Okay, crap. I forgot to mention: this story takes place after Season 1, but before Season 2.

Anyway, I want to thank everyone for their awesome reviews. Every time I see a new one, my eyes light up.

Again, if any words are spelt wrong, blame my stupid computer that has no Spell Check.

I don't own House of Anubis.


~Nina's POV~

The sky was a perfect shade of blue, no cloud in sight. The birds were chirping, and the leaves were lightly rustling in the wind.

The world was mocking me.

My arms were crossed on the white windowsill in the main room. I had found a way out of the small, empty room the man was keeping me captive in. The main room wasn't any larger than my captive room. The furniture was worn out, the paint on the walls are tearing off, and there are cobwebs covering every inch of the perimeter of the room.

It hurt my arms when I crossed them, so I pulled back. The bruises on my arms and legs were still there; and they still hurt.

I wanted to be with my friends. I wanted to be back in Anubis, solving mysteries with Sibuna. I wanted to gossip about boys and clothes with Amber. I wanted to hear Alfie's rant about aliens. I wanted Mara to help me with my homework. I wanted to watch Mick score the final goal in the school futball tournament. I wanted to hear Patricia's sneer one last time. I didn't want to be cooped up in this small, abandoned house.

The front door opened, and I fliched. The man towered over me, his face covered by the shadows. He couldn't fool me. I knew who he was. He wasn't going to get his way.

"How did you get out, Martin?" The man snarled.

"I have ways," I shot back.

The man growled, and shoved me onto the floor. I laid there, helpless, while the glared at me from above. "Don't ever come out again. Or there will be consequences."

And with that, he kicked me in the stomach. I doubled over. This time, I couldn't stop the tears. They flowed down my cheeks, and the man snickered. He slammed the door shut on the way out.

I wanted to die. I couldn't stand the pain. It had only been two days since I had been taken, and I no longer wanted to be here.

I reached for my locket, which, to my horror, I realized wasn't there. I must've dropped it while the man was dragging me into the trees yesterday.

"Crap," I muttered.

I covered my face with my hands, and sobbed. I cried for what seemed like days, but it was probably only a couple of hours. I sniffled, and held my hands together. I closed my eyes, and started to repeat a chant. I wasn't exactly sure what I was doing, but it somehow seemed right.

"Fabian," I muttered. He was the first person I thought of.

There was a bright light in the far-left corner of the room, and when the light dimmed, I could see a tall figure standing there, trying to regain his balance, as if he had just fell from the sky.

Fabian was here.

Fabian looked at me, and his eyes lit up, his expression full of concern.

"Nina," he whispered.


~Fabian's POV~

There, on the wall right in front of us, written in blood:

YOU COULD HAVE SAVED HER


Ohnoohnoohnoohnoohno.

We could've saved Nina. We could've saved Nina! We could've saved Nina!

Does that mean she's dead? No, it couldn't be. She couldn't be dead. There's no way.

Everyone was dead silent. None of us dared to say a word.

We stood there in complete silence for a while. Eventually, I moved us all to the Common Room. Amber was in hysterics, hiccuping every five seconds. Her eyes were blood red, and tears were streaming down her face. She was hugging Alfie's waist, and Alfie was whispering soothing words in her ear, staring at the message on the wall, occasionally whispering, "Oh my gosh. . ."

I snarled at the blood-written message on the wall, and clenched my fists. Somewhere, somehow, someone, had hurt Nina.

"I swear, whoever hurt Nina will never see the daylight again." I stated.

Amber sniffled, pulled back from Alfie's grasp, and wiped her eyes. "No, *hiccup* Fabian! You'll get hurt if you face the man *hiccup* alone!" A tear slid down the base of her nose.

I sighed. "This is all my fault." I bit my lip to stop the tears from flowing. I had to stay strong.

"No, Fabian," Amber began, "you could've have done *hiccup* anything to save her."

"That just makes it worse!" I exclaimed. A stray tear escaped and cascaded down my face. I sniffled. "I'm going to find Nina."

I grabbed my backpack from the arm of the couch, and walked down the hall and into my room. I grabbed a flashlight, two granola bars, and gauze, in case Nina was hurt.

I was going to find Nina.


I left Anubis and the worried cries of my friends after I had packed everything I needed. I wasn't exactly sure where I was going, but I sure as hell knew one thing; I was going to rescue Nina, no matter what.

I figured the woods were my best shot. I wasn't sure if I should trust Jason, but I guess I would find out.

I missed Nina already. I missed her dirty-blonde hair, and her light-green eyes. I missed her optimistic attitude, how she would pick up our spirits when things took a turn for the worst. I missed her bossy nature. I missed how she would risk everything to save us. I missed Nina.

I stood at the edge of the woods. Hopefully, Nina would be in there, somewhere in the Labyrinth of trees.

But I didn't know where to look.

Amber might be right. Rufus might've taken her in hopes of gaining immortality. It's a definite possibility. Though, something about it doesn't add up. If the Cup was destroyed, then there was no possible way of gaining full immortality. . .right?

Could there be another possible way? Maybe. . . maybe the Cup wasn't destroyed?

I guess there's only one way to find out.

I set off into the dark abyss of the forest.


I thought back to when Rufus captured Patricia, what seemed like a century ago. Patricia had mentioned that he took her to an abandoned warehouse in the clearing, so that's what I was aiming for. I remembered the trail I took when I rescued Amber and Nina from the same warehouse.

Nina. . .

I clenched my fists as I walked. I was stiff as I approached the clearing, seeing a small building in the distance.

I was about to walk forward toward the warehouse when a voice behind me said, "Fabian!"

I jumped and turned around. There stood Amber, her eyes puffy and red from crying. She was alright now, though she still looked slightly shaken up.

"Amber," I breathed. "You scared the life out of me. Wait. . . what are you doing here?"

"I couldn't let you go alone! You'd get *hiccup* killed!" She cried.

"No, Amber. Go back to Anubis. I couldn't take it if you got hurt too." I stated.

"Fabian," Amber pleaded. "Please! Nina's my *hiccup* best friend! I want to help!"

I thought for a moment. "Fine." Amber squealed and clapped her hands, and then hiccuped once more. "Let's go rade that warehouse."

And together we took off toward the abandoned building.


By the time we arrived at the warehouse's door, I swore I heard Amber hiccup like twenty times.

We stood silently at the door. I thought that maybe Amber was planning an escape route for if Nina was in there, but than I saw a tear cascade down her face again. I placed a comforting hand on Amber's shoulder, and she calmed down a bit. I nodded at her, and she nodded back in agreement. I silently counted to three, and then unlocked the door.

"NINA?" I called. There was no answer. "NINA!"

The warehouse remained silent. The only sound was the door lightly creaking on its hinges in the breeze.

"Nina?" Amber said. "Where are you?"

Still no answer.

"Okay," I said. I pointed toward the left-end of the warehouse. "You look over there, Amber. I'll look on this end."

Amber nodded in agreement, and took off.

I slowly walked the perimeter of the right-end. There was no furniture, no boxes; there was nothing at all in this side of the room. I was about to confront Amber, but then I noticed a door in the corner of the room.

The door was huge, and was curved at the top. It was painted a shade of gray, with specks of blue near the top and the bottom. I reached for the door handle, but abruptly stopped myself.

"Amber," I called. "Come look at this."

She came rushing over. She was at my side in two seconds. "What's wrong?" She asked. She noticed the door, and moved her hand towards it. I stopped her quickly.

"Don't," I said. "There's something strange about this door."

"It's just a door," She said nonchalantly.

"I don't think so." I slowly reached for the door handle. I placed my hand on the cold bronze, and took a deep breath. I mentally counted to three, than opened the door.

A burst of wind came in through the door. It tousled my hair, and threw me off guard for a moment. As the wind slowed to a steady breeze, I peeked inside the room.

There was a bright, blinding ray of blue light. I shielded my eyes, and told Amber to do the same.

I heard the most blood-curling scream, and then a menacing laugh from the door inside the room.

"Fabian," Amber said. There was a quiver in her voice. "Can we go home now?"

I looked her straight in her bright blue eyes. "Yes," I answered. "Let's go."

She ran towards the front door, and I was about to catch up to her, but my curiousity got the best of me. I took a careful step inside the bright, blinding blue light. Just one step inside took all of the energy out of me. I was about to drag my other foot inside, but then I heard another scream; this one high-pitched, and worried.

"FABIAN!"

I quickly turned my head towards the sound. Amber was yelling my name from outside the warehouse. I yelled, "OKAY!" and ran towards the front door.

I never got a chance to look inside the door that day. I never would. Little did I know that if I had taken another step in, I wouldn't have put everyone in danger.


Amber grabbed me by my wrist and sprinted away from the clearing and towards the House. She finally stopped at the edge of the woods, and I got a chance to breathe.

"Amber. . . what. . . just happened?" I asked, every breath hurting.

"I don't. . . I don't know." She answered. Tears were once again sliding down her cheeks, and she was breathing erratically.

"Hey, Amber. . . don't cry. There's no reason to cry," I said.

"We didn't find Nina," Amber said simply.

"That doesn't mean that she's not alive," I stated. "She could be anywhere. We'll just have to look harder."

Amber wiped her tears away with the pad of her thumb, and her eyes flared. "Fabian. . . do you think. . . do you think that Rufus has her?"

"Honestly, no," I answered. "If Rufus had her, than she would've been in that warehouse. It was where he kept you, Patricia, and Nina last year. I don't think there's any other hiding places around here."

Amber nodded. She looked physically and mentally relieved. "Okay," She said.

"Come on," I said. "Let's go home."

Amber took one step forward, and than screeched. I looked at her, and she was holding up a chain with an attachment at the end. The attachment was glowing a vibrant red. With horror, I recognized the necklace.

It was Nina's locket.

"Oh, crap." I muttered.


The clock on my phone read 2:09 A.M. I'm exhausted, hungry, and cranky, but that wasn't enough to make me fall asleep.

I had Nina's locket in my hands.

I didn't need my phone to see it; it hadn't stopped glowing since Amber and I had found it ten hours ago. I wasn't sure what that meant, but I hoped it meant good.

We hadn't told Sibuna yet; we decided that we'd wait until tomorrow, hoping that Nina might come back. Hoping that she had left the locket there as a sign that she was safe. We could only hope.

After Amber and I had come in the House, I saw that the message on the wall was erased. I had no idea how they all did it, or what they told Trudy, but I guess I would find out tomorrow.

I regarded Nina's locket one last time, and decided that I needed some sleep. I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.


I immediately found myself in a small, isolated room, with cobwebs covering every inch of the walls. There was worn-out furniture in this room, and the paint on the walls was tearing off. There was cracked glass shattered all over the room.

I didn't know where I was. It could've been some kind of torture room, for all I knew.

I tried to regain my balance. I felt as if I'd just been dropped here from the top of the roof.

I scanned the room for a way out. But instead of finding the exit, I found something much more important.

Nina.

She was lying on the floor, doubled over in pain. She was clutching her stomach, and slightly wheezing, attempting to breathe. She had bruises covering her arms and legs, and I caught a glimpse of her stomach when she accidentally lifted it up with her arm; a huge bruise was forming.

I clutched my fists. Someone had done this to my Nina. I wanted to kill them.

Nina stopped wheezing for a moment, and opened her eyes the slightest bit. She caught a glimpse of me from across the room, and I saw her eyes. They were full of fear, pain, and anger. It only made me want to kill them more.

I wanted to run to her, hold her close to me, and say that everything was going to be alright. But I couldn't move. I was rooted to my spot.

Her eyes were pleading, as if thought I could help her. She whispered, "Help. . ." She was so inaudible, I was surprised I could even hear her.

She cried out again, and clutched her stomach. She brought her knees to her face, and continued to cry.

I wanted to help her somehow. But I couldn't move. I tried calling out to her, but my voice didn't work. I felt myself fading, as if I was leaving the separate dimension that Nina was stuck in.

I didn't want to leave her. She looked so helpless, so scared. . .

I mustered up enough energy to say one word before fading into the blackness.

"Nina. . . "


I'm sorry if this sucks. It's midnight now, and I really need some sleep. Anyway, reviews are always welcome! The next chapter should be up probably sometime late this week, or early next week. My friend is coming up from Florida, so I wanna spend some time with her. Maybe, if you're lucky(and I'm lucky) It'll be up tomorrow. :)

-Julianna