Talisman
by slacker

Part III - Alpha And Omega

She had always taken his breath away. Even when they were children, she had a way to look him dead in the eye and transfix him completely.

“I believe you, Michael.”

Years ago she had said those words to him when for the first time, he had shouted at Sonny that he hated him. His Mother had gasped. Most others in the room looked shocked or horrified. The Penthouse had come to a stand still. Just minutes before, Jason and Sonny had been discussing business, as usual. They weren’t aware that Michael was eavesdropping on them until both men had celebrated the fact that their lives had been pleasant since AJ and Ric had been permanently erased from their world.

His own birthday and all they could do was pat each other on the back on two murders well done.

Murders that had devastated him and Kristina.

So, he’d packed a backpack and stormed for the front door, only to be confronted by his Mother. He’d blown his stack and howled years of pent up frustration and rage.

“You don’t mean that Michael.”

His Mother had never been a beacon in a crisis. She’d said the one thing he hadn’t wanted to hear.

“I believe you Michael.”

Morgan had clutched Kristina’s hand and although he had been too frightened to agree with his sister, he’d nodded his head ever so slightly so Michael knew that he felt the same too.

Kristina had been brave. Her voice had been loud and clear. Defiant even. Daring anyone in the room to scold her, her eyes never leaving his.

No one did.

“Good bye, Michael.”

Kristina and Morgan stood as a unit, hands twined together, staring at him. They were babies, all of them and yet they were instinctively old souls.

They understood. He was leaving. He would not be coming back.

But it wasn’t the end for the three of them. They would be together again one day.

Sonny had bellowed his orders for Michael to stay. Michael gave his Mother one long, sad look and then left.

“I should never have left you two with him.”

Kristina turned from her last minute touch ups, hearing the gravity in Michael’s voice. “It was a long time ago, Michael,” she said gently.

For the first time in weeks, Michael bit his lower lip, his self-doubt ringing loud and clear. “Morgan’s my brother. I should have stayed to protect him.”

“You have protected him.” Seeing her assurance fall on deaf ears, Kristina tried again. Taking his hands in hers, she looked at him and waited until his gaze rose to meet hers.

“We were children. We survived it together. That’s all that matters now.”

She was so poised. So confident in her words and the meaning behind them.

No wonder he never felt good enough to even stand in her shadow. “I feel like such a fraud sometimes.”

“I believe in you Michael.”

Before he could suck in his breath, filling his lungs with the awe she struck him with, she pressed a kiss to his lips and left the room, following the usher who’d appeared only a moment earlier.

With a small smile, he left the dressing area and headed to where Morgan and Alexis would be. He’d only taken two steps into the darkened corridor when a strong hand crushed his shoulder and swung him around.

Michael recognized Jason Morgan immediately and his face hardened with hatred. Instantly, he knew that Morgan and Alexis had been discovered. He could only hope that Alexis had not yet been killed yet. With Kristina due to come off stage in about 10 minutes, he did not have much time to work with. Another grim faced guard stood behind Jason, obviously to gather Kristina when she came off stage. She would have little to no warning.

“Let’s go,” Michael said stiffly, jerking his arm from Jason’s grip. Silent as he’d come, Jason led Michael down the hall, across the foyer and towards the golden elevators. When the doors chimed open on the fourth floor, the VIP level, Michael was confronted with his worst nightmare. The open room with light coloured walls and sandy carpeting seemed inviting, especially with the floor to ceiling windows than occupied the wall opposite the elevators. Of course, the fact that a glowering Sonny Corinthos stood in the middle of the room quickly dismissed any notion of light. Clad in his usual black, he stood over a defeated Morgan, who sat slouched in a black leather sofa chair. Alexis sat a few feet away in a simple wooden chair, flanked by two guards. His Mother sat way off, in the distance it seemed, looking thin and frail, as usual. Sonny’s designer bought outfit hung off her slender limbs, barely fitting her and her eyes were to the ground, her auburn hair still swept up. She’d taken to chain smoking in the past few years and now he never saw her without one in her mouth or hand.

It didn’t stop her hands from shaking.

“Did you think you’d get away with this?” Sonny’s voice bounced off the walls. Michael wasn’t sure if he was speaking to Alexis or him.

Alexis said nothing, and though she trembled, it was clear to Michael that it was not from fear.

“You enlist a bunch of children to help you?” Sonny continued, his anger evident. “My children.”

Michael squeezed his eyes shut. He hated it when Sonny sermonized, acting like a preacher. He’d go on and on, always standing in front of them as they sat, looking up at him.

“My brainwashed son. My daughter and my confused son. They were all vulnerable and you took advantage of that!”

Morgan’s face reddened. He was confused now? He’d rather his Father call him a fag, like before, because the last thing he was, was confused.

About anything and everything.

“I was not brainwashed!” Michael’s eyes opened and he centered his gaze on Sonny. “AJ opened my eyes about you and I’m not the only one who sees you that way.”

“I’ll deal with you in a minute.” Sonny pointed a finger towards the boy who had rejected him a decade ago.

“I’m not confused,” Morgan mumbled. Sonny turned sharply towards his son. “You be quiet! You’re in enough trouble as it is!”

“Don’t talk to him like that. He’s not your damn dog,” Michael gritted out. Carly stood and stalked across the room to the wet bar. The crystal cut glasses clanged loudly as her hands sought out the amber liquid. She did not look at her boys. Morgan jumped up and rushed to help her. “Here, Mom. Let me do that.” He poured a small amount for her, placing it in her hands, leading her back to her seat. Michael swallowed hard at the sight of his Mother in such a state. She was a mess of pills and booze and cigarettes and Sonny Corinthos.

It was in that moment that he knew that he would not leave this room without her, regardless of what he’d told Morgan many times before.

“Don’t think for a second I’m taking pity on you because of your daughter. I promised to make her an orphan if you tried this and I’m a man who makes good on my word,” Sonny warned as he shook his head.

Alexis slowly raised her head. “You wouldn’t be leaving her an orphan. She has Kristina,” she replied calmly. “But if killing me is what works best for you, then do it. The dye was cast a long time ago. You won’t win her love back.”

“Who? Anastacia? She’s not my concern.”

Alexis laughed at his ignorance. “Idiot. I’m talking about Kristina. What you did to her family was unforgiveable.”

“My daughter loves me!” Sonny shot back, producing a small remote from his pocket, pressing a small button. A moment later, Kristina’s beautiful voice filled the room as she sang her last song of the show. Michael sucked in his breath. He knew this song well, the poetic aria.

Kristina called it her Talisman.

It would free them all.

She had promised him.

“See? Hear that voice? Kristina loves me. I made this Center for her. I let her design it to her specifications.”

“Do you have any clue as to what this place is for her?” Alexis asked, now standing before Sonny. Sonny said nothing, his uncertainty at just what was really going on now beginning to leave its mark.

“This is an exact duplicate for the opera house my Mother, her Grandmother sang in 60 years ago.” Alexis’s voice quivered with emotion as she continued. “This beautiful song is just one of the many my Mother sang at her last performance. Kristina had you build this palace so she could bury all of the pain you caused and then leave it behind.”

Alexis took a step towards the man who’d murdered her husband and damaged her youngest child. “My Kisa sings for all of us,” she whispered, a lone tear cascading down her cheek.

Sonny’s hand rose, rubbing the side of his neck as he always did when he was nervous. He waited a few seconds, feeling the threads of control slip from his fingers. He couldn’t let that happen. “You filthy liar, filling her head with this crap,” he finally sneered.

Carly’s hands trembled even more violently as she attempted to hold her drink in one hand, her other moving towards her purse.

“Do you have a headache, Mom?” Morgan asked. Carly shook her head and reached deep within the purse. Morgan paled slightly at the sight of what she retrieved but still concealed from plain sight. No one paid any attention to them and Morgan was just fine with that.

“It’s okay, Mom,” he soothed, his voice barely above a whisper. “I’ll hold it.” He removed it from her shaking hand.

“This is bull,” Michael said with disgust. “We’re leaving.”

Automatically, Alexis stepped away from Sonny as Morgan stood, pulling his Mother up with him, supporting her against his frame.

“Michael Corinthos Jr., you stop right now!” Sonny hollered as his arm flew up to bar Alexis from moving. Kristina’s voice rang out in distress, mournfully calling for calm.

“Don’t call me that!” Michael thundered back as he strode towards Sonny. Alexis jerked away from him but took no more steps as Jason moved in front of her this time.

“I am not your son. I am not a Quartermaine or a Spencer or a Benson and I’m sure as hell not a Corinthos!” Michael spat as Morgan inched towards the elevator with Carly moving slowly with him.

“So who are you then?” Sonny asked sarcastically. “A nobody?”

Michael’s eyes flashed menacingly as he squared his shoulders. “My name is Michael Roberts.” Kristina’s voice dreamily wove a pledge of devotion and affection and Michael smiled, interrupting his own rant. “This is the best part,” he murmured to no one in particular.

Sonny let out a harsh laugh. “You’re a phony?” He only heard the music vaguely, as though it were background noise. He did not heed its warning or the voice who called for it.

“No,” Michael declared. “You are.”

And with that, everything seemed to move in a chain reaction. Sonny raised his hand to strike Michael, as though his hand had a mind of its own. Carly let out a shriek of horror, her drink slipping from her grasp and Alexis moved in front of Michael, to take the blow full force across the face for him. As his hand connected with her cheek, she felt nothing, it was as though Sonny struck steel, and her tightly coiled rage sprung loose as she attacked him, her hands flying to his throat. Jason leapt forward, clamping his hands on Alexis and he threw her to the floor just as Michael regained his footing and lunged for Sonny. Michael’s fist connected with Sonny’s jaw and Sonny howled his command to his lieutenant as his free hand struck Michael’s face with a loud crack and both tumbled to the ground in a heap.

“Shoot her!”

“No!” Morgan screamed in horror. Carly sank to the floor and Morgan raced to Jason, jumping onto the older man’s back just as Jason pointed his weapon at a fallen Alexis. The two burly guards finally sprang to life after being stunned by the rapid fire moments that clicked by in a matter of seconds, but they were too late to stop the heir to the Corinthos dynasty. Morgan raised his hand, gripping the weapon tightly in his fingers and with a small click, the switchblade came to life. Jason swung his entire body around, thrown off balance by the sudden weight on his back.

Morgan’s hand descended and with a half-deranged cry, he thrust the sharp blade deep within Jason’s neck, severing the carotid artery instantly. Jason’s entire body clenched in horror and he pulled the trigger on his gun.

But nothing drowned out the voice of Kisa and her declaration of independence.

The bullet that exploded from Jason’s gun blazed across the room, finding a target. The massive double pained window just over Sonny’s shoulder was struck full force and crystalized on impact.

Morgan and Jason hit the floor with a loud thump and Morgan lay stunned for a moment as Jason writhed beneath him, guttural sounds emanating from the back of his throat. Had he really done that? Had he really done that to the man he’d been named after? Swallowing the bile that threatened to spill from his mouth, Morgan pushed away from him, realizing that Jason was choking on his own blood. Carly let out another wail and crawled forward, clutching Morgan in her arms, hanging on for dear life. Alexis breathed heavily as she watched Jason struggle for a few seconds longer before seeing the life drain from his eyes. The gun lay just a few inches from his lifeless hand.

The audience burst into wild and unanimous applause in the auditorium below them, the performance coming to its exhilarating conclusion. Alexis grabbed the gun and directed her attention to the two guards who now approached her menacingly, their own weapons drawn. With deadly calm, Alexis pulled the trigger twice, striking the guns from the hands of both men. Both gave a yelp of pain, but did not continue to advance towards her.

“Over there!” she ordered them to the far end of the room. “I’m sure whatever Sonny pays you isn’t enough, is it?” They quickly complied.

“Michael?” Sonny hovered over Michael’s motionless body, gingerly tilting the boy’s head and winced at the sight of the injury. The awkward fall had made it so Michael landed first, his head colliding with the edge of the chair Alexis had been sitting on. “Son, please wake up!”

“Look at what you did!” Carly screamed from her spot on the floor. For such a small creature, her voice roared as it echoed throughout the room. Sonny turned to glare at Alexis, only to find the eyes of both Mothers of his children on him. Alexis had hated him for years and it was no great shock to see her regard him with such malevolence.

It was Carly’s wild look that caught him off guard. On her knees, with both of her arms wrapped protectively around her youngest, her eyes were a wildfire of loathing. He did not see his wife of nearly twenty years.

He saw Carly Roberts, a woman he had never met before.

“You monster!” she shrieked. “Get away from him!”

“Carly,” Sonny started brokenly, “baby, I’m not a monster. I love Michael.”

The elevator doors pinged and opened and out stepped Kristina with another guard. Alexis swiveled around, leveling the gun at the guard. “Drop it and get over there with the others,” she ordered.

Kristina turned and removed his weapon from his holster. “Do what my Mother says.”

Once the third guard moved over, Kristina turned and surveyed the horrendous scene before her.

Jason, dead in a pool of blood.

Morgan and Carly huddled together on the floor, both in tears.

Her Mother.

Kristina paused.

Her Mother.

She flew the few steps that separated her from her Mother and launched herself into her Mother’s open arms. “Mama,” she croaked, burying her face in the crook of her Mother’s neck. She recognized the scent and fresh tears sprang forth. In all the years, her Mother had not changed her perfume.

“My Darling,” Alexis murmured, pressing a kiss to Kristina’s forehead. “My sweet, lovely Kisa.” Her free arm squeezed her eldest child tightly and she fought to suppress the sobs that threatened to overtake her. “You sang so beautifully.” She couldn’t stop stroking the dark curls cascading down Kristina’s back. So soft and boundless.

“We have to go now. Surely someone must have heard the shots,” Alexis said gently. Kristina nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes, turning back to where her Father was.

Her Father was on the floor a short distance away, hovering over a body.

“Michael.” Her heart leapt into her throat.

Clutching the gun in her hand, Kristina rushed to his side, taking little notice of her Father. “Michael, wake up. We have to go home to Ana and make her better. We have to be together. We made that promise, all of us.”

Michael gave a small groan. He felt as though his head was split in two. He could hardly register the searing pain as his head pounded madly and there was a dull ringing in his ears, but the moment he’d heard Kristina’s voice and felt her breath against his cheek, his eyes fluttered open.

“Kisa?”

Kristina gave him a watery smile and nodded.

“Doesn’t that mean cat?”

Kristina simply shook her head. “Get up you silly fool,” she chided him as the rapid beating of her heart slowed as he stood and wobbled uncertainly on his feet. They would see a doctor to be sure nothing serious was wrong, but for now, they had to leave. Wrapping her arm tightly around him, she steadied him as they walked to join Morgan and Carly near the elevators.

“Kristina? Morgan? Michael?” Sonny’s panicked confusion rang out. All three faced him in unison.

His gaze bouncing from one to the other, he held out his hands. “I’m not a monster,” he stammered finally.

“Yes, you are.” Michael spoke for all of them. “We’re leaving you.” He pushed the elevator button and the doors chimed open. Carly and the three children stepped inside. Kristina looked at her Mother.

“Mama?”

Alexis gripped the weapon in her hand. “I’ll meet you at the car.”

Kristina nodded once. “Don’t be long.” The unfinished business between her Mother and Father was not something she wanted to be witness to.

And with that, the doors closed and the elevator took Michael Roberts, Kristina Davis and Morgan Corinthos, along with his Mother, away from the world of Sonny Corinthos, leaving only Alexis Davis behind.

She flicked her head to the Exit door. “I’m giving you about a 3 minute head start,” she instructed the guards. “The Corinthos-Morgan crime family ends here, so now’s the time to save yourselves.”

The men did not give Sonny another look as they filed out of the room and down the stairs. Sonny watched them go with an angry glare. “So much for loyalty.”

Alexis went over to the bar and fished out a small white towel, keeping the gun trained on Sonny. “When there’s no honor, there’s no loyalty. Those things go hand in hand.”

Sonny rolled his eyes. “You won. Congratulations.” He sarcastically began clapping as Alexis bent down and pulled the blood soaked knife from Jason’s throat, careful to not have her fingerprints on it. She wiped the handle, removing any of Morgan’s as well and wrapped it up within the towel.

“Winning implies that what was lost was worth losing. I lost Kristina for ten years. I lost my husband and my youngest child is like a ghost. I don’t consider this a victory,” Alexis stated icily.

“You can’t keep me from Kristina.”

Alexis arched a brow. “Yes, I can.” She pulled the trigger again and again as her words echoed each explosion.

“For Kristina. For Ric. For Michael and Morgan. For Anastacia. For AJ. For me.”

She kept pulling the trigger until there were no bullets left to fire, but it did not matter. Each bullet found their mark. She had been an excellent marksman as a child. One of the many valuable tools Stefan had given her.

Sonny flew back and struck the crystallized wall of glass behind him. The force collapsed the wall and Sonny dropped the four floors to the hard concrete below without uttering a sound.

Alexis expelled a tired, worn sigh before silently heading to the stairs, down to where the others were waiting.

*~*

Kavala, Greece

Kristina walked alone along the white sand covered beach, the slight breeze from the Aegean Sea pushing her dark curls from her face. Behind her, the small city of bright white homes nestled in the hills, where her family had just returned to.

Anastacia had been brought from her hospital in London a few days earlier. Everyone knew to be calm and to allow a new routine to take shape for the young girl. Long, straight sun kissed locks and jade green eyes, Anastacia looked just like her deceased Uncle Stefan and it was no surprise that she took on many of his qualities as the others got to know the inquisitive mind of Anastacia Lansing.

Kristina found her sister in her usual spot, sitting cross legged on a dune, watching the sea and the wind do battle with each other. Selecting a spot next to her, Kristina sat in silence for a moment.

“Mama said you love the water and I can see why. I never really got to spend time at the beach when I was growing up.”

Anastacia said nothing, but it was clear that she was listening.

“I love to sing. Did you know that? Our Grandmother sang too, she had a beautiful voice. Sometimes, I would go out to the Docks when I was little and sing.”

Kristina turned to face her sister. “I was singing to you because I had learned that sound traveled further across the waters and I thought if I sang there, you might hear me. It’s a bit silly, I know, but I believed it.”

Anastacia took Kristina’s hand in hers and gave it a squeeze, her gaze still fixed on the sea. Kristina faced the waters too and began to sing one of the many songs her Grandmother had sang when she had been not much older than Kristina was now. The winds blew, the waters in the sea danced and the sand tickled their bare feet as the two sisters sat, one singing and the other listening intently.

Kristina finished and gave a gentle laugh. “I think I need to find myself a new voice coach. I sounded a bit croaky and off key there.”

“Kisa.”

Kristina turned to her sister, her eyes wide with wonder. Had she spoken or was it the wind playing tricks? She had heard the tales of the wind speaking to fishermen at sea and bit her lower lip uncertainly. “Did you say something Ana?”

Anastacia’s emerald orbs flashed and a smile played about her lips before she opened them ever so slightly. “Kisa.” This time, it was clear. “Kisa sing.”

Kristina blinked, tears falling down her cheeks and she beamed. “Yes, Ana, I sang. I sang for you.”

Anastacia smiled.

“Again, Kisa. Again.”