I can’t believe what’s really going on
Somehow I knew that you felt guilty for something
But tell me why you do this to me
Today you told me that I’d hate you forever
I can’t believe that you’d wreck my life
I was betrayed, how can you say that you feel sorry inside
It’s devastating, losing close friends
I’ve gone away, you make me stay but I can’t tell it from lies
I’ve gone insane, losing close friends
Today I made the worst mistake
I put my trust into someone I don’t know
And now I know because you’ve done everything possible to me
Made me so upset
And now I know just who to trust because you’re laying in bed
You’re thinking ’bout all that fucked up shit
I was betrayed, how can you say that you feel sorry inside
It’s devastating, losing close friends
I’ve gone away, you make me stay but I can’t tell it from lies
I’ve gone insane, losing close friends
I’m so weak
The closeness of your skin
The smell of this place
Makes me go insane
You make me go insane
I was betrayed, how can you say that you feel sorry inside
It’s devastating, losing close friends
I’ve gone away, you make me stay but I can’t tell it from lies
I’ve got insane, losing close friends
Losing close friends
“Are you okay?” He says reaching for her and stopping when she flinches. The last scene in her dream a lingering horror.
The dream had started out pretty okay. Her and Adam were about to Buffy then he grabbed a knife and plunged it into her abdomen. It was followed by a scream from inside her abdomen. The baby crawled out and died as the wound closed on her. Adam then lunged for her and drained her.
“Sorry its just that . . . I have to pee.” Pyra says suddenly getting up. She went into the bathroom and sat down. She thought about it, she was late so she might be pregnant. But if she was what about the rest of the dream. This had to one of her most annoying power. She never knew if her dreams were premonitions or dreams. But even if it was a premonition she refused to believe that this was a blow by blow this is your future vision. She figured it was on the symbolic side, which still didn’t say much for her husband. Violence and mayhem was having a merry little time. She’d take a test in the morning. She walked back into the room and Adam was already asleep again. She climbed into bed, and wrapped her self around Adam under the huge black comforter. Half asleep he closed his arms around her as they both fell into the last night of peaceful happy sleep they would have for a long long time.
Dead, gone, it just didn’t feel possible. She could hear Lucky crying in the living room with Josh. She wasn’t even sure if they had stopped since it happened. Pyra could comprehend it, Dominic stabbed right here in What? And then Mystic! Everyone wanted to be together, Adam was downstairs too. Her kids would be back here tomorrow. She’d have to face them all eventually; even Nausi who she was quite sure would never forgive the three of them for what happened in the recording studio. She turned towards her others friends house. The sadness was like a tangible thing coming at her from all sides and going out from her too.
The sad thing was she couldn’t stop thinking about herself or more exactly the little self growing inside her. It was all so weird her kids were 21 granted she was 23 but to have kids so far apart. She had such great news and there was no way she was going to share it, it just wouldn’t be right, right now. She would do it tonight, at least tell Adam, he could help her decide she hoped at the very least it could put smiles on their faces for a second.
She had been sitting on this swing so long and now the sun was setting. She wondered what the vampires would say. Well Quinn would be sad, that was sure he had a whopper of a crush on Mystic. The swing creaked; Pyra turned and was face to face with Quinn.
“Good evening Pyra.” He looks at her and his entire composure changes. “What’s wrong?”
“Um, its Mystic.”
“Is she alright?”
“Quinn, she’s dead,” Pyra says listlessly. He stared in open mouth shock.
“But, she can’t be. You are all so . . .so.”
“Human,” Pyra mutters as she turns to him and sees him shedding blood tears. Her mind is too much of a fog to realize why that should matter at all as she rests her head on the old chain. Over thirty years she had been coming here, after a while it was customary for Quinn or Fabian to drop by for a chat. David and Endora seemed convinced that if they ignored her she would go away. Endora had good reason to stay away. Pyra had almost killed her. He had never understood David’s fear she was always civil to him.
“How did it happen?”
“She was shot and the wound just refused to close. We thought she was fine, we even . . .” Pyra stops looking at her feet she hadn’t cried once and every time she saw a teary eyed face she avoided it. But talking about this was almost enough to do it. She had to be heartless, she couldn’t cry with two of her best friends dead and a third blaming her for it and she couldn’t deal with criers. She looked up, Quinn had pulled a vampire vanishing act and she continued to sit.
Lestat had gone to his house. He walked in and almost collapsed. Standing there calmly talking to Louis was a newly turned Mystic. “Hey there Quinn.” If he was still mortal he would have fainted right there.
“But . . .Pyra . . .you . . .”
“Are supposed to be dead I know, well I want to figure this whole thing out before I tell them.”
“Who . . .”
”Vlad. The stupid punk! Well I showed him.”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s dead, dust,” I’m the only vampire like this. Well except for Edgy boy,” Mystic says silently wishing the blond would turn Pyra so she wouldn’t be alone in this. Across the way at Pyra’s house, Adam had the sudden urge to be with Pyra, he didn’t really understand it. Having been a vampire since the moment Mystic was ‘shot’ through way of Santiago’s evil at Dom’s funeral the barriers Pyra had put up in his suggestible mind did not transfer to the vampire who had the same weakness. He hadn’t mentioned it they had enough real things to worry about without him telling them some evil was near. Well it would explain what had just killed two of them off, leaving orphans, and JC a shell of what he used to be.
Adam finally realized what was different from a moment ago. JC had sobbed himself to sleep right there on the couch. It had to be the first time he was sleeping in days. Lucky was still crying tears dripping down his face as he rested his head on JC’s knee. It was close to midnight when Pyra walked back into the house. Adam had already taken both guys into their bed rooms and he was sitting on Pyra’s bed waiting for her.
Seeing his wife triggers something in him and he stares at her every move. He can almost tell exactly what muscles she’s using to walk over to the bed and can smell her blood from across the room. Pulsing through her body such sweet delicious blood. A little taste wouldn’t hurt. Adam shakes his head what was he thinking? Pyra wasn’t food, no person was food.
But you don’t just want to eat her. A voice in his head whispered. Devour her, turn her, kill her. TURN HER
Pyra sat down next to him and the scent of her was driving him wild. “We need to talk,” she says.
“Mmm . . .talk,” He mutters burying his face in her hair.
“Come on this is important,” Pyra says trying to get him to look at her, he raises his head.
“I’m listening,” he says his eyes half closed.
“Well, its seems I’m . . .” Pyra stops when Adam starts kissing her neck. “Stop, I really need to tell . . . ow!” Pyra shrieks as he sinks his fangs in her. He pulls out and heals the wound wondering what the hell he was thinking. Pyra put a hand to her neck and decided she imagined it she felt like she needed to calm down. She placed her forehead on his shoulder, and he put an arm around her.
“What’s so important?” Adam asks looking past her to a wall the feeling to bite his wife disturbing him. Pyra pulls away and sits directly in front of him.
“Its just that,” Pyra is staring at Adam, he was a vampire right now which would explain why she was even more attracted to him but then there was that sick vision playing in the back of her mind. How long had he been one, why didn’t he say anything? “You’re a vampire.”
“Huh? Oh, yeah well its not like things could get any worse right? So I didn’t want to bother you guys.”
“Only one way to go huh? Up?”
“I guess,” Adam says eyes locked on her neck.
“Well I think I know a way to bring us back up,” Pyra says smiling a little knowing this is a good idea.
“Really? You want to?”
“Want . . .” Adam lets the intense feelings he’s having take over, kissing his wife on the lips and pushing her back on the bed. Pyra lets him and decides a few more hours won’t make a difference. He’ll be happy, the same way he was the first time around. Maybe if it was a girl they could name her Mystic, then again that would be a little too crazy. Pyra suddenly feels that that telling him is the most important thing and it can’t wait.
“Adam . . .”
“Pyra,” he whispers.
“Adam.” She says a little louder.
“Pyra,” he sort of moans as he kisses her neck. When he bites her again saying his name turns into a scream of his name waking JC. He starts drinking and Pyra is screaming uncontrollably knowing this won’t kill her but like in the dream it will kill the baby. JC on the other hand is thrown in a rage; he couldn’t believe those two were being so disrespectful. He suddenly realizes someone is stroking his hair. He can just make out Isis in the darkness sitting on the other side of his bed. He gives the cat girl a hug as he sits up. He’s finally going to give those two a piece of his mind. Isis pulls on his arm, not wanting him to leave, being a cat sensing those screams are not what JC thinks they are.
“Isis let go. Its about time I talk to those two. They should be ashamed of themselves, especially at a time like this.” Isis refuses to let go of his arm as in Pyra’s room the second part of her being turned starts. Her heart starts to skip beats having very little to work with, when Adam blinks and pulls away from Pyra looking down at his wife in shock. Her eyes are closed as her breath comes in short shallow gasps.
“Pyra? Please be okay. What did I do? Tell me you can fix this?”
He watches as her hand moves slightly and glows then falls lifelessly at her side. He bites into his own wrist lifts Pyra off the bed and tilts her head back so she swallows the blood automatically. At first it seems Adam’s efforts are futile, with most of his blood falling down the sides of her face but, then Pyra’s eyes open and she starts drinking on her own.
Pyra’s heart beat starts racing then slows and then stops. It takes her another minute to regain her bearings as she fully absorbs what just happened to her. Then she remembers her vision and looks at Adam who was sitting there looking torn between sad and confused. Pyra on the other hand snaps.
“I’ll kill you!” She rages startling Adam who sees that both her eyes are black.
“Pyra calm down, its okay,” Adam says.
“Ok?! Ok?!” She says as her black eyes start to form red cracks looking like the land around a volcano. Adam backs away as his ‘Spiderman’ like sense of danger goes into overdrive. He looks behind him and starts to seriously think about jumping out the window. He’d seen his wife angry millions of times sometimes even at him but her eyes had never been red. He wasn’t about to sit and find out what that could mean as he morphed into a wolf. Shocking Pyra long enough to get out through the window. She morphed into a black wolf and jumped out after him as they both ran into a flaming portal.
JC walks into Pyra’s room, without knocking hand over his eyes and he starts screaming at air. After a few seconds he peeks and sees the empty bed and is confused. He goes downstairs, knowing he couldn’t go back to sleep now. He’d just go walking around the lake, that should tire him out. He changes and goes downstairs where Lucky was in the kitchen eating a sandwich. Isis was perched as a cat next to him and he seemed to be having an argument with his daughter. He looks at JC.
“They wake you up too?”
“Yeah.”
“Where you going?”
“A walk around the lake.”
“Okay,” Lucky says following him. JC know he didn’t invite the cat but decides company even Lucky was better than nothing. They walk to the pond and JC starts skipping stones in the moonlight. He didn’t notice he was being watched. Living here for so long he knew it was the one place he was safe. Or so he thought.
“What was going on with Isis?”
“She says I’m too human cause I didn’t sense it.”
“Sense what?” JC asks.
“She, wouldn’t tell me, something about me crying again.”
“What do you mean something?”
“I don’t remember the people word for it. Um bad . . . um . . . sign . . . oh! Bad scream? I don’t understand?”
“Oh, that was me. I was mad that Pyra and Adam could do something at a time like this.”
“It makes me feel better when I’m sad or bored,” Lucky says and JC shrugs realizing he never thought of it that way. He wasn’t sure if that made it any better. But then again Pyra had about as much skill expressing her emotion as a Spartan.
Endora was watching JC from a distance. JC such a beautiful boy and so deeply saddened. His sorrow reminded her of Louis. He had known great fame in his time but he wasn’t happy. Anyone who spent just a few moments with him would know why. Mystic that harlot stole his heart, and left him nothing but pain in return. She approached him, Mystic wasn’t and she had heard what had driven him out of the house easily enough. The boy with him senses her approach almost instantly. He looks at her disgust in his green eyes.
“Uh, that stupid chick is coming over here,” Lucky says. JC turns.
”Hello Endora,” JC says not turning.
“Joshua, my sad soul,” She says reaching for him and he steps away.
“Back off ugly,” Lucky says. “he don’t want you. He want the living.”
“Your mouth is a danger to your health.”
“My Pyra is a danger to your health.”
“Is there something you want?” JC asks wishing he had stayed inside.
“You know I could end all this pain for you. I could make you forget about her.”
“You actually spoke those words? Bad movies don’t use lines like that.” Lucky says.
“What makes you think I would want to,” Jc says throwing another stone.
“I can show you love. I won’t turn a cold shoulder on you and run into the arms of another.”
“Psst. All you have are cold shoulders, you’re dead.” Endora loses her patience and shows her fangs in an effort to scare him. “Ooo, I’m so scared.” Lucky then turns to her with cat eyes and teeth. “Mine are better,” He says and hisses.
“We could be together forever,” Endora says.
“Forever? Sorry not gonna happen. I don’t need forever; I have no interest in forever.”
“That’s what they all say. But in time, no one wants to die. And no one wants to be alone. Look at his dear Pyra. I heard quite clearly that she isn’t alone. Even that harlot Mystic . . .”
“DON’T EVER INSULT MYSTIC. You don’t deserve to say her name. Do it again and you won’t have to worry about Pyra I’ll kill you. Don’t you have any respect for the dead?”
“Foolish boy, you think your little metal gift can hurt me?”
“Retarded bitch, go away or I’ll do some biting,” Lucky says. Endora looks enraged. “I dare you. If you think Pyra would kill you for touching JC you’ll wish she killed you for hurting me. Or didn’t you learn that the first time?” Endora stands her ground then hears speedy foot steps approach. David looks at her sadly and then his face becomes determined.
“Don’t you think its about time you stopped testing their limits? Revenge is unbecoming of you.” He says telepathically. “You have tried to win over every male in those houses. Your life has been spared because you failed.” He says when she approaches. “And because Louis pleaded for it on a number of occasions.”
“Have you ever thought that maybe we are just beyond their power to kill?”
“I have and I know it’s a fools dream. They have both proven all their limitations are self imposed. And you know Pyra is the least stable, when you want to die harm her cat.”
“He deserves it. He has her mouth.”
“Endora, you are a fool to believe in your power. They laugh at your voodoo, with a wave of their hands they do what would take you hours. Endora, you push and they push back. You will push them too far and on that day no one will save you and you will only have yourself to blame.”
“I need no lectures from you David Talbot. Still playing the superior general? Why not keep an eye on Lestat.”
“Lestat is not fool enough to try to enrage these people.”
“No he send them jewels and falls for the harlot.”
“Mark my words, your jealousy of Mystic and hatred of Pyra will be your downfall.” Endora walks off annoyed. He was talking like Mystic was still alive, well she had already set the wheels in motion for the end of Pyra she couldn’t wait, then she’d take JC just for the hell of it She’d leave Adam to wallow in his own pain, and misery! How dare he bite her!
David watches as she enters their ‘modest’ home. He knows Endora hated Pyra for he simple reason that she understood Louis. She could get to him the way only Lestat could and David was sure though Louis would deny it until the sun rose the spell she had used to get him to turn her had driven a wedge between them. Maybe jealousy was behind her feelings for both girls. David looked at JC caught in the middle. He loved each girl in a special way. Mystic had his heart and soul, and he gave Pyra the affection of an older brother. His life unnaturally extended by his constant contact, but he could easily see how true the words he spoke to Endora were. To him forever would be nothing without Mystic. He had no interest in it. David approaches the boys.
Lucky again senses his approach and he nods. “Hey David.”
“Young man, why do you insist on tormenting Endora?”
He turns to David and his grin is Joker like. “Its fun.” He touches his horse shoe pendant and looks towards the house. His mind is an open book, Pyra gave it to him as a pun on is name. His mind was already wandering to the trees and a bird flying overhead he waved.
“Why did you wave?” David asks.
“Its Envy when Mys . . . “ Lucky starts to sniffle as he remembers Mystic is gone all over again.
2
Pyra looked around trying to get her bearings as a she-wolf. She was in a cemetery that had an eerie familiarity. It wasn’t where Dom was or Mystic was going to but it was like she had seen it a million times. She sniffed the air, and caught scent of her husband deeper in the cemetery. She took off towards him knocking into a person on her way.
“Bloody hell!” The man exclaims shoving Pyra off him. “Sodding mutt.” He says dusting off his duster and Pyra blinks. It couldn’t be, he was an old man the show wasn’t even on anymore. Just then the air changed and she remembered what she was after. She took off past Spike and saw Adam he was cornered by Buffy herself who must have noticed that Adam was no normal dog. Pyra ran past the slayer tackling the larger wolf until she had him pinned. Spike was now at Buffy’s side watching this.
“Looks sort of domestic, don’t you think slayer?”
“Shut up Spike.”
“Monster!” Pyra howls surprising them both. Adam reverts back to a man to throw her off him as he stands. He looks at Buffy and Spike and tries to place their faces. Pyra stands and decides the silk pajama’s won’t do she’s walking as her clothes morph into black flares and a red and black sleeveless corset type shirt.
“You stupid, retarded asshole.”
“You’re not thinking clearly you can turn your self back.”
“I can’t bring back the dead.”
“You’re not dead! Stop this please.”
“You dare say please to me? I screamed I begged, I’m going to drag you kicking and screaming into hell.”
“You don’t mean that. How can you even be mad, you always said you thought it’d be fun.”
”How can I be mad?!” Pyra shrieks as tombstones start exploding around her and the ground starts to shake. “You’ve never seen me mad! You self serving blood sucking bastard!” Pyra says as her hands become fists of flame. She hurls a fire ball at his chest and it lands harmlessly. But its enough to make Adam turn and runs again as another portal opens. Pyra uses her wings to fly in it before it closes leaving behind a very confused slayer and vampire.
It opens in what looks like a castle. Pyra looks around and gets a very eerie feeling of Deja vou, she knew this place too. Not like Sunnydale, she herself had been here. Then Adam ran past what cinched it. The fallen rotting statue of Sana. Why it was still there Pyra was sure as she looked around and saw she was in a rebuilt NYC. He ran right into Pyra and almost collapsed as he saw who he hit. Even he recognized the other Pyra, who was sporting a regal looking gown.
”You’re back? We loved the music tree, Stuff’s been good…”
“Move,” Pyra growls since Adam took refuge a few steps behind her.
“Just listen to me. Be logical, you made me, you can unmake me. You can do the same for you. I swear I don’t know what came over me.”
“Is everything so simple in your retardation,” Pyra growls.
“I don’t understand . . .”
“Enough!” The other Pyra exclaims. “You gave me a lot that day I return the favor. Blinded by hate isn’t the way
Calm the rage long enough to say what you have to
Through the pain
Let him know what he needs to know.
“I don’t care!” Pyra yells for the moment as calm she’s going to get. “Bite me, turn me, but don’t mess with my kids!”
“Huh? The kids? They’re all fine.”
“Fool she’s with child!” The other Pyra says.
“What?!” Adam shrieks.
“You killed our baby, I’m pregnant, vampires can’t have kids and I can’t bring back the dead even if I do turn myself back. What did you think I was trying to tell you? I hate you! I want to rip out your stone cold heart and watch you die!” Pyra yells as the last of her doubles spell wears off and her eyes are ablaze once again.
Adam is just staring at Pyra everything she said worse then a million daggers in his heart. He did it for no apparent reason, he destroyed his family. His wife wanted him dead and he had killed their unborn child. He wished he could just crawl in a hole and die. But he couldn’t die there was very little left on the planet that could kill him. All he could wish for was oblivion in a vampire coma forever. The portal opened practically under his feet as he fell into the catacombs under the vampires’ houses. Louis was in there wondering where he could put Mystic tonight and looking at Lestat’s dust ridden coffin. He hadn’t touched it in years opting for a bed upstairs having no real fear of the sun anymore.
Adam looked at him completely lost on how and why he was there or even where there was. He seem blind to Louis and Louis ever the emphatic vampire could feel his pain in steady streams. The regret and self loathing were too close to things he had felt so many times early on in his vampiric career. Whatever had happened was bad.
“What is it?” Adam jumps out of his skin turning to Louis.
“Can you die?”
“I tried once, the sun wasn’t enough I was too old.”
“At least you had a chance. There’s no reason for me to be alive, I deserve to die but . . .”
”You’re beyond the claws of death. Sleep.”
”What?”
”It can be done for years. After the first few nights the lack of blood will render you completely gone. The closest you can get to death.”
“Thank you, why are you doing this?”
”I seem to be picking up strays right and left, here go in here.” He says pointing to Lestat’s coffin which was for the most part out of sight from the rest pushed aside for more walking room, when Louis feels the need to pace in the dark. Lestat and Mystic came down the stairs then. She had color flushed in her cheeks from her recent feeding. Lestat was really a good teacher he thought as he stepped away from the coffin.
”I knew I’d find you down here,” Lestat looks at where he was. “That old thing? Do what you want with it.”
“I have,” He indicates for them to go upstairs where they smell the faint smell of incense coming from Merrick’s room as she casts another voodoo spell preparing for another plan.
“What is she doing now?” Lestat mutters completely annoyed. “Let’s go spend a few days away from here, he tells them both. Louis declines as Mystic thinks on it. She still wasn’t sure how to come out and tell them and Quinn was fun to hang out with now that they were vampires. He had more to teach her so off into the night they went Merrick never knowing her arch nemesis was alive.
Pyra reappeared just outside the property and nearly collapsed. She was hungry and there was a reason she had never flamed between dimensions. It took a lot more power then you would guess. She barely made it through the eye scan and onto the property. Once inside she flamed onto her house more particularly on to her bed but she had barely put her head down when what happened on it hours before started bothering her. She wouldn’t be able to sleep on this bed, she looked and there were some blood stains darkening the bright red sheets. She pulled the black comforter over it and walked into Lucky’s room. He was sound asleep and Pyra climbed into bed besides him.
The next morning October 9, 2030 Pyra woke to a full house. She knew it before she moved. She smelled them all. Tomas, Lani, Gaia, Josh, and even Isis. Lucky was getting dressed and he didn’t even ask Pyra why she was in his bed he just gave her a kiss on the cheek and went downstairs. She flamed herself into clothes again the same outfit she had popped on yesterday. She looked in Lucky’s mirror and saw nothing. Pyra was about ready to scream, she gave herself a reflection and saw the red eyes. She blinked and they were brown. She flamed a cup of blood into her hand, she drank, it didn’t have the salty metallic taste she always got since Adam had seemed intent on kissing her after he ate. The mere thought of him turned her eyes black as she drank the sweet tasting liquid she had a few more before finally going downstairs.
“Mom,” Tomas said the first to notice her on the stairs. He walked over and hugged her, followed by her two daughters. The contact wasn’t welcome and Pyra didn’t even pretend to hug them back. None of her children took offense all thinking they knew how their mother must be feeling.
Gaia had moved to the counter and had her back to her mother. Pyra had never hated the sight of her daughters blond brown curls then she did at that moment. It just wasn’t right. She knew she wouldn’t be able to look at Lani or Tomas in the eyes not those blue eyes. She hated Adam even more right then, their children, of course they would make her think of him. She had to get out of this house before someone dared asked where he was. She didn’t want to know what she would do if she heard that name.
“Uh . . . mom where’s . . . .”
“I have to go, bye. She said walking out to the garage. She looked at her car, why not? She flamed the keys into her hand and hopped in. She drove off the property like she was being chased by demons and in a way she was. She headed out towards Long Island for no good reason. It wasn’t long before she ran off the road and off the side of a cliff in a way trade mark to so many soap operas.
Pyra freaked, despite her haphazard driving she had no intention of trying to kill herself. The car was quickly starting to fill as she unbuckled her seat belt and starts to pry the door open when she stops. She couldn’t swim; she couldn’t deal with water outside of the shower. She guessed it had something to do with being a fire element. She could barely hold her breath with out getting massively winded and dizzy. And that was without water. But she was sinking the longer she stayed in the car the less chance she had. She pushed open the door and tried to will herself up. She tried flaming, but she had no oxygen to work with.
She nearly kicked herself when the car started floating up but then sank back down. She was freaking, she needed air, she wouldn’t be able to hold her breath…Pyra stopped. She had to have been under the water for at least a minute. She couldn’t hold her breath that long, the fire in her always screamed for oxygen. And how was it she could see so clearly in water. There was no burning in her lungs, she didn’t need air. She watched as her car sank and tried moving forward and got nowhere fast.
She stared at the car, and tried to hear what was going on above her, the commotion meant someone had seen it. Now the question was what did she want them to find? She had two bodies appear in the car that for all intensive purposes could be her and Adam. She wondered about taking it back but she was refused to face the world like this and she knew Adam wasn’t about to show his face around here again and wasn’t even sure if he was in this dimension.
She soon touched bottom and walked further down until she heard no sounds and walked onto an empty beach. She dried off inhaling the oxygen she no longer needed and flamed away from the scene
Pyra appeared in her mansion in England and wondered what the next step for her was. She thought about everything she had left behind. She would tell her kids one day, but they were adults they didn’t need her. She’d like to be there to help Josh through the loss of Mystic, but hey she wasn’t any good at that anyway, he wouldn’t miss her and Nausi was blaming her for Mystic’s death so why would she care. Then she remembered Lucky and she hoped he would be alright.
Lucky was sitting on t he couch he turned on the TV. It was on MTV and they were showing an old video of Mystic’s. He was about to turn it off when the video was abruptly cut off. It showed live news from ABC, a car was being pulled out of some water but that wasn’t what got his attention. It was the fact that he recognized the car. Knew who it belonged to instantly, he had ridden in it enough.
”There seem to have been two passengers and the license plate has been positively identified as belonging to Pyra Jacobs-Copeland. Sadly she seems to not have been in the car with her husband, Adam Copeland. They are survived by their three children. Pyra and Adam my best be known for . . .” The rest of the reporter’s lines were drowned out by Lucky’s wail of agony. Tomas came running into the living room to see what was wrong with the cat followed by his sisters.
“Lucky?! Why are you screaming like that?” JC comes out of the den plate in his hand. He’s the only one who pays any attention to the TV and the plate falls to the floor.
”No!” He says not believing his eyes. “I can’t lose her too! I just can’t!” Pyra’s kids finally turn to the TV and they all freeze. Both their parents stolen away from them in a stupid car accident. All the things they had been through, to die like that. They watched horrified as the black bags were lifted onto the ambulance. Tomas and Lani were the only ones to start crying. Gaia had picked up their mother’s lack of expressiveness along with her brown eyes. She shared her blank look with an unlikely alley. Lucky was staring straight ahead, after his initial shriek he was silent. He wasn’t even blinking. Gaia waved a hand in front of his face and still he didn’t blink. She heard Uncle Josh on the phone telling someone about the accident.
“Both of them,” He says his voice cracking. “I just saw it, they put the bodies . . .” He breaks down and just drops the phone.
“Oh . . .” Nausi says still mad at her, but talking to air. “Orlando.”
“Yeah?” He says walking over.
”Apparently, Pyra and Adam are dead. A car crash,” She says not sure if she believes it.
“What?!” Olando asks.
“ JC just called and told me.”
“Uncle Joshua?” Gaia says picking up the phone and turning it off. Josh just places his face in his hands and wishes for death he couldn’t take much more of this. She couldn’t be dead, not her too! It just wasn’t fair. Isis padded over then, purring and rubbing against his leg. After a minute she walks over to Lucky and he remains in his stupor as her meows get sadder and sadder.
“Wait, a car crash?” Tomas says hope in his voice.
“What are you thinking?” Gaia asks.
“Hello, mom’s like invincible! She’s been blow up and crap what’s a little car crash,” Tomas says quite proud of his brilliance.
“You really think so?” Gaia says.
“My God!” Lani shrieks wiping away her tears. “Are you idiots? Did you see where the car crashed?! Explain the bodies! Explain why she’s not flaming in here right now laughing at us for thinking she’s dead. You know the one thing mom couldn’t do was swim! She couldn’t even hold her breath for long.”
“Then what about dad? He could have…”Gaia starts.
”But clearly he didn’t!” Lani yells.
Lucky just had enough of the screaming and walks out of the house in a haze. He didn’t have enough tears to cry for the way he was feeling so none came at all. It was like his entire universe had crashed down around him. He wanted his Pyra back like now. He hated it in the house all the crying and screaming and Nausi was mad at him and everyone else. Well he could go see Mike and Colin. He walked over to their house and knocked. Mike opened the door and looked at Lucky confused.
”What are . . .”
”Pyra’s dead.” Lucky deadpanned.
“What?!”
“Adam too.”
”My God, what happened?”
“Car. Water,” Lucky replies no longer interested in full sentences. He suddenly doesn’t want to be with them either and walks away after dropping his bombshell. He walks off the property the one thing Pyra had been waiting for and flames him to her mansion.
“Lucky?” Pyra says not sure how he’ll react. He jumps into her arms as tears of joy stream down his face.
“You didn’t leave me!” He says so happy she’s alive.
“Come on! We have to tell everybody they’ll be happy to see you and . . . Hey where’s Adam?” Three lamps explode before Pyra speaks.
“Don’t know don’t care, I’m hoping hell,” Pyra says through gritted teeth.
“Is he dead?”
“If only I was that lucky. I’m not telling anyone,” Pyra says.
“But . . . okay,” he says sensing Pyra’s anger.
“If you want to go back you can,” Pyra says seeing his indecision.
“No everyone is crying over there I want to stay with you, you’re my Pyra.”
“Okay, well go back for the funeral, mine too.”
“Are you ever going to tell them?”
“I don’t know,” Pyra says.
“Hey wait . . . you’re a vampire!”
“I know,” Pyra says walking into the library. She takes a seat on a chair and Lucky jumps into her lap as a cat. She waves a book into her hand one she felt was fitting. Interview with the Vampire, but then she tossed it aside. She petted Lucky instead. He fell asleep as usual and Pyra closes her eyes not opening them again until the setting of the sun. Lucky was lying on the rug on the floor a boy again eating a bowl of potato chips and looking at the night sky through the wall length windows.
“Its pretty, its like glitter,” Lucky says to himself since he thinks Pyra is still asleep. Pyra walks over and lies beside him. “Its too bad New York is so dirty.”
“Yeah, I guess it’s like you get used to seeing one star and planes you think are stars until you realize they’re moving.”
Lucky laughs. “So what happened?”
“What do you mean?”
“Hello? You’re a vampire, I say Adam and things blow up. What the punk do?”
“Lucky, why does it matter?”
“Whatever . Hey look at that, Tommy boy was right. A car crash wouldn’t kill you.”
“It could have, but apparently vampires don’t need oxygen, so I just walked.”
“Huh?”
“On the sea floor, until I could come up again.”
“Oh.”
”So Tomas thinks I’m alive?”
“No, Lani looked about ready to kick his ass for being stupid.”
“I see, aww well, hey isn’t tomorrow Mystic’s um . . .”
“Yeah well so what are we going to do until then?” Lucky asks.
“What do you want to do?”
“You know you’ve never shown me around here,” Lucky says.
“Yet you found the kitchen easily enough,” Pyra says standing.
“Well I do have a nose, so.”
Pyra and Lucky spend the rest of the night showing Lucky around even though he had been to the mansion many times during the summer and such. The next day Pyra sends Lucky back early. He walks onto the property and is accosted by Tomas.
“Where the hell were you?”
“Out, why?”
“I was just going to look for you! Come on!” Tomas says pulling on Lucky’s arm who pulls away.
“Stop it!” Lucky says aggravated he couldn’t just tell Tomas the truth.
“Look we have to get ready for the funeral ok! Besides mom would want us to take care of you,” Tomas says sadly.
“Hello! I’m older than you! Dude I have a kid! And I’m not retarded, I can take care of myself just fine,” Lucky says as he starts walking to the house. He had to get Pyra to tell the truth and tell what happened to Adam without blowing stuff up. This wasn’t fair she had to tell them it would only be right.
“Sor-ry,” Tomas says now annoyed at the cat.
“Whatever,” Lucky says entering the house and being approached by Isis, “Hi, how . . .” She slaps him. “Ow! What the hell did you do that for?”
Isis rolls her eyes and points to JC who was holding a clear glass in his hand. The dark red liquid brought back memories that Lucky wasn’t about to relive. He takes the wine from JC throws him against the wall and is holding him like he is about to strangle him.
“Are you crazy?!” Tomas yells.
“Me?! Who the hell gave him that?!” Lucky never says never letting go of JC.
“What the hell does it matter?” JC mutters as Lucky starts to cry.
“You almost died! Why does everyone want to die is it fun?!” He drops JC and sort of falls on top of him as JC breaks down too. “You can’t drink again! Its not fair, I hate her!” Lucky screams.
“No you don’t,” JC says temporally distracted with consoling the cat.
Tomas was confused, he knew JC had gone to rehab he had always figured it was pills some kind of drug since he had tried to kill himself with pills. So it was Alcohol? They had never even had champagne but Tomas figured it was cause mom swore it was crap and preferred apple cider. God he was so stupid, he had seen the basket at the gate and had just dripped (his power like flaming) it over here thinking it was from someone who was saying sorry. Where had that stupid bottle come from!
Tomas picked up the bottle and poured it down the drain. He dumped the bottle in with the recyclables and looked over at JC and Lucky. He did forget that Lucky was much older than him. Which wasn’t that hard, look at him, now he was crying and screaming at the same time. But the way he had flung JC like a doll, that was another thing they shouldn’t forget about Lucky he was an animal first a person second. Tomas wondered what the image he had seen of a panther meant. He didn’t get visions, but it was scary, instead of Lucky he had seen a killer. Tomas shook his head he must be losing it, Lucky was half his size, and a crybaby some killer.
“I’m sorry.” He hears JC say. His uncle Joshua, it had been a long while before they had figured out he was in love with Mystic. When he was a teen he had wondered how dad could leave them alone without worry. Then again he hadn’t realized what kind of sluts for each other his parents were. In a weird way he thought it was good they had gone together, he didn’t see one surviving with out the other.
That night, Merrick smiled soon all the pieces would be in place and JC would beg for her. He was breaking down even now, with a little help via voodoo and temptation. It would be so much easier now, he’d let her take him into eternity with her forever. Merrick walked into the house. Louis was pacing shaking his head as the TV played to David who seemed absorbed. Merrick sat beside him and started twirling her pearls.
“MTV? David I would have never expected . . .” Merrick looks at the screen. “Yes! The bitch is gone! And she took that bastard husband with her, good how dare he have the nerve to do what he did.”
“Merrick for once in your life shut up!” Louis exclaims shocking everyone. He grabs his coat and is gone. He had decided to make an appearance at Mystic’s funeral. He knew she was alive but no one else did and they probably would expect him. The one funeral he wasn’t looking forward to was Pyra’s. She really had been taken out of this world.
He went to the part of the property that was holding the funeral. He walked to the clearing and to a young man that was leaning against a tree. When he saw who it was, he had to hide his smile. Lucky was dressed in a casual suit. Black on black and everything was actually fitted for him, apparently Lucky had been to a tailor. Instead of the pants he usually wore that swallowed him and the multiple shirts. His hair was combed over his face and was long enough to just reach his eyes.
“Can you stop staring?” Lucky says not turning. “Come on they’ll be starting soon.”
“Why are you out here?” Fabian asks.
“I can smell her, its weird I guess its the body, but it didn’t happen like this with Dominic he just smelled really bad.”
“I didn’t know your nose was so sensitive.”
“It started a little while ago, everything’s stronger,” Lucky says.
“How are you?”
“Fine, I guess we can go inside now, what the hell? You smell like Adam.” Louis is shocked he had checked on the now comatose vampire before Merrick walked into the house. He was already gone, but Louis was sure he was glowing. Lucky’s nose was intensely sensitive. Louis walked past and stat in the last row next to Quinn who was sitting next to someone in a cloak he was ignoring so it has to be Mystic.
Lucky walked further up the aisle and sat besides JC. “He can smell you,” Louis whispers.
Mystic doesn’t respond too busy glancing at someone else in a cloak. Who the fudge was that, unless it was Pyra. But she wasn’t sure. And then there was Colin who kept, looking towards her as well. But that other person in the cloak, what was that all about. The person didn’t look all that tall but they were sitting down and Pyra always did say it was her super long legs that screwed her when buying pants. Mystic had to quickly turn despite the cloak and the spell she was paranoid as the other person in the cloak looked in her direction.
Pyra was confused. Who the hell else would come here in a cloak? She had tried glamour and had actually been turned away by someone thinking she was a fan. So she had waited until Lucky had come out and she had put on the cloak and a glamour just in case anyone did see her. Lucky had said he needed to talk to her and she was wondering if it had anything to do with the other person in the cloak. The only person who she knew who would do something like that wasn’t in any position to seeing that this was her funeral.
Both girls spend the rest of the service trying to figure out who the other person was. With Mystic figuring it out then telling herself no then thinking yes it is again and again. At the end of the service Mystic and Pyra have to get out of there before someone tries to meet them. Pyra is a lot more lucky at it then Mystic who is stopped by Colin. Pyra waits in a preplanned area for Lucky and sees him walking with JC out of the clearing towards their house holding him up. Pyra flames alone to England and opens a viewing window to Lucky. She watches him take JC up to his room and puts him down in his bed. He instructs Isis to watch over him and he walks out of the house and off the property and Pyra takes that as her cue.
“Hi,” Pyra says from the chair she’s sitting in.
“You have to go back! You have to tell them, especially Joshua.”
“Lucky calm down. Josh won’t miss me much I’m not Mystic.”
“You’re stupid! Do you know what he did today? He was going to drink! Don’t tell me he doesn’t miss you. Are you too dumb to see how much he loves you?”
“I can’t, you don’t understand . . .” Pyra starts.
“When did you get so selfish?! Don’t you get it? He tried to kill him self for a lot less grow a heart!”
“I lost my heart when Adam killed my baby!”
Lucky blinked so that was why she was so mad. Man she must feel like crap but it still wasn’t right to torment her family like this. She was going to have another baby, well not anymore. “I’m . . .” Lucky stopped he had been doing this for a while saying things he didn’t mean no more. “I’m sorry Adam killed your kid but that’s not an excuse to start acting like Endora! I smelled her on the bottle, she’s trying something I know it! We need you Mystic is gone and JC is losing it. Don’t you think you should at least be there to protect him? Or do you hate everyone.”
“Lucky I can’t!” Pyra screams. What good was she, she had been warned and hadn’t done anything to protect her child. “Don’t you get it? I couldn’t even stop Adam. I couldn’t even make him pay. I can’t look at my kids without thinking of him and you expect me to go back?”
“You have to! This isn’t right you aren’t supposed to hide here! Think about it, it isn’t you.”
“How on Earth would you know what’s me when I don’t anymore? My whole world revolved around someone who wrecked my life.”
“Exactly why you should be with friends.”
“Like who? Nausi who is probably glad I’m gone for letting her real best friend die? Who the hell was really going to miss me besides you?”
“You’re kids!”
“They’re adults they all have lives of their own, they’ll get over it.”
”Damn it! Why are you so stubborn?! I’m not the only one that would miss you, Josh looked about ready to die when he heard the news. And what about your other friends? Did you pay any attention to who was at Mystic’s funeral? They’ll all be at yours and then some!”
“We’re not that close anymore,” Pyra says realizing she’s not even sure how old Karla’s and Fahmida’s kids are.
Lucky screamed in exasperation. What would it take to get her to come back short of Joshua dying or something crazy like that? “Why are you like this? Every time something happens you freak out, you have like major issues. You need a shrink like yesterday.”
“Thanks,” Pyra says annoyed.
”Come on, you don’t like being by yourself,” Lucky whines.
”You’re whining,” Pyra says.
“So what! You’re being bitchy, and you’re whining more. Waa no one loves me blah blah blah. Don’t make me smack you,” Lucky says pacing.
“Lucky sit down your pacing is getting on my nerves.” Pyra pops a cup in her hand.
”Man that smells bad,” Lucky says sitting down cross legged at her feet.
“Well it tastes good,” Pyra says. “Why do you always sit on the floor?”
“You see any chairs?” Pyra points to the other side of the room. I’m not going all the way over there.” Pyra waves a chair over and it goes slamming into the wall. “Next time I’ll get it thanks,” Lucky says looking at the mangled chair.
“What the hell? Pyra tries to send the chair back and it goes flying again. “I didn’t want to do that. Hey you’ve been okay when I’ve flamed you right?”
“I’m still in one piece aren’t I?”
“Well yeah, why your powers all crazy?”
“I don’t know, man this is all I need,” Pyra mutters.
”You know who could help you? Your friends back home!”
“Lucky let it go, Mystic’s funeral just ended I’m not going back at least not today.”
”They’d be so happy to see you.”
“You know what I’ll prove no one wants me back. I hope I can actually do this.” Pyra flames Lucky to the gate and she appears besides him and walks through the gate. I guess I can, she thinks not sure how to make her words heard in astral form since she had never been able to do it before. He goes in and follows her to Nausi’s house and looks in the window. Orlando looks up from where he was sitting and sees her first. He screams Nausi’s name and she comes down the stairs in pajamas not looking all that happy when she sees Pyra standing in the middle of her living room. She turns around and goes right back up the stairs.
“Oh my God Pyra! Its great that your still alive,” Orlando says stepping up to sweep her in a hug. She takes a step back and he reaches for her hand and goes right through it. “Pyra . . .” Pyra tries as hard as she can to make sound come out of her lips but she can’t then brilliance reminds her hello they had all learned sign language.
“Really not sure how this works, Leggy one.”
“So your really dead?” Pyra shrugs. “Adam too?”
“HELL!” Pyra signs before she stomps off confusing Orlando who goes upstairs to talk to his wife.
Pyra decides this is as good of a time as any to say good bye to everyone and sees Fabian sitting at the swing she sits besides him but doesn’t so much as disturb the air. He seems to be thinking about something very sad and Pyra wonders if its her then shakes her head. He looks up directly at her and jumps back shocked. She waits until he seems calmer to wave goodbye.
“Wait! Are you alive?” Pyra looks at herself and puts her hand through him and shakes her head. “I’m sorry.” She shrugs and kisses the space by his cheek. He feels nothing not even the supposed chill you feel from a ghost and a blood tear runs down his face and she shakes her head and tries to wipe his tears away. She walks towards her house as Louis walks off to his house since the sunrise is coming and he’d like a chance to talk to David about Pyra’s ‘ghost’.
Lucky chases after her. “Don’t do this! You can’t leave just cause Nausi’s still mad at you!” Pyra puts a finger to her lips as she walks into her house. No one was downstairs and Lucky sat outside depressed. Pyra went into Josh’s room first and saw him sleeping. The lack of touch annoyed her and she finally just went through the wall and sort of fell to the ground still believing in gravity. Pyra suddenly wonders how she’s going to get back to her body and like a sling shot is sent across the Atlantic into her body.
”How the hell did Mystic do that?” Pyra says feeling like she went through a blender. Yet again she goes to sleep on the chair for the moment not remembering her cat boy.
Pyra is standing at the side of her funeral. She had opted for invisibility since Lucky refused to speak to her. She was standing at the front of the area on the property that had been set up for the funeral. She was enjoying seeing who had shown up. So far the biggest shocker had to be Kevin and Kirsten and their son Keith who she believed was staring at one of her kids, Gaia most likely most guys had the tendency to stare at her. Gaia sat with Dain, those two had just kept getting along. Pyra wondered if he’d be the guy who lasted for his daughter. He had already made it past the usual two weeks and was going on upwards of months. Pyra looked back over at Kevin, and shook her head. He was like 50 something and she still thought he was hot and his son was a mini version of him it was crazy. AJ, his wife, Brian and his wife and the ever single Howie were also present. She looked at the rest of the guys in her life and realized Jacob’s son wasn’t sitting with Tomas and she didn’t believe he had been at Mystic’s funeral. Seems things weren’t all that great there.
Lance and the rest of the defunct Nsync were talking to Josh who seemed in a haze. Noah, Pyra looked around and finally spotted the guy. He was staring at her, Pyra blinked and looked behind her and realized she was standing in front of the picture of her and Adam. Lucky was scowling in a corner with Isis at his side, Jacob had tried to talk to him and Lucky had pretty much bitten his head off. Nausi was no where to be found, though Leggy was standing off to the side on his phone with Colin, Shane, and Shannon besides him. She looked at Colin a few beats longer then she usually would feeling like there was something different about him. But he didn’t look very different and she forgot it as she looked at more guests. Even Jeff had come, after he had left What? and the WWE he had fallen out with them, they only talked to him once in a blue moon. Orlando and Nausi’s kids were sitting in back of Pyra’s and next to Mystic’s. Quinn and Fabian showed up a few minutes later with the same cloaked person Pyra assumed and she finally guessed it was another vampire.
Mystic sat down wondering what Fabian had told her meant. Pyra’s ghost? But that would mean she really died somehow. She wished she didn’t have to wear this stupid cloak but just because some people knew she was alive didn’t mean all the ‘normal’ people at Pyra’s funeral could.
Pyra continued her scan of the crowd as Chester, his wife, Mike and Joe walked in. Pyra wanted to throw the next person who entered out. It was Jerky and she sure as hell wouldn’t have invited him. She watched as he sat as far away from everyone as if he knew he wasn’t wanted. Her coworkers from Passions seemed to arrive in one large gang. Even people who worked on the set were there. Mixed in with the Passions gang were a few people from her years in the WWF. Trish and Tori were sitting side by side both having outlived Pyra’s father Adam’s mother was sitting with them and hey all had their hankies ready. Even some of Adam’s fellow modeling buddies were there. Though she pretty much ignored everyone that was there for him, the models were fun to look at.
The priest started the service. Tomas and Lani both talked about them. Gaia read a poem, she had written a long time ago about Adam. It had been hanging in their bedroom for years now. Now that she heard it she thought it was the dorkiest thing in the world.
Two sides of one coin
Two parts of one heart
Two halves of one soul
Only with you can I be whole
Only with you do I have a heart
Only with you do I have no fear of the dark
My life began with you
I lost myself in you
I see eternity through you
Forever and a day
My heart belongs to you
Pyra decided there was a reason she only wrote poems about death and hate and dying. Otherwise she came up with this hallmark crap. She came up with a darker rendition of her life with Adam on the spot.
Stole my child
Stabbed my cat
Fool I was I took you back
Took me to hell
As I pleaded and yelled
You stole my heart
Tore it apart
Left me empty and dry
Took it all my strength not to cry
What can I say
I won’t rest until you pay
Pyra smiled a little she really did have to find that bastard Adam. Where was he hiding he hadn’t surfaced in days. This was odd she had expected to let him lie in hiding too scared to even breathe but now that she thought of it she hadn’t sensed him in a while. Pyra decided right then was good time to do it and came up blank. What the hell was he still in another dimension? She’d do it later, they were asking random people to speak and Shane had gone up.
“Pyra and Adam had a love that surpassed all reason and decorum (laugh from crowd) and they were amazing people that would have done anything for a friend. We all know they are smiling down on us making the most out of heaven with each other. And maybe giving the angels quite a show.” He had done what he wanted apparently by bringing some smiles in the gloom and took a glance at the picture and whispered goodbye directly to Pyra who course he couldn’t see.
Pyra decides that more than enough funeral for her tastes and walks out so she can flame back to England. She sleeps the rest of the night and the next day away. Having not eaten for a while she flames some blood in her hands as her heart feels like its being ripped to shreds. She knew bad when she felt it and tried to pinpoint it. Joshua?! He wouldn’t have would he really kill himself? But she could feel it he was leaving. She wondered if she would be fast enough to save him.
Then he was back Pyra was more than confused. Then she felt the pain again and flamed outside the property and walked inside and flames to where Josh was. She was confused there was a broken window, Isis was lying in a heap and she could smell all the blood in the air. Isis had been bitten and Pyra didn’t see JC anywhere. She healed the cat girl surprised at the ease she did it. She also felt something was very wrong with Lucky.
“Isis what happened?” Pyra says starting to read the girls mind.
Endora had gotten into the house somehow and cornered JC in his bed room. She had talked soft soothing works to him and seemed to have lulled him into a calm. She paid no attention to the cat, sure it wasn’t Lucky since Isis had blue eyes. JC seemed almost asleep when Endora sank her fangs into him. His eyes opened in a flash of pain and shock then glazed over yet again. He seemed to see Endora then something that relaxed him completely.
Isis became a girl then and clawed at Endora who slapped her aside, not realizing she had much more strength than a human girl. Enraged Endora made her first of many mistakes. She released JC who came out of the dream world she had placed him in. He blinked slowly and saw Endora feeding off Isis. He let out a ferial roar as he became a werecat and Endora stared wide eyed at JC, having always believed his only power was moving metal objects. He kicked her through the window, and followed to finish the job.
Isis moaned in pain on the floor and let out a whispered call for her father in a tongue lost for ages.
Lucky’s entire body went rigid as his face contorted into one of pure rage. Tomas stared at him as he said a few words in a language he’s never heard and transforms into the panther he had seen before. He watches in open mouth shock as the hulking monster knocks the door over with one swat of its enormous paw. He ran out after Endora, Tomas’ only thought was heaven help whoever was on the wrong side of that encounter.
Endora ran and JC tried to follow but collapses. Mystic who had heard all the commotion, seems him and rushes to his side along with Colin.
”What happened?” Mystic says searching him for injuries.
”Uh Mysti,” Colin says pointing to JC’s neck. She turns his head and sees the holes. Now knowing the injury she easily heals him. “Who the fuck took a bite out of you fluff ball?”
“Merrick, she attacked Isis,” JC growls then his eyes widen, “No way!” He exclaims using his cat like agility to jump back into his window.
She stands helping Isis up and senses that Merrick was in her house along with Lucky. Not for long. Pyra stomped out of JC’s room just as he entered and she walks over to the Vampires and when she reached house saw a familiar face.
“Mystic?! Hi Colin.”
Colin stares in open mouth shock at the “dead” girl, he tries to say something but can’t find the words. Pyra has long stopped paying attention to him and is walking to the vampire’s house.
“I’m gonna kill that bitch!”
. ”Not if I get her first!” An energy ball and a fire ball send the vampires front door off its hinges. They step in just in time to see Merrick fling a panther into the corner which collapses in a heap. Pyra is trying to figure out where the hell a panther came from when it is consumed by flames and becomes Lucky in boy form. The red cracks in her eyes widen as she flames Lucky to Isis and her kids knowing combined they can heal him just fine. Colin bares his fangs his throwing stars out for the attack, you didn’t attack a little cat girl or Lucky for that matter. JC well that was another story.
“You! You’re both dead! Santiago took care of you and . . .I know my spell worked he was supposed to kill you!” She exclaims as a star seals her lips together.
“Blah fucking blah,” Colin mutters.
Pyra looked about ready to tear out her own hair at the last line. She wasn’t believing what she was hearing, this stupid bitch cost her a child. Her eyes exploded in a red blaze. Mystic for the most part ignored Pyra’s transformation. Too busy throwing energy balls at Merrick who is running for her life throughout her house showing the idiot she is by not going outside. She knew help wouldn’t be around anytime soon. She had waited until everyone left to go after JC knowing they would have never condoned it.
Mystic grabs her by the hair and slammed her head into the wall so hard she put a hole in the wall. Merrick felt herself being dragged into the darkness of unconsciousness but Mystic’s slap jarred her into reality. It was clear to see Mystic was ready to torture her and letting her black out was not part of her plan. They were now in the immaculate kitchen and Merrick finally decided to escape through the back door and Colin threw two more stars into her hands stopping her from opening the door.
While this was all going on Pyra’s hair had become the red yellow and orange thing usually left to the phoenix. Her pendant had also transformed into an image of the sun. She lit the very air around her on fire. She turned as Merrick went back into the room and Merrick burst into flames. Where Pyra was right now looks could kill. The vampires had a sprinkler system set up in their house after Pyra’s first ‘visit’ so Merrick survived. The fire ball Pyra made next would put a volcano’s heat to shame. The water evaporated before it even touched Pyra. Pyra hurled the ball at Merrick’s aggravating head. She ducks and the ball takes out the entire wall behind her.
Mystic came in after Merrick crackling blue and silver lightning. And if Pyra could get close enough to her she would she Mystic’s eyes were tornados. Mystic had in fact tornadoed the kitchen which was mostly a pile of sticks. There was very little of the front of the house that was still in one piece. The next fire ball Pyra threw almost hit Mystic who looked at her shocked and Pyra shrugged as she spun Merrick midair like she was on the merry-go-round from hell.
This torment/beat down continued until some one walked in the front door and saw Merrick being flung like a ping pong ball around his library.
“Merrick!” He screamed fearing for the vampire’s life.
“Merrick?!” Pyra and Mystic say in unison.
“That bitch is THAT BITCH?!”Mystic fumes.
“You must stop this!” David yells, “Have you no compassion?”
“That voodoo crack whore crossed the line. She . . . She . . .” Pyra eyes lose all colors. As does her pendant which is a burning white. David goes flying out of the house without so much as a look as the room starts getting darker. “Leave.” Pyra growls and the vampire in Mystic doesn’t need a second telling, whatever Pyra was about to do was bad news for vampires. Colin felt the same, plus he always knew Pyra was one crazy bitch. All light escapes the room as Pyra evolves, and her pendant changes into an image of the sun and continues to glow as Merrick feels paralyzed exactly like the sensation that hits her at dawn as she is blasted into oblivion by light 100x magnified then it would be in the Gobi desert at noon. The house is rocked to its core as the intense heat and the damages finally get to it. Pyra sways on her feet not used to the new power and the energy it takes to use it this way as the house and she come crashing down.
Lestat and Louis come home to find rubble and ashes and Mystic and Colin pacing.
“What on earth?!” Lestat exclaims looking at what used to be his house.
“Uh . . .” Mystic says not sure where to start as Louis walks around in the rubble and turns over a part of the roof. And sees a brown hand covered in soot he lifts it with one hand pulling out Pyra. He cradles her in his arms as he walks back to where Lestat and Mystic are talking. Mystic looks over at Pyra.
“Dude stop faking it. We all know you have the hots for Louis.”
“What did you just say?” Lestat asks.
“Okay I believe you, You’re Lestat even though you describe yourself wrong.”
“Why?”
“David ran in while we were . . .” Mystic stops looking at Louis she wasn’t sure how he felt about Merrick.
“Killing Merrick, its alright I don’t think Louis cares as much as you may think.”
“And well he screamed Merrick not Endora. David Young?”
“Not much of a imagination in David. Wait is he still alive?” Lestat asks clearly caring.
“Yeah Pyra sent him out right before she did what ever it was that she did,” Mystic says.
“You don’t know?”
“She told me to leave, there are times when you just listen to Py. If you don’t want to die that is. She’s not faking is she?” Louis shakes his head.
“Where can we take her?” Lestat asks.
“Her house I guess,” Mystic says as they all head that way. Everyone is gathered around Lucky healing the boy. He doesn’t wake up but does start breathing like he’s asleep.
“Um hello?” Mystic says looking around for JC.
“Mom?!” The triplets shriek together looking at the lump in Louis’ arms.
Pyra woke slowly, she was lying in her bed and everything hurt. What the hell had happened to her? First she’d have to heal all these bruises and this head ache. But even as she thought it the pain was lessening. She turned to see her children using one of the many powers that worked best combined. But she knew it tired them out and sometimes would wear off too soon.
“You can stop,” She said as a golden light engulfed her body and healed it though the pounding in her head remained.
“Mom oh my God we thought you were dead!” Lani exclaims.
“Why?” Pyra says in a blank about the last two weeks.
“The car crash and well a house fell on you,” Gaia blankly informs.
“Crash? I was in a car crash?”
“Not just you dad too,” Tomas says.
“Adam?” Pyra blinks as her memory hits her like a slap in the face. She climbs out of the bed and looks at the tatters of her outfit. With a wave of her hand it was brand new and she looked at the bed and incinerated it on the spot. It was like a cartoon with the shape of the bed remaining until Pyra touched it. Her children follow her silently downstairs. Lucky was standing there looking out the window very much like a cat would. She stood beside him and watched the sun finish setting.
The door to the studio opened a few moments later and JC shuffled out followed by Louis.
“Why are you here?” Pyra asks not trying to be rude but wondering.
“Did you forget you destroyed our house?” Louis asks.
“Oh sorry.”
“Pyra?” JC says confused. He had seen her body for the last three days, hell he had pretty much sat a vigil at her side so happy his nose hadn’t been playing some sort of evil trick on him.
“Joshie? What’s wrong?” He just gives her a hug, happy to finally have her awake and alive again.
“Uh, mom.” Tomas says despite the fact Gaia and Lani are both shaking their heads at him. Both girls had thought much more of Pyra blowing up the bed that she had shared with their father for so many years. There was something very wrong in Paradise. That and the fact that he wasn’t there just didn’t bode well for him. They didn’t want to know where their father was, they were afraid of the answer their mother would give. “Where’s dad?” Pyra was looking in the kitchen which exploded outwards.
“Don’t know. Don’ t care!”
“So he is alive?”
“Well I never got the chance to off him.”
You wanted to kill our father?!”
“Don’t use past tense,” Pyra says icily and Tomas runs out shocked, upset and near tears.
“Tommy!” His sisters scream both going out after him.
“What’s that noise?” Lucky says a few seconds later.
“What noise?” Pyra asks as Lucky’s eyes widen.
“Tomas?!” Black flames erupt over Lucky as becomes a panther and for the second time in his life and he is close to twice the size of a panther and clearly much more vicious. Pyra, JC and Louis follow Lucky and see something no one could have expected. David was standing at the head of a vampire gang of about 20 or so. He had let them all on the property and they were not all the same species. The least human of them all had her children by their taloned claws. Lucky was pacing around them clearly fearing he would harm two of the kids if he freed one.
“Go back inside NOW!” Pyra orders Louis who leave without question despite David’s calling after Louis. JC took this as his cue to exit as well knowing anything that tried to come after him would have to get through whatever Lucky was first.
“If you surrender peacefully no harm will come to your children.”
Pyra laugh, “Did you happen to notice that they were running away from me? She says as David’s eyes widen in shock. He had seen Pyra flame a few times so when the children vanished in a burst of light he truly thought that she had destroyed them. She passes a finger across her neck as the three vampires heads roll and Lucky tears them all limb from limb in about three seconds flat. He was now growling at her side.
Pyra looked at the different vampires, all of them pale and some with glowing yellow eyes and ridges on their foreheads. Another group has fangs like saber tooth tigers.
“Friends?”
“Vampires with a common goal of ending your terror.”
“This is cause I killed your little bitch isn’t it?” A saber tooth lunges at Pyra and Lucky takes it down in one swipe. He plays with it for a few seconds batting its deformed head around and crushing the bones before he kills it.
”You wanted me so badly you got me.”
David and the rest of the vampires watch frozen as all the light is sucked from the property. Even the vampires cant see in the darkness, Pyra pendant burns from the unearthly glow as the first and last thing the vampires see is a tiny sun. The light becomes hotter and brighter and larger causing all the vampires to burst into flames as even the ashes and scattered limbs burst into flames. Even David with Lestat’s all powerful blood doesn’t have a chance in the light that is so much brighter and stronger then anything that could reach earth even without an ozone layer.
Pyra takes a deep breath, she walks back to her swings and thinks if she ever did die she’d probably haunt this place. She didn’t feel any guilt over David and the only thing about the whole mess that bothered her was that Quinn and Fabian no wait, Lestat and Louis that was sick would miss him. She wondered where Lestat and the not dead Mystic were. Lucky squatted beside her swishing his enormous tail back and forth as Pyra petted his head like he was still a house cat. He purrs and Pyra continues absently looking off to the side.
It hadn’t been as exhausting this time though moving seemed out of the question. Around 9am a shadow falls over her and she looks up at Nausikaa. She says nothing waiting for her to speak instead.
“What is wrong with you? Did you like wake up one morning and go ‘let me fake my death today and lie to everyone especially Nausikaa,’” Nausi says shaking Pyra’s shoulders as she falls off the swing. Lucky wakes up and growls then sees Nausi and his tail starts swishing back and forth as Nausi can’t help but laugh at her fallen friend and excited cat. “What the fudge did you do to Lucky?” She kneels and hugs the enormous cat and strokes his sleek black fur. “Dude this was so my idea first.” Pyra gets back on the swing and just smiles at her friend. Nausi lets go of the cat and gives Pyra a hug. Pyra returns the hug.
“Thank you,” she whispers.
“Yeah sure Pyra,” Nausi says walking back to her house.
Around lunch time Gaia comes out dragging Tomas who is followed by Lani who is also pushing him forward. Gaia spends a good ten minutes jumping around in front of Pyra trying to get her to show some kind of response.
“Is she supposed to be glowing like that?” Lani says getting very close to their mother.
“Who knows, maybe we should come back later?” Gaia asks a little uneasy as Tomas is already on his way to the lake. His place of calm and contemplation on the property. The girls know better than to follow though Lani feels her twins pain like it was her own. He was on a downward spiral, he had broken up with his long time boyfriend and now the one relationship they saw as ‘perfect’ had crumbled beyond repair. The really sick thing was they didn’t know where their father was.
They didn’t even so much as blink at the panther that was now Lucky he had fallen asleep at Pyra’s feet and figured he was as safe there as anywhere else. The more time passed the more she glowed until nightfall where she gave a light equal to that of dusk. The longer she sat still, the less she felt the need to move at all.
The gate opened and a small group entered the compound. Lucky stirs as one scent catches his attention. He sprung to life and ran to the one vampire he knew and loved. He tackled the startled vampire with such force that he crushed the back of his skull as he hit the floor. Marius who had been standing beside him looks about ready to die looking at the ashen face on the floor.
Lucky not fully understanding his strength or what he did nudges Armand with his furry head the vampire who’s face was already becoming ashen as his reddish brown hair spread out in a pool of its own blood doesn’t respond. Lucky finally notices the blood and wails becoming a boy shocking the hell out of Marius who thought Lucky could only be a little house cat.
“Andrei? I didn’t mean to hurt you . . . Pyra!” She is finally out of her trance and is at his side with such speed it rivals the oldest gathered there. She speeds up the healing process that had already started.
“What was that?” Armand says opening his eyes.
“You’re okay? I’m sorry,” Lucky says giving the vampire a bone crushing hug even for him as he cries.
“When did you get so strong?” He asks prying the boy off him.
“I don’t know,” Lucky says sniffling.
“Lucky you know I hate to see you cry,” Armand says wiping his eyes for him.
Pyra on the other hand was being confronted by Lestat and Mystic explaining that Maharet had come to see her. Pyra just stared at the rubble of Lestat’s house. They talked about how Armand had gotten wind of David’s plan and how he wouldn’t be deterred. How he spent nights searching for vampires and had encountered breeds and mutations all intent on killing something that could so easily destroy a vampire.
Pyra continued to stare at the rubble. She started thinking how much of a shame it was that they lost their house in all this stupidness. She doesn’t see JC and Louis approach or hear Maharet when she greets her still dwelling on the house. Though she didn’t know it Pyra’s barriers were pure light and even Maharet could not guess what was on her mind. Pyra stared at the house a moment longer and the wood, plaster, beams, and all started to creak. Everyone turned to watch as it looked like the house had fallen to rubble in a film and now someone was pressing rewind. Slowly at first parts moved into place and finishing off with a dizzying pace.
“Thank you,” Lestat says as Pyra’s glow dulls a little. She says nothing and doesn’t seem to even notice what she did. “Pyra?” She turns her head to him eyes blank and dead.
“Its all she responds to, her name,” Maharet figures, “Pyra, where is David?” She asks despite the fact she knows the answer. Her answer is fire in Pyra’s eyes.
“She won,” Pyra finally says as she finally sees everyone around her.
“What? We killed her,” Mystic says.
“Life for life, death for death, heart for a soul,” Pyra says confusing Mystic as she slowly comes out of her stupor.
“Pyra what are you saying,” Lestat asks.
“One and the price was four, Like a fool I closed the door,” Pyra whispers.
“Don’t you guys get it?” Lucky says. “That bitch, made Adam turn her, which killed her baby, all she wanted to do was kill him, then David died because he was stupid. And Tomas hates her now and Lani and Gaia are scared of her what did she get?”
“A hole in my heart.”
“But . . .” Louis stops, his mind was blank what he was going to say was on the tip of his tongue but he had lost it. Everyone had their eyes in him and he had nothing to give them he shook his head.
“Baby? What baby?” Mystic asks.
“I was pregnant, its dead now.”
“I’m so sorry,” JC says putting an arm around her.
The reason for the visit is soon explained. And once its clear that the situations with David (where both Louis and Lestat shed tears at the telling of what happened) and Merrick (were the place is filled with dry eyes) are isolated incidents, Pyra is welcomed into the vampire world much like Mystic was a few nights before. There is some tension when Pyra refuses to swear to never use her light against another vampire. But Maharet gets her to agree at least not against those gathered and her twin who would not make the journey and marked their first separation since they had found each other.
“I have no interest in being the slayer but I defend myself and my family no matter what.” At the mention of family Louis gets the urge to say something but he had no idea what. Its just out of his minds reach. “If another stupid vampire is fool enough to try and kill me well . . .”
“Are you alright?” Mystic says putting a hand on Lestat’s arm.
”He refused to know her and when we did he swore it would be our death, if he had ever tried to see the real Merrick and the real Pyra he might never have done what he did. He couldn’t see her as human no matter what we did to show him his books were wrong. He refused to let go of the past and what had happened.”
“What?” Pyra says now the one confused.
“Do you remember anything strange that happened when you were 12? In the summer.”
”12? I got my first kiss, used healing for the first time, kissed Lance, evaporated a small part of a lake in Canada…”
”Does the name Edward ring a bell? He was in the Talamasca.”
”No should it?”
”He tried to invade your mind at some point during that summer, and it wasn’t pretty.” (if I ever finish Summer Vacation you’ll understand)
“Hmm, whatever,” Pyra says not about to dwell.
“What are you going to do now?” Marius asks Pyra smiles then just laughs.
“Let’s see, I faked my death, glow when exposed to light, and I’m a vampire with a tendency to eradicate others of my kind. Hmm . . . what to do indeed. I could try to find my husband but I’d guess he’d have enough sense to run screaming.”
“Don’t be so sure about that,” Mystic says smiling.
“Yeah Adam has always been a retard,” Lucky says from his seat besides Armand.
“Bite . . . you know what I’ll bite you.”
“Ha ha. Being bitten by you? All you ever do is pop up mugs of blood.”
“Wait . . .” Armand says sitting up from his lazy position. “You’ve never fed on a living creature? Not once?”
“Uh . . . does Adam count?” Pyra says and gets a whole new round of stares.
“But you must . . . how can you survive.” Pyra pops a mug of blood in Marius’ hands and he tastes it. “Its not the same, it’s the feeling the . . .”
“I’ve read the books all the books I got it.”
“Py, you have to do it its so cool,” Mystic says.
“Maybe later,” Pyra says clearly not interested.
“Is it taking a life? There are ways . . .” Louis says.
“My mind’s funny like that. I can’t be bothered with things like killing people is wrong if its me or them, if I don’t feel bad eating cows and stuff when my own daughter called me a monster, this won’t stop me.”
“How can you say that?” JC asks clearly disturbed.
“Joshie haven’t you learned by now right and wrong are beyond me. It just doesn’t register.”
“But you’re not mean and stuff,” Lucky says.
“Lucky, I wasn’t going to come back, you called me a heartless monster for it. Didn’t you think that was mean?” Lucky is silent as he thinks on their time in England. JC is staring at Pyra and gets up from the seats Mystic had orbed in having them all sit in a circle inside Lestat’s newly reformed living room. Pyra was sitting between Maharet and Louis on the couch, next to Maharet was, Marius in a chair followed by Armand and Lucky on the loveseat, Lestat, Mystic, and JC in chairs. Pyra never takes her eyes off JC as he walks out of the house the picture of calm. Faking her death he could understand, but leaving him at worse point in his life he couldn’t.
“Tell him to come inside,” Pyra whispers as JC walks past Tomas. The boy is surprised as his Godfather sort of growls at him and points to the door. He walks in and past all the vampires though his eyes linger for a moment on Lucky and Armand. Pyra stands as Tomas approaches her. Her son was taller than her at a hefty 6’ 2” of Olympic swimmer. His naturally dark skin and black hair had people believe he was Native American when they first met him. The blue eyes always threw people through a loop. Pyra saw the anger there and just waited for him to explode. His temper was not nearly as bad as Gaia’s or her own but neither of his parents were calm people.
“Where is he?” He roared inches from his mothers face. The look on Pyra’s face shocked him to the core. There were tears in her eyes. His mother didn’t cry. He was 21 and had never seen her cry. She would tell them all it was okay to cry, even when her father died she just sat and stared.
“I didn’t deserve it.”
“It what? You’re crying . . .”
“What?!” Lucky exclaims as Armand continues to pull him out of the room.
“Him, I didn’t . . .I wouldn’t . . . 24 years . . . 30 years. Why am I such a bitch?” Tomas didn’t know what to say, something big had changed since that day in the kitchen but it didn’t make it all better. His mom had admitted to almost killing their father.
“Uh . . .” Pyra shakes her head which was all the better for Tomas. He was a little to angry to say anything.
“I know you hate me and all but here’s what happened . . .” Pyra goes on to tell him what happened in a very toned down manner. “Okay then you can go now.” Pyra says when after a moment of silence her son doesn’t move.
“You do realize you didn’t have to baby me right? I am old enough to hear this in a non Disney way.”
“Tell your sisters.”
“M . . . please,” Tomas says rolling his eyes and grabbing her hand. She gasps as she’s hit with one of the most powerful visions she’s ever had. Tomas at the alter with a boy then them with a young child, time is clearly moving slowly for them though not as slow as it is for Tomas as the child catches up to him in age. The last scene is Tomas tears in his eyes giving a very familiar blond a hug.
“Christ,” Pyra says putting a hand to her head.
“What did you see?”
“You’re son . . .”
“Pyra, I think you still have some head trauma, I’m gay remember, I’m not going to have kids.”
”You will get married and have a son, who needs a bride? And . . .” Pyra is silent wondering if it would be bad to say it aloud.
”What else?”
“Your father, he was . . . exactly the same hugging you.”
“When?” Pyra shakes her head.
“Your son . . .he grew up,” Pyra says.
“Years?” Pyra shrugs then nods.
“Did you call me Pyra?”
“I can’t . . .you . . .its your name,” Tomas says stopping.
“It is I guess,” Pyra says wondering if she would ever be able to salvage her relationship with her son. She knew they would both have eternity but he and Adam had had an amazing relationship. Adam hadn’t blinked when he came out, he had been afraid she would freak, she had had the same reaction as her husband okay, so what? But it was just an example of how her and her son had never been on the same wavelength. He seemed to see everything she did and said differently then she or even his sisters did. She still had a chance with Gaia and Lani they might not hate her.
Tomas walked out silently followed by Pyra. All the vampires had given them a distance with Marius and Maharet leaving. Armand was talking to Lucky and Louis was with JC, they had become close friends because despite all Louis protests he understood JC completely if he could live without taking another life he wouldn’t think twice on it.
“Tomas Alexander Copeland!” Lucky exclaims and Tomas stares at the cat who always called him Tommy boy if anything at all.
“Why did you do that?” Tomas asks.
“It is your name,” Lucky says visibly angry. Tomas realized it was Lucky’s way of telling him he heard everything.
”Why don’t you ever mind your own business?” Tomas asks clearly aggravated.
“If you and Pyra aren’t my business what is?” Lucky and Tomas don’t notice when Pyra shuffled off to her house. Just as she expected her daughters were sitting waiting for her. She didn’t give them a second to speak told them exactly what happened in the same PG version she had before.
”Ever thought of anger management ma?” Gaia asks.
“Funny,” Pyra says with no life.
“Tomas is mad at you isn’t he?” Lani asks.
“Understatement of the year thanks.”
“What do you mean?”
“He hates me is all,” Pyra says, “Just talk to him I never seem to get him right anyway.”
“Where are you going?”
“I don’t know,” Pyra says stopping, “Wait you guys still want to speak to me?”
“Yes mom, we all know you have a temper problem when it comes to dad,” Lani says.
“Just your father?”
“Lucky can’t piss you off no matter what he does. Neither can we, Tomas hates you and you can’t so much as yell at him. Dad on the other hand pushed all your buttons good and bad,” Gaia says. Pyra stares at her daughters sadly it was true she left the grounding and such to Adam she had no heart for keeping her kids inside. The fact that Adam never understood why she couldn’t ground her kids always had her wanting to smack him.
Tomas walked in muttering about that ‘furry bastard’ as he went up to his old room and grabbed his duffel bag. Lucky had attacked him. Asking him where he got off taking Adam’s side and doing something that horrible to his own mother. She didn’t care, she hadn’t even bothered to argue with him.
“Tomas wait,” Pyra said suddenly.
”We’ve never understood each other, I don’t know why exactly but here,” Pyra waved her hand and a textbook sized book appeared in her hand. “Its everything, just take it burn it if you want to.” Tomas stared at the book she was holding out to him her life. He took it though he wasn’t sure if he could read it. “I couldn’t help it, its PG 13 at most I don’t think you want to read that anyway.” He realizes what she means and blushes. He takes the book and opens it to a page ½ in:
“What the hell are you talking about?!” Pyra yells. “If anything I had to work twice as hard as everyone else just to be normal. Do you know what I would have given to have just been normal? To be able to go out and hangout with the other kids without worrying if something I did could hurt someone.”
“Oh please! You know what you are . . . you’re like one of those stupid rich kids who wants everyone to feel bad for them because their rich! Well I’m not!”
“Well how nice for you to be all high and mighty. It’s pretty easy from that side! You couldn’t last a day as me.”
“Ha! I could be you better than you can be you.” He closes the book.
“You guys didn’t, you wouldn’t . . .”
“Elaborate, we did a lot of crazy things.”
“Switch bodies,” Tomas stammers.
”Oh that, yeah well . . . that was a really really really dumb thing to do.”
“What else don’t we know about you guys, Lucky told us stories but . . .” Gaia starts.
Tomas shoves the book in his bag and walks out of the house. He walks past the vampire’s house not noticing when the bag he’s carrying gets slightly heavier as another hand add things Pyra never did know. Tomas knew exactly where he was going, his dad’s house in the Bahamas. In the catacombs Adam smiled slightly in the limbo he was in. Taking Pyra’s blood had given him many of her powers. He was not in a vampires usual dream state instead existing on another plane where he could lightly influence those around him like Louis and Pyra’s book but he knew it wasn’t time for him to return. Though that idea wasn’t his own, the elders had their own reasons for leading Pyra down this road.