** SAVING GRACE

Sawyer gave her a smirk as a response to the question before repeating, “How else would it be done?” Their parents all had different ways of dealing with bullshit. She remembered her mother running over some and in terms of Grace’s mothers, they seemed to deal with things in two ways, depending on the person. Sex or destruction. “This could be our time, and I’m fine because we’re here and we’re cared for.” She nodded, deciding that it was better to just give in to the situation. “At the very least, you won’t get nearly killed by an even stronger Nico. We can deal with her while she’s still a baby.” She chuckled. Nico, from the future, was a force to be reckoned with and absolutely terrifying. 

She chuckled once they were poofed into a new room. “Sweet, thank you!” She grabbed two and pocketed one before unwrapping the other. Sawyer placed it in her mouth. “No, of course not, but she likes the attention and she feels better. Genny’s harder on herself than anyone can ever be. All she needs is a little help even if she doesn’t think she wants it.” She hooked her arm around Grace’s shoulders and leaned her weight against her. “Ok. We don’t have to talk about it, but if you want to, I’m here.” She sighed. 

Grace matched the other’s smirk, it was true, it was either their way or no way. Winging it was naturally in their nature and somehow, they’ve come this far to make it work for them. “Yeah, I feel very fortunate that us being here worked out. If our parents weren’t as accepting as they should be or if one of us actually faced death...Then this would have been a fucking mess.” The kind that they wouldn’t be able to bounce back from. “Gah.” Grace shuddered at the thought of Nico in the future. “I soooo do not miss that. If she wasn’t your sister, I don’t know what I would have done to her by now.”

“Talking it out usually gets us through all the bullshit.” She looked around the room. They may have been in an ER room, but she hoped that there was a stash of candy or lollipops somewhere. Sawyer needed something to distract herself with. “Yeah, time anomalies are the hardest to see when we’re inside of them. Maybe that’s why I haven’t been able to get us back to our own time, you know… or maybe this is our time. Death and Time are sort of found… everywhere?” She moved her hand around to show just how convoluted the timeline could be. “I don’t know if we can veer off course even if we tried. My mom always talks about how opposing sides always match each other up so we can exist. It’s like how Nico’s a super bitch and we’re just not.” She laughed as she picked a lock to a cabinet. “That’s why I’m here. I’ll get a temporary limiter made then you two can have a heart to heart, but in the mean time, are you going to tell me what else is bothering you? Call it a best friend’s intuition, but your aura feels out of whack.”

“Indeed it does. How else would it be done?” Grace observed Sawyer as she looked around the room. What was she looking for? “I think it’s too late to see what’s far ahead. For some reason I feel as if this could be our time.” Both Death and Time were rooted in this timeline. At the mention of what her Aunt Karina would say, a grimace crept onto her lips as she sat there thinking. No matter what they’ve been through, the two best friends always found ways to stay up to par with each other. However, at the mention of Nico, Grace furrowed her brows and shook her head. “Nico is a bitch period.” she spat out. The little twerp was finding ways to kill her and the demigoddess wasn’t about that. 

“Maybe not the same, but we’ll still be here.” She was quiet for a moment. “During the invasion, I witnessed my mother killing my father while she was possessed by the aliens… and that messed me up for a while… You didn’t leave me and I’m not going to leave you when things are tough. That’s just not who we are.” Sawyer leaned back and had her arms support her. “I don’t remember, maybe it’s just too much to remember.” She shrugged. She had a theory that the reason why she couldn’t remember the past like Grace could was that there was too much; so many people experienced time differently and if she could feel it all, she doubt that she’d be her own person. “I don’t know… There’s always a mystery and honestly, I don’t feel like exploring it, but I do know that things that need to happen will… So…” She shrugged. “We’ll get better. Balance and stuff, right?” She then chuckled. “I don’t need to deliver food…. It’s good that she’s alive, but the sun…? Grace, I don’t think she’s ever not had a power limiter. You know what, don’t worry about it. I’ll just figure out something… Don’t get mad at me… I know you two broke up, but I don’t want her to lose herself to the Sun.”

revcnir‌:

Karina wasn’t sure where and when it started, but she knew that Nico was gunning for Grace. She wanted to ask her adult daughter for more information, but the time traveler always seemed so tight-lipped when it came to things about the future. “It doesn’t help, but the curse isn’t anything too serious. She was trying to give you literal green thumbs.”  Karina sighed as she continued to activate stronger wards and protection charms. “At the very least, you’ll be protected whilst in here, but just in case, I’m keeping both of your parents out.”

She looked up from the tome. “She isn’t the same, right? Crossing the realms isn’t an easy thing for our souls to do. I’m not sure what my mother did to make it so that I can, but when Gray would crossover because of his deal with your mother,  he’d lose bits of his humanity. Sawyer’s been different too. Sometimes, the changes are small, but sometimes… when the Balance is broken…” She lowered her gaze again so she could work on healing her wound. 

“If we figure out the price and what exactly happened then I might be able to help. My mother in law was a pain to deal with, but she left me with her library. Eve has to have something to help. If not that, I can seek help from the Elders… or Goldie…”

@destrecier​

Nico and Grace had such a strained relationship. Jeremiah could only hope for the day that they got along. Luckily for him, because of his age, he didn’t normally get in the way of both of them. He bet that they could end world if they wanted to. He shivered. “Green thumbs… I think that would be a good improvement for my sister.” He joked trying to bring some light to the situation. “Wait, both of them? Do you need to do that?” Miah stepped forward. “Mom’s here to stop Ma from this apocalypse stuff. “

As he listened to both his aunt and Grace, he frowned and lowered his shoulders. All he wanted was to have their family back together, but this was turning out to be more complicated than he thought. “No, she’s different…” Karina had a point. Even Sawyer seemed more distant than before. “How do we rebalance stuff? That’s how it works right. Something has to adjust, right? So why don’t we help balance stuff.”

He pounded his fist against the palm of his hand. “Who’s Eve?” Despite having Lilith as a mother, Jeremiah didn’t remember all of the stories that she told him. The mother he knew seemed rather normal, nothing like the raging Antichrist the wards were supposed to keep out. “I can help look through the library. I can’t read Ancient Witch Language though, but if you tell me what the symbols are supposed to look like, maybe I can help!”

@xx-death​

Death threw a wave of dark aura at her brother once he made a comment about Nico’s curse. “I’m untouchable.” muttered Grace. If the youngest Hernandez-Oliver were to try any funny business, well good luck to the infant cause she’s gonna need it. “Thanks Auntie Rina...” Her voice was low as she watched the younger versions of themselves made themselves at home. “Miah, we don’t want them ruining a home that’s not theirs. We’ll just leave as soon as they make themselves known and take this matter elsewhere.” 

Pressing her lips into a thin line, Grace nodded to confirm that Aurelia’s been different, “Her soul has some sort of darkness attached to it, but she’s trying to fight it.” She knows her mother is there, but a part of her was eating at her identity on the whole. Looking over at Miah, the eldest Vale-Young walked up to him, placed a hand on his shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Hey, we’ve done enough. We should try to leave this with professionals like Auntie Rina and assist when needed.” Dropping her arm onto her side, she looked over at the older woman and bit her lip as she thought of a response. “I had her soul though...It shouldn’t be tainted.” And then it hit her. “But Lucifer and Hades took turns in having her soul to keep Mama or myself away...Do you think that’s why? They did something to her?” 

Since when was Grace concerned about what was right or wrong? What happened to existing in the grey area of things?  Genny chuckled when Grace finally rejected her advances. “Ok.” Maybe Grace was different now. Something must have happened whilst she was gone and she wasn’t in the position to ask her anymore. She was just an ex. “You can choose to throw out everything or whatever you want… I don’t need that box…” She pointed to the box with the photos she once collected. “Not anymore, you can do what you want with it.”

She took a step back. “Until I figure out how to stabilize my abilities, I won’t be able to. It isn’t you, it’s me. I’m the broken one.”  She smiled sadly at her and knew that Grace was being the kind, level-headed one. “Bye, Grace. Be happier, ok?” She fished her keys out of her pocket and started to twirl them around her finger. They rattled as they collided with each other and provided her with enough of a distraction from the situation in front. Genny turned and walked to the stairs leading to the ground floor. She glanced behind her and waved. “That’s it. I won’t make this any more difficult for both of us.” She chuckled and then started to walk away.”

Grace casted her gaze downwards as she looked at the box and then back at the blonde. “Genevieve.” Her tone held both a warning and a please for her to not be difficult in the departing process. However, the demigod knew there was no use when her mind was set. If she wanted nothing to do with the contents of the box, then she should respect that. Without uttering another word, the demigod summoned a reaper to pick up their belongings and take it elsewhere for safekeeping. 

There was some sort of hope that maybe things will turn out okay between them. However, it needed to be a two way street. Therefore, as soon as Genny made her way to the stairway, Grace simply stared in silence. She wanted to move, she wanted to budge and stop her. However, deep down they needed this. “You’re not broken Genevieve.” It was a reminder. “Take care of yourself.” Her heart ached as she turned her back and went inside the apartment. She couldn’t stand there long enough to see herself go—that’s how weak Grace was. She hoped she made the right choice of letting her go...

revcnir‌:

“You know what happens when we do bad things, Nico.” Karina placed her hand over her daughter’s bound ones. Then she traced a few symbols. Her energy caused the symbols to glow and the shadows moved away from the light before dissipating. “You’re going to have to sit in the time out corner with no magic.” Her youngest started to cry, but reluctantly started to walk to the corner. Thankfully, he children could still be disciplined. “Grace, I’m sorry for that… My mother’s been teaching her magic and I can’t break her out of it… I think they’ve discovered her affinity for battle magic. I thought about day care, but Amara has a hand in all of them, I swear.” An over-exaggeration, but if she was right, then she wouldn’t be surprised. 

“What do you mean you brought Aurelia back to life?” She asked and tried to keep her tone even, but her movements betrayed her, signalling her alarm. She opened a drawer and pulled out a spell book. Karina reached for the knife block. She took the closest knife and then cut a line through her palm as her phantom opened the book to the right page. The witch squeezed her hand and allowed blood to drip onto the opened tome. “You don’t just bring people back. These things always come at a price. Do you even know what you brought back? Have you paid the correct amount?” She started to draw sigils and then she pushed down with all the weight focused on her palm. Protective wards erupted from the book and flew to every part of her home. “You two are idiots. I say this with all the love in my heart, but I still can’t believe you brought this shit into my home. The dead are never whole.”

@destrecier​

The reason why his aunt was scary was because she was one of the few people who could control both Sawyer and Nico. Jeremiah gave his aunt an apologetic smile while Grace seemed like she was getting ready to fight against a baby. He continued to cradle the infant in his arms, who seemed to have fallen asleep. “She’s really good at battle magic. I think she rivals Sawyer’s speed casting.” The two siblings were a terrifying duo when talking about magic practitioners. It was just a shame that they didn’t share the same opinion of his sister. 

“We had her preserved body and her soul. So it made sense…” Jeremiah said as he found a soft place to put a baby. As soon as the wards came up, he felt some of the shadows from the outside recoil from the house. “I think we brought back our mom. But she wasn’t in hell or anything, Auntie…” He then looked back at Grace. “We had to pay cash or something? How much money do we need to pay for a person?” He frowned when Karina called them idiots. “Grace, do you know about what Auntie is talking about. I’m new to this.”

@xx-death​

If Nico wasn’t Sawyer’s sister, then Grace wouldn’t hesitate taking her life force for her greater good. The kid was such a little bitch that the demigod was on the verge of fighting her...literally. “No need to apologize Auntie Rina.” replied Grace as she glared at Nico while she went on time out. “It makes sense that the Old Hag played a part in all this.” She’ll get what’s coming to her, she just needs the perfect opportunity...Grace attempted to summon reapers around Nico, but she got distracted when her aunt lectured herself and Miah.

“Miah...You know when Mom said we’d upset the balance of life and whatever. This is what Auntie Rina meant.” She furrowed her brows and concentrated on the topic at hand, allowing her anger to disappear as she faced both individuals. “I’m Death, I preserved her soul. Auntie Angie had her body preserved...She should still be Mommy Aura, it’s just that...” Her voice trailed off as a hint of regret started to creep up on her. Something had to be wrong. The fact that both she and Miah felt something off about Aurelia, that in itself should have been a warning sign. 

“She’s the only one who can save Mama...” whispered Grace as she casted her gaze downwards. “I don’t want Mom to die again, there has to be a way to help her stay without any consequences!” 

revcnir‌:

She wasn’t sure where Gray had gone off too, but she didn’t mind having the girls to herself. She had Nico on her shoulders and Sawyer was holding onto her leg. Luckily, her phantoms were helping her move around. “Mámá Train is going to go to the kitchen and we’re going to eat all the leftovers before daddy comes home!” She shuffled over and then took Nico off of her shoulder to swing her around. “Oh, no~!  A magical wind storm! What are we going to do?”

Karina heard her youngest daughter yell, “Boo!” Then Nico waved her hands to send a cursed symbol at Grace. 

Quickly, Karina tucked Nico underneath her arm while she ordered one of her phantoms to tug Grace out of the way. She then placed a hand on her chest and let out a sigh of relief. When she realized just who was in front of her, she quickly gathered her composure and then glared. “What did I tell you two about teleporting here!? Use the door! Nico’s learning curses! And Sawyer-” She looked over at Jeremiah and could already see her young daughter checking on the eight year old Grace. “Double… What do you mean you have nowhere?”

@destrecier​

“I don’t want to give up on them… They’re our moms.” Jeremiah frowned and then stayed squatted down near the ground. After reviving their mother, he suddenly felt tired. With all the portal work, he just wanted to sit down. From another room, he heard Auntie Rina playing with their cousins. He smiled. “She’s really a nice lady even if she’s a little scary.” He looked up and raised his hand to wave at Karina as she walked into the kitchen, but in his peripherals he caught a dark shadow move toward Grace’s side. 

His head snapped back to the wall behind Grace and saw a cursed symbol. He sent his shadow over to bind Nico’s hands. Jeremiah had forgotten about Nico’s goal to end his sister. “No magic, that’s mean magic! And we’re sorry, we’re just really desperate. Our parents are having a… discussion!” He didn’t want to say argument. He was pretty sure that the eight year olds would be able to understand the word. Grace and Sawyer were two of the smartest people he knew. “Please let us stay here!”

@xx-death​

Grace remained silent as she listened to her brother. To be honest if it weren’t for him, she wouldn’t have been able to keep it together. He gave her all the more reason to hope and for someone who embodies darkness on a daily basis, he was the exact opposite of that. Snapping out of her thoughts, it was like clockwork as Grace summoned Mr. Jacques and gave Jeremiah within seconds before transforming into Death. 

‘Why that little shi–’

The demigod glared at Nico as she ignored her aunt yelling. It seemed like everyone had a contingency plan against the child’s curses. Black hues were still glaring at the child despite the commotion was going on. She could feel Death’s urges to just snatch Nico’s lifeforce, but this was her family for fuck sakes. “You know, five year olds usually watch Peppa Pig or draw, play, eat, cry, shit...But this one.” She points at Nico accusingly, “This one is messed up. Auntie Rina you should put her in day care or something.” 

Death didn’t let her guard down as she floated over to Karina and frowned, “We brought our mom back to life. I think that explains everything don’t ya think?”

Jeremiah wondered if the Vale family was always supposed to be this troublesome, but he tried not to think too hard on it. They needed to get their younger selves out of this place. He couldn’t see where their mothers were, but he could feel the lingering darkness around their home. “Up.” He told the little Grace while he picked her up and held her close. He was sure that both versions of his sister could feel his anxiety, but he was trying to keep the worry from his face. He made another portal to their next destination. 

“I don’t… Things seem… pretty… not good?” He shrugged as he stepped through the portal. “Yeah, it looks very not good. I don’t know. Mom seems different, like something’s really different. Everyone’s changed and…” What if they weren’t compatible as a family anymore? “I picked Auntie Rina. Her house is the safest and little you can play with little Sawyer. I also think that we’ll freak her out a lot less than Vera.” He closed the portal after Grace stepped through. Then he lowered the eight year old and allowed her to run off. 

“It’ll get better.” she murmured while cradling Baby Miah. She didn’t sound as confident, but she needed to speak it out into the universe. “I sensed that too, but the afterlife is different than here. She’s not the mother we once knew, but we can’t give up on her okay?” Once her brother confirmed that they were going to Sawyer’s place, Grace nodded before hopping into the portal and cautiously walking around the Hernandez-Oliver household.

“Auntie Rina!?” called out Grace. “It’s us! We kinda have nowhere to go...So uh, we’re gonna stay here. Hopefully that’s okay?!” 

The sound of glass shattering made Jeremiah jump in his spot. He wasn’t sure what was happening in the other room, but he hoped that his younger cousins hadn’t heard it. He could hear his mother speaking with Grace and his shadow found its way back to his feet. When he opened the door, both of his young cousins were standing there, eyes wide. “Hey, guys, I know it’s loud, but Jeremiah’s here to make sure it’s ok…” He smiled at them before he picked them up. 

Then he heard his mother’s instructions loud and clear. Miah nodded and then brought them over to the stairs. The darkness quickly receded back into their normal spots, shadows affected by the light. “Go tell your nanny about the mess, guys, I got to run, ok?” Aubrey nodded and then grabbed her little brother’s arm before she started to make her way down. Jeremiah looked back at Aurelia and Grace. “She’s going to be really mad. I don’t know what she’s going to do, Grace.”

He frowned and then created a portal for himself below him. “I can grab younger you. I think little me likes you better… Be safe, mom.” He said before he fell through the portal. He wasn’t sure what Aurelia was planning to do, but something in him said that he really didn’t want to see it happen. 

Aurelia immediately left without another word and Grace watched as her cousins ran off. Jeremiah was right, the Vales were going and are mad—period. “We’ll worry about it when the time comes.” she says to him before hopping down into the portal. Grabbing Baby Miah from her younger self’s arms, she cooed at the child as it smiled and laughed at her presence. As much as she found it adorable, all Grace could think of was their mothers. 

His parents raised him to be honest because of how things were before he came to be. He guessed that it had something to do with who his parents were before they had children, but he never had the courage to ask them. Aurelia and Lilith were intimidating and he didn’t want to be on the receiving end of their anger. His parents were like gods in the reality that he came from. He looked over at the two women and smiled slightly. He was glad to be a part of their family. 

“Grace, we can’t curse in front of her kids. Auntie-” Jeremiah didn’t think that the kids would be able to see Aurelia’s spirit, but the looks on their faces said everything to him. “Ok, ok, we should be quiet because that means that their nanny’s still in the house.” He picked them up like they were sacks of potatoes and then started to walk to Aubrey’s room. “Let’s play a game, guys. You like games with Jeremiah, yeah?” He chuckled and then put them down in the room. “You guys hide and then I’ll go seek. Here I’ll close the door so I can’t see.”  Miah closed the door and then his shadow stayed back to hold the door close. 

Jeremiah turned quickly when he heard the bang. “I didn’t know that can use her abilities while in that state.” Unsure of what to do, he sent darkness into the hallways and down the stairs. Light bulbs shattered as the shadows moved through the home. His own shadow kept the darkness from getting into Aubrey’s room. “I’ll keep them occupied and keep the Nanny down stairs. Auntie’s not going to like this.”

Staring down at her body, Aurelia slowly reached out and placed her hands on the glass casing. She looked the same, which was surprising seeing as she expected to be deteriorated to bones. Grace noticed it too and so she spoke up and said, “A deity preserved your body as a gift for Auntie Angie...Uh, apparently they were linked once.” Her mother scoffed and shook her head, “I don’t wanna know.” There was so much to take in and it was then and there that Aurelia wanted out of death and be alive. Therefore, Grace wasted know time as she transformed into Death.

The demigod allowed the Horsemen to take over as she covered Aurelia with her aura. Immediately her soul disappeared from the physical realm while the bracelet appeared on her body. Within seconds the bracelet disintegrated and Aurelia’s eyes opened wide as it glowed vividly. Shielding herself, the glass casket exploded as the Immortal hovered over her. “Thank you.” Aurelia called out and Death simply nodded as she allowed Grace to take over again. Returning into her human form, the eldest Vale Young backed up against the door as she watched her mother land on her two feet.

None of were ready to let Aurelia go and with the way everyone reacted, Jeremiah felt that his mom made people better. With the way she was holding on to them, he could tell that his words wouldn’t do much to make her feel better. He continued to frown. He thought that being reunited with his mother again would be happier and better than the last time, but it was clear that it wasn’t the case. 

“I’m sorry, mommy.” She was scolding Grace, but he felt at fault. “I should have helped Grace more…” He didn’t want Grace to feel like she was alone. “I’m sorry to you too, Grace.” He didn’t think that she deserved to be scolded for everything. He knew that Grace had a tendency to shrink away from bad situations, but still he reached over and squeezed her arm. They were family and he wanted her to know that he would always have her back, even if he wasn’t very good at it. “Ok, I’ll make a portal for all of us…” He took his hand off of Grace so he could direct his shadows. Miah gestured out a large circle and soon the shadows in this realm gathered together to make a portal large enough for the three of them. Her turned and lightly tugged the two of them toward the portal.

Jeremiah waited for the two of them to walk through to the other side before he followed after them so he could close the door to the other dimension. Just as he finished, he looked ahead of himself and saw the younger versions of his cousins. Nate seemed to be looking through a keyhole while Aubrey was holding a hammer. They seemed to want to get through the door to get to the other side. “Hey guys… what are you doing?” He leaned down and allowed Aubrey to whisper in his ear. “Grace… I think Auntie locked the b-o-d-y in there.”

Grace looked over at Jeremiah and shook her head as she tried to get him to stop apologizing. It wasn’t his intention to, he was just an honest boy and not to mention he couldn’t lie for shit to their mother. However, she ended up smiling softly as he spoke about having more responsibility for what had happened. At his contact, she mouthed a ‘thank you’ before looking over at Aurelia for a response. The older woman sighed as she massaged her temples and muttered, “We’ll discuss this when we’re all home and everything’s died down.” She then looked straight at Grace and owed her an apology, she realized she was coming down hard on her with such high expectations and didn’t take into account the other factors. “I’m sorry sweetheart, it wasn’t right of me to take out my frustrations on you.” The demigod shook her head and replied with, “No worries, I understand.” And with that, they all headed through the portal and into Angeline’s home.

“—What the eff are you kids doing!?” Grace blurted out while staring at her cousins oddly. She watched as Aubrey whispered to Miah and her eyes widened after the revelation that her mother’s body was locked in that room. “You do realize your mother is going to flip sh—” Aurelia’s spirit immediately stepped forward as both Nate and Aubrey stared in shock to see their aunt alive? Grace face palmed as she wasn’t sure if this would bring trauma to the kids. They were creepy enough as it is and with this going on, she was sure this was going to mess them up somehow. “Miah distract them or something!!! I don’t want Auntie Angie to blame us for fucking up her kids!!! They already lost a dad!” she hissed in a low whisper. 

Jeremiah nodded as Grace backed him up when it came to Sawyer. He didn’t really understand what his cousin’s deal was and he probably would never. His shadows didn’t react too well to being around that blue stone in her chest, but at least he could still hang around her when she wasn’t actively using her powers. “Yeah, nothing… It’s fine. She didn’t say anything bad about this situation so… Everything will turn out alright.” He was trying to deescalate the situation. He could sense that his mother was becoming agitated. 

But nothing he was saying seemed to be working. Miah looked over at Grace and even though she had told him to shut up, all he could do was keep talking. “She doesn’t seem demonic mom. She’s doing… you know, well, happy. I mean it’s a lot better than Auntie Angie. I mean, after losing her powers to Ava- I mean, that’s not what I mean. Everyone’s great! Everyone’s awesome!” Jeremiah let out a nervous chuckle. 

When Aurelia raised her voice, he knew that he needed to tell her the truth. He didn’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but he also didn’t want to get in trouble with Aurelia. “… After her fight with Famine, she came home different… It’s darker at home.” He could only speak about how differently the darkness moved around his mother, but he was fairly certain that Lilith had been going around and making deals. “That’s the thing… Ma’s a lawyer…They have to pay her fees somehow.” He looked over at Grace. “I think we need to go home now… I don’t know how to do that… Do I make a portal?”

Ava...Famine...Lilith...Deals...Her sister?

Her grip on her children tightened slightly as she clenched her jaw and pondered on what to say. Upon her death, she expected growth and change among her family. However, they all seemed to be taking matters into their own hands and fucking shit up. While she may blame it on grief or their method of healing, she knew they were better than this. It was evident that Aurelia was disappointed in everyone.

“Grace. Vale. Young.” she enunciated through gritted teeth as she narrowed her gaze onto her daughter. “I expected more from all of you. Why is our family falling apart!? And what the hell is your sister doing fucking around with your mother and my sister!?” A look of disappointment eventually shown on her face as she shook her head in disbelief, “I was counting on you to keeping it together! You’re the one who’s capable of getting through to everyone...”   

The eldest Vale Young bit her lip as she flinched at her mother’s words. It was time to validate Miah’s points, so she cleared her throat and took a deep breath prior to admitting the truth. “Auntie Annie became Wraith, a vigilante. Auntie Angie became Famine because Mama pushed Ava to the point where she’s temporarily off duty...And well Mama and Ava fought, but it seems that Ava pushed Mama into Antichrist mode...” She mumbled the last part and looked away as she nodded at Jeremiah’s question. “Do it now. Take us to Auntie Angie’s place. Her body is there, I’ll just transfer her life force there and then that should be it.” She couldn’t look at her mother, but she whispered an apology and said, “I know I should have tried harder, but...I veered of course too and by the time I got my shit together it was too late.” 

“I’m not effing around… I’m here to help!” He smiled at both of them. Jeremiah knew that he was the clumsiest and least coordinated of the family, but he couldn’t help it. His family kept him sealed for most of his life and there was the moment, a very long one, when he was a baby. “I’m just glad that we can talk in peace, more or less, in this weird nothing world.” If it wasn’t for his presence, he doubt that the shadows in this world would contain any life. Everything about it seemed empty.  He looked over at Grace for some more intelligent words about their other mother, but she seemed to busy herself with the bracelet. He scrunched his face up and then frowned before he started to spin a ball of shadow energy for her to use. Maybe she could turn it into energy. 

Just as he was about to explain more, Jeremiah looked down and saw his younger self. “Oh, hello, cutest guy. What are you doing here?” He gently poked the baby and lightly caressed the child’s back. “I don’t think I’d be able to understand at that age, but this is different. If we’re upsetting balance and time, wouldn’t we get  the balance police here? Or Cousin Sawyer here? She’s literal Time and she probably saw us doing this and said it was a part of the timeline, so maybe this is right!” 

Then he saw his mother’s expression darken. He didn’t want to open his mouth again. He didn’t want to be the one to explain just how distant Lilith had become. He sensed it when he hung out with her. Nothing about her seemed human. “Uh… well…” The baby turned into a ball of darkness. His jaw dropped and his eyes widened. “Ok, that’s enough Mommy time.” Panicked, he waved his hands around and dropped his younger self into a portal to send him back home to Lilith. “But you know who is doing a lot better, Mom?  Auntie Annie. Her powers are doing great! No one can tell that she’s a vigilante and kicking ass. She’s so good that people think she’s a Wraith! So funny right?”

“It’s limbo.” confirmed Aurelia after a sigh. If it weren’t for her baby, then she wouldn’t be this composed. It was moments like this where Grace was grateful for her little brother and his inevitable cuteness. “Miah has a point mom...Even though I didn’t tell Sawyer, she should have foreseen some sort of negative outcome towards the future of time, but she mentioned nothing.” Unless Sawyer hadn’t seen it yet, especially since Grace didn’t tell anyone for that matter that she was bringing her mother home, she knew that regardless of her actions there’d be consequences. But she was already into deep with this timeline that there was no use in following the order of life’s balance. 

Aurelia remained silent as she was still not buying it. However, Grace immediately lets go and took a step back as she felt her mother’s anger radiating off of her. There was a shift in the earth that she could feel in this entity of space. It had to be Aura’s affect on them. Seeing Mah ship his baby self back to their other Mother, the demigoddess bit her lip and tried to help him out. However, he not only snitched on their mother, but their aunt too which caused Grace to facepalm and groan. “Just shut up Miah for fuck sakes.”

As the branches helped him up, he kicked his feet around a little just to see how sturdy they were.  They dropped him on the ground effortlessly and he thanked the trees even though he knew Grace was responsible. “I sense lots of things…including how weird this place feels. It’s as bad as an evil ring.” He said referring to Famine’s ring. Jeremiah didn’t transform into the darkness, but he nearly bounced after his sister. He could have used his abilities, but the truth was, he wasn’t as graceful with his powers, less so now that the seals were off. “This place is spooky and familiar. I don’t like it, Grace. It’s like your room.”

He was going to continue to tease her, but their mother suddenly appeared to pull them into a classroom. “But this isn’t the Underworld, not really.” He smiled and hugged her back. “And Mr. Jacques said that I’ve been cheating this whole time.” He wondered if he would cross paths with his baby self here. “Grace says that we can fix stuff… and Mama doesn’t know… She’s, uh, not herself at the moment.” The last time they met she wanted to play chess and do antichrist things. Miah was used to a more lively mother. 

Grace’s demeanour became worrisome as she was concerned for Aurelia’s wellbeing. “Mom, we’re here to bring you back. It’s doable now that we’re all here! And Miah’s right.” She looked over at her brother and smiled, “This isn’t the Underworld and so we somewhat still have an upper hand. We just gotta stay vigilante and...” Her smile turned serious as he gave her brother a look. “Not fuck around.” On the topic of Lilith, Grace completely ignored it and allowed Jeremiah to take the wheel on that one. Maybe his method of explaining would work in favour for all of them. The Antichrist was a whole other story. Taking her mother’s arm, she looked at the bracelet Death had given her and fed more power into it. “If we’re going to revive you indefinitely then we need to give it our all. Auntie Angie has your body, we just gotta poof you on out of here and return your life force there.” 

Aurelia could feel a headache coming along as she pressed her lips into a thin line. While she appreciated how much her kids love her to the point where they want to bring her back, she just doesn’t feel as if it’s right. Just as she was about to scold them some more, she could hear a baby’s laughter in between them all that she immediately backed away and stared with no signs of emotions at a Baby Miah. Grace’s eyes widened as she could tell that this was a pretty bad sight to see. “Oh fuc—”

“Language.” barked Aurelia as her mother instincts kicked in. She went ahead and scooped the infant into her arms as she rocked him back and forth and placed kisses on his forehead. “The baby, I can understand why he visits. But you’re older now Miah and Grace I made it specifically clear that you were all supposed to accept my passing! This is absurd. You bring me back, you upset the balance and time and...just EVERYTHING!” However, news about Lilith caused the Director’s gaze to darken as she asked, “What do you mean, she’s not ‘herself’ at the moment?” Gulping, Grace looked over at Miah and shook her head. She ain’t no snitch. However, it seems like his baby self went ahead and painted a picture for all of them as he turned into a cute little demonic ball of darkness, before instantly returning back to normal as he expressed fits of giggles. Aurelia was livid.

When Grace closed the distance, she grabbed a fistful of the other girl’s shirt and pulled her closer as her other hand reached up to cup her cheek. They missed each other and were hurt, but this kiss had to mean something. Genny wanted to believe that it meant that she was better than the rest. Was it so wrong to hope for and wish that Grace wanted her as much as she did for her? She had to stop herself from kissing her again when she pulled away. She sighed and then leaned her forehead against Grace’s. 

“I don’t know. I haven’t figured it out yet…” She opened her fist, releasing Grace’s shirt. Genny tried to be logical and reasonable, just like her parents or Charlie, but she couldn’t stop her emotions from overwhelming her. She lightly pushed against Grace, back toward the door to the apartment that she was supposed to be trying to move out of. “Help me stay.” She knew that she wasn’t thinking too hard about this, but at the moment, it felt right. 

She had spent enough time thinking about the people and things she cared about whilst in space, so it was fine for her to just act. Weren’t actions stronger than words anyways? “Please, help me stay.” She missed Grace and missed Earth. She didn’t feel like being alone again,  but if she needed to then she would. 

Grace frowned once Genny pulled away and mentally cursed herself. This wasn’t supposed to happen. This was wrong despite feeling so right. However, they needed to sort out their differences if they want this to work. It would be toxic of them to get back together right away right? She didn’t give Genny the proper space she needed...And what if she skewed her judgment?