1. THE LIGHTNING LEGACY Chapter 5 Tick Tock

2. Welcome back! I know you’ve all just been dying to know what happened at the end of the last chapter. *rolls eyes* But before you can find out, we’re skipping over to the Legacy house to visit Caleb and Liberty, a few days before the whole… incident. Yes, it’s very mean of me. ;) Anyway, enjoy chapter 5 of the Lightning Legacy! (Don’t even think about skipping slides to see what happened!! I’m onto you, Tiffany!!!)

3. Back at the Legacy house, my simself finally puts in an appearance, because I finally made her. So my hair isn’t really blonde, but it was when I was little and this hairstyle looked better in blonde than brown. Live with it. “Hello, Caleb, how nice of you to invite me over!” “I didn’t.” “Hello, Caleb, what a coincidence to see you here!” “This is my house.” “Hello, Caleb, thanks for snagging me off the street and saying hi!” “Who are you again?” “The simself.” “Oh. Everything makes sense now….” Hey!

4. “You know, it isn’t easy writing a Legacy. There’s plot and characterization—” “Plot? What are you talking about? There hasn’t been any plot that I can remember, Liberty interjected. The simself shifted guiltily in her seat. “Well, you’re elders, so your memory isn’t really that great, probably.” “Well, then, refresh it.” Oh, they’re not going to like me when they find out what I’ve done….

5. I was relieved when Liberty changed the subject, but it didn’t help me much. “I wonder how my kids are doing. You’d know right?” “Uh, yeah…” Both the elders looked at me expectantly as I didn’t expand on my answer. “Uh, well, they’re doing… uh, good….” More silence. “They all got 4.0s in their freshman year.” “They’re sophomores now, right?” Caleb asked. “Yes.” “How are they doing now?” “Well, they haven’t had their finals yet, so I don’t know….” I hedged.

6. I decided to take matters into my own hands with the subject. “I’m really excited for next generation’s kiddies.” “Who’s going to be the heir?” Liberty asked interestedly as Caleb shoveled cereal into his mouth. “Well, Annabeth’s winning the poll right now.” Caleb choked on his cereal. “Annabeth’s winning? My little girl? Really?” “Yeah, I was surprised too,” I said conversationally. “But… who would her spouse be? She was never one to be outgoing. She was the only one without a partner out of all the kids.” Caleb sounded truly concerned. “Oh, I’m sure she’ll find someone, honey. She is quite beautiful,” Liberty assured him. Caleb thought for a minute. “I suppose she is. I’ve never really thought about it.” I coughed. “Can I interrupt?”

7. “You won’t have to worry about spouses. She has found a boy, believe it or not,” I continued. “Who is it?” Caleb asked excitedly. “A boy named Chandler.” “What’s he like?” Liberty interjected. “Could you be any less specific? You’ll meet him soon, at your Anniversary Party, remember?”

8. The party took place after I redid the house, noticing that there was a lot of money in the bank. All the kids were invited, along with their spouses-to-be. Caleb immediately sought out Chandler. “So I hear you and my daughter are dating.” “Yes, that’s right, sir. She’s wonderful. You must be proud to have her as a daughter.” “Believe me, I am. You take good care of my little girl, you hear?” “Of course, Mr. Lightning. I wouldn’t dream of anything different.” “Good.”

9. “By the way, why are we having a conversation in the doorway of my new sauna?” Chandler shrugged. “I have no idea.” As he moved his hand to scratch his head, his ring caught the light, and Caleb noticed. “You’re engaged?” he asked incredulously. “Oh, did Annabeth not mention that?” “Isn’t rather early?” Caleb chocked out. “Mr. Lightning,” Chandler said seriously, fixing his gaze on Caleb, “I love her. Have no doubt of that.” Caleb could tell he was serious. He clapped a hand on his shoulder and smiled. “Welcome to the family, son.”

10. Annabeth’s shoulders slumped forward. “Come on guys, we’re a mum and dad’s. Can we keep this to a minimum?” Sunny stuck her tongue out her sister-in-law defiantly. I swear, this is all Sunny and Anakin did. It was way annoying. They only interacted with each other. Ani, why do I sense that you’re going to be the death of me? (Anyone? No? Dang.)

11. Anyways, the party went great, and I’ve decided these guys are a very adorable elder couple. <3 Back to college we go…..

12. There they lay, three siblings, the precious children of the Legacy. All different, all unique, but at this moment, all the same.

13. There they stood, the chosen spouses of the fallen three. All that could be heard from them was, “No. Not you. No.” They didn’t know how it happened. It didn’t make sense. But still, they three stood, awaiting the arrival of Death, ready to plead for their beloved.

14. But the minutes passed. No Death. The hours came and went. No Death. Yet still the Lightning children lay still on the ground. Yet still the spouses stood, rooted to the ground with shock. The other students in the dorm tried to convince them to come sit down, but they refused. Finally, as one, the three reached down to check the pulses. Relief flooded through them. They were still alive.

15. But then what was happening? They wouldn’t wake up, and after about 15 minutes, they were gently moved to their beds. No one wanted to leave their love’s bedside, but there were things they had to discuss with the others….

16. “So, we don’t really know anything, except that they’re alive,” Chandler stated. “Maybe if we all compared what happened from our view, we can figure it out.” Sunny and Celeste nodded. “I’ll start.” He took a deep breath. “Annabeth and I were standing my the door to my dorm room, when she told me she knew who the killer was. I asked who. It took her a minute, but she took a deep breath and said—” he glanced at Celeste. “’A’Tuin’.” Silence. Before Celeste could say anything, Chandler spoke. “Sunny, what happened with you and Anakin?”

17. Sunny nodded. “We were in your room, Chandler, talking, and I asked Ani why he’d brought me there.” It came to no surprise to Chandler that they’d been in his room. He was used to people cuddling on his bed. Sunny plowed on. “He said he’d found out who the killer was, and he needed to tell me. I listened, only asking “who?” to prod him on. Then he said—” another glance at Celeste– “’my brother’ and collapsed. Well, he fell off the bed first.” She shrugged.

18. “Well, I can already see some similarities,” Celeste began. “A’Tuin had taken me outside and told me he knew who the killer was and had to tell me. I asked who it was. Then he whispered, ‘me,’ and collapsed.” Chandler frowned. “Assume it really is A’Tuin. They had all figured it out before we did, and felt obliged to tell us. Then they did, and collapsed. Was it a break in…. something?” Celeste nodded. “That’s what it seems like. But other than that, we have nothing.” Sunny agreed sadly. “Now all we can do is wait for them to wake up… if they do,” she finished in a whisper. “If I know Annabeth, she will,” Chandler declared. Celeste nodded. “Same with A’Tuin.” “That would be Ani,” Sunny finished. So the three settled down to wait, sometimes thinking of something, and sharing it. Then silence would resume.

19. And they slept, on through the afternoon and into the night. They were sleeping peacefully enough, but Chandler, Sunny and Celeste couldn’t shake the feeling that something was happening to them.

20. It was 10:00 and they were still asleep. The rest of the students had gone to bed, so Sunny, Chandler, and Celeste alone were wandering around, unable to sleep, too worried to rest.

21. Stupid ghost! You leave poor Celeste alone! She has enough to worry about! “She’s the reason I’m dead!” No one forced you to make fun of her. Moron. Go haunt the microwave or something.

22. “Having fun with the bubble blower?” Sunny giggled. “Yes! You should blow some too!” “I think I’ll pass.” “Weirdo,” she laughed, but turned to look at him. All traces of goofiness left her face as she scrambled to her feet. “Ani!”

23. “Whoa! Sunny! I-mmph!” When Sunny had finally let go of him, he finished his sentence. “I’m confused. What’s going on?”

24. Sunny’s expression grew confused. “You don’t remember?” “Remember what?” He rubbed his temples. “I have a massive headache, though. And I had the weirdest dream….” he shook his head. “Anyways, what did happen?” “We were in Chandler’s room, and you said you knew who the killer was and after you told me, you collapsed,” she explained. Anakin frowned. “I don’t remember at all…. Why did I collapse?” Sunny smiled. “Well, we were kind of hoping you could tell us that.” “You’ve all been waiting for me to get up? Sorry.” “You and your siblings… almost the same thing happened to them.” She paused. “A’Tuin told Celeste he thought the killer was himself.” “I don’t think he meant it,” Anakin said thoughtfully. “I don’t think he did either.”

25. A similar exchange was taking place in the commons. “Annabeth! I’m so glad you’re okay!” Annabeth frowned as she hugged him. “Why wouldn’t I be?” Chandler bit his lip. “You don’t remember? You don’t know?” “All I know is that I have a massive headache and I had the strangest dream ever… I’m hungry, let’s go eat.” She pulled him by the hand to the kitchen.

26. After a very late dinner, or a very early breakfast, whichever you prefer, the couple showered and found each other again as to talk. “So what happened?” Chandler explained things along the same lines as Sunny, and Annabeth too, said, “I don’t think A’Tuin meant it.” Chandler agreed.

27. A’Tuin! You’re awake! … Aren’t you going to go tell Celeste you’re up and well? “No. I have to figure some things out first.” But she’s worried about you. “It’s for the best this way.” You don’t even remember what happened. How can it be better not to find out? “I remember.” Oh… how strange. “What?” Your siblings don’t remember a thing. ….

28. Use the Force, Ani! “Oh, shut up.” Methinks I’ve said that to him one too many times… Really, you have no idea how many times I’ve told him that.

29. A’Tuin did go visit Celeste in the morning, though. “I have to do something,” he said to her softly, “and before I do, I just want you to know that I love you. More than you.” “I know you love me. I love you too. Never forget that. No matter what you think you’ve done, I love you.” “Then maybe someday you can forgive me for what I’m about to do.”

30. “I’ll explain this figuratively. I’m a bomb and you never know when it’s going to go off. I’m dangerous.” “But I know you didn’t mean to,” Celeste whispered. “But I still exploded. Celeste, I almost killed myself and my siblings. I’m too dangerous to be around.” Silence. “A’Tuin, we’re supposed to get married.” Pain flashed across his face. “I know. I’m sorry. But I could never live with myself if I hurt you or—” he gulped, but plowed on, “—killed you.” Celeste just stared at her plate, unable to speak. “Like I said. A bomb. Every tick, tock, brings it closer.”

31. He got up slowly and walked away. He heard her whisper, “No.” Tears filled his eyes as he stumbled toward his room, the soft, broken sobs still ringing in his ears as he shut the door behind him.

32. “How am I supposed to live without her?” Not to be misunderstanding of your pain, but I sent you to write your term paper…. “I’m on Academic Probation anyways. What’s it matter anymore? I killed them. I can’t believe I killed them….” Hey, the phone’s ringing…

33. “Hello?” “A’Tuin Lightning?” a voice said on the other end. It was a strong, firm, yet gentle. “Yes… who is this?” “You don’t know me, but I can help you.” “Help me?” A’Tuin answered, interested. “How?” “I can teach you to harness your powers and use them for good. I can make sure you never hurt your loved ones.” “When do we start?” A’Tuin asked intently, thoughts flying to Celeste, his siblings, and his parents. “As soon as you are ready. We cannot practice where there are others, as your powers will be hard to harness at first. There could be…flares. Therefore it is best we start after you have graduated.” “I don’t care about college,” A’Tuin replied. “That’s not important to me now. I’ll drop out. Tell me where to go.”

34. So A’Tuin dropped out and got into the taxi, in a haircut that bugged Anna immensely. Everyone pleaded with him, asking him to stay, but he didn’t hear them. He was only focused on one thing. Celeste was the one that got the others to back off. She looked at him and saw a determination in his eyes that she’d never seen before. As he looked at her, his eyes filled with love. He stroked her face. “This is for the best,” he whispered. “I’ll be ready someday. We will get married.” He turned and left. As everyone made to follow, she held out an arm. “Let him go,” she whispered.

35. The rest of Junior year passed quietly. Everyone was grieving over A’Tuin. There had been no emails, no phone calls, and they didn’t know where to contact him. It was almost as if he had died.

36. With the threat gone, others began teasing Celeste again, but it was almost as if they’d stopped. She didn’t mind wearing clothes that were more revealing than her everyday, and it seemed as if every insult pushed her harder. No one knew what she was working at, but it drove her with a passion that no one could compare to anything that they’d ever seen.

37. Annabeth would always type emails up to A’Tuin, but they’d lie in her drafts folder, as she didn’t have anywhere to send them. Maybe someday she would, and she saved them for that day.

38. Chandler read. And read. And read. No one knew what he was reading about, and he refused to tell anyone. It was a rare moment to find him without a book in hand.

39. Sunny occupied herself with the bubble blower. *facepalm*

40. Anakin began to build things, like he’d done in his teen years, although I never mentioned it. He sold all his creations, bringing extra money into the household.

41. Although it took him forever because the ghosts would not leave him alone. I swear. Every 15 sim minutes, a ghost would scare him. Don’t you worry, Ani, those urns are gone as soon as the sun comes up.

42. What. The. Heck. I deleted the tombstones ages ago. Go away, freak! Quit scaring my poor Ani!!

43. The rest of college passed in this same haze, at least until the time to announce the heir came up. Glancing at the empty seat where A’Tuin should’ve been sitting, I addressed the other two, “So you know why we’re here– I’m going to tell you the results of the heir poll.” Silence. “Well, Annabeth, you won. Congrats.” Anakin smiled. “Yay, I’m a spare! I get to stay young!” I rolled my eyes and turned to Annabeth.“Really? Wow. I didn’t think I’d ever be picked….” “Well, you have been. You get to carry on the Lightning name. Congrats.”

44. Anakin and I were talking about being blonde, when Annabeth cleared her throat. “Um, Anna?” “Yes?” “I’m glad to be the heir and all… but this just doesn’t seem right without A’Tuin here.” “Oh. I forgot to tell you!” I exclaimed, smiling. “A’Tuin’s doing great. He told me to tell you two not to worry about him. He already knows you’ve won the poll, Annabeth. Oh, and do a favor and convey a message to Celeste. He said to tell her, these words exactly, ‘I’m almost ready.’”

45. Well, there you go, that’s chapter five! I hope you’ve enjoyed it! Join me next time for weddings and kiddies! *Anna* (clarinetplayer15)