Wizards Aeterna
The Battle for Everything
Chapter Eight: Omnibus
"With the appearance of supernatural beings, the world has fallen into a state of chaos," a female news anchor announced as scattered images of riots and cultist rituals played out behind her. "Some groups have come forward with statements stating that this is the coming of the apocalypse. Reports of demons are running rampant. Casualties are massive, as are suicide rates and collateral damage."
"We have to go now," Max declared. "Alex, do you have enough power to transport us there?"
"Max, we can't take everyone," Alexandria explained. "It's too dangerous. You, Juliet, and I are the only ones who can fight them. The three of us have to go alone." Despite his sister's best efforts, Justin heard her, and clenched his fist in agonized rage.
"We're not just going to sit by while you go after them," Theresa replied. "You're just kids."
"Mom, no we're not," Alexandria gently argued. "Max and I have our full powers, and Juliet knows how to use her vampirism against them. Max and I will always need you and Dad…but you have to let us go now. We'll be okay." Harper took her friend's hand, her fear growing. "We'll be okay," Alexandria gently repeated.
Stopping her husband from stepping forward, Theresa gazed into Jerry's eyes, assuring him what they were doing was right. "No matter what happens," the Italian man declared. "We love you. And Juliet…I'm glad you came into our lives."
"Thank you for always being my family," the vampiress answered with a smile. "I'll protect them."
"We'll protect each other," Max added.
"And so will I," Justin stepped forward, catching Harper's eye.
"But Justin, your…" Alexandria began, fearing for her big brother's own safety.
"My soul-self is dead," the young man interrupted with a heavy heart. "But I'm not. There's still mana inside of me…and I still have a soul. We're stronger when we're together, and I'm not letting you guys go without me. I'll find a way, Alex…But I'm going to need all of you." For once in his life, Justin felt his limits but found a new strength. "Fight as one?"
"Fight as one," Alex, Max, and Juliet agreed, joining hands with the wizard. The vampiress gazed into her lover's eyes, giving him strength and comfort.
"We'll find you," Jerry promised. "When all this is over, we'll be by your side…all of you."
"We promise, you guys," Harper assured her friends.
"We'll find a way," Theresa assured the group.
"Thank you," Alexandria prayed, showing her mother, father, and sister one last smile. "Until then, be safe." Closing her eyes, the young woman cast a spell of protection over her family before turning to her battle allies. "Justin…find yourself."
Closing his eyes and nodding in agreement, Justin broke through the fog and once more felt his soul. The mana was strong, waiting for him to reclaim it. Once more, the blessing of magic began to flow through the young man's veins, healing his wounds and restoring hope within him. "I've found it," a young Justin Russo declared, touching upon his gift for the first time.
Holding one another tightly, Alexandria, Max, Juliet, and Justin bid their family one last goodbye, and then focused their energies on themselves and their allies. "Apparition!" they called out in harmony, causing their physical forms to vanish as they became ethereal, spiraling into the air in a time/space-shattering vortex. Moving beyond the speed of light, the group watched the world beneath them cascade and shift in its form, glow, and sound. All the lights of thousands of cities flashed by like a rainbow of fireworks in the night's sky. Time no longer existed as the spiritual beings flowed and turned as naturally as the wind. One by one, the group found themselves laughing like children. For one moment, everything was sound and at peace.
Suddenly, their merging bodies collided with an unseen and immovable bolt, shattering their form and scattering their separate bodies onto the cold, wet, brick ground, their senses blurred and warped. Crying out, Alex and Justin struggled to stand as they saw a row of human-shaped entities clad in black cloaks that became illuminated with blood-red symbols running up the sides and sleeves. Their eyes cloaked in shadow, the humans appeared heavily scarred, as if the symbols they worship had been carved into their flesh, branded with images of grotesque creatures and horrific ritual scenes, or tattooed with ancient prophecies. Their arms were laced with heavy golden chains and their aged fingers had become deformed to resemble the talons of a hawk. Their scarred or lipless mouths remained shut, every breath silent.
Vomiting onto the ground, Max forced himself onto his hands and knees until Juliet lifted him to his feet and behind her body. Alex and Justin stood beside their allies. Together, the four remained bold and stoic. "The Gorog," Alexandria declared, her voice laced with anger and distrust.
"They look like high-priests," Justin concluded. "What the hell do you want?"
"In the service of our master, we want for nothing," a male priest croaked. "Our destiny is to protect he who has entrusted us with his life."
"Gancanagh?" Alexandria replied. "Is he the one you worship?"
"The entire family has our devotion," a sickly-sounding man answered. "And in this, his finest hour, we shall serve him well and be welcomed into his new world."
"At long last," an elderly woman added, her voice lightening with the false promises given to her and her allies.
"Whatever that thing promised you, he'll betray it," Juliet exclaimed, her voice strong and bold.
"The corrupted blood persists to blaspheme against our lord," one of the high-priests angrily declared. The cultists linked hands, their energies becoming one, and released a storm of jagged and dark mana upon the vampiress, enflaming all of her nerve endings and bringing her to her knees. Hit by a jagged bolt, Max clenched his pounding heart.
Preparing a lethal assault on the Gorog, Justin helped his lover onto her feet as Alex comforted her little brother. His eyes tightening, the young man readied his targets. The regime's over, assholes, he declared to himself.
"You're not the only ones he pretended to care about," Alexandria cried out. "It's not too late to walk away from all this." Justin glared at his sister. They don't deserve to walk away, he said, desperately trying to reach Alex. "…If he has his way, no one's gonna be spared. You're just pawns to him. There won't be any reward for what you're doing."
"I don't think that matters anymore, Alex," Juliet replied, noticing the unchanged expressions on the high-priests' faces.
"You shall all burn," a gruffly-voiced man declared, reaching out his arms as if to guide the rising flames of a fire. "If not by our hand, then the hand of our master. All that you love will be crushed."
"Everything you've fought for will turn to ash," a shrill-voiced woman added.
"All you know will be destroyed," the Gorog chanted in harmony, uniting their fury once more. "No more mercy. No forgiveness. No more chances. Kill the wicked ones. Kill the weak. Burn the worthless. Let our master's time begin as our enemies end." The room began to darken: the lights dying, the air slowly growing hotter, and the smell of burning flesh rising. Looking down, Alex, Juliet, Max, and Justin saw the symbols of their enemy form in fire under their feet.
"Alex," Max called out, his fear growing. "We have to end this. It's not a choice anymore."
"Let's hope it's that simple," the young woman replied, holding out her wand for Max and Justin to unite with. Let this be quick and true.
As the Gorog's chanting grew louder, the air began to burn, blurring Alex's vision. Tapping into her vampiric blood, Juliet flared out her wings, lifting herself into the air before flapping them forward, creating a small storm that hindered the spread of the flames. Recognizing their opening, the Russo siblings united their mana, forming a single orb of magical force. Their minds and souls united once more by the last spell their father taught them, the three teenagers released a blast of pure, devastating mana that smothered the unholy flames and consumed the Gorog in a blinding orb of growing light. Within an instinct, the high-priests screamed and shed their false skin: their horrific, dust-ridden bones becoming exposed and turning to ash in the presence of goodness. Her nose bleeding, Alexandria fought to maintain her energy as Juliet, her sensitive eyes nearly blinded by the light, cloaked herself within her wings. Justin's body trembled, his vision becoming blurred while Max's eyes began to water, his body throbbing. Once the light began to dim, Juliet flared out her bat-like wings once more, creating a wind storm that scattered the ash and destroyed all that was left of the Gorog. Dropping all their burdens, Justin, Alex, and Max felt their bodies lighten as they lowered themselves onto the ground. Her wings vanishing, Juliet came to the aid of her friends. Alex held her hand over her eyes, struggling to make the brutality her and her brothers witnessed okay in her remorseful mind. Hearing his sister's sobs, Max walked up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders until she was able to stand on her own. Leaning his weight against Juliet, Justin felt his weak legs attempt to maintain their balance.
"Alex," Juliet gently declared, moving closer to her friend. "We have to go. We have to finish this."
Quickly stroking her hands over her eyes, Alexandria snuffed back her pain and attempted to regain her composure. "I know," she answered, running her fingers back to get the locks of hair out of her face. "I'm okay. Thanks, Maxi." Kissing her little brother on the forehead, Alexandria remembered the time they snuck out on Max's thirteenth birthday to watch a new movie at the theater. Alex and Max snuck out that night: not Alexandria.
"Let's go," Max said, pretending to rub off his sister's kiss.
The group joined their energies one more time, and found themselves soaring and spinning through great storms of wind and rain and thunder and lightning in a blackened sky. Looking down at the world below, the group witnessed demons charging through the streets. Screams of pain sounded through the air and sky, but there was nothing that could be done: Gancanagh and the evil Alex were the source, as they all knew. Stop them and we stop all this, Justin's thought echoed through the collective consciousness of all those in the vortex. So much pain… Beyond the clouds, the sky was drenched in blood-red anti-light.
"They're coming," the entity once connected to Alex declared, her green, feline eyes opening and gazing up at the sky. The dark void that was her heart flowed with tainted mana as her other side drew closer. "Start the machine." The evil Alex's claw-like hands clenched into fists, her skin stained with streaks of pure darkness almost resembling webs.
"I do not take orders from you," Gancanagh declared, his dark essence connecting with the energy flowing through the golden construct at the center of the Tower of Pisa. "May this world run red with the blood of all those who would defy us." A massive wave of corrupted red mana expelled from the machine, consuming the sky in profound darkness. "The vampiress will suffer for what she stole from me." Unable to feel the dying world around him, the demon tapped into the mortals vanishing and suffering mortals around him. "And behold, I shall become a blight upon this world, and all I touch shall wither and die."
One by one, all those without the blood of wizards began to choke on the air that once nurtured them. Men, women, and children clenched their throats as their mana was torn from their bodies. Blood painted the streets and walls as the casualties grew. Bones snapped and broke, innocents screamed, and the wizards of the world found themselves helpless: With all their powers and blessings, there was nothing any of them could do as their loved ones suffered, begging for their help, their love, their promises, or just for them to use their gifts one last time. One last time. Many wizards rendered themselves deaf or blind when faced with their own apparent uselessness. As the stars began to dim, a statue of a young woman once known as Stevie Nichols began to tremble. All those who were able sent their children to the Magical Realm, following only if there was time.
"The skies are turning to blood!" an anchorman declared, his mind becoming overwhelmed with fear.
"Rays of lights are radiating from the Leaning Tower of Pisa," a perspiring newswoman announced. "Any attempts to reach the building have been met with death and devastation." The screen cut to the rough and shaking footage of a shoulder-mounted camera as a team of reporters charged towards the tower, only for the leaders to be turned to ash before the camera cut to static. "All countries across the world are being advised to lockdown any and all buildings and for all residents to immediately take shelter in any available location."
Protected by Alex's blessing, Theresa, Jerry, and Harper held one another's hand within the isolated structure of The Lair. Outside, the world quaked. Theresa held Alex's little hands as the little girl tried to walk for the first time. Justin held his baby brother, Max for the first time while sitting on Jerry's lap. As Jerry, Theresa, Juliet, Justin, Max, Harper, and Mason sat together on the couch, Alex painted the scene on a canvas. Arranging shards of photographs both old and new, the young woman constructed a picture of herself and the rest of her family together. Harper and Alex ran through the hallway, slipped through the door to the art classroom, and spent the whole night inside the school, painting and drawing together. For so long, everything was right.
As their destination neared, Alex, Justin, Juliet, and Max joined their spiritual hands in prayer. This can't be happening, Max exclaimed, feeling a panic attack starting to flare up inside of him. We're going to stop them, Max, Justin replied, his voice bold. We need to do more than that, Alex declared. The world knows, and we have to be the ones to show them that we're on their side. We have to astonish them. At last, the tower came into sight, and the teenagers felt their hearts pound, their stomachs aflame with tension, horror, and the burden of saving all they knew. I love all of you, Juliet said, trying to let her mind escape. We'll always be one, Alexandria replied, sharing a part of herself with her friend. At last, the group found themselves standing side-by-side within the confines of the pillars atop the structure.
"Oh my god," Justin whispered at the horror before him. Death and chaos reigned upon the land. The center of evil stood directly in front of the family.
Gazing at her dark side, Alexandria saw the beast's ugliness; her terrible beauty and all of her sins. Smiling an unholy smile, the wicked thing revealed her fangs. "What's wrong, little girl?" the evil Alex mocked, slowly walking closer to those she once called her family. "Don't you like me? Don't you love me? Don't you think I'm just like you?"
"You're not a part of me anymore," Alexandria snarled, taking in all the pain and fear that had been spread to her once peaceful world. Pulling her wand from her boot, the young woman aimed her gem at the evil ones before her. "If it takes my last breath, I swear I will stop you."
Stepping forward, Gancanagh, still wearing the shroud of a young man named Dominic, looked into Alexandria's eyes. "You can't stop us," he declared. "You are all just as weak as those around you. There is no more use for your kind."
"Then why can't your machine hurt us?" Max scoffed, bold and unafraid.
"Because I have use of the self-proclaimed protectors of the twin realms," the demon answered. "The wizards shall fall, and their bloodlines shall give birth to the true order: the order my mother bestowed upon me…The order your kind robbed this world of. The vermin were never meant to rule. It is your nature to serve and die."
Focusing all that remained of his power, Justin released a bolt of mana, stabbing through Gancanagh and shattering a part of the column behind the monster. Unharmed by the blast, the demon lunged forward, running towards Justin with his claws brandished. Max ran forward with his wand out, only to find himself thrown aside by Gancanagh, smashing his back into a pillar. Juliet flared out her wings, tearing through the wind and striking the monster's eyes, attempting to gouge them out. "Now!" she cried to her lover. Justin clenched his wand as he charged forward. Stabbing the ruby-colored gem into the creature's body, the young man released his mana in the form of a growing streak of lightning, tearing through Gancanagh's shoulders, chest, and eyes. The monster's wounds began to drain out, discharging thick, black streams of blood. Screaming, the demon thrust out his hands, knocking Justin and firmly grasping Juliet's throat, slowly crushing her wind pipe. "You…" he snarled, gritting his teeth. "…Took the world from me. Now, I will make you suffer until you beg for death."
"Go to hell," Juliet choked out, digging her claws into Gancanagh's hand. Laughing at the sentiment, the demon tightened his grip, cutting off oxygen to his victim's body.
"You'll burn for this!" Max screamed, unable to control his anger. Thrusting his hand forward, the boy released a blast of emerald energy from his wand, setting the demon on fire upon contact. With every passing second, the fire grew larger, the flames digging deeper and deeper into the monster's flesh. "Drop her! Now!"
Tightening its eyes, Gancanagh smashed Juliet into the ground, cracking and damaging the stone, picked her up by her hair, and threw her at Max, knocking them both against the pillars. "You failed to protect your love," the demon exclaimed, slowly walking towards Justin. "I've crippled your wings, broken your home, and taken your world: It would bring me pleasure to leave you alive long enough to mourn, but I have found great disgust with your kind. I shall grant you one final mercy…death." Clenching the young man's face within the palm of his hand, Gancanagh threw Justin from the building, intent on hearing the wizard's bones crumble upon hitting the earth below as he walked towards the machine.
Unable to speak, Juliet held out her shaking hand in a futile attempt to reach out to her lover. His mana still weak from the fire, Max closed his eyes and prayed.
"Justin, no!" Alexandria screamed, readying a spell to save her older brother. Feeling her aching hand being smashed, the wizard cried out, dropping her wand and falling to her knees. Knowing her brother was soon to die, Alexandria felt a part of her heart shattering. "This is all your fault!" she screamed, lunging at her reflection and tackling her.
Feeling his weak and damaged body plunging downward, Justin closed his eyes, remembering his family and loved ones: Remembering how magic first came into his life, and the bond it gave him with the world around him. Prepared and willing to die, the young man opened his eyes just in time to feel to feel the embrace.
All was silent. Clenching her fist, Alexandria drove her arms into her wicked side's face, suffering through the raw, burning nerves around her broken hand. Laughing like a fiend, the beast endured each blow, letting her dark blood stream from her growing wounds. "You've ruined everything!" Alexandria screamed, hot, burning tears blinding her and streaming down her face as she relentlessly beat the evil, ugly thing before her. "I hate you! I hate everything you are! You're not me anymore! You don't deserve to live!"
"But you're the one who gave me this life," the wicked girl replied, keeping a smile on her bloodied and bruised face, revealing her fangs and letting the dark matter grow upon her flesh. "You left me with all the shit you couldn't handle." Holding herself back for a second, Alexandria gazed into the eyes of her dark side. Suddenly, the young wizard felt a sharp, stabbing pain in her leg as dark matter slowly flowed into her veins. Shrieking in agony, Alexandria was powerless as her dark side threw her off. Pulling out her wand, the evil thing prepared a killing force.
"You can't do this," the young woman begged, unable to stand. "Look at all the pain. So many people are dying because of what you've done." Licking her lips, the evil Alex pulled a dagger from her boot and impaled her pure side through her right bicep, pinning her to the stone floor. Yelling through her gritted teeth, Alexandria clenched her eyes shut, trying to escape the pain.
"You know what the world's really like," the wicked thing replied, readying herself to finally kill the person that brought her into her hellish existence. "It took everything from us. It made us hate ourselves. Then it threw us away no matter how much we tried to make everything right! And you're just like all of them. You abandoned me…just like Mason. Just like Riley. You left me alone to die just so you could live with yourself! But you don't get to win that easily, Alex."
"Every second we waste our time," Alexandria choked out, her anger slowly fading as she saw the poor little girl in pain: The poor little girl that was once her. "More and more people die…is that what you want? For our friends and family to suffer like we did?"
"I don't have any friends!" the evil Alex screamed. Her rage becoming sorrow, the wicked thing felt herself grow blind with burning tears. "Everyone's always hated me…" Looking into the helpless eyes of the pure, innocent young woman she once was, Alex's dark side felt all that she had lost. "I'm done feeling that pain."
"And you think all this'll make it go away?" Alexandria fought back. Gancanagh's only going to betray you once he gets what he wants. You of all people should see through him. He's just like Riley…He never cared about either of us."
Hovering above her enemy, the evil reflection of Alex Russo began to question what she was doing. Gripping her wand, the young woman tasted death in the back of her throat, regretting everything she now had to live without. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck the evil sorceress, knocking her on her back. Shooting her head back, Alexandria saw Justin walking forward, his eyes glowing with his own ruby mana. Electricity flowed around his hands. "Justin!" the young woman cried out, struggling to her feet and approaching her brother. Max and Juliet felt their hearts skip a beat as the eldest Russo child stood strong once more.
"Like an act of God, a group of heroes have emerged to fight the monster threatening us all!" the female news anchor happily declared, never having abandoned her station during the attacks. "Witnesses reported lights from the sky, just when all hope seemed lost."
Alex, Justin, Max, and Juliet stood beside one another, forming a wall before Gancanagh and the wounded reflection. "You took everything from me," Justin declared. "But the earth found me again." Still suffering from the loss of his Empathy with the world around him, the young man knew he now had power from the elements: the mana of the earth now filled his body entirely.
"All meaningless," the demon declared. "All of you." Gazing down at the broken thing that once served him, Gancanagh spat.
"…You…" Alex's dark side choked. "You said we would control them…Take back everyone and everything that we lost."
"My race is destined to rule over all those who oppose us," Gancanagh declared. "Your diseased kin believed that their magic saved them…as they slaughtered all those with common blood to my mother and father, they grew more and more desperate to justify themselves. The so-called wizards were never more than a cancer. The Elders' lies have kept posterity for millennia, but you cannot hide from what you truly are: a gateway." His body now flowing with the unholy lights of the machine, the demon spread his arms as if guiding the rising flames of a wicked fire, and absorbed the spiritual energy of all those blessed with magic and its gifts. Feeling their essence being torn from their bodies, the wizards collapsed onto the ground.
Stabbing bursts of white-hot energy tearing through their physical and spiritual bodies, Alex, Max, Justin, and Juliet, rendered without breath, found themselves lying helpless, gazing into the bleak sky as a star called Wormwood burst with the energy from the machine. From the supernova, a massive void began to spread, shrouding the world in an unholy breath of red fire. All the stars became dark, cities were reduced to waste, and nightmares became reality. Gasping and choking, the enchanted ones watched visions of horror unfold: humans died over and over again without going to their rest, blood rained down from the darkened skies, and atrocities were birthed. Images of a creature resembling the Vitruvian man standing in a wheel composed of its own gore, bone, and muscle fibers, which was fused to its finger tips and four feet. Blood stains coated its emaciated body and four partially cleaved arms. Several beings let their long, thin arms drag as the long, sideways mouth stretching from their lower torso to the center of their flesh-coated bone chests slowly let in breaths. Their faces consisting entirely of large, fanged rows of teeth forming bestial mouths, the abominations' only eyes were in the center of their three-fingered hands.
Basking in the horrid beauty of the hellish world, Gancanagh opened his arms as a woman, terrible in her dark beauty, descended upon him. Beside the woman, a dark entity once graced in light gently flapped its massive, black wings that were reminiscent of paintings of great angels. "Mother!" the demon cried out, tears flowing from its eyes. "Father! At long last!" His human skin melting, the monster's oily, black form became clear: Its face void of eyes, covered down to his nose with a molded gold mask with no features, fangs extruding from its mouth, golden claws shining in the anti-light, and thin, black, bat-like wings flaring out.
"No," Max whispered, his eyes gushing with tears as he begged to be something apart from all the evil. "No."
"I'm so sorry," Juliet sobbingly prayed, digging her claws into the stone. "I'm so sorry."
Justin remained silent, his anger too great for him to speak. It all had to be a lie. It couldn't be real.
Clenching her fist, Alexandria forced herself onto her feet, her blind eyes trying to find her wand. All the fires of hell burning against her flesh, the young wizard winced in agony, feeling her own pain as well as her dark side's. We're more than this, she told herself, searching through her heart and memories. Magic is a gift…a miracle. We were never meant for this. God gave us these blessings to do great things. Our ancestors sealed away the demons…" Young and happy, Alex Russo held her crying baby brother as he was slowly lulled to sleep. Alex Russo taught Harper how to draw as they each taught the other how to love themselves. Alex Russo made mistakes, did silly things, made her parents proud, used magic as a gift for all of existence, and lived every day as a new day. It wasn't Alex Russo that threw herself away, but it would be Alex Russo who set everything right. Clenching her eyes, Alexandria felt her true soul-self reaching out and touching her evil side through the darkness. Through the light of her spiritual side, the young wizard reached her wand and focused her mana into a single, perfect blast, shattering the glass dome of the machine and disrupting the anti-light.
"No!" Gancanagh screamed, feeling the presence of his kin fading from him. "No! Never again! Mother, Father, no! Never again! I won't be alone again! No!" Violently clawing at the air, the demon watched as Lilith and Samael vanished along with the flames of their hellish plane of existence. Within seconds, the stars returned and the clouds broke to reveal the golden, orange, and red lights and hues of a flawless sunset: a dusk forming the promise of a new tomorrow to come. All was silent.
Rising once more, the wizards found themselves. Justin, Max, and Juliet stood together, with Alexandria in front of them. Astonished, the evil Alex slowed her movements. Desperately grasping at nothingness, Gancanagh clenched his fists, turning towards those he declared beneath himself. As the wind graced their backs, blowing their hair, the enchanted ones remained staunch and brave.
"Blasphemers!" the demon shouted, spreading his claws. Its body weakened and the darkness broken, the monster felt mortal blood fill his veins. "I was to rule all there was! I alone was worthy! My bloodline was pure, and my mother and father were to become mother and father to all! You will never find forgiveness in this…" Her hands clenching both sides of Gancanagh's frail neck, the wicked Alex twisted her grip, breaking the demon's neck and causing it to fall to the ground.
Gazing in horror, Juliet and the Russo family kept the evil reflection in their sights. "He made alot of mistakes," she declared, plunging her corrupted wand into the demon's still body and lacing her gem with his blood. "But the worst…was relying on anyone but himself. He wasn't strong enough to rule, but I am. Can you feel me, little girl? You can't, can you? You're not inside of me anymore…dragging me down and making me weak."
Walking forward, brushing off Justin's light grasp, Alexandria made her way across the stone floor towards the machine and her dark side. "You're just like him," she declared, glancing down at the lifeless body draped across the ground. "You've tried so hard to let the darkness consume you…But you were right when you said I abandoned you." Everything stood still. "I was afraid. I was angry at myself and the world…And I let that fear and anger guide me. I cut you out. I was trying to make everyone else happy…I did a horrible thing to you…to me. And I'm sorry for that. I'm sorry…but I won't live in shame for the rest of my life." Clenching her wand, Alexandria stared into her reflection's eyes. "Isn't this what you wanted? To take back what I stole from you?"
"It's all I ever wanted," the evil Alex snarled, charging at her betrayer. Thrusting her wand outward, Alexandria heard her dark side's corrupted gem hit the stone floor and shatter. "…No." Her breaths trembling, the evil girl began slashing at Alex, each lash of her hands pushing her further and further into a fit of tearful sorrow. "No! No! No! No!" Catching the poor, hurt little girl's hands, Alexandria watched her dark side openly sob and drop to her knees.
"I'm so sorry," the young wizard whispered, wrapping her arms around her weak, suffering self: Taking away her pain. Biting her lip and closing her tear-soaked eyes, the evil Alex leaned into her other half's loving embrace. I forgive you. Then, the darkness burned up in the light, and the innocence and struggles became rose petals that gracefully faded into Alex's restored body. Opening her eyes to the world once more, letting out a heavy sigh of relief, Alex Russo looked into the sunset.
Justin, Max, and Juliet ran towards their beloved friend and sister, feeling peace returning at long last. Hissing and roaring in rage and agony, Gancanagh's twisted, broken neck cracked and contorted back into place as the demon spread its wings. Roaring with all its hateful might, Gancanagh watched the enchanted ones stand in defiance of him one more time. Suddenly, Alex's sapphire stone pierced the chest of the abomination, taking the dark life from its eyes and finally ending its reign of terror. Standing bold and accepting of her actions, Alex gazed at her family as the monster collapsed, never to rise again.
"Welcome back," Justin declared, seeing that his sister once again saw through the fog to do what was truly right.
"I'm not done yet," Alex replied. "There's one last thing I have to fix." Creating a barrier between herself and her loved ones, the Latina took in a deep breath and swallowed hard. "The machine's still active…it won't stop until it's destroyed. And I'm the only one who could start it or stop it." All the power within the machine was raging, threatening all who lived: stopping it would be costly. "…I love all of you. Max, never outgrow your true self. And don't forget who you really are, Justin. Tell Mom and Dad I love them, and I understand now. Juliet, thank you for everything. You are my sister. Tell Harper I love her, and that she's always been a part of me…Goodbye."
"Alex, no!" Justin screamed, smashing his fists against the wall.
"Please!" Max begged, unable to keep himself from crying.
"Alex, no, please!" Juliet cried out. "Let me go. I'll take the pain from you, please! Please, don't go alone!"
"Alex! Alex!" Jerry screamed, running towards his daughter while struggling to see past his own tears.
"Mi-hija!" Theresa tearfully yelled out. "Baby, please!"
"Alex!" Harper begged, blinded by fear and pain. "Alex, I love you, please don't end it like this. Don't leave us."
Setting her hand upon the glass, Alex looked back at all her loved ones, seeing Mason and Stevie somewhere among them, and smiled. "I'll always love you," she promised. "And I'll never leave you." Turning to the machine, the young wizard remembered the answer, and felt the glass shatter and burst into the air, releasing all the souls and power stolen from the innocents. No more lives were taken. A massive surge of energy erupted, tearing through the skies with the force of a dying sun. For what felt like eternity, a blinding light filled all that there was. Then, the light faded, and silence fell upon the earth.
The barrier gone, the Russo family, Juliet, and Harper ran with all their might towards the still body of their beloved. By the time they reached her, the body was already cold. Theresa gently lifted her daughter's head onto her lap one last time, slowly stroking her hair and crying. Blood streamed from Alex's closed eyes before ceasing completely. "Alex," Theresa choked out between sobs, her eyes unable to open through the tears. Covering her mouth with her hand, Harper lost all composure and dropped her head into Juliet's embrace. Together, the two mourned as sisters over their great loss. "Alex, my angel, my baby…You did it." Max and Justin looked to one another and cried before openly embracing their brother. Taking his daughter's limp hand, Jerry pressed his forehead to Alex's fingers, his face red and tightening as his tears and gasps grew stronger. "You saved us, Alex…You saved us."
"I'm sorry," little Alex Russo said, hugging her mother and father.
"I stay awake at night, wondering what this family would be like without me," Alex jokingly declared in a deadpan tone, kicking her feet up on the coffee table and once again succeeding at making her entire family laugh uncontrollably.
"Justin, out of all the people I know, you are in the most desperate need of a life…" a teenage Alex Russo playfully listed. "And some of those Nepenthe pills you keep talking about." The two laughed and hugged each other.
"Are you ready?" a young adult Alex Russo asked her little brother. Max nodded, and the two began creating streams of color above Theresa's flower garden with their wands.
"You're the most fantastic person I know, Harper," Alex Russo whispered to her sobbing best friend, taking her hands. "Don't ever forget that."
Juliet and Alex walked home together, having promised to remain friends even if the vampiress and Justin broke up.
The extended family cried over the young woman's body, remembering all the joy she brought them, and the light she always kept inside. "You'll always be in our hearts, Alex," Theresa whispered, kissing her daughter on her ash-stained forehead. Silence fell upon the world.
Everybody's watching.
Everybody, cry.
Stay. Don't leave me.
The stars can wait for your sign.
Their prayers uniting, the mourners tried to guide their loved one's soul towards the heavens, never truly wanting her to go.
Her eyes twitching, Alex slowly parted her eye lids, her view of her loved ones slowly coming into focus through the stale tears. Gasping with a joy that warmed over their pounding hearts, Theresa, Jerry, Justin, Max, Harper, and Juliet thanked their Lord from the center of their very souls. "…Hey, guys," Alex groaned, the life returning to her face. The blood had faded: the guilt had faded, and Alex Russo had returned. "You didn't think I'd go that quietly, did you?" The entire group smiled and let out a touched sigh of happiness.
Pulling Justin close to her body, Juliet kissed her lover's soft lips, their eyes closing with their renewed sense of life blooming. Max hugged Alex tightly, promising to never let her go. Theresa and Jerry held their daughter close to their hearts until Harper lovingly slapped her and hugged her. Alex closed her eyes and smiled, breathing out a sigh of solace as everything became clear once more, and her loved ones were safe and near.
Never The End
Soundtrack
The Requiem: Lacrymosa by Mozart performed by KPM Philharmonic Orchestra
Cold by Crossfade
Haunted by Disturbed
End of All Hope by Nighcore
Tris and I Am Divergent by Junkie XL
O Fortuna by Carmina Burana
The Last Man by Clint Mansell
Goodnight, Travel Well by the Killers