Dream Partners: Twisted time

Chapter 11: A Darkened Picture

She opened the door before walking in, closing it and sitting in one of the beanbag chairs, and pulling out a book. She was beyond exhausted from all the excitement today and needed to wind down. As she looked over at the bed, she smiled at the sight of her husband passed out sitting upright against the wall as if he were standing guard over their sleeping daughter like some knight. She walked over and gently shook him awake and watched with as his eyes fluttered open and he began to smile.

She motioned for him to follow her outside to the balcony and he nodded and followed. Jay smiled and said "What did you want to talk about?" and she sighed and said, "I know this isn't right to do but I'm going to wake her up and ask her to spill to us everything that happened". Jay said, "What's so bad about that? I mean we can't help her heal until we know what happened". Andrea said "I know but what if it sends her into further shock?" and Jay said, "Then we'll just have to snap her out of it...but first let's ask Aula".

The two adults walked back inside and down the stairs to the guest room where Aula was staying, and knocked on the door. The two entered the room and found Aula in meditation and sat patiently and waited for her to finish. She smiled and said, "You came here to ask me if the child is stable enough to talk, without her powers further degrading her health, correct?" Andrea said "Yes" and Aula said, "I'm sorry but she is not stable...so you two will have to temporarily stabilize her using the harmony you two possess". 

She continued and said "The same way you beat Luis is the same way you transfer energy...focus on the harmony in your hearts and focus it on hers...it'll work temporarily but later on, Carlos will have to be the one to fully heal her as they are bound". Andrea nodded and said "well share what we find later on" before exiting the room and heading back upstairs. She entered the room and kneeled down beside the bed and took her daughter's hand in hers before closing her eyes. Andrea focused on the pure harmony and then pictured the image of her daughter getting well which caused her and Victoria to be enveloped in purple energy.

After a few minutes, the purple energy subsided and Victoria's eyes fluttered open. She smiled and said, "Mom and Dad, I missed you guys so much". They smiled and leaned over to hug their daughter before they sat down on the floor next to the bed with frowns, which alarmed Victoria. She looked at them and said "What's wrong?" and Andrea looked down and said, "I have no right to ask this of you, but me and Jay need to know exactly what happened before you got here". Victoria sighed and said "It's okay...I've been wanting to get it off my chest" before joining her parents on the floor. She said, "It all started on my 18th birthday in the morning when both of you scared the hell out of me as I was walking into the kitchen to see what you guys had for me". Victoria smiled and said, "You guys always had a habit of going over the top for my birthdays with things like fireworks, an entire carnival and even renting the entire school out for a giant party and making my teachers dress up as clowns". 

Andrea and Jay looked at each other with surprised looks before Victoria smiled and said "But that day you removed the bond that you guys set up to limit my powers and told me to go crazy... afterward you gave me some keys to a brand new car outside and I hugged you both". Tears began to trickle down Victoria's cheeks as she said "That's when the skies turned red and the gods popped up and said "Agathor had returned using powers from a far future version of me and that it was inevitable since the day I was birthed". She continued and said, "then the gods told me that I was more powerful than both of you and Carlos and that I'd have to be hidden somewhere at once".

Victoria broke into tears and Andrea acted immediately and held her daughter in her arms and said "It's okay, we can stop for now...just rest, I've got you, sweetie". After several minutes she calmed down and sat back up and said "Let's continue before I lose my strength". She continued and said "My mother teleported me outside the city with Carlos and disabled my powers...I watched helplessly as you and Dad fought him with the other gods and at first you tired him out but then he fired a beam that disintegrated Dad and the other gods".

Victoria teared up again and said "a-and t-then he shot mom down and I was so upset I broke through the bond and went to her and he laughed at me and taunted me before he took grandma, Paula, and great grandma and disintegrated them in front of me". Victoria screamed in agony before saying "I can still hear them screaming, begging for me to help them and there wasn't a damn thing I could do". Victoria struggled but managed to say, "before you took your last breath and turned into stardust, you told me to find the forbidden book and then go back in time and find another version of you and dad. 

"We used the book to adapt our power since the stars and sun were imploding, and I fired a shot at him that disintegrated this entire city of Houston and it still didn't kill him but it drained me like a battery". Victoria smiled and said, "Carlos pulled me and him to safety and we left through a time portal and woke up here in a field". Andrea and Jay looked at each other wide-eyed before pulling Victoria into a tight hug which in turn caused her to start crying again.