=:= Sidney =:=

His bungalow smelled of baking again this afternoon. Cindy had been in the kitchen for the past few hours, mixing, baking, and now she was decorating cupcakes.

Sid was sitting at the little desk in the living-room, staring at his computer. He was feeling conflicted.

He'd been planning to go on a trip in a couple days, into the mountains out east of Melbourne. The idea was to do some backpacking, a little hiking, and take a lot of pictures. Now he was wondering if he should postpone the trip, or if he should invite Cindy to come along with him.

It was Sunday, the kid had been here for nearly a fully week, and he found he'd grown attached to her. She seemed to enjoy being here too. He'd hesitate to say she looked happy to be here, because she still had a deep sadness about her, even when she was smiling. As much as he felt like she was the granddaughter he never had, he got the impression she saw him as the grandfather she'd never known.

He sighed, staring at the screen. He finally decided, he'd talk to her at dinner. Let her know he'd been planning on a trip, and she was welcome to come. Or he could postpone it and stay here with her, if she preferred. He actually felt he could trust her enough to leave her here while he went off on his own, but he was reluctant to suggest that. He felt like she needed the company, needed someone around her.

He was still worried about her. At first she'd seemed sad, depressed, almost like she'd given up. Over the six days she'd spent with him, her mood had improved slightly. She still had that deep sadness about her, and at times she still seemed depressed, but it felt to Sid like the kid had regained some hope. That she was gradually coming out of her despair.

After a few minutes lost in thought, Sid realized he could hear voices from the kitchen. He recognized Cindy's voice, but there was another woman's voice there that he didn't know.

Frowning, he got up and went to have a look. He got one step through the kitchen door, then he stopped when he saw her.

Cindy was sitting at the kitchen table, putting the finishing touches on the last of the cupcakes. Sitting across from her was an unfamiliar woman. She looked to be in her mid-twenties. She looked petite, though not as small as the little blonde teen.

The woman had long, perfectly straight jet-black hair. Her complexion was so fair she almost looked pale. Clearly she wasn't spending much time outside in the Aussie sun. She wore a simple black dress, black leggings, and had ankle boots on her feet. Her face was done up with some rather harsh black make-up.

It almost felt like the only colour on her was her eyes, which were the most intense bright blue that Sid had ever seen. He couldn't help but stare. He could almost swear he saw sparks in this woman's eyes.

She was sitting with her back straight and shoulders set, her posture was almost formal the way she was positioned. It was stark contrast to Cindy, who was sitting slouched and crooked on her chair, hunched over as she piped icing onto the last cupcake, in the shape of a flower.

The strange woman looked at him, her eyes locked on his. He almost felt a chill run down his spine. Something about this woman just felt wrong, in a way Sid couldn't describe.

After regarding him for a moment, she said "Hello Sidney. Thank you for looking after Cindy. I am grateful that you were able to help her move beyond her despair after I failed to do so."

Sid just nodded slightly, "Uh, yeah. No worries." There was something in the woman's voice, like the way her eyes still seemed to sparkle, it was a presence that he couldn't identify. It left him feeling awkward and a little anxious.

Cindy looked up at him, "Sorry Sid, I know it's rude for her to show up unannounced like this." Her tone made it clear that she was unhappy about the woman's arrival, and was scolding her as much as she was apologizing to him.

He asked, "She's one of your friends, from Canada?" The woman had the same sort of accent as Cindy.

"Yeah," the teen nodded. "I guess from Canada now, originally from Wales though." Cindy glanced at the woman and asked, "Mind if I introduce you?"

The strange woman said nothing, but she gave Cindy an almost imperceptible nodd.

Cindy said, "Sid, this is Arianrhod."

Sid nodded, "Hello Arianrhod. Any friend of Cindy's is a friend of mine." Something about the woman still gave him the willies but he wasn't going to let that affect his hospitality.

Arianrhod seemed slightly amused. He couldn't see a hint of a smile on her face yet he felt like she was amused. Maybe it was something in her eyes. She stated, "I don't know that Cindy considers me a friend, but nonetheless I appreciate the sentiment Sidney."

With the last cupcake finished, Cindy sighed and got up from the table. She moved to the sink and started washing up the dishes and cutlery she'd been using. She sounded sad as she said, "I'm really sorry Sid, but I won't be able to stay and enjoy the cupcakes with you. It's time for me to go."

Her words hit him a little harder than he wanted to admit. He'd known all along the kid was just here for a short stay. Just the other day he'd been encouraging her again to reach out to her family and friends. He felt silly now, that he'd been about to talk to her about making travel plans.

He stood there silently for a minute or two, watching her as she carefully washed then rinsed the dishes.

"Of course," he nodded slowly. "You're finally ready to go home then, are you?"

Cindy shook her head as she picked up a tea-towel and started drying the dishes. "No. Perhaps eventually. There's some things I have to do first."

Sid frowned. "What sorts of things? Does this have to do with the stuff you told me about, with your friends back in Canada?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "Those guys I told you about? There's a lot more of them, and they're still threatening to hurt my friends. And there's a chance my girlfriend is still alive. If she is, then they've got her. So, I'm going to go and deal with them."

He glanced at the woman, expecting her to comment or question Cindy on this. He'd just accepted her stories at face value, though he knew they couldn't be true. He figured this 'friend' would have something to say on the matter.

Instead, she remained completely impassive.

Sid frowned, "Cindy... Are you going to be safe? Whatever it is you're up to, is it dangerous?"

With the dishes done, Cindy started putting them away. She replied, "You don't have to worry about me, Sid. If I can, I'll come back again someday for another visit. I promise."

She added, "If you want to see what I'm up to, have a look on your computer. Check out the news from the Niagara region of Ontario, Canada, from Thursday last week, the sixteenth. And I guess, keep an eye on the news from London, England over the next day or two."

"When do you have to leave?" he asked, still frowning.

Cindy glanced at the strange woman. "Right now. I'm sure Arianrhod is already impatient that I've made her wait while I did the dishes."

Sid sighed, "Well... Do you two need a lift? I can drive you both up to Geelong if you like. Or into Melbourne, to the airport?"

Arianrhod stated, "That will not be necessary, Sidney."

With the dishes away, Cindy moved to Sid and surprised him, wrapping her arms around him as she gave him a hug.

"Thanks Sid, for caring about me, and letting me stay here. My backpack's in the guest room. The money in it is yours. Keep it, donate it, do whatever you like. If I can, I'll come back someday to visit, and pick up the rest of my things." She added, "Enjoy the cupcakes."

He put an arm around her, feeling awkward. He hadn't hugged anyone in ages, but it was nice. He'd missed it. And he knew he'd miss this odd runaway teen and her stories of magic and sorcery.

Finally, Arianrhod stood up and Cindy let go of him, taking a step back.

"Bye Sid." Cindy gave him a little smile.

He opened his mouth to respond, but there was a flare of blue light in the strange woman's eyes, and the two of them were gone.

Sid stared at where they'd been standing, feeling a mixture of shock and sadness.

=:= Cindy =:=

"You understand what we are asking of you, Cindy?" Dôn said. "If you agree, you will be embodying our sister within you. She has the power and force of will to confront our enemies head-on. And if they are holding Zoe captive, she will be able to free your friend."

Cindy nodded slightly, looking around again. She'd never been here before, but she'd heard the others describe it.

Llis Dôn, the court of Dôn, literally in the heavens, in the constellation Cassiopeia. It looked like a knock-off of Stonehenge, with five large stones standing in a zig-zag pattern in the middle, surrounded by a few dozen smaller stones scattered at random. It was atop a large grassy hill, surrounded by an endless grassy plain. The sky was clear and blue, but there was no sun.

She looked back at the three Goddesses and asked, "All of you are already embodied within Nikki, right? So why do you need to separate this fourth one out and put her in me? Why not just wake her up and let her join you? I mean, four's gotta be better than one, right? You could go smash the Brotherhood yourselves."

Ceridwen replied, "Her nature is not compatible with Nicole. She would disrupt Nicole and Samantha's domestic life."

Arianrhod added, "She functions best without the rest of us distracting her. She does not like to share."

Dôn concluded, "It is not in our nature to kill, Cindy. We sometimes use illusion or trickery to make it seem like we have taken life, but that is all it is - illusion. This is why we need a separate vessel for her. So she may do what she does best, without interference from us."

Cindy watched the three of them, and thought through everything they'd said. It didn't quite add up.

Finally she said, "I think you three are scared of her. You've all been around for four years now, right? So there's gotta be a reason why you never woke her up before now." She paused a moment, then continued "I think you want to isolate her so you can control her. If she's with all of you, inside Nikki, then you're pretty much stuck with her. Separating her out into another vessel means you could send her back to sleep by killing the vessel, killing me."

She added, "And I think you're picking me because I'm physically small and weak. You think that will make her easier to control, or at least easier to kill. If you really just needed her in a separate vessel, it would make more sense to put a warrior goddess into someone like Kara."

She could see from their expressions she was right. Ceridwen looked uneasy, and Arianrhod was now watching Cindy with suspicion.

Dôn finally admitted, "You are correct, Cindy. Nonetheless, we are asking you to do this. It may be the only hope we have of defeating them. And of retrieving Zoe, if she still lives."

Cindy sighed. "I suppose if I say no, you'll either find someone else, or you'll try and wake your other sister with the three of you. Then if she does go after the Brotherhood, Nikki will have to live with that blood on her hands. I've already crossed that line, Nikki hasn't."

She hesitated, then shrugged. "Ok, fine. I'll do it. If I wind up dead though, please tell the coven I said goodbye. And tell Jessica I'm still sorry for everything former-me did to her."

The three Goddesses looked at each other, then Arianrhod nodded, "Very well, let us begin."

Before they could get started, Cindy asked "Just give me a minute to prepare, ok?"

The three of them nodded quietly.

Cindy knew from listening to Nikki over the years what it was like sharing her mind and body with a Goddess. If she was going to be locked away in the darkness of her own mind, she would be the one to lock the door, and she would ensure her dark place was comfortable. She would also keep her mind protected as best she could, so the Goddess she was about to embody hopefully wouldn't be able to mess with her.

She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths, like she was meditating. Then she focused inwards, and started preparing a safe place for herself, deep within her mind. It was an exercise of imagination and will, rather than one of magic.

She started by hiding it well. Unless the Goddess was specifically looking for it, her refuge would remain hidden. She buried it deep, and ensured it was all but invisible from the outside. The walls would be thick, shielded, and hopefully impenetrable.

Moving inside, Cindy visualized it as being comfortably furnished, not unlike her bedroom suite at the vineyard. A little larger though. She included some books and other diversions, incase she was stuck in there a long time.

Next she imagined the door. It would be just as secure as the rest of the place, with a complicated and failsafe locking mechanism. Once locked, it would stay secure, sealed from both the inside and outside. Only the key could unlock it, and the key wouldn't be found in Cindy's mind.

For an extra measure of security, the key would only work once, then it would have to be changed. The first key would be Zoe herself. If it worked as planned, then her refuge would be a prison as much as it was a bunker. Cindy would be safe inside, but she would also be trapped there, until the Goddess found Zoe.

Finally she pictured the entrance. It was something like a trap-door that led straight down and into the safe place. When triggered, it would pretty much suck her in and lock her away safe inside.

The whole process took no more than a minute or two. Once finished, Cindy opened her eyes again. She looked at the three Goddesses and nodded, "Ok. I'm ready."

Arianrhod took the lead. She stepped forward and stated, "Ceridwen and I will prepare you, while Dôn performs the first part of the ritual. Then it will be up to you to complete it."

Cindy nodded, "I understand." She'd read all this in the ancient book of course, and she'd heard Sam and Nikki tell the story of how it worked when they'd done it. "Does that mean Dôn will be the priestess while I'm the vessel?"

"No," Dôn replied. "I am modifying the ritual slightly, so our sister will not require a priestess."

"Huh," Cindy was surprised by that. She also realized, doing the ritual here in Dôn's court rather than on Earth would probably conceal it from the Brotherhood. They'd have no idea another Goddess had woken.

The three of them moved closer. Dôn stood directly before her, Arianrhod to her right, and Ceridwen to her left.

Then she felt the buzz of magic in the air around her as Dôn began the ritual while Arianrhod and Ceridwen helped guide and control the process.

Flickering red lights swirled in the air around her, like tiny angry fireflies. As they settled on her body, Cindy felt the magic grow more intense. Her vision blurred slightly and things shifted as the little red lights faded away.

After a few moments Dôn completed the ritual, and all three of them stepped back.

Cindy looked down at herself, then looked up and scowled at the three of them. She'd been expecting the 'preparations' to make her more like a warrior. Sort of like how Kara got buff when they'd become the champion. What actually happened was the complete opposite.

Not only had they reversed the two growth spurts she'd had over the past three years, they'd sent her even further back. She was smaller, shorter, tinier than she'd been to begin with. Cindy was no bigger than Ciara now, and she suspected she didn't look any older than the little Irish kid either. She probably looked about ten now.

Her clothes had changed as well, the black leggings and knee-length black dress were gone. Instead she was wearing light grey track-pants, a pink t-shirt, and a powder-blue hoodie with pink and yellow flowers on it. Her sneakers were pink, with sparkles all over them.

She didn't bother saying anything to the Goddesses, her scowl was enough to let them know how she felt. She understood why they did it, they were hoping this would make it even easier for them to control or restrain their sister after she'd been unleashed.

Cindy sighed, then closed her eyes and began her part of the ritual. She called upon Aeronwy and welcomed Her, giving herself to the Goddess of War.

As she completed the ritual, she felt it happen. It was like being connected to more power than she could ever imagine. She felt it start to flow into her, then it started to burn. Her muscles went tense as the pain grew stronger. Then she felt the other presence waking within her mind, and it started to burn in there as well.

This wasn't like Nikki's descriptions. It felt dangerous and violent. This wasn't someone waking quietly from a peaceful rest, this was someone thrashing their way into consciousness after some terrible, angry nightmare.

Cindy triggered her refuge. She let her consciousness slide backwards, retreating inward before the burning grew too intense. She fell back into the darkness, and felt the door to her safe place slam shut behind her, sealing herself away inside.

=:= Aeronwy =:=

Her eyes snapped open as she felt herself fully awake, embodied within a new vessel. Something was wrong though. In fact, several things were amiss.

She couldn't feel any of her sisters within her, but she could see three of them standing before her.

Dôn, Ceridwen, and Arianrhod stood together in front of her, their eyes on her. Their expressions were a mix of anticipation and apprehension.

Her sisters' appearance was different from when she last saw them, though their eyes and hair were the same as always. Every vessel they took had raven-black hair and bright blue eyes. Most unusual was the clothing they wore. Both the style and the fabric were like nothing she'd seen before.

Aeronwy also recognized her surroundings. This was not the mortal realm, she was not in a temple. This was Llis Dôn, her sister's court. And there was no priestess here, no mortals were present at all.

She noticed one more inconsistency. Not only were here sisters standing apart from her, but they were all taller than her. Why was she, the warrior among them, so much smaller?

Aeronwy looked down at herself and scowled. She knew at once what her sisters had done. This wasn't an accident, they had deliberately embodied her within a child, and prevented her nature from adjusting the vessel's body as she awoke.

She quickly assimilated knowledge and memories from her vessel. She now knew why she was here, why her sisters had separated her from them, and what they had planned, what they hoped to achieve.

Aeronwy sneered at the three of them.

"Cowards! You fear me so much, you woke me into the body of this child? She showed more bravery than the three of you combined, to give herself to me even knowing what you had in store for her!"

Arianrhod replied, "If you know what was done, then you also know why, sister. We face an enemy which threatens us all, including you."

Ceridwen added, "After what happened last time, we had to take precautions, sister. Do this for us, eliminate this enemy which threatens us all. When you are done, return to us. We will bring you back into the fold, and the past will be forgiven."

Dôn concluded, "We know you can't resist the call of battle, sister. Go, rid the world of these men who would destroy us and our children, and recover our missing child that they took from us. Return to us when it is done, and we will welcome you back with open arms."

The scowl remained on Aeronwy's face as she looked up at her sisters.

"So be it," she spat. "I will win your war for you, but then my sisters, you and I will have a talk."

"Thank you sister," Dôn said. "Spare none but the innocent. Please do no harm to those who have not wronged us."

Aeronwy gave her sister a curt nodd of acknowledgement. She was already making plans, putting together her strategy. She would return to Caer Aeronwy first. She was still weak from her long sleep, but some time in her own court would quickly restore her. Then she would need information, and from her vessel's memories she knew exactly where to get it.

She focused her will, and left her sister's court.

=:= Samantha =:=

It was half past three in the morning according to her clock, and Sam wasn't sure what had woken her. The house seemed quiet but whatever it was that roused her, it had her on alert.

In the darkness, she realized her wife's eyes were open too. Nikki was awake as well.

"What happened?" Sam whispered.

Nicole shook her head slightly, "I don't know."

Sam slipped out of bed, deciding to have a look around. She opened their bedroom door and stepped out into the gallery hallway overlooking the rest of the house.

Everything downstairs seemed quiet.

She took a few steps out of her room, with her wife right behind her. She stopped as she passed the door to the guest room. It was in there. There was magic, but it felt different.

Frowning, Sam opened the door and stepped inside. Nikki followed close behind.

Moving quietly down the short hallway, Sam passed the ensuite bathroom and then the walk-in closet, and finally she got a view of the bedroom and bed.

Ciara was laying there, sleeping soundly. Even asleep, she was still hugging her cat plushie.

She was not alone. There was another child in the room with her, standing at the foot of the bed.

The strange girl's eyes were alight with a dangerous red glow. She looked no older than Ciara, and was around the same height, though she appeared skinnier. She had shoulder-length blonde hair that was pulled back into a pony-tail.

Sam's eyes widened as she recognized the girl's face. She looked like a much younger, smaller Cindy.

"Cindy? Is that you?" Sam asked. "What are you doing?"

Suddenly Nikki's hand was on her shoulder, pulling her back.

"Sam come on." Nikki whispered. "Out, now. That's not Cindy."

There was a quiet urgency in her wife's voice, and Sam didn't resist. The two of them backed down the short hall, stopping there out of sight from the bed.

Nikki whispered, "I just heard from the Goddess. That's not Cindy. She said that's Her sister, another Goddess. She said we're not to interfere."

"What's she doing to Ciara?" Sam whispered back.

Nikki replied softly, "The Goddess thinks She's looking through William's memories. Getting information about the Brotherhood." She added, "Ciara should be ok, the Goddess doesn't think Her sister will hurt the kid."

The feeling of strange magic suddenly ended, and Sam moved forward again, peeking into the room. Sure enough, the strange Goddess girl was gone. Ciara was still sound asleep, it looked like she hadn't been disturbed by the visit.

Samantha was glad for that, and finally she and her wife slipped back out of the room and into the gallery hallway.

"Why did She look like Cindy? Why was She a child?" Sam asked.

Nikki shook her head, "I don't know, hon. She didn't say anything about that."