A/N: HAPPY NEW YEAR! Hope everyone has a prosperous and fun filled year to come. Gonna leave this one here now. Enjoy!

Chapter 6: I'll Meet You In The Maze

Lycus' Estate - Next Day

Being that she was still new to this modern world; Bianca didn't have what it took to find Lycus quickly. But Dyson on the other hand; did. Because he'd served him before, and a few of his old Pack mates still worked for him. So, with one short phone call; he had his old King's location.

He didn't know what to expect when he got there. Only that he knew Lauren was here. Lycus' estate was big; but Dyson knew Lauren's scent well and he could smell it close by. Dyson waited in a small room; it was full of antiques. Exactly how he remembered it in the old days.

"Do my eyes deceive me?" Lycus walked in with a smile. "Dyson my boy!" he approached him with a laugh, shaking his hand. "It's good to see you. How long's it been? Six centuries, give or take?" he tapped his back.

"Sounds about right…" Dyson smiled. "… Forgive me Sire, but this isn't a social call. I come to ask a favour…" Lycus just looked at him, waiting for the question. "… I'm here for Lauren; I know she's your prisoner. And I know she's here; I can smell her" he didn't want this to get ugly.

Lycus had to laugh, this was hilarious. "Well, I must say I wasn't expecting to hear that. But I do wonder; what makes you think I would grant you this favour?" he asked him, and Dyson replied by reminding Lycus of his loyalty. "You're right Dyson. You were my most loyal warrior; but that was six hundred years ago" he owed him nothing.

"I understand that-" Dyson was silenced when Lycus squeezed his shoulder tight. Causing him pain.

"You seem to have misinterpreted that the matter is up for discussion!" Lycus revealed his beastly eyes. "Dyson, you know as well as anyone; that when I take a prisoner; the only way they leave my house, is if they die. Lauren, is important to my cause. I've been searching for her for a long time; I don't intend on handing her over. To anyone; least of all you" he told him.

But Dyson wasn't going to stop there. "Not even if I told you that someone very powerful was on their way here?" he saw him frown. "I believe you've encountered her once already. Bianca Lazarus?" he could smell the fear coming from him.

Lycus shook his head, "Nice try, but she's dead. Has been for over a hundred years, so you'll forgive me if I'm finding that a little hard to believe"

"I speak the truth!" Dyson said. "Bo, the Unaligned Succubus; she is Bianca's descendant, and her current doppelgänger. Bianca has now taken control of Bo's body; and she's on her way here, to kill you!"

This news did trouble Lycus; but he wasn't going to show it. "If that's what she wants; then let her come. But Lauren will be dead before she gets here; and Elena along with her!" he walked Dyson to the door. "Now, out of respect for our long friendship; I am going to grant you a mercy Dyson. I'm going to let you leave here, alive. So go, and never come back!" he warned him.

Dyson couldn't do anything more, so he bowed his head. "As you wish, my King" he turned around and left the room, and then the estate.

Lycus called his guards, "Have Selena prepare Lauren for the ritual…" he told them. "… No more waiting around; it happens tonight!" he walked away, needing to prepare.

Lauren's Room

Pacing back and forth did nothing to calm her nerves. All it did was make her dizzy, but she summarised that her dizziness was coming from the headache she currently had. Lauren halted, tapping her palm against her head. "Stop it!" she knew it was Elena who was doing this.

Finding the nearest mirror, Lauren yelled at herself; "WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!" for a moment she thought she saw her reflection speak to her. But her ears were ringing from this headache, so she just thought she was imagining it. "What will it take to get rid of you?!"

"The answer lies within you" her reflection spoke back to her.

Closing her eyes, Lauren took a breath. She was imagining that; there's no way that was real. The answer laid within her? What did that even mean? "What?" she asked it.

"Have faith…" it said, smiling. "… She will come"

"Who will come?!" Lauren placed both of her hands on either side of the mirror, getting closer. "Bo?" she asked for confirmation. But the reflection stopped talking. All Lauren saw now was her own reflection, and her frustrated expression staring back at her. "SCREW YOU!" she balled up her fist, smashing it against the mirror.

Shards of glass fell to the floor, some embedded in Lauren's knuckles. She slid down the wall, and sat on the floor. Then began to pick the pieces of glass out of her hand, and as she did; her skin started to heal up. "What's happening to me?" she whispered in fear.

She just wanted this to be over.

Suddenly, she heard keys jangling on the other side of the door. It opened and a tall woman walked in, smirking at her with every step she took. "My god!" she crouched down beside her, "You really do look exactly like Elena" she couldn't believe it.

"So I've been told…" Lauren was sick of hearing that name. "… Who're you?" she'd never seen this woman before.

"My name is Selena; I'm here to prepare you for the ritual. Come…" She helped Lauren up and sat her on the bed a few inches away. She then looked at the shattered mirror. "… Taking out your frustrations I see. Good for you. Judging by the day you've had; you certainly need a release" she checked her hand; it was fine.

Lauren snatched her hand back. "What would you know about it?" that was a rhetorical question. "And why'd you care?" that one wasn't. "You're helping Lycus; you probably want me dead as much he does" she turned away from her.

Selena sat next to her, "I don't want you dead…" she replied. "… Lauren; may I call you Lauren?" she didn't get an answer so she was going to continue. "I've served Lycus for thousands of years. Back when he first married Elena, in fact. I'm happy to say that she was a good friend of mine"

"Then why're you helping him?" Lauren asked. But as she sat next to her, Lauren saw images flash in her mind. They stung her brain sharply. They were images of Selena, and they didn't paint her well. "Oh my god!" she looked at her; "You were the one…" she saw it in her head. "… You were the one who sold her out to him. You're the reason he killed her!"

"I am…" Selena nodded. "… And though I cared for her; I am his servant; and will continue to be for the rest of my ageless life. I couldn't save Elena; and I can't save you either. My aim is to make this as painless as possible for you. So, if you'll please come with me; it's time" she stood from the bed.

Lauren stared at her, "And if I refuse?"

Selena didn't want to force her, but she was told to if Lauren resisted. So, she raised her hand; using her powers to make Lauren stand up. "Sadly, refusal isn't an option for you…" she was a Mesmer; a very skilled one. "… You will surrender; one way or another. So, shall we?" she gestured to the door.

Sighing in defeat; Lauren knew it was pointless to argue. Selena could make her do anything. She stepped forward, stopping just as she was passing Selena. "It doesn't matter if you felt remorse for what happened to Elena. You had a chance to save her, and you didn't take it"

"Do you have a point?" Selena stared off with her, clearly; this was some kind of threat.

"My point, is; you chose your servitude, over your friend. I found myself in the same situation once; and I chose my friend. Being a loyal pet, won't save you when the Devil comes knocking" she walked passed her, and out the door.

That was Lauren's subtle way of telling her she was going to Hell. No matter how she felt. She could've been the nicest Mesmer in the world. But it wasn't going to help when she got a one-way ticket to Hell.

Selena took a second to recover from that. Those words, cut her deeply. She really heard them; but what was she supposed to do? Betray her Master by letting Lauren go free? Funny; she asked herself that exact same question when Lycus killed Elena.

And like now; she had no answer.

Unknown Location

Bianca was lost.

Maybe taking Dyson up on his offer to be her guide, would've been a better option. She could feel Elena's energy though. It wasn't strong; but it was there. Echoing in her mind. She tried to dig deep down inside herself. She didn't just have her powers now, she had Bo's too. This should've been easy for her.

Closing her eyes, she focused on her love for Elena. "Elena…" She whispered. "… Show me the way" she called to her.

Lycus' Estate

Selena held Lauren's arm as she led her to the altar room. Still pondering over what Lauren said to her a few minutes ago. Was she right? Was Selena meant to end up in Hell? Even though she'd spent her life as a slave? Although, as far as slaves go; it wasn't as bad as the word implied.

She was given certain benefits for being loyal for so long. Suddenly, as they were walking; Selena was pulled back by the fact that Lauren had frozen in place. Hunched over, moaning. "Lauren?" She called to her. "Are you alright?"

The blonde started laughing, "Why yes, I am…" She lifted her head, showing her smile. "… For the first time in centuries; I'd say I'm more than alright" she pushed Selena away. But before she could even do anything; Selena began to choke on the air.

Selena scraped her fingernails against her neck, it felt like someone's hands were around it. Squeezing tight. There's no way Lauren could do that. She didn't have that kind of power yet. There was only one person she knew who could executes an attack like that so effortlessly. "Elena?"

"Oh, so you do remember my name?" Elena didn't know how she rose to the surface of Lauren's body. All she knew was that she felt a need to escape. Almost like someone was summoning her. So she pushed with all her might, and found the one tiny point of weakness in Lauren's wall of defence.

"How is this possible?" Selena coughed, still unable to breathe.

Elena shrugged, "That I cannot answer…" She circled her; her own hands placed behind her back. "… But it is curious; how you speak of this being impossible. That must mean Lycus' unaware of my presence. Good. It will serve me well when I kill him"

Selena shook her head, "You won't get close enough to kill him!" She warned her. "He's in the middle of preparing for an important ritual. His guards are all over him; you won't stand a chance. Not even with your powers"

"You underestimate my determination…" Elena wasn't that cocky. But she did want him dead, and she had to be smart about it. She had no idea how long this little awakening would last. Lauren could fight back and push her back down at any moment. So, she let Selena go. "… You will take me to the exit, and tell your Master I escaped. After your betrayal to me; it's the least you can do"

Instead of arguing, Selena led her out to the back entrance. "Follow that path…" She pointed to a dirt path a few feet from them. "… It leads to a small park. You should be able to find the rest of the way yourself. Elena? I am sorry, for the part I played in your death" she really was.

Elena saw her sincerity, but it wasn't enough. "And I'm sorry…" She used her powers again, choking her again. But instead of letting up; she kicked it up a notch. "… For not killing you when I had the chance; all those centuries ago" she watched her turn red, then fall to the ground.

Dead.

With that, Elena ran to the dirt path. She could feel someone calling her; all she had to do was follow the voice. Hopefully it was an ally. She couldn't make it out right now; she was still sensitive to this new world.

Roadside Motel

When Dyson got back to the Motel; Tamsin was still out cold. It'd been a day. That was some Succubus touch Bianca laid on her. And as much as it looked like Tamsin was having a lovely sleep; Dyson needed her vertical right now. "Tamsin?" He shook her. "Tamsin?!" His voice got louder.

Tamsin jumped up, "Huh? What?!" She was so confused, one minute she was standing and the next minute she wasn't. "What happened? Where's Bo?" She asked him.

"You don't remember?" He watched her shake her head, "Short version? Bo, is now Bianca; Lauren's being held prisoner by my old King. I went to talk to him but I actually think I made things worse. So, we need to leave right now if we're gonna catch up to Bianca before she gets herself killed, and Bo along with her" he finished.

"We have weird lives" Tamsin said, with a tired sigh. This never happened to anyone else. Only them.

Dyson let out a laugh, "Sad, but true. So, you up for this?"

"Hell yeah!" Tamsin stood from the bed, immediately feeling dizzy. "Or, maybe; no? Holy Odin! What kind of whammy did she lay on me?" She held her head, breathing through it. "I've never felt something that strong before. It's like she roofied me or something"

That wasn't a good thing. But she was his only hope right now. "Tamsin? We're the only ones who can save them, so; can you do this?" He needed her.

She took another deep breath, then nodded. "I can do this" with his help, they grabbed the weapons they brought for Bo and headed out to her Camaro. Bianca clearly thought she'd be better off without it.

Grove Park – Later

She didn't know why; but Bianca found herself being drawn west. She was so lost, before she started hearing a ringing in her ears. But it wasn't painful, it was actually quite beautiful. Like a tune playing. So she followed it, and let her to a crowded park. What was she doing here?

As she kept walking, she passed by many happy families. The times had changed so much since she last saw anything like this. No more robes, or temples. It was actually quite amazing. She kept moving, walking down a dirt path through the trees. All of a sudden, she came to a clearing.

And sitting on a bench, in front of her; was the most beautiful blonde Goddess she'd ever seen. It felt just like it did the first time. "Elena?" She couldn't believe her eyes.

Elena turned around, "Bianca…" She understood now. The person summoning her was Bianca. Her lost love. "… I suppose you never imagined we'd end up like this?" She approached her, pressing a hand to her cheek. "Thousands of years pass, and yet still your beauty has not faded. I have missed you so"

Bianca didn't waste time; she pulled her into an overdue kiss. She'd waited centuries for this. "I would love for this to be the start of our new lives; but there is still an evil out there who wishes to harm you" she told her.

"Lycus?" Elena watched her nod. "I'm well aware; I just escaped from his home. With the help of my former handmaiden; Selena. I wish I could say she was a friend, but after her betrayal I couldn't let her live" she wasn't a killer at heart; but she took betrayal seriously.

"Betrayal?" Bianca frowned.

Nodding, Elena led Bianca to the park bench to take a seat. "Long ago; I considered her a good friend of mine. Nearly a sister. I never cared that she was stationed below me; that didn't matter. But, then I found out she was giving Lycus information about the secrets I was concealing from him"

"Secrets regarding us?" Bianca figured.

Shaking her head, Elena answered no. "He wanted a child; I did not. I took extreme measures to render myself barren. I didn't want to do it; but I had no choice. I couldn't bring a child into this world and have it be poisoned by his influence. Selena was the one who told him"

If Elena hadn't already killed her; Bianca felt the desire to. "You need not fear him anymore; this world is different from the one we lived in. And it's that difference, that will aid us in our revenge"

"How so?" Elena didn't understand, she'd only been in this world for a few hours.

"This vessel you inhabit?" Bianca started. "She has a brilliant mind; from what I've learned from my own vessel; they are descendants of ours. And since they share our likeness; they automatically became entwined in our fate"

That's when Elena remembered; Selena said a name to her earlier when she first took control of her body. "Lauren…" She muttered. "… That's her name; my vessel. I still don't understand how we are here. Did I kill her?" She hoped she didn't.

At the end of the day; she wanted to live again. But she didn't want a member of her bloodline to die in the process. Elena wasn't as ruthless as other Queens of her time.

And Bianca could see this was troubling her. "No. In fact, she's still alive. Somewhere deep inside you; but much like my own descendent, Bo. We will have to purge them from us. If we don't; we run the risk of them taking back their control…" She touched her face. "… I have waited so long for this, my love. I cannot lose you again" she rested her head against hers.

"Neither can I…" Elena whispered. "… Nor will I allow Lycus to ruin any chance of us being together. He took it from us once already; he will not do it a second time. I suggest we deal with him before focusing on purging the souls of this, Bo and Lauren" she thought it could wait.

But Bianca wasn't so sure. She wasn't just fighting Bo; she also had her friends to worry about. They undoubtedly would try and thwart her. In order to save Bo. But she was never able to refuse Elena of what she wanted. She loved her too much. "As you wish" She smiled at her.

"We must go now…" Elena said. "… He's so busy preparing for this ritual; he won't see it coming. With the two of us standing against him; his survival is unlikely. He needs to pay for all that he's done" she hated him so much.

"Especially to you" Bianca hated him for that, and then some.

But Elena wasn't just thinking of herself. She kissed her again. Never wanting it to end. "To both of us, my love" she hugged her, tight. Wrapping both arms around her neck.

Limbo

When Bo awoke, she found herself in a white room. Except, it was never ending. There were no windows; there were no walls. Just the echo of silence around her. "Hello?" She thought she'd take a chance, and even though she was expecting no answer; she heard a voice in the distance. "Is someone there?"

She kept hearing the voice, it was familiar. "If you can hear me; follow my voice!" She shouted into the mist. Because that's what it looked like. Like she was surrounded by a thick white mist, or fog. With a few steps forward, she saw a figure appear out of nowhere. "Lauren?"

Lauren focused her eyes on Bo. "Thank god! Bo!" She ran to her, jumping into her arms. "I don't know what happened; the last thing I remember is being taken to Lycus so he could perform the ritual. After that, nothing" she was so confused.

"It's okay; I think I know what happened…" Bo just held her for a second. She needed to. "… I let Bianca take control of my body" she told her.

With a widening of her eyes, Lauren pulled back. "What? Why would you do that?!" The whole point of their research was to make sure that wouldn't happen. Now Bo had gone and done it anyway.

"You'd been taken; and I didn't have the strength to beat Lycus by myself…" Bo sighed, reaching a hand up to touch her cheek. "… I thought it was the only way to save you. But now it looks like Elena's taken control of your body too. And because of that, we're stuck here" she looked around at the fog.

Lauren was grateful for Bo making that kind of sacrifice. But it didn't exactly pay off. In fact, it had given Bianca and Elena exactly what they wanted. "Where exactly is here?" She had no idea.

And neither did Bo. "I'm not sure…" She honestly didn't. "… Maybe it's a sort of limbo, for dormant souls. Do you think this's where Bianca and Elena have had to live all this time?"

"God knows…" Lauren shrugged. "… Question is; how do we break out of here? We can't just let them take our bodies! There's gotta be a way we can fight this. Who knows what kind of trouble they'll get up to" the possibilities were endless. And that made her nervous.

Bo wanted to be optimistic and have an answer, but right now she was coming up empty. "I don't think there any chance of us breaking out of here…" she exhaled sadly. "… I mean; Bianca and Elena were stuck here since we were born. We could be here for decades"

That wasn't the kind of answer Lauren was looking for. "Bo, come on!" she stepped closer to her. "This's the kind of thing you're usually really good at. Coming up with a plan, and saving the day; that's your thing!" she had faith in her.

Problem was; Bo didn't have any in herself. "You really trust me to find us a way out of this mess?" she frowned at her. "Lauren? I'm the reason we're here! All of this, is my fault!" she knew that. "Haven't you figured it out by now? I'm useless" she turned her head away.

This was another one of Bo's things. Taking all the blame and placing it on herself. She was really good at that. And every time she did it, she dropped herself down a peg. It was Lauren's job to lift her up again. "Bo?" she walked up behind her, placing both hands on her shoulders. "You are anything, but useless"

"Really?" Bo scoffed without turning around. "Because I'm pretty sure none of this would be happening if I'd just left that damn box alone!" she huffed. "A time machine would really come in handy right about now" it really would.

"Yes, it would…" Lauren laughed, inching closer. She hugged her from behind, calming her. "… We're gonna get through this. I don't know how, but; there's one thing I do know…" she turned Bo around, then kissed her softly. "… I have faith in you" she whispered.

Bo didn't understand that because she certainly didn't have any in herself. Why would anyone else bother? "Why?"

There was only one answer Lauren could give. "Because I love you. And I know, that you didn't mean for any of this to happen. I don't blame you Bo. If anything; I'm relieved" she chuckled.

"Relieved?" Did Bo hear that right?

Lauren nodded, "Because now I know the feelings I have for you aren't just amplified because I'm so crazy about you. It's because of our past lives. I thought I always knew what love was; and how it was supposed to feel but, when I met you; everything changed. Nothing made sense" she got it now.

And Bo did to. "I know what you mean..." She smiled. "… And I know this's supposed to be a scary time for us; but I can't help but feel happy that I finally know the truth…" she held her close. "… I was born to love you, Lauren" she believed that.

"So was I" Lauren kissed her again, with every ounce of passion she had.

No, this wasn't the appropriate time to be doing this. But what else could they do? They couldn't leave this limbo they'd found themselves in. All they could do, was try and come up with a plan together. Or hope, that their friends would find a way to save them.

A/N: Aww, isn't that sweet? Let me know what you thought. X