IMPORTANT! THIS IS A SEQUEL! You don't have to read A Hidden Appearance first, but how knows, you might like it.

I also want to thank everyone that reviewed A Hidden Appearance.

to sthrnpanther06: I'm sorry if I wasn't clear enough, the diary-entry was supposed to be years after the story, even after this story. But I am pretty sure it is Simms-Parry. Thank you for reviewing!

to Midnightquiver: I'm really sorry for not answering your question. I just kept thinking 'Tomorrow, I'll upload that chapter, then I'll answer it'. Again, I'm really sorry. The song is called 'the last night' and it is by skillet. I'm really glad you liked the chapter so much, and thank you so much for reviewing. I hope this sequel is what you hoped for!

What couldn't be expected

The halls were completely dark, so dark you couldn't even make out a route. But the man that walked there didn't need to see to know the way. He knew exactly how many steps to make before he had to turn left, he knew exactly which path he had to follow through the maze. After all, this was his home. Not the place where he slept, or eat, or lived, but the place where he would meet his family.

The turned left and entered the large room. As always, he took a second the slow his heartbeat down. It was a well known fact that the members who weren't welcome anymore wouldn't be updated on the new routes when they changed. And if you didn't walk the right way, you were a dead man. There was only one save way, all the others lead to nothing but death. But apparently, he was still welcome.

He walked to his seat without a word. There were about twenty men but none of them greeted him. They didn't even acknowledge his presence, but he was used to that. In this room there were no emotions, no feelings, not even names. But still these people were his family. Before you could get in the room, you had to leave everyone behind. Family, friends, people you once loved, you had to forget all about them. They weren't important anymore, and to prove that you had to pay the ultimate sacrifice. Your mother, father, brother, girlfriend… whoever you loved the most, you had to kill. He still remembered his sister laying on the floor, a pool of blood around her head, almost like a halo… But as her face appeared in his mind, he couldn't feel anything. He just didn't care anymore.

Other men walked in, but were ignored as well. They sat down and waited with their brothers, until finally, three men walked inside. They wore the exact same clothes as the other men, yet there was something different about them. Not something you could see, but you could feel it. They had build the building, they had chosen their followers… They were the council, stronger, faster and smarter than any other man.

They walked side by side, in the exact same tempo, in the exact same line. They made their way through the room and finally stopped in front of three chairs. They turned around, again at the exact same time, and they looked at their followers, who were now standing as well. Every eye was focused on the council, waiting for one of them to speak.

"Power was given." They said in synchronisation.

"Power was taken." The twenty-eight followers chanted.

"Wrong was done." The council spoke.

"It will be revenged." He replied with his brothers.

The three men sat down.

"We welcome our sons." They said.

"We honour our fathers." And so the meeting had begun.

"Two of our sons have been proven unworthy. But their loss shall not be the cause of any grieve, for we have found new sons to fill their places. Today they shall be initiated. Welcome them and take them in for they shall be your family as you are theirs."

"They shall be our brothers." The sons called as one. Then the fathers continued.

"Centuries ago we were the gods in this world. Until the men betrayed us and took our power from us. One year ago, three traitors returned to our land. And this year, we will have our vengeance."

"Justice shall be done." The sons chanted.

"It has taken us long to prepare ourselves. Now, we are stronger, faster and better than ever before. This year we will fight and we will conquer. Our power shall be ours once again. So tell us, our sons: Are you ready to fight for your fathers? Are you ready to bleed for your fathers? Are you ready to die for your fathers?"

"We will suffer until death takes us away to do your will!" The sons screamed now, jumping up from their seats. They all pulled a knife and held it against their forearm. "We will fight for you!" And they cut. Blood streamed down their arms on to the floor. And the fathers were pleased.

"Bring in the candidates." They commanded the person closest to their chairs. The man stood up and walked away, back through the deathly halls.

And so they waited, in complete silence, until their brother would return with the candidates.

The brother returned with the two men. He returned to his seat immediately, but the two candidates were left standing. At first they looked a bit nervous, but that changed as soon as they caught sight of the room. They straightened their backs and erased all emotion from their faces, as they had learned from the people that would be their brothers in a few minutes. Then they bowed their heads to make sure they couldn't see the fathers. Only the sons could see the fathers.

Side by side they took the final paces towards the chairs of the fathers, and they kneeled in front of them.

"We welcome you." The fathers chanted. The three candidates didn't once think about the answer. After all, they had cramped the entire protocol into their heads.

"We thank the ones we honour." They said in a loud, clear voice.

"You have done our will and pleased us. Now you will have your reward. Are you ready to become our sons?" The fathers asked.

"We are, honoured ones."

"Are you ready to let go of everything but the things we give you?"

"We are, honoured ones."

Then the fathers looked away from them, taking in their sons.

"And are you ready to accept these men as your brothers?"

"We are, honoured fathers." The sons chanted.

"Then let your blood and our blood be one!" The fathers commanded the candidates. The two men jumped up from the floor. Two brothers jumped up from their chairs and walked forward, each handing a knife to one of the candidates. The men accepted them with a light bow and then they held the knifes against their right forearms. Mean while, the fathers had taken their own knifes and did the same. All five of them pressed the knife against their arms until a stream of blood appeared. Then the sons walked forward, still not looking at the fathers, and held out their bleeding arms. One by one, each father allowed a drip of their blood to fall on the arms of the candidates. Their blood mingled and finally the two men were allowed to look up.

And for the first time, they saw their fathers.

"Rachel, I swear I've never met anyone who could cook like this. How do you do it?" Rachel laughed, while trying not to look at Reid, who seemed to be trying to finish his plate in one bite.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Liz. I just follow the recipe. How hard is that?" Lizzie groaned softly and shook her head.

"I don't know what went wrong. I mean, I did exactly what is said, but somehow it still burned."

"Did you stir?" Tyler joined in the discussion. Lizzie nodded.

"Yeah, well, Reid did anyway." Her eyes widened when she finally realized where she had made the mistake. "You did stir, right, Reid?" Three pair of eyes turned to Reid, who didn't look very intelligent at the moment, since he was stuffing his mouth with spaghetti. When Lizzie said his name, he immediately froze and stared up at her with a guilty expression.

"Reid!" She called out, her eyes voice filled with unbelief. "I told you three times!" Reid stared at her, his eyes filled with innocence.

"Chelsea Charms was on TV! Did you know her breast each way 26 pounds?" He defended himself. Lizzie stared at him in unbelief.

"Oh yeah, I heard that too." Tyler said. "What channel was it on?" Rachel rolled her eyes and slapped her boyfriend against the back of his head.

"Stay out of it, sweetheart, and let Lizzie and Reid fight it out." She told him, while taking Brian out of his seat.

"Play mommy." They little kid called out, immediately ending the argument between Reid and Lizzie by dragging all the attention to him. Rachel smiled lovingly at her son while carrying the kid to his room. A few weeks ago, Reid had given him a box of bricks for his birthday and it had soon turned out to be his favourite toy, so it wasn't a real big surprise when he immediately crawled towards it when Rachel put him down. She looked at him for a while, making sure he was alright, and then returned to the living room, where the diner table was.

"He's getting so big." Lizzie laughed, absolutely adoring her 'nephew'. Reid grinned.

"You just saw him yesterday, Liz. There's no way he has grown since then." Lizzie completely ignored her boyfriend. "But he does love that box, doesn't he? I knew he would." Reid grinned proudly. Rachel laughed and nodded.

"Alright Reid, I'll say it. You're the best uncle in the world. Happy now?"

"Very much so, thank you." Reid answered. They all laughed. Then Rachel walked towards the table and started to clear the table. Tyler immediately jumped up and pushed her back on her chair.

"I'll do it." He smiled. "You relax for a second." Rachel smiled up at him, her eyes filled with love. Lizzie turned around, facing Reid, lifting her eyebrows. Reid sighed softly and nodded.

"Alright, I'll help." He kissed Lizzie on the cheek and then followed Tyler's lead. Lizzie smiled and turned back to Rachel.

"It's amazing, right? I mean, if you had told me five years ago that his would happen, I would've never believed you." Rachel smiled and nodded.

"I know what you mean." She answered in a whisper, while her memories took control of her thoughts.

Three years ago, she had been a nobody. She had no friends, her parents hated her and her brother rarely acknowledged her existence. That had all changed after she had met Nelson brothers, Simon, Max and Mark. They had invited her to a party in Boston, after which she had met their friends, who had quickly became her friends as well. Simon and Max were in a dance crew, while Mark drummed in a band. Rachel had quickly became a part of the dance crew, and had even sung with the band a couple of times. It had been some awesome times.

But her life had changed even more after her brother Pogue suddenly seemed to remember he had a little sister, and tried to act more normal to her. His friends, Caleb, Reid and Tyler, immediately followed his lead, and so did Pogue and Caleb's girlfriends, Kate and Sarah. And since those six sort of formed the popular crowed in their school, Rachel had suddenly found herself in the spotlights. Something that, as it turned out, wasn't an completely good thing.

One day, January the fifth, Rachel was attacked by three classmates while walking home. They had raped her, tortured her and then left her in the woods, where she had laid for hours until her brother, his friends and her friends had found her and taken her home. After a couple of dark weeks, in which she had tried to kill herself, discovered she was pregnant, and being slapped by her father while her friends were watching, things had started to get better. She started dating a boy named Chase Collins, got closer to her brother and managed to get away from her parents. And on top of that, she suddenly had a lot of friends who had proven they'd always be by her side. There was Reid, who almost became her second brother, Caleb, who was an awesome friend, Sarah and Kate, who were the best friends anyone could have, Lizzie, who was the big sister that was ready to kick the asses of everyone that tried to hurt her…. And Tyler. Tyler was a completely different story, since Rachel really hadn't really known what was going on between the two of them. One second, he was her best friend and then he suddenly seemed unable to talk to her. It was really weird, especially since she had a huge crush on him.

During the trials against the three rapists and her parents, her friends had given her enough strength to survive. But somehow, luck just didn't fit her. Chase had turned out to be an evil warlock, wanting to kill Pogue, Caleb, Reid and Tyler. She had known about the existence of magic for a long time then, since her brother and his three friends had been warlocks as well, but none of them knew that Chase was a warlock too. So that had come as quite a shock.

Chase had kidnapped Rachel, claiming he loved her. After killing everyone who had ever hurt her, meaning her parents and the three rapists, he had explained everything. About how he was the descendant of one of the five families that had magic. Caleb, Pogue, Reid and Tyler had been descendants of the other four. Chase's ancestor, John Putnam, was killed in the witch hunts. He had wanted more power and had endangered the other families that way. So he was betrayed. Before he had died, however, he had managed to impregnate a woman. And so the magic had lived on, all the way to Chase, who wanted revenge.

Before Chase had the change to do anything, however, Pogue and Caleb had found and defeated him, thereby saving Rachel. Admitting his defeat, Chase had given his power to Brian, Rachel's unborn baby. A warlock can not survive without his power, and so Chase had died.

Life had been surprisingly easy after that. Rachel had started dating Tyler, and had fallen hopelessly in love with him. Reid had dropped his playboy act by taking Lizzie out and becoming her boyfriend. After graduation Rachel, Tyler, Lizzie and Reid had moved to New York to study there. At first, she and Lizzie had shared an apartment, while Reid and Tyler lived next door, but that hadn't lasted for long. Reid kept calling Lizzie in the middle of the night. Tyler usually fled to Rachel's apartment then, and Reid and Lizzie had finally decided to just move in together, after which Tyler and Rachel's choice had been made pretty easily. That had been almost a year ago. Rachel now was in her first year of college, since she had spend the previous year taking care of Brian. Tyler, Lizzie and Reid were in their second year.

"I can't believe Reid burned the food." Lizzie muttered angrily. Rachel laughed.

"I can't believe you thought you could leave the stirring to him. You know how he is." Lizzie rolled her eyes.

"He's terrible, that's how he is. I mean, look at Tyler: You don't even have to ask him to do things, he always helps. With Reid, I have to ask at least three times before he even moves!"

Rachel slowly shook her head. "See, that's where you make the mistake: You shouldn't compare Reid to Tyler. Tyler's just too perfect for comparing." Lizzie scowled.

"I can't believe that after dating each other for over two years, you still haven't fought once!" Rachel smiled blissfully.

"Have you ever tried fighting with Tyler? It's impossible. I mean, I could cut stab him with a knife and he'd still say 'if it makes you feel better, it's alright'. He just can't get angry."

"SHUT UP REID!" A voice echoed through the apartment. "Just shut up! That's none of your business!"

"You were saying?" Lizzie asked Rachel, who rolled her eyes.

"Reid's the exception. I mean, Reid could turn the Dalai Lama into a killer." Lizzie nodded thoughtfully, unable to deny that. "Come on, let's go calm our boyfriends down." Rachel sighed softly and walked to the kitchen. Lizzie hesitated for a second, not sure if she really wanted to get into that fight, before following her friend.

"Reid, Tyler, shut it. You know Brian hates it when people fight." Rachel commanded. Tyler and Reid both took a step back, knowing that the girl was right. Rachel continued. "Alright. Now, does anyone one to tell me what's going on?"

Lizzie looked on in amazement. She knew she was a terrible peacemaker, since she was unable not to pick a side. Whenever two people were fighting, she would almost automatically get involved. Rachel, however, was born for this sort of thing. She knew her friend had always been the shy one, wanting to please everyone, and in this case that finally worked out. Since Rachel didn't want to get on anyone's bad side, she never picked a side and just tried to make it alright.

"It's nothing." Tyler mumbled softly, his eyes focused on the floor. Not the best way to end the conversation, since no one would ever believe that. Reid glared at his friend.

"You tell her, or I will, Tyler." His voice was so serious Lizzie barely recognized it. She knew there weren't a lot of things that Reid took serious. Actually, there only was one thing; his friends. Whenever one of his friends was in trouble, in anyway, Reid would do anything in his power to make it better. Tyler knew this as well, and didn't have to think for one second that Reid wouldn't come through with his threat.

"There's this girl…" He started slowly. Lizzie narrowed her eyebrows, not liking where this was going. Rachel's eyes widened. "She has asked me out a couple of times. I keep telling her that I'm taken, but she won't listen." He looked at Rachel with regret and remorse. "I didn't want to worry you, that's why I didn't tell you."

For a while it was completely silent in the room. When Rachel opened her mouth, her voice was cold. "Liz, could you and Reid look after Brian for a while?" Lizzie nodded without hesitating, and then she and Reid walked out of the kitchen.

Rachel and Tyler looked at each other. Her eyes were cold, his eyes were filled with regret.

"I'm sorry." He whispered softly. Rachel lifted her eyebrows.

"About what?" Tyler winced slightly. He had hoped he wouldn't have to go through that.

"I should have told you." He told her softly, taking a step towards her. She took a step back, froze and then turned around and left the kitchen. Tyler followed her.

Rachel sat down on the couch in front of the TV. "Girls don't suddenly start to follow a boy, Tyler. Someway, she must have gotten the idea that you liked her. How long has this been going on?" Tyler hesitated before sitting down next to her.

"I've known her for about a year. She asked me out a few weeks back. I really didn't know she liked me like that, Rachel. Otherwise I would've done something about it sooner."

Rachel really didn't know what she should do. Actually, she wasn't even sure if she had the right to be angry. Alright, Tyler had kept it from her, but it wasn't like he had really tried to hide it from her or anything… he just didn't want her to worry. Plus, it wasn't his fault that bitch tried to get a taken man.

Rachel knew she was insecure. Being ignored for the main part of your life does that to a girl. She often thought Tyler was too good for her, that it was just a matter of time before he'd find someone better and dump her. But she also knew Tyler was to sweet to cheat on her, that if he really liked that other girl he'd break up with her first. Still, there was a part in her that wasn't so sure if he really liked her better than that other girl. And that was the reason she was angry, she suddenly realized, it was because she was afraid she'd loose him.

"Are you still friends?" She whispered softly. She had a lump in her throat, but she couldn't swallow it. She felt Tyler leaning closer to her and wrap his arms around her.

"No. I mean, I tried telling her I was taken, that I didn't like her that way, but she just wouldn't listen. So I started ignoring her. But she just kept following me around."

Rachel didn't respond, and just kept staring ahead of her. She tried to figure out what she was feeling, what she should do. But it was hard.

Tyler looked at her, trying to read her mind. He knew Rachel, knew how to make her laugh, what she liked or hated, how to make her feel better… but this time there was nothing. He knew he had been wrong, that he should have told her. But he didn't know what to do now. He had said he was sorry and, although he knew it wasn't enough, there was nothing more he could do.

"She only asked you out?" Rachel suddenly asked as a new idea jumped into her head. "Or did she ever do anything more?" Tyler hesitated for a second, not sure if Rachel could take it. But he knew he didn't really have a choice. Not anymore.

"She kissed me once." He admitted. Rachel head flew up and she glared at him.

"And what, you just forgot to mention that before?" Tyler didn't answer. For a second Rachel just looked at him with tears in her eyes. Then she stood up.

"I'm going to stay with Lizzie and Reid tonight." She told him and disappeared to her bedroom to grab some clothes.

Tyler didn't try to stop her. He couldn't even move. Instead he just sat on the couch, staring into nothing and telling himself what an idiot he was.

"I never thought Tyler could be such an idiot." Reid told his girlfriend in surprise as they walked back to their own apartment. Lizzie was carrying Brian in her arms, while Reid held a bag filled with some of his toys, his diapers and other things he needed.

Lizzie nodded in agreement. "It's kind of funny. We were just talking about how perfect Tyler was, and how Rachel and he never fight, and then we heard him scream in the kitchen." Reid shrugged.

"What can I say, we have a great timing." Then he realized something else. "Wait, you think Tyler is perfect?" Lizzie laughed, but didn't answer the question. Reid groaned. "Why did I have to pick the one girl that can actually make me insecure?" He muttered, with a playful grin on his face. Lizzie laughed again.

"Sorry, sweetheart. We're babysitting today, so you can say whatever you want to, but you won't be rewarded tonight." Reid laughed as well and pressed a gentle kiss against her lip while opening the door to their apartment.

"I love you." He whispered softly to her. Lizzie smiled back at him.

"As I love you." She replied. Reid smiled happily, and then frowned again.

"You think Rachel and Tyler will be okay?" He asked his girlfriend. Rachel and Tyler came very close to being the siblings he never had, and he didn't like seeing either one of them unhappy. Although he knew Rachel had the right to know about this whole situation, and he didn't once regret forcing Tyler to tell her, he still worried that this thing might cause some real damage in their relationship.

"I don't know." Lizzie answered truthfully. "I mean, it isn't really Tyler's fault that some girl can't take a hint. But he should have told her. If you ask me, the biggest problem in this is gonna be the fact that Rachel is going to worry Tyler might chose that bitch over her. She is a bit insecure about those sort of things." Reid thought about that for a second.

"I don't think it's just the insecurity. Rachel's just the kind of girl that doesn't handle change so well. I think she's afraid that if Tyler leaves her, everything might fall apart. Plus, she did once say something about me being friends with Tyler first, so I guess she thinks we're all gonna abandon her if Tyler does." Lizzie frowned.

"That's ridiculous. I knew her long before I met you, didn't I?" Reid looked at her, acting like he was hurt.

"So you'll chose her over me?" He asked her in a small, childish voice. Lizzie laughed.

"Hell yeah! When she and Tyler break up, we're gonna get married!" They both laughed.

"Hell!" Brian exclaimed happily, immediately ending the joy in the room.

"Great." Reid mumbled. "Rachel's gonna kill us." Lizzie thought about it for a second.

"Nah. Whenever Brian learns a bad word, she immediately thinks it was you, so I should be save."

"Comforting." Reid muttered softly. Lizzie grinned at him, but before she could answer, the bell rang. Reid stood up from the couch and walked to the door.

"Who's there?" He asked, before opening it.

"It's me." That was all he needed to know, and so he opened the door. When he saw Rachel standing there, her cheeks stained with tears and a bag in her hands, he didn't have to ask any more questions.

"Come on in." He said softly, while stepping aside to let the girl in.

"Mommy!" Brian exclaimed with a huge smile on his face. Rachel immediately walked to her son, dropping the bag on the floor. Lizzie handed the kid to his mother.

"I'll go prepare the guestroom." Lizzie softly said to her friend, and then walked away. Rachel dropped down on the couch, holding her son close to her heart. Reid sat down beside her, pulling her in his arms.

"It'll be okay, Rach." He promised her softly. "It's all gonna be okay." He had promised her that so many times before, but Rachel knew he spoke the truth. Reid would never let her down when she needed help.

"He kissed her." She whispered softly. She felt Reid's arms tighten around her.

"He's an idiot." He told, trying to mask the anger in his voice. No one had the right to hurt his little sister, not even his brother. "But idiots make mistakes, that's just the way it goes. He does love you, Rachel. More than anything. You know that's true, right?"

Brian started to cry, no longer accepting the sadness that seemed to rule the room. Lizzie walked to Rachel and extended her hands.

"Come on, I'll go play with him." She said softly. Rachel hesitated for a second, not wanting to be too much of a burden to her friends. But she knew she was in no condition to take care of Brian, and she had no choice but to hand the baby to her friend. Lizzie disappeared into the guestroom.

"Rachel?" Reid's gentle voice dragged her attention back to their conversation. She looked up at him, thinking about his previous question.

"I don't know." She finally said. "Maybe… maybe it's just too hard, being with me."

Reid frowned. "Why's that?"

Rachel bowed her head. "I've been having dreams lately." She whispered, barely audible. "Nightmares… about that day…" Reid felt his heart break for his friends. He didn't need to ask what day she was talking about, but he had hoped that she had gotten over it. Or at least that she wouldn't dream about them anymore.

"They're gone, Rachel. They can't hurt you anymore. Not ever again." And then she really started to cry.

"They can Reid!" She cried out. "They do! Every night, when I'm asleep. Every time someone touches me. It all comes back, and I have to fight so hard to keep myself from screaming! I don't want to, Reid. I just want to kiss my boyfriend and forget all that ever happened, but I can't… I just can't."

Reid felt the tears appear in his own eyes. He wanted to protect his little sister so bad, but there were some things he just couldn't help her with, no matter how hard he tried.

So he pulled her closer, stroking her hair and allowing her to cry out on his shoulder.

"You don't always have to fight, you know." He whispered softly in her ear. "With us, with Tyler, you can scream. And Tyler will always love you. No matter how scared you are, or how hard you scream, he will always love you. We all will. Don't forget that." He only got a sob in reply, so he continued.

"Tyler had told that girl he doesn't want to date. He would never cheat on you, simply because he isn't that good of a liar. So you never have to worry about that. He has chosen you, Rachel, and he loves every part of you , even the parts you hate yourself. I know that, because that's exactly how I love Lizzie. How she loves me. And how you love Tyler. So just go to sleep, and tomorrow this will al seem like nothing. You and Tyler go out, talk about it, and before you know it you're just as annoyingly cute and perfect as you used to be."

Rachel pulled away from him and looked him in the face, searching for anything that could prove he was lying to her. Finally she opened her mouth.

"You promise?" Her voice was soft, as scared and shy as it had been before, when Reid still had to work to bring Rachel to trust him.

"I promise." He told her in his most sincere voice. "Now go to take a shower. You look like a walking dead." Rachel slapped him against the arm, a small smile appearing on her face. Then she walked away to the showers.

"Nice work." Lizzie complimented him while walking out of the guest room. "But who said I loved the parts about you that you hate?"

PLEASE REVIEW! I wasn't too sure about this chapter, so I'd really appreciate it if you guys would tell me what did or did not make sense. Everyone needs a little reassurance, after all :)

I'll upload the next chapter somewhere next week. The more people review, the earlier you'll get it!