Part 5: Battle Royal

Note: This is my original ending; it's a bit harsher than the second one I wrote.

Rating Warning: This chapter details, non-explicitly, a birth scene and it also contains acts of non-graphic violence against canon characters.

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"Seren?" Asked Cam and Alex, stepping back towards their guardian.

Ileana grabbed Camryn's hand and squeezed it hard. She only had to look at the expression on her face to see that they were in the presence of clear and present danger.

"Azoz, that was you!" He gave an exaggerated bow, like some old handlebar mustachioed villain. A cultured crook of the best kind.

When her eyes met with the final intruder, she gulped, "Murasa, I thought you were dead."

"I managed to escape."

"That's a little cowardly." Ileana couldn't believe she had let those words escape her lips, especially with the woman's reputation.

"You're in the worst possible position to speak like that."

Seren took a step further, "How is your husband these days?"

"My husband?"

"Yes, Karsh? The one who exiled me to the jails in the half dimension?"

Under her breath she muttered, "Oh dear," Before looking up again, "He's fine."

"That's nice."

"Wait, who are you guys and what do you want?" Demanded Alex, taking Camryn's free hand in her own.

"I'm Seren, your mentor's childhood friend. He had the audacity to banish me to jails after your parents and I had a little misunderstanding. As for what I want, " She sighed and looked at Murasa, "Kids today don't listen, didn't I just say I was coming to kill them?"

"What?!" Fairly shrieked Ileana, "We never did anything to you!"

"But your husband did, your parents did, and the best way to get back at them is through you. And I'm sure even Murasa will agree that you're in the perfect position for that."

The accomplice actually nodded vigorously.

"You'll have to get through us first."

"That's where the element of – "

Azoz and Murasa stepped and blasted the twins apart. The girls fell out of the window.

" – Surprise comes in." Finished a smug Seren, smiling at Ileana, "Just thought we'd take first round advantage."

The guardian stared up at her foe, trying not to show any pain. Hoping she had enough time, she concentrated her powers as best she could. Beams of light from Seren and Ileana met halfway between them, each holding their own for the time being.

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The twins landed in the pool, a lucky coincidence that Azoz and Murasa had not expected. The enemy pair sighed at finding their hopefully dead or unconscious foes climbing out of the water… merely wet. Azoz pushed them back under the water with his magic, holding their heads down.

Cam reached for Alex's hand, trying to swim to her. Murasa pulled the elder twin away, dragging her along the bottom of the pool.

"Hey Azoz." Yelled Murasa, "Do you want to bet on how long they'll last?"

"In five minutes, it won't matter anyway." He laughed.

From where they were, the twin's survival instincts were beginning to kick into their last resorts. Each one shot a bolt to the floor of the pool, the sheer power propelling them upwards and over the edge of the pool. For the one second that their enemies were stunned, the twins blasted them back. Azoz and Murasa were flipped over the pool furniture. A second strike followed, knocking them hard into the outside brick walls. For a moment the girls observed them and when the girls noticed that they didn't move after such a tremendous blow to the head, they ran back inside.

Flying up the stairs, they broke back into Camryn's room, "Ileana!"

Seren was using her powers to magically strangle their mentor and guardian. Ileana was back against the pillows, clutching at her throat. So deprived of oxygen was she that she couldn't work any of her powers. Seren looked over her shoulder at them but only intensified her grasp.

They clasped their hands together and screamed, "Let her go!" The force of their power rocked the walls of the house as Seren was flung backward.

Alex caught a look outside the broken window, "I'm stronger now." With the moon glowing, the older twin felt the surge of its magic in her veins.

Camryn ran to Ileana, "Are you okay?"

Holding her throat she was gasping for air, "I," she choked, "I'm – "

Cam grabbed her hands and held them, "It's okay, take your time."

"I'm – I'm not strong enough."

"How bad did she hurt you?"

"No, not strong enough, to fight her. I'm okay now."

All of a sudden, her grip on Cam's hands tightened and her teeth gritted. Camryn nearly yelped on her own, "Alright, it's okay, just breathe." Her eyes wandered over to where the printed directions lay, "Deep breaths, try panting instead."

Ileana nodded.

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Aron, Miranda and Karsh were flipping through spellbooks like there was no tomorrow.

"None of the contact spells have worked." Aron let the book drop to the table.

"We can't override the power of the council." Moaned Miranda, her hands pressed together in front of her, her lips pressed to the knuckles of her first fingers, "I can't lose my daughters again."

Karsh paced the room, "Have we checked every book?"

"Except the one that Alex left in her dimension, which is useless to us anyway."

"Every book and nothing?"

"Yes! Karsh, don't be so worried. It's not even been a few hours yet, what could've happened?"

So that no one could hear her, Miranda worried to herself, "Maybe nothing, maybe everything."

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A spectacle greeted Camryn's eyes when she turned back around. Alex was fighting with Seren, and not just a small battle, but a full-on witch's duel. The power of the moon was strong and full; as if it knew the girl who bore its goddess' namesake needed it. Seren was projecting her powers against the twin with her palms while Alex responded as she had against the Darkness. Without the help of her sister though, the enemy of Coventry would eventually win. Seren relied on nothing to back her up, only years of practice and a rage rooted in years of perceived injustice.

"I'll break you Artemis."

"Whatever." Alex sneered and doubled her efforts.

Cam looked back at Ileana, her face showing the worries of the moment. Ileana was breathing heavily, but she noticed that look. Finally, she relaxed her hands.

"What're we gonna do?"

Ileana let out a long breath, "Do you have any spellbooks?"

"Yeah, just one." Camryn grabbed the book off the desk.

"Find a protection spell and hurry!"

Cam ran through the pages, all the while looking back at her sister and forward at Ileana, "I got one! For the protection of good against evil?"

"That'll work. Now remember, it won't be as strong because we're in this dimension, but it might hold long enough for – " The guardian was suddenly cut off with another pain. Her hands gripped the bed sheets. Camryn stared at her helplessly.

"Another one?"

"Yes!"

"They're getting really close."

"Your sister! Help her!"

The younger twin jumped up and balled her hands into fists, "Hey Seren!"

Surprisingly, the enemy actually looked her way for the second that she need. Cam zapped her with all her might. Combined with her sister's energy, they managed to fling her out of the window in the same way they had been expelled from the house earlier.

Alex fell to the floor and Camryn was at her side in a moment, "C'mon, we have to cast this spell!"

Pulling the older twin to her feet, the pair stumbled back towards the bed as Alex regained some of her lost strength.

Alex sat on the floor and Camryn sat across from her with the spellbook in between them, "You ready?"

"Yes," Alex shook her head, finally feeling the moon's light in her skin again.

From her spot on the bed, Ileana spoke to them, "Recite it together, it'll be stronger."

And so together they began, "Let this now be our sacred space, Open to nothing with malice or hate, Evil shall not touch this place, And let us rest while here we wait."

A bright blue soothing light illuminated the room and ran over the entire household.

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Seren, with her clothing dripping wet, stared up at the house. She stepped forward and put her hand to the patio doorknob. A brilliant shock soared up her fingers and she backed up.

Her eyes scanned the perimeter for her henchman. A still unconscious Azoz and Murasa lay in the flowerbed.

"Damned idiots," She muttered, "Wake up!"

There was a flash of red and the accomplices were on their feet, though a bit dazed and confused.

"What's going on?"

"While you two were passed out, those twins locked us out of the house."

"A protection spell?"

"Yes."

"For how long?"

"In this world, with Artemis so weak, I give it only half of an hour." Seren grinned, "I think it's time to get a plan of attack together."

"Perfect."

"Because if I have to leave here without my revenge, someone will die for sure!"

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Ileana sighed, "We don't have much time."

Alex grabbed the spellbook, "We need a spell to fight them. Like a banishing spell that put them away the first time."

"What something to destroy them, like we did with the Darkness?"

"I'm not really in the mood to kill someone today, okay Camryn?"

The younger twin sighed, "I just wanna go home!"

"So do I! Help me look!" The girls searched through spell after spell.

"Girls?" Asked Ileana.

They continued to argue and flip pages.

"Girls?"

Once again, nothing.

The guardian sighed, "Irony… great. Girls!"

"What?"

"Could you girls maybe help me with this?"

The twins saw exactly what was going on, "The baby's coming now?"

"Yes! Why do you think I wanted you to find a protection spell?"

"Besides the obvious?" Asked Alex and Camryn smacked her on the shoulder.

Ileana was struck again and the girls were instantly at her side.

"Camryn, you hold onto my hands, make sure you absorb my powers."

"Alright."

Alex looked up at Ileana, "Oh no, I can't deliver a baby. Can't we just call a doctor?"

"It's too late! Please!" Ileana's pained eyes caught hers, "We helped you for 21 years, I need you to help me now."

There was a pause before Alex nodded and took the directions from her sister's outstretched hands. A collective deep breath was taken.

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Karsh grabbed the amulet around his neck, it was glowing fiercely. His breath came in short gasps and he let his eyes go back and forth as he tried to decipher the meaning.

"What's going on?" Asked Aron, staring at the burning charm.

"I don't know, I feel like something's wrong."

"With Ileana?"

"Yes."

Aron and Miranda stared at their respective amulets; they were not any brighter than they had been before.

"Is it the baby?"

"I don't know, with communications down, I can't tell. All I know is something's wrong."

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Camryn held on tight to Ileana's hands, feeling the uncontrollable powers prickle her palms, "C'mon Ileana!"

The guardian bore down, her teeth gritted together and eyes squeezed shut, though a few stray tears got on her cheeks. Both of the sisters were encouraging her as best they could.

Alex was waiting on the baby, and as soon as the contraction eased, she looked up at her friend, "I think one more good push will do it."

Ileana let her head fall backward, "I don't know if I can."

The younger twin hugged her friend as best she could, mopping her forehead with a damp cloth, "You can do this, I know you can!"

"Can you please tell that to the baby?" She moaned, "I wish Karsh was here."

"I know, I know."

Suddenly Ileana sat back up as another one of her pains hit. Alex was ready, "C'mon, Ileana, push!"

Camryn followed suit, "You can do this! Do it for Karsh!"

There was a shriek of pain from the laboring mother before she collapsed back into the pillows. She let out a long breath and Camryn wiped the sweat from her brow.

Alex got up from where she'd been kneeling, a newborn child in her hands. Camryn began to laugh happily, squeezing her guardians' hands, "You did it!"

Ileana gave a tired smile and began to laugh herself.

Using her powers, Alex cleaned the baby and then wrapped the child in a soft blanket that they'd bought earlier that day. Almost immediately, there was the sound of a powerful baby cry throughout the house and a fresh round of laughter from the girls.

Very carefully, Alex handed the baby to its mother, "It's a boy."

Ileana began to cry happily, nuzzling him against her cheek as he quieted his crying, "My little baby boy. I'm so glad you're here."

The happy moment was interrupted by crashing and shattering from downstairs. A very lyrical voice came through the floorboards, "We're back!"

Camryn picked up the spellbook, "You ready?"

"Oh yeah."

Seren, Azoz and Murasa burst into the room, "Hey girls."

The leader caught sight of the baby, "Aww, this is a touching scene."

Azoz and Seren suddenly attacked the twins, and Murasa vanished into thin air. Camryn and Alex held their own against their competitors. The spellbook fell to the ground and closed. Ileana held her baby tightly to her, watching the action and feeling helpless to assist them.

Murasa's face suddenly appeared in front of her and the agent of Darkness made a bid to grab for the child.

Ileana pulled back, "Don't you dare touch my baby!" The scream of anger blasted the agent back and both women looked surprised.

Murasa made a second attempt and Ileana grabbed her arm, "No."

The grasp seemed to burn the enemy and she tried to pull away from the new mother. Ileana released her, only to see the woman evaporate into smoke and dissipate into nothingness.

Darkness, as the twins had proved, was easily vanquished by love. Murasa had forgotten the most simple rule, and found her Darkness destroyed by the most powerful love found on the planet. Ileana cradled her baby, breathing hard.

The twins fought back, Alex with Seren and Camryn with Azoz. Camryn suddenly ducked, allowing Azoz's magic to hit the wall. On the floor, she took his feet out from under him before moving towards the door. Azoz was easily distracted; he took the bait quite easily. The dueling pair moved into the hallway towards the staircase.

Camryn began to think about it, and she suddenly feigned an injury. He approached her, intending to do more damage at closer range. Cam zapped herself to hang from a ceiling light fixture; though she knew it wouldn't hold. Surprised as he was, Azoz threw a bolt toward the chain holding the light. Fortunately for Camryn, he did it just as she swung her legs forward and he effectively propelled her forward to kick him in the chest.

She landed and got up quickly, unhurt except for a few scraps. Azoz balled his fist and she noticed exactly where he was standing. Beating him to the punch, the blast of her magic sent him backwards down the stairs.

He yelled as he fell and she watched his body tumbled dangerously down the steps. His cries of agony at the bottom steps caught her attention especially well. Azoz's arm was at a very unnatural angle. Camryn sighed and realized that if she was to survive, she'd have to take advantage of the situation.

She recited her own spell, "By the power of the sun and mind, take Azoz and there him bind!" Closing her eyes against his screams, she opened them to find him, broken arm and all, magically tied and bound at the bottom of her stairs.

Camryn ran back upstairs only to find her sister laying the floor, tormented by Seren's magical rays. The spellbook suddenly landed at her feet, flying open to the page of banishment spells. She looked over to see that it was Ileana who had thrown it.

Picking up the book, she held it open and decided to get Seren's attention. Taking the hard edge she slammed the book into the back of Seren's head.

The enemy of Coventry spun around, her hands on the back of her head, "What the hell?"

Camryn didn't hesitate to hit her square in the nose.

Seren growled, "Fighting without magic, how low for a princess." A few drops of blood dripped down her chin.

Alex had all the time she needed. Bruised and tired, the elder twin shot her opponent and slammed her into the wall. Cam ran to her and the pair held hands, the book propped up on the window sill.

"Okay, first call the name of the person to be banished, alright, okay, you ready?"

"Yes!" The twins nodded at each other.

"Seren!" They yelled together and she shot her rage magic at them. It didn't work.

"We take your power."

"We take your strength."

"For all that you have done."

"For all that you will do."

"For all this, we banish you!" They said the last line together and a red light came from their hands. The red, like a snake, slithered across the floor and grabbed the enemy of Coventry, wrapping her in light. Seren's eyes grew wide, "Not again." The light tightened and grew brighter until it eventually exploded in a shower of red crystals.

"Ileana, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I guess she was saving me for last. You guys saved our lives." There was a long embrace before the girls remembered Azoz.

"We'll be right back; we have to take care of Azoz."

The twins left the room and Ileana looked down at her baby, who was sleeping peacefully, "You knew everything was going to be okay, didn't you?"

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The glowing on Karsh's amulet had died down and sent him into a panic.

Miranda watched the mirror while Aron tried to calm his old friend down. She had noticed something happening over the last hour, a flicker in the mirror surface. The message melted from the screen and was replaced quite soon with, "All lines are now open. Sorry for the inconvenience."

The queen stood and made a portal. She laughed aloud when the magic stuck and the front door to Camryn's house appeared.

"Aron, Karsh!" The men turned and rushed towards her.

"C'mon," Miranda opened the door, "Let's pray we'll find what we want to find."

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The first thing that greeted the adult's eyes was the disarray of the house. Lamps were smashed, lights pulled from the ceiling, anything that could be destroyed was.

Without warning, Camryn and Alex came around the corner, "We've gotta find a way to clean this up."

"Thank God, you're alright!" Miranda and Aron hugged their daughters.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yes, everything's fine. We banished Seren and Azoz and Murasa's dead."

"You defeated all of them?"

"Yeah."

"You even killed Murasa, an agent of Darkness?"

"We didn't. She grabbed Ileana and turned into smoke."

"Where's Ileana?" Asked a very agitated Karsh, after his look around did not reveal her.

"She's okay Karsh, she's upstairs resting. C'mon, we'll show you." The twins each took one of his hands and walked him up the stairs. Aron and Miranda followed, looking slightly confused.

Camryn knocked on the door frame, "Ileana, the portals are open again."

When Karsh peeked around the doorframe, he was greeted by a squeal of joy from his wife. He grinned, happy to see that she was safe. What he saw next nearly paralyzed him and he managed to walk to the bedside. She patted the bed next to her and he sat down.

Aron and Miranda looked over the twin's shoulders on the scene and smiled at each other.

"Is that?" Asked Karsh.

Ileana smiled at him and lifted the baby for him to see, "We have a baby boy."

Karsh grinned wide and stared down at the little boy. When the baby lifted his little fist, he couldn't resist touching the small hand. The infant wrapped his hand around his father's first finger. Ileana lifted the child up and handed him to Karsh. Taking the baby very carefully, Karsh studied the child's features and laughed softly, "I have a son. A little warlock."

Aron and Miranda put their hands on their daughter's shoulders, "You girls helped?"

"We delivered the baby." The sisters stated proudly.

The old family stayed in the doorway, watching as the new family got better acquainted.