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"Damn."

Really, that was all Apate had to say- and, really, what more was there? Her sister and her sister's boyfriend/best friend/whatever the hell he was had disappeared, there had been some kind of freaky collapse.....

"I need to find my sister."

The words came out of her mouth, and she marveled over them, wondering where they had come from. It had never before been such a driving need to ensure her sister's safety, but now all she could think of was the dark-haired rebel that, all her life, she'd wished into nonexistence.

"This is total shit," she added, heading off to locate Alaizabel and John.

Aine couldn't feel anything- there was darkness, swarming around her, calling her home and biting at her with razor sharp teeth at the same time. There was Alex, somewhere off in the distance, calling her name- or maybe that was the darkness, playing tricks on her again.

"You don't want him, do you, love?"

The voice was horrifyingly familiar and bizarrely reassuring at the same time- it was him, who had haunted her nightmares, who she had subconsciously tried to please all this time.

"Aine, love, why would you want him?"

"But....he's....Alex, isn't he? That's who I want, isn't it?"

"Not up to me, is it?"

Grating, tiny, sharp teeth dragged at her limbs, which was odd, because she couldn't even see her limbs.

Alaizabel winced as John pulled out the last piece of glass. The bleeding hadn't been that bad, and with a bandage on, she could stand on it gingerly, albeit with a limp. She gave him a hug, "thanks.". She heard Apate calling them and shuffled out onto the underside of the balcony, peering over onto the ceiling. "Up here," she called, "I'll get John to lift you up if you want. Stand on that chair there. Are you hurt at all?".

"Just like that old borde game, Surgery," John commented as he pulled the last shard of glass out and bandaged her leg. He hugged Alaizabel back when she thanked him.

John climbed down part way. He secured his him self with one hand to the railing, and extend his hand to Apate. "Here, just grab my hand," Johng said down to Apate.

Alex awoke to the darkness once more ..it was still there swirling around the edge of the light that illuminated the furniture around him
"where am i?"
he stood up feeling strangely light and at the same time numb pins and needles ran through his body making it hard to keep control of his muscles, looking around he remembered the bed just off to his right moving with as much speed as he could he gazed down at Aine, she was no longer in a child like state but back to her original age laid still.....to still
"Aine!.... Aine?" he touched her cheek and then neck checking for a pulse ......it was there slow and steady
"Aine wake up"
she opened her eyes and gazed up at him but that was all a peculiar expression crossed her face as if she didn't recognize him
"Aine its me Alex"

Aine blinked at him heavily, recognizing him, and still not really being to see him.The other voice was still speaking somewhere in the back of her mind, whispering things that she couldn't understand, both Alex and the other drowning each other out.

It was a struggle just to say his name, and she wasn't even particularly sure whose name would pass from her lips- she couldn't remember the name of the darkness, but she knew that it was lurking in her mouth, like some vile poison she needed to spit out, knowing it would never leave her.

"Alex?"

"yes Aine its me" he moved and sat down next to her letting his hand rest on hers
"where are we? is this the unseen that the card spoke of?"
she didn't say anything else it looked like she wanted to but couldn't
"do you think you can stand up we need to find a way out of here?"
she moved her hand to hold his tightly
"Whats the matter?"

"He's not going away," Aine managed to choke out, grasping Alex's hand. "He wants....."

She trailed off then, not sure if she was physically incapable of speaking or if she just didn't want to tell him what the the voice was telling her.

"He wants me to choose." Blinking slightly, trying to clear the darkness from her eyes, she realized with a twist of horror that it wouldn't leave, and her fingers scrabbled to hold Alex's even tighter. "Between you and....him."

It should have been a snap for Aine- torn between her terror and her salvation. And yet, with the darkness over her, suffocating her, she wasn't really sure which was a stronger bond.

"I'm okay," said Apate, reaching up to grab John's hand and letting him haul her over the railing. She glanced at Alaizabel with what might have been actual concern, glanced at John, then growled under her breath in frustration. "Where the hell is my sister? How can she just be goddamn gone?"

Her voice came close to cracking and she dropped onto the floor heavily, drawing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. "What the hell is going on? None of this makes any sense."

Alaizabel bit her lip as she looked at Apate. Apate was always on the edge of the group, always the self-obssessed narcisist who seemed to absorb hatred and exude it too. Apate looked out for Apate. At least that was the general impression. Alaizabel thought back to when she had made Apate breakfast, when her and Aine had rowed the first morning. No one ever asked Apate if she was ok. Aine was the younger sister, who always got all the attention. Apate looked out for Apate because... no one else would.

She knelt down and hugged Apate, feeling her body shake slightly. Was she crying? Alaizabel couldn't tell. They stayed like that for a while, in the dead of night, in the house with the reversed gravity, furniture littering the ceiling, Aine and Alex lost who knew where. And Alaizabel believed, she believed, that things would change, that things would get better, that the game would be fun.

On the kitchen ceiling, only a few metres away from the three on the balcony, another of Alaizabel's belief points glowed a peaceful yellow.

John stood there rubbing his chin, thinking. This was a game indeed, and he excelled at games. He maybe a strategy wiz, but what he knew and what he was capable of could be applied here. He just had to have a little bit longer to fully gather what was going on here. He could at the very least, once he got enough information, to give an outside view of this whole situation, a rock steady head to think things through.

John stood there watching the two girls. He was never good with cheering people up, or consoling them. That's partially why he never got into any one's business. This time would be the same. He would wait in his place, not bother either of them and let them finish what they need to do.

"I don't know who he is Aine"
Alex let his hand brush her cheek
"all i know is that ive loved you for a long time and now that were together i wont anyone pull us apart"
it was then Alex realized the tears that were falling down his cheeks, he had never cried in front of someone before his farther a Army Officer had always said it was a sign of weakness
he touched his cheek and starred at the wet droplets on his finger tips leaning down he let his lips touch Aines cheek and his breath warm on her ear he wisped
"I love you Aine"
he lent back to see her eyes also wet with fresh tears
"I always have done"

"I....love you."

The words weren't actually hard to say- what was hard was the emotion behind. Aine was not "emotional". Aine was not "soft". Aine was the girl who did not like people, who made every effort to be as anti-social as possible; she was not a girl who cried and fell in love and lost herself somewhere between the light and darkness. Aine just was.

Shaking her head slightly, her arms wound around Alex's neck, one finger wiping away the tears that threatened to actually come from her grey-blue eyes. "I wanna go back."

"i wanna go back" the word echoed around the barren room furniture started to fade the darkness moving inwards this world was a creation of Aines and with out her support it started to disappear Alex screwed his eyes shut and held on to Aine as the familiar falling sensation took them both then with a warm gust of air and a shining light they appeared in the red room but all was different were they on .... the ceiling?
"what the fuck?" Alex exclaimed as he stared at the broken room ?????

Alaizabel jumped as Aine and Alex materialised on the floor next to them. "Oh thank god you're back," she said, smiling, "it's johns go I think.". She saw Alex's eye go to her leg. "Oh, long story. Gravity flipped when you and Aine dissapeared. In fact, if you're back, then...".

It started, a feeling of lightness and dizziness that grew and grew. Alaizabel got an idea. "It should be like the moon. Jump and jump and hopefully when gravity gets to the tipping point you'll be near the floor when it switches, so we won't fall this time. And let's clear a space so nothing falls on us."

Even with her bad leg she began moving chairs and tables away from them, and did a tentative hop. It took hardly any effort. It seemed the switch wasn't taking as long this time. John jumped, and hovered in the air for a few seconds, drifting slowly back down. Alaizabel grinned and hopped again, using the wall to push herself off. And suddenly everyone was weightless. She pushed herself off from the wall and floated into the reception hall. She did a slow somersault. A grin spread across her face, "Oh my god. This is so... cool...".

John whirled with grace usaly not attributed to a man of his size. He pushed off the walls and leap frogged from surface to surface making his way back to the game. A quick spin, and a shove off the wall and he landed on the first floor. The gravity seemed to come back on as soon as his feet touched the ground. Luckly everyone was ready for the switch and no one was hurt.

"That was fun, sort of wish we didn't have to have the gravity on," John commented. The group made their way back to the game board. Suprisingly the nothing had been affected here in this room, every thing was where it should be. As everyone took their places John rolled his dice. "A total of 6, okay, 1 2 3 4 5, 6," John landed on a believe space, picking up the card he read it out loud, "Believe in the myth, hmm I wonder what this could mean, myth could be creatures of mythology, maybe we have to believe they exist." John thought about it, his brow was his tell. Mid thought, a loud roaring noise was heard some where in the house. John turned around looking over his shoulder. "Or perhaps the creatures are real," John's mind went back to the antique weapons in the tower, "perhaps we should arm our selfs."

Alaizabel looked up in alarm as she heard the noise. As one, the group ran into the reception hall towards the war tower. Alaizabel was last through the door and bolted it shut behind them. She then ran up to the weapons room to join the others. She picked two narrow short swords, little more than daggers, which were on a shoulder harness. She shrugged it over her head. The daggers formed an X across her back. The pommels were bright steel and embedded with emeralds. They felt light enough. Once everyone had a weapon, they went up to the war room. There was a gasp.

The room had trebled in size and was no longer dusty. Also on each wall was a tapestry, beautifully covered except for a black silhouette, two distinctly feminine, the other hard to tell due to the many folds of fabric or smoke about it.

Alaizabel heard another roar of the animal, and winced. The make-believe game... The players were in charge, they must be, to some extent anyway. John had conjured up the idea of a frightening demon, but they had yet to see it. As Alaizabel listened, the sound seemed to her more... birdlike maybe. But where in the house was it. There was another door in the war room, a legacy of Alaizabel's card which had dramatically changed the layout of the house. She opened it. Steps led down onto floor two. She followed them. Skylights lit the way with moonlight. The screeching grew louder.

"Alaizabel what are you doing?!" John said, catching up with her. She looked over her shoulder, "don't worry, we're playing by the rules. It'll be ok.".

She pushed open the door, and there, in a room of white marble, cascading water fountains and volumous cushions, was a griffon, lounging contently on a blue, plushy rug. It let out another ear-piercing screech, and fixed them with it's clear bird eyes. "Oh my God..." said Alaizabel, "It's beautiful.". The griffon stood, shaking itself for a moment, and let out an inquisitive, "aaiirk?". Alaizabel stepped forward, eager to stroke the beautiful creature.

Alex slid the katana just a center meter out of its scabbard as Alaizabel approached the griffon
"careful lizzy"
"i know don't worry" she said with a slight back glance
Alex examined the walls and features of the room finding only one thing of interest on the highest point of the central fountain were the same 3 images cut in stone that were present on the clock
he had the strangest feeling that they were being watched ?? was this a game they were playing or were they just the pawns?

Apate, clutching her younger sister's arm with a death grip, eyed the beast distastefully, trying to pull Aine away from approaching it. The moment she'd reappeared, Apate had tackled her and refused to let go.

"How are you guys not totally falling apart right now? Is no one else as freaked out as I am right now?" she said, nearly sobbing onto Aine's bare arm. "Or did the fact that you two magically disappeared and then popped back into reality manage to escape your attention?"

Grumbling under her breath, Aine yanked her arm out of Apate's grasp. "No it damn well did not, thank you the freak much, but for the moment, maybe, can we focus on the winged mythical beast in front of us?"

Swinging the short, heavy battle axe she had selected in casual circles, she looked the thing up and down. "I mean, it's pretty cute and all. But who knows what it really is? I mean, me getting sucked into the vortex of my own mind was pretty crazy, so maybe this is actually some doomsday monster.....No offense," she added, for the griffon's benefit.

Chewing on her bottom lip, her thoughts returned to the dark room her mind had taken her- and Alex- to. It must have been the inside of her mind, darkened by all her anger and frustration, and it terrified her to know it might actually look like that- and that Alex had seen that side of her.

Shaking her head violently to clear her thoughts, she took another step towards the magnificent beast, ignoring Apate's attempts to pull her back. "Do you think he'll- or she'll- try to bite my arm off?"