CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

August 1, 1992

"Christian, come here, quick!"

Christian lifted the protective shield that rested in front of his face as he used his free hand to grab a cork and place it in the opening of the beaker that sat in front of him. Once he was sure the fumes weren't escaping, he pulled off his protective gear before hurrying up the stairs from the basement to the living room. He found his wife pacing the kitchen, a hand to her forehead. Crystal, now almost five months old, sat at her feet, chewing the leg of a stuffed tiger.

"What?" He asked as soon as he caught his breath. "Is something wrong?"

"She crawled!" Kristen exclaimed.

Christian stared at her for a long moment, tilting his head to the side. Finally, he found his voice and managed to get out the single syllable, "what?"

Kristen walked over to her husband and grasped onto his forearm before motioning to their daughter as she sat on the floor, looking up at her parents with wide eyes. She continued to gum on her tiger, each movement causing the bright blue bow placed in her hair to bob. "She crawled," Kristen continued. "For the first time, and you missed it."

"You're telling me that you screamed like a banshee in the middle of an experiment for me to get up here—nearly making me blow off my facial hair—just to tell me that she moved a few inches across the floor?" Christian regarded his wife with a raised eyebrow, doing his best not to laugh. "I knew you were baby crazy, Kris, but this is ridiculous, eh?"

Kristen whacked him on the arm and turned to say something to Crystal, watching as she moved quickly across the floor in a mixture of a crawl and a belly flop. "Look! Look!"

Christian looked down and watched as Crystal continued to move across the floor a few more inches before stopping and dropping the stuffed tiger from her mouth, cooing as she started to squeeze it repeatedly. "Wow, she's really flying." Scooping up his daughter, Christian turned Crystal towards her and she smiled a toothless smile at him before turning and gently rubbing his arm where Kristen had slapped him then smiled again, kicking her legs. "We're definitely going to have a hockey player on our hands."

"Over my dead body." Kristen stuck out her tongue as she walked over to the stove where a pot of water was boiling. "You're going to have to wait for your son for that."

"That's fine, just as long as it's sooner rather than later." Christian smiled and continued to bounce his daughter in his hands, then frowned as she suddenly stopped smiling and moving. She turned her head to the side and stared hard at a spot behind him, tiny eyebrows crinkling. "What? What's wrong Crystie?" Turning his head, Christian followed her gaze but saw nothing behind him but a shadow.

"What's wrong?"

Kristen started to turn towards her husband and daughter but jumped at the sound of hers and Christian's watches going off. It wasn't the same sort of beeping sound that would emanate if an hour had passed, no, this was a shrill warning that danger was eminent. Startled at the shrill peal, Crystal started to cry. Kristen hurried over and took Crystal from Christian's arms before heading towards the basement. Christian, on the other hand, went over towards the front closet, reaching into the back for a long, black hard case.

He had only just gotten it out and opened the latches when the sound stopped, bringing silence around the house.

Christian sighed, tilting his head back.

The danger was gone for now.

August 4, 1992

"I can't believe they're finally here," Kurt murmured as he looked down at the bassinets resting beside Carey's bed. Carey smiled over at him before her gaze turned to the baby boys that lay quietly, swaddled up in blankets, breathing softly. "It didn't seem real at all, not until now."

Carey started to sit up, but Kurt motioned for her to stay down. He went over to the bassinets and lifted the twin boys out of the carrier, gently bouncing them in his arms, and went back over to his wife. "I know. But we did it. We brought two beautiful baby boys into the world. Zack and Cody."

Zachary Thomas and Cody Mitchell. It was perfect except for one thing.

"I still think we should've named one of them Kurt," He said, continuing to bounce them, watching as their lips slightly puckered every now and then.

"Just give me Cody, please."

Kurt paused, looking down at the babies that nestled in his arms, completely covered by the blankets that were swaddled around him. He looked back and forth from each tiny face and back to the other, slightly panicking. Who knew that babies actually looked the same when they were born, let alone twins. Even when he was watching them through the nursery window he couldn't tell them apart from all the other babies that had just been born, other than the blue beanies placed on their heads and the name cards at the foot of the bed. Besides, how was he sure they even had the right kids? Not only were there many reports of there being babies kidnapped from hospitals, but there were even more of babies being switched in the hospital and then going home with the wrong family.

Didn't anyone ever watch TV?

"Kurt." The man snapped out of his reverie and looked over at Carey, who stared expectantly at him, arms outstretched. "Please give me, Cody." Either it was her tiredness or sudden motherly instincts kicking in, but she had a hard edge to her tone. Kurt hoped that it was her tiredness, the woman had been in labor for almost twenty-hours, and he didn't blame her for being a bit…rough around the edges. However she did truly look beautiful to him, despite being covered in sweat and appearing she was going to bite off his head the moment she got the chance.

"Uhhh." Kurt shifted to the side under the guise of rocking his sons. "Which one's Cody?" Carey gave him a funny look as he looked down at his sons once more. "They look more alike than I thought they ever would. I mean, I knew they were twins but…"

"He's the one on the left."

"My left or your left?"

"The left bassinet!"

Kurt turned back towards the bassinets and mimed how he picked up the twin boys. He studied them for a minute then looked down at the babies in his arms. Sure he picked him up the way they were put down, Kurt turned back to Carey, gently handing over Cody. Being distanced from his brother, Zack made a low cooing sound and shifted around in his blankets, eyes opening slightly. Kurt smiled at Zack and gently leaned in, kissing his forehead.

"So what do you think?"

"That's I'm not letting you switch mix them up again," Carey remarked, causing Kurt to laugh. He sat down in a chair that was beside Carey's bed and gently bounced him. Looking over at Carey, he saw his young wife with her head tilted back, eyes closed, holding Cody close to her. "I don't care if we have to dress them up like girls, but that's not happening again."

"Don't you think it would be funny though?" Kurt grinned. "If when they grew up and did a test of some sort they found out they were the other one?"

"No! That would not be funny." Carey opened her eyes long enough to glare at her husband before smiling down at Cody once more. "They're going to grow up to be their own people. And they're going to be great at whatever they do. They have the world at their fingertips and they're destined for greatness." As the words escaped Carey's mouth she felt something come over her, not quite able to put her finger on it.

A sort of calm, maybe.

Feeling as if something had just draped itself over her shoulders to protect her.

Carey looked over at Kurt to see if he had felt it too, but he was murmuring to Zack about the things he was going to teach him; guitar, baseball, soccer, football, how they were going to learn how to restore a car. She smiled a little as she watched Kurt with their son, one of their sons. Things had been rocky between them as her due date had come closer and closer, outward pressure from their families and their own nerves about becoming parents managed to worry them more than they originally wanted to allow.

But now, now things were going to get better.

Carey only stayed in the hospital for a few more days before they were finally discharged and allowed to go home. Their home was as quiet as ever, the only visitors they allowed to come by the first day were their mothers; the women wanting to see their grandchildren as well as having their apartment set up for when the babies were to return home. Then they were on their own to get used to their new lives with the babies. Changing them, feeding them, waking up, not getting a lot sleep, enough time for them to differentiate the personalities between the boys despite them not being able to make sounds other than the initial cooing and cries that came about.

Zack, they could see, was truly the leader and watched out for his brother. He was always watching Cody and seeing what he was doing, being the first to start crying, maybe as a way to alert Carey and Kurt, whenever Cody started to make a face that he was upset. However, when he was on his own he appeared to be just as worrying, if not a bit fussy until he was back with Cody once again. Cody, on the other hand, appeared to be more sensitive, especially to the world around him. Whenever there was a loud sound or something didn't appear to be right, he would start to cry if not whimper until his mother or father picked him up and coddled him.

Despite that, the life of the family of four easily fell into their new routine. Carey had just put Zack and Cody to bed one night, getting some time to herself to read when she heard what she thought was one of them crying through the baby monitor. Kurt, who she knew was conked out on the couch probably wouldn't hear them through his own baby monitor, wasn't going to wake up in enough time to get to them. So Carey put down her book and walked over to the babies' room with a light yawn.

"Zack, Cody, don't worry—"the words stopped in Carey's throat as she caught sight of a shadowed figure leaning over the boys' crib. Zack and Cody were on their backs, looking up at the figure and gurgling quietly, not appearing to be afraid. The figure turned towards Carey and she sucked in a sharp breath. "You stay away from my boys!" She turned and braced herself against the doorway. "Kurt! Someone's in the house!"

She heard a crashing sound as Kurt scrambled to his feet and hurried towards her. "What?" he shouted back, stumbling over boxes and baby items that were strewn across the floor.

"Someone's in the house." Carey turned back to the room and gasped lightly when she saw that the shadowy figure was gone. Kurt placed a hand on Carey's shoulder before going into the room and leaning over the crib to check on Zack and Cody. The two continued to gurgle and coo at their father, but didn't otherwise appear hurt. "There was someone there."

"I don't see them now, honey." Kurt went over to Carey, placing his hands on her shoulders. "You're probably just tried. Why don't you go to sleep? I'll make sure the boys are okay, I'll stay in here and watch them."

Bringing a hand up to her forehead, Carey thought for a moment. Had she been imagining things? She couldn't be too sure. She knew she saw something there, putting her kids in danger. She could feel it in her bones. But how had it moved so quickly?

"Go get some rest," Kurt repeated. "I'll get you if there's something wrong. I promise."

Carey nodded and left the room, a hand still pressed to her forehead. It had to be that she was tired, seeing things, maybe post-partum or something. But still, it all felt so real. Her thoughts were encompassed by the sweet relief of sleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

September 16, 1992

Renee smiled as she allowed Julius to climb up into her bed with her before turning the small bundles of joy in her arms towards him. Julius leaned into his sisters and stared at them for a moment, Reed standing off to the side with a video camera, taping the event, watched his son with a smile.

"Julius, these are your baby sisters," Renee said quietly, motioning to them. She first lifted the baby that was resting on her right arm towards him; her eyes were wide open as she watched the family around her. "This is Rhubella Skye,"—she then motioned to the other girl that yawned before a light smile came to her face—"and Rilandon Evangeline. Or Rhuben and Riley for short."

Julius's nose wrinkled as he sat back, staring hard at his mother. The expression on his face was that of a kid that just got candy stolen from him. "I thought they were boys," he said in his childish Australian accent.

"So did we, yeah?" Reed commented from the corner. He lowered the camera lightly. "The doctors were wrong, Jay. That's why we had the names picked out that way. Reuben for sure, and then Riley or Landon. So we just switched them around to fit the girls." He reached out and ruffled his two-year-old son's head. "But aren't you glad to have little sisters now? You always wanted someone to play with."

Julius thought for a moment then smiled widely. He reached out and gently patted the babies' heads then sat back and watched them as Renee continued to hold onto them tightly. He then frowned and leaned forward, gently patting his hands down the blankets that swaddled them. "What are you doing, honey?"

"These are their feet," Julius said, poking them, causing the babies to squirm in their blankets. Renee nodded and watched as Julius then moved to the area their hands would be and poked them. "This is their hands. Where are their weenies?"

Reed laughed loudly while Renee gave a tired sigh and tilted her head to the side, resting it on her son's. She made a mental note to talk to him about the differences between boys and girls later. Shortly after the conversation the nurses came back in the room to take the babies away for monitoring, though they'd be returned to her in the morning. What wasn't said to the Jackson family was that when they had been brought into the room where their height and weight were to be measured, the power in that room and nearby hospital rooms had gone out. They didn't know about the doctors and nurses frantically racing for the generators that would save the equipment and the patients they were looking after. They didn't know that as soon as the babies were taken away from the room that the power came back on.

It wasn't until months later, when Julius was three and the girls were about five months old that the couple realized their greatest fears. Renee had just finished dressed Julius for bed, sighing lightly when she spotted the familiar paw print shape in the middle of his chest—his mark, and had gone to help Reed give the girls a bath. She stepped into the kitchen and found her husband frowning at the twin girls as they sat in their high-chairs, playing with toys, loudly banging them against the plastic trays in front of them.

"I know I said I'd help you, Jack, but it's your turn to bathe them," Renee pointed out, playfully pushing him on the arm.

Reed lifted a finger before going over to Riley who was smiling widely, making loud cooing sounds, reaching for her parents, and lifting her up into his arms. He turned her around, bracing her against his shoulder, allowing Renee to get a good look at her. Riley kicked her legs back and forth, continuing to babble happily. "Look at Cherry's back."

Eyes widening at the black 'x' that took over the small girl's back, Renee looked over at Rhuben, who continued to drum her toy against the high-chair. "And?"

"And Grape has one too." Reed placed Riley back into the high-chair and turned to his wife, who chewed her lower lip. "What are we going to do?"

"The only thing we can do. Call up Grandpa Akito and tell him what's happening. And hope that it doesn't get worse from here." Renee gave her husband a kiss, trying to stay calm. At least as the calmer one of the two, she could already see form the way Reed's eyes flashed that he was beyond angry. "Now, please, give them their baths."

"You don't think things'll go aggro?"

"They haven't awakened yet...if they ever will."

May 13, 1993

Eunice Pickett screamed as she held onto her stomach. Leaning forward, she placed her hand against the dashboard before painfully turning to the side and sliding out of her seat until her feet reached the ground. Breathing as calmly as she could, trying to focus on anything but the pain, she walked around the broken down truck towards her husband in the darkened light.

The area around them was dark, clouds covering the moon. The road they were on stretched for miles with no signs of help coming anytime soon. "Clyde," she gasped. "I don't think I can hold on much longer."

"I don't know what else you want me to do, Eunice," Clyde Pickett replied to his wife, sounding just as exasperated, worried, and scared as she did. Illuminated by the flashlight that sat beside him on the edge of the tuck, he wiped his greasy hands off on his overalls. "I swear something jumped out in front of me in the middle of the road, but there's nothing there now. The truck doesn't even have any damage on it; I can't tell what's wrong with the blasted thing."

"The baby's coming," Eunice pointed out. She sucked in another loud gasp of air before screaming again, her hands holding tightly onto her stomach as another contraction hit. This time it was much closer than her last one. "Our little Bailey's going to be here before we can get to the hospital. It'll be the seventh time, Clyde. I don't want to make a record!"

"I know, honey. I'm trying."

Eunice looked forlornly at her husband and watched as he continued to try, in vain, to get the truck running once more. All of a sudden the flashlight went out, causing Clyde to let out a loud curse and kicked the side of the truck, causing the hood of the truck to slam shut. He then banged his hands along the top.

"Clyde?"

"These batteries shouldn't be running out, I just changed them this morning god dang it!"

He continued to slap his hands on the hood of the truck, scaring Eunice. She had never seen her husband this upset before. She took a few steps back, watching as he continued to thrash around, now appearing that he was fighting himself more than he was angry at their broken down vehicle. He continued to thrash around and around, letting out inhuman growls. Then, finally, he fell still, breathing deeply. The flashlight suddenly illuminated once more, the shadows that covered the moon disappearing.

Eunice looked up towards the sky before going back to her husband, placing her hand on his shoulder. "Clyde, are you okay?" He looked over at his wife before glancing over his shoulder and around the deserted road that stretched out on both sides. "Clyde?"

"What was that?"

"What was what?"

Clyde looked around once more then shook his head. "Nothing. Nothing, honey." He put his hands on Eunice's cheeks. "Let's get to the hospital and have this baby."

…

..

.

Uriel grimaced as the past memories floated through his head. All of the times he had been a shadow on the wall, where he would've had the perfect time to stop the prophecy before it happened. He had even gone so far to try and eliminate them all at one and they still, somehow, managed to squeeze through the cracks. This time, however, was going better than he had ever planned.

They were in the Element World and he had free reign over their world. And once they came back they would realize why he was the one that had managed to stay standing against Mother Nature's and Father's Time banishment and the ultimate sort of power he held.

But for the moment, he had to get rid of all of the Elementals of the Earth.

A/N: I originally intended to have this chapter be Cody's and Patrick's fight, but then the idea for this one came around and I absolutely HAD to do it. So their fight will be in the next one.

Cheers,

-Riles