Gaia's Champion Ch. 21

"No need to get down on yourself, Luke. We weren't sure if such beings would be weak to said magics. Now that we know they are..." Jason started, before a loud scream interrupted what he was saying.

Not knowing what it was, everyone raced out to the source of it, which was happening out back. What they found was a sight the terrified the lot of them. On the other side of the barrier, a throng of the children had gathered, and they were all laughing and chittering at a prone form on the ground. The Shaman shouted angrily at the children, trying to drive them off, but it had no effect, as the children knew they couldn't be hurt.

"Gaia, help us! Bert!" Sheena shouted as she raced to the man.

She reached into her Shamanistic powers, tapping into Gaia's strength. Letting it flow freely through her, she placed her hands on Bert's chest, hoping and praying that she was in time. She felt through the man, using her magic, searching for what had caused his distress. Sheena found it a few moments later, in the form of blood clots that had formed in his arteries.

The tiny threads of energy she poured into him sought out and disintegrated the clots that were responsible. Sheena poured more power into her healing, seeking out buildups and other potential problems in his veins. She plowed through those as well, clearing away any future blockages and thinning his blood as much as she could. Sheena was relieved when she saw Bert's breathing return to normal, and he blinked before he started moving.

"Easy there, Bert! Don't push yourself now! You just had a heart attack!" Jason told the man, kneeling at his side.

"I had the strangest dream! That I had seen..." he started before the childish gibbering caught his ear. Fear enveloped his face, and he scrambled away from the edge of the property. The children laughed at the group standing there and started pantomiming tearing them apart. They laughed even more, finding the whole morbid display funny, until Jason's anger flared, his Gaian magic rising within him.

"That's it! No more playing around!" Jason roared, and he made clenching motions with his hands.

Vines burst out of the ground as Gaia's power commanded them to move to Jason's will. They tangled around the children, or tried to at least. Sensing the danger, the children scattered, running as fast as they could from the roots and vines. One of the children was not so lucky, a little girl that had been dead for a while. She shrieked as the vines wrapped around her and held her fast, keeping her from escaping.

"Well, I at least got one of the little shits!" Jason growled. "The question is, what to do with her?"

"Try pushing her into the barrier, Jason," Emalia suggested.

"What would that do?" he wondered.

"Try it, babe. Who knows what could happen?" Phalmina stated, seeing where Emalia was going with this.

Jason shrugged and directed the vines to drag the girl into the barrier. Seeing what was happening, she shrieked in fear and defiance, not wanting to go through. The undead child would though, as Gaia's will poured through the vines and continued to drag her closer. She pulled against the roots holding her, trying to gnaw her way out, but Jason willed the vines to lift her upwards and off the ground.

Once she was clear, he sent a full picture of what the plant life was to do, and they did as he commanded. The vines pulled her back, away from the barrier, before flinging the girl forwards through the air. She screamed as she hurtled through the barrier, and she began falling apart, her undead body decaying at a rapid pace. Soon, all that remained of the little undead girl was a pile of ash and dust.

Before anyone had any time to remark on the pile, a blue mist swirled out from it, taking the shape of the little girl. Only this time, it was the little girl, as she would have looked when she was still alive. She stood there, looking around, like she was lost and did not understand where to go. It was clear that this girl had been dead for a long time, as her dress was styled like those at the start of the twentieth century.

"Mommy?" she called out, her ethereal voice ringing like a bell. "Mommy? Daddy?"

The group stared at her, at a loss and wondering what to do. A few moments later, other voices could be heard, but those of adults replying to her call.

"Mary? Mary, is that you??" a woman's voice cried out, joy evident in her tone.

"Mommy!" the girl cried out delightedly, and she ran towards the house.

Everyone turned and watched her progress as she moved to the structure. But that wasn't her destination. A ghostly portal had formed, one which led to somewhere that no one there knew. The girl cried happily as she ran to it and the two figures that waited on the other side.

She burst through the portal and ran into the arms of her parents, screaming with joy. Both the man and the woman kneeled and hugged her, drawing their daughter close. Though the image was a little washed out, everyone could see that they were crying too, happy to have their little girl back. They then looked up through the portal and waved, mouthing the words, 'Thank you!', before it faded from sight.

"Was that... was that..." Jason wondered.

"The afterlife? Yes. It is the place where we will go, when our task here is done," the Wolf Shaman replied.

"Not if I consume your souls first!" a feminine voice keened, causing everyone to turn back to the forest. Before them, just on the other side of the barrier, stood Felicitae, armored with her new magic and looking supremely pissed.

"Says who you'll get your grubby mitts on them?" Phalmina asked, bringing her fairy magic out.

"Me and the darkness which gives me the ability to do this!" she screamed as she drew upon her Dark Magic and fired it at the barrier. The barrier as it was held without question, but a small area of it flickered as the Dark Magic accosted it. The flicker was momentary, but enough to cause some concern among the Gaians. The children moved forward, wondering if they could help their mother at all.

"No! Go back to the grove, now!" she ordered them, and the children obeyed, sulking that their fun time was over. The magical attack was doing little, if anything, to harm the barrier, so the Dark Nymph backed away, stopping her attack.

"You took one of my children from me! I will kill you for that!" Felicitae raged.

Her screams were powered by the magic she wielded, which affected the Fairies to some degree. They held their hands over their ears, making pained faces at the sound of her voice. It affected Jason and Sheena as well, but not nearly as much. Sheena focused her magic and sent a bolt of energy into the Dark Nymph, knocking her off her feet.

"Are you quite done yet? Or are you going to stand there and keep screaming at us like the impotent and pathetic bitch that you are?" Sheena scoffed.

"No one has insulted me like that and lived to speak of it!" Felicitae threatened.

"Well then, consider me the first person to do that. Besides, the little girl wasn't yours anyway," Sheena rebutted.

"She was mine!"

"No, she wasn't! You stole her from her family to add to your own twisted little family! But you don't have her love and devotion, do you? All you've done is enslave her body and soul to your twisted machinations!" Karla fired at her, standing with Sheena on the matter.

"Indeed! All they were is twisted caricatures of who they'd been in life, and right now, they are no longer alive. They are not children, they're slaves!" Phalmina accused.

"SILENCE!" Felicitae raged. "They weren't taken, they were lost! All lost children belong to me, and there is nothing that can be done to take them from me! You can..."

"All right, that's enough!" Jason growled, using the same trick on the Dark Nymph that he had used on the children.

He'd had more than his fill of rants and long tirades and wanted it to just end. The vines and roots burst from the ground, wrapping up Felicitae before she could act. She yelled and snarled in defiance, trying to shake free of her bonds. Less than thirty seconds later, she had broken free to everyone's surprise. She stared at Jason hatefully before she spoke again.

"You have just crossed a dangerous enemy, Druid! Consider this your death warrant!" she seethed before she turned and ran into the forest, leaving everyone behind.

"How in the name of Gaia was she able to break free like that? I mean, magically enhanced roots and vines don't just snap that easily!" Sheena worried.

"Down here, look!" Luke replied, gesturing to the spot where the Nymph was held. Lying on the ground were the remnants of the roots and vines that once held her, but they weren't just snapped and broken. They were rotting right in front of their eyes, falling apart at a rapid pace. The sight of it was more than enough to startle everyone, including the souls of the Shaman.

"She has grown even more powerful than I had imagined," the Wolf Shaman said.

"What do you mean?" Sheena asked as worry was evident in her voice.

"She has changed from the Nymph I knew her as. When we faced her as we enacted the ritual, she was nowhere near that strong. We were able to contain and delay her, because she was still tied to the Great Spirit. She hadn't let the darkness take her so far into it," the leader Shaman replied.

"We'll get her this time," Jason said, his voice going like steel.

"How? Apologies Great Envoy, but powerful as you are, she's more powerful than you. She's far stronger than the five of us were in life!" the Wolf Shaman told him.

"In case you haven't been told, I'm not the only Druid that is in the area," Jason replied as he pulled out his cell phone.

"Nor is he the only one who is capable of fighting back," Xaera replied, embracing her Troll magic, displaying it for them to see.

"There are... more of you?" The Wolf Shaman asked, his voice rising with hope and wonder.

"Yup! I'd say this is an all hands on deck kind of situation," Jason said, as he dialed a number.

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Amy and Eva were out at their local Starbucks, enjoying themselves a morning out. They were sitting at a table, chattering about everyday events and what was happening in the news. They had already been out and run their errands, grabbing what groceries they needed, before stepping off to do some clothes shopping.

Both women needed serious upgrades to their wardrobes, as a good portion of what they had was grossly outdated. One thing church looked down upon was women looking to dress more with the times and go around looking like proper women. They viewed such women as tramps and whores, unworthy of their beliefs.

Since breaking with the church, Amy and Eva had cast aside all these stale notions. They were tired of their lives being dictated by a bunch of controlling assholes who wanted nothing more than complete submission from the women of their congregation. Now that such a lifestyle was no longer in the cards for either of the Marston women, they had embraced life as they wished it to be, not as they were told it should be.

"What?" Amy asked, seeing a faraway look in her mother's eyes.

"It's nothing," Eva replied, blushing slightly.

"Come on, mom. I know that you're thinking about something, so spill," Amy snickered.

"No, it's just... I never thought I'd have the life I'm living right now. When I married your father, I wasn't in a good place, but hoped to get there. Here, specifically. What I didn't know was that I traded one cage for another. But now, with yours and Jason's help, I'm finally here," Eva sighed.

"I'm glad to have helped you get here, mom," Amy replied with a smile.

"It's good to hear that! Now, how are your job prospects looking, young lady?" Eva questioned.

"It's kind of... meh. I mean, there are job openings, but it's all entry level stuff that high schoolers would be doing," Amy scoffed.

"We all have to start somewhere," Eva replied as she sipped on her mocha Frappuccino.

"Speaking of which, how's Darren's hunt going? I haven't really seen him doing much aside from lounging at home!" Amy responded.

"He's been looking. That young man is going to be a father soon, so looking for something to help him generate income was a no-brainer. Besides, I'm sure that Daelina will help motivate him, as she too is looking for a job," Eva told her daughter.

"What? How?"

"Lucas. He's been busy speaking with some friends to help create some ID's for all three fairies. With the three of them involved with someone to some degree, they'll need them," Eva stated matter-of-factly.

"Well, that's good to hear! I'd hate to think my little brother was being a lazy ass," Amy snickered.

"Darren is industrious enough to where he gets things done. That is, when Lina lets him out of bed long enough to get things done," Eva giggled.

"Ugh! Mom, did you have to?" Amy groaned.

"What? It's not like you're a teenager with virgin ears anymore. Besides, I think it's healthy that your brother continually empties his balls. Why do you think he was so cranky since he hit puberty?" Eva questioned.

"OK, TMI! I don't need to know that! Not about my brother!" Amy protested.

"So, if I was to change the context to speaking about Jason, you'd listen?" Eva asked while quirking an eyebrow.

"Yes! Much better, thank you!" Amy sighed in relief.

"As you well know how men can be, they need to 'fire one off' from time to time. If they don't, then they often get grumpy and moody, snapping at people for the tiniest things," Eva explained.

"Why was dad so snappy? Didn't you... do those things for him?" Amy asked.

"After I had you and Darren, your father's interest in me... waned. His own damn fault, as I was more than happy to... relieve the pressure," Eva smirked.

"Yeah, it is his fault! Thankfully, Jason is nothing like that. He's very... vocal in his... needs," Amy smirked.

"I'd have thought that Sheena and Phalmina would be against that sort of thing," Eva mused.

"Not really. They let me or Liz in to play, but it's only been twice since Sheena showed up. They realize that even though Liz and I are a thing, we do... enjoy male attention now and then," Amy blushed.

"I'll bet! Speak of the devil!" Eva exclaimed as her phone rang. She saw it was Jason who was calling and answered. "Jason! How are you?"

"What is it, mom?" Amy asked as she watched Eva's smile fade away, replaced by worry and fear.

"Oh damn! We're on our way!" Eva replied before she hung up. "Grab your coffee, dear, because we've got to go!"

"Mom, what's going on?" Amy questioned as she stood, following her mother out of the Starbucks. Eva filled her daughter in on what had just happened back at the house, and Amy's jaw hit the ground.

"So, our enemy has finally revealed herself. If we're to stand a chance against her, we will need everyone, including Darren and Daelina," Amy stated.

"I'm of the same mind! We go home, collect those two lovebirds and get to the house. I know we haven't had much training, but whatever we can do to help will get us through this," Eva said.

"You got that right! What do you think Darren has been doing with his day so far?" Amy wondered.

"Why not call him and find out?"

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Earlier that morning...

Darren stretched as the sun hit his eyes and blinked as he woke up. He took a deep breath and sighed as he came awake, letting his body come to life. He smiled as he looked down to see his future wife, Daelina, snoozing contentedly next to him. Her wings were out and tinkling gently as she slept. She had a small smile on her face that she always wore while asleep, which Darren found endearing.

Moving as quietly as he could manage, Darren slid out of bed and padded around to the door. He looked down at the sleeping fairy and smiled before he left the room. Though part of him wanted to wake her up and have her, he felt he should let her sleep. When he walked downstairs, he headed straight for the kitchen, following the aroma of fresh coffee.

Darren walked over and picked up a mug, before pouring himself some java. He then spotted a note that was pasted on the fridge as he went hunting for cream. It was from his mother, saying that she and Amy got an early start, heading out to get groceries and some other things. He was happy to see their lives returning to what the world viewed as normal, just as he was happy about how his life was turning out.

After stirring in some sugar, Darren walked over to the living room, where he had left his laptop. He booted it up and checked his e-mail and online resume. He still had no leads, and no one had gotten back to him about potential job offers. Darren supposed that his devotion to the church had hobbled him in some ways, more than he liked. It wasn't all bad though, as things had panned out for the Marston family, to an extent.

He smiled, thinking how the life insurance his father had had pretty much set up the family for a while yet. Though the money wasn't in the millions of dollars, it was enough to keep them comfortable. Eva was already taking some online courses to learn about investing, and Darren considered the same approach. If it was invested wisely, all three of them could be set up for life.

He was mulling over his options when a knock at the door startled him. Darren was thankful that he'd already drank some of his coffee or his hand would have been coated in the liquid. He looked down at himself and though he was clad only in boxers, his morning wood had deflated. Standing up, we walked over to see who was knocking at this hour. He opened the door and was greeted by the sight of Elizabeth, standing there expectantly.

"Elizabeth! Good morning! What brings you by?" Darren greeted.

"Morning Darren. Is Amy in?" she asked, peering past him.

"I'm afraid that she's out right now with my mom. Doing some shopping for groceries and other things," Darren informed her. "You can come in and wait for her to come back if you'd like."

"I think I'll do that!" Elizabeth smiled at him as he opened the door to let her in. She walked on by and took her shoes off before heading for the living room.

"Can I offer you a cup of coffee?" Darren wondered, remembering his manners.

"I'd love one!" Elizabeth replied, smiling. Darren retreated to the kitchen before he came back out with a steaming mug of java. He handed it to Elizabeth as he set down the cream and sugar, before taking a seat to finish his own coffee.

"So, how's life been treating you?" Elizabeth asked, curious about how Darren was, now that he was free.

"Honestly, it feels... amazing! Sure, there are some downs, but hey, what life isn't with its ups and downs?" Darren posited.

"Sounds like you've been digging into some philosophy lately," Elizabeth snickered.

"Jason has loaned me some books and they've been... eye opening, to say the least. So much knowledge and wisdom is out there, but I was stupid enough to think everything I needed to know could be found in one place, one book," Darren scoffed.

"A lot can happen and change, when you're no longer bound by certain rules that tell you how you should be. You should be the one to discover who and what you should become, rather than take direction from others," Elizabeth agreed as she fixed her coffee.

"I don't mind being pointed in a direction, as long as the steps I take are my own," Darren smiled.

"Spoken like someone who's awake," the swarthy woman agreed.

"Oh, and I wanted to apologize," Darren told her between sips of coffee.

"But... you've already done that!"

"I'm talking about all that wrong shit I did back in school. I said some pretty mean and hurtful things to you back then. I'm sorry for all of that," Darren told her. Elizabeth blinked a few times before she smiled and leaned forward, taking his hand and squeezing it.