Dear Diary:                                      August 12, 2014

          Hearing Rogue's roar or shriek come from the middle of town, sent shivers down all of our backs. As we began to run and fly toward where we heard the noise was coming from, Keith stopped and called us back. We saw that Leah had a grimace on her face and was slowing down. She must have been feeling serious discomfort to discern a grimace on her wolf face.

"Leah, are you alright?" Keith asked worriedly. She nodded but looked straight into his eyes as they communicated telepathically. Then Keith looked at us and explained:

"She isn't feeling well and considering who we are about to go up against, I don't think it's a wise idea to have the wolves present at all. They are just not in the league of these two demons." We nodded in agreement.

"I think you're right Keith and I also think that Nessie and Esme should go back with them and perhaps you can stay back too." I said thoughtfully.

"What about you? Less people, how will you guys deal?" Edward said speaking Seth's mind.

"It's ok guys, we have Peter, Alexander, Kim, and Michelle has also been made a full Watcher; the three already up ahead plus rest of the Cullen Clan. We'll handle ourselves, don't worry." I responded.

"Besides, we'll fight a lot better knowing Nessie is safe along with the rest of you." Bella added.

"As soon as this battle is over, Leah I'll come over and do a complete check on you, alright?" I asked her and she nodded.

          After a family hug, we all split up; half going home and the other half off into the unknown. We ran and flew toward O'Leary's Publishing Company. Before we got to the penthouse where we knew everything was going down; Alexander stopped us.

"We are about to battle two massive hybrid demons and a chunk of Sloulah demons as well. So here's how it's going to go; the way to properly kill a Sloulah is to first cut off its head then tongue. Because even if you cut off the head, the tongue will still be able to do damage. Leave the two hybrids to Rogue, Amy, Corin, and myself." He explained as he passed around swords to each of us.

"Sounds good to us." I acknowledged as I took a sword from him. He smiled at me.

"So who's ready to go kick some demon ass?" Alexander asked. Remembering the answer prior to the war with Hestia, we all replied in unison:

"HA-OOH!!"

          With that, we all flew to the penthouse and burst through the doors. Alexander tossed Carrie's staff to Rogue before anyone could get a word out and we took in the sight before us. There, stood two almost identical red devil looking demons, one with a horn missing. That horn was being juggled by Rogue as she taunted him. In addition to Dan and Julia O'Leary, there were about 20 other Sloulah demons milling around preparing to attack. A lot had changed into their natural forms and looked like giant cockroaches that could walk upright. Nasty looking creatures. That's when surprisingly, the gruesome twosome focused their attention on Michelle and Bacchus said:

"Weren't you supposed to be dead?"

"I beg your pardon?" Michelle asked disgustedly.

"Weren't the Children of the Moon supposed to rip you to shreds? That was why we made them sun-changing hybrids."

"YOU! You created them to attack Michelle?" Kim was belligerent. The twins laughed evilly.

"Well of course, how else did you think that kind of hybrid would be made? Besides she is your weakest link. Start from the bottom and work your way up." Barachus said smoothly looking from Michelle to Rogue.

"Well looks to me like right now, YOU'RE the weakest link there, horn-less." Michelle taunted evilly. Which surprised most of us though not the Watchers. Barachus growled in response to her.

"Unlike you, halfwit, Michelle is now a full standing Watcher just like the rest of us; so that would be WAS the weakest link not IS." Kim gloated at him.

          He lunged at her but she side stepped him nicely. The Sloulah were waiting for their signal to attack us as we waited for the same. Just then I heard Amy's voice in my head and I assume the others did as well: Rogue knows there are other things that the twins aren't telling. The children of the moon aren't the only things these freaks are responsible for and before she kills them, she wants answers so don't attack the Sloulah until they come after you which will be soon enough. Follow our lead. I nodded at her. I was now very curious as to what she meant by "other things". Barachus and Rogue circled each other.

"Come on Barachus, I know you love to boast about all of your evil deeds and even Carrie mentioned you both as having made a deal with about making her a demon. So what other juicy secrets are you keeping? Might as well tell us. It's going to happen one way or another really. It's up to you to figure out how you want it done. The easy way or the hard way." She said calmly.

"So you're going to torture me are you? I invented torture, little girl. You have no idea what pain even is. Now your girl Altheia on the other hand......yummmmm she felt pain. Lots of it just before she died on that jagged rock and you know it's all your fault she's dead. If you hadn't jumped on my head, she'd probably be alive." Barachus said viciously taunting her.

Wrong move....wrong fucking move asshole!

          Without so much as warning a massive lightning bolt shot out of Rogue's hands and struck Barachus sending him flying into the wall which cracked under the force of his weight. He laughed getting up:

"Is that all that you got?"

        Rogue's hellish gaze narrowed and she reached out her free hand and twisted it just as Barachus doubled over. Her eyes narrowed further as she continued to twist her hand over and over as Barachus howled in agony. She used her other hand—she had given the horn and staff to Amy to hold—where a sword appeared to chop Barachus' other horn off! Then she pulled her twisted arm forward and ripped his insides out! He grunted and fell forward. With a swift flow of the wrist she chopped Barachus' head off as Amy tossed the staff back to her. Rogue then put the staff up to the pieces that were left of Barachus and the staff started to glow as Barachus started to disintegrate in the same manner that Carrie had. It was all over before most of us could blink. And that's when the Sloulah attacked us.

        With body parts flying everywhere; well mostly tongues and heads and an occasional arm or horn depending whether we were fighting them in roach or human form. They were obviously not used to fighting anyone but humans so vampires with gifts and/or super speed was definitely not in their repertoire. Then again, brain sucking demons weren't hardly in ours either, but we learned quickly and adapted ourselves to this new way of fighting. The penthouse was quickly becoming a war zone with demolished furniture and infrastructure. We knew sooner or later, the building was going to collapse and we had to get out of it before it did just that.

        Rogue and Bacchus were circling each other, she was holding the staff and he was sword less. Barachus was gone. Now this demon had two options; fight or flight. Before either happened though, Rogue was determined to get answers out of him.

"Spill Bacchus, what else did you do other than create the Children of the Moon hybrids to attack Michelle? And why was Carrie so important to you?"

"Hestia." He said. Rogue raised an eyebrow.

"What about her?"

"It was Carrie's passing through fire that awoke Hestia. We created her baptism by fire in order for the ritual to work."

"I see and what did you need Hestia for?"

"Don't you see? Everything has been a test."

"To see just how strong we were and who were aligned with us. Is that what the Sloulah demons were for and this staff? To suck the powers out of our gifted vampires so they would lose their gifts and you would have a little bit of an up against us?"

"Bravo! And the smart award goes to...." He clapped three times before Rogue interrupted him.

"Not you that's for sure. You do realize that everyone here is just here because of protocol, right? The other Watchers I mean? The vampires are here to help but to be perfectly truthful; I do not need any of their help dealing with you. I can take you completely on my own. When your freak of a brother murdered Altheia, he set things in motion that would forever change the way Watchers were chosen. Her death didn't make us weaker, it strengthened us. Every Watcher is now chosen to be fully immortal and invincible with unparalled powers. So congratulate yourself, because of you two morons, they made us Gods!"

          Taking everything she said in, everyone smiled but Bacchus because it had finally dawned on him that this was a battle that he could not and would not win. The Sloulah were long disposed of and now he was alone facing down a chunk of vampires and an armada of Watchers. Without looking back at us, he opened a portal and jumped into it. Rogue was about to jump in after him when Alexander grabbed her arm.

"What are you doing?? You don't even know where he's going!"

"Don't worry sweetheart, I know exactly where that fool is going....back home to the Underworld. And I have a lot of back up there if I need it including the Hydra. Be back soon." And with a quick kiss on the cheek for Alexander and a smile and wink at us, holding the staff, she jumped into the portal and it closed after her.

          Before we could really grasp what had just happened, the building around us started to shake violently and we knew we had run out of time. The Watchers grabbed us vampires and poofed. Since there were more vampires then Watchers we kind of did what looked like a group hug and disappeared simultaneously. We reappeared on our front lawn as Esme, Nessie, Jacob, and Seth came running over to us. Esme flew into my arms while Nessie ran up to her parents first and then to Michelle. That's when Esme asked looking around:

"Where's Rogue?"

"She went down the rabbit hole after Bacchus." Alexander sighed but waved off any worry. He knew his wife better than anyone. If anyone could handle that jerk, it was her and besides, in the Underworld all of her friends like the Hydra, Hades, Cerberus, and Death resided; all of whom are very capable at dismembering a hybrid twin.

          As we walked into the main house we told the others the story of the battle including the destruction of Barachus at Rogue's hand, the crazy connections of the Children of the Moon, Carrie, Hestia, and the Sloulah demons, and the collapse of the company building. I looked around as I noticed that Keith and Leah were missing but that was short lived as they both walked into the house looking nervous. I stood up and asked:

"Leah, would you like for me to give you that physical to see why you are having abdominal pain now?" But she shook her head confusing all of us. Then she and Keith looked at each other and Leah said to us all:

"I'm pregnant."

To be continued....

~Carlisle Cullen