A/N

Hey yall!

I'm so glad to be back and writing again! I'm going to miss my old story, but with the Reckoning being released it just doesn't feel right to continue. I know that I got some reviews asking me to continue with the story, but now that I've read the Reckoning it's just so hard for me to write about things happening differently! I did consider continuing but when I sat down to write, I couldn't stop thinking about the actual book!

Speaking of the Reckoning… IT WAS SO GOOD! I just feel like the story isn't over yet! It just can't be! But if Kelley must torture us by putting this saga to an end then I have to compensate by creating my own version.

I think with this story I'm going to slow things down for quite a while. I feel like it will take the EG a long time to recover from that blow so I'm going to take this "down time" to focus on the relationships (which I love the most!) of the characters. I mean, there will be some action of course! I just want to take things slow…at least in the beginning ;)

There's just a lot of unanswered questions and unfinished business…at least in my mind! I hope to cover all the bases in this FF….and I also want to drag this story out and make it last FOREVER…or at least for a good while

Also in case you didn't see this in the summary here's an additional warning. IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE RECKONING THIS STORY WILL BE NOTHING BUT ONE BIG SPOILER SO STOP HERE!!!!!

Proceed with caution….

Anyways, read and review…and hopefully enjoy!!

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I can't claim the characters They are all Kelley's!

Chapter 1: It's Just the End of the Beginning

I let out a sigh of happiness, inhaling deeply before releasing my breath slowly through my nose. My lips curled up in a slight smile, eyes gradually closing while I tried to savor every second of this moment and bask in the feelings running through my body. Aside from overwhelming happiness, I felt relief, comfort, security and warmth. Ever since my life had taken this (for lack of a better word) "interesting" turn, having this time…feeling this good…was not something that I would ever take for granted.

Reflecting on these past few days I could clearly picture my life as a decent suspense film that would probably make a killing at the box office. Of course, the audience would have to check their logic at the ticket counter (heck, I still have trouble believing my life sometimes), but with all of the action, killing, running-for-our-lives, and personal dramas, we've got ourselves a solid B+ film… which in movie critic speak is pretty darn awesome. I started to plan out our movie frame by frame.

When you make a film, there is a certain way the events have to occur. First, there is the beginning when the main character is introduced and the audience can get a glimpse of his or her life before it spirals out of control. Maybe the film would start the day before I saw my first ghost and follow me around school, showing my incredibly boring normalcy. Then I would arrive at the Lyle House for crazy kids where the supporting roles (Tori, Simon and Derek) would appear. After that, there is some sort of conflict introduced. This would be the part where after being in the Lyle House for a while we find out that we aren't really crazy at all. We would discover that we actually have genetically modified supernatural powers and that the Edison Group that created us was out to get us. Next is the climax. Now, there are multiple climaxes in our story to choose from but I would probably focus the most on our time at Andrew's when everything started to fall apart even more than it already had. Everything reached its peak there. It was at Andrew's that we developed our powers, discovered the lies and betrayal, made and destroyed relationships and had a few intense fight scenes. The falling action that resolves our conflict would be our most recent show down with the Edison Group. Of course, I thought blushing, I would have to put special emphasis on the love story (cue me and Derek). I'm usually not one for sappy romance, but most movies need one, complete with a steamy make out scene, to keep the audience entertained. And finally, we would make it to the "resolution". That's where we were now. We had finally reached the last few minutes of the film when the horror subsides, the dust settles and the characters can finally slow down before the credits roll…but then there is usually a sequel that quickly follows where the characters are thrust back into one horrible situation or another.

Oh great, ruin a perfect moment by imaging what might go wrong. Nice, Chloe.

For once I agreed with my internal voice and immediately shook that thought from my head. I couldn't think about a sequel so soon after my "happily ever after". There was no way I was going to allow that thought to creep into my mind when I was finally feeling this content…and especially while a very big part of that contentment was leaning next to me, arm over my shoulders, twisting a strand of my hair in his fingers.

Derek's arm tightened around me as he slowly inched his face closer to mine. My smile broadened and I tilted my head up hoping for a kiss. We'd finally managed to get some privacy by sneaking off into the field behind the motel that me, Tori, Simon, Derek, Aunt Lauren and Kit Bae were staying at until we could figure out our next move. There just happened to be a conveniently located oak tree that we'd gotten very comfortable under.

It was still hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that Derek and I were actually together. A week ago I would have never seen this coming, but I couldn't deny that I was extremely glad it happened. When Derek kissed me the world slipped away and for once there were no problems. It was just me and him in our own little bubble. I never wanted it to pop.

Unfortunately, Derek's lips didn't meet mine. Instead they traveled to my ear and whispered, "We need to head back."

I turned my head and gave him my best pouty look that I usually reserved for my dad or Aunt Lauren when I wanted something.

Derek moved his head and rested his forehead against my temple. "Trust me Chloe," he said softly. "It's not like I want to go back."

I was definitely upset about leaving my little haven with Derek, but that sadness was trumped by the knot that formed in my stomach the second I thought about my dad. I knew he was safer not knowing about me, but it still hurt so much that he had to think that I ran away from and was kidnapped (by Derek of all people). My dad didn't always express his emotions well but I knew that he cared about me and I could only imagine the pain I was causing him. I would give anything just to let him know that I still loved him and that I was safe. Even if I was loosely using the word "safe"…

After a few more moments of silence I nodded. If we didn't get back soon they would probably come searching for us. We might as well save them the trouble. Besides, we needed to get a good night's sleep before we had to go back to planning our next move. Sure we had slowed the Edison Group down and gotten rid of their most important members, but it didn't mean they wouldn't recover and retaliate eventually. We just didn't know when "eventually" was.

Derek hopped up and grabbed my hand to help me up. He kept his fingers intertwined with mine as we headed back to the motel.

I guess the pouty look was still on my face because halfway back Derek playful bumped my shoulder and said, "Hey, cheer up. Your face is going to get stuck that way."

I bumped him back storing the thoughts of my dad and the Edison Group into the back of my mind to think about later. My pout transformed into a grin and I let out a snort. It was a little ironic that the king of the scowl was telling me to smile.

"What?" He asked, cocking his head to the side reminding me of a confused puppy. There was no way I was going to tell Derek any of that, so instead I just laughed and ran ahead of him, dodging his question.

I spun around to make sure he was following me, but he was standing in the same spot, head still cocked to the side in confusion, staring at the motel. I'd seen him like this before and it usually meant he was listening to something. I jogged back over too him and tugged on his sleeve.

"What is it?"

"Shh." He whispered. "Hold on a sec."

I stared up at him impatiently as I watched his brows furrow and a look of disgust appear on his face, almost like he smelled something bad. It was times like these that I really wished I had bionic hearing. Just when I couldn't take it anymore and was about to ask him again what happened, he looked down at me.

"Tori screamed ---" He said. I didn't wait for him to continue. That was all I needed to hear to set a string of horrific images rushing through my head. What if the Edison Group had returned? It was so soon, but I guess nothing's impossible. Had they gotten Tori? What about the others?

"W-w-we've gotta get over there!" I yelled, immediately going into panic mode. I briefly wondered if there were any bodies lying around here. As much as I hated it, I'd raised more than a few bodies in the past few days. I could raise another one to save Tori if I had too.

"Chloe, stop." Derek grumbled, grabbing my arm before I could run away. "It's nothing bad…well not life threatening at least…"

"What do you mean?" My heart was still going a mile a minute.

"Calm down." He said as he rubbed a hand over his face. Whatever he had heard was really stressing him out. "Tori's…ugh…" Again, his nose wrinkled.

"Tori's what Derek?! Spit it out!" The terrible images still hadn't left my mind.

"She and Simon…Oh gross…" his famous scowl came back, and I knew immediately what had happened. Kit Bae must have broken the news that Simon and Tori were brother and sister. Gwen had let it slip to me a while back but I still had my doubts. I mean, they looked nothing alike, but when Mr. Bae saw Tori today, I knew from his reaction that the rumors were true.

Mr. Bae being Tori's biological father explained a lot. Kit was a sorcerer and Diane Enright, Tori's mom, was a witch. Gwen had explained that witches and sorcerers could always identify one another for a very good reason. Not only did it keep the two groups from fighting, but it kept them from "breeding". Apparently the product of these two magical beings produced an extremely powerful and probably dangerous offspring. In other words, Tori's amazing ability to cast potent spells without incantations or even formal training most likely wasn't solely the result of genetic mutations.

"Oh…" I whispered, averting my eyes to avoid him. I was relieved that nothing was really wrong, but I was concerned about how Derek would react if he knew that I had been keeping something this big from him. I wasn't sure if I should tell him that I knew, or play dumb and act surprised at the news.

"What do you mean 'Oh', I haven't told you anything yet." Derek stared at me with an eyebrow raised.

Way to go, Chloe.

"I-I-I mean…" Damn that stutter.

"Chloe, what do you know?"

"Ok, f-fine! I'm sorry!" My words were coming out in a rush. "I found out that Simon and Tori were r-related a little while ago…but I didn't think it was my place to tell them something that big. I knew t-that it would be more than a little hard for them to accept…a-and I didn't even know if it was one hundred percent sure until today so I just kept my mouth shut."

Derek stared at me for a few seconds. "Yeah…it's just so… weird…"

"Oh come on" I nudged him, relieved that he was too shocked to be mad about my lying by omission. "Tori's not so bad…sometimes."

He gave me a skeptical look. "Sure, if by sometimes you mean never."

"And hey," I continued, ignoring his comment, "Simon and Tori have always bickered like siblings. This won't be such a big adjustment for them."

He gave a short, rumbling laugh. "But that also makes her my…"

"Step-sister." I finished for him.

He growled.

I rolled my eyes. "After everything we've been through I'm sure you'll find a way to survive this…wolf boy." I used the nickname that Tori had given him (against his will). Before waiting for his reaction I grabbed his neck and pulled him down for a quick kiss.

"You know, you're lucky I like you." He said.

I shot him a wink and grabbed his hand. He didn't even know how lucky I felt. Feeling on top of the world again, I tugged his hand and we made our way back to the motel room that had surely turned into a battle scene by now.

The surprises just never end.