Plane Of Madness
Thud.
Shakira hit the ground hard, breath knocked out of her.
Kahdijah stood over her, calm, smiling.
"This," she said softly, "is the Plane of Madness."
She took a step closer and looked down at her.
"I made this place for you. Not for monsters. Not for enemies. Just you. That should tell you how much I hate you."
Shakira tried to push herself up, hands shaking.
"Please," she said, voice cracking. "Don’t do this. Don’t become something you’ll regret. I’m still your mother. I love you."
Kahdijah burst out laughing.
It wasn’t loud. It wasn’t wild. It was clean and sharp, like she’d just heard the funniest joke in the universe.
"You?" she said. "My mother?"
She crouched slightly, eyes level with Shakira’s.
"My mother died the day my dad died. Whatever you were after that wasn’t a mother. You were a mask. And when the mask fell, I saw you."
She straightened.
"You don’t get to use that word on me. Not now. Not ever. Say it again and I’ll remove your tongue. I’m serious."
Shakira froze.
Kahdijah walked away a few steps, then turned back, hands behind her back like she was giving a tour.
"This plane reacts to thought," she said. "Not mine. Yours."
Shakira frowned weakly.
"Every fear you buried. Every guilt you swallowed. Every lie you told yourself to sleep at night. This place pulls them out."
She snapped her fingers once.
"You won’t age here. You won’t die. You won’t go insane enough to forget. That’s important."
She smiled again.
"You’ll remember everything."
Shakira shook her head. "You’re lying."
Kahdijah tilted her head. "You always said that when you didn’t like the truth."
She paced slowly.
"In this place, time loops when I want it to. Days repeat. Moments stretch. Regret grows teeth."
She stopped in front of her again.
"You’ll wake up thinking you escaped. You’ll think you’re forgiven. You’ll think you’re safe."
Her eyes hardened.
"And then it starts again."
Shakira’s breathing grew shallow. "Please... I was angry. I lost control. I didn’t mean—"
"I don’t care what you meant," Kahdijah said flatly. "Intent doesn’t erase damage."
She leaned in closer.
"You took your anger out on a child. You broke her. And when she died, you didn’t cry for her. You cried for yourself."
Tears streamed down Shakira’s face. "I was afraid."
Kahdijah nodded. "Good. Hold onto that."
She stepped back and spread her arms.
"This plane feeds on fear, guilt, denial. The more you fight it, the worse it gets. The more you beg, the quieter it listens."
Shakira whispered, "How long?"
Kahdijah smiled.
"As long as I exist."
She turned away.
"Death won’t come for you. Rebecca won’t answer you. Fate won’t intervene. This place answers to me."
She paused, glancing over her shoulder.
"You wanted me silent. Small. Gone."
Her voice softened, just a little.
"Now you get eternity with yourself."
She snapped her fingers.
"And don’t worry," she added calmly. "I’ll visit. I don’t want you thinking you’ve been forgotten."
Kahdijah walked away.
Shakira screamed her name.
The sound went nowhere.
Kahdijah didn’t turn back.
Back To Earth
"So you’re saying you’re one of the strongest beings on Earth?"
Annabeth leaned forward, elbows on her knees, eyes fixed on Alex like she was afraid blinking might make him disappear.
Alex shook his head slowly. "Not Earth. All realities. Every layer. Every version. We’re not rulers sitting on thrones. We’re the foundation. The systems running everything. Think of us as engines. If we stop, everything stops."
Annabeth went quiet for a second. Then her eyes widened.
"So... you’re saying you, Uncle Adam, Rebecca, and Haddy all died... went somewhere else... and came back like this?"
"Yes," Alex said simply.
"With powers that can rewrite worlds?" she pressed.
"Yes."
"And you could literally change this entire world," she continued, words tumbling out now, "and make me royalty if you wanted?"
Alex nodded.
That was all it took.
Annabeth burst out laughing, jumped up, and slapped David hard on the shoulder without thinking.
David yelped. "What the hell was that for?!"
She didn’t even look at him. "Did you hear that?! Royalty! Actual royalty!"
David rubbed his shoulder, wincing. "You didn’t have to test it on me!"
She finally looked back at Alex, excitement still buzzing. Then her smile faded just a little.
"You can bring my mom back."
Alex’s expression shifted. "She’s... dead?"
Annabeth nodded slowly. "She passed last year."
Alex exhaled through his nose. "I see."
He leaned back slightly, hands resting together. "I can bring her back. Technically. But knowing your mother... she wouldn’t want that."
Annabeth frowned. "You don’t know that."
"I do," Alex said gently. "Your mother believed in balance. In letting things end when they’re meant to."
She went quiet.
"And it’s not just about want," he continued. "If we bring people back whenever we feel like it, death stops meaning anything. Nobody would ever stay gone. That breaks things. Even Rebecca wouldn’t stand for that."
"So that’s it?" Annabeth asked softly.
Alex shook his head. "No. I can let you see her. Talk to her. As often as you want. It’ll feel real. Like she never left."
Annabeth swallowed, then nodded. "That’s enough."
She turned at the sound of footsteps.
Adam walked in, hands in his pockets, grin already in place. The same grin she’d seen a hundred times in old clips, old photos, news footage her mother used to show her.
"I heard something about visiting your mom," Adam said. "I don’t really know her, so I don’t know where we’d start wrecking things."
Annabeth stared at him, heart pounding.
"So," Adam went on casually, "where do you think she ended up? Heaven or hell? I’m itching to break a religion today."
Annabeth’s eyes lit up again.
"Every kid would say heaven," she said. "But I’m not like that. I don’t know where she ended up. So I think we should check heaven first."
She grinned.
Adam’s grin widened. "That’s my girl."
Alex groaned softly. "This is exactly what I was afraid of."
They all turned as another voice joined in.
"Are we having fun without me?"
Kahdijah walked in beside Rebecca, both of them relaxed like this was a casual gathering.
Annabeth’s jaw dropped. "You’re all insane."
Rebecca smiled faintly. "You get used to it."
Adam looked at Annabeth again. "Favorite niece wants to wreck heaven. Who am I to say no?"
"I’m your only niece," Annabeth said, crossing her arms and pouting.
Adam laughed and ruffled her hair. "Details."
David cleared his throat awkwardly. "Uh... I’m still here."
Adam turned slowly, eyes settling on him. "Right. You."
David stiffened. "Me?"
Adam tilted his head. "Son of my favorite musician. You look like you’ve got good survival instincts."
David blinked. "I— thanks?"
Adam smiled. "You wanna come on an adventure?"
David looked at Annabeth. "Am I going to die?"
Annabeth smirked. "Probably not."
Alex sighed, rubbing his face. "I’m going to regret this."
Rebecca folded her arms. "You already do."
Kahdijah laughed. "Welcome to the family."
Annabeth looked at all of them, heart racing, fear and excitement tangled together.
"Okay," she said. "Let’s go see heaven."