⊱ ────── {.⋅ ♫ ⋅.} ───── ⊰
𝑂𝑛𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑡'𝑠 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔
𝐶𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑠 𝑟𝑢𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛 𝑓𝑎𝑠𝑡
𝐾𝑒𝑒𝑝 𝑔𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑛 𝑛𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘
𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑡'𝑠 𝑜𝑛𝑒, 𝑡𝑤𝑜, 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑒𝑒, 𝑓𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑠
𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐼'𝑙𝑙 𝑡𝑟𝑦 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑛𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡
𝐿𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑎 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑚𝑦 𝑒𝑦𝑒𝑠
𝐼'𝑚 𝑔𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑦 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑑
𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬, 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐆𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐞, 𝐎𝐰𝐞𝐧 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐉𝐨𝐲𝐧𝐞𝐫, 𝐉𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐲 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐚
⊱ ────── {⋅. ♪ .⋅} ────── ⊰
The teens all wake up groggy and disorientated. Luna wakes up not remembering falling asleep and only to find herself in the clothes she had changed into before they went to the warehouse. It was odd since the brunette teen would always change clothes before sleeping and if not at least she would take off her shoes.
When Luna exits her room she doesn't notice that one of the walls no longer had her painting but she does notice the jazz-like music playing around the house. Luna walks over to where Karolina, Nico, Molly, and Gert were standing only to hear Gert announce, "Guys, all of the Didion is gone from my shelves."
No one replies as they look out of the balcony and see a themed party going on downstairs. Luna looks down at the men wearing a tux, waiters walking around with trays, women in beaded flapper dresses, and white balloons spread out on the floor. Without thinking Luna mumbles, "What the stars"
"What fresh hell is this?" Gert asks taking in the event downstairs just like the rest of the teens, "Okay, I don't know if this is some kind of dream or mass hallucination, but I really need a minute to process."
"I'm a little hazy as to how we got home last night," Nico states making everyone look at each other not having an answer they could back up with 100% certainty
"We drove, right?" Karolina asks before she shakes her head "Not that I remember, but that makes sense."
"The Hostel looks so weird." Molly states and she wasn't wrong, not only was there strangers downstairs but there were too many vines wrapped around every pillar in the mansion "And who are all these people?"
"Chase?" Luna mumbles spotting Chase in the crowd and so she's the first one to walk towards the staircase everyone following her as they make their way towards Chase
"Guys, I've been reading about this. I think we're suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning." Chase worriedly states as they all stand on the staircase
"That would make us dead," Gert states with certainty making Luna shrug her shoulders believing Gert in her knowledge of carbon monoxide poisoning
"And this is Purgatory?" Molly asks making everyone look towards the party
"No" Luna strongly states only for her confidence waiver when saying, "...No"
"Maybe we're back in Jonah's Algorithm," Chase suggests
Karolina having experience with the Algorithm says, "Doesn't feel like that."
"Feels like The Great Gatsby." Gert questionably states as she looks down at the themed party that could be taken after the Fitzgerald book
"Well then maybe Leo's here! One way to find out." Molly smiles as she walks past the teens and makes her way down the stairs towards the party
"Find a pool?" Luna questions thinking about the books ending and being way off as to what everyone was thinking. None the less Luna follows Molly downstairs in search of answers
"What is happening?" Karolina asks as they all walk downstairs needing to be aware of the people around them as they could be seen and touched
"Did we go back in time?" Molly asks which is something the teens could consider as a possibility
Chase takes into consideration Molly's theory and suggests, "Maybe the alien platform tore a hole in the space‐time continuum."
"The problem with our lives is that any of these theories could be true." Gert grumbly states
"And none of them are good," Nico states with eyebrows furrows as she continues to look around the room
"Hey, guys," Chase announces making everyone look at him before he starts to make his way towards some posters on an easel by the stairs. The posters announce Quinton the Great Magician was set to perform at the party.
Where the dining room was supposed to be red heavy curtains were blocking the view making Gert be the first to walk towards them and pull them back. Instead of the dining room, Gert sees a stage where Quinton had his magical items set up ready to perform.
"Oh. Great. Cool." Gert complains as the teens follow her into the room through the curtains "Our house has been taken over by a creepy magician. Which‐oh, sorry. No, that was redundant. All magicians are creepy."
What made Quinton the Great Magician creepy was his immediate wide smile once seeing an audience walk into the room and the white powdered make up the man wore over his already pale face
"Please! Come forward! The‐the‐the show is just beginning!" Quinton eagerly announces to the teens before pulling out a set of cards and in one fanning them out
"No, thanks, we're good." Nico disinterestedly states ready to turn around to walk out of the room
"Hey, it's the guy from the magic room." Chase tells the girls before they can walk out of the room, making the magician run off the stage and towards the ground "The original owner of the Hostel. This is his house."
"Delighted to see you!" Quinton shouts popping out of one of the sides of the curtained room making the teens jump in surprise "That horrid music just lured away from the weak‐willed pleasure‐seekers. But not you! Bravo! Come!"
Quinton takes off his white gloves and with both in one hand, he shakes them making flowers appear. The magician walks towards Karolina and extends the flowers for her to take, "Join me."
Karolina only purses her lips and shakes her head while Nico moves closer to her girlfriend and says, "We're not really in the mood for magic."
"That is a shame, ma petite Japonaise." Quinton says taking a step back making the teens grateful but also some of them couldn't help their eyes widen at the man's words "Because you are the perfect size for my box."
"Is‐is that blood?" Chase asks pointing at the box the man stood in front of
"And you..." Quinton trails off not answering Chase's question and instead walks towards Molly "You would be the perfect fit for my knife‐throwing‐‐"
The magician had placed his hands on Molly as to guide her to the stage but she quickly pushes his away with force, "Get off of me!"
"What the?!" The magician exclaims as he stumbles back onto the green wooden box
"Wait. Something doesn't feel right." Molly says looking down at her fists
"Molls, your eyes‐‐" Luna quickly catches on but is interrupted by Quinton
"Are lovely."
"And not yellow." Chase finishes for Luna as they all look at Molly
"Karolina, light up," Molly asks keeping her eyes to the ground not wanting to see everyone looking at her
Karolina listens and raises her hand ready to light up but her hand stays its normal light-skinned color, "Nothing. Luna?"
Luna quickly blinks before she raises her hand to her chest to touch her totem only for it to not light up its faint red glow. Luna tries touching it again but still nothing, she didn't feel anything. Her blue eyes scan the teens while she shakes her head
"Guys, we don't have powers here," Chase says out loud what everyone had come to the realization
"Powers? Which powers are you referring to?" Quinton asks before he stutters as he looks at Chase "Magic is the only power that exists here. Now please tell me that you've mastered the art of decapitation. I mean, that one is still beyond me. I can't find anyone to practice on!"
"This guy is no help at all," Chase says turning away from Quintons stare and towards the group
"And, um, as previously noted, creepy as hell," Gert whispers making everyone nod their head in agreement
Like a child, Quinton moves his cape as he turns around and takes a step away from the teens before announcing, "Fine! You don't want to take part in the show, that's your loss. But I'm warning you... If you take one step outside the protection of my home, you'll regret it."
Quinton then slowly runs out of the red curtain covered room making the teens all watching him exit the room confused. Knowing they needed answers the teens all follow after the magician who had taken off his cape and sat in front of a vanity mirror
Karolina knocks on the room's wall to get the magician's attention, "We're sorry. We didn't mean to insult you."
"We need your help," Luna states with as much kindness that she could put into her voice
"Where are we?" Gert quickly asks with arms crossed
"When are we?" Chase follows up knowing Quinton was dead in their timeline
"It's always the same, you know. I just try to make my home a place of merriment and hospitality, and yet no one wants to stay and watch the show." Quinton thinking out loud as he wipes off the white make up from his forehead that he had just applied, "What am I doing wrong?
"Well, your tendency to self‐dramatize may be a sign of narcissistic personality disorder." Gert analyzes taking a step into the room ready to sit on the chair behind Quinton's mirror making the rest of the teens follow her lead and find a place to sit "And the fact that you added "the great" to your name is also a red flag."
"Did you see anyone else new before we came in?" Molly asks making Quinton turn in his chair to look back at the brunette who stood near Gert
"Well, yes. A..." Quinton trails off trying to remember who he had seen that looked out of place, "ditzy red‐headed dame, an Oriental, a lunatic, and a bespectacled negro child."
"Stars! We do not use that type of language!" Luna scolds the man who probably in his time heard and read those words not knowing the harm they cary but still didn't mean he had a right to use them or not be scolded for saying them
"Offensive for sure, but he definitely saw them." Chase states looking over at Luna before turning to look at the magician and asks, "Where'd they go?"
"Outside." Quinton states looking up at Chase who sat on his make-up desk and grabs a book near the teen's leg, "But not before the dame tried to spirit away my monocle."
"Wait. Stacey needed her glasses?" Gert asks looking up at Molly who was closest to her "That means that they're back to their old selves."
"The transition from our world to this one separated them from the light beings." Nico analyzes making sense
"Just like how we got separated from our powers," Karolina says in agreeance with Nicos theory
"This is all my fault. We have to find them and go back." Nico says needing to make things right
Quinton laughs before saying, "Youth. You say that like it will be easy, but I can assure you that it will not. Where you stand now is the "thin place" between this world and all others, including your internal ones. If you find your companions, they shall be trapped in a moment that tortures them. And the longer you remain here, the more you shall forget from whence you came. And soon, this world will be all you know."
At the magician's ominous cautionary tale Gert stands up ready to walk away while saying, "Cool, okay. Cool sales pitch. No wonder no one comes to your shows."
"Oh, aren't you the quick‐witted one?" Quinton calls after Gert who had already walked past him and had the rest of the teens following after her
"Look, we need to find Alex and our parents and get the hell out of here. Now." Nico orders the teens who don't protest
The teens all make their way past the party and towards a clear door that had a white curtain hiding what was behind it. Karolina stops before they reach the doors and turns to look at the teens, "If everything he says is true, then our best bet is to stick together."
They all silently agree before they file up in a line to take turns in walking through the white abyss. Nico was up first and it's her that was the first one to notice none of the teens followed after her nor that there was no white door to open.
As Quinton had stated they all walked into a moment that not only caused those they were looking for torture but also a form of pain for themselves. Meaning that each teen walked through the doors, and when they opened their eyes they were each in their own world.
Luna opens her eyes only to see that she was in an empty dark warehouse filled with various items and boxes, some she recognized other she didn't. Luna takes a look around only to see her mom making Luna walk over to the women and touch the lady's shoulder making the dark-haired women stop rummaging through a box labeled 'Egypt'
"Mom" Luna whispers as the lady before her was Zari, only this woman had highlights running through her curled long hair and was wearing a dress
"Yeah, you got the wrong person. I'd remember if you were my child" the Zari look-alike says but then sees the totem resting on the girl's neck making her reach out to touch the gold necklace "How did you get that?"
"Oh um, my grandad" Luna mumbles only for the lady standing before her touch the totem making its red glow to appear and for the Zari look-alike start to get blurry. It was as if she was splitting into two, only her double that was coming out of her was the Zari Luna grew up with.
"What? Where- Luna?" Zari, her actual mother says taking in her grown daughter that stood before her
"Mom?" Luna asks once more as the Zari double looked more like her mom. The red flannel shirt, her black hair pinned back, only no gold necklace around her neck.
Zari goes to hug her daughter and Luna hugs back ecstatic to see her mother only for the feeling to quickly disappear. Luna was starting to remember everything, all the bad her mother had done, the way Zari left her. With each realization, Luna loosened her hold until her arms fell to her side making Zari pull away from her daughter wondering what was wrong
"Baby what's wrong?" Zari says cupping Luna's face while she brushes away a tear Luna hadn't felt fall from her eyes
"You"
At the simple word leaving Luna's quivering lips Zari didn't know what that meant, "Luna look at me, how are you here?"
Luna didn't look up at her mom, instead, she pulled away from Zari's touch. Everything came rushing down on Luna, all the hate and anger that she had ever felt and never released was bubbling up.
"You are what's wrong" Luna bitterly states looking up at her mom who was hurt by the words "You are the reason for all my pain! You were barely there while I was growing up, it wasn't until now that I've realized that."
"Luna I did the best I could, I was a single mother-"
"But you didn't have to be! My dad actually wanted to be a part of my life but you made sure that never happened! You made sure I never felt like questioning you as if you knew what was best but I was wrong. You are the reason why I'm so afraid of love. W-why I don't know how it's supposed to feel like I-i don't know what it's like to love someone that isn't family! Not to mention while I was at home alone learning how to cook because you were running late from work- work that was a total lie! While I was home alone you were out murdering kids!"
"It wasn't like that Luna" Zari says believing in her words making anger start to bubble even bigger in Luna
"You killed yourself" Luna whispers as if the words leaving her mouth were a sin, "You told me your faith was real! That you loved me! You were changing the world for the better! You lied! You are just a filthy murder"
"Don't talk to me like that. Luna, I am still your mother" Zari states making Luna blink away her tears not caring to wipe them from falling down her face
"No!" Luna shouts feeling the heat in her chest burn brighter with every tear shed "You left! The one person who was supposed to love me unconditionally left me! You chose to leave me!"
Zari reaches out for her daughter, "Luna listen to me-"
"Leave me alone!" Luna cries pushing her mother away
Nothing else was able to be said because while Zari was reaching out for her daughter Luna was burning up and so she let out an ear screeching scream. With eyes closed, Luna would feel the burning feeling leave her body, instead of the heat being on the inside she could feel it dancing to touch her skin. Luna gulped her dry mouth, eyes still closed just wanting to fall to the ground as her body felt exhausted.
Then Luna opens her blue eyes and instead of the warehouse she had walked into, Luna sees the ends of a fire having burned the storage to dust. Falling from the sky was ash and orange burning circles waiting to be extinguished.
"Seems I was mistaken." A posh voice speaks up making Luna turn around confused to see the Zari-look-alike standing before her once more, "The totem choose the rightful master"
Confused and with a slight headache Luna looks around the ash-covered room but the only people standing in the room were them two, "W-Where did my mom go?"
"She was never here, not truly" The woman vaguely explains slowly walking in her black heels towards Luna, "Your friends are in trouble, you must leave before you forget"
"Forget?" Luna whispers not knowing if she heard correctly or if her headache was messing with her, "W-who are you?"
"My name is Ain" The woman before her says but the way she pronounced her name made Luna more confused. She'd only met a handful of people who pronounce that as a letter, it's the one she had learned by her grandparents to pronounce correctly. The way Luna was repeatedly taught to pronounce the Arabic letter was as 'EYE-yeen'. Like she'd had fallen on her knee and said with the back of her throat 'ah ahh'.
In disbelief, Luna asks, "Who?"
"In my time I was given the title of an Egyptian Goddess" The Zari-look-alike states leaving no room for questioning, "That totem you bear is mine or once was. Now it belongs to you, you have been able to unlock all the power within it, and soon you will master them all"
Luna starts to massage under her eyebrows in hopes that it will relieve her from her headache but still asks, "But it's brought me physical pain, does that ever fade?"
"Sadly no, but you are a warrior and a true totem master." Ain says with a kind smile, "Soon you will discover that not only does water retain memory but also heals. Each element balances each other, without one the other cannot exist. The pain reminds you that you are human, you are not a god. You are meant to help people not decide their fate"
"I-i don't want that power, not-" Luna had to re-think her words, of course, she wanted some form of external power to make her feel powerful just not as powerful as what the goddess before her was insinuating "I don't want that much power"
"All you must do is take off the necklace to no longer obtain its power. I must warn you if you try to destroy the totem it can only be cracked. Nothing on this earth or any other can take away its powers. A true totem master can wield it back to its former glory, and those are very hard to find"
Luna lets her hands fall to her side letting out a breath as it was all too much, "How are you real? If my mom wasn't here. How are you?"
"As a totem master when I died a part of my soul was captured in the totem." Ain expresses making Luna glance down at the totem, "Making it so that I never died, at least not all of me. I came from the totem, not this world"
"My friends... how do I get to them?" Luna asks wanting to get away from everything she had not only just gone through but learned
Ain speaks up in a voice full of wisdom and gentleness, "Stop thinking with your head and listen to your heart"
"That seems easy enough" Luna mumbles eyebrows slightly furrowed and she was ready to find a door but before she moves Luna asks, "Because your soul lives in the totem, will I see you again?"
The goddess couldn't help but smile at Luna's optimism, "I will always be there when you need me. May the gods be with you my hero"
Ain was the first to turn away making Luna search for a way to leave only to find a door. In listening to her heart Luna lets out a deep breath before stepping through the door of a white abyss. When she opens her eyes Luna sees an empty street with tall brick apartment buildings and some abandoned stores.
Hesitantly Luna walks down the empty street only to turn a corner that had some abandoned construction. Luna couldn't help her hands from shaking not know what she would run into or if it was all just an illusion. So as her eyes wander the empty streets she pulls on her green and black striped sleeves to cover her knuckles.
It's then that she sees two men standing by a car, Luna couldn't help but feel a flutter of hope in her chest as the one that had his back turned to her looked like Chase. Luna calls out Chase's name and starts to sprint towards him.
At his name being called out Chase looks away from his dad and turns around. He sees Luna running towards him making him let the bat he held fall to the ground just like he had intended to.
With a smile, Luna runs up to Chase and pulls him into a hug happy to see that it was actually him. Chase returns the tight hug by wrapping his arms around Luna's waist his heart skipping faster as he feels her breathing into his neck.
"It's you right?" Luna whispers into Chase's shoulder but it was loud enough for him to hear her
"Y-yeah, I'm pretty sure." Chase replies pulling away from the hug as he processed that she was shaking, "Moonie are you okay?"
Luna doesn't answer his question instead she nods her head as she stops Victor beaten and bleeding standing behind Chase having watched the whole interaction. Luna brings her hands to fall back to her side, "We have to get out of here and I think I know where to go"
Luna was ready to move towards a car that was parked near them only to notice the body on the ground. Chase and Victor had been standing over an older man in waiters clothes that was beaten and looking half dead.
Luna doesn't say anything, instead, she stays quiet and starts the car. Chase was grateful because he didn't know what he would say if Luna had asked what had happened. He knew that he would tell her the truth, but he wasn't ready to say that his fear was tied to his dad. Victor was abused as a child and continued that cycle with Chase and Janet.
Chase's fear was that he'd be an abuser just like his dad, but in the end, it was Victor who reminded his son that abuse is always a choice. So, Chase chose to be better than his dad by letting go of the bat he had held high ready to strike.
The car ride wasn't totally silent, Luna told the two Stein's about where she was quickly driving down the empty streets. The one good thing about being in a world between worlds is that the streets were essentially empty meaning no cars driving giving Luna the confidence to drive faster than she ever would in the real world.
As they arrive at the Yorke's house Luna parks the car but doesn't wait to turn it off before she quickly takes off her seatbelt and runs into the house. Chase runs after her leaving Victor to run after the two teens. Chase runs into the house only to see Luna standing in the living room rubbing her forehead while mumbling, "Where could she be. Where could she be. Where could she be"
"Luna...?"
Luna hears her name being called out but she doesn't respond, instead, she turns in the direction of the basement. Believing that Gert was downstairs in the basement somehow trapped, Luna makes her way down to the basement.
Downstairs Gert was hiding behind a metal crate while Stacey was closing what used to be Old Lace's door. Excited to have found the purple-headed girl Luna exclaims happily, "Gert!"
Gert moves out from the metal crate having been hiding behind it because the dinosaur behind the door was untamed and it had scratched her shoulder. Luna and Gert share a hug making Stacey who stood by the closed metal door realize that what she experienced not only was a memory but she once again caused her daughter harm.
"We should get out of here" Gert announces making Luna nod her head and turn around only to see that Chase and Victor had followed them downstairs.
They all head upstairs and get into the car where Luna lets Chase drive as he had an idea of where to find everyone else.
Chase, unlike Luna, drove at a steady and safe pace through the empty and trashed streets. They arrive at a bridge only for Chase to lift his feet off the accelerator when he sees three bodies covered in black handing from the bridge. Everyone leans towards the window to take a closer look at the hanging bodies not believing what was right above them.
"Shit," Gert mumbles as she sits on Luna's left side
They all arrive at their destination which was the Gibborim Church, Chase parks the car next to a black one near a water fountain. On a bench under a big tree Molly, Nico, Karolina, and Tina were all found
Gert and Luna were leading the group making them able to hear Karolina tell a crying Molly, "See? Everyone"
Gert was the first to pull a seated Molly into a side hug while Chase sighs, "I knew we'd find Karolina here."
When Gert lets go of the crying girl it was Luna's turn to side hug the crying girl. Luna kisses the young girls' pink beanie covered head before letting go. In doing so Stacey kneels in front of Molly and asks, "Molly, are you okay?"
"I guess." Molly replies looking down at Stacey before shaking her head "Do I know you?"
"What?" Stacey asks making the teens all share a look of concern, "Sweetie, it's me. Stacey."
"No. I'm‐I'm sorry," Molly tells the lady kneeling before her as she no longer was crying but rather confused
"She's forgetting. Just‐just like the creepy magician said." Gert says looking at the teens while placing a hand on Molly's shoulder
"Meaning the longer we stay here, the more we forget about our old lives" Luna states following Gert's trail of thought while at the same time hoping she hadn't forgotten something. But how could she remember something she wasn't supposed to remember
"It's happening. We need to go. Now." Victor ushers everyone
"But we can't leave Alex," Karolina announces from her seat next to Molly
Nico quickly blinks before asking, "Which one's Alex?"
"Great!" Gert bitterly exclaims, "The person who brought us here has forgotten the mission."
"I'm sorry about Alex, but if we stay any longer, we'll all be gone. Forever." Tina says as she stands next to a confused Nico
"We'll find a way to come back. For now‐come on, we got to go." Chase says making everyone make their way as a group in the same direction and in a flash they all stood in the compound walking into the hostel, the party no longer at play
Everyone starts to look around the empty Hostel and Gert is the first to speak up, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I really wish that creepy magician was still here."
"No, he's‐he's got to be here somewhere." Nico states before running past everyone and towards the red curtains
Everyone follows after Nico only to enter an empty stage room. Stacey starts to look around the room and call out, "Hey. Hello? Anybody here?"
"What if he left?" Victor asks
"He said he never leaves." Karolina strongly states taking a look around the room with her eyes rather than with her whole body
"Yeah, well, he did, because he's gone," Tina says as she stands near the empty stage
"I'm sorry, everyone." Nico speaks up making everyone look at her, "T-this is all on me. Okay? You're my‐you're my friends, and I brought you into something terrible."
"If it makes you feel any better, we can't be mad at you. Because we won't... remember that you did it." Gert replies with her hands in her grey ripped jean pockets
"It's not as bad as you think," Amy speaks up as she enters the room from behind Karolina
Everyone in the room recognized her voice, while they hadn't heard it in years they were familiar with it and so they all quickly looked over at the alive teen. All the teens react differently, Luna lets out "Stars" in shock, Molly exclaims "Oh, my God!", and Karolina trails off in asking, "Is it really...?"
Everyone else was too stunned to say or ask anything. The mother's daughter turns around to see her once dead daughter standing a few feet away from her making Tina say, "Amy!"
Tina then with a shocked smile walks towards Amy to pull her into a hug, one that Amy reciprocates. Nico standing next to her reuniting family lets out a heartbreaking, "Mom."
"But it..." Tina waivers caressing her daughter's face that showed no recognition or emotion, "it can't, uh... it can't be... can it?"
"I'm not sure of anything anymore," Nico says holding back her tears as Amy was the one who had saved her from her fear and guided her to save Tina
"Let me make it easier for you. I'm an emissary of Morgan le Fay." Amy monotone shares with everyone who perks up at the emissary part not knowing who Morgan le Fay could be
"I should've known," Tina whispers with hate in her voice
"Morgan le what?" Chase asks confused just like everyone except Tina who knew the name
"I made a promise to turn Nico over to Morgan, but now..." Amy shares looking around the room at the teens and the parents, "Now that I know who you are, what you mean to each other, I... I'm reminded of my old life, what it felt like to be over there. So, I can't turn you in. I'm afraid of what she'll do to you."
Nico nods her head taking her time to hold back her tears and steadily replies with, "Thank you."
"But you can still take us back, right?" Stacey timidly asks
"No." Amy states making everyone's hope vanish "I don't have that spell. No one does."
"That's not entirely true." Tina loudly states making everyone look at her "But I haven't done anything like it in a very long time. I'm gonna need your help."
Nico seeing her mom turn to ask for her help she quickly replies, "What can I do? I don't have the Staff."
"I feel like you do. I have this idea, but you're gonna have to trust me." Tina says with a smile and walks past Nico towards the red and white circle painted board and pulls off a knife. With the throwing knife in her hand, Tina quickly presses it against her palm and slashes it making everyone gasp at the sudden movement. Luna on the other hand didn't gasp, her breath was caught in her chest not being able to look away from Tina's bleeding palm not the knife in her hand
"Now you," Tina tells Nico who slowly walk back and away from her mom
Nico stops to look at Karolina before looking at the ground and walks towards her mom. Nico extends out her hand making Tina quickly slash her daughter's palm making Nico shriek in pain.
In the midst of feeling pain, Nico hunches over before standing up straight and screams. A dark purple mist covers Nico's chest and she pulls out the staff from her chest. In awe, Nico looks down at her staff and quietly says, "Just like I thought."
"Now... I'm going to cast. And, on my command, you will open the circle and we'll step through." Tina instructs Nico who was catching her breath
"If you say so." Nico hesitantly says before looking at her mom and without hesitation states, "Okay."
Tina moves her hands against each other creating a white orb being held by her. Then Tina starts to do various hands movements while with eyes closed whispers in Japanese. Her whispers are then said in English, "Send us through the open door... To where my spell commands."
Tina opens her eyes and pulls her hands apart making the white orb split into a blue long mist that her hands were connecting and containing
"I'm allowed to say more than one word?" Nico asks in disbelief
Not believing that she was actually doing it Tina turns to her daughter with a smile, "We were all novices once. Now, daughter. Do your part."
Nico listens and moves her glowing staff in a circular motion which then creates a multicolored purple portal behind Chase
"Holy‐" Molly's jaw drops in awe at the magic the mother and daughter had created
"Stephen Hawking!" Stacey exclaims not believing her eyes
"Everybody through." Tina loudly announces making everyone listen and one by one they enter the portal only to walk out of the hostels dining room. They were back in what looked like their own home
"Nico, Tina, that was amazing!" Karolina gushes as her girlfriend was around the hotel being the last to have walked through the portal
"I'm feeling a little car sick," Molly says as she takes careful steps
"Teleportation spells have side effects. You'll get used to it." Tina replies before looking around at the hostel looked different from the one they had just been in
"It's the magician's mansion... in the future. Or should I say the present?" Victor lets out a chuckle, "Outstanding."
"Is this where you've been living?" Stacey asks no one in particular
"Is there a spell to get our parents out of the Hostel?" Karolina quietly asks Nico
"Yeah, uh, is "Mind Wipe" a spell?" Nico asks out loud
"That's a trigger word for me now, so please don't." Gert states looking around only to turn her head and see her arm that had a scratch she received in the other world, "Hey, it didn't look like this when we left, right?"
"Definitely not," Luna says while doing her best to not let out a sneeze
"Well, the cobwebs are back in full force." Chase says inspecting the cobwebs that had been made from the staircase hand railing to a fallen chandelier, "Yep, and I for one couldn't be happier."
"Where's Old Lace?" Nico asks as Chase walks into Alex's dust-filled room
"Hey, guys. Come check this out." Chase calls out making the teens and the parents walk into the room. Chase sat in front of the computer screen while everyone was fitting themselves into the room to see, "I turned it on and look‐‐ Alex was religious about backing up his data."
On the computer screen there was a notification that read;
YOUR HARD DRIVE HAS NOT BEEN BACKED UP IN
6 MONTHS 22 DAYS 4 HOURS
WOULD YOU LIKE TO BACK UP NOW?
NO YES
"So, that means..." Karolina trails off not being able to say what everyone had come to realize
"We've been gone for six months," Nico states making it real. Everyone standing in the room hand missed out on six months of their life by being trapped in the other world that focused on their fear
"So, does that mean that Alex has been trapped over there for the same amount of time?" Molly hesitantly asks making the teens look over to her
A/N: anybody else also binge watch Julie and the Phantoms?
+ there is like 5 chapters left not including any type of chapters about the future [including kids, college life, engagements, adult life]