Whoa…I really hate the fact that I started this story and then had to go on 'leave'…Anyways, thanks to those who reviewed, I'm glad that you enjoyed the first chapter. I'm hoping that this chapter will be good enough to where all the in between time will be forgotten, and any minor slips of changes will go unnoticed, or will be fully appreciated. Thanks for reading, and please feel free to review. -*ThomThom*

Chapter Two: Trap Doors and Dysfunctional Mud-Rats

Willow looked over her shoulder, peering out at the wreckage that was once such a great city; the smoke from fires lingering upwards slowly, seeming to do some sort of dance; the occasional howls of the demons known to walk around as if it were always nightfall; the barely audible scream of one of few humans left…or possibly a demon being slaughtered by it's own kind--or a demon being slaughtered by the ones she was looking for. It was just before nightfall, not that things like day and night truly mattered anymore, seeing that the common vampire was no longer a demon of top priority but truly a half-breed in their eyes. Still, it was nearly nightfall, too close for her liking considering that her and her team had been sent to do a scan of the area before everyone else arrived. Only witches, warlocks, and a single goddess were aloud to teleport to New York first; giving them a chance to pick up any signs of any kind of dark magic that may cause more of a threat. It was a simple mission, a building block of sorts; go feel things out, take a look around, send someone back, and everyone shows up. After that was when things got more complicated, and dangerous. But from the very moment she had arrived, she had figured maybe that wasn't the case-- that it would all be complicated and dangerous.

It was her and four others, a small number, but in terms of power they were a great force. A great enough force to go into the middle of chaos without a single slayer at their side, which had once been a bother to some, but then put in place as a true fact. They were their own. A family that depended on no one else for protection, or at least four of them were.

Amity, like Willow, was a white witch--A peaceful women only in her early twenties who they had stumbled upon during the Texas apocalypse, practically dead underneath the rubble of destroyed neighborhood. She was a country girl; her long light brown hair was always down, with a purple streak going down one side, and swooping bangs; her skin tanned because she never meditated inside, but had to meditate everyday; her voice was as soft as her bright green eyes; and her magic was pure. Before any fight or battle, she was constantly trying to find some sort of alternative to violence, but at the end of the day she did what she had to for those she cared about, and that's how she had ended up in the group--Along with the fact that she was the only witch they had encountered on the field that was even close to having the same amount of power as Willow, though completely different on many levels.

Next there was Rose, and Steven; twins, with a strange sense of humor. They specialized in tracking spells, as well as reading aura's, and breaking into the mind, usually to destroy it. Both were tall, lean characters, with hair that was so dark it had mind as well have been black, and eyes just as dark. From afar, they seemed to be dark figures themselves; creepy sometimes in their behavior, but people that knew them well had full trust in them. They were young, but they were experienced, and they had been mentored by Willow herself. How that had happened, she still wasn't sure, but the twins were like much too old children; not quite old enough to truly be called adults, but not too young to be taken seriously. As usual, when going into the field, they both had brought a few knives for times of panic; one in each boot, between their back and their belt, and Steven had one in the inside pocket of his jacket. They were fighters as well, and that was a part of them they never left behind.

Then, there was the goddess. After Cleveland's fall, and victory, seeing that all the remaining humans had been rescued, the Sunnydale group had gotten word from Angel that things were getting worse in California. They had headed there, hoping to lend the old friend a hand, and they did, but it hadn't truly been enough, and there were other cities, other states, that needed their help. The best they could do was leave behind a few well trained slayers, and whichever 'good' demon they had with them. It wasn't enough to save all of California, but it had been enough to keep up with the chaos around them, and to rescue the remaining humans. In return, when hearing word that the gang was heading to New York, the city known to be hit the worst--so bad that the gang thought it was too risky to even approach early on, because they didn't have as many resources, a safe place to live, enough food to feed everyone, and many other issues--Angel sent his top dog. Someone, or thing more like, that knew how to get around chaotic cities, enough black arts to wipe out clans at a time, and enough fighting power to kill hundreds with their bare hands. He sent Illyria. Early on, it had not gone so well. She had been difficult in planning, and training; not wanting to be a side man but rather than a front man, but after some time, and adjustment to the new group of humans surrounding her, Illyria no longer felt the need to point out that she technically was more powerful than most on the planet.

From afar, they looked like a group of foolish humans, minus Illyria, walking down a path that lead them to their own graves; Willow in her tight quarter sleeve navy blue shirt, dark blue jeans, and black slightly heeled boots; Amity with her white short sleeved shirt, blue jean shorts, leather sandals, and a colorful bracelet with bead on it that spelled out 'best friends'; and Steven and Rose looked out at the city as if they were just brought to a new playground, in their black shirt, dark blue jeans, and Stevens dark blue jean jacket. They looked foolish; like amateurs walking into the unknown. When the slayers went out, it was all dark colors, and fighting stances. With them it was random clothes, and simple walking. Or so it seemed.

As different as they all were from one another; practically opposites, there was a reason why they were trusted to go alone, and it definitely wasn't because they were disposable, or replaceable. It was because there was no one else like them. There was no other group that could walk onto a battlefield, tell you where all the main threats were located, give you an estimated number of how many different species of demon lurked about, fight a few idiotic unknowing creatures, and then return with maybe a few minor scratches. They were known for and trusted to do their job, and they had never failed, but they were in New York now. This was going to be the biggest fight; the most dangerous of them all.

Steven frowned slightly, crinkling the small scar on his forehead, "Well, I can already tell you that there's about twenty major clans to worry about. Pretty much only in the middle of the city, none of them night creatures--"

"Five of which use no magic whatsoever, but have extreme energies," Rose continued, looking over at Willow, who was still seeming to simply be looking at the city, "We should probably go in from the west side of the outskirts and make our way in."

"I don't know," Amity closed her eyes, "the west side seems to be kind of crowded. Lower level demons, but still crowded," focusing even harder, she turned her head slightly to the right, as if she were trying to make a whisper more audible, "Plus, I'm feeling more of a slayer pull from the eastern grounds. If we go in west, we'll have a lot of land to cross."

"She is right," Illyria's icy eyes slid over the landscape, pausing for a moment as a wall of a skyscraper collapsed, "I am not sure that it is necessarily a slayer pull, but there is something human for sure. We should probably just secure that fact, and then send the signal."

That was another problem with the New York mission; they were unsure of who they were rescuing, and where these people were. There had been times where they'd gone to places, thinking they were going to rescue a group of humans, only to find themselves face to face with large groups of demons who had performed spells to change their aura's in order to seem human. Traps like those had taught them many lessons; ones they didn't intend on getting any other lessons in, but there was only one way to find out if there were any humans to rescue, and that was to find them. Another one of their jobs. It was theirs because they could go in, and simply teleport out, where as the slayers could not, unless accompanied by a witch, warlock, or demon.

"We're going to have to actually go in straight," Willow concluded, finally breaking her silence, "If we go in straight, we can get a better look at what we're facing, and we won't have to cut across as much land, or teleport as much," she wasn't looking to waste any of her energy. The mission had just begun, and after their part of the mission, they were all still expected to fight with the slayers when they arrived, "Remember, we're not here to fight," her eyes landed on the twins, and both of them looked away, "we're just gonna take a look around, and then give word on whether it's a go, or not. Got it?" everyone nodded, and she trusted that all of them meant it fully. If they were going to stand a chance on rescuing anyone, they were going to have to be united in their plan. There was no time for any random actions, "Okay then, let's go," she began to walk forward, but then stopped and looked at everyone, "Oh, and be careful," as usual, she offered a slight smile to the group in order to give more of a sense of security. She felt they might need it for real this time.

**************************************

Kennedy sat on her small cot in the fighters' room alone with her elbows resting on her knees, and her face in her hands, 'Inspiration. Inspiration is such a necessity to live in a world like mine. To live in any world, I guess. It's a driving force; a call to action; a reason to love; a reason to open and close one's eyes. Inspiration is…everything. And yet sometimes…,' she lifted her head as the door to the room opened, and Michelle walked in, making her sigh deeply as she placed her face back in her own hands, 'sometimes it is impossible to find. It no longer lurks behind a smile; no longer intertwines itself in words; or a painting on the wall; or a child on the street. Sometimes, inspiration is no where to be found.'

Slowly, Michelle made her way over to her friends cot, sitting down beside her. For a moment, she just looked at her; studying her slumped back, slow breathing, and twitching fingers, "You okay?" why she had to ask a question she already knew the answer to, she did not know, but she felt that that question needed to be asked before any kind of conversation could truly begin. Things were hard--They were always hard, but there was no way they could lose that part of themselves. No matter how hard or bad things were, they had to keep asking those question, "You've been in here for a while."

"Don't really feel like socializing right now," her mind was scattered; roaming from slaughter grounds, to a distant past, future, and the present. The present however was more crucial, and there was no one around her who knew that fact better than she did. The present, as it seemed, was for once the biggest question mark in her mind. It wasn't the future; whether they'd be a live or not the next day. It wasn't the past; whether she remembered it right, the good, the bad. And it wasn't slaughter grounds; whether they consisted of the other top people of the city or not. The present--It was all about the present.

"I know right now you're upset about all of us wanting to stay here, and you're worried about the dangers of us being this close to where--" her voice stopped; unable to say those words again, "But with the way things have been, we just feel like we have to take a chance," over the past months there had been more fights than ever; the worse injuries some of them had ever seen; and a death in their own group. Things had to get better from this point, because if things got worse…, "We have to, Kennedy."

She lifted her head, looked into Michelle's eyes, and in them she managed to find that they were filled with hope, desperation, and inspiration. Not inspiration to fight for those who had been lost as they had the night before, but inspiration from a dead woman's words. Inspiration in the center of her hopes and dreams of finally seeing a better world once again; the same look she had seen in all of their eyes, 'Who am I?' she wondered, 'Who am I to say no when us being here now all comes from my inspiration to stand and fight? Now, they're putting their hopes somewhere else. How can I say no?' that's what she wanted to do. She wanted to look at all of them and tell them to pack up everything and be ready to move. And even though she was sure they wouldn't come; that this group of legendary fighters, whether real or not, were not coming to save them, she couldn't help but understand. She understood that they were all tired, and she understood the fact that the life they lived was not enough. They wanted--needed something more, but--

"What if they never come?" her hands began twitch even worse, forcing her to wrap her arms around herself, so her friend would stop glancing at them in concern, "What if this is just another trail of whispers putting us in harms way, again?" how long could they wait without being found, attacked, and slaughtered?

Michelle gently pushed some of Kennedy's hair back, trying to send her sense of hope into her best friend by staring her deep in the eyes, "What if they do?" she whispered, "What if us leaving leads to us dying anyways?"

There was always that chance; that chance of death. Whether they were sitting still, or on the move, death was always a possibility. The problem was the fact that in that very moment Kennedy felt that dying while trying to find a safer place seemed better than dying while waiting to be rescued, 'Inspiration. Right now I just don't feel it,' she could see that Michelle truly believed in what she thought was a better idea, but she just could not believe that staying was the right thing to do, "Maybe it will. Maybe leaving will lead to us dying anyways, but when have we ever not fought for another day?" she knew the answer to that question--but that was not a place she wanted to revisit, "Standing around has never been our course of action."

They had all practically had the same conversation a few hours before. Each of them trying to get the head of the group to understand, but Michelle knew the way Kennedy's mind worked. It was searching for the logic; looking for a path that seemed to be the right one, the one that looked safe. Unfortunately, realistically, they were never safe, "We can still fight. We just think we should do it here," now she looked away, "There are still people who need us here. And, we've built our lives here, so why not fight where we are?" it was rare that she didn't agree with Kennedy's choice of action, but the situation in front of them didn't bring about any question. Not for her, or any of the other girls, "If we stay here we can still take care of the few civies, we can stay on alert for an attack, and we can also be here just in case…" she took a deep breath, closing her eyes as she did, "This time it could be real. Kennedy, Gio used her last few breaths to tell you they were coming. That has to mean something."

"Mimi--" she stopped herself short, hearing the emotions in her voice as she said her best friend's name; a sort of desperation she was sure the other woman didn't expect, and neither had she. She wished she could find hope in the fact that Gio's last words had been of coming relief, but all she could think was, "--they wouldn't have been there in the first place; they wouldn't have been so blind to their surroundings--these well trained fighters--they wouldn't have been wiped out so easily if they wouldn't have bought into the bullshit idea that they were finally coming."

That was it. Where they found inspiration, she found anger and hatred. So many bad things had happened when they bought into what she almost completely saw to be a lie. They had lived and fought for so long, sure she wanted it to stop, but year after year there had been whispers…and none of them had turned out to be true. Expecting an actual arrival at this point seemed juvenile.

"If there's anything we have all learned by this point," Michelle sighed, "it's that nothing is impossible," for a moment her and Kennedy made eye contact again--direct eye contact--and it was officially decided; all hands in, "We're staying."

"But--" the still unbelieving woman said, quickly, "we stay and we fight, and if we see it coming…if we actually see it coming and know there's no chance, we leave. No questions asked," her friend nodded in agreement, obviously relieved to hear the words she was hearing, 'Inspiration. Yeah…I'm still not feeling it.'

"Speaking of fighting," the black haired woman stood up, and walked over to her own cot, grabbing a machete from under her bed, "Todd said something about hearing word of a little boy running around near the middle of the city almost an hour ago. Don't know if he's one of ours, or if there's another group of civies, but no one has reported another missing child, so maybe we should check it out."

Even though she was tired, Kennedy was up for a fight. One thing she knew would calm her nerves was a good old fashion battle; one she figured she wouldn't lose as long the territorial lines of the city clans had not been broken or changed, "Let's get everyone together then, we don't have long before sun down. Our new biggest enemy might be a vampire, strange as that sounds, and I don't think we're ready for that, so the sooner we can get back the better," there was that excitement; that familiar feeling that she actually enjoyed feeling, because she felt it would be a good night. Things overall were not good in that moment, but the fight, she felt, would be a good one, "And tell Abby she can tag along."

***************************************

Willow froze, a frown playing across her face, "Did anyone else hear that?" she asked, telepathically. They had already reached the middle of the city, teleporting around any huge groups of demons that they spotted from afar, but had stumbled upon a few stragglers. Lower level demons just looking for a fight, which Rose and Steven gave willingly. However, this time, it wasn't a demon that she thought was running around somewhere.

"A child," Illyria's voice was flat, but the curiosity was still easy to point out, "I did not sense a child before," she paused, "I still don't."

It was Amity that moved to walk a little ahead of the group, looking around cautiously, and trying to see if she felt any kind of presence, "I do sense something," she whispered. Instinctively, she began to hunch over slightly, trying to lower herself in order to look at things more closely as she passed them, as well as slowly look around them, "But, I can't tell--"

"That's because it's not something we've felt before," Steven reached for the knife in his jacket pocket, pulling it out slowly, "Which tells me that something's not right about this so called child. In fact, how do we even know it's a child at all? Hearing a creepy laugh doesn't mean anything," at that very moment, he saw a little boy run from behind a large piece of rubble, darting by all of them towards a large hole that went into a worn down skyscraper. His first instinct was to teleport in front of him, or it, catch him it off guard, but when he tried to do so, he found himself stuck, "Oh--"

"Shit," Rose's eyes widened, "We're bound here. There's some sort of binding spell on this territory," this was something that they had not experienced many times before, but they all knew the drill, and they knew that finding a point where the spell ended. Where they were, they only had the ability to sense certain things, to communicate internally, and that was all. No teleporting; no heavy duty spells, whether black or white. Not for anyone except for Willow, anyways.

"Amity, stay close to us," the redhead said, getting the younger woman to come back closer to the group. Now she had to make a decision--Should they pursue the boy, even though she was the only one with any real power, thanks to the fact that there was no binding spell powerful enough to contain her, or if they should continue on their way, or just go back.

"I say we go for it," Rose gave a dark grin, "Run after the little twerp, see if that leads us to any humans, because he could be some kind of half-breed," she quivered, "How anyone could go so far as to share a kid with a demon, not knowing the full side effects, is beyond me. Plus, it could be wicked painful. Like more than normal childbirth, you know?"

Amity nodded, "Yeah. Like what if it has horns? Hello, first thing out is a pair of--"

"Foolish humans, be quiet," Illyria looked to Willow, "You and I will go, the stupid ones will stay here. If something happens, we'll hear them scream," okay, so she hadn't fully adjusted, but they could only expect so much from an ancient demon like that.

Though not approving of the way Illyria had put her plan out there, she did think it would be better to follow the boy inside. Not necessarily to find him, but to make sure that that building wasn't something that the rest of the group should've been worrying about upon arrival. If there were any huge unknown, never heard of, threats to be found, they were the ones that were supposed to find it. She looked to the rest of the group, "Is that okay with you guys?"

"Sure," Amity shrugged before sitting on the ground, crossing her legs, "I'll just do a little meditating, see if I can feel any strangeness on another level."

Rose and Steven, both of them having a knife in hand, smiled, "I'm up for playing watch dog," Rose said, twirling her knife a bit. They didn't even have to hear a word from Steven to know that he felt the same.

"Okay then, we'll be out soon…hopefully," Willow said, looking up at the still somewhat tall building. It was obvious that some of the levels would not be accessible, seeing that a few floors seem to have collapsed in on themselves, but she was hoping not to have to go that far to get an assessment of things.

"No prob," Steven went to stand a few feet away from where Amity sat on the ground. He looked back as Willow and Illyria began to make their way inside, feeling a certain need to say one last thing, "Oh," he gave a slight smile, "and try not to get killed."

"Your version of words of encouragement, I'm sure," Willow frowned, turning to look at him "but they're not so encouraging."

Illyria simply kept walking, "He would die before us. That is encouraging for me."

***************************************

There they were; twelve once again, since Abby was tagging alone. They were all in their usual dark colors, and had at least one weapon ready to go. No one knew what exactly they were walking into; whether they were really about to rescue some more civilians, possibly some who had wondered in from the further reaches, or if a group of demons were waiting to rip them to shreds, so they needed to be ready for anything. Each and every one of them was on high alert, the three strongest fighters; Kennedy, Michelle, and Riley, were at the head of the group. Behind them, everyone else took their usual position, except for Abby who stood not to far behind Kennedy, Michelle, and Riley.

"Let's just try to do a quick sweep and then get out of here," Kennedy said, eyeing the building they were about to enter; it's dark windows, and shadowy insides giving a sense of foreboding. She looked to Michelle, who also seemed to be looking the place over repeatedly, obviously feeling something wrong as well, 'This could be it; a trap for us to just fall into like everyone else. They wanted to stay, and here we are,' after a few more seconds, she waved a hand forward, and they all moved forward; going to some stairs on the side of the building, which passed by a wide open window. Usually, they looked for wider entrances, because they were better exits, but the only obvious safer entrance that they could find was a single window that those stairs happened to pass. They were rusted stair, with chipping black paint, and squeaking steps, but they had to get in no matter what. It was their job to search and rescue, as well as fight, "Nobody leave this place without knowing where everyone else is. We leave someone behind, and I have a feeling we won't get them back."

Immediately upon entering, there was an overwhelming smell of burning plaster. Where little bits of light shown into the building, there could be a thin layer of smoke seen, hovering in the air, and the floor had a layer of mud covering it.

"Something's been lodgin here," Mia, a roughened Latina, with a thick Brooklyn accent, knelt down picking up some of the mud with one hand, while keeping a knife held and ready in the other, "It's cold. Maybe to keep off the heat of whatever's burning," she stood up, and glanced over at Kennedy, "Think I've seen this before. Back when I was still wondering around there was this group that would walk around covered in mud--Couldn't tell if they were human, they were so covered."

Michelle gripped her bow tighter, "You couldn't sense them, then," Mia shook her head no, and immediately, all of them were tense. They looked around them slowly, and breathed as little as possible. Their other sense needed to kick in; they needed to hear every movement in the building; ever breath; and every whisper. Not being able to sense an approaching threat meant that they could be surrounded and not even know it. Behind any door, something could be waiting, but that would mean that there could also be humans anywhere as well, which meant they couldn't just go around swinging, stabbing, or shooting. No mistakes could be made, or they'd all regret it.

"Stay close together, and try not to make a sound. Like I said, let's just try to do a quick sweep," Kennedy whispered, as she began to walk again. At the far end of where they had entered, there was a door--their first door. The first door was always the most dangerous. Everyone was on high alert, they didn't know what to expect, and they had to judge whatever was on the side quickly, so if any mistakes were going to be made, it was going to be with the first door. Knowing that first hand, like most of them, Kennedy looked back over her shoulder, first getting a few nods to go ahead from the other fighters, and then to tell Abby to basically stand back a little. She was too inexperienced for the mission. Kennedy felt that she should have known better. That she shouldn't brought someone with no real field experience on a mission that was practically a question mark in and of itself.

Once she knew everyone was ready, Michelle moved forward to open the first door. She reached for it slowly, first opening it only a few centimeters so she could get a peak at whatever was on the other side, and then she opened it completely. There was nothing--Absolutely nothing. There were no sounds of moving feet, or growls, or snarls. There was only silence.

Kennedy, seeing that Michelle was still looking, instead of giving her usual hint as to what could be seen, frowned. She looked back at her shoulder, seeing all eyes forward, and ready for what was about to happen--Except nothing was happening. It wasn't possible, 'Ever been somewhere and just know that it was all going to go horribly wrong? Like you're standing somewhere, anywhere, outside or inside--The ceiling is going to collapse; someone's going to break in; a car on the street is going to suddenly stop, or turn to quickly, or run a light only to be slammed into by another car. A moment where you know…it's all wrong. So wrong. And yet…there's nothing you can do about it,' with her thoughts wondering, Kennedy suddenly reached out, pushing Michelle to the side, dismissing every gasp, and confused glare. And, just as Michelle's body slammed to the ground, they heard a scream.

"Move back," Kennedy yelled, trying to move herself, but it was too late. The once empty doorway now had a burning figure running through it. She tried to move back quickly, not wanting the flames to touch her, but the flames made her slip suddenly, "Jesus," her body hit the mud, sending some of it flying into the air.

Abby, who had had her eyes on Kennedy from the moment she began to fall, just like everyone else in the room, looked back to the door seeing that out the corner of her eye, she could see the flamed figure running towards all of them, "Watch out," they all moved, as the flame figured just continued to run all the way out of the building. Each of them were struck to a point of silence--Unsure of what had just happened.

But, there was really no time to sit around, and Kennedy knew it, "I'm doubting that any of these demons set their own guy on fire," she stood up, instantly feeling the weight of all the mud that covered the back of her from head to foot, "We've got to keep going," everyone got into position again, Kennedy grabbing her machete as she moved towards the door, "This time, I'll go first," just as she made her way through the doorway, there was another scream. Then another, and another. Everywhere. No, something was definitely not right.

****************************************

Willow looked around the dingy building, noticing the brown plaster that was falling to the ground, joining the layer that was already there. How any of these buildings were still standing was beyond her. They all seemed to be slowly falling apart from the inside out, instead of collapsing entirely. Like there was some kind of disease sucking them dry. Must of the major cities they had encountered no longer had skyscrapers, only crumbled masses, and shattered glass. New York, however, seemed to have many.

Rats and mice scattered about, squeaking and squealing, "Not my ideal place of work," she mumbled, but running and screaming at the sight of a mouse would have been pretty ridiculous considering all that she had been through. They had to keep moving, see what was there, and go. If they could avoid it, there would be no fighting, or spell casting, or anything else. They just needed to know what was there.

As they passed yet another of what seemed to have once been offices, Illyria noticed something, "Wait," Willow stopped and turned to her, already prepared for something to happen, "There's a light in this one," she reached to her left, and slowly pushed a door open. The office, empty minus the plaster, and the rats, was very large, and from it's window view the majority of the city could be seen. They were in the heart of it, after all, "A crystal."

"A crystal?" Willow moved so she could see what the goddess was looking at, "Why would there be a…" there it was. In a corner of a room, a pink crystal glowed brightly. Illyria, not seeming to feel the need for any kind of caution, began to walk in the room, so she followed behind her, trying to see if she sensed any kind of dark magic, but in the back of her mind she knew she wouldn't feel any. For one thing, she had never ever ran into a pink crystal that was a conduit of dark magic, and there was also the fact that it seemed to give off a comforting glow, "Let me take a look at it," Illyria stopped, allowing her to be ahead of her, as she made her way over to it, still moving slowly, considering that she still wasn't exactly sure what she was about to encounter. It could have had some kind of protective field around it, or an explosive reaction to clashing magic.

"How human of you to actually come to it's call," Illyria said.

"Yeah? Well, I do believe that you too were going to check it out. In fact, I think it was you that even noticed it at all," senseless conversation; a few pointless words. They always had that; the whole group of them always had a habit of saying things that didn't seem to fit the situation. Perhaps that was the way they dealt with the danger of the situation, they didn't know--They didn't care to. She reached her hand towards the crystal, not trying to touch it, but seeing if it had any protecting field, and it did, but it was a weak one that instantly collapsed when her hand touched it, "It's what's binding the others, but I've never seen it done like this before. It binds you, and calls you to it at the same time," no longer feeling any threat from the crystal, Willow picked it up, examined it for a moment, not seeing anything truly special about it, and then dropped to the ground, before stepping on it, "That should solve our problem. The only question is--Who put it here? And, why?"

"That's two questions," the goddess pointed out.

Willow simply rolled her eyes, as she turned to head out of the room, knowing that they needed to search more of the building to find whoever, or whatever. As she made her way back over, she noticed something different about a pile of plaster on the floor, a little closer to the window. It seemed to be more slumped than the rest, pressed closer to the ground, forming a sort of dip. Like someone or something had been sitting there, possibly had done so repeatedly. It could have been whoever that had placed the crystal in the room, that would make sense, and if she got close enough the was a possibility she would be ever to sense whoever, or whatever, was once there. So, she walked over to it, kneeled over and touched the plaster, but what happened was not what she expected.

Her eyes closed and she found herself running, only it wasn't her. It was as if she were suddenly seeing something through someone else's eyes; hearing what they were hearing; feeling what they were feeling; their thoughts blasting in her head, 'We've gotta get out. They're everywhere,' suddenly a flamed figure ran by, and she could see that they were taken back--could hear their already quickened breathing, become more frantic. Other people were running about, scattering as more figures passed by. Then there was a demon--One she had seen before, but whoever she was seeing through had not. They made the mistake of trying to punch it, but their hand merely sank into it's muddy skin. But then another hand lifted, and a machete sliced it's head off. Parts of the building were now on fire. The ceiling was starting to fall. She could hear them yell for everyone to run; could hear as others tried to tell them that they wouldn't leave them behind. She could see others fighting around her. Then, a part of the ceiling fell directly in front of them, and even Willow gasped. They turned, only to find that a group of demons running at them, and that's when she knew she had to do it--

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Michelle turned just as a piece of the burning ceiling fall to the ground directly in Kennedy's path, "Kennedy!" she took off, ignoring the demon she had been fighting, one that wasn't covered in mud, even though she knew it wasn't a good to ever turn her back on her enemy. It was Kennedy. There was no way she was going to let her best friend die, but before she reached her--Just as Kennedy was about to strike one of the approaching demons, only to be knocked to the ground, and unconscious, a figure appeared beside Kennedy, "Don't touch her," she yelled, but there was nothing she could do. They reached out, pulling Kennedy against them, and then disappeared. In that moment, the building collapsed.

-- TO BE CONTINUED --

Okay, so not a big package, and really not much in terms of development…but I'm about to go out of town now (I know…I'm shaking my head too), so this is all I can give you. But, I can promise some nice things in the next chapter--Next time--Kennedy finds herself in a whole different world, full of new people, and things she'd never thought she'd see again…the only problem is that no one she cares about is there, and she has no clue if they're alive or dead, but there is one thing she does no--she has to go back. Okay, well that's what's gonna go on next chapter. Hopefully this chapter got you interested enough to come back again!! I promise it won't be such a long wait, I'll be gone for a few days, and I'm taking a pencil. Thanks for reading, and please review…let me know what you think, if you're interested, if you think it's weird. Oh and sorry for any missed typos, it's late…--*ThomThom*