Okay, first off, I want to thank you guys for the reviews and being so interested in this story. I am a big freaking wimp when it comes to posting my work online, and this is.. well, honestly, this is going to be the first fic I've ever managed to actually finish (that wasn't a one shot), so I'm really proud.

This iiiiis, unfortunately the very last chapter, and it probably raises far more questions than it answers, but hey, there may be a sequel in the future.

As for the last chapter, I've got to be honest. That was not how I had planned for things to go, but once I started writing, my muse was like 'naaaah, let's do something else' and shot that to hell. So from that we get this. I didn't want to outright explain everything because that wouldn't have been any fun, but hopefully you all enjoy seeing things from the other side.


Chapter Five : The Other Side

Three Days Earlier

The creature watched as the human lying before him shook violently for a number of minutes before once more going still. His screams of pain finally dying off as he slipped into unconsciousness. "They told me you were going to be so much harder to deal with." It spoke aloud to the human's form, which was now curled into a ball on the cold, concrete floor. "I am disappointed, but I suppose it makes things that much easier."

Kneeling beside the hunter, the creature placed a hand on his forehead, the magick encircling it now a deep, forest green. The glow engulfed them both and in a swirl of green lights, the two disappeared, leaving no trace of their ever having been in the warehouse, aside from droplets of blood that no one would pay any mind to.

The lair in which the creature resided was, unlike most others, brightly lit and well maintained, seeming to be nothing more than an ordinary human's home in a small town on the coast... though as he and the hunter appeared in the basement, it was more than clean that it was not.

This room was as well lit as all the others, but the dark, brick laden walls were covered in mirrors—dozens upon dozens of mirrors, of varying shape, size, and design. From small, simple hand mirrors to large, ornate decorative ones. Behind them, painted in herbal mixtures and blood, were symbols from a number of languages—human, demonic, angelic. Some were for protection, some for magick enhancement.

Where there were not mirrors, there were shelves, filled with books and bottles, candles and spell ingredients, and in the center of the room sat a large stone alter, covered with a deep blue cloth. Candles and herbs were strewn across it, from the last ritual performed, and with a wave of it's hand, the alter was cleared- all items returning to their rightful places.

The human was laid upon the stone, his body already beginning to change. At first glance, it was nothing major, things that would go unnoticed- his muscles were smaller, hair lighter in colour, and the scars were beginning to fade from his skin. The spell was working much faster than the creature had initially anticipated, a surprising, yet not unwelcome turn of events.

"The boy seems to be taking well to your magick." A second creature, this one smaller than the first, with shining red eyes and dressed in a crimson robe appeared in a swirl of green. "You have done well, Nyall."

The purple eyed creature, Nyall, kept his eyes on the human as he spoke. "He is one well attuned to magick. His companions have been training him, though his own power is... weak. There is just enough magick inside of him to ensure that the spell works as it should." Nyall turned to the other creature. "Tell me, what of his companions? Should I be "concerned" that more hunters will be searching for me?"

Red eyes let out a laugh, walking around him to the other side of the alter, tracing their hand over the human, feeling the magick pulsing within him. "I would imagine not. Even if they realize that he is gone, by the time they would manage to locate you, it will be far too late to reverse the magicks." The human shuddered, letting out a soft whine as tears began running down his cheeks. "I did not think the spell would cause him such pain... is it due to his own power?"

"I believe he is simply dreaming." Nyall stared down at the hunter. "The initial casting may have caused him a fair amount of pain, but it will have worn off by now." The boy's body was changing still, a consistent rate. "The physical transformation will be completed within the hour. Then we will send him off, and he will be our problem no longer."

"What are the chances that he will manage to escape before the spell is complete?"

"Minimal. With the body of a human cub, he will not possess the strength or dexterity to get away from his new keepers, and as the spell rewrites his memories, he will lose the will to try."

"What of his keepers? If they so choose, they could assist him in his escape, and all that we've worked for-"

"Do you not trust me, Tiuah?" Nyall stared hard at his guest, eyes sparking with anger as his voice hardened. "I am not so incompetent that I would choose keepers that would do something such as release their charge. They believe they are... saving him, taking him away from a life made up of nothing more than death and suffering. In their minds, this will be his 'second chance' and they will do whatever they must to ensure it remains so.

Tiuah bowed her head in apology, defusing Nyall's anger. "I did not mean to offend, brother. I am simply concerned. I do not wish for our plans to be derailed when we have come so far." She looked up once more, stepping around the alter to get a better look at the human's features as he shifted. "What will happen if he figures out that they know the truth of his... transition?"

Nyall thought about that, just for a few moments before dismissing her concern. "If he does, there is nothing that he can do. His keepers will not set him free and once the full moon is passed, it will not matter."

Their conversation ended there, and both stood beside the alter as they watched the human's body take on what would be it's new, permanent form. He lay now on the stone, his clothes—torn and splattered with blood- pooling around him as his body shrank and changed. All marks of his past were disappearing, his organs healing from damage done over the years from both battle and alcohol, and his aura, his very soul, cleansed of the filth which plagued it.

Nyall had not lied when he said he wished to do no harm to the boy, but the hunter's ferocity had forced him to use a stronger magick, faster acting, which had been such a shock to the human's system that it likely felt as though he were being burned alive from the inside, at least until he lost consciousness.

The spell, one which he'd performed dozens of times, was originally meant to work slowly, allowing those under it's power to transition at a slow, careful rate, which would allow the caster to monitor their progress, ensure things happened smoothly. Granted, the boosted spell was working much faster than Nyall had thought, but he was sure it was only due to the boy's own power, however weak.

Nyall felt no guilt, despite how things had happened back at the warehouse. He was on a very strict schedule, after all, and if he had not proceeded as he had, then they would have had to wait, allowing the human to tell others of their encounter, surely attracting other hunters to him before it was their time.

So no, he felt no guilt over the pain he caused. After all, this was all part of the grand design, and he, they, could not afford for anything to go wrong.

ooOoo

Somewhere In Southern Ohio – Friday Night

Star gripped the steering wheel of the thunderbird with all her strength, her knuckles turning white. To say she was angry would be a vast understatement, considering the news she had been given only hours before. While she was grateful that Donavan had filled her in on what was going on, it did nothing more than piss her off. She had to focus though, on getting back to base so that they could figure out exactly how to deal with the situation.

Ever since she and Elliot had left home, he'd had the fucking annoying tendency to take off on his own if there was a hunt or a job, and she wasn't immediately available. This had lead to her finding him in hospitals more times than she cared to remember, usually with a concussion, multiple broken bones, an ungodly amount of lacerations, or riddled with bullet holes. Of course, despite whatever pain he was obviously in, he'd always greet her with that stupid goofy ass smile, asking what took her so long.

This time though? He'd gone too fucking far and she was going to beat the everlasting hell out of him as soon as she saw him again, no matter what condition he happened to be in.

They'd been after these things—these creatures, for about ten months now, ever since Donny caught wind of hunters disappearing all over the goddamn map. It wasn't something that would usually catch their attention- hunting was a dangerous job after all, people disappeared all the time, more than likely having been gotten by whatever it was they were trying to get.

But it was different this time. There were no bodies, no leftovers, no evidence of even a struggle. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. They were there and then they weren't. The first guess, of course, had been witches, but that was ruled out almost as quickly as it had been mentioned.

The only witch stupid enough to pull something like as big as that was one that was new to the craft, in which case they wouldn't have the power to do so. That, and Star's parents would have had a lock on them by now, being as advanced in the craft as they were.

Crowley's demons were another possibility, but they never just took someone. It was always a bloody, gruesome death. Werewolves? Shredded bodies and the occasional missing heart. Vampires? Bodies drained of blood. Poltergeists? Same as demons. There was nothing that they could think of that would just take people, and not just normal people. Hunters. IT was always hunters.

"Damnit!" Star growled out to the empty car, pressing down harder on the accelerator. "Why the hell did you have to take off on your own again, you stupid jackass!? You couldn't wait until we had more information? You couldn't wait until we had a goddamn name!? It was there and you just had to go for it. I swear to the Gods that if you're dead, I'm going to find a way to bring you back to life just so I can kill you myself!"

The familiar tune of Donny's ringtone tore her from her rant and she slid her thumb across the screen, mouth open, ready to turn her frustrations on him. He spoke first though, and she just about slammed on the breaks as she heard what he had to say.

"I have a lead."

ooOoo

Nyall's Lair – Friday Afternoon

It was... amusing, to watch the human cub adjust to his new... situation, Nyall decided as he glanced over to the mirror to that particular reality for the tenth time that hour. The boy was much more calm than most of the other hunters had been, though he supposed it was simply due to the boy's personality. A hunter's training didn't usually involve a session on 'how to remain calm in stressful and potentially dangerous situations'.

Instead of panicking—screaming, crying, and fighting with all that he was to escape, he remained (at least outwardly) calm, collected, after realizing that he wasn't in any real position to fight. A human cub's body is only so strong, after all. So, he chose to 'go along' with things, try to subtly work his way out of his entrapment.

Nothing he attempted ever worked, of course, and now? As he played in the backyard with the elder of his two keepers, his plans of escape were pushed so far into the back of his mind that even Nyall wasn't sure he truly wanted to escape. Not now that he'd had a taste of what this new life had to offer.

His thoughts were still conflicted, but that was to be expected. It was only the first day and the spell had only just begun to rewrite his past.

Nyall turned back to the alter, sprinkling the next of many herbs into the mortar, focusing on the task at hand. He had a potion to make for Tiuah, as payment for her... upcoming services, and she would soon be coming to collect.

ooOoo

Base – Boulder, Colorado – Friday Night

"I swear, Donny, if this is some dead end, I'm going to-" The words caught in her throat and she froze as she caught sight of what he'd pulled up on the monitor. "That's.." The creature on the screen before them was one much like they'd been searching for. It's skin was snow white, eyes a bright, haunting green. It was wearing a floor length white cloak, so it's body couldn't be seen, but dark markings adorned it's smooth head and face. It's teeth were a gleaming white and all were pointed, making it look, for lack of better phrasing- creepy as fuck. "Holy fuck, you actually have a lead."

Donny nodded, clicking through the photos, showing the creature from different angles, in different positions. In some, magick auras of varying colour glowed around it's hands. One of his contacts, a hunter off in Washington, managed to send the photos through during a rather.. violent run in with the creature. Unfortunately, he hadn't made it through the encounter, having disappeared off the map almost as soon as the last of the photos were through, but it was enough. "Cost us Paul, but yeah, I've got a lead."

Star waiting, as patiently as possible, for him to explain. "I don't have a name yet, but I've been researching my fucking ass off. I'm cross-references the photos with past jobs and information coming through the grape vine. So far, no one to meet one of these guys face to face has come back from the encounter, meaning we've lost a hell of a lot more comrades than I originally thought." He tapped away at the keyboard, pulling up file after file of information he's gathered. "Don't know what their motive is, or if they even have one. Don't know where they're taking the people they nab, but the body trails?"

"Let me guess. They're a trap?"

"Bingo, sweetheart. They leave a few corpses, hunter picks up the scent and tracks them down and it's game over." Danny grunted, pushing up his glasses. "Anyway, they aren't witches, obviously, and they aren't demonic, as far as we can tell. They rely heavily on their magicks though. They aren't physically strong on their own, but their magicks enhance the fuck out of their natural strength and keep them well protected."

Star huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "So, what? I use a spell to knock 'em down a few pegs then kick their ass?" She could do that. Hell, she'd enjoy doing that.

Unfortunately, Danny shook his head, sighing. "I don't think it would work. Your power stems from nature. Theirs? No idea. It could work, but then again, there's a huge chance that it won't, and we really can't afford to lose you so don't even think about taking off." She narrowed her eyes, grumbling at him. "Look, now that we know the body trails are a sure fire way to find one, all we have to do is wait for them to start popping up again, which seems to be every few days or so."

"Damnit, Donny, I'm not going to just sit around here and wa-"

"Didn't think you would." Danny cut her off, already knowing what she was going to say. "Which is why I have a job for you." He held out a manila folder. "This is everything I have on Elliot's last job. I want you to investigate his last known location. See if you can find something, anything. Hair, blood, fingernails, clothing fibers. Do a complete search of the area and bring me back whatever you find."

Taking the folder, Star nodded, determination building inside of her. "Will do. If there's anything at all, I'll bring it back."

"Atta girl. Now go restock and load up. I'll keep looking for any information that may be out there. Good luck, Star. You're going to need it."

ooOoo

Nyall's Lair – Saturday Morning

Things were progressing at a surprisingly quick rate, and Nyall had to admit, he was actually impressed by Tiuah's work. What she had done was minimal, but it allowed the cub's transition to leap forward, guaranteeing that things would progress just as they needed.

All it had taken was a pair of appropriately placed, mildly intimidating humans to scare the boy in a way he had never before experienced, and his mind, his soul began crying out for the men who had taken up the role as his parents. There was no turning back for him now. He could fight as much as he wanted, but it would do him no good.

The magick latched onto him at the very core in his moment of weakness and nothing of this or any other world would ever be able to separate it from him.

ooOoo

Northern Texas – Saturday Afternoon

She had driven straight through to the location Donny had given her, speeding down the highway as fast as the thunderbird was willing to go. Running on nothing more than adrenaline and caffeine, she was itching to get to the warehouse and find something, anything that would lead her to Elliot.

Supply bag slung over her shoulder, she entered the building, thankful that the sun was shining brightly through the large windows, allowing her full view of her surroundings. At first glance, it didn't seem as though anything had been disturbed, but she knew better. No matter how much someone tried to cleanse a 'crime scene', there was something left. There was always something.

There had to be.

It took her a lot longer than she would have liked to examine the entire area. She hadn't slept in well over twenty four hours, so using a spell to do the work was out of the question- with her luck, she'd accidentally destroy anything that could be useful.

So, it had taken a long while, but she found it. She almost missed it, as miniscule as it was.

Blood.

She couldn't tell if it belonged to Elliot or the creature he had faced, but Danny would be able to run tests and figure it out. She scraped up what she could and sealed it in a small, glass vial, taking one more quick look around.

Whatever this thing was, it was almost too good at cleaning up after itself.

Star sighed, hoping that what she had would be enough.

ooOoo

Nyall's Lair – Saturday Night

Tiuah stood beside the alter, staring into the mirror, which was currently focused on the cub's sleeping form, sprawled out in the middle of his keepers' bed, drool dribbling out of his mouth. He let out a noise, a soft sound and his the elder keeper just barely cracked open an eye, reaching up to slide the fallen pacifier back into his mouth. The cub took it, sighing happily in his sleep as he scooted closer to the man's warmth.

"I take it things are progressing well for this human?" She asked, almost not believing her eyes. "Have you had any problems?"

Nyall glanced over to the mirror. "He has made a few haphazard 'escape' attempts, though after your involvement this morning, he has made the conscious decision to 'play along' until his female companion arrives to rescue him." He spoke with amusement, the idea causing him to chuckle. "I am looking forward to her arrival."

Tiuah took her eyes off the mirror, turning to Nyall. "It will be quite the encounter. Do you believe she would choose to 'save him' after seeing him like this?"

Nyall hmm'd in thought. "While possible, it is highly unlikely. If she cares for him as much as she believes, then she would not wish to take him away from this. It is, as you know, a 'second chance' at life, so why would she?"

"Humans are very selfish creature, Nyall. If she wants him back badly enough, then I have no doubt that she would attempt to retrieve him."

He paused, considering her words. She was correct and he knew that from many years of personal experience. Humans were terrible, selfish beings... "If she is as selfish, as disgustingly greedy as humans tend to be... then she would have to live with the consequences of what she has done."

ooOoo

Base – Boulder, Colorado – Sunday Night

As soon as she got back to base, she was out like a light- dead to the world from the moment she sat upon the couch. Danny draped a blanket over her before taking the opportunity to rummage through her supply bag, taking the sample down to the lab to run the necessary tests.

If it was Elliot's blood, they'd be able to check it for traces of magick, figure out what was done and hopefully, how to reverse it. It would also provide them with more information on exactly what the creatures could do.

If it belonged to the creature, he'd (with any luck) be able to figure out exactly what it was they were dealing with and how to kill it without losing anyone else. They were running out of time and Danny knew it. Star did as well. With the number of comrade disappearances increasing over the last year, they knew it was only a matter of time before the age of hunters came to an end.

Before they came to an end.

The tests would take a number of hours to complete, which meant that Danny wouldn't be getting much, if any sleep tonight. As he returned to the common room, he sighed softly and looked over to Star, a sad gleam in his eyes.

He sat down at the computer and began typing, shooting off emails to all of his contacts in the underworld, while he had the chance. If nothing else, someone there may know something... even if it wouldn't come cheap, but he'd do whatever he could to bring Elliot back, no matter what the cost.

He knew Star would do the same and hoped she'd forgive him for what he was doing.

ooOoo

Nyall's Lair – Monday Morning

Nyall stared into the mirror with curious eyes, watching as the cub awoke, looking around his nursery with tired eyes. The spell was complete now, as it had been as the full moon shone high in the sky as the witching hour struck earlier that morning.

All of the boy's memories had been rewritten, so that his life before, his life as a hunter, was gone for good. There of course would be things—people, situations, that he may encounter throughout his new life that would bring about feelings, emotions, related to things that had happened before, but they would be so small, fleeting, that they would mean nothing to him.

He would live and grow as a normal, powerless human and eventually, die the same way. No longer would he pose a threat to the grand design, no longer would he pose a threat to the Jhora.

As the cub's keepers entered the nursery, Nyall waved his hand and the mirror returned to it's dormant state. Satisfied, he turned, heading up the stairs and out of the basement. He had a number of months to prepare for the next name on his list and it would be a troublesome period indeed. The next target was going to be a tad more difficult that his last had been, and he would have to create an entirely new plan in order to lure them where he needed them to be.

Luckily, he knew exactly where to begin.

ooOoo

Base - Boulder, Colorado – Monday Afternoon

When Star finally awoke, she rolled off of the couch, landing quite painfully on the tile floor. As she stood, she immediately went in search of coffee. Eyes closed, she maneuvered her way around the furniture in the main room, following her nose to the kitchen and managing to only walk into one wall before making it inside.

"Good morning, or, afternoon rather." Danny's voice greeted her. "Fixed your cup—cream, sugar, and hazelnut already mixed in." She slowly cracked open an eye, plopping down across from him at the kitchen table and taking hold of the large mug with both hands.

"Mmm..." Star took a huge swig of the still steaming drink, an action that even after two years caused Danny to wince. "Perfect." She took a deep breath, swallowing down the remainder of the mug before setting it down and sitting back with a sigh. "So, what's the verdict?"

Right to the point, of course. Danny hadn't expected anything else. "Well, it wasn't Elliot's blood." At that, she perked up, staring at Donny with expectant eyes. "The creature... it..." He sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair. "Star, it's a Jhora."

Her brow furrowed in confusion as she worked over the name. It was familiar, but she couldn't pinpoint exactly why. "Jhora? Jhora... Jhora... wait.. wait a minute, you mean those things- damnit, I remember my mom telling me about them- they're like genies, right?"

"They're a subspecies, like Djinn." Donny nodded. "They're very powerful magick users that feed off the magick of the Earth, so t-"

"So I can kill them, right?" Star cut him off, almost bouncing in her seat. She was getting excited now. "That's fucking awesome! All I need is the right spell—I'm sure I have one around here somewhere, and a few po-"

"Star." Donny's less than happy tone immediately sucked the excitement out of her and she sat still. "They feed off of the type of magick that you use." It took a second, but realization flashed across her face and she groaned loudly, slumping in her chair. "The magick that they use is something else- I don't know what."

She huffed, "So, genies, pretty much, right? Okay, so what are they doing to everyone? Genies don't normally care too much for humans, and kidnapping massive amounts of people doesn't seem like a very good 'destroy the world plan'."

"Let me explain this a little better..." Donny sipped his own coffee. "Genies, first off- they grant wishes. Djinn create alternate realities to traps their victims in while they feed off of them." Star nodded. "Okay, Jhora are kind of a combination... say you wished that you... were born male instead. Poof, you're a guy now. While nothing other than that may seem different to you, the entire world is. By changing your past, you've changed your world, creating a sort of... parallel, or alternate, universe. The world where you were born female still exists, but you're no longer in it."

"Okay, makes sense... so... what do they do?"

"They're... sort of like keepers of reality." He figured that was the best way to put it. "They can enter into any possibility, any world or realm that may exist, they can get there, even if, technically, it's a world without magick." He sighed. "I don't have proof of this—it's just my theory, but I think that they're sending hunters into realities where they aren't hunters anymore, or where hunters don't exist. I don't know how they're doing it, because having two of the same person in one reality would create a paradox and..." Another sigh. "Look, until we figure out exactly what they're doing and why, I don't want you do go looking for them. This is some heavy shit and if you get taken out of the game, I'm fucked. We're all fucked."

Star nodded, though remained quiet after he finished, processing everything he had said. It was hard to accept, but.. if she tried to save Elliot now, there would be no coming back, probably for either of them. He... he was just lost until they found a way to stop the Jhora for good, a way to kill them before they even had the chance to strike.. but even then, they'd still have to find a way to reverse whatever had been done, and hope to hell that it didn't have lasting consequences.

This... this was going to be a hell of a lot harder than she'd hoped it would be.