Rejoining Of Family

Marcus made a mental note to make sure he was at the right area. Once he was positive this was the place, he walked to the door of a home in the neighborhood, knocking on it and waited. Just a bit ago, he had gathered the Alpha, saying they had one more sister recently discovered, Wenesia, and if they wanted to be brought to her. Naturally, they jumped at the chance Xelena being one of the first, along with Aurelia. It made the old god happy he could do things like this.

In the background, Xelena was trying not to appear anxious but she could barely sit still for once. She was usually calm, but right now she was more then a bit excited, and happy for understanbale reasons.

Aurelia, calm woman that she usually was, was looking nervous, and was squeezing Xelena's hand tightly. Her other hand was held by Aisis, who was practically hopping up and down. Behind them, Nilona was getting... slightly irritated with Varia.

"We are going to see Wendy again..."

"Yes, Varia, we are."

"We're really going to see her again."

"Yep."

"She's not dead... she's really here..."

"Mhm."

"I wonder what's taking so long..."

"They are taking their time, just to annoy you."

"...I'm detecting that you are being a smartass."

"No, really?"

Despite wearing headphones Wendy detected visitors at the front door. Strangely, there were quite a few of them. She scooted away from her desk and sped from her room. "Coming!" Her adoptive parents weren't home at the moment. She could entertain the company until they returned.

"Who is i--" Wendy opened the door and froze. This couldn't be happening. Could this be real? She checked her systems. Her optics were functioning at optimal capacity. Her scanner was off; she hadn't expected them. She had about given up hope. They were real. This was real. Her sisters were here! Alive! This was REAL!! Wendy's eyes welled up with tears and quickly overflowed. "You... Y-you...!" She managed to choke out a few words before rushing forward to group-hug her sisters. She held them tight, as if letting them go would mean their disappearance or cause her to awaken from this wonderful dream. She couldn't hold back her joy. "Waaaaaaaaaaah!!! Y-you're all okay!! No o-one was h-here! I th-thought you were all g-gone!! Uwaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!" She managed to choke out sentences between her sobs. Everyone was gone. She was so afraid, she'd felt so alone for so long... but it was over now.

Marcus smiled but said nothing, letting the scene play out.

Xelena on the other hang returned the hug tightly, tears welling up in her eyes. She was going to say it was okay, they were here now but she decided not to and just enjoy the moment for what it was. She had so much to tell Wendy once this over, so much had changed and so much was different now.

Aurelia held her tightly, trying not to break down into tears herself. "Wendy... Wenesia... we're here for you... we'll never leave you again... I promise..." Aisis and Varia were also clinging to her, and Nilona, despite generally trying to act 'tough' was fighting back tears herself.

After a short while, Wendy regained her composure. It finally sank in that her sisters weren't going anywhere. She reluctantly let them go and wiped the tears from her face. "What are you all doing here? Where were you guys? Where's Eve?" She had a million questions for them. It was then that she noticed Marcus. "And, um, who are you?"

Marcus smiled a bit, nodding. "Fair question young one. I'm Marcus, also known as Grandfather Time. I'm the one that brought them here in the first place once I learned of your presence. There is more, of course, but its best discussed indoors instead of out in the open."

Xelena frowned slightly at the question. "..We really don't know. For a while I thought it was just me. Then I ran into Varia, Aisis, and even mom. They could be out there, just lost like us. We just haven't found them yet..."

Varia was silent, just clinging to Wendy, as did Aisis. Nilona hung back a bit, watching. Aurelia, ever the sensible one, spoke up. "Why do I have a feeling I'm going to be seperated from my daughters soon, Marcus?" Mother's instinct was a wondrous thing.

Wendy's luster was beginning to fade after hearing her mother's words. "What's going on? You can't leave! You just got here..." There was something going on that she wasn't privy to. Hell, there was probably a lot of factors she knew nothing about. They all started off scattered, but why was this man reuniting them?

Marcus shook his head. "No one is leaving unless they want to and even then it would be together. But your mother is right, there is something we need to talk about. Could we come in? It would be better to talk about this inside."

Xelena wondered what this was about but remained quite, for now at least she'd have some answers soon.

Aurelia was just a bit unconvinced, but sighed. "Hm. Well, Wendy, this is your home, so it's your decision. And I suppose I haven't been your mother for a good while, so... whatever you want to do."

Wendy smiled broadly. "As if that matters! You'll always be Mom, Mom." It clicked that she had yet to invite everyone inside. Sometimes things would slip by her entirely. "Oops! Sorry everyone! Come on inside." She moved to the living room allowing them passage (carrying Varia and Aisis if they did not let go). The living room was set without any quaint items or such, it was a normal home. "I can get you guys drinks or something so just ask!" There was enough seating for everyone, but she remained standing just in case. "What did you wanna talk about?"

Xelena shook her head a bit. "I'm not hungry or thirsty. No thank you." While the Alpha technically didn't need to eat or drink, once you did after a while it became a psychological thing. Due to their ability to change and adapt, it was almost as if they 'needed' those things when they really didn't after being exposed to them for so long.

"The same." Marcus said, then sighed. "I'll get to the point and make it brief. Do you know what the Zodiac Gems are?" He was pretty sure they wouldn't, since it came after their time. When Xelena shook her head, he continued. "To put a long story short, the Old One's weren't completely wiped out." Xelena stiffened at that but he continued. "One went to another Multiverse, one where the people were being suppressed by the godly pantheon there, even the creator was in on it. They used that. Disguising themselves and using the knowledge they obtained from the Nalga and countless others. They helped create the Zodiac Gems, which in turn created Exodus."

"Exodus was the being that destroyed the corrupted gods and even the creator itself. They managed to seal them and the Zodiac Gems were scattered. Now they're being rediscovered and Animus, a god from the abyss has one or more of them. He wants to release Exodus." Marcus paused. "Exodus is essentially a Old One that's been greatly enhanced. So what I'm asking is do you and your sisters want to sit this one out? You don't have to get involved if you don't want to. But I feel you deserve to know considering you may notice the..effects of things."

Xelena who was silent the whole time finally spoke. "You know as well as I do the moment you brought that up, we didn't have a choice but to accept. The Old One's are still our responsibility to deal with. Besides, you know how bad these things are if left unchecked. If they aren't stopped, we'll lose everything we care about and I'm not going to let that happen. Not again."

"There is no way that we are going to sit it out. Hell no." Nilona had spoken up. "Those bastards are responsible for everything bad that ever happened to us.... Father wouldn't have been killed, our friends wouldn't be dead, our family wouldn't have been seperated... I won't be satisfied into all those fuckers are dead!"

"...Nilona is right. We have to do this. We may not be as strong as we once were, but we must do it anyway.... and Mother, I want you to stay out of it."

"And that would be why I had that feeling... why, Varia?"

"Because you can't fight, and I don't want to risk you getting hurt."

"That's right!" Wendy joined in, pumped up by everyone's fervor. "You raised a bunch of God-Busters, so don't worry about it, Mom! We owe these guys some serious payback; there's no way we could keep out of this fight! We may be a little weaker than usual, but we'll be fine once we're all together. So just let us take care of it!"

Xelena was slightly amused by Wendy, she could be so..we'll Wendy for lack of a better word despite how dire things would seem to be. "We'll, you have our answer then Marcus. I want to say goodbye to Maya before I go, don't want to just up and leave without saying anything. The Kenzy's too. Looks like you picked up some other people Wendy, so I'm sure you want to at least leave a message before you go."

* *

After everything was set and done, it was finally time to leave. Xelena was a bit anxious but she knew what needed to be done. As long as she had her sisters by her side, everything would be fine. She was sure of it.

Marcus had everyone gathered, making a portal for everyone to go through. "This is where our story begins. If you have any second thoughts, any at all now's the time. If not, then step through."

Xelena didn't pause, but she give her mother a hug. "I promise, we'll be back." She gently slipped what seemed to be a necklace to her. "Hold onto this, okay? It's a promise we'll come back in one piece. When I come back, I'll get it back but for now hold onto it."

(When you exit through the portal, you'll exit out)

Aurelia sighed softly, clutching the necklace. "I will... you'd better keep your promise... I want all of you to come back to me. I couldn't bear losing you again..." Varia hugged her mother as well, as did Nilona and Aisis, before they all went through the portal one by one.

Wendy hugged Aurelia tightly before stepping back. "We'll be back and buggin' you before you know it... So enjoy the quiet while you can!" Wendy waved back as she dashed into the portal after her sisters.

((Wendy is out.))