SUNNYVALE

(85) INFILTRATION UNDER HIGH TENSION | σκατά

Jessie Fleming enters The Circle barefoot, golden blood coming out of her open wound to the chest - that actually couldn't kill her because it was provided by a human, surprised that nobody would be around.

Even downtown, she did not come across from anybody - it felt like Purgatory 2.0 all over again to her.

She slowly walks down the stairs, hearing voices coming from downstairs and, when Jessie realises she was not alone after all, she starts feeling her whole body trembling, as if she was reacting already to her.

As she starts peeking in order to identify who was sitting down around that table, she feels a cold blade pressing against her neck, as she immediately stops breathing.

"Creeping around where you don't belong, don't ya?" the brunette with cold eyes appearing in Jessie's sighs slowly articulates, smirking. She then elevates her voice so that the girls from the other room would hear her: "Look, someone joined the party!"

When they all turn around, Jessie starts feeling like she is about to pass out.

She knows who the girl with the blade is: Kelley, daughter of Satan, who escaped her father's and fate's grips by forcing her sister to take her place as Ruler of Hell, and who was quite infamous down there. She also immediately recognised - thanks to the useful informations that were given to her before her departure - The Medium, as well as the rest of The Five, accompanied by God's daughter herself. 

Setting her jaw, Jessie watches as a blonde angel immediately grabs her arm and propulses her on the opposite side of the room, as she hits the wall harshly. Before anyone else can beat her up or something, a voice elevates:

"Wait!" 

About to hit the newcomer with no second thought, Nichelle turns around, while Shelina, who had just spoken up, meets the murderous eyes of Kelley and Mapi. In the meantime, global incomprehension was hitting the whole room, as the blonde with clear eyes just walks up toward Jessie, unafraid : it was like she was trusting her instincts, and they were leading her the right way - she knew that for sure.

Raising her hand before Kelley can say anything, Shelina then carries on by asking:

"Why do I feel like you're not here by accident?"

"I am not indeed, βασίλισσά μου" Jessie confidentially answers, smirking.

The whole room grows silent, as Julie asks:

"Is this... Greek ?"

"The language spoken in Heaven and in Hell, indeed" Jessie once again confirms, nodding her head calmly. While she demands silent permission to Shelina in order to go on (which she is granted easily), she continues: "I woke up here on Earth with this note on my hands."

Shelina slowly advances and grabs the note, before reading it aloud:

"Your name is Jessie Fleming, you lost your memories, you are half-angel half-demon, you need to find Crystal Dunn and Samantha Mewis in Sunnyvale... Trust no one..."

Quite immediately, Sam (who had been utterly devastated since her sister turned out to be the Angel of Death) and Crystal (who was coming to terms with her tricky powers) exchange a look, before staring at the younger girl.

But it is Tierna who speaks first:

"How do we know you're not a bad guy since you've got no idea yourself ?"

Jessie smirks.

"First of all, I cannot be a bad guy: I am a girl" she starts, as Tierna rolls her eyes. Realising that she was taking this very seriously, she then waits for the newcomer to continue: "Then, I know whose side I am on because of this."

She then shows everybody her arm, and Sam immediately reacts to the satanic sign designed inside of her skin with almost transparent ink:

"Abby ?"

Jessie nods.

"I have yet another tattoo with Her message to you: here..." she continues, before turning around and removing her t-shirt shamelessly.

Behind her back, everybody could read : A BATTLE BETWEEN MOTHER AND DAUGHTER WILL DEFINE THE FUTURE OF ALL HUMANITY, AS HEAVEN IS APPROACHING THE EARTH WHEN YOU READ THIS MESSAGE. THE END, OR A NEW BEGINNING, IS NEARER THAN YOU THINK. 

That was it, two simple sentences that were scaring the hell out of everybody in the room, as Kelley materialises the sad truth before anyone else:

"The Goddess is coming here, and she will take no prisoners..."

"Can't Abby just come back ?" Sam asks, hopeful.

Kelley looks down at the ground, terribly sorry.

"I fear not: if Jessie made it out of Hell alive, it's because she has blood from both sides - there is no other possible way out of there..." Kelley explains.

"But still, you're here" Julie remarks, frowning.

Kelley rolls her eyes.

"Yes, 'cause I am me : Abby is unconscious of her powers yet"

"And still we need her" Shelina interrupts them, visibly angry. As Kelley sighs, she continues: "If you want to finally redeem yourself, then you should as well go back to Hell and help Abby get out of there: that would be a minimum to stop bad karma from coming at you."

"Is that an order?" Kelley challenges the Goddess' daughter, staring right into her eyes.

Shelina nods.

"Yes, it is: go rescue Abby from Hell, or never come back here at all" the blonde harshly says, "otherwise I will personally make sure you're unable to come back here."

"Well, now I wonder who is the demon between the two of us" Kelley slowly says.

Before Crystal can say anything, Shelina urges her not to with a simple gesture, as Mapi and Ingrid both step forward.

But before their feud could continue, a huge groan comes from outside, and they all know what it means: the Goddess is not walking Sunnyvale with her army of angels, willing to kill every living person in town.

And she won't leave until they're all dead...

***

The burning sensation had decreased with the days, as time down there in Hell was passing by way faster than on Earth, to the extend that Abby did not feel pain anymore - she just felt a deep voice inside of her whole body.

As she is sitting on her throne made of black wood, Abby looks down at the handful of demons at her feet, and sighs.

"Master, Jessie has arrived safely in Sunnyvale" a girl with brown hair says.

Abby nods.

"Good - now let's hope Shelina has understood what her duty was, because everything now depends on her..."

"And on you" the demon adds.

Abby nods once again, before shaking her head and conceding:

"You're right, Tobin - I wish all of you demon Westsiders were in Sunnyvale rather than in Hell to help our friends out"

Tobin nods, wrapping an arm around Allie and Lindsey's shoulder, as the three now demons were finally reunited. 

Rolling her eyes, Abby just looks above her head, knowing that her two lovers were kilometres away on the surface of the globe.

They need me, she thinks to herself, I need to get back...