=:= Nicole =:=

"Are you sure Nikki?" Samantha asked. "I don't want to disappoint your parents."

"Sorry hun. I talked with my mom this morning, and told her that you couldn't make it." Nikki gave her wife a sympathetic smile. "You remember what Kara said. It's better if we don't go out together. Safer if one of us stays home... Safest would be both of us staying home, but it's my mom's birthday, so I have to go. I won't stay too late though."

Sam sighed, "It's been nearly two weeks, and nothing's happened since Cindy and Zoe came home... Maybe those guys aren't going to target us after all?"

"I hope that's the case," Nikki smiled slightly, "But I think we should stay on the defensive until we know for sure. And until Cindy has the defensive magic all sorted out, I think it's best if we all keep acting a little more paranoid."

She grabbed her purse and the gift she'd bought for her mother, then gave Sam a kiss. "See you later hon. Love you."

Samantha hugged her back, "Love you too. Stay safe."

The drive was uneventful, and about a half hour later Nikki was pulling her big black SUV into the driveway of her parents' house. She parked the car, then picked up her purse and the gift-wrapped book from the passenger seat.

Emerging from the vehicle, she approached the front door and knocked. Nikki knew her parents wouldn't mind if she just let herself in, but since she'd moved out she always felt it was more polite to knock.

After a minute or so, the door opened and she smiled, "Hi mom! Happy birthday!" She stepped forward to give her mom a hug and kiss, but stopped when seeing the odd expression on mom's face.

Her mother was just standing there in the doorway, frowning at her. Mom's eyes were slowly moving up and down over Nikki, as if she was looking for something.

Nicole frowned as well. She couldn't quite decipher the expression on her mom's face. There was stress, maybe some anxiety, but beyond that Nikki wasn't sure.

After a few moments, her mom finally said "Come in." Her tone was flat, like she was masking her emotions. It left Nikki feeling more confused and anxious.

Mom stepped back and motioned for Nikki to enter, then closed the door after her. She motioned for Nikki to follow, and led her to the living-room. Dad was sitting in his favourite chair there, but he didn't look well. There was stress and anxiety on his face too, and ontop of that he looked a bit pale, and had dark circles under his eyes like he hadn't slept well.

"Dad, are you ok?" Nikki frowned, feeling a growing concern for her parents. "What's going on?"

Her mother gestured towards one of the drum chairs to the right, and stated "Sit down."

Nikki frowned but sat down where mom had indicated. Her mother meanwhile took a seat on the sofa opposite, sitting at the end closest to dad's chair.

With all three of them seated, Nikki asked again in a worried tone "Mom, dad, what's going on? You're scaring me."

Both her parents had their eyes on her now, staring at her. Dad spoke first.

"What happened to our son? What did you do to Nick?" Dad's voice sounded strained, like he was afraid to ask the question. Or afraid to hear the answer.

Nicole just stared for a few moments, her brain having trouble even processing the question. Her mouth went dry and her stomach started to feel cold and heavy. There was no way they could know about him... The Goddess changed reality. Nick never existed, they only knew her as Nicole...

She gulped, "Mom, dad..."

"Stop calling us that!" mom snapped at her, no longer masking the anger she was obviously feeling. "Who are you!? Four years ago our son vanished and you took his place! You did something to us so we didn't even notice! Now where is Nick?! Is he even still alive, or did you..." Her voice faltered, but she continued, "Did you kill our son?"

Nikki's blood felt like ice now, her stomach full of lead, and her heart pounding. "I... I was Nick. He's not dead... He's me..."

"Bullshit!" Dad raised his voice, looking angry now too. "My boy's no sissy, and he's not some fucking queer! There's no way Nick would be traipsing around in make-up and a dress!"

Nicole could feel her heart racing as she stared at both her parents. It was as if everything about them had reverted back to how they were four years ago, before she'd met Samantha and embodied the Goddess.

She glanced around, and spotted the family pictures mom had on the wall. She was a little relieved to see the school pictures were of her, not Nick. She was sure that meant reality hadn't been shifted back, but somehow her parents remembered the original timeline.

Nikki gulped again, "It's true... I was him... Something happened, I can't explain but it... It made my life better. Gave me a future."

Her parents were both staring at her, both looking angry. They didn't interrupt yet, so Nikki kept talking.

"As Nick... I had a dead-end job fixing cars at that garage. I was abusive... You know I was taking advantage of you two... I was even worse with Brooke..." She paused, watching their expressions.

Both her mom and dad were still just watching and listening, so Nikki continued, "Then something happened. I... I don't want to say what. But I was given a chance at a new life, a different life. I thought I'd hate it, but... It was better. I was given a day to experience the new life, a day to decide, and I chose to keep the new life." She gulped again, still watching them.

Mom spoke first. "Even if what you describe were possible - which it absolutely is not - there is no way on this Earth that our boy Nick would willingly choose to become... That." She scowled as she gestured towards Nikki.

Nikki gulped once more. Her mind was racing now, her emotions churning. The felt a pang of sadness as it hit her. These weren't her parents any more, they were Nick's parents. And then there was a shock of fear. For the first time, she was afraid of them.

Her thoughts were a jumbled mess, wondering what happened, how they got those memories back. And what should she do now, should she tell them about magic, about the Goddess, should she show them, or should she just try to talk to them more. She still remembered her life as Nick, she could try to prove she was him...

No, Nicole. This situation is volatile and dangerous. This can only be the work of our new enemies. We should leave at once.

Nikki gulped again. Of course. It had to be the work of the Brotherhood. But if they've gotten to her parents once, they could do it again. She was afraid to just leave them unprotected.

I believe your parents' ignorance of magic is what is keeping them safe Nicole. And for now, it is safer for them to be your enemy. This is likely the intention of our enemies, to isolate you from family. We should leave.

As much as it hurt, she knew the Goddess was probably right. Nikki stood up. "I should go... I'm sorry. Maybe we can talk again some day... I promise I can explain everything..." She sighed and shook her head. "I'm sorry, I never meant either of you to be hurt. All I can say is, I was Nick. He's not dead. He's alive and well and happy, because he's me."

With that, she turned and headed for the front door. She was carrying her purse, but left the gift for her mother, incase mom might open it later.

Her parents got up and followed, and Nikki moved a little quicker, suddenly nervous they might try to stop her. She knew they couldn't hurt her of course, and she could always use magic to escape, but she really didn't want to have to do that. She made it to the door, opened it, and hurried out to her car.

Her parents stood at the door glaring at her. As she reached her car, mom stated in a cold voice "Don't come back."

The words were like a knife into her heart. Nikki choked back some tears as she got into the SUV and started it up.

The two of them were still standing at the front door, staring at her with anger and distrust in their eyes as she pulled out onto the road.

Nikki's eyes were filling with tears as she drove away, her mind still reeling.

Nicole, we need to warn Samantha and Jessica. And potentially many others. Everyone who's family has been affected by a shift to reality.

She nodded, blinking the tears from her eyes. Nikki pressed the 'phone' button on the steering wheel and said, "Call Samantha."

A few seconds later the call went through to Sam's voicemail. Nikki disconnected, and drove a little faster as she headed for home.

Twenty minutes later she was driving down the rural road that led to the vineyard. She was still fighting tears, and her stomach felt heavy and sick. Nikki knew the Goddess was right. For now it was safest to just stay away from her parents. Best to just let them hate her.

Maybe after this situation with the Brotherhood was over, she could try to patch things up with her family...

She pulled up to the last stop-sign, she was only about two minutes from home now. She blinked some more tears from her eyes, when there was a loud bang and the SUV's windshield exploded, showering her with little pieces of broken glass. Before she could process what just happened, pain exploded through her head and everything went black.

=:= Samantha =:=

Sam was relaxing in the living-room, sitting by the fire with Mo on her lap. Zoe and Cindy were in the kitchen making dinner. Or rather, Zoe was making dinner, Cindy was working on something fancy for desert.

It had been a long time since the small blonde had done any baking, she seemed to have lost interest in the hobby over a year ago. Sam realized it was probably around the same time Tanya moved away to go to college. Cindy and Tanya had met at baking class, and Sam figured baking probably reminded Cindy that her best friend had left, or something along those lines.

At any rate, it was nice to see her doing it again. It probably helped that she had Zoe now. Neither of them had said anything, but Samantha was fairly certain the small witch and the catgirl had become a lot closer than just friends over the summer. Whatever their relationship was, she was glad Cindy wasn't lonely any more.

The sudden buzzing of her phone snapped her out of her thoughts. Sam picked it up and saw it was her parents calling. That was an unexpected but welcome surprise.

"Hello?" She answered.

"Samantha!" It was dad's voice, but he sounded stressed, upset about something.

"Hi dad. What's wrong?"

There was a hesitation, her dad was quiet.

Sam knew something had to be wrong. She frowned, "Dad? Are you ok? Is mom ok?"

Finally her dad spoke, "Sam... What the hell has been going on? Who is Jessica? Why have you been acting like she's your sister? Why did your mother and I think we'd adopted her?"

With every question, Samantha felt her blood running colder and her stomach growing heavier. She finally gulped, "Dad... you know who Jess is... She's been part of our family since you and mom adopted her, when I was four or five years old..."

"That's a lie Samantha and you know it!" her dad snapped at her. "We'd never heard of her until three years ago, when she stole your mother's car then wrecked it! Somehow she tricked all of us Sam. She made you think she was your sister... Made us think she was our daughter. I know she lives with you in that big fancy house of yours... Was that her doing too? Who is she? What is she?!"

Sam's head was spinning now. She knew she couldn't just tell him about magic, about the Goddess.

When she didn't respond, her dad continued his rant. "Sam that girl is dangerous! I don't know what she's done to us or how, but she's changed pictures around the house, photoshopped herself into family photos! There's forged adoption records in your mother's filing cabinet, the works. And she's somehow brainwashed all of us into thinking she was family!"

Finally Sam just asked, "Dad is mom ok? Are you ok?"

"Your mother and I are both fine Samantha," he stated angrily. "Whatever the hell she did to us is gone and we can both see the truth. I want you to get away from her Sam. She's dangerous! Come back home here, we'll keep you safe."

Samantha shook her head, "Dad, I can't just drop everything and come to Innisfil. This is my home, my wife's here, my work... Look I'm safe, please believe me, the safest place for me is my home."

"Then you keep that girl away!" her dad stated. "Don't let her stay there with you! Kick her out, cut her off, don't let her have anything to do with you!"

Sam heard her mother's voice in the background, but couldn't make out what she was saying.

Then her dad said, "Right. Samantha... Promise us right now, you're going to block that girl from your life and get her out of your home. Tell me you'll do that."

Her mind was spinning and her heart racing, as she replied, "Dad... I can't do that. Jess is my sister... I don't know what's going on with you and mom but..."

There was a long pause. When dad spoke again, his voice carried a mixture of sadness, anger, and distrust. "Are you part of this, Sam? Did you and that Jessica person do this to your mother and I?"

"What?" Samantha gasped, "Dad, I-"

"Don't lie to me, Samantha!" Her dad was almost shouting into the phone. Then sounding sad and distrustful again, he stated "As long as you're associating that with that... woman, we can't trust you. I'm sorry Samantha. Good bye."

"But dad..." It was too late, he'd hung up.

Samantha stared at her phone, feeling shocked and confused. It had all happened so fast she hadn't had a chance to really process it or understand what was going on.

"Samantha? Are you ok?"

She looked up, Cindy was standing infront of her, looking worried.

Sam nodded slowly, then shook her head. "I don't know..."

=:= William =:=

William smiled slightly. It was always satisfying when a plan went off without a hitch.

He was still watching through the scope of his rifle. The woman had slumped down below the dash after he'd hit her, but he'd seen the way her head snapped back from the impact. And now he could see the spattered blood decorating the inside of the drivers' side window.

As certain as he was that she was dead, he knew better than to approach the Land Rover. He'd need confirmation, of course, but that would come later.

He was set up in a ditch on the other side of the road, about a hundred meters past the crossroads. He was concealed in a large cluster of weeds and bushes, and he was in his ghillie suit. His rifle was similarly camouflaged. He'd been waiting here for the past forty-five minutes, which was nothing really.

Without taking his eye from the scope, he kept his right hand on the grip, finger hovering beside the trigger. The rifle stayed balanced on the bipod, as he reached over with his left hand for the detonator. Working by feel, he flipped up the safety then thumbed the firing button.

Three mines concealed in the weeds next to the stop sign went off at once, and the SUV took the full brunt of the blast. The Rover was lifted off its wheels as all the remaining windows shattered. The heavy vehicle flipped onto its side, then rolled onto the roof. The petrol tank had been ruptured by the explosion and the whole thing went up in angry orange and red flames.

William smiled again, as he watched it burn. By the time this had burned out, there might be a few teeth left, maybe some fragments of the larger bones, but little more.

If she was the vessel, the rest of this operation just became a breeze. If the goth had been the priestess, well that was nearly as good. Either way, the snake had just lost one of its heads, and that would leave the rest of the cultists confused and vulnerable.

He still hadn't moved, and kept his right hand on the rifle. His left hand moved to the headset in his ear, and he pressed the button, "Call home."

A few seconds later the call connected. "Christopher here. What have you for me, William?"

"Went off without a hitch, exactly like you predicted sir. She was upset, crying, distracted."

"She's dead? You have confirmation?" the senior agent asked.

William replied, "Not confirmed, but I did put a bullet through the middle of her forehead. The Rover is currently upside-down and burning. I don't expect there'll be much left of her by the time it's burned out." He paused, then asked, "Do you want me to stay and monitor the emergency services when they arrive?"

"No." Christopher stated. "Clear out. There's a good chance the other cultists will be there before emergency services. Until we know for sure, we have to assume the vessel is still a threat."

"Understood. I'll check in once I'm at a safe location."

He cut the call, and slowly let himself sink back into the ditch, drawing his rifle back with him.

Moving quickly and quietly, he broke down the weapon and started stowing it back into the black nylon case next to him. He retrieved the detonator, packing that away as well. Finally the ghillie suit came off and he quickly folded and rolled it up, packing it into a nylon bag. He retrieved the spent brass then took a quick look around, making sure there was no evidence left that he'd been there.

Satisfied, he got to his feet and set off. His motorcycle was hidden in some bushes another hundred meters east, away from the still-burning wreck.

He moved at a brisk pace, but he wasn't rushing. He knew he'd look like a backpacker or hitchhiker, walking along the side of the road carrying a pack and sleeping bag. The only thing that might look suspicious was that he was ignoring the burning SUV in the distance behind him.

He reached the copse of trees and bushes, and moved off the road into the cover they provided. The black BMW motorcycle was waiting there for him. Moving quickly but without urgency, he strapped the packs to the back seat, then picked up the helmet.

It was at that moment he realized he wasn't alone.

William suddenly spun around, swinging the helmet like a club. He had enough strength in his swing to knock anyone senseless.

The small goth woman easily caught the helmet, and pulled it from his hand with no more effort than if she were taking a toy from an infant.

William grabbed for the pistol holstered at his back but her eyes flared with blue light and his body froze, his hand just inches from the grip of his Glock.

His heart was pounding now as he stared at her. He knew this had to be the vessel, but he had no idea how she'd survived.

She was glaring up at him with a look of rage. Her face was a mess, covered in blood. Her forehead was a mix of colours, black and blue from serious bruising, and still more blood. There was blood spattered and smeared on her black dress and through her long black hair.

Still unable to move his body, William started focusing on a spell. He knew it was his only hope.

Her eyes flared blue again before he could finish the spell, and the world blurred and warped around him. When his vision cleared, William found himself staring at... himself.

His body was still standing motionless next to the motorcycle, his hand frozen a few inches away from the gun holstered at his back. His awareness though was hovering in the air next to the angry goth.

It took a few moments, but William realized it must be some kind of astral projection. The witch had pulled his consciousness out of his body, and left him hovering next to her. He was still immobile, he couldn't get back to his body or attack her, and he couldn't get away.

The woman was sneering at his body as it stood there, her eyes ablaze with blue light. "Kill yourself." Her voice was cold, and the words came out like a command.

William watched helplessly as his right hand finished moving for the pistol at his back. In one smooth motion his body pulled the Glock from its holster and flipped the safety off as the pistol was raised up. His mouth opened, making way for the muzzle. There was a muffled pop, and the back of his head released a splash of red and grey, as his body crumpled to the ground next to the motorcycle.

As he watched, William realized he felt no pain, and even though his body was clearly dead he still seemed to exist in this state. It slowly dawned on him that he felt no fear either, and in fact he seemed to feel nothing at all.

The cultist finally turned away from gloating over his body, and her attention settled on him, or whatever part of him was still there, hovering next to her.

There was a dangerous, predatory look in her eyes as she spoke. "Your body is dead William Laughlin, but your soul belongs to me."

Her eyes flared blue once more, and everything went white.

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