I stumble to my feet, wobbling all the way.

I step up nervously, knowing that once this battle starts, it won't end until one of is gone.

I'm prepared for it.

I want it.

I stand in my living room, staring at the thing that has been haunting my dreams since I was a teenager. Maybe even before. I feel as if he was my boogeyman. He's no longer the boogeyman. I'm not afraid of him, not in a debilitating way.

I bring my hand up to my nose, feeling the warmth of my own blood.

He smirks at me from across the room.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes." I say without hesitation.

"Then let's begin."

I sneer at her as I see his arms lift. I lift my arms as well. A dark, abysmal energy shoots out of his hands, while a pearlescent white light shoots out of mine. The forces collide, causing a backlash that causes the house to rock on its foundation.

And so it begins.

                                                                                      -

24 hours ago...

"Lift with your arm." Jason says as he teaches Eva and Charlotte some kind of self-defense move. He no doubt learned it from Troy. It's familiar to what Porter taught me and what Dad taught him. Jason lifts Eva's arm, "Higher. You want to break noses, not tap them."

I watch them from the porch as they are training in the backyard. It's nearly sundown in Endor Hills. I can feel some kind of tension in the air. It's like I can feel the battle, even smell it at times.

"He's right," I say calling their attention, "You need more arc. Imagine punching Londan Morton."

Eva and Charlotte smirk as their arms hit straight on. I smile at them. Jason seems impressed.

"I think I deserve a drink. What do you have?" Eva asks.

"Juice and milk." I smile.

Charlotte and Eva exchange skeptical expressions before staring at me again.

"David has some God-awful beer in the fridge, behind the juice."

"Classy." Charlotte chortles as they pass me.

Jason stands in the twilight with his hands in his pocket. I gesture to the swing on the porch and we both move to it. I take the first seat and he plops down beside me, causing the swing to lurch.

"Oh...kay, that was something." Jason examines the swing, "So, we're really doing this. Finally?"

I nod.

"It's weird you know. I always thought we'd be surprised and it'd come from nowhere."

"Jason..."

"Whatever you're going to say—"

"I need you to take Micah and the kids away from here."

Jason stares at me with a look of confusion on his face before anger settles, "You're not sidelining me. Not from this."

"Jace—"

"No!" He says angrily, "Do you remember what you said to me all those years ago?"

"Vaguely."

He laughs, "You're not just Eva's friend. You've always been up front with me and I feel like I reciprocate that."

I nod.

"Cut the crap."

I chuckle at him. Leave it to Jason Gentry to turn my words from years ago on me.

"You want a babysitter? Find one. You don't get a choice in this. This world is just as much mine as yours."

"You know the risks right? You know—"

"I know every single thing that could happen."

I nod and chuckle to myself, "Well-played Gentry."

"So...what do we do now? It's sudden death, right? Shouldn't we be...doing what we always wanted to do?"

"It's okay to not want to. I prefer to think I'll kick ass and not take names. I'm bad at names." I say causing both of us to laugh. I grab his hand and look off into the brush just past my backyard, "It all looks different."

"Yeah."

"Not to be cliché, but you're not alone." He smiles.

"Asshole." I say as I stand, "Get some rest, okay?"

"Sure thing Mom." He jokes.

I shake my head as I walk away from him.

It all looks different.

                                                                                        -  

18 hours later...

Eva, Charlotte and I pass around the popcorn bowl as The Perks of Being a Wallflower plays in the background. I take a long swig of my wine and take in their presence. The twins are asleep in their rooms and David is out with Parker, Porter and Jason.

We've decided to make a night of it.

Who knows what could happen tomorrow.

"Remember when you faked illness to get away from your future husband?" Eva asks with a smirk, "Oh, and when Charlotte got that really bad perm. I thought she was a poodle for three days."

Charlotte and I both laugh. The memories we've shared are more than enough to sustain us. We've been together for so long now that the memories don't really go anywhere. They linger. I laugh as I stand wobbly and move to a shelf in the corner. I pick through the books and grab a photo album.

"What are you doing?" Charlotte asks peeking over the couch.

I come back and flop down beside them, "A while ago, with my supernatural-free life, I made a photo album with our memories."

"You had entirely too much time on your hands." Charlotte scoffs. She grabs the book and flips it open to the first page. Her eye go wide as the first picture is a picture of us at her sixth birthday party. She's wearing a frilly blue checkered dress with splotches of ice cream matted to it. Her Mom was pissed for weeks, or so I'm told. She glares at me, "Where did you get this!?"

"Turns out your Mom is just as sentimental as I am."

"Remind me to kill her."

I chuckle and pick up my glass of wine, "I'm glad we didn't die. Well, it didn't stick."

"It just shows how death can't even beat us." Charlotte smiles, "We literally cheat death."

"Says the fairy."

"Says the fairy."

We all chuckle at it.

"I just want to say—"

"Eva, no." Charlotte says sadly.

"But—"

"She's right." I say with a sigh, "This isn't a goodbye. We've survived worse."

"Have we?"

"You survived me. When I wasn't—I never thanked you guys. I was horrible and spiraling and I felt like I came back to myself because of you two and all the people in my life."

"Okay and I don't get to speak?" Eva asks, "Anyone else afraid?"

"I am."

"I'm not." I nod, "Not of the same things. The Nowhere Man is afraid and not just of me. He's afraid of us. He's been trying to alienate me from everyone and get me where he wants me. He knew that he had to turn you away from me and vice versa to ever have a hold on me."

"That's...profound." Charlotte says with surprise.

"You guys are my tethers. All of you. I'm not afraid of him. I don't fear the darkness or the boogeyman."

"Then what are you afraid of?" Eva asks.

"Losing my tethers."

The room goes silent and only the actors on the movies are talking. We all snap out of it when there is a knock at the door. I yell that it's open, figuring David would stumble in later, and Nora appears. She looks around the room and we stare back.

"I just—I didn't mean to interrupt."

"You're not." I say with a smile.

"Want to join?" Eva asks.

I stare at her, wondering what's going through her mind. It's always been a very palpable tension between them. But now I can't see any of it. There's this openness now.

"Really?" Nora asks, "You would like me to join you? Do you have a stake?"

We laugh.

"No," Charlotte chortles, "We have more than enough and you know you want to."

"I do need a drink."

I laugh as she takes a glass and plops down on the living chair beside us.

"So, are we talking about things with penises?"

Laughter erupts as we take in her question. Before we can enjoy it, there is a noticeable and collective noise, like doors opening and shutting. We all move to the window, Eva and I sharing one window and Charlotte and Nora sharing one.

I watch as people leave their houses and go to stand outside, staring into the sky.

"What—what are they doing?" Charlotte asks.

One by one they all turn and stare at us.

"A spell." I growl.

                                                                                          -    

David, Parker, Jason and Porter laugh and drink at a table in the bar.

The three of them have been trading stories about the past few years. The bar happens to be full tonight. They barely got a table. The noise is comparable to their conversation.

"So," Jason directs his question to David, "Married life? Fatherhood? I wouldn't have pegged you."

"Why?" David says with confusion.

"Because you were a manwhore in high school." Parker says trying to find the bottom of his glass. He stares over at David with a smirk, "You're better now."

"I wasn't so bad."

"And you were an asshole." Porter interjects.

"Okay, is this gang up on David night?"

"All we're saying is that you weren't the marrying type." Parker says turning his attention to Jason, "So, what about you? Were there any hot hunter-chicks out there?"

Jason smirks with a shrug, "A few. We moved around too much to get invested." His eyes study Parker, "What about you and my sister?"

"What about it?"

"Come on, man," David says, "We can all see she's got a thing for you."

Parker looks between them before asking, "Really?"

"Okay, how did we start talking about this? Can we go back to sports or guns or something?" David asks, "I should call Perry."

They all stare at him.

"What? Okay, I haven't really been away from him and the kids this long. I'm a boring, married man." He growls, "It's not bad. I like being a married man with responsibility. You guys are right. I'm not the same."

"Nothing to be ashamed about." Porter chuckles, "I'm thinking about popping the question to Charlotte."

"For like four years."

"Okay, for reals this time." Porter says with a smirk, "After all this is over, I want to do this. I've asked her parents and consulted Mom."

"Congrats!" Jason says with a smirk.

"You guys really think Eva is into me again?" Parker asks.

"Guys," David says as he looks around the bar, "Anyone notice how quiet it is."

The guys look around and notice that everyone is sitting at their tables, or standing, staring straight in front of them. When the guys notice, everyone stares at them one-by-one.

"I think it may be time to leave." Jason says slowly.

"Right." David says gathering his stuff.

The four men gather their things and hurry out of the bar.

                                                                                            -      

12 hours ago...

I stand in the window, staring out onto the street where a group of lifeless people have gathered to stare at my house. Their eyes immediately snap to me and I shut the curtain. It's unsettling as I turn to survey the damage.

Everyone piled into our house, most in sleeping bags. Eva and Charlotte seem to be alcoholic comas. Porter and Charlotte are curled up on the floor. Eva is not too far. She's lying with Parker. It looks innocent and it makes me smile. Micah has returned as is laying on the other side of the couch, drooling the slightest bit. Jason is on the couch, snoring loudly.

Frederick is laying on his stomach in the doorway of the kitchen.

Max, Penny and Peyton have taken the master bedroom while Carolyn and Nate are in Micah's bed.

My eyes land on David, who is clutching air. We've taken a spot in the corner of the room and he tosses, mumbling something I can't hear. I smile at him.

"Dora." Nora says calling attention from the stairs. I walk to her and stare at her. She gestures to the window, "Bitchcraft. She's his minion."

"The one who killed Lucas?" I ask.

"I couldn't save my brothers. I hated them. I loved them. Family is so complicated." She says with more vulnerability than I'm used to. Her eyes quickly light on fire, "I get to kill her."

I stare at her again. This is her fight, too. She wants to murder the bitch who murdered her brother. She gets to do that. I get to let her do that.

"Fine." I nod.

Nora stares at me before a sigh leaves her lips, "I screwed with your life and that was...wrong. I'm a bitch, what can I say?"

I chuckle.

"But you know how I feel. Everyone here tolerated my brother but you—you loved him." Nora says with a smile, "It's how I know you're going to win this."

"Suicide mission. You ready to do that?"

"Let's not kid ourselves. I'm just in this because my Brothers died for this asshole."

"What will you do after this?" I ask.

She rolls her eyes, "Don't get mushy."

I laugh as something stirs above us. I see my Mother coming down the stairs with Peyton. Peyton rubs her eyes and my Mother smiles at us, even to Nora. She settles at the bottom of the stairs.

"Good morning." I smile.

"Good morning." Penny smiles before her attention turns to Nora, "Nora."

"Henny-Pen."

"Mommy, I'm hungry." Peyton whines.

"Want to go to the kitchen and get some cereal? Kids like cereal, right?" Nora asks.

"You're pretty." Peyton says grabbing Nora's hand and pulling her away.

Penny looks on at them.

"It's safe." I say as my eyes survey her, "You didn't have sex in my bed did you? Because I'm literally throwing the whole bed out. And demolishing the room."

"You're a horrible little man."

I smirk at her, "How are you feeling?" I ask.

Her eyes scrutinize me, "I should be asking you the same." She says reaching out and touching my cheek, "Did you get any sleep?"

"There were naps."

"You're afraid?"

I've been saying I'm not afraid. And for the most part it's true but there are parts of me that will always be so scared. She can see those without looking too hard. I know she can. Under her glare, I feel sixteen again.

Hell, I feel ten.

"I don't want anyone else to die. And I don't want to die."

"People will die. It's a fact of life. What they die for and why they die is the important part." She says with a smile, "You can't save everyone."

"Isn't that the point of this?" I ask.

"I know what you want me to do." Penny says with a sigh, "You want me to take the kids and Micah and run."

"And Carolyn and Nate."

"No." Penny says with a frown, "You and Porter won't do this alone. You were right. I left you and Porter vulnerable to all of this. Maybe had I—I don't know told you—"

"There are some things that can't be changed. Destiny is destiny but how we get there is important. Why we fight and die is important."

"Your Grandmother used to say that. You remind me of her. You and Porter have grown into such amazing people. Sometimes I see myself in you two and at other times I see my Mother. And I see your Father every time I see you."

"I don't supposed saying it's what Dad would want is going to help, right?"

"No." Penny laughs, "But I do have ideas."

"Get everyone together. We need to go over battle strategy."

Penny nods as I ascend the stairs.

I hope I'll get more sleep soon.

                                                                                              -        

15 mins ago...

It's almost sundown once again. There is a group congregating outside my house on both sides. Luckily Nate and Carolyn made off with the kids a while ago. The chatter upstairs is too much for me.

I was so sure of this and I still am but once this starts, my first priority needs to be on stopping him, making sure the Nowhere Man doesn't succeed. I'm shaking. My hands can't concentrate and I find solace in the basement. The noise is still there but it's so much quieter. The conversations are masked.

I sit with my head between my legs, trying to calm myself down. I'm trying to tell myself that this is all just routine and I've done this before. And all I have to do is end this.

I just have to end it.

"Hey."

I jump, not hearing anyone come down the stairs. I stare over at the stairs and see that David is standing with a grey leather jacket. I know the jacket well. I got it for him for our first anniversary. He takes one look at me and moves to me, engulfing me in his arms.

I love the heat of his body. I can feel every single fiber of my body tingling. I've learned a long time ago that we're soulmates and it's never more apparent than times like this, when the mere touch of him can stop my shaking.

He can calm me.

He kisses me on the top of my head, "We've done this before, right? You get scared right before you kick someone's ass. We tell each other how much we love each other and everything turns out the way it's supposed to." He says into the top of my head.

"I love you."

It's all I can say. I can't form any other words. I can feel his breath catch before he chuckles.

"I should say it back but it wouldn't be enough. There are no words at all that would do justice to what I feel for you." David says with a level of vulnerability that makes me want to cry. He notices and pulls away staring into my eyes, "I'm coming home to you. I will always come back to you. Sorry babe, you're stuck with me."

I chuckle at him before taking a breath, "Todd." I blurt.

"What?" He smiles.

"I want the husky to be named Todd. It's not a normal dog's name but when have we ever been normal?"

He blinks at me, "I think Todd is good."

"Just good?"

"A for Effort?"

"You're an asshole, you know?"

"I'm your asshole. Or, the other way around."

"You're gross." I say growing quiet. I quickly realize the noise has died down, "It's time."

I begin walking to the stairs but stop and turn around, running to him and kissing him. It feels like the first time all over again. The taste of his lips, like pineapple, makes me shiver. The touch of his hands makes me body warm. It takes an act of congress to pull myself away.

I take a deep breath and turn around, ascending the stairs. I head towards the living room where everyone is standing. I take a look around. Each of them have their own weapons and I smile towards them.

They can take care of themselves.

"I vote that you make a speech." Porter says loudly.

I look around at them once more.

"I think we can all agree that since the minute the supernatural hoopla broke out, there's been something lurking around us, around me. He's been manipulating every single thing in our lives. I keep saying he...but he's not a he. We've all lost a lot, a lot of good people have died. And a few more might." I take a pause, "I'm looking around and I see people who are drastically different from the people I once knew. These people are harder, tougher and able. I've spent a lot of time wondering how I could save all of you, how I could shield you. I can't."

David puts his arm on my shoulder.

"We get the choice tonight to remove the darkness that lurks in the shadows. We get to tip the scales. I'm going into this with the expressed intention of ending him. The Nowhere Man. The Devil. The Abyss. We do this together. He's afraid of us. He's always been afraid of us. To quote a very sexy television show, 'there's one thing stronger than him and that's us.'."

I walk over and levitate a riot stick into my hands. I hand it to David.

"So, one question." Nora asks. I nod to her, "Where did you get the coat and the boots?"

I look down at my short leather jacket and dark jeans over combat boots. I roll my eyes as I bypass them. I head out of the door and descend the front steps. The group is standing in the street and I stop in the middle of the yard. The dazed group has a subgroup in them, who are wholly lucid. There is a woman that David has identified as Dora and a man Nora has described as Wynn, her vampire boyfriend.

The Nowhere Man stands in the middle of them, smirking at me.

I know when the fighting starts, I'll need to lure him away.

"I was wondering how this would play out. If I'd have to come to you. If you'd come alone. But this is so much better." He says with amusement, "It's a shame. You could have been so powerful, so useful. There's still time."

I chuckle to myself. As if I'd ever become a dark, evil thing like him. I'm never becoming him and if I have it my way, I'll never have to deal with him.

"He doesn't look so powerful." Dora says as she sizes me up, "Are we sure he's the One?"

I raise my hand in the air, chanting a counter spell in my head. The group of dazed people behind them slowly turns and begins to leave. The whole town will be leaving.

"Don't worry, the only thing you'll be sure of is maggots eating your insides." Nora hisses.

"Oh, come on Nora. You detested your brothers."

"Doesn't matter. I'll squash your heart in my hands to show you how it feels."

The Nowhere Man clears his throat, "Now that the pissing contest is over, what do you say we start this?"

"Oh God yes."

The subgroup rushes towards us. I realize that they're not all witches. They're all different supernaturals. Just before the two sides can clash, I raise my hand, causing a gateway to open, transporting both sides to a bigger playing field. I've also added a spell that lets my group circle their gang.

I feel an immediate headache as the Nowhere Man advances towards me. I quickly whip up another portal and as he reaches me, we both fall through it. We both appear inside my house and I roll to a stop. As I look up, I see he's already standing.

I stumble to my feet, wobbling all the way.

I step up nervously, knowing that once this battle starts, it won't end until one of is gone.

I'm prepared for it.

I want it.

I stand in my living room, staring at the thing that has been haunting my dreams since I was a teenager. Maybe even before. I feel as if he was my boogeyman. He's no longer the boogeyman. I'm not afraid of him, not in a debilitating way.

I bring my hand up to my nose, feeling the warmth of my own blood.

He smirks at me from across the room.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes." I say without hesitation.

"Then let's begin."

I sneer at her as I see his arms lift. I lift my arms as well. A dark, abysmal energy shoots out of his hands, while a pearlescent white light shoots out of mine. The forces collide, causing a backlash that causes the house to rock on its foundation.

And so it begins.