Chapter Twenty-Four - The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

The next morning... 


Naturally when people are unable to sleep too much at night they wake up feeling groggy, exhausted, and unable to focus. Strangely enough, no one in Kethrin Manor woke up this way, despite their nightmares the night before. After the rest of the night being pleasant dreams, Keera woke up and looked around. She somehow found herself in her room despite the fact that she had fallen asleep on the couch with her mother.


It took Keera less than a moment to realize that Annabelle had carried her all the way up the stairs and put her in her bed so she could sleep comfortably. Even though she didn't see this happen, Keera remembered times when she was younger and had fallen asleep on the couch, loveseat, massage chair, and other unorthodox places, and her mother had always carried her to her bed. After a few moments to wake up, Keera got dressed and walked out of her room.

On her way out of the bedroom Keera saw Tom and Andy walking out of his room, Andy wearing an outfit that looked like one of Tom's shirts. 'Mom's not gonna like this.', she thought to herself, then quickly walked down the stairs to the kitchen as to avoid any possible confrontation between Tom and Annabelle, as once was enough. Twice, actually, as Keera had a photographic memory and remembered the time Annabelle yelled at Tom for not believing her about the unicorn about four years before. On her way down the stairs she saw John and Scarlett standing in the foyer of the house, still wearing their sleeping clothes.

"Hey Keera." Scarlett said, smiling. "John found this DVD of my parents! We watched it last night because John and I had nightmares! It showed them hugging me as a toddler, telling me they loved me. It was... the most amazing thing I've ever seen in my life!"

"That's awesome, Scarlett!" Keera said. "So where's the DVD now?"

"A special safe in our room." John replied. "Nothing will happen to that. Maybe later we can show you, Keera! If you're not busy. As long as that's okay with Scarlett of course!"

"Of course it's okay with me!" Scarlett replied. "Later on, alright, Keera?"

Keera nodded and the two walked upstairs. Apparently they were going to go back to sleep, or do something else that Keera did not want to think about. Something they said, however, got to Keera. John and Scarlett had nightmares, and so did Annabelle and herself. Chalking it up to concidence, Keera kept walking and found herself in the kitchen. There she saw Kelly and Mirabelle joking around as they were cooking breakfast.

"Hey there." Keera said. "What's the grub today?'

"It's waffles. I can't cook anything else." Kelly said. "Remember that time I tried to make mac and cheese?"

"Yeah, at least we got a new kitchen. And, Keera you remember that ride in the fire truck when you were... twelve, right?" Mirabelle said, smiling. She then took over cooking in an effort to prevent another epic disaster. "I'll, uh... I'll do that. You just go over there and sit next to Keera. The blue in your clothes will... uh... enhance the blue in hers or something."

Kelly gave Mirabelle a smirk then walked over to the table to sit. A humorous thought came to her, that she was capable of solving unbelievable mysteries yet failed miserably when it came to cooking food. 'You win some, you lose some', she thought to herself.

"Has anyone seen mom?" Keera asked. "Not you Mira, but Annabelle. Has anyone seen her?"

"She was upstairs in her room last time I heard from her." Kelly said, "She was doing research on something. I don't know what, really. Ever since the whole argument with Tom Annie's become more cynical, distant. It might be a while before she goes back to being herself."

"Or it could get worse." Mirabelle said. "I for one am not the person to leave things behind in the past. I'm still having nightmares about the meteor shower, and the evil unicorn, and everything. In fact I had a nightmare last night, and so did Kelly."

"You too?" Keera asked. "You both had nightmares?! That is very strange. Mom and I had nightmares, and so did John and Scarlett! They just told me in the foyer! From the looks of it, we ALL had nightmares last night! Every single one of us!"

 
"Except Tom." Keera, Mirabelle, and Kelly turned around to look at Annabelle, who was standing in the doorway. "I bet you anything he didn't have one. And I think I know why. Where is our resident hat-wearer?"

"I saw him upstairs with his new friend." Keera said. "Why do you think Tom didn't have a nightmare last night?"

"Because, he's immune to magic. I've been on the internet for nearly an hour researching things regarding dreams and magic spells. Each of us was affected by a spell that caused us to have those nightmares, and since Tom's immune to magic, he could have been sleeping next to the source of the nightmares and not even be touched by them."

"Why do you think it's magic?" Keera asked. "It could all just be a massive, massive, never before seen coincidence."

"Because I've felt it before, four years ago. It's the same feeling as when that bi... uh, Mary Knight attacked my dreams when she showed herself that week. I don't know why I didn't see it before. And there is something else." Annabelle then turned around to look out the window. "Everything's been different since Tom brought Andy into the house. He's changed, I've changed, everything's changed. I bet you a thousand dollars she is the cause of the nightmares. I have a feeling she IS Nightmare."

"What do you want to do, Annabelle? Confront her?!" Kelly said.

"No. I need to gather more evidence." Annie responded, "And that is why I'm asking for your help, Kel. Will you help me find the truth about this woman?"

Kelly was stopped short. She loved Annabelle, in more ways than one, but could not help her do what she had asked. She knew Annie had changed, she'd become more cynical and angry since the argument with Tom, and if Andy was vindicated, Annabelle would probably not listen, and still peg her for being the cause.

"I have to work on some other Private Investigator cases down at the police station." She said, then stood up and walked out of the kitchen. As she left the room, Kelly thought to herself that she did have some cases she needed to work on, and today was a good day to do it.

"Annabelle turned to Keera and Mirabelle and said "Well I'll have to do this on my own then. I should though, Tom's and I have been close for years and this one thing caused a rift between us, I have to be the one to find out."

With those words, Annabelle left the kitchen. Keera turned back to Mirabelle and asked "So is it true? Did you feel the same effect last night with the nightmares as you did when Mary Knight first attacked four years ago? I just want to know."

"Now that it was brought up, yes. It was the exact same feeling." Mirabelle said, then went back to making breakfast for everyone.

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Aurora Dawn walked out of the town's museum for a second time. She had spent days looking for any clue as to who had the piece of metal in Starlight Shores, but she couldn't find a single hint, even with all her power. The inability to find anything led to Aurora's already fragile mind to chip away. Suddenly her phone she kept with her started to ring, and Aurora answered it.


"Did you find the piece of the key?" Tobias Corvan was on the other end. "The good doctor found out where one of the pieces is. All we need is yours."

"Starlight Shores, Starlight Shores, gotta find the metal in Starlight Shores. It's there in Starlight Shores. It's right there, in Starlight Shores. All of it, and none of it. It's all there in Starlight Shores."

"Uh... you okay?"

"Tell Dr. Vu that I found where the metal is. And tell him something else. Tell him I met someone here in town..."


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"Starlight Shores."

"What?" Tom and Andy were sitting in his room, Andy reading her book. Tom, confused, looked at Andy wondering what she meant. "You said that "Dark Hallow" book took place in the early days of Moonlight Falls, what does Starlight Shores have to do with anything?"

"I don't know." Andy said. "I just thought of it, I don't know why."

"That happens to me too sometimes." Tom said, looking at her. "Sometimes I just sit and let my mind wonder and let things come to me. It happens more often than not on some occasions. It was happening when we first met on the park bench. If that's anything to go by, letting you mind wander can be a very good thing from time to time."

Andy smiled, then put her book away. "Hey you want to take a walk? Get some fresh air?"

"Sure, let me get my... you know, I'm not going to get my jacket. Right now I don't need it. Let us go and walk upon the town!"


Tom and Andy stood up off the couch and walked out of the room. Annabelle, who was standing outside her room, saw them leave. What Tom didn't know, however, was that Annabelle was walking past his room upstairs when he mentioned to Andy about Dark Hallow, the novel she'd been reading.

Annabelle quickly researched the novel found that the main character's name was "Andy Marie Deeten", the name this woman went by. She was going to say something to them when they walked downstairs but Annabelle needed more information, so she walked back into her bedroom.

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"Andrea Marie Deeten." Annabelle said to herself in front of her computer. "No information on her aside from her character biography on InfoNet. No date of birth, vaccination records, nothing." Annabelle looked at her computer screen for a few moments, then turned it off. "Who is she?"

"She's no one." Annabelle turned around and saw John standing beside her. He had a smirk on his face as he himself was holding a computer. "Let's be honest, I'm not the most humble person in the world: I am an expert computer wiz and I can't find any information on Andrea Deeten."

"Damn." Annabelle said flatly, under her breath."

 John then put his computer on a table and said. "I did find something though, a picture of a woman who was seen on a security camera who destroyed a store in Sunset Valley four years ago, on the same night you encountered and fought that alien unicorn witch Nightmare."

John handed the picture to Annabelle, whose jaw dropped when she saw it. This woman looked like Andy, but she had blonde hair, and was wearing a similar outfit to the one Nightmare was wearing in her human form. "It's her, it's Andy! She must have dyed her hair or something since this! I knew it! Andy is Nightmare! That's it!"

"Don't get too hasty, Annie, it could be someone who looks like her!"

"No!" Annabelle said, angrily. "THAT woman tried to kill me! Do you expect me to just let her go on staying  in this house?! I will NOT! Ask Mirabelle, she knows it! Show her the damn picture! I have everything I need now, when Tom and Andy get back I will confront them both. This charade ends tonight!"

John shuddered as Annabelle walked out of her room and slammed the door shut.

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"So how long are you going to stay in Hidden Springs?"

Andy smiled as she and Tom walked down the road. "Well, a few weeks, maybe longer. I have a bit of a reason to stay now. And I don't really have a home."

"Really?" Tom asked, "You look pretty well-to-do. What do you mean you don't have a home? Wait, before you even answer that, know this... you do have a home, as long as you need it. I'm sure Annabelle will warm up to you eventually."

"I don't see that happening." Andy said. "She seems to have something against me, I can tell."

"Annie has trusting issues. She's had them her entire life, as long as I can remember. I usually have them too."

"Why?" Andy asked.

"I really trusted someone and looked up to him like a father figure. Then one night he kidnapped Annabelle, sent his own foster son to die, and tried to kill me before setting off a bomb that could have killed a lot of people. People like that man, Jack Toomes, are pure evil."

"I kinda knew a few of those types." Andy replied. "That's behind me though, I hope." Before Tom could question this Andy said "So you said you're immune to magic? Why is that?"

"I don't know. I've been immune ever since I was younger. I am trying to pinpoint exactly when I gained the immunity but it's hard to remember things from my past. Like I said, a lot of things have happened to me in my lifetime."

Andy and Tom looked up and saw the sun was on the way towards the horizon. "Wow," Tom said, "We've been walking all day! It didn't even seem like that! Come on, let's go home." With that, the two started on back to the house.

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Kelly tried her best to work on some cases at the police station but couldn't think of any clues. Her entire life it seemed was turned upside down. After hours of sifting through things, Kelly walked out of the police station with more questions about everything than answers. Suddenly she turned and saw Mirabelle, Keera, John, and Scarlett walking down the street. Kelly gave chase to them and caught up with Mira first.

"Hey Kell." Mirabelle said, "The four of us are going to see a movie, get out of the house for a couple hours. You want to come see it with us? It's a sequel to 'Night of the Killer Unicorn', and no, I will not be scared by it this time."

"I thought you didn't want to see it alone?" John said.

"SHUT. IT." Mirabelle said, partly joking around. "But yeah Kelly if you want to come along you're more than welcome. I'll pay."

"Okay." Kelly said, "Let's go. I need something to clear my head."


The five walked further down the street until they reached the theater. John walked up to the ticket booth and paid for five tickets for the group, then handed them out before he, Scarlett, and Keera walked into the building. Kelly and Mirabelle stood outside for a few moments, looking at the dusk.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Kelly asked. "I love times like this. Just standing out here, looking into the distance. Loveliness, you know?"

"Yes." Mirabelle said. "I wanted to tell you something, Kelly. Last night when I said that Annabelle's last memory before the incident that created me was the night you and her shared, I was kinda flirting with you. I don't know why, something just seems right between us."

"It does." Kelly replied. "My mind is so off lately since you were... um... 'born'. I just don't know what to do, it's crazy and I can't stop it! I'm just-"

Suddenly Mirabelle grabbed Kelly and kissed her in a way that surprised them both. The two embraced themselves against each other, then when the kiss was over they both blushed and walked into the theater.


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It was a few minutes into nightfall when Tom and Andy found themselves back at their home. Strangely, the lights were out in the house but the fireplace in the living room was burning, so someone was home. Andy stayed back a bit allowing Tom to walk inside the house.

"Hello?" Tom said, looking around. There was no response. "Hello?" Again, no response to Tom's voice. "I guess there's no one home. Why would they leave the fireplace burning?"

Tom and Andy walked into the living room and sat on the couch. "You feel that? I think someone's watching us." Andy said. They both stood up and looked around, and a few moments later Annabelle came out of the shadows, an angered look on her face.

"She is Nightmare.", she said. "There is no doubt in my mind. She is that witch!"

"Annabelle, what the hell are you talking about?!" Tom angrily said. "This sounds crazy!"



"Crazy?!" Annabelle said, losing her temper. "CRAZY?! I've had it up to HERE with you calling me crazy! You called me the exact same thing four years ago and what happened? I ALMOST GOT KILLED! BY HER! Because YOU wouldn't believe me!"


"Andy is not Nightmare, Annabelle! You're just jealous! Tell her Andy! Tell her the truth!"

"...I am Nightmare." Andy said on the verge of tears, "...sorta. I split from Nightmare when she exploded on that beach. I am good, though!" Andy said, "you have to trust me, Tom! Please trust me!"

"You're... you're Nightmare?!" Tom said with a confused look on his face, "You didn't tell me. Why didn't you-"

"I wanted to! Every time I've wanted to tell you I've ended up not saying it because I was afraid you wouldn't like me anymore! I am so sorry I lied to you Tom. Please forgive me!"

"I..." Tom stammered to get the words out, then he looked into Andy's eyes, past her glasses. "I trust her. I trust this woman, Annabelle. If you don't then that's your problem."

"That's not good enough, Tom! She tried to kill me! 'Andy' was a monster! She admitted she was Nightmare!!"

"Please Miss Kethri-"

"Don't 'Miss Kethrin' me, witch! I bought this house and I say who lives in it or not! And you're not living in it! Nightmare's evil and so are you! You get out of here! Get out of my house you witch!"
 

With no more words, Andy started crying and ran out of the house. Tom turned back to Annabelle, enraged. "You couldn't let one good thing happen to me, huh? How very ALIEN of you, Kethrin." Tom then turned and ran out of the house following Andy, leaving Annabelle alone in anger.

Andy had run all the way to the town graveyard by the time Tom caught up to her. While running, she had taken off her coat, glasses, and undid her pigtails to run faster. When she stopped, Andy turned around and fell into Tom's arms, crying. "I'm so sorry I lied to you Tom. Annabelle's right, I'm not trustworthy."

"Andy, don't listen to her. She's just... wait... what is that noise?"

Andy and Tom turned around and saw Aurora standing next to a gravestone, smiling. At this point it seemed she was relishing in her insanity, and was wearing minimal clothing and torn hair with makeup smeared across her face. "Hello me.", she said. "Nice of myself to stop by."

 "Aurora." Andy said, then leaned and whispered to Tom. "She's the other side of Nightmare, the evil, insane side. Get out of here, Tom. Run as fast as you can. She can't kill me, or she'll die too."

"I'm not going."

"Lovers quarrel?" Aurora smiled, "Whose heart did you break this time Tommy boy?"

"Get out of  here witch!" Andy said, "Leave! Now!"

"I'm not leaving until everyone in this town is dead." Aurora laughed at this thought then moved closer to them. "Monsters, monsters everywhere. Monsters everyone. We all are monsters, aren't we? I intend to meet a monster or two in Starlight Shores."

"Starlight Shores? That's it! You're looking for the-"

Aurora released a wave of magic that knocked Andy off her feet, and into a tombstone knocking her out, but it didn't affect Tom. "So it's true!" Aurora said, "Somehow you aren't affected by the mysteries of magic. Well, I'm done. How am I going to possibly defeat you Tom? You are physically strong, surprisingly mentally powerful as well. I have to leave then. Of course, physical attacks could harm you, like... a horn."

Suddenly Aurora glowed brightly, and when Tom opened his eyes again she was still standing in front of him, but was now a Unicorn. Tom was surprised to see her like this, considering Annabelle had told him of when she ripped the horn off of Nightmare four years prior. "Annabelle told me she stopped you from being like this!"

"She... was... wrong." Nightmare lifted herself and tried to kick Tom, but he jumped out of the way. Nightmare then gave chase, trying to stab him with her unicorn horn. Tom, however, was outsmarting her at every turn. With every attack, every run, every attempt to trample him, Tom was able to dodge them. Nightmare attempted to burn him with fire, but the man was able to avoid that too.

After a few moments of chasing Nightmare's eyes glowed and field of fire sprung up around the two, stopping Tom's movements and pinning him up against the mausoleum. With an unholy growl, Nightmare walked through the fire and looked Tom in the eyes. "You may be strong, you may be smart, but I AM power!"

Suddenly Andy came to and saw Tom with his back to the wall, and Nightmare ready to deliver a final attack. With nothing else to do, she ran towards the two. Defeated, Tom turned around, closed his eyes, and accepted the end as Nightmare began to gallop towards him, her horn pointed directly at his spine.

"Tom, NO!!" Andy ran as fast as she could, through the fire, and jumped with her arms outstretched between Tom and Nightmare, whose twisted horn stabbed her directly through the heart. Andy fell to the ground and Nightmare fell backwards.

Tom turned around dazed and watched in bewilderment as Nightmare ran back towards him, suddenly she stopped, and hissed violently."No." 

It grew very cold. A hooded figure came out of the ground and walked over to Nightmare, climbing on her back. Tom couldn't believe his eyes as the Grim Reaper himself summoned his scythe and opened a portal to the underworld, but not before looking at Tom himself.  

"This is not your world to die in, Thomas Caleb Jameson. You will meet me with her at your side when you choose."

The Reaper vanished, and Tom could feel it in his bones... Nightmare was dead.

The fire surrounding Tom vanished and it seemed as though there was no fire at all. Tom fell to the ground, exhausted from the ordeal. He opened his eyes and saw Andy lying nearby with her tank top covered in blood.

"No." Tom crawled across the ground and held her. "No."

"Tom... I'm so sorry I lied to you. I love you." Andy said. "You have to get to Starlight Shores. You have to stop them... promise me."

Tom was tearing up. "I promise, Andy. Please, don't die. Please! I'm begging you! Don't die!"

"Love you." Andy then closed her eyes and passed away. Tom stayed where he was for a few moments, holding her in silence. He then stood to his feet, dazed. "No. No no no no! No!"

This was it. Tom walked to the end of the graveyard and sat on a bench. This was it. He had pushed Annabelle away because he didn't want to suffer the pain of her dying, and now he had to suffer someone else being lost. This was it. It was his self-fulfilling prophecy. Tom sat on the bench for hours, looking at nothing. "This was it."

Sitting there, letting his mind wander, made Tom realize the gravity of his mistake. For well over a week he had been pushing Annabelle away because he didn't want to lose her again, but he had lost someone else in the process.

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Lucky Palms, Nevada

Two men stood in a small burrowed area deep within the desert. Standing before them was a podium with a piece of metal sitting on it, just as they were searching for. One of the men, Dr. Vu, walked over to the metal and smashed his hand into it, causing the relic to fall apart as if it was made of paper. Vu smiled as he picked up a stone that was hidden inside, and put it in his pocket before he walked back to the other man who was waiting for him, Tobias Corvan.


"You have what you were looking for, Vu. Can we leave now? This desert heat is really putting a damper on me."

"Yes. We can leave." Vu said. "What was the last you heard of Aurora's progress in Hidden Springs?"

"She told me to tell you that the person who had the last stone piece was in Starlight Shores, but didn't know the name. I haven't heard back from her since."

"Then Starlight Shores is where we will go. We will tear the entire town apart if it means we find the third piece to the Key Stone." Vu replied with a slightly annoyed tone in his voice.

"There is one more thing. Aurora told me to tell you that she met someone in Hidden Springs, she said you would know who it is. So perhaps you can tell me, who is Thomas Jameson?"

Dr. Vu winced, then walked faster back towards the edge of the area. "Someone who I thought died over twenty years ago. I hope she is right, that Thomas Jameson is still alive, then I can have my revenge on him for what he did to my father."

Seconds later, Vu pressed a device on his wrist and both men vanished in a bright light, teleporting elsewhere. On ground level, above the burrow, a figure watched them leave, then started walking away at an increased rate.

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 The funeral was quiet. No one came aside from the family Andy had stayed with in the last few days of her life, and even then some members of that group stayed further away than others. It had been two full days since Andy's death, and in that time Tom and Annabelle hadn't spoken a word to each other. When Andy's coffin was encased in a crypt paid for by Tom, everyone walked out of the graveyard, aside from Tom and Annabelle themselves. It was a few moments that passed when Annabelle finally walked up to Tom.

  "I'm sorry Tom, I don't know why I acted like I did. I guess it was jealousy, or that I wanted to protect my family. This is all my fault."

Tom didn't even look at her. "Andy's gone forever. If you hadn't have run her off she wouldn't even be in this graveyard. If it wasn't for you none of this would have happened. You're right about something for the first time this week. This was all your fault."

"Please forgive me!"

"Andy said something about Starlight Shores. Something important's going on there and I'm going to find out what. If you want to come with me then come, at this point I don't give a damn." Tom started to turn back to the entrance of the graveyard not even giving a passing look to her.

"Tom wait!" Annabelle yelled out on the verge of tears. "I told you I'm sorry! I'm very, very sorry. For everything! I know even in the short about of time you knew Andy, there was something strong between you. I am very sorry for all that's happened."

Thinking over what she had said, Tom finally turned around to face Annabelle. "You're sorry? Good, you have every right to be."

Then there were no more words, no acknowledgement. Tom just turned back around and walked away, leaving Annabelle alone in the graveyard. It wasn't too long, among the quiet graves, before Annabelle began to cry.

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