"Believe"

"Don't just sit there staring at us," JC snapped, trying to stop the blood from trickling out of his neck as the other three dealt with Lance, who had lost a considerably large amount of blood so far.

"Allow me," Yasmine said quietly to the boys, pushing them away. Placing a hand on Lance's stomach wound and one on his leg wound, she began to chant softly with her eyes closed. Eventually, a bright blue light surrounded her hands and seemed to enter Lance's leg and stomach. After opening her eyes, Yasmine saw that the two wounds had closed.

"Do his shoulder now," Justin said softly and anxiously, his mild order sounding much more like the plea of a small child.

"I don't have enough energy," Yasmine sighed, getting to her feet. Pulling Lance to his feet gently, she said, "He should be okay. His shoulder is wrapped in a tourniquet, he won't die. As a matter of fact, your blood cells are working ten times harder and faster than they usually do, so you don't have to worry about all the blood loss."

"I do feel better already," Lance said helpfully in an attempt to slice through the tension in the room.

His efforts were in vain, since Tammy and the other girls continued to look everywhere but at the boys. "We should tell them," Isabella said telepathically.

"No!" Tammy screamed at her in her mind. "We can't."

"They've seen it all, T," Michelle tried to convince her. "Just give it up. We tried to hold the secret as long as we could, but we all knew that it would come out eventually."

"Yeah," Yasmine sent the thought out, "we should be grateful that we kept it a secret for this long."

"Screw that," Tammy snapped telepathically, "I say we handle this. Serena, zap that shit out of their brains."

"Can't," Serena shrugged as she responded with her thoughts, "if I erase one more thing from their memories, they will be completely brain damaged."

"Shit," Tammy swore outloud.

"Just tell them," Isabella said, glancing at the boys, who were panting loudly, pale, and sweating. Their condition was no surprise to the girls. They knew that when they spoke telepathically to each other, any normal person within the vicinity would feel the effects. Due to the great amount of energy required, oftentimes, normal people would feel drained of their energy, though the only energy drain that occurred was from the environment around them, not in them.

"Yeah," JC said nastily, echoing Isabella's earlier statement, "just tell us."

Tammy sighed and said, "You'll never believe us if we told you."

"Not to sound like a smart-ass or anything," Chris interjected, scratching his head, "but we've seen you create a sword out of thin air, Serena move a pile of metal with her mind, and Yasmine crush someone's face with her fist. I don't think we're in a position to not believe anything you say."

"Fine," Tammy sighed, glancing at her friends, who looked slightly annoyed at having to explain a story that they could barely explain to themselves. "We're not like you guys," she started.

"No shit," JC snorted.

"Can you let her finish?" Joey snapped. Turning back to Tammy, he said, "Go on."

"Like I was saying," she repeated, throwing JC a pointed look, "we're not like you guys. I mean, we still eat, sleep, and do all the other stuff y'all do, but we're a bit more enhanced."

"Meaning?" Justin asked.

"We have powers," Yasmine said with a shrug.

"Yeah," Michelle jumped in, "Rakshiki was a bit right about us. In essence, we are the animals that are tattooed on our arms. We draw strength from them, for they are our talismans."

"So what can y'all do?" Chris wanted to know. "Besides decapitate people and stuff."

"Gimme a break," Tammy muttered, rolling her eyes to the ceiling. Continuing, she said, "I can manipulate matter. And before you get on me about creating a sword out of thin air, I'll just break it down to you like I did Isabella. Everything surrounding us is matter. Some of it has been condensed into objects, some of it hasn't."

"I have super strength and healing powers," Yasmine shrugged again. "It's not as magical as Tammy's, but hey, it helps get the job done."

"What job?" Lance asked.

"The job we've been sent back to do," Michelle answered.

"Which might be?" he inquired.

"Which might be none of your business," Isabella drawled. "Anyways," she continued, "I can control the elements. Plus, I can mesmerize people with my eyes. Plant hidden seeds and ideas for later use."

"I freeze time, as you know," Michelle said. "But I can also absorbs people's energies and life force.

"And what about you, Serena?" Joey asked.

She blushed slightly. "I have powers of telekinesis, as you guys saw earlier. Also," she cleared her throat nervously, "I can erase people's memories."

"Erase people's memories?" Lance asked in astonishment. "Get outta here! No way."

"I can," she nodded. "It's hard, though, so I don't do it often."

"Have you ever erased our memories?" JC asked suspiciously.

"Nope," Serena lied. "Never."

"So what else can y'all do?" Justin asked, still wondering if all of this was real.

"We can morph into our talismans," Michelle offered.

"And change densities," Isabella added.

"What's a density?" Joey asked in confusion.

"Dimensions," Tammy answered shortly. "We also have super sight and speed."

"That's how you managed to run so fast to get Justin," Lance marveled.

As Tammy nodded, Yasmine said, "And finally, we can communicate through mental telepathy. We don't though, unless we're by ourselves."

"Why?" Justin asked.

"'Cause when we do it around other people," she answered, "they get tired and fatigued, kind of like y'all did just a few minutes ago."

"I still can't believe this," Joey shook his head. "I mean, it all just seems so unreal."

"Yeah," Chris nodded in agreement, "totally unbelievable."

"Unbelievable?" Isabella arched an eyebrow. "Well, how's this for unbelievable?" She instantly conjured up a wind storm so strong that the heavy metal bars laying around were pushed against the far wall. Then, she stared at one of the metal grates and, using her ability to control fire, melted it. "Want more?" she challenged the five boys.

"My turn," Yasmine laughed. Raising her foot up off the ground, she stomped it down forcefully, resulting in a huge crack forming in the concrete floor, extending from her foot to where the boys were standing. "I could knock this whole building down with one punch if I wanted to," she bragged quietly.

Serena pulled one of the metal bars towards her, then jumped on top of it. Not wasting anytime, she morphed into a small, red scorpion, then back to her human form. "You don't wanna see what Tammy morphs into," she laughed. "Scary."

"You've seen what I can do," Michelle laughed. "I don't want to absorb your energy 'cause you need it, and if I freeze time, you'd never know it. That is, unless I froze it, walked right next to you, then unfroze it."

Finally, Tammy took a step forward. Seeing how visibly shaken they are, she decided to do something not so gaudy and scary to prove her power. She held out her hand, watching as a ball of light appeared on it, then condensed into a solid. When she was done, she dribbled it a few times, then tossed it swiftly to Justin. "A Spalding basketball," she said. "Autographed by Michael Jordan."

Justin stared at the ball in wonder, for it did in fact look as if Michael Jordan had signed it himself. "Can you make money, too?" he asked, looking up at her.

"I could," she said, "but I don't. Counterfeiting, even with real money, isn't my thing."

"So there," Yasmine sighed, still slightly annoyed. "We've shown you our powers, and now you know our big secret."

"I thought the big secret was that you all were lesbians?" JC asked, glaring at Tammy.

"You all are lesbians?" Joey asked in surprise.

"No!" they all answered at once. "Yeah," Isabella added, "we're all as straight as arrows."

"I kind of figured," Joey said with a nod. "Especially since you slept with Justin."

Isabella flinched as Justin's mouth dropped open in surprise. "Slept with Justin?" he asked, going into shock.

"That wasn't on my free will," Isabella said in her defense. "I was being controlled."

"Controlled?" Lance asked, wanting her to elaborate on that statement.

"Slept with Justin?" Justin repeated.

"Yeah," Isabella said, ignoring Justin, who was starting to sound like a broken record, "that's the downside of this game. If you don't keep your talisman under control, it eventually will control you."

"Why doesn't Justin remember being with Isabella?" Chris asked.

"Slept with Justin?" Justin asked again, only louder this time.

"Because I erased his memory," Serena said sheepishly. "We thought it'd be kind of uncomfortable for the two of them to know that."

"But you just said that you never erased our memories," JC argued, getting angrier by the second. "You lied to us. What else have you lied about?"

"Oh, get off your high horse," Tammy snapped, finally fed up with him. "You aren't the Pope yourself, ya know."

"I knew you lied about those bruises," was all JC would say back to her. Glaring at her, he repeated, "I knew."

"Slept with Justin?" Justin repeated quietly to himself.

"Besides," Yasmine said, "it's no big deal. We've erased y'all's memories many times, and y'all are just fine. No problem."

"Wait," Lance frowned, "you erased our memories?"

"Erased our memories?" Joey echoed.

"Slept with Justin?" Justin asked in a loud yell.

"Would you shut up already, Justin?" Tammy said with a scowl. "Get over it. Isabella did."

The words sank into Justin's head as he repeated one more time, "Slept with Justin?" Taking a deep breath he moaned, "Oh my God! I'm Justin! I slept with you!" he pointed at Isabella.

"Yeah," Isabella snorted sarcastically, "if you're shocked, then just imagine how I feel."

"Oh, God," he continued to moan, starting to pace.

Yasmine stared at him for a moment, then continued bluntly, "So basically, that's us. That's the big secret. We're not lesbians, we're not bank robbers, we're not anything like that. That's why we've been going out late at night. We were looking for Rakshiki, but could never find him. We annihilated any of his cronies that dared to get in our way, and we have no regrets. In a nutshell, we're killers. We've killed before and we'll kill again to complete our mission."

Justin stopped pacing and stared at the five young women. "So are y'all the good guys or the bad guys?"

"More importantly," Chris interjects before they can answer, "where did these powers come from?"

Tammy looked at them and immediately launched into the story she so desperately wanted to tell them for a long time, purposely avoiding Justin's question. "It all started three years ago," she began, "back when I was only sixteen."

"What happened next?" Joey asked, totally entranced by the tale. His heart went out to Tammy, who had obviously been through a lot. The others remained silent.

"I woke up next to a peaceful river," she recalled.

"And then I woke up in the exact same place that I had died," Tammy shrugged.

"What'd you do then?" Lance asked.

"I went home and wondered if it was all a dream," she answered seriously. "But I knew it wasn't, because I kept having visions of the Elders, and distinctly remembered being shot. Yet," she added mysteriously, "there was no blood on me. Just a scar where the bullets penetrated."

"So how did you all come together?" Joey asked. "I mean, where do Isabella and all of them fit in?"

"We had the exact same vision as her," Yasmine answered. "Then, we all got this urge to go to the boardwalk, and met there. The rest is history."

"Why you guys?" Lance asked. "Why not anyone else?"

"Because," Serena answered, "we all died at the exact same time, right down to the nanosecond. And in horrible ways."

"How'd you die?" he asked her.

"Got pushed accidentally off of a roof," she answered with a shrug.

"And you all?" he asked, looking at the other three.

"Car wreck," Isabella smirked.

"Drowned," Yasmine answered nonchalantly.

"Poisoned," Michelle said. "It was accident, though. That drink wasn't meant for me."

"It's important, though," Tammy added, "that we returned to the same form we were in right before we died, as a reminder of what we've been sent back."

"But not completely like we looked," Isabella said with a snicker.

"Why do you say that?" Justin asked her.

"Because," she answered, struggling to keep the smirk off of her face, "if I had returned in the same form that I was in before I died, I would have no head." She pointed to the scar that wrapped around the circumference of her neck, laughing as the guys drew back in horror. "The crash totally decapitated me. That's why I hate it when Tammy uses that as her death of choice. And," she grinned at Tammy, "why I refused to touch Gentro's head."

"And my head would only be halfway here," Serena laughed lightly. "My head shattered when I hit the ground."

"My face and body would be all bloated and blue," Yasmine smirked, puffing out her cheeks as a demonstration. "Like this."

"My entire digestive system ruptured," Michelle added, joining in their game.

Everyone looked at Tammy, who merely looked back. "What?" she asked defensively. "Y'all know what happens when you get shot with a high-caliber weapon. I'd have no insides. Period."

"You guys seem to have a very pleasant disposition to be talking about death," Lance remarked dryly.

"Dying'll do that to ya," Yasmine cracked. The girls immediately cracked up laughing.

Chris, who had been strangely silent up until that point, scratched his head and asked dubiously, "Hold on, slow down. You mean to tell me that you all were sent back to protect a child? What's so special about him?"

"Nothing," Isabella replied with a sarcastic snort, "minus the fact that he is gonna save the entire world."

Lance, picking up on the word "save", immediately asked, "So how will he save us?"

With a sigh, Michelle answered, "He will merge all into one."

"Come again?" Chris asked, arching an unbelieving brow.

"Yeah," Joey had to agree, "this sounds like one big, world-wide orgy or something."

Rolling her eyes, Michelle continued, "He will make all one, for all of our souls are connected."

"The same thing the Elders told you!" Lance gasped.

"Exactly," she nodded. "He will show the world the magic of what is within, not the unreality of what is without. That's the best I can describe it." She finishes with a strange glow in her brown and green eyes, "It's gonna be phenomenal, I do know that. If the child succeeds, then mankind will take a huge step towards the end of God's ultimate plan."

"What's the significance of that?" Justin asked. "The ultimate plan, I mean."

Serena replied casually, "The meaning of life will be uncovered."

Lance's eyebrows hit his hairline as he, and only he, realized the ultimate truth that the girls had been trying to hide for so long. "Hold on," he gasped, "you mean to tell me the this child that you all are protecting is the next Jesus Christ?"

"If you wanna call him that," Tammy shrugged. "I don't think his mom'll go for it, though."

"Yeah," Isabella snickered with Yasmine, "that name is kinda gay. Can you imagine someone in class and they're all like, 'I dropped my pen again! Christ, what do I have to do to have a good day?!' Then he'll walk in and be like, 'Did someone call me?'" She and Yasmine immediately dissolved into giggles.

"But," Lance argued, "the Bible clearly states that God sent his only son to the world. How is it possible for him to return?"

"This is his only begotten son," Tammy shrugged.

"So the first Jesus was a fake?" Justin asked in confusion.

"No!" Tammy laughed. "Sweet Lord, no. They're all one in the same. Through every life, the soul is the same, therefore this child is still his only begotten son, just as Jesus Christ was." She added, "But don't look at me to quote the Bible or anything, 'cause I'm not religious at all."

"So why were you chosen if you aren't religious?" Joey asked.

"Does it matter?" JC rolled his eyes. "It's all a bunch of crap. The second coming of Christ? Please."

"That's why we were chosen," Tammy addressed Joey, "because we believe in the basics, yet we aren't clouded with religious dogma like everyone else." Hitting JC with a piercing glare, she continued, "Those who claim to believe that he existed in his last life will be the firsts to reject him this time around."

"Don't try to turn this around on me, Tammy," JC glared right back at her. "You lied to me. You lied to all of us."

"About what?" she said in astonishment. "I may have hidden some stuff from you, true, but when did I lie? Tell me. You can't, because you know I didn't do anything to hurt you."

"You led us to believe that you were someone else!" he yelled at her. "You made us see one thing when you were the exact opposite."

"That's not fair, JC," Yasmine scowled. "Just because Tammy didn't tell you everything about us doesn't mean that she's not the same Tammy. Besides, we had to keep it a secret. No one could know. Hell, y'all still aren't supposed to know."

"So what are you gonna do?" he asked nastily. "Erase our memories yet again?"

"No," Serena said, shaking her head. "We trust you guys not to tell anyone."

"Not that anyone would believe us, anyway," Joey muttered.

"Probably not," Tammy said, "but that doesn't mean you have to look at me any differently."

"How in the hell can you say that, Tammy?" JC snapped. "You're a freakin' super hero! You can create objects out of thin air, run faster than the speed of light, and are stronger than all five of us combined. You aren't the same Tammy, that's all there is to it."

"Good point," Justin muttered under his breath. Joey, Chris, and Lance nodded their agreement.

"How can you say that, Joshua?" Tammy threw back at him. "You told me, no, you swore to me that no matter what you found out about me I would still be Tammy in your eyes. Remember?"

"That was back when I thought you were a fuckin' human being!" he retorted.

"We are still human, JC," Michelle said softly. "We have souls. We laugh, we cry, we run and jump and play just like you and your friends do. We're no different in that aspect. We all still bleed red blood. What does it matter that we can do things that you can't? Does that change the fact that Yasmine is still the only one that can liven up a boring day? That Serena is always there with a smile and a compliment? That Isabella is still the sexy fantasy you've all once had? Or," she glanced at Tammy, "that Tammy was one of the best friends you've ever made?"

JC locked eyes with Tammy, who stared defiantly back. "I don't know," he sighed. "Everything's so different now."

"How?" Tammy asked softly, taking a step towards him. As he took a step back, she sighed, "It's still me, Josh. Super powers, the coming of Christ, and the fact that I've hidden this for so long changes nothing. I'm still Tammy, and always will be."

"Besides," Yasmine nodded, "there's no need to be afraid of this. It's all a part of life."

"How can you say that?" Justin asked. "This is not life. This is some weird shit."

"Dammit, Justin!" Isabella snapped, her eyes flashing angrily. "There's more to life than stupid rehearsals, signing autographs, and doing fucking concerts! This," she gestured around her, "is real. It's life. So please do me a favor and climb out of your closed off world of money, fame, glamour, and groupies. Shit like this is real, and you gotta accept it."

"But we shouldn't be experiencing it," Joey argued. "We're just five guys from Orlando that enjoy being trapped in a world of money, fame, glamour, and groupies. To us, that's real."

"And that's why the child's coming is so important," Michelle said quietly. "If you guys saw all of this in person and can't accept it, how will the rest of the world?" Holding out her hand to the guys, she gestured for them to come closer.

They hesitantly stepped forward, as if afraid to be near them all of a sudden. "What do you want?" Chris asked in a quivering voice.

"Sit," Michelle ordered. As the guys obediently sat down, she continued, "We're gonna take y'all on a little trip through history."

"Why?" Justin wanted to know.

"So you guys can get a feel and new understanding of life," Michelle answered.

At that, JC jumped up, exclaiming, "This is bullshit! None of this is real! Hello? We're talking about leaping through time here!" Stomping the floor repeatedly, he continued, "This floor right here is real. The walls are real. Hell, all of us are real. But all this cosmo crap… not real."

"JC," Isabella said in annoyance, "not even twenty minutes ago, you saw a huge snake crawl off of Tammy's arm and eat a man. I really think you should re-evaluate your beliefs of what is real and what is not. Now sit down."

"No," JC replied, stomping towards the door. "I'm outta here. I'll find a way back to the real world."

"JC, wait!" Tammy cried, jumping up and running after him. Placing a hand on his arm, she said, "This is real, J. It is. And I can show you that you have nothing to be afraid of. I'll show you!" she said desperately as he snatched his arm away. "I'll show you," she whispered one more time as she looked into his eyes and held out her hand.

Grabbing it slowly, he nodded, and walked back with her to the circle of people. The girls each sat between two members of 'NSync, and clasped their hands.

"Just relax and breath normally," Tammy said, nodding as everyone did so. "Your breathing will slow down, but don't fret. Just breath normally and don't try to force in breaths. Your body will feel heavy, then incredibly light. Just make sure you keep your minds relatively clear, okay?" Everyone nodded, and the journey began.

They ten young people were swept back to the beginning of time, where the Earth was first being created. "Seven days, my ass," Chris remarked as he looked at all the molten lava and hot magma bubbling around them. Because they were technically in spiritual bodies while inhabiting the third dimension, they could not feel, smell, or touch anything, just see and hear.

"There were seven eras of geological history," Tammy said, "and there were seven days in Genesis. Both times had the exact same climate conditions, so what's the difference?"

"Um," Chris rolled his eyes, "I do believe a day ranges differently from an era that is millions of years long."

"Maybe not," Tammy remarked, preparing to jump them forward, "keep in mind that the book of Genesis was written from the point of view of God. When you live for all eternity, a million years can seem like a minute."

That said, they continued to jump throughout different periods of time, experiencing wars, triumphs, and wonderful discoveries. The final jump though, was the most disturbing.

"Where the hell are we?" Chris asked, glancing around at the huge crowd of people who seemed to be crowded around pillars of some sort. "What's going on?"

"I don't know," Yasmine answered, surveying the crowd. Some people were jeering, many were crying. She turned to Isabella and asked, "You feel that vibe in the air? Like it's an execution or something."

"Bring out the condemned!" they all heard a man say in a loud voice. Two guards walked behind a wiry looking man with tan, sweaty skin and a wiry frame. His hair was longish and brown, but his eyes looked peaceful, regardless of the obvious pain he had suffered before. As he neared the top of the hill, the guards snatched a wooden board from a black man, and placed it roughly on his back.

"No," Justin whispered, unable to take his eyes away from the scene in front of him. "It can't be…"

"Tammy?" Serena asked, her movements betraying her name, for she didn't look so serene right then. "Is this--?"

"I think so…" she whispered in response, staring at the scene unfolding in front of her. She had a nagging suspicion of what was happening, but the mere thought of it was so horrible, so unthinkable, that she didn't even want to think about it.

The man was being laid down on his back, and the crowd started to jeer louder. Still, it couldn't drown out the anguished wails of the many that obviously loved the man. The sound of the cries for mercy mixed with the shouts for pain created a twisted tapestry of emotions and haunted melodies.

"This can't be happening," Chris said quietly. "Who would torture someone so?"

Even as he spoke, they watched as those in charge continued to jeer and taunt the man. "A king!" one man laughed. "The king of kings!"

"The lord of lords!" another man laughed.

"Let us crown you, Your Majesty," the first man laughed again, placing a crown of thorns on his head.

"Oh my God," Justin said, paling considerably. "It's the crucifixion of Jesus Christ."

"Why did you bring us here to this horrible place?" Joey demanded to know, turning angrily to Tammy.

"I didn't!" she defended herself. "We just wound up here somehow."

"I can't watch," Lance moaned, covering his eyes with his hands.

The soldiers and noblemen were still taunting him, trying to get him to drink wine and perform miracles. "Only the best wine for the king!" one of the soldiers yelled.

"Made from our best vinegar!" They all laughed as one of the noblemen said that.

After many excruciating hours of watching the torment of the "child" in one of his past lives, they prosecutors were finally ready to get down to business. Throwing him to the ground, they placed his body on top of a wooden structure.

"No," JC whispered. "No!" he screamed, only no one could hear him except his friends. As the prosecutor raised his hammer and nail, JC turned to Tammy. "Stop them!" he commanded. "Go back to third density. You can't just sit by and let this happen."

As Tammy stared up at the man, all she could think about was the time when she and her friends were trying to find the whereabouts of the child and their search led them to a little brown baby boy in Japan. "That's him," she thought. "He'll have no memory of it later, though." Just then, the prosecutor drove the first nail into the man's wrists. His scream of agony echoed across the valley, chilling them to the bone.

"Stop them, T!" JC begged. "Please!" He nudged her forward a bit, and Tammy seriously considered going to save the man. "I could go up there," she mused to herself, "and jump into the body of one of the men. I'd make him drive the nails into his own body. The rest I could just kill by placing them on my own version of a cross, only I wouldn't need any wood, just a tree and some rope. Yeah," she continued to muse, "I haven't hung someone in a long time. I'd be doing the world a service by saving an innocent man and killing the guilty ones."

She started to step into the crowd, but was yanked back by strong hands. "What are you doing?" Isabella demanded. "You can't interfere. You can't change history. In your own way, you'd be violating the Absolution of Existence."

"But…" Tammy stammered, "look at him! He's dying!"

"That’s how it's supposed to be," Michelle said quietly. "He came to die for our sins, so that later on in life we can come back and risk our life for his. Just let it be, Tammy."

Tammy nodded, but refused to look as they drove the rest of the nails into his other wrists and feet, then hung him in the air. The crowd continued to fill the air with it's wails and cheers, but the girls blocked it out as they stared at "the child". Then a miracle happened. In the midst of all his pain, the man on the cross glanced up, and looked right into Tammy's eyes. Then, he sent her a small grin.

"He can see us!" she gasped, grabbing JC's arm.

As they continued to watch, one of the soldiers picked up a spear and stabbed it into the man's side. Instantly, a feeling swept over the five girls, and they knew that they were indeed watching the most famous crucifixion in all of history. "'And not a bone oh Him shall be broken'," Tammy quoted the Bible verse as tears streamed down her face. Turning to her friends, she smiled weakly. "The prophecy has been fulfilled. We can get out of here now." She immediately burst into sobs, and JC embraced her tightly, tears also streaming down his face.

"Thank you," he whispered. "Thank you."

The young men and women grasped hands again and were instantly transported to a small room. On the bed lay a woman with a cute little baby in her arms.

"Where are we?" Joey asked outloud.

"Oh!" the woman looked up and smiled. "Hello."

"She can see us too?" Justin scrunched up his face in confusion. "This is unbelievable."

"Hi," Tammy said, stepping forward. "How are you?"

"I'm fine now that I know the danger is gone," the woman smiled. She held the baby out to Tammy. "Would you like to hold him? I know you've thought a lot about him, and put a lot of time and effort into keeping him safe, and I thank you for it."

"It's no big deal," Tammy whispered, gently taking the baby into her arms. As she stared into her eyes, the baby sent her a look of recognition, and Tammy knew that he remembered what had happened in his past life. "You will soon forget, though, my lord," she whispered, hugging him tighter. She had already fallen in love with how adorable he was. He was so cute! She couldn't get over how soft and warm he felt. Tammy felt as if she were finally home after being lost in the dark for hours. "It was all worth it, you know," she said to the baby. "And I'd do it all again."

She looked at Justin and grinned. "Here," she said, holding the baby out to him.

He backed up, shaking his head. "Oh, no," he said, his voice shaking, "I couldn't."

"C'mon, J," she convinced him, "how many people get to honestly say that they once held the son of God in their arms as a baby? Not many."

"Okay," he relented, taking the little brown bundle. Staring down into his dark brown eyes, he said, "Hey there, little man. Just between you and me, I think it's about time we had a black savior. Way to bridge the color gap, ya know? That in itself is gonna turn everybody inward and teach us that we are all one." He leaned over and kissed him on his head, then passed the baby to Yasmine.

"Gosh," she breathed, taking in his sweet smell, "he's so small." She grinned at Tammy, "I love him already."

"Yeah, me too!" she laughed, watching as Yasmine rocked and cuddled the baby. "I just want you to know," she said to the baby, "that I've suffered a lot of bruises 'cause-a you, but you know what? I don't care, 'cause at one time you took a lot of bruises for me. And I thank you for it, even though you probably don't understand what I'm saying."

The baby opened then closed his mouth, as if trying to reply to Yasmine that he did in fact understand what she was saying, but nothing came out of his mouth except a glob of spit.

"Cute baby," Yasmine laughed as she handed him off to Serena.

"Hey there," Serena whispered. "I'll keep it short and sweet. It's good to finally meet the one man that I'm willing to put my life on the line for. If you stay this adorable, I don't think you'll have a problem getting a girl in this lifetime. Of course, last time you didn't seem to care for relationships… did you know that you used to hang around prostitutes? I lie to you not. You blessed everyone you touched."

Laughing still, Lance took the baby and gazed at him. "He's so beautiful," he said in awe. "I don't wanna let him go. It's like… he's so pure, ya know?" Everyone nodded as he planted a kiss on the baby's cheeks, nose, and head. "Don't worry," Lance joked, "years down the line, you don't have to worry about me coming out of the woodworks and telling all the tabloids that you let a man kiss you."

Chris took the baby and started to rock him, staring into eyes that were the color of his. "He's wonderful," he whispered. With tears in his eyes, he looked up at the others. "Just holding him fills me with so much hope, ya know?" he said in a choked whisper. "I don't even know him, but I love him." After passing the baby to Michelle, he wiped his tears.

"I feel like I know you," she giggled as the baby yawned, then gazed up at her with nothing but trust in his eyes. "I'll always protect you," she promised. "In this life and all your others. Bet on it."

She tried to give the baby to Joey, who drew back in alarm. "No," he said, "don't give him to me."

"C'mon, Joe," she implored, "don't be like that. We just went through this with Justin."

"You heard what Lance said. He's pure… and I'm not. I feel like just by touching him, I'd corrupt him, or pollute him."

"I seriously doubt that," Tammy rolled her eyes. "Besides," she continued, "the baby is your savior. He's died for your sins once already. He loves you regardless."

"Okay," Joey said, taking the baby. Staring down at him, he marveled at how the baby stared at him as if he knew what he was thinking. Then, something unbelievable happened. As Joey leaned down to nuzzle the baby's nose with his, the child reached up and rubbed his hand across his face briefly, as if consoling him. "Wow," Joey whispered, kissing the baby once for good luck. "Be sure to remember me when you grow up. I may sin and fornicate more often than naught, but just know that I have a good heart."

He passed the baby to JC, who kissed him and whispered, "Wassuuup! I'm Joshua Scott Chasez, also known as JC. You don't know me, but you will one day, 'cause I'm gonna be one of your many followers. It's been an honor meetin' ya, kid. I hope you fix up this world for the better, 'cause mankind trashes it more and more every year. Make sure you thank Tammy and all of them too, 'cause they put their lives on the line constantly to keep you safe. All 'cause we really need you." After placing one final kiss on the baby's face, he passed it to Isabella finally.

"So what's this I hear about you hangin' with prostitutes?" she asked him, nuzzling her cheek against his. "You feel so soft," she cooed to him. "If I had my drum set, I'd play ya a lil' somethin' like the little drummer boy did last time around, but unfortunately, I can't carry objects when I travel in between densities. But I'll give ya a little beat." She started to bounced the baby a little as she stomped her foot on the ground and beat-boxed a little, forming a catchy little beat. Just then, the baby sent a tiny smile to her.

"Oh my gosh!" she shrieked in happiness. "He smiled at me! He smiled at me! Oh my gosh, he smiled!"

The guys of 'NSync looked at each other and grinned, immediately starting to sing. "Then, he smiled at me. Par-rum-pa-pum-pum. With my drum!" They all harmonized beautifully, and Isabella hugged the baby close to her chest one final time before handing him back to his mother.

"This is good-bye?" the young woman asked, staring at them.

"Yeah," Tammy said. "Our job is over. We’ll see you all again, though. Have faith in him. He's special."

"Oh, I do," she laughed, hugging the child to her chest. They all bid her good-bye, then prepared to leave.

The ten young men and women clasped hands, and Tammy said sternly, "Make sure you do not let go of our hands, no matter what. We're not going back to the factory, we're going to y'all's hotel. If you let go, you'll lose us and be lost in between dimensions, making it very hard for us to find y'all."

The boys nodded, and clasped their hands tightly. The jump back to the hotel was rough, but successful. "I can't believe that just happened!" Justin gasped, laying on the floor.

"Believe it," Tammy smirked, climbing to her feet. She happened to glance over at the couch and saw a man sitting on the couch.

Isabella glanced over and saw him, too, drawing in a quick breath. Chris followed her gaze to the man and frowned. "Who are you?" he demanded to know. "You better tell me quick before I call security."

"Relax, Chris," Tammy said calmly, "there's no need to call security. It's just one of the Elders."