Alternate Endings
Chapter 1
From Dusk to a Different Dawn
By: Deep Shadows & MotheroftheHorde

Part 3 - A Different Dawn

By: Deep Shadows & MotheroftheHorde

Artimis lay in her bed, surrounded by family, friends and the people who thought she liked and hoped they were in her will. The mood was that of somber waiting and she hated it. They were all acting like she was dying.

Well I am, but still, the only people have some cheer are the people who think they are in my will but aren't. Man, Selena's brother-in-law is going to get a shock... Artimis thought, as she shifted, wishing she could take this blasted heart monitor off.

Melody and Song were both sitting by her bed, Song with a cup and Melody monitoring everything. Her children's families were there, her daughter Selena was sitting on her bed holding her hand while her son Lucas was sitting at the foot of the bed. They were taking among themselves, telling stories which she would jump in and correct. She did not take on a whole band of Deatheaters by herself, just half.

At the thought of Deatheaters Artimis caught a glimpse of a dark cloaked figure. Ah ha, I do get to go down fighting! Artimis thought as she lashed her hand out for her wand, sitting up and mumbling loudly.

"Deatheater."

After sitting up, she noticed the dark cloak figure had a sickle, and he was leaning against the wall reading book. Her whole family was either focused on her or on the spot on the wall were she said there was someone standing.

"Oh, it's just Death, that's ok." She stated, setting her wand back down much to the relief of her family. Laying back on her comfortable pillows, she scanned the room through the now throughly bemused crowd. She noticed a black skinned woman also standing against a far wall, opposite the now recognized Death. Artimis had the faintest feeling of deja vue at the sight of the woman but didn't wish disturb those awaiting her death. Relaxing, Artimis closed her eyes, the sitting up like that had taken quite a bit of energy, more than she expected.

She could feel everything slowing down and she exhaled, feeling herself letting go just a bit but then she came right back up.

"By the way," Everyone sat back suddenly and her daughter hiccuped in an effort to hold back a sob. "at my wake, I want the good wine out, I want all of you drunk and I want all the stories of me and Alexis to be bastardized because you cant remember your own name, let alone the date of the final battle, am I clear?" Artimis demanded and her whole family who had seemed to start weeping, looked up in shock. All of them nodded under the fierce glare she was leveling at them. Again she relaxed for a moment only to snap her eyes open again. "Oh and none of that crying, get happy or something. Lucas, turn on some music, a person could die from the silent mourning going on in here." Artimis spoke, leaning back and resting her head.

She slowed again and she knew she felt her heart skip as a light kept shining at her. Snapping her head back up, causing her daughter to roll her teary eyes in amazement at her mother's sheer will to annoy everyone.

"And you know what, if I don't get a proper burning I will haunt you people until I do, and I think I can out wait you!" At this most of the younger generation started wailing, and not a few of the older. "No, don't cry small ones, grandma gets to go eat as much as she wants and never get fat." Artimis chuckled, gaining laugher from a majority of the room. She thought she could hear a snicker from the book reader, though not sure what caused it, her comment or the book With a finial smile to her family, she felt her heart genitally stop as she exhaled for the last time. She couldn't feel anything but relief as she stood up out of her body. There was a bright light above, a glowing pit below and what she knew as the option the roam the world as a ghost of sorts.

"MAN! I die and still have to make all the decisions!" Artimis mused, standing there not as an old woman now, but in her glory as a young adult, her prime state. Her black hair was once again in its braid, the end resting just at the small of her back. She could move with the grace of her youth. Standing there in a pair of loose dress slacks, a green button up shirt, and her green and silver scarf, she looked down at herself in amazement, her body looked old, and it was wearing a necklace, bringing her hand to her throat, she realized her necklace wasn't there.

The cloaked figure moved easily though the crowed room to stand next to her, the sickle in one hand and an hourglass in the other the book was tucked under the arm. The hooded figure looked at the hourglass with a nod to her, and made a sweeping motion with the sickle by her feet, disconnecting a silvery cord from her and her body. She was going to dwell for a minute that her daughter was showing such sadness over dying when someone else walked up.

Artimis turned around and looked at the black-skinned woman, a light bulb going on literally above her head, because well she was dead and she wanted a bloody lightbulb!

"I know you. You're the woman who fell through my wall. Blane." Artimis spoke more to herself than Blane while pointing at her and giggling at the fact that she finally got the lightbulb.

Blane held a cup in one hand and a black ball in the other.

"Do you want to stay for the wake?" Blane asked and Artimis smirked.

" Are you allowed to drink while your dead?"

"Of course, you're a spirit hehe.. We'll talk while we walk." The last part coming out in a serious tone. Artimis took a moment to do a victory dance before she realized what Blane had said and then followed her.

They moved through the house, down toward the room where the party would be. As they walked the world seemed top go by on fast forward, except the picture and the house elves, who either bowed to her or waved their cordial goodbye.

"Is that normal?" Artimis asked, gesturing to the fact that they could see her.

Blane looked at them and nodded. "For them."

Artimis stood by and watched her wake, amused at the fact that even as a dead person they still listened to her. They were drunk and messing up very time honored stories and some of Artimis's fondest memories. The whole reason she had wanted them to be this way was for the laughter, if she had to be sent off she would rather laughter than tears, she had cried enough to last her a life time plus, she needed to hear joy as a send off.

Artimis look down at her former body, noticing that it still had her necklace on. Artimis set her wine glass down, reaching to her former body and took the necklace off.

"It's my bloody necklace. You can't take it with you." Artimis stated, removing it and putting it on her own neck. Artimis looked to see Tabby, who had been assisting with something for the party looked at her with a smile and nodded at her with that all-knowing elf nod. Artimis, content now, went back to drinking and commenting to Blane about how they were totally setting the stories askew.

Artimis had a grand time at her own wake, using the hand from her dead corpse as a cup holder.

She turned as Blane inhaled to speak.

"You once said that your truest desire was to protect your family, is that still holding true now?" Blane asked her with all seriousness. Artimis had a feeling this was another one of those wise moments, but she didn't think to long because she didn't want to spent eternity trying to seem wise.

"Yes, they were what I lived for. The thing is that I can't do it all myself, even as a ghost or an angel watching over them, they can still be hurt, and I don't want that for them. Not saying that a little pain never did any good, but I can bear for them to be in harms way like I always was." Artimis spoke, looking over her loved ones as she spoke.

"If they are to truly be safe they would have no power, they would have no lives, power attracts danger. So do you wish them to be safe or to have lives. If they have the power to get themselves out of trouble, they have power to get into it, and the mind to make decisions right or wrong. Which do you want for them?" Blane asked and Artimis looked at her, this time not having to pretend to think.

"I don't want to cage them up, if that how I'm perceiving what you are asking. I want them protected, but not so much that they can not live free. A tiger in a cage can never see the sun, it's one of my favorite lines from a song." Artimis mused, the last part more to herself than Blane. Artimis never knew that dying wasn't the end, you had more to decided about later.

Blane handed her the chalice, which was smoldering hot in her hands and she could feel the heat as real as she would have in life. Blane also handed her the black ball which was colder than anything she had ever felt, the kind of cold that would have made her shiver deep down in her bones.

"Put them together." Blane spoke and Artimis got that there was a greater power at work than her or her witty humor. Blane then changes her focus to not at Artimis but above her.

Blane spoke once more, but Artimis got the feeling she wasn't talking to her.

"Do you also choose to this course of action. If this is done you will be bound to this family heart and soul until the light once again fades."

Artimis turned to see whom she was talking to and it was a shadow Artimis. It stood a bit taller than her and had a more imposing stance, but Artimis knew who it was immediately. Looking at it filled her with the same powerful feeling she had every time she used her shadows. She didn't have a name for who it was but she knew who or what it was. Artimis watched as the shadows wrapped its hand around her own hand, her feeling the coolness of it's touch. She knew that it was a sign of agreement.

As Artimis went to move the ball into the chalice the world flashed past her and she found herself standing straddling her own corpse on the funeral pyre. Her daughter, who thankfully hadn't drank that much at the wake, was standing just a few feet from her. Artimis glanced around, seeing her family in various states of drunkenness, giggles over a story or two or crying softly in sorrow.

Artimis placed the ball in the chalice and it melted in it. It began to shake and pull at her as she held on to the chalice with both hands. Her pyre had just been lit and she could see that everything froze. She stood there over her own dead body, shaking as all the shadows darted forward to the chalice. She watched as her own shadow from behind poured in. As the shadows came forward they didn't mold together, but stayed separate as their own entities. Artimis could feel herself being pulled into the chalice too, and it felt just like when the shadows had tried to take her over. It took all of her will to not become one with the spell, because she recognized it for what it was, but she knew that if she did she would lose herself. After what felt like a long time, all the shadows had poured in, making everything one dimensional. Then there was an explosion from the chalice, the shadows moving back out at great speeds back to the person they belonged to. Artimis knew it was only a second, but everyone went back to looking normal, accept Artimis could see just a little bit more in everyone's shadow, a conscieness of sorts.

Artimis looked up into her daughter's tear-rimmed eyes and smiled as she saw the shadows receding from her irises. That's my girl. She thought as she stood back, see the fact that everything below her was gone, the fire having exploded with the power from the spell and she knew that a part of her physically was with everyone she loved. It was comforting to know that even in death, she knew they would be as ok as they could be without her.

She looked to Blane with a smile. "You just did what I asked you to, didn't you?"

"The debt to be paid is now paid?" Blane spoke in a serious tone of voice. Then she pulled off her hat and threw it up in the air with a loud shout of happiness. Her clothing rippled a bit and then she was wearing a red tank-top, jeans, and green high top sneakers. Then she pulled, out of mid-air, various weaponry, strapping two really long swords to her back and then placing daggers here and there.

"Time to travel." She spoke in a more relaxed tone she said as she pulled a backpack on. She pulled out a hair band with horns on it and she pulled her hair up, making it look like she had a five horned head band. Artimis watched with a sort of awe, after all, its not everyday you get to watch this stuff while being dead. Before speaking she actually looked at the person she had just decided to volunteer to go with. She was at least a foot and half taller than Artimis, with amber eyes. The eyes were what had reminded her of when she had met her only a few years ago. Her hair, while pulled up, still was two colors, the front half was white and straight and the back black and curly. Blane wasn't brown though, like people who were called black, she was actually black, actually coal-colored. She was long, tall and built like Artimis. She figured that if it came to contest of flexibility, Blane would most likely beat her, but it would probably be close.

Artimis thought for a moment on her options for after death and found she was going to get bored fast. Smiling, she looked at Blane and asked.

"Where we going?"

Blane crossed her arms and looked down at her with a serious expression but one eyebrow was doing the Snape thing, as she questioned.

"Who's we, White man?"

Artimis smirked as she looked at her, more like looking up at the seven foot two woman.

"Have you seen my options? Be bored in heaven, be bored as a ghost, be Emo and bored in hell, sounds like it would be more fun to follow you."

Blane nodded in understanding, looking at her with eyebrow still chocked.

"Ok, but it gets boring around me too." She stated and Artimis smiled at her.

"That's alright. Two bored people are more fun than one." Artimis looked at Blane who took a moment and looked at her hard.

"Seriously, you want to come?" She asked her voice changing becoming thicker and more vibrant it pulled the truth out of her. Artimis nodded.

"Oh, okay, but it will hurt, you would be 'alive' sort of. " Blane's voice returning to normal as put her hand out.

Artimis, understanding the nonverbal cue, gave Blane her hand. Blane pulled out a dagger and laid it between their palms. Then looking her directly in the eyes, she asked one more time "Do you truly want to do this?"At the nod of agreement, she slid it out of their palms, cutting deeply into both hands and Artimis gasped at the sudden pain, but no blood flowed from her wound. The only blood was Blane's. Blane's hand tightened on hers,.power flared over them both, and a greenish light flowed from Blane into their clasped hands. Blane shuddered closing her eyes, not wanting to show her pain. Energy crackled and Artimis felt the need to breath, fire rushed down her throat exploding in her stomach filling her with warmth. Blane fell to one knee, still holding on to her hand. There was no sense of time, just the flow of warmth that slow trickled to a stop Blane let go of her hand and sat, gasping, sweating and shaking in reaction. Artimis looked at her hand there was no cut, just blood and she felt heavier, more real. She looked around to find herself in a desert, the night sky lit up by more stars than she had ever seen. With a nod, Blane picked her self up and started walking, Artimis turned to look over her shoulder she could see unbroken sand glowing in the starlight, as far as her eyes could see. Blane's prints started next to her, and followed behind the walking woman. With a shrug, Artimis moved, quick stepping foward, falling in step with Blane. And together they walked on.

Talk about an afterlife... Artimis mused as she walked.

This is the last part of Chapter 1...
But...
Theres a feww more Chapters coming and there will probably (not promising) an update next week...
Toodles,
Deep Shadows
and MotheroftheHorde