no one ever goes on any more...but...pay no attention to this

[yentrouc]

The rain fell heavy on the window panes as Tabatha stared out into the night. Her eyes followed the drops as they slid down the glass. She couldn't think straight, everything was a blur. Tears rolled down her cheeks slowly. Gently, she unfolded the piece of paper she held tightly in her palm...she never really wanted to know what it said until that day...until she knew it would change everything in her life, everything she worked toward..and all she can do now is find the answer which she’s been longing for... The handwriting was messy, and the pencil had faded over time, but Tabatha was still able to make out the words he had written 4 years ago...suddenly she didn’t want to read it afraid of what it might say but she knew if she hadn’t she would never be free

Dear Tabatha,

Not knowing what may happen, there are things you need to know...Soon, I will be visiting your home. Please don't be alarmed when I do. I NEED warn you of what's coming, you may not know how to react. I know what went on between us is difficult to forget, but this time, it is for the greater good. Please, PLEASE try not to be angry anymore. The world needs you not to be angry anymore. You don’t understand what effect you have on things, and I know there was something special with us, that we never could explain but there were reasons why it didn’t work...but for you to be angry it has causes events not meant to be made. When blame is wrongly directed, the natural order of things becomes... disturbed in a way. Feelings that shouldn't be felt are often blown out of proportion to create monsters. Demons. These feelings materialize into things beyond our magick's control. The only way to put an end to these demons is to let go. I need you to let go.

Sincerely, Quigley

Tabatha just stared this time. Her eyes scanning the page for anything she could use to throw back in his face. "Bastard" she muttered to herself, re-crumpling the note in her palm. She was amazed that he had said she caused the horrible things in this world, it was an insult to say that she was not able to control her powers. How dare he! All she new now was that he never visited as he’d said he would, and no matter how much hate she had for him she cared for him in a strange way...it seems when ever she used to be around him she would prepare to say what was on her mind, but it was lost as soon as she saw his handsome green eyes, with the kind and gentle look that overwhelmed her. As she shook her head away from her daze she quickly realized that something was wrong...the feeling she had in side of her all these years seemed to have been for a reason, but she never understood until today...when she read that letter and soon fixed the pieces together...he was in trouble, yet she wasn’t sure to help him, or keep living the lie of a life she has been!? She was worried, of course, of that was to come. She didn't know if she would be able to handle it. From what the letter told her, and from what she had heard, Quigley was dealing with something way out of his league. He hadn't written to her to warn her, he had written to her to ask for help. the kind no other person could offer. She figured he had disguised his cry for help as a warning to protect himself from other dangers. This world they were living in was nothing more than a hidden hell, waiting to show itself. Tabatha flipped the envelope over and scribbled down the return address printed neatly in the left hand corner. 26 Crescent Drive. The address sounded familiar, but she was unable to place it in her mind. "I'm coming Quig", she said, her eyes bloodshot and filling with tears, "hang in there. I'm coming." [end of "chapter"] Chapter. 2 "What do you mean, I've been moved over? I've had this reservation for a week!" Tabatha's voice echoed throughout the airport lobby. "I'm sorry ma'am", the flight attendant said calmly, "But this was a necessary action taken by the airline. Your plane arrives tomorrow at 7:00 p.m." Tabatha stared at her, bewildered. Her eyes narrowed, and she folded her arms across her stomach. "Listen to me. I HAVE to be on this flight. You don't understand. If I don't get on..." "I'm sorry ma'm, there is nothing I can do." The flight attendant smiled. Tabatha hated her. She hated her for being calm. She hated her for being kind. She hated her for smiling. Tabatha took a deep breath and turned away from the desk. She walked toward the window, where the plane she should be boarding was getting ready to take off. Angry tears filled her eyes. No, She thought, no more crying. I've been doing too much of that lately. She flopped down in a chair next to a tiny old woman. The woman peeked at her over her newspaper. "Rough day, dearie?" "No, I'm always a bitch to flight attendants." Tabatha replied sarcastically. "What the hell does it matter to you?" The lady stared at her, Barely blinking in the three minutes of silence. "My name is Virginia Grimwald. And I think I can help you." Still annoyed with the attendant, she looked at her like what the hell was she talking about. This lady she has never seen before can not possibly help her, for she does not know what she needs help with. The lady looked at her calmly, rolled her eyes, and said "Your right you've never seen me before and how would I know what you need help with!?" Tabatha looked astonished. How can she have known that. "How could I have known that you ask?" the lady says to her. "You see I have a connection with you that you don’t realise..and plus I'm just like you." Tabatha jumped out of her chair...she could not understand...who was she... "What are you... one of those weird... TV psychics or something?" Tabatha was almost yelling now. "No, dear." The woman replied calmly, still staring at Tabatha with that sickeningly sweet smile of hers. "Like I said. I'm just like you. Last time I checked, you've never been on TV, let alone psychic." "You," Tabatha said threateningly, "are nothing like me. You have no idea who I am. You have no idea-" "What I've gone through!" The old woman finished Tabatha's sentence perfectly. "You're wrong, Tabatha." She rose and stared up into Tabatha’s eyes, "I know all about Quigley, all about what happened. I know EVERYTHING." Tabatha was astonished. Hw had this woman known about Quigley... unless... no. Could she really have met an Amplidaefer? It was impossible, but it seemed so perfect. An Amplidaefer was a mythological creature. They looked, talked, and lived like humans, but had insight into the minds of their charges. If this Amplidaefer had been assigned to Tabatha, it meant Quigley was in much more trouble than she had expected. "Are you...?" "Yes." Replied the old lady. "Now, let's be friends. You can start by calling me Virginia." After everything that was happening after all the feelings I was feeling...I just stood there looking at this "Virginia". Now I felt more afraid of what had happened to Quigley. "Tabatha"...I heard a faint voice in my head, it seemed so calm and bugged me. Then once I got a grip I noticed that it was Virginia. "I'm sorry, I just have so much going on in my head its hard to remember if its my thoughts I hear or someone next to me" I had said. "Its ok dearie, but now I'm here, and I'm here to help" finished Virginia. "Now I know you have allot on your mind but you need to understand that we don’t have much time"...she had said that so calmly that I just wanted to strangle her...how could she be so serene at a time like this, at a time where someone we all know and love is in trouble...and the only person that can help is me. "Now that plane ride wont do you much good, the one you were yelling over...since where Quigley is, is not in this dimension" continued Virginia. "Now wait, your telling me that he’s not in this world ...you could say...that he’s in another world" I stumbled over my words. Slowly Virginia said "Umm...would you like me to repeat myself". With a slight attitude I replied "No, it just sounds so unreal, like something you would see in a movie “If this astonishes you...then what your about to experience will be too much for you to handle". I knew what ever this women could throw at me would not astonish me...that I could handle it. But as I was thinking this, she started pushing me into the bathroom, like she was trying to smuggle me...but then the last thing I remember was her telling me to take her hand, and to close my eyes. She told me if it was going to work I had to be calm and let out what I have been hiding all these years. But you see, I couldn’t. How could I let go of something I've been trying to get rid of, something I never wanted to experience again. But in the matter of seconds my feelings were spread out in front of me and channeled into a feeling that can not be explained. I felt overwhelmed, like the cry of a new born child, or the feeling of love, something I really wasn’t sure what it meant. And the next thing I knew I was standing in a completely different place. A place where colors were hidden and light stayed in the background. Shadows loomed the streets and nothing was ever beautiful or gentle. where night over powered day, and everything watched you with eyes like knives. No one was moving, excluding a few rats that scurried through the shadows. I blinked and checked to see if Virginia was next to me. "Where..." The empty space next to me hovered over me, and I suddenly felt very afraid. "Virginia? Where the hell..." "I'm right here, Stupid." I looked down to see where Virginia's voice was originating from. I gasped. All that was next to me was slouching green thing that could only be described as something like a troll. I jumped being frightened from the scene. "Calm down, its me Virginia...I am hunted here and if I do not change my appearance I will not be able to help you in your journey" she said calmly. "oh, o.k....wait, what do you mean by journey" I said confused. She did not answer me at that moment as if she had already said the answer. Now all I needed to know was where was I. From the stories I heard of as a child I have never heard of a place like this, like every piece of hope you have dies within...and you cant stop it. If this was where he was, I wasn’t sure if I'd be able to save him. "Come on, we only have so much time until we return back....you see this is a transformation spell in which our spirit and body are transferred to another demission till we are bounced back into..."reality"..is that would say". How was I supposed to know, I was in a strange place where I knew nothing of what to be...wait I cant sense anything. "Why cant I sense anything...I cant even feel the energy around me" I said in a puff. "This is a place where none of your abilities can work...only the power of Dioferan. He, if you were not told, is an upper spirit whose able to put pain and power to another and not be caught in their revenge" I just stared blankly for a moment. My heart beating in my chest. I felt nauseous, I felt dizzy. this was too much. "How... how can I save him without my powers?" Virginia looked at me, I felt so stupid. I felt like I should know this already. "Simple", she replied, "do exactly as we planned." "what..." I didn’t have time to finish my sentence a huge orange cloud washed over us, and my lungs filled with smog. It was so thick I felt as though my head were in a plastic bag. "CLOSE YOUR EYES!" Virginia's voice echoed in my head. could I trust her? was she involved in this plot to make me miserable? No time for doubt, I slammed my eyes shut, and I could feel the smog disappear. After about 3 minutes, Virginia tugged on my sleeve. I squinted at her, and saw that she was gesturing for me to follow her, but not to make a sound. I obeyed, and began up a long, narrow path over a great looming mountain that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. 'Where are we?' I thought. Virginia's voice came into my head suddenly, as if she were whispering in my ear. "home." Home, I didn’t know what she was talking about anymore, and I really just wanted to stop all this, and slow things down. But suddenly as I looked on top of the mountain it all looked so familiar, like I'd been here before, but I don’t remember when, why, with who. We stepped up to these big brass doors that could of been the size of my apartment. But before we even knocked it opened and seemed to welcome us in, the inside looked like it had been empty for hundreds of years, and seeing that made me cry, but I didn’t know why. Then I got mad not knowing anything that was happened, so I burst out "Can you just tell me, why this all seems so familiar" and once I said that I knew there would be this long story that she would...."Just keep walking and you'll remember" she said suddenly.ooopps. I saw these pictures of people on the wall in this huge building, it seemed so much like a museum. But then Virginia motioned me upstairs to a room with a dark cherry wood door, with lines running up the side of it, like something was measured. As soon as I touched the door knob and opened the door my head was full of images. Their was a little girl playing with some dolls and magically changing their outfits, and I was tearing. It seemed as though I was there when this image was happening, like I was standing in the doorway watching. Then a man came from behind me and walked right through me and picked up the little girl and sat her on his lap bed. At that moment I broke down crying, and I couldn’t stop, because it all became so familiar, the little girl became so familiar. And soon those images went from my eyes to my memories..............That little girl ......was me...and....that was my "father". Suddenly once I said father the image went away...and all there was this old dusty room with broken furniture and covered items...and I turned to have it all come back, I wanted it all back. I turned to Virginia and told her to bring them back...I demanded for her to bring them back, but all she did was stand there...like I meant nothing, like those memories were nothing to worry about. But she was wrong, they meant more then she could ever know, and I would do anything for them back. Suddenly she picked me up off the floor and pulled me to another room. this room was very different form the other. It was a small dining room, with a large black table in it. heavy drapes hung from the windows, and only a tiny electric bulb in the center of the ceiling illumined the room. The chairs were broken, and strewn throughout the floor. I walked carefully across to a small pile of pictures laying on one of the chairs. I picked one up and stared. it was me... that little girl. I was with my father and who was that? in the background? it was a woman with blonde hair. "hair like sunshine" I whispered. "daddy always said hair like sunshine when he talked about mommy. I remember I " It was like I was sucked into a different time. My mother and my father were on either side of me. I looked down at my hands. my little hands. "smile sweetie!" my mother said, her hair glistening as she swept it over her shoulder. "mommy..." a flash went off and suddenly it was dark. I woke up to the sound of my father's voice. "Tabby? come on! we'll be late!" I looked around. I was in a kitchen. the floors were carefully polished and the whole room smelt of lemons. My mother stood at the counter chopping something. "late for what sweetie?" my mother asked, smiling. "You remember, don't you dear? Tabatha is going away today. We don't want her anymore." I snapped my head up. "What? wait. This doesn't happen. this isn't real." I was my self again. 23, fake brown hair to hide my blonde. The room disappeared as soon as it had come. Virginia was watching me curiously. "What was that?" I asked. WHAT WAS IT?" "Once you walk into a room filled with so many memories your mind and spirit automatically tap into that energy...its an emotional bond." But why did it have to show me that, what good does that tell me, that they didn’t want me any more...but once I heard it I knew that wasn’t right...that that wasn’t what he was supposed to say. At that moment my life got even more complicated and I hadn’t even realized it "Now Tabatha...you don’t remember anything up to age 12 right".I tried to think back...the last thing I remember was that memory I just saw...of my parents not wanting me...but how was that possible...how can that be my last memory...it just doesn’t make sense. "Yes" I said worried. "Do you know why?" wait can she answer that, does she know. "No...I was just wondering that myself". "Well that memory of your father saying that...well...it isn’t actually him, when you were little someone altered certain aspects of your life...certain memories, for you to go a separate way in the, the path you weren’t supposed to take". I started to cry again. This day has been a day of tears. "You mean that horrible memory I have of my parents not wanting me isn’t real, someone put it their to screw me over in my 'path'"...I didn’t know what she was going to say. "yes"..I fell at that instance, I felt like a child again, like I was over helmed with a feeling, one which I have not felt in a very long time...love. END OF CHAPTER!

> > well lets sate the obvious...Quigley’s in
> > trouble...there’s a bad guy who wiped away
> Tabitha’s
> > memories...Virginia is going to help...
> > so when to decide where Quigley is, what sort of
> > trouble is he in...and Tabitha’s feelings...your
> > turn...
> > -court
> alright... I wanted this to go into a "Quigley’s
> been
> captured by the man who stole my memories" kind of
> thing, or even a "Quigley is really the evil man who
> stole my memories" what do you think? I don’t know where
> to
> go with it...?
> I think the whole Quigley is the bad guy thing will
> annoy me...there has to be twists but I don’t like
> the idea of him being bad...I think he should be
> Tabitha’s friend but always known they were more then
> friends, type of person...and the only one that she
> could trust when she was growing up. I think the
> man who stole her memories should turn out to be her
> father...that when she was growing up her father had
> found her (you know since her mother...before
> killing her....sent her away)and after knowing that
> the fact that her mother killed her self was
> effecting her he whipped her memories away (the
> thing is that since she didn’t know her mother killed
> herself there was a connection that shifted her
> powers in the end...and to help her father had
> do something) and gave her away to a "human
> family"....then again I don’t know...
> oh and happy belayed thanksgiving!!
> -court

okay. I like those ideas, I just don't understand the
"connection that shifted her powers in the end" part.
do you mean they temporarily disappeared? or do you
mean... I don’t know... Anyway. I like it. e just need to
figure out how we're getting there now. I think we
should also go back and do some editing to make sure
the whole thing ACTUALLY makes sense...

her powers never go away, or temporarily disappear, and I'll look over the whole story in a little bit and send it back!

-Courtney)

CHAPTER 2 Tabatha was awoken with a start. She sat up and looked around the tiny room. For a minute she blinked wildly, confused by her strange surroundings. Suddenly she remembered. A rush of emotion and relief washed over her. The previous day she had spent here had helped her to discover so much about her hidden past. She checked the clock next to her bed and saw that it was 3 hours before Virginia would be awake. walking quietly, she exited the room and started down the hall. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, and paused at the bathroom door. When she finally pushed the door open, she nearly fainted.

On the walls, there was pink wall paper, with a tapestry pattern in white, she remembered it so well, but the thing that made her almost faint, was the dried blood painted over it on one side. Luckily Virginia was there to catch her. Things just went from astonishing to frightening, in a matter of seconds, and she...wanted to leave. she could not take it anymore. Her eyed were swollen from crying and her heart beating faster then it had ever before...she just couldn’t take it anymore. She had to leave. "I'm, not strong enough Virginia, I cant take all this...its just too much"... It was unexpected, but needed when Virginia slapped me. I blinked and stared into her eyes. "You..." " Yes, I slapped you. Now focus. What do you see?" "I... um... blood..." I looked around wildly, "wait, something... something's missing! a... something important..." "THINK" Virginia said, staring at me with determination and knowing in her eyes. What was missing? I thought. Something I loved something I... "It's... a...a..." "yeeeees?"Virginia was growing impatient. Why was this so important to her. Why was she so eager for me to regain my memories? "I don't know. I can't... this is too hard. I need to find Quigley, and go home..." "You are home, Tabatha. And Quigley is better off where he is until you learn what you need to." I could feel anger growing inside of me. Virginia's eyes remained locked with mine, and I could feel a tear slide down my cheek. "Crying again." Virginia said, a smirk on her lips. "Crying will do you no good, dear." "shut. up." I said. My voice dripping with bitterness and despise. "you have no idea how hard this is." Virginia narrowed her eyes and frowned. "you don't know me girl." She had said that so seriously that it frightened me. And it was true, I didn’t know her...who was she...was she really there to help me, was she really on my side. But after all that I have gone through...its too late Not to trust her. But a stranger inside of me wanted to scream as though I had no connection to any of this, like it was foreign to me. "Stop thinking" She said as she grabbed my shoulders and shook me. "how am I supposed to stop thinking when its the only thing keeping me sane. Here you are telling me to remember things I was supposed to forget, that someone wanted me to forget. Then you tell me I have this whole magical life that I abandoned and I must remember everything to get it back???" "well...." she said "yes". I was sick of her opinion, but the way the room felt disturbed me, for what ever was missing was nagging at me every moment.....wait! "I know what’s missing. Over there in the corner... there was a... a... rocking chair..." The room flashed before my eyes. The blood stains disappeared and the rocking chair was replaced in it's corner. A beautiful young woman holding a baby ran into the room. She was breathing heavily and she fumbled to lock the door behind her. The baby began to cry. "That baby... is it?" I looked over to where Virginia had been standing, but instead I saw a bookshelf. "Virginia?" I whispered, "where are you?" there was no reply. I was alone in my memories. "hush little Tabatha," the woman said, "we're going to be okay." She held on to the baby so gently and as she did so, Tabatha could feel arms around her cradling her. She felt comforted. Suddenly someone began banging on the door. "OPEN UP! DADDY'S HOME! The woman placed the baby in a small brown basket lying on the floor by the closet door. She tied a long rope around it and began to lower the basket out the window. When the rope was almost spent, she pulled out a pouch of green powder, and sprinkled it down onto the baby. "Limpata da sia" she whispered, and the rope, basket and baby together disappeared in a cloud of green dust. The woman sat down in the rocking chair, and closed her eyes. "I'm so sorry Harold. I'm so so sorry." She drew a pistol from the folds of her robe and aimed it at the inside of her mouth. She squeezed her eyes shut, and moved to pull the trigger. But at the same moment, the door broke down and a large man walked in. "Abby..." he said, "don't do this." "YOU'RE TOO LATE, HAROLD! TABATHA'S GONE!" she laughed wildly, and stared into the man's eyes, her own filling with tears, "Tabatha’s...gone..." Tabatha’s eyes were filled with confusion and her cheeks were wet with tears. She did not want to see what prevailed next. As soon as she turned away the scene was gone, the room with the peeling wallpaper and the blood stained walls were back, and Tabatha collapsed. Virginia ran to her side and lifted her limp body into the air...and soon let go. Tabatha was floating into the air, she was suspending without any support. Her arms hung on her side, hands clenched, and hair dangling like string. All of a Sudden a green light shot through her body and suddenly her eyes opened. Colors were seen moving back and forth through her eyes, and it was all how it was supposed to be. Swiftly the light disappeared and her body slowly dropped to the ground. Even Virginia had not known what had happened. NEXT CHAPTER The next morning Tabatha awoke with a start to the sound of the rain. Virginia was seated next to her, staring calmly out the window. "I was wondering when you would wake up." Virginia said, never breaking her stare out the window. Tabatha shifted and noticed a envelope, yellowed with age, at the foot of her bed. Virginia sighed, stood up, and looked at Tabatha. "read it." she said, "then you decide what we do next..." Tabatha waited until she heard Virginia descend the stairs. She glanced out the window, and watched raindrops fall across the glass. She pulled the envelope closer to her, and slid a fingernail under the sealing. She paused, staring at the return address in the left hand corner of the envelope. It was from P. Morrow, in Concord Massachusetts, not far from where she had grown up. The address of the recipient was faded, and blurred, but parts of the name stuck out. All she could make out was a "q" and a "u". "Quigley." she whispered, and pulled the letter out of the envelope, and began to read.

Dear Tabatha,

Hey, I knew you would come here....once you knew I was in trouble...I knew you would try to find me.... I'm sorry I cant be there...but its up to you...I cant explain what’s going on but let me tell you, I never gave up on you...and you know I love you. Once you have a decision to make you'll know what to do...don’t worry about me, find out more about your past, I'll be ok. If I never see you again, don’t worry...I love you.

-Quigley

she slowly closed back up the letter and stared into space. Soon Virginia had returned from down stairs. “Do you know what you want to...." "yes, we have to find Quigley".