AN: Due to the fact that I'm trying to cram three or four different storylines into one story, I've decided that I'm going to split this up into a slight trilogy. Each about ten chapters long. Anyhoo, that means not all answers will be revealed in this one. Hope you enjoy!

THANKS for the review, Gabwr!

CHAPTER FOUR

Annie awoke to a loud banging downstairs. She lifted her eyes with a groan and glanced at the window. It seemed the sun was up – where had the night gone? Then she stretched out and slipped from the bed, checking on a sleeping Fi. She shook her head with a light laugh, and then turned to the door as the ruckus started up again from downstairs.

She wandered out into the hall just as Jack peered out from his door, rubbing his eyes.

"Annie? Are you the one making all that noise?"

"No, it's coming from downstairs," Annie replied.

"What is that?" Molly demanded, throwing open her door.

"There's someone downstairs," Annie answered.

Jack frowned. "It sounds like someone's knocking on the door."

"Where are Carey and Fi?"

"Sleeping," Annie and Jack said in unison.

"No I'm not," Fi said quickly, stepping out into the hall as she pulled a robe around her. She let out a soft yawn. "What's going on?"

"It sounds to me like someone's chopping into a tree," Jack grunted.

"Don't be silly, Jack," Annie said, heading for the stairs. "It's just someone at the door."

"Yeah," Jack muttered, "Someone who doesn't know how to tell time."

Molly and Fi grinned, Molly putting her arm around her son as they started down the staircase. He gave Fi a somewhat questioning look, but she was turned away, chatting happily with Annie as they descended down the stairs.

Annie froze at the bottom of the staircase. "Hey, it stopped!" She realized. Fi laughed.

"Great. Now if I could just get back to sleep," She said.

They turned the corner to the kitchen to see Ned, Irene, Melinda and the twins standing together.

"Hey, what's going on down here?" Molly asked.

"Is there a visitor or something?" Jack whispered to Annie. She shrugged in response.

"Guess who decided to drop in for a visit," Irene said, moving out of the way. For several moments no one said anything. Then Annie and Fi's faces lit up in excitement.

"Clu!" They exclaimed, running forward and throwing their arms around the tall blond.

"Clu?" Jack questioned, staring at his best friend with utter confusion.

"Hey," Clu said in his usual manner.

Molly smiled softly. "Well this is a surprise!" She said, stepping up next to Ned and Irene.

"How did you get here!?" Fi exclaimed, looking up and meeting Clu's eyes.

"Well you couldn't have a reunion without me, could ya?" He countered.

"Clu was just explaining how he's here with some of his college buddies," Irene said, her arms over her chest. "They're staying down the street, and happened to drive by the tour bus last night."

"So I thought, 'Hey! That's where Fi's staying!' So I hightailed over here as soon as we were settled in, and here you guys are!" Clu exclaimed.

"Wait until Carey sees you," Jack said with a slight smirk.

"Carey's here, too?" Clu asked. "Whoa. This is so cool! It's like, we're all together again!"

Annie snickered. "Exactly, Clu."

"Looks like we're going to need more cereal," Melinda said, looking at the twins who burst out laughing.

"Thank you," Molly said quietly to her sister-in-law as Annie and Fi dragged Clu into the living room. Jack watched them for a moment, and then came to his mother's side.

"Hey Mom, has Fi been acting weird?" He asked.

"No," Molly said slowly, looking at Fi as she sat with Clu and Annie on the couch. "I mean, she seems a little more grown-up, but that's to be expected."

Jack frowned, watching as his sister laughed at one of Clu's jokes.

"Don't worry, baby. You're sister is just growing up," Molly said, pulling Jack to her side.

"Yeah, growing up," Jack said, his eyes drifting to Annie, and then back to Fi.

SO WEIRD

"So what have you been up to?" Fi asked.

"What she said," Annie said quickly. "We haven't seen you Molly's concert back home."

"Yeah, how did everything turn out with that 'amnesia' incident, anyways?" Fi asked, looking pointedly at Annie.

"That was so weird," Clu said. "I can't believe we forgot you. Like, forgot you even existed!"

"Yeah, weird," Annie said. "Must have been something in the water."

Both she and Fi started laughing, Clu frowning with slight confusion.

"Oh Fi, I took this course in mythology," Clu said. "I am officially a junior paranormal investigator. In training."

Fi snickered. "Thanks, Clu. Sounds like a fun idea."

"I thought you weren't into that anymore," Annie said, frowning.

"I can change my mind," Fi said dismissively.

"Mind if I join you?" Jack asked, taking a seat at the chair across from them. Annie smiled.

"Not at all. We were just talking about -."

"Dogs," Clu interrupted.

The three looked at him in confusion, before Fi caught on. "Yeah, dogs," She said with a little smile. "Clu here was thinking of getting a golden retriever."

"A golden retriever, huh?" Jack asked. "I could see it."

"Or maybe a black lab," Clu added.

"Ri-ight," Annie said slowly, looking between Clu and Fi. Then she stood, stretching out. "Actually, I should probably head upstairs and get changed. Busy day today. Fi and I are going bike riding."

"Might as well get a good ride in before hitting the road again," Fi said with a shrug.

"See ya," Annie said, leaving the room.

Jack stared after her for a moment, before standing. "I actually have some college work I should get started on," He said quickly. "One of my professors is expecting us to read 'Great Expectations' for my literature class, so, I'll see you guys later." Then he quickly left the room, following through to where Annie had just disappeared.

"Well that was funny," Clu said.

"Yeah," Fi agreed, staring after her brother with bewilderment.

Clu frowned. "Do you think Jack likes Annie?" He asked.

Fi's head whipped around in surprise. "Jack? And Annie? Why would you say that?" She asked.

"Well, they do spend a lot of time together," Clu replied.

"I guess they do," Fi replied, a slight smile coming across her face. "So why didn't you want to talk about the paranormal in front of Jack?"

"Well, between you and me, he sort of has this thing where he's completely against it," Clu whispered.

"But he's always been against it," Fi replied.

"Yeah, but after that whole 'forgetting Annie' thing," He said, making air quotes as he spoke, "He's even more against it. He made Annie promise not to get involved in anymore weird things."

"What are you saying?" Fi inquired.

"I'm just saying that before that, he was at least a little accepting. Now, if anyone brings up the paranormal, he walks out of the room."

"Do you think it has something to do with Annie?"

"Maybe," Clu said with a light shrug. "So … speaking of the paranormal. Anything interesting happen?"

"No," Fi admitted. "But I have a feeling things are about to be shook up."

So Weird

Annie stepped out of the bedroom, toothbrush and toothpaste in hand, only to have someone grab her from behind and pull her into the bathroom.

"Hey!" Annie tried to exclaim, only to have a hand put over her mouth. After several moments of struggling, she caught sight of the reflection behind her in the mirror, and jerked away.

"Jack!" She snapped, rubbing at her arm angrily. "What are you trying to do? Scare me to death?"

"I need to talk to you," Jack said.

Annie missed the desperation in his voice as she continued to rub her arm. A bruise was bound to form later.

"Yeah, well you didn't need to be so rough."

"Annie."

She froze, slowly looking up and meeting Jack's troubled eyes. "What's wrong?" She asked quickly. When he still said nothing, she frowned. "Is this about yester-?"

"No," Jack interrupted. "Well, sort of. It's more about last night."

"What happened last night?" Annie asked with concern.

"I had this dream," Jack said carefully, taking a seat on the tub. "Or, at least, I thought it was a dream. Now I'm not too sure."

Annie took a seat beside him.

"Well, what happened?"

"I couldn't sleep, so I decided to take a walk. But it sounded like Fi was having a nightmare, so I came in to check on her."

Annie nodded with encouragement, while Jack looked down; hoping Annie wouldn't see his slight blush as he thought about checking on her, too.

"Then she got up and I thought she was sleepwalking, so I followed after her. You know, to make sure she was alright. She wound up on the bus with the book." He looked up, and met Annie's eye.

"You mean … the Celtic Spell Book?" Annie asked.

"Exactly."

"So what happened?"

"I don't remember," Jack snapped, jumping up. Annie looked at him with some surprise.

"You don't … remember?"

"I remember talking to Fi, or, this person who looked like Fi, but it wasn't her. Then there was this light, and I woke up here."

"In the bathroom?" Annie asked.

"No," Jack snapped impatiently. "Here, in the house."

For several moments Annie said nothing. Then she looked up at Jack as he paced back and forth, awaiting her answer.

"Did it feel like a dream?" She asked carefully.

Jack shot her an annoyed. "What do you mean; did it feel like a dream?"

"Well, most humans have trouble remembering dreams," Annie replied. "They're so delicately weaved that they can easily be broken. It's like popping a bubble. The dream plane can be a very dangerous thing. Some people say that the dream plane is just another state parallel to our own, and when you break from a dream, a part of you gets taken with it."

"So?"

"So it sounds like it was a dream," Annie said slowly. "But dreams have a different atmosphere than that of this world. Did this have that same dream-like atmosphere?"

Jack said nothing for a moment, reflecting back to the night before. "No," He said quietly. "It felt real."

"Are you sure?" Annie asked. "Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference."

"There's one way to be sure," Jack replied, meeting Annie's eyes. "We check the book."

"The book?"

"Fi read something out of the book," Jack admitted. Annie jumped up.

"She did!? Well that's great!"

"No, it's not," Jack snapped. "That imposter was speaking in riddles. Something about seeing the truth."

"Maybe Fi needs to see it."

"She doesn't," Jack growled. "She never needs to see what's out there."

Annie looked at him with surprise, but didn't back down. "You can't protect her from everything, Jack."

"I can try."

"Hey, can you keep it down!" A voice snapped from the hall. Carey. "Some of us are trying to sleep."

For several moments neither Annie nor Jack said anything. Finally looked up and met Jack's eyes. "I know you're trying to do what you think is best, Jack. Fi did the same thing. But you're both wrong. Denying destiny isn't going to protect anyone. It will just hurt."

His eyes widened in surprise as Annie pulled open the door.

"I have to take a shower, and you have to do some research," She replied quietly.

Jack studied her for a moment, reaching for the door. "What do you know, Annie?"

And the girl simply smiled at him in reply. "Me? I don't know anything." Then she moved him out the door and closed it, locking it into place behind her. Jack stared at the door for several seconds before moving down the hallway. On the other side Annie was leaning against the door, wondering where those words had come from; at the same time knowing she was getting herself involved in something that wasn't meant for her.

So Weird

She let herself be swept up into the dance as she had for the past three nights. This time she could make out more faces behind the elegant feather masks. Off to the corner Jack and Annie were holding hands, twirling around. Carey had found someone to dance with. No one that Fi could recognize, but it was someone. Even Clu was dancing. He'd danced with Fi earlier. She had switched partners a couple of times, her eyes always out for the raven-haired man she'd danced with before. Him; and her Father.

Clu's cousin Danny and Laura – the young girl who was a werewolf - whisked past her, vanishing back into the crowd. She'd begun to notice that most people here she'd met before – on her trips.

The atmosphere was so care-free. There were no worries, no problems. Everyone was so happy. In fact, it was such a comfort that Fi couldn't help but let her mind drift away. As she had those times before, she let herself go. She became lost in the orchestra, in the pace of the dance, and soon in the gold of her partner's eyes.

She wanted to cry out when she realized that the dark haired man had suddenly switched places with her other dancing partner. Without her notice. He grinned down at her, quickly moving into the pace of the dance.

"Aren't you glad to see me?" He asked quietly.

"More like surprised," Fi replied. "How did you -."

"This is my land," He replied quietly. "I can do whatever I want here. Create any illusion I want."

"So all of this is an illusion?"

"Do you want it to be, Fiona?" He asked quietly.

"No," Fi admitted. "I wish it were real."

"It could be," He said, running a hand down her cheek.

Fi hesitated, and then shook her head. "Who are you?" She demanded.

"You ask this every night," He said.

"And every night you evade the question."

The boy sighed. "What does it matter – my name? It wouldn't make a difference."

"Why do you keep bringing me here?" Fi asked, pulling out of his grasp. The music stopped and so did the people. "What are you looking for?"

The boy seemed annoyed, glancing at the strange looks he was getting from his guests, before he grabbed Fi's arm, a dark smile curling his face. "How about some punch, eh?"

"I don't want any punch," Fi snapped, trying to break free from his grip. Without even realizing it they were in front of the snack table.

"Here, just try it," He said, pushing the cup to her lips.

"No!" Fi hissed, knocking it over. "Why am I here? What have you done with my Father?"

"Your Father has nothing to do with this!" He snapped angrily.

"Is he being held here? Where is here? Is this the dream plane?"

"You're asking too many questions," He said with a growl, narrowing his eyes down at Fi.

"And you're not answering any. Who are you, really?"

"I'm going to be your end, Fiona. If you refuse to join us, we will be your end."

SO WEIRD

Fi jumped up, panting for breath, only to realize she had hit Annie. The girl stumbled back in surprise.

"Are you okay?" She asked with worry. "You looked like you were having a nightmare."

"I was," Fi muttered, rubbing her eyes. "What time is it?"

"It's noon. I was going to see if you wanted to go for that bike ride, but if you're still tired …" Her voice trailed off as she looked away.

"No, that's okay," Fi said quickly, climbing out of the bed. "I hadn't meant to fall asleep. I just thought is I rested my eyes for a few moments."

"What were you dreaming about?" Annie asked with interest.

"Nothing," Fi said quickly, giving Annie a half-smile. "Just a little nightmare."