Voodoo Curse

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N:

Chapter 16 (Consequences of the Unnatural)

Jade leaned her shoulder against the doorframe of the bathroom and hooked her finger over her upper lip as she scanned Beck up and down. He was looking at himself in the mirror and had a near maniacal laugh as he fixed his hair.

His thick, dark brown moustache had returned to his face, with the bristles sweeping out like a western sheriff 'stache. Beck's wavy hairstyle was much shorter, combed with a part on the left and swept towards the back to present a more professional look. "You'll be shaving again, I hope?" She smirked and watched him slide his index finger and thumb along the stubble on his jaw and chin.

"Why would I do that?"

"Because your wife can tolerate the moustache, not the beard." She didn't mind his beard, but he looked better with just the moustache. He was taller and more built around the shoulders and chest. "How does it feel being thirty again?"

"Good, but I'm hoping Nona gets ready fast. I'm not looking forward to the rapidly aging to forty-five part." He turned and his eyes fell onto her. Beck let out a wistful sigh and reached his strong hand to Jade, cupping her cheek. "You don't look like you've aged at all, dear."

"That's the magic of makeup, sweetheart." Her skin felt like it had tightened in an instant when Nona reversed them back to their proper ages, and while she had few wrinkles, they were minimal and her skin was still smooth. She had more smile lines and thinner eyelashes, and her hair was shorter.

All in all she felt great and confident now being back in the body she felt she needed to be. "I feel more myself again too, what about you?"

"I do." His lips curved up and he brushed against her while moving past her. Jade followed him into the living room where her eyes fell onto the computer seated on the coffee table. "I've been doing some research on this woman David told me about. 'Erin Anders'."

She didn't recognize the name, much less she didn't see why David would bother telling Beck anything about some random woman. "What does she have to do with us?" He shrugged.

"Nothing." He sat in front of the computer and she walked up behind the couch. As she leaned over the back, her hands slid along Beck's shoulders and her eyes drifted to the screen.

A public records site was open and with it was a photo of a woman with long jet black hair. It was frizzled and looked as though it hadn't been brushed or washed in years. She had piercing black eyes with crow's feet stretching out like cracks, scratches on her face and strange red bumps on and around her lips.

"Damn." She squinted her eyes and read the information provided. "Thirty-eight years old? She looks older than us."

"Well-"

"She looks older than forty, Beck." Jade pushed her arms around his neck and squinted at the charges. The woman was arrested in early 2005 for one count of kidnapping and one count of sexual abuse on a minor. The victim was just eleven years old when taken from the children's area at the city mall. "Ugh the mall. Remind me never to shop there."

"Yeah." Shadows spilled over his eyes and the right corner of his mouth indented into his cheek. "No idea why David would even bring up one of his arrests." It must have been important, but soon it wasn't going to matter. "Jade? Would we ever leave one of our kids in the mall play area?"

"I wouldn't." She poked her finger out at the woman on the computer and scoffed. "Too many freaks like that out there." She was fine letting her kids walk to and from school, she was fine letting them play out in the yard or in the neighborhood, but she'd never leave her kid alone at the mall. "Anyway, get ready, Nona should be here any minute with Holly and the girls."

"Holly?"

"Yes." She rose up and flung her hair behind her. "I asked that Nona bring her and David before sending us back." She couldn't bear leaving Holly behind as a walking corpse. Her soul was already corrupt and damaged beyond repair, according to Nona, but that didn't mean she wasn't wanting to release her.

In the slightest chance that Nona's spell didn't work and left everyone behind, she wanted Holly's spirit to be freed. "I want to release my sister before we go. If Nona's plan fails, Holly's soul shouldn't be trapped to a corpse. This way, if it does fail, maybe I can help guide my sister to the light? Or whatever it is people call it."

"That's good of you to think of her." He twisted around, hanging his elbow over the couch and looking up with a smile. "If her plan succeeds, then what? I mean, obviously we don't drink that mixture, your sister doesn't end up 'killing' us and then herself, and what?"

She crossed her arms and her lips began twisting. They weren't done yet; they were far from finished. Even going back, there was more work that had to be done. "We save my sister from herself." It was easier said than done. She was going to have to convince Holly that what she was involved in could ruin her life; it wasn't as though Holly would know the future like this. "We get her also to release Gary's soul."

Beck moved his head back. "Hmm," he said while patting the couch with his hand. "I forgot about Gary, sort of. He died before everything."

"Right. Holly may not realize the gravity of what she's done; but hopefully once we've calmed her down enough to actually talk, I can get her to realize how serious everything is." Then there was the task of finding Nona in the past.

Nona had given them the address of her old home, but it would still be a far stretch to tell the woman everything that had transpired in the future.

The front door flew open with incredible force, blasting cold air into the room. "Prepare for a lecture!" Nona's voice rose to fever pitch as the woman guided Holly, David, Erwin, Cat and the girls into the house. "I'm going to tell you why I am to send Mr. and Mrs. Oliver's souls back through the tunnels of time, and why magic should not be abused."

Beck shut the laptop and stood from the couch, looking upon Nona with an annoyed glare. "Couldn't you knock first?" He asked. Nona waved her hand and grunted at him.

"No." She turned her back to them and moved her eyes from person to person. She spoke in a low voice and closed her eyebrows together, adding depth to the wrinkles on her brow. "You must understand 'magic' no matter what kind it is, is made by humankind. To use it disrupts the flow of time period."

Jade moved towards Nona, intrigued by what the woman was saying. It was confusing as well, but she said little for the hope that she might understand if she listened.

"Fate. Destiny. Time. These are the paths of our lives chosen by the divine forces beyond human control." She pursed her lips and sat carefully on the armrest of the couch. "We use the art of magic for holistic purposes and holistic only, it is not meant to be used to alter the flow of things."

"What are you saying, Grandma?" Cat inquired. "That there's a reason certain spells are considered 'dark'?"

"Yes child." Nona raised her hands up and stretched her fingers outwards. "Spells of the dead. Necromancy. Spells to alter the flow of time. Spells to control another. Magic used for the purposes of the seven sins. These are illicit, dark spells, spells created by humankind which indulged in those seven sins. They were not pure, they were not noble-they were dark, evil. These practices were the basis of every 'witch' you see in the media, every scream of fear you hear at night. Rituals that should never be practiced by any."

Nona extended her arm pointing to an empty car outside the window. "If with a spell I commanded that driverless car to come in and crush one of you, I have twisted the hands of fate."

It was beginning to make sense in her mind, though she was still sorting out her thoughts. According to Nona, the dark spells changed history, that much was known. "A murder is still a murder, isn't it?" Jade's lips pursed and she gazed solemnly as Nona twisted towards her. "That individual killed by the car you command, were they then destined to die?"

"No. Because a driverless car cannot, of its own will, kill somebody. If a person is murdered by a gunman, that death was intended by the universe and written in the tapestry of time." She curved her hand under her chin and squinted, humming thoughtfully while processing the woman's lesson. "If a spell causes a death, then that death should be left alone, but that spell has punched a hole in the fine tapestry that guides this universe."

"In other words, none of this should have ever happened?" She pushed herself up and swept her arms out to the sides. "Beck and I shouldn't even be here?"

"That is correct. What happened to you as a result of your sister's discrepancy should never have happened to you. You were not destined to that fate. Something that happens on its own is part of the plan of the universe, something that happens as a result of dark practices such as curses, rituals, these are unnatural."

"Okay fine," Holly interrupted in a bitter tone. "We get it. Certain spells shouldn't be used for the sake of greed, envy, anger and blah blah. What am I doing here?"

"You're here on request of your sister." Holly unfolded her arms slowly, looking like a deer in the view of headlights as Nona's eyebrow arched high. "I'm afraid I have some bad news…"

Sensing what was coming, Jade walked towards Holly and grabbed her sibling's hands into hers. "Let me," she said. Nona's eyes rolled to the back of her head and she waved her hand dismissively while moving for the couch.

"So be it."

"What's going on?" Holly asked. Jade took a deep breath, bowing her head as tears swelled up beneath her eyelids.

"Holly what's the last thing you remember during that incident?" Holly turned her head and a suspicious gleam shone in her eyes. "I need you to understand. Immediately following your spell, what happened?"

"I…why is this important?"

"Please." Her voice snapped out and Holly flinched. In the corner of her eyes she saw David's face go long and the color seep away from his skin. Erwin's jaw fell open and he muttered something that, in turn, caused Tori and Trina to shift their expressions as though they saw a ghost.

"I don't remember. I think…I was horrified by what was happening to you."

"And then what? What happened when you yelled at David?"

She could feel the blood gushing through the veins in Holly's hands. The beats came like the beats of a drum in a marching band, steadily growing louder and stronger "I-I ran for you. I grabbed your wrist just as the explosion-" The beats stopped and Holly gasped out in horror. "No, it can't be. I-"

"I'm sorry Holly." She swallowed down the lump which formed in her throat and looked at David. "I saw, the last thing I saw, was David scrambling to revive you. He used a corpse spell. Holly…"

"Don't say it." Holly forced her hands from Jade's, throwing them to the side and rushing a few feet to the right. The woman's shoulders shot up like the peaks of mountains and she hugged her sides. "It's not true. You're lying."

"She isn't," David replied in a low and mournful voice. "I was desperate, and I didn't want to lose you. I took your book from your purse…there was a spell that would bind your spirit before it left your body."

"I have to release you." She placed a firm hand onto Holly's shoulder. She sniffed through her tears and started to choke over her the air she was struggling to release. "If Nona's plan fails, I can't relax knowing you're trapped. I've asked Nona…I've asked her to release you before sending us back."

Holly twisted around partially, her tears flowed over her cheeks and her fingers tightened around her shirts. "I'm scared," she said with a wavering tone. Jade tried to reach out for her sister, but when she felt the older woman's hand on her shoulder, she dropped her hands and bowed her head.

"I'm afraid there is very little time left." Nona walked past her and placed her thumb onto Holly's forehead. Holly's eyes enlarged and her lips separated. The woman's body began to shiver and sweat.

All was silent as the woman's shivering ceased and her muscles began to relax. "Jade," Holly whispered. Her heart skipped and she clutched tight the shirt over her chest as a whimper shook away from her lips. She wanted to cradle her sister in her arms, to tell her everything would be okay, but she knew once Nona had begun her ritual there was no interrupting it. "Jade, I love you. I-I'm sorry…so sorry."

As Nona began to speak her chant, Tori and Trina held each other and David turned away. Erwin and Beck stood side by side, gazing without expression as Holly began to tilt her head backwards. Jason put his arms around the girls, letting them bury their faces into his shirt while Cat joined her grandmother's chant in an attempt to lend her own strength.

Jade watched in horror as Holly's flesh body collapsed to the ground, and a silhouette of light stood in place. The light was humanoid in appearance and had various red and black blotches covering it like a rash.

Holly's face formed on the head, gazing out at Jade as fire began under Holly's feet. "What's going on?" Jade broke from her pose, gasping and tensing while reaching her hand out. "What's happening to her?" The fire soon engulfed the woman, and Jade cried out, her scream echoed off the walls and vibrated at her feet. "Holly!"

In a flash the woman was gone. Jade's knees buckled and she dropped to the ground, grasping at the carpet where Holly once stood. "I'm sorry," Nona said, "But her soul had been far too corrupted and damaged, she could not be saved after fifteen years of entrapment." Her breath split apart, breaking into a heavy pant. Her fingers scraped along the carpet and she began to lean her forehead into the ground while screaming into the floor.

"I know it is of no comfort for you to know the truth of where he spirit has gone, and you must not dwell on it now. This is the consequence of using magic or spells of any kind for the wrong reason…"

Beck knelt beside her and placed his hand onto her shoulder. She turned her head and saw his face had grown long and his eyes were glazed over with tears.

She saw a streak of grey in his hair, and his moustache was turning from brown to salt and pepper. She cried out in shock and fell into his chest.

"It's time," Nona muttered, "I will need all of you. We must build the energy in this place. Do the beginning chant as I have instructed…"

Everyone began to form a circle around her and Beck. Jade raised her head slowly as the men in the room started off the chanting song. "Earth my body, water my blood. Air my breath and fire my spirit…"

They repeated this verse with each person slowly joining in after each repeated verse. "I am born of the elements," sung the women, "I am born of the elements…"

She could feel a tremendous force around her, as though the energy in the room were intensifying and the air was parting like a sea. Her muscles grew tight and she closed her eyes.

"Earth my body, soil and sand. Make me strong, heart and hand. Water my blood, flowing strong-lead me with your healing song. Air my breath blowing true, let my life take flight in you. Fire my spirit burning bright, lead from darkness into light…"

Her stomach began to churn as various sensations began to spin about her. A cool wind caressed her, and numbness overtook her. The chant began to taper off and Nona could be heard speaking her ritual as though she had already prepared the beginning of it.

Soon she was seeing her own self as though hanging above her body, and beside her was her husband peering into her eyes with a strong and stoic expression. The wind around them spun faster and they began to float towards the center.

Jade felt no fear nor worry, and willed herself to be led into the strange unknown.

When her eyes opened once more she let a sharp breath fly from her mouth. She felt her husband's hand curling around hers, heard the sound of cartoon voices laughing on a television she saw in front of her. She could smell the scent of coffee brewing in the kitchen, and she remembered all that happened to her seemingly in an instant.

The doorbell rang once, it's chime was but a distant beep in the back of her mind as she scanned the area with baited breath. "Mama?" Her child's voice broke the silence and pulled her eyes towards the high chair nearby just as the doorbell chimed a second time.

"Katrina?" Her heartbeat skipped into her hand and her cheeks grew wet from a flood of tears.

"Honey?" Beck nudged her slowly, his eyes were wide and his skin was pale. "Your sister's at the door. What are you going to do?" She pulled apart from him and placed her hand over her mouth. "Those drinks…the woman said not to drink…"

It was all too much to react to at once. Part of her wanted to pick Trina up and hug her tight while another part of her wanted to go running to Tori in the nursery and cradle her close.

Still, there were important matters that needed to be handled before anything else, and someone she wished to see more than anyone else. "I want you to take those drinks into the kitchen and set them on the counter. Do not do anything with them." She didn't want to pour the drinks down the drain since she didn't know how that would affect the pipes, but they could figure out how to dispose of them later.

"Okay."

She inhaled deep and adjusted her outfit before straightening her back and walking to the door. With tears in her eyes, she opened the door and saw her sister's angered expression glaring back at her.

She was alive.

"Oh god." Her breathing vibrated and her tears dropped from her chin. Holly's eyebrow rose as she raised her shaky hand to caress her sibling's cheek. "You're alive. You're really alive. I saw you…"

"What are you going on about now?" Holly said with a scowl. Beck took the tray away from Holly and David, causing the woman to glare his way. Before she could say much else, Jade threw her arms around her sister, clutching her tight against her chest. "What the hell!"

"I love you, Holly." She wept into her sister's shirt and her embrace tightened around her. "I love you. Let's not fight. This isn't the answer, what you want to do. You're angry, you think you want this but you'll end up regretting it when you're done and you won't be able to live with yourself."

"What are you-" Holly squirmed and groaned in her failed attempts to flee Jade's grip. "Let me go."

"No, I'm never letting go. We're going to work through this…"

So the sisters reunite and we've come full circle, but can Jade reach Holly in the midst of all that anger the woman feels? What are your thoughts on the chapter, and what are your thoughts of what is to come? It's been said that there may be certain things that are meant to happen, what do you think the future will be like?