The Melaswen Paradox Story Guide (Read 1,763 times)

[André DiMera]

This will be a monthly guide to my story, The Melaswen Paradox. This story starts in a different one called Fighting for Love, continues in Loves Labours, and has found a new, more permanent home in The Melaswen Paradox. After I have summarized all of the existing chapters, I shall update this guide on a month-by-month basis.

The first story, The Melaswen Paradox, takes place a few months before it was written. For that story, I shall put the Days timeline first, and the time the story was posted in parenthesis.

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November 2015 (January – late February 2016)

On the night of Hope and Aiden's wedding, two major things happened. First, Aiden confessed that Stefano was blackmailing him into killing Hope, but he refused to go through with it. The second, Bo Brady returned to Salem. Things didn't start off on a good foot, with Bo being fairly rude to Aiden, and Hope giving Bo the cold shoulder, for what she saw as him abandoning her and Ciara. Bo's less than stellar welcome continued when he was confronted by a now teenaged Ciara, who was hurt and angry with her father for leaving her and her mother. Things began to look up when Bo was visited by Shawn, who informed him that he, Belle and Claire were planning to move back to Salem. Shawn also convinced his father to give Aiden a chance, and that he was a decent guy. Belle and Claire arrived in Salem a few days later, and Shawn had picked a house, so the three began moving their things in. Bo finally got Ciara to listen for a few minutes, and arranged a family meeting. Before that could happen, Chelsea returned to Salem. She had heard about her dad's return and wanted to see him. The family, plus Aiden and Chase, came together to hear Bo's story. He hadn't abandoned Hope and Ciara, as they had thought. On his way back from helping Caroline, he was given a top secret ISA mission when he got captured by André, who kept him prisoner on Melaswen, Salem's identical island in the tropics. All of the phone calls and letters to Hope were really forgeries and André talking with a voice distorter. While on Melaswen, he met Paige Larson, and was reunited with Will, both of whom were thought to have been killed by Ben Weston, the Necktie Killer. In truth, André was up to his old tricks, and had been drugging Ben for months to make him think he was going crazy and killing people. Bo only got off Melaswen when Steve tracked him down. After dropping him off in Salem, Steve left to rescue Paige and Will. Bo assumed that everything was okay, now that the truth was out. And while Hope believed him, she wasn't happy that he had lied about the ISA mission. On Thanksgiving Day, as they were setting up the Pub, Chelsea noticed Bo having a severe dizzy spell. She wouldn't drop it, and made Bo promise to get checked out after dinner. At Chelsea's insistence, Bo told Hope and Daniel about his issues, and Daniel agreed to check him out after dinner. The meal was wonderful, with the Brady family coming together. Even Aiden and Bo put aside their differences, for Hope and the kids' sake. But just as the night was winding down, Aiden was arrested. An anonymous tip had been sent to the Salem PD, implying that Aiden was an accomplice of the Necktie Killer. Bo and Hope went to the station to defend Aiden, who soon got a lawyer: Andrew Donovan.

Meanwhile, André had plans for Chad. At Stefano's insistence, André began training his younger brother in the art of being a true DiMera. When not training Chad, André tended to Stefano, who had an increasing number of health problems.

J.J. was still in pain over losing Paige to the Necktie Killer. He was comforted by Daniel, and began a friendship over music with the newly returned Claire.

The Necktie Killer continued his reign of terror by killing Dr. Fynn Thompson. Ben confronted André, who explained the plan to him. The only two actual victims of the Necktie Killer were Serena Mason and Fynn, whose boats had capsized en route to Melaswen. André had Ben arrested for the Necktie Killer's crimes, and then went back to tending to Stefano.

[fluffysmom]

Thanks André DiMera. This is helpful for new readers and a good reminder for those of us who may have forgotten a few details.

[André DiMera]

December 2015 (Late February – late March 2016)

Andrew quickly sizes up the situation, and Aiden is cleared of all charges, on the basis that there is no concrete proof suggesting that he helped Ben. Just as that's cleared up, Justin drops a major bombshell: Hope and Aiden's marriage is invalid, as Bo never signed the divorce papers and didn't legally abandon Hope. Later, Bo gets checked out, and it's not good news. Due to gas used in his torture by the DiMeras, as well as the less than optimal conditons he was kept in for half of his imprisonment, Bo has developed an inoperable brain tumor. That tumor has spread and is now slowly killing him. He has anywhere between two weeks and three months to live. As expected, Bo's family doesn't take it will, particularly Ciara, who feels guilty over being so horrible to him when he first came back. His brothers and sisters are notified, with Frankie, Kimberly, Shane and Max returning to Salem. Steve returns with Will and Paige just in time to hear the news, as well. The situation, plus her old feelings for her husband leave Hope unsure of where she and Aiden stand. Aiden is very understanding, and steps back so that she and Bo can spend what little time they have left together. Many more returns come as Christmas draws near. The first is Billie, who is in town to visit her daughter. Chelsea and Max announce that they are getting married, and are moving the wedding up as soon as they can so that Bo can be there. On Christmas Eve, the Brady siblings gather at the Pub to have a family lunch with Caroline, who is happy to have all six of her children together under the same roof again. It is a bittersweet, but beautiful lunch. A few days after Christmas, Victor shows up at Bo and Hope's. He has called in a team of specialists to get a second opinion on Bo's condition. The specialists turn out to be Scotty Banning, Tommy, or Dr. Tom Horton Jr., and Tommy's daughter Addie. Chelsea and Max arrange their last minute wedding plans, which include asking both Stephanie and Melanie, who still can't stand each other, to be in the wedding party.

Whilst all this is going on, André and Chad are summoned to Stefano's bedroom. The DiMera patriarch has been getting weaker and weaker. He tells André that he must look after the family, then dies with his two living sons by his side. André assumes his rightful role as head of the DiMera Empire.

J.J. is overjoyed that Paige has returned, and the two resume their romance. J.J. introduces Paige to Claire, who has become his duet partner. And though J.J. and Paige are very secure in their relationship, Claire is getting a little too comfortable around J.J.

Finally, the whole town gathers in the Park for New Year's Eve. As they celebrate, they look forward to the coming year, and Bo and Hope agree to face whatever the new year brings together, no matter how much time Bo has left.

[André DiMera]

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This recap combines two months, as only the last chapter of Fighting for Love takes place in February. The rest happens in January.

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January and February 2016 (Late March 2016)

André has secluded himself since the death of Stefano, but when Chad provkes him too far, he returns with a vengeance. His first act is to reveal that Stefano was never the Phoenix, he is.

The results from the tests run by Scotty, Tommy and Addie come back. In an unfortunate turn of events, not only can they not cure Bo, the tumors have spread exponentially, leaving him only three weeks, at most, to live. In a last minute switch, Chelsea and Max move up their wedding plans even sooner so he can attend. Stephanie and Melanie agree to put aside their differences, for Chelsea and Max's sake. The wedding goes off without a hitch, and Chelsea and Max are thrilled to be husband and wife. Bo gets one final victory, and is able to arrest André for kidnapping him and keeping him on Melaswen. His victory is short lived, however, as Bo nearly collapses on his way into the police station. Hope rushes him to the hospital, and calls the rest of the family in. One by one, each says a tearful goodbye until only Bo and Hope are left. His family taken care of, and his wife by his side, Bo dies. Over the next few days, a funeral is arranged. Bo's family and friends gather at St. Luke's to say their final farewells. At the reception after, Aiden tells Hope that he and Bo talked a few days before his death. They made amends, and Aiden agreed to take care of Hope and the family for anything they need. Hope appreciates the gesture. Steve repairs Bo's old motorcycle and takes off on one last ride for Bo.

J.J. and Claire perform at the wedding. All goes well, but towards the end of the night, Claire, caught up in all the emotion of the day, kisses J.J. Though he rebuffs her, J.J. feels guilty, even though it wasn't his fault. Daniel assures him that he did nothing wrong, and that Paige will understand if J.J. tells the truth. He does, and Paige is very understanding. She knows that J.J. didn't do anything wrong, but she is less than thrilled with Claire.

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In early February, Ciara and Hope are leaving for a weekend trip. After the weekend, Ciara will come back to Salem and alternate spending time with Aiden and Shawn while Hope takes care of business out of town.

Meanwhile, André is still in prison. He harasses a guard, who turns out to be his old servant, Bart Beiderbecke. Bart has returned to break André out of prison.

[André DiMera]

May 2016

We jump forward three months to find Tommy, Scotty and Addie still in Salem, having each taken a full time position at Salem University Hospital. Tommy, Addie and Daniel are overseeing a patient who has been in a coma for years. The patient turns out to be Jan Spears. Jan awakens, but is in for a shock. She has temporary amnesia, and believes it to be 1999. Tommy asks Marlena to help Jan with the lapses in her memory. Though she is initially reluctant, Marlena agrees to be professional and comes to check on Jan. She's okay, but is having some major culture shock.

At the Pub, Chelsea, who is waitressing, encounters an Irishman named Aodh Ó Faoláin (which translates to Hugh Whelan). Hugh makes small talk with Chelsea, and is particularly interested in her deceased grandfather, Shawn Brady, Sr. Later, we see him talking on the phone with his brother, Eirnin (Ernan). Hugh and Ernan meet up and discuss their business, including having to meet with Stefano DiMera, whom they aren't aware has been dead for several months now. Hugh attempts to get in to the DiMera Mansion, but has the door slammed in his face. Tired of Hugh's incompetence, Ernan decides to take matters into his own hands.

Meanwhile, it's nearly the end of the school year, and the teens are getting ready for the Last Blast Dance. Claire and Ciara decide that it would be best to go with all of their friends as a group. After school one afternoon, Claire is showing Ciara some YouTube videos of music that will likely be played at the Last Blast. After reading the comments on a video Claire had uploaded, Ciara discovers that her niece/best friend is being bullied online. Claire tries to say that it's not a big deal, but she is noticeably hurt by the comment that was made. A few days later, Ciara and Claire witness Jade, Joey's girlfriend, push over a new girl. They help the girl pick up her things, and take her to her next class. The new girl's name is Noelle, and she's just moved from Ireland with her father and uncle.

Bart has returned to the DiMera Mansion and is back on André's payroll. He wanders about, looking at all the ways in which the mansion has changed when he stumbles upon Dr. Rolf. He explains to Rolf how he got André out of prison earlier in the year by impersonating a guard and hiding him in a laundry cart. We then find out that it was Rolf who brought Bart back to life.

[André DiMera]

June 2016

With Marlena's help, Jan is adjusting to life in 2016. Belle spots them together one day while on her lunch break. When Belle goes to confront her mother, she learns that Jan has amnesia, and genuinely does not remember a thing from 1999 onwards. Shawn also has a run in with Jan, and learns the same. Because of their reactions to her, Jan begins to wonder what happened between her, Belle and Shawn. Marlena agrees to try to help Jan's memory through hypnosis, but warns Jan that she may not like what she finds out. After her first session, she remembers being on Puerto Rico with Shawn, but doesn't remember the circumstances of why she was there, or why she was with Shawn. A few weeks later, Jan gets another memory. She remembers getting an ultrasound, and Shawn being with her. She still doesn't understand what all of this means.

Ernan goes to the DiMera Mansion, demanding to speak to Stefano. André informs him that Stefano is dead, and as he is the eldest living heir, André is in charge. Ernan tries to threaten André, but the threats are easily turned back on him. Down below the DiMera Mansion, in the tunnels, Chad finds Cassie and Rex. Chad has been down there since he confronted André earlier in the year. Cassie and Rex have been in the tunnels for years. They seem content down there, especially as André, who they believe to be Tony, comes to visit them every now and then. Chad tries to convince them that Tony is dead, and gets them to try to find a way out of the tunnels with him. André summons Ernan back to the Mansion, where it is revealed that Ernan is working for him. André informs him that there must be a sacrifice, using a black knight from Stefano's chess board to illustrate his point.

Aiden and Andrew get a new client in the form of Hugh. Hugh is looking into custody arrangements. It seems that Noelle is really his daughter, not Ernan's as the elder brother would have people believe. Unfortunately, Ernan finds out about this, and he is not happy! The brothers have a heated argument, with Ernan promising to get back at Hugh for this. Hugh gets a call to go down to the Pier, where he is confronted by Ernan, who holds him at gunpoint.

Claire tries to invite Joey to join the group she and Ciara are putting together for the Last Blast Dance. Joey politely declines, as he's already going with his girlfriend, Jade. She is, as usual, very rude to Claire, and pulls Joey away before the conversation can continue. However, another member is added to the group when Ciara invites Noelle. A few days later, the teens are in their theatre class when they get their role assignments for the upcoming summer musical: Evita. J.J. has been asked to help with the music for the musical, and notices the way Jade treats everybody. She continuously stops class to complain about really minor details, and is generally rude to everyone, including Mrs. Shuler, the drama teacher. After practice one day, J.J. pulls Joey aside and tells him his thoughts on Jade. Joey puts it down to J.J. not understanding Jade, but J.J. counters that it's not right for Jade to intentionally hurt Joey's friends and family, which she has been trying to do. The day before the Last Blast, Jade gives Joey a flash drive. She tells him to distract Nina, who is working on the slideshow for the dance, long enough so that he can put the contents of the drive into the show. What those contents are, Jade refuses to say. Against his better judgement, Joey goes along with it, though he feels he'll live to regret it. The night of the dance comes, and everyone is excited. Chase and Claire's attraction for each other ever since the latter arrived in Salem hasn't gone unnoticed by Ciara, who encourages her niece to dance with Chase. Nervously, the two ask each other to dance. They end up having a great time, and sign up for the dance contest together. During the contest, they profess that they have feelings for each other, and have their first kiss. The contest ends with Theo and Ciara winning. Just as they finish their speeches, Jade's plan goes into action. Apparently, Jade took a video of Claire showering in the girls locker room one day, and posted every single negative comment about her singing or looks that anyone ever posted on any of Claire's YouTube videos over it. Embarrassed, Claire ran from the room. Chase went out to talk to her. He found her under a stop sign, crying, and held her. Ciara, Theo and Henri went outside to comfort her, as well. Back inside, Joey confronted Jade about what she had done, but Jade was, unsurprisingly, unremorseful. Joey promptly broke up with Jade, citing her constant bullying of his friends and family as the main reason. Meanwhile, Mr. Woods gave the rest of the class a stern lesson in bullying. The school year ended with Jade finding that nobody was willing to so much as look at her after what she had done to Claire. A few days after the end of school Mrs. Shuler called Jade into her office to inform her that she was banned from the summer musical. Claire was also called in to be informed that, due to Jade's banishment, she was now the lead role in Evita (she had been Jade's understudy up until this point). Though initially reluctant, due to all of the nastiness that had happened lately, Claire accepted after some encouragement from her teacher. Joey told Mr. Woods and the principal what he and Jade had both done a few days earlier, which led to them both getting banned from the musical and having to do detention.

[André DiMera]

July 2016

The Salem High gang get ready, as the play draws nearer. The big night finally arrives, with Claire feeling a little nervous. After a brief talk with Ciara, she feels better. The play is a hit, with Claire playing Eva Peron, Chase playing Che Guevara, and Henri playing Juan Peron. The play goes well, with all three of the main players receiving standing ovations. While Claire goes off to celebrate with her friends, Shawn and Belle take a walk through Salem Place. The teens, meanwhile, go to the Slicer, a pizza place in Salem Place, to celebrate opening night of the play. Chase and Claire can't keep their eyes off of each other all night. They decide to go outside for a moment of privacy. Once outside, they profess their true feelings for each other (they had only said they “liked” each other at the Last Blast), and kiss.

Jan puts the clues together and figures out that she had a child, but she doesn't know whose child it is (though she guesses Shawn's) or what happened to it. Marlena agrees to help her find out through their sessions, but is secretly afraid of what may happen to Jan's mental state when she figures it out. The night of the Salem High play, after the play is over, Jan goes to Salem Place and finds Belle and Shawn. She asks them about the baby. Shawn is initially hesitent, but eventually tells Jan that, while Jan did get pregnant, it was not by Shawn. This leads to Jan remembering the night that Paul Mendez, Nicole's evil father, raped her while they were in Puerto Rico.

Hugh is confronted by Ernan at the Pier. He ends up shooting his older brother. Ernan realizes that he was the black knight in André's parable from earlier, the one who needed to be sacrificed. Hugh then calls André, telling him that he has succeeded.

Roman gets a call from Hope, who's been mysteriously out of town since she and Ciara left for spring break earlier in the year. Roman can barely hear her, as there's a bad connection. What he does make out is that Hope is stuck at the town line. He calls for back up. It comes in the form of Officer Beck (who is, of course, Bart in diguise). Upon arriving at the town line, they see Hope, but find that neither they, nor her, can get in or out, as the town line has a forcefield around it. This reminds both Roman and Hope of something. Then they figure it out. They're on Melaswen, the tropical island that André built to look identical in every way to Salem. Fearing that the Bradys have figured out their plan, Bart runs to the DiMera Mansion. Hope and Roman, meanwhile, figure out how to break the forcefield by throwing a couple of rocks through a weak spot. After a brief reunion, they get into Roman's cop car and head for the DiMera Mansion.

Bart arrives at the DiMera Mansion and informs André that Hope is back, knows that they're on Melaswen, and that she and Roman are likely headed for them. André and Bart run into the basement to find Rolf. In the tunnels, Chad, Cassie and Rex are still looking for an exit. By the time André and Bart get to Rolf's lab, they have been joined by Hugh, who is quickly revealed to be Peter Blake in disguise. Rolf hands André a device, which he presses a button on. Melaswen explodes.

[André DiMera]

August 2016

In a series of flashbacks that take place directly before the explosion, Cassie and Rex discuss whether or not they should trust Chad. Jan remembers being raped. Chase and Claire kiss, and decide that they want to date. Their friends, who are watching from inside, are overjoyed for them. Roman and Hope are making their way to the DiMera Mansion when a code comes through for an explosion. Joey gets a phone call from Jade, but blows her off.

After the explosion, Rolf, Bart and André, posing as Tony, find Chad and the twins. Peter died in the explosion. The twins think he really is Tony, but Chad knows better. André quickly reveals himself, as do the twins. They've known all along that he's André, and all three of them have plans for Chad.

Shawn wakes up to find himself, Jan and Belle lying in the middle of Salem Place. Both Jan and Belle are unconcious. Shawn calls for an ambulance. Jan is having a bizarre dream in which the memories of her old self start seeping back, but manifest in an evil duplicate of her. The dream Jan tries to convince the real Jan to kill Belle.
J.J. and Claire both worry about what's going to happen to Paige and Chase, as both were caught under heavy objects in the explosion. While pleading with Chase to stay alive, Claire tells him that she loves him.
The cop car had been flipped over by the explosion. Hope calls for assistance.
All the major players, minus the DiMeras, gather at the hospital. Joey had come to make sure that everyone is okay. The hospital is in chaos, as many people were injured in the explosion. Daniel, Tommy, Scotty, Addie, Kayla and the other doctors are doing everything that they can. Joey takes a seat next to J.J. in the waiting room. Claire is frightened for everybody, especially Chase, but realizes she has to be brave and remain strong for them. Aiden arrives at the hospital and sits with her. Daniel comes out of the OR, and tells J.J. that Paige will be okay. She'll have to wear a brace on her leg for a while, but hasn't suffered any permanent damage. Eric and Caroline arrive at the hospital, and after hearing about the condition of certain people, they go to the chapel and pray. Jade arrives and informs Joey that she's pregnant, and that he's the father. Tommy comes out of the OR to speak to Aiden. Chase sustained some injuries to his lower spine, leaving him temporarily paralyzed. Given time, and therapy though, he should be able to walk again, someday. Jan and Belle both go into a coma. However, not everyone was able to make it out alive. Roman died while they were trying to rescue him. Frankie and Kimberly quickly made their way back to Salem, and found out the news. Hope, acting as Interim Commissioner in the wake of Roman's death, makes a press conference about the explosion, and reveals to the citizens of Salem that they are on Melaswen.

Lucas calls Sami, and tells her about the situation. As she, Johnny, Allie, and Sydney are packing, André pays them a visit. He has plans for them. Carrie arrives in Salem, and reunites with her family, as do Sami and her kids. The funeral is held a few days later, with many beautiful things said about Roman. Later, they have a reception at the Brady Pub. Sami and Carrie share a tender moment after feeling the loss of their father. Hope gets a call from the chief of police. He's made her the new Commissioner.

Johnny shows little interest in any of the proceedings, and would rather spend his time with André, learning about his DiMera heritage. A fact which André is all too happy to take advantage of. When Sami catches wind of this, she storms over to the Mansion and tells André to leave her son alone. Not one to be intimidated by anyone, André threatens Sami. The two try to outdo each other and eventually come to a stalemate, one which they know they will both resume later. Hope goes to the DiMera Mansion, and informs André that she is the new town Commissioner, and that she's keeping an eye on him. She knows he's the one who brought them all to Melaswen, and suspects that he caused the explosion, but can't prove it, yet.

Allie and Sydney are integrated into the teens group (Johnny and Allie are 13, while Sydney is 11). They meet their family members, as well as the other teens/young adults in Salem, and all spend an afternoon playing basketball, to get their minds off of the recent devestations.

One evening, a few weeks later, Hope is talking with Aiden, when she gets a text from a number she doesn't recognize. The number tells her to meet her at the Pier. Hope goes to investigate. Unknown to her, Aiden has followed her. When she finds out, he offers to help. The two soon find out who it was: Steve. He has returned with a giant cruise ship, the S.S. Bo Brady. After leaving Salem shortly after Bo's death, Steve took a ride on Bo's old bike to clear his head. Once he had, he returned to find Salem deserted. He worked out that everyone was on Melaswen, and chartered a ship captain to get him there. Steve and his family are reunited. The next day, a town meeting is called. Hope gives the plan to everybody. They are going home! At the meeting, Steve introduces the citizens of Salem to their ship's captain, Alexander Kiriakis.

[André DiMera]

September 2016

Everyone boards the S.S. Bo Brady, and the journey from Melaswen to Salem begins. Kayla and Steve's romantic reunion is interrupted by Jade. She informs them that she's pregnant, and that Joey's the father. Neither of them believe her, but keep up the pretense for a while. Steve has a talk with Joey, who confirms Steve's suspicions that Jade is lying. The baby's real father is a boy with the last name Dirk. He's the star basketball player at Salem High, and also a complete tool. Just to make sure, Kayla does a paternity test, and the results are conclusive: Joey is not the father. J.J. finds Steve and Joey talking, and invites them to a party that is happening that night. Joey doesn't know about the paternity test yet, and confides his fears of potentially fathering Jade's baby to J.J. J.J. convinces him to make sure it's not his, and to tell Jade to back off.
Chase and Claire discuss the events of the last few weeks, including the night of the explosion. They both agree with what the said to each other that night, and decide to make it official. They begin dating.

That night, everyone on the ship gathers in the gold ballroom for a party. The party includes singing, dancing, dinner, and a great time. But Alexander's joviality doesn't last long, as he soon finds that the ship is headed into pirate territory. Steve's had experience with pirates, and is ready in case any of them try anything. On one of the outer decks, Claire and Chase are enjoying their night together, unaware of the imminant danger of the pirates. After a while, they decide to go back inside. Chase goes first, as Claire wants to spend another minute looking out at the sea. Inside, Alexander orders everyone to stay in the gold ballroom until the situation with the pirates is over.

The pirates have spotted them, as well. They're watching the ship from their own pirate ship, the Sea's Fear. One with particular interest is Duck, the old man from Tinda Lau whose daughter, Gabby, was in love with Shawn. When the two ships get close enough, Duck and a handful of his fellow pirates get into a lifeboat and paddle towards the S.S. Bo Brady.

Inside, Jade tries again to intimidate Joey, but he's not backing down. Meanwhile, Chase decides to go back inside, but Claire wants to take a look at the moon a few minutes more. Once the pirates reach the ship, Duck chloroforms and kidnaps Claire. He takes Claire back to the pirate ship, but is stopped from doing anything to her by the captain, who demands he return Claire to her own ship.

Meanwhile, three of the other pirates proceed to take Alexander hostage and use him as a bargaining chip. As well as all of the Salemites valuables, the pirates want Shawn. Steve claims that Shawn isn't there, but the pirates quickly call his bluff. Duck returns with the pirate captain and the unconscious Claire. The captain makes Duck return Claire to her parents, and then forces everyone to watch as she makes Duck walk the plank. The captain then continues with her subordinates original plan to rob the S.S. Bo Brady. A fight for the ship ensues, but is quickly broken up when a masked man jumps onboard and saves the day.

Everyone returns to the S.S. Bo Brady, where Claire gets medical attention. Apart from being a bit groggy and shaken up, she is unharmed. The masked man reveals himself to be Tony DiMera. After going through the usual questioning of his identity, it is revealed that Tony is telling the truth. The pirate captain is arrested and taken to the ship's brig. Unknown to anyone else, three of her fellow pirates are still alive, and are working on getting her out of the brig.

[André DiMera]

Wow! It's been nearly 2 years since I posted in this. I had intended for this to be a monthly thing, but as you can see, time got away from me. Ah, well. So, here we go with the continuing story!

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October 2016

The pirates work on getting their captain free. After finally freeing her from the brig, Captain Maria orders the other three to kill everyone onboard the S.S. Bo Brady. When Gregor refuses to cooperate, Maria has the other two kill him. Johnny and André begin to bond. Lucas, however, suspects that “Tony” is really André, and shares his suspicions with Sami. While André is teaching Johnny to play chess, Sami storms in and demands Johnny return to their cabin. After a brief argument, Johnny agrees, but not without subtly letting André know that he knows the truth, and is on his side.

The next morning, Maria enforces to Pete and Richard that she is not to be crossed. Alexander informs everyone that they have spotted land and should be back in Salem within days. Hearing that they are nearing land, Pete wants to jump right into action, but Maria insists that they make a plan. Jade is still trying to blackmail Joey into saying that he’s her unborn baby’s father. She’s even picked out a name: Emerald (or Emmy for short) if it’s a girl, or Joey Jr. if it’s a boy. Joey plays along, but later fills Ciara in on what Jade’s trying to do. Ciara implores him to tell his parents and, after some convincing, he agrees to. Once he does, Steve and Kayla set out to help prove that Joey isn’t the father. Meanwhile, Ciara confronts Jade and warns her not to cross her, or hurt her family and friends. Johnny tries to get Sydney to join him and André, but she’s not interested. When Allie overhears them talking, she makes sure that Johnny isn’t trying to bully Sydney. She also knows that André isn’t really Tony.

Finally, they arrive in the docks at Salem Bay. While everyone else packs their things, the pirates watch from the shadows and work on their plan. Once they disembark from the ship, Chase thinks he sees something out of the corner of his eye, but it vanishes as quickly as it appears.

A few days later, school is back in session. Sami and Lucas get Johnny and Allie signed up for Salem High, and Sydney for Salem Jr. High. Claire is excited to get back into theatre class, where they’re getting ready for A Christmas Carol as the winter play, but her joy is lessened when Jade shows up, despite being kicked out of the theatre program for her prank at the Last Blast months earlier. After talking with Chase, however, Claire resolves not to let Jade bother her this year. While walking home from school one day, Claire, Chase and Ciara see a mysterious figure in the distance, which makes them uneasy. Upon getting home, they realize that the figure they saw, and the one Chase saw when they first came back to Salem, was a clown. Chase looks it up and finds that creepy clown sightings have been reported in several states, as well as the UK and Australia. The three decide to stick together if they go anywhere, just incase they’re confronted by one of these. By Halloween, Chase’s leg has recovered enough so that he can walk with crutches. The cast list for A Christmas Carol goes up. Joey will play Scrooge, and Claire, Chase and Jade will play the three Ghosts, respectively. They find that Tiny Tim will be played by T.K., one of the freshmen. Finally, the teens are ready to go to a superhero themed Halloween party, but on their way, are confronted by two creepy clowns. Claire, in particular, who has an extreme fear of clowns, freaks out. Finding strength he didn’t know he had, and running on adrenaline, Chase fights off the clowns when they try to grab Claire and Ciara. It turns out that the clowns are actually two other high school students who were trying to play a prank, and they run off. Chase, Claire and Ciara return home for the night.

Johnny goes to visit André at the DiMera Mansion. While he hasn’t convinced Sydney to join them, he questions what happened to Chad, Rex and Cassie, whether they escaped Melaswen when it exploded. André reveals that they are all at the Mansion, hiding in Dr. Rolf’s lab. Cassie and Rex speak with André and Johnny, but seem to disagree about what exactly happened when they made their way back to Salem. They try to pass it off as just being nervous, but André suspects there may be more to it. Privately, Rex and Cassie discuss why they can’t ever let André know what happened to Chad. Later, André is on the phone making plans with someone. Cassie tells him that she needs to talk to him.

When Jade shows up at the Johnson house to bother Joey again, he and Steve are waiting for her. Steve isn’t shy in letting Jade know that he knows the truth, much to her dismay. Jade finally confesses that she was lying. The father of her baby is one of Salem High’s bad boys, Stuart Dirk. She tried using Dirk to make Joey jealous, but he took advantage of her one night after having a few drinks. She also reveals that her father kicked her out and she’s had to stay at the Salem Inn. Steve says he’ll look into finding her a place to stay, but warns her that he will not put up with any of her lies.

[André DiMera]

November 2016

Just as Cassie is about to tell André her secret, Tony arrives. André dismisses the twins, who go down Dr. Rolf’s lab and again discuss why no one can ever know the truth about what happened on the way from Melaswen. Back upstairs, Bart sees André and Tony, only the tables have turned. In a stunning turn of events, Tony has been impersonating André since the incident with the pirates, and the real André just got back from Melaswen. Now that he’s no longer in disguise, Tony intends to re-establish DiMera Enterprises as a legitimate, legally run business, and promptly kicks André out of the Mansion. André swears revenge before leaving. It seems that André hasn’t really gone, though. He’s hiding out in Rolf’s lab, plotting of new ways to destroy Tony’s life. Later, Cassie is thinking again about that night in the tunnels. The night they killed Chad. Only, it appears as they didn’t, as Chad appears at the door when Tony answers it one evening. He remembers that Cassie and Rex tried to kill him, but promises to keep quiet, for the moment. He’s far more interested in partnering with Tony to fix up DiMera Enterprises. Their plan hits a roadblock almost immediately, as Tony is still legally dead. However, once Tony explains that his death was faked by Stefano and André, and that he had really been stranded on an island, Aiden is happy to proceed with the paperwork. He later informs Tony and Chad that Cassie and Rex have also put down a bid for DiMera Enterprises (under André’s orders, but neither of the three knows this yet). It looks as though there will be a bidding war for the company. Then, Tony remembers that his mother, Daphne, set up a secret account, hidden from even Stefano, in Tony’s name. They look into it, and thanks to compound interest, Tony and Chad now have enough to outbid Rex and Cassie. They agree to finish the process after Thanksgiving.

The day after Halloween, Jade notices that Dirk, the boy who got her pregnant, came into school with a black eye. She confronts Joey, thinking he had something to do with it, but Joey has no idea what she’s talking about. Dirk later pushes his way past Chase and Claire. When Chase goes to the bathroom one afternoon, Dirk follows him in, and reveals that he was one of the clowns from Halloween, specifically the one that Chase punched, hence the black eye. Just as Dirk is getting ready to beat Chase up, Mr. Woods, who received an anonymous tip that Dirk may try to cause trouble, walks in and tells him that they need to have a meeting in his office.

As Claire, Ciara and Chase are walking home, they are unaware that the pirates are watching them. Maria and Pete have taken up shelter in an abandoned warehouse, and have made a collage of all the people they want to get revenge on. Specifically, Steve and Kayla’s family, as well as John and Marlena’s and Roman’s. They finally take off their disguises to reveal that they are not pirates at all, but the twin children of Orpheus, going by the names Erebus and Nyx. The twins go to the Brady Pub to try and see what their soon to be victims are like.

Johnny continues spending much of his time with André, which is becoming hard since André is in hiding, and warns Sydney that she better not tell on him.

Jade tries to get Joey to talk to her one evening, but he’s busy and says they’ll talk later. The next day, when they finally talk, Jade is emotional, due to pregnancy hormones, Joey confirms that Jade was actually telling the truth and Dirk is the father of Jade’s baby. Jade is concerned about where she’s going to stay, and Joey reluctantly says she can stop by the house and they can talk to Steve. When they do, Joey is stunned to hear Steve agree to let Jade stay with them. Privately, Steve tells Joey that the only reason Jade is allowed to stay is so he and Kayla can keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn’t try any more tricks. Joey isn’t sure this is going to work, but decides to trust his parents judgement.

The night before Thanksgiving, Philip returns to town. Things are going so well in Titan’s Chicago office that they don’t need him anymore. So, he decided to come home for Thanksgiving and possibly stay longer.

Thanksgiving Day arrives and Ciara is having some trouble keeping it together, as just one year previous, Bo had come back after a 3 year absence, then died only months later. Justin, his family, and Daniel and Nicole have Thanksgiving with Victor, Maggie and Philip at the Kiriakis Mansion, the Hortons have dinner at the Martin House, Tony, Chad and the twins at the DiMera Mansion, and everyone else at the Brady Pub. Aiden and Hope reconnect at the dinner, and Hope invites him back to the house after dinner to talk. The Bradys later go to the cemetery to visit Bo’s grave.

The day after Thanksgiving, Tony is wishing that he could have spent the holiday with Anna, who doesn’t even know he’s alive. Chad encourages him to seek her out and tell her the good news, and Tony does so.

As Ciara gets ready for school, Aiden comes downstairs. He’s wearing one of Bo’s old robes, which upsets Ciara, who figures out that he stayed overnight with Hope. Aiden tries to explain that he stayed in the spare bedroom, but Ciara doesn’t want to hear it and storms off. She meets up with Chase and Claire for some Black Friday shopping, and both can tell something is on her mind. Both try to make Ciara see that nothing likely happened, and Ciara calms down a bit.

Marlena has a bizarre dream in which she is taunted by Orpheus. He warns her that what John (who he refers to as Roman) started isn’t over yet. She sees flashes of Erebus and Nyx, but having never seen them before, has no idea who they are. She wakes with a start, wondering what the dream means.