Julia felt herself drifting, further and further from consciousness. Before she left this realm completely, she turned her essence toward her little girl, telling her with emotion more than words that everything would be okay and that she would be gone only for a moment.
The child settled peacefully. In what felt like minutes, but were in actuality merely seconds, Julia arrived in a place she remembered quite well, and looked around before her gaze fell on the pool she had taken her first glance of Derek and the others that had ended with her getting to return to them. "You realize what it is you're planning?" She raised her gaze and nodded once at Michael. "And that we cannot stop you." Again, she nodded once and stepped forward, toward the pool. "You know Derek would never forgive himself if he were the reason the Being got the key." "I know." Julia said, kneeling in front of the pool. "Or if something happened to you..." There was a pause but she answered "I know." "Then why are you doing it?" Julia looked up, the truth there in her gaze "I told you a long time ago that if it ever came to a choice between me or Derek, I'd sacrifice myself before anything would happen to him." Michael squatted in front of her "It would kill him if your plan fails..." Julia met his gaze and said simply "Then it can't fail." "..it can't fail...." Julia suddenly came awake in front of Rachel as those remembered words echoed in her mind and she opened up her left palm, showing a bright, untarnished gold key there that shown with a light that was un-earthly. She closed her hand over it and looked at the Psychiatrist before standing. "It's time. Let's go." And with that, Julia Rayne started toward the cave, with Rachel close behind....... The Being looked up suddenly and turned to the mouth of the cave, smiling cooly. The Soulchaser and others were there, just beyond another invisible barrier he had put up to block them. The Being's face and form altered to that of Bryce's father. "It's time." it said before kicking Philip's limp form aside and starting toward where he sensed the humans. He hadn't been able to sense the Guardian but knew that he would be there.
