Chapter One

It was the night of a full moon and seagulls were soaring through the sky. A church bell tolled, making the scene seem eerie with fog all over Nesidy. Tulio was working the nightshift on Captain Amelia's ship and was inside the cabin, studying a map. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw shadows pass by the window, and heard a voice say, "He's inside." He quickly blew out the candle and hid up in the rafters.

"Get him."

The door busted open and a handful of villains entered the cabin.

"He's gone!" shouted Captain Hook.

"Search the room!" ordered John Silver.

Tulio dropped down from the rafters behind the band of pirates and said, "Hey, a party, am I invited?"

The pirates attacked him and Tulio kicked a sword out of someone's hand before running out of the cabin. They chased him across the ship, and he eventually grabbed a sword, fighting them off. They surrounded him and backed him up to the edge of the ship. His foot slipped, and Tulio fell over backwards. Losing his sword, he dangled from the edge of the ship by his fingertips.

"We did have other plans for you," said Hook, "Pity, I so would have preferred to see you hanged." He stepped on Tulio's hands and he fell over backwards into the frigid water. The pirates laughed when he didn't resurface….

The pirates left Nesidy and came across the old Horned King's castle which had been rebuilt. Inside the throne room, Siren sat in a chair with a myriad of villains surrounding her.

"Well? Where is he?" she demanded when they returned empty handed.

"When we tried grabbing him, he fell into the ocean, and drowned," said Hook, pretending to be upset, while the other pirates remained silent.

"I wanted him alive!" she shrieked, her eyes blazing. It was amazing how much the other villains were afraid of her.

"We don't really need him, do we?" Smee piped up, "Why don't we just go out and kill Aralyne now?"

Siren scowled down at him. "I had Chernabog bring all of you dolts back from the dead for a reason!" She stood up from her throne. "If you want something done right, you've got to do it yourself!" she muttered leaving the room.

I had just finished the first day of school of my junior year of college, and raced home to my apartment. I couldn't wait to tell Tulio all about it! Okay, not really. The first day is always the most boring where teachers just introduce themselves and talk about how much "fun" we're to have over the semester. I just really couldn't wait to see Tulio. According to my calculations, he and I have been dating for the past nine months, but time worked differently here in the real world than it did in Incantationen. A regular school day for me could equal days there or even weeks, but I could spend months over there and no time will pass at all here. It was strange, so I tried not to think about it too much. On the bright side, if I got tired of school, I could just go on a bit of a vacation with Tulio and still go to all of my classes.

As soon as I parked my truck, I sprinted inside my apartment, and dropped my white and pink backpack onto the living room floor. I quickly went over to my bedroom and opened up a jewelry box on my dresser. Buried at the very bottom beneath a tangled mess of necklaces and bracelets was the magic ring that allowed me to go between worlds. When I slipped it on, I thought of Nesidy, and the next thing I knew, I stood in the center of that magical town, and by the looks of it, it was early morning.

Around me were the citizens of the town, some waving to me and calling out my name.

With a grin, I waved and returned their greetings, before walking towards Tulio's house. I hadn't gotten far when I saw Grandpa Lao Shi walking my way.

"Oh, Grandpa!" I said rushing to the leader of Nesidy, "Do you know if Tulio is home from work, yet? I…." He gave me this sad look that made me stop talking for a moment. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Aralyne, I'm sorry, but Tulio's dead," he said getting straight to the point.

"Wha–?" I said feeling as if the air had been knocked out of me. I couldn't think, I couldn't breathe, or speak. The world seemed to be tilting back and forth, and I felt cold. Grandpa reached out to steady me.

"Aralyne!"

It couldn't be true! It had to be some sick joke! "No," I managed to choke out quietly, then shouted, "NO!" Tears were now pouring from my eyes, and I collapsed onto the ground, hugging myself. "Tulio! No! No!"

"I'm sorry, Aralyne," said Grandpa, then took my hand and placed something on my palm. I looked to see it was Tulio's magic ring, and I curled my fingers around it, holding it close. "He was attacked on Amelia's ship, fell into the ocean, and didn't resurface. This was all we could find of him."

We suddenly heard maniacal laughter, and my head shot up to see… me! For a moment, I couldn't believe what I was staring at, until I heard her – me? – speak, "What's wrong, Aralyne? Missing your one true love?" More evil laughter. Even Grandpa and everyone else who had happened to be watching was surprised, because no one spoke.

Then the voice processed in my head. I knew that voice, and not because it was mine; I had heard it before mocking me, threatening me. I'll be back, Aralyne, for my revenge….

"Siren?!" I gasped out in disbelief. How the hell did she end up having her own body? And one that looked like mine?!

"Who else, dimwit?" she said scowling down at me from the top of the fence she sat on, "I see you're as stupid as ever! And with me around, you'll have no rest, Aralyne. I'll make sure you die so that I remain in charge! Unlike the Horned King. One minute you're on top, the next you're sushi. Now, is that fair, gramps? I ask you," she said smirking at Grandpa. "But then, whoever said we had to play fair?"

"You!" I snarled jumping to my feet, and running to the wall. I grabbed her by the front of her short skimpy red dress, and pulled her close so that we were face to face. "What did you do to Tulio?!" I demanded.

"I didn't do anything! Personally, I wanted him alive, but it's so hard to find good help these days," she said.

"You're lying!" I practically screeched, "Tell me what you did to him, or I'll KILL you!"

"Someone got a little feisty!" Siren mocked pulling herself free from my grip, "I'm telling the truth. My pirates said he fell to his death. A tragic accident, really, but it works for me if you're miserable. Face it, honey, I'm much stronger than you are, and imagine this: with you – the true ruler of Incantationen – dead, I'll be the new queen!"

I felt nauseous at the prospect of Siren becoming queen. An evil sneer crossed her face. She suddenly jumped off the wall, heading straight for me. A dagger suddenly materialized in her hand and she aimed straight for my heart. I was still in shock from losing Tulio and didn't move on time. Siren nearly struck me when Danny appeared out of nowhere, and caught the villainess by the waist, throwing her to the side. With a snarl of rage, she leapt at me again, and once more, Danny caught her and held her back.

Realizing she could not harm me at all with Danny around, Siren shouted out, "This isn't the end, Aralyne! It's just the beginning! You'll never find me, but I'll find you!" With an evil laugh, she suddenly vanished in a puff of red smoke.

"Dammit! She got away!" Danny swore then said, "Aralyne, are you okay? Aralyne?"

I ignored him, staring at the spot where Siren had stood just moments before. I didn't just feel nauseous, I felt sick like I was going to faint. How did this happen?! And why to me?!

"Aralyne?" said Grandpa, but I ignored him, too.

With tears still streaming down my face, I shuffled in a trance-like state all the way to Tulio's house, not paying any attention to the people around me. Upon my arrival, I opened the door, stepped inside, and shut it behind me, staring around the living room. There on the couch was where I did my homework last year, and read books while he sat beside me, holding me against him. My throat tightened, and I turned my head, making my way through the rest of the house. The kitchen/dining area where we ate our meals together. The bathroom where we had our argument about whether or not the toilet seat should be left down (we compromised and agreed to just shut the lid all together). And finally the bedroom, where we never once went beyond sleeping or cuddling. I sat down on the edge of the bed staring at the empty space. My silent tears suddenly turned into loud wailing sobs, as I curled up into a fetal position. My heart was in pieces that would never become whole again.

I kept drifting in and out of sleep so I didn't know nor care if it was the same day, or the next, or even a year had passed. When I was awake, I stared at the empty spot beside me in bed just thinking of Tulio's face, especially his cocky grin. The heartache I felt was overwhelming, causing me to cry from the moment I woke up until I fell back asleep again.

After a certain point, I heard someone knocking on the front door, but I didn't have the energy to get up, and instead listened to a bunch of muffled voices.

"Aralyne, open up! We know you're in there!"

"Stop it! She needs time alone to grieve!"

"We haven't seen her since yesterday, and I'm worried."

"I need to speak with her. It is of the upmost importance."

"Should we give her another day?"

"No, she could be hurt!"

"What I have to say cannot wait. The fate of Incantationen rests on her."

I heard the door open, and a moment later, I stared lachrymosely at Danny Fenton, Sam Manson, Grandpa, and a man with long hair covering his right eye. The man seemed familiar, but I didn't bother trying to remember where I've seen him before.

"Aralyne," said Danny sitting at the edge of the bed, brushing a strand of shoulder-length hair away from my face. Even though I haven't gotten up from this spot once, I could tell my hair was wild and all over the place from not brushing it. "Come on, Aralyne, you have to get up, now," he urged in a quiet tone.

"Danny, don't," said Sam grabbing his arm.

"Please, Sam, she's my friend," the ghost-boy said, "I'm just trying to help her."

The Goth girl pulled away, and kind of stood to the side. Danny wrapped one arm around me and pulled me into a sitting position. To keep me from flopping back over, he had me lean against his chest and shoulder.

"Aralyne," said Grandpa, and my gaze shifted over to him, "You can't just lay here and not do anything, not as long as Siren is out there plotting to rule the world." I didn't respond. I didn't care what Siren did anymore. Tulio was gone and it was entirely her fault. She could come and kill me for all I cared. Almost as if Grandpa had read my mind, he added, "You can't live your life like this. If you're not going to do anything to stop Siren from wreaking havoc, then we'll make you!"

"Grandpa!" Sam and Danny protested.

Ignoring them, Lao Shi said, "Hatori, you know what to do."

My eyes flickered over to the other man, finally recalling who he was. Hatori Sohma from Fruits Basket. Hatori stepped forward and knelt before me.

"Aralyne," he said in a voice that seemed distant and cold, "I'm going to erase your memory of Tulio."

"N-No!" I finally croaked out, my eyes widening and my heart hammering, "No!"

"Danny, hold her down!" Grandpa ordered.

"If you help them, Daniel Fenton, I swear I'll never be your friend again!" I yelled pulling away from the ghost-boy. He stared at me in surprise, then looked over at Grandpa for no one ever defied him when he gave an order.

"Hold her down, Danny. She won't remember this conversation," said Grandpa.

Curling my hand into a fist, I struck out at Danny, but he turned intangible and my hand went right through his head.

He suddenly grabbed me, and pinned me to his chest, keeping a tight hold on my arms.

"Let me go!" I screamed kicking my legs to prevent anyone else from getting near me. Fresh tears began to stream down my face as I struggled against Danny's grip. I wasn't going to forget Tulio! They couldn't make me!

A blue dragon's tale suddenly sprouted out from Grandpa's behind, and he used it to wrap my legs in a bind. Now I was pretty much completely immobile.

"This isn't going to hurt," Hatori said placing a hand over my eyes. I tried shaking my head to get rid of him, but his palm held me in place.

"Please, no!" I finally begged, "I don't want to forget him! I love him!"

"I'm sorry, Aralyne, but it's the only way for you to defeat Siren without a distraction," said Grandpa.

A beam of white light shot out of Hatori's palm, and it was the last thing I saw before everything went black….

Aralyne slumped unconsciously in Danny's arms, and Hatori stood up, pulling away.

"If she can't remember Tulio, then she wouldn't remember most of what happened to her here, right?" Danny inquired.

"No," said Hatori, "Some of her memories had been altered slightly to fill in the gap that was Tulio, but she remembers everything."

"Come," said Grandpa, "We must move her to the Benbow Inn before she wakes up."

Danny stood, hoisting Aralyne into his arms, and the four of them left Tulio's house, heading through town. They took her to the inn, and after Grandpa explained everything to Mrs. Hawkins, they set her in the same room she had occupied the first time she had arrived in Nesidy.

As Sam was leading Danny away, he looked back at Aralyne's sleeping form, guilt gnawing at him. He knew allowing her memories of Tulio to be erased was wrong, but Grandpa was right. As long as Tulio's death was a distraction to her, she couldn't stand up to Siren and defeat her.

(I'm back! And I've decided to continue the HS series! But remember, this one is going to be completely different from HS 3: A New Generation. Hope you enjoy!)