More complicated?" Troy asked, stopping them in their tracks. "I think things are less complicated now. I mean, think about it. A king and priestess, a slave and a master, noble and soldier, widower and married man, and politician and teacher in a premarital relationship! It doesn't get any more complicated than that!"
Sharpay laughed at his explanation. "You're right," she sighed taking his hand in hers and pulling him away towards the car. She leaned against the side of it, smiling as Troy gave her a gentle kiss. She couldn't get that smile off her face the rest of the night…she just had a feeling that everything was going to work out for the better this time…
A/N – So…I have a surprise for everyone…one final chapter...I'm also thinking of writing another Troypay fic! I'm not sure when I'll write it, I might in the next few days, but then I might not update for a while because my parents were a little annoyed by my constant writing, lol. But the next fic is probably going to be about Troy and Sharpay (duh) and a relationship that they've been involved in for years, despite the appearance of Gabriella. Sound interesting? I hope so…