Jordan paced back and forth in the living room, waiting on his father and uncles to glimmer back into the house. They had been gone for an unusually long amount of time. Benjamin just sat in a chair adjacent to the sofa. He tapped his foot on the floor nervously. What if something had gone wrong? What if Shelina was too much for the relatively inexperienced brothers to handle? He and Jordan thought about so many things that could go wrong that they never noticed Chyp glimmer inside along with the Complete. Only when Wesley and James collapsed to the ground did they snap back to their senses.
"Dad!" Jordan cried out, running to James.
"What happened?" Benjamin asked, jumping to his feet.
"They'll be okay," Matthew said nonchalantly. "At least they didn't get blasted by a fireball."
"What!?" Jordan yelled out.
"Long story," Matthew said, pulling the bloody athame from his jacket pocket. "We had an unexpected guest there to welcome us."
"What are you talking about?" Benjamin asked.
"Someone else was there," Chyp said. "A young girl, the Akum's daughter."
"Sarah?" Jordan asked, his voice quivering. "Sh-She's here?"
"How'd she get here?" Matthew asked Jordan. "I thought you were the only one who came back."
"I guess she found a way back too," Jordan said, looking disdainfully at Benjamin. Matthew and Benjamin joined Jordan and together they helped Wesley and James to the sofa where they would be more comfortable. "She is half witch, after all."
"I feel like crap," Wesley complained. "I thought you healed me, Chyp."
"I did," Chyp replied, "but I cannot remove any internal pain. That has to go away on its own."
"He'll be alright," Matthew said, waving the blood covered dagger. "Anyway, we got what we went for. So now we can finish the potion."
"Good," James sighed, working his way to his feet, slowly. "Let's finish the potion."
"Oh," Jordan said, remembering something, "I forgot to tell you. Stephanie came by while y'all were gone."
"Really?" Matthew and Wesley asked simultaneously before looking at each other strangely.
"What did she want?" Wesley asked curiously.
"Um," Jordan said, averting his gaze from Matthew, "she just dropped by to say hi."
"Weird," Wesley said, looking upwards. "I guess she's back to her senses."
"It can wait," James said, pulling Wesley to his feet. "We have work to do."
"Since when did you become such a party pooper?" Wesley asked.
Inside Shelina's chamber, the evil mother and daughter regained themselves, brushing dust off of their bodies. Both were boiling mad; their eyes glowed a fierce shade of crimson, reflecting their intense state of anger. Sarah was especially upset. Even after taking the brothers by surprise, they still managed to get away from her. Not one to let her emotions cloud her judgment, she took a deep breath and calmed down.
"They got away!" Shelina shouted. "We have to do something!"
"First of all, mother," Sarah stated, holding her mother's arm, "you need to calm down. If you taught me anything, it's that you can't be ruled by emotions."
"I said that?" Shelina asked.
"Yes," Sarah answered.
Sarah coached her mother in breathing slowly and deeply. As Shelina had taught her in the future, Sarah told her mother to close her eyes and imagine something pleasant as she counted to ten. While she exhaled, Sarah prompted her to clear her mind, letting only the air of the moment pass through her body. Three deep breaths later, Shelina found herself calm and composed. She smiled at her daughter as she gently stroked Sarah's long hair.
"You're really something," Shelina said to her daughter. "I'm glad you're here."
"Mother!" Sarah said, slightly blushing. "You're embarrassing me!"
"Oh, c'mon," Shelina said. "That's what mothers do. Anyway, let's get some focus here. The witches got away from us. Why didn't they try to kill us right here?"
"One of them had an athame," Sarah said. "He used it to cut you in your side."
"What happened to the cut?" Shelina asked, examining her side.
"I healed you," Sarah said, rubbing her mother's belly, "or rather she healed you."
"Good to know," Shelina said.
"What bothers me," Sarah said, getting back to the main topic, "is the fact that he looked like all he wanted was your…blood…uh oh."
"What 'uh oh?'" Shelina asked, not following Sarah.
"In the future," Sarah explained, "they vanquished you with some potion, and I remember Jordan saying something about needed your blood to do it."
"That means…" Shelina concluded.
"We need to hurry," Sarah said.
"What about my baby?" Shelina asked, indicating her stomach. "I mean…you? Is it safe?"
"I healed you before," Sarah said. "I'm sure you'll be fine. Let's go."
The two of them looked at each other briefly. For that one moment, their eyes engaged in a deep conversation. Shelina silently worried about the well being of her unborn child. Sarah, on the other hand, reassured her mother that she had nothing to worry about. Their eyes locked one last time before they both instantly disappeared in the blink of an eye.
