Authors Note

This was a double update, so do make sure you go back to the previous chapter so you don't miss it.


The inside was… well… it looked exactly like someone would think a party scene would look like.

The lights were flashing bright, neon colors all over, strobe lights above. The music was loud, so loud that it shook Lapis to the core. There was a counter by the far wall with what Lapis could only assume was alcohol and a few cheap chips. There was a raised area on the other wall where a DJ's booth sat. A section in front of it, right under the flashing lights, was a dance floor.

It was jarring, but what was even more jarring was that there were people inside.

They were dancing, drinking, just enjoying themselves. Lapis felt her breath hitch in her throat, they looked so real. Were they real? She didn't recognize the faces. But, did she and Jasper really leave the mirror, or were they still inside of the mirror?

"Lapis, be careful," Jasper whispered, hand on her shoulder. Her grip was tight, fingers digging into Lapis shoulder. It was clear just how on edge Jasper was herself.

Lapis nodded and started walking. There was a door at the other side of the room. It was probably a bad idea, but Lapis started to make her way to it. Shoving past the crowds of dancers, past sweaty bodies as they swayed and jumped. They gave no sign that they even noticed Lapis or Jasper pushing against them to get by. It was like the two weren't there at all.

The room seemed to bigger than originally thought, it took longer than it should have to reach the door, as though it pulled itself farther away from them the closer they got to it. But, eventually the two girls made it.

What was on the other side of the door was another dance floor. Multi-colored tiles. Flashing lights. Except, unlike the previous room, there was no one in here except Lapis and Jasper. Even the music had quieted down somewhat. The room itself... it was less like a room and more like a long hall. It was concerning, yes, but, so far everything they'd come across since entering the mirror had been concerning.

"Lapis, we shouldn't hold off going anywhere," Jasper said slowly as she looked around, "We should try and think of some kind of plan."

"We have a plan," Lapis answered, "find a way out of here, find out why Peridot appeared on the mirror," she said, as though it were obvious. It wasn't much of a plan, but it was better than nothing. So far they had made ground as far as she was concerned. They reached a new place, and if they kept walking, then Lapis was sure they'd uncover something that was useful.

They might even find a door back to their world.

With that, she started walking. Her footsteps echoed on the dance floor hall, firm clicks and clacks with every step. "So far we haven't run into any danger, so what's the harm if we keep moving forward?"

Jasper grumbled but followed after Lapis as she walked. Taking the rear as Lapis kept in front and led the way.

The hall was long, no doors and no windows. Occasionally they came upon a turn here or there. But the path in general was very linear. No forks, no other routes to take. It was a very bland hall, though. Like there was nothing else going for it other than the floor and lights. Lapis thought to herself that it's creator needed a better interior decorator. She couldn't help but laugh to herself at that.

However, their luck proved to be coming to a screeching halt.

Turning the corner on their journey through the warehouse party zone, they saw them. Monsters.

They were like slugs. Four of them pacing the halls. They slithered slowly on the floor, goopy looking masses of black slime with greyish-blue masks on their faces. Lapis wasn't sure what to make of them, but they noticed her and Jasper very quick.

"Lapis, run!" Jasper hissed as she turned to flee, but it proved to be no use.

Whatever she said about slow previously was just proven wrong. They moved fast to reach the girls. As they reached the two, their forms changed. The sludge quickly packed itself together, slipped away to take the form of massive balls that floated in the air, large mouths on their faces and stripes on their bodies. Two of them charged forward, slamming into Lapis and Jasper, knocking them away and blocking their escape route.

The monsters circled them from every angle. Four of them all around the two. Bouncing in the air, watching them with eyeless bodies, grinning with those massive mouths.

Jasper let out a cry of pain and fell to a knee as one rammed itself into her, quickly backing away to take back it's spot in the circle before anyone could do anything. Lapis could see blood start trickling down her arm. There was a chorus of laughter from the creatures, as though they were enjoying it. Disconnected laughter.

Lapis' heart was in her throat. Fear washing over her. It was as she faced these monsters that she realized that this could very well be her end. She felt instant regret. She regretted everything she had done, regretted all the choices she had made that led her to here.

She shouldn't have gone into the mirror.

She shouldn't have kept exploring.

She shouldn't have gotten herself involved.

One of the monsters hit Lapis from behind. It hurt, her spine trembled as she fell to her knees.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck! She was going to die here, wasn't she? Die here in this bizarre world and no one would know, they'd think she'd run away or something, unaware that she was dead. Got herself killed by her own stupid curiosity and determination. God damn it, why her?

She never should have come here. She should have stayed home and just let things be. She should have shattered the mirror when Kevin appeared on it, not pursue the whole mystery and involve herself like she had.

If she hadn't done anything, she wouldn't be here, she wouldn't be about to die. She didn't want to die. She didn't want to die. Not here. Not now.

"If you don't want to die, then stop cowering in fear and fight back!"

As the voice echoed in her mind, pain tore through her head. Lapis bit back a cry as her hands came up to grasp her scalp, fingers digging deep as she doubled over. It hurt. A throbbing pain like she'd taken a bat to the face. Pulsing, agonizing. She grit her teeth, whimpering and whining as the pain began to course over her entire body.

"Life is not a given right. If you want to survive and keep living, you have to fight to earn it."

The more it spoke, the more pain, the more it drove daggers into Lapis. The pain was unbearable; she could barely keep standing. It was like her skull was trying to creak, as though something was trying to break through her from her head, like Athena's birth from Zeus. It hurt more than anything Lapis had ever felt, it was more than words could describe. Her senses blocked everything around her. She couldn't hear Jasper calling out to her, couldn't hear the monsters that surrounded them.

All that Lapis could hear was the pain she suffered and a deep laughter from inside her own mind.

She felt something warm in her hand and the pain slowly numbed. Though her vision was blurred through tears, she was able to make out a blue stone that she held, warm and pulsing, it was shaped like a teardrop. Her respite lasted only a few seconds before she was hit with another wave of agony, her knees buckled under her, it took all she had not to fall to the ground.

"If you wish to live, then open your eyes to your own anger and use my power. Crash over them like the stormy sea, drown them in the rain and thunder and reap your reward of life. I am thou, and thou are I! Let our wrath be released and send all who challenge us back to Hell itself!"

The words were in her mind, the name, the answer to it all. Gripping the blue teardrop stone, Lapis hardened her stare and steeled her nerves. She felt a voice that wasn't her own speak, "Slaughter them, Aigaion!"

What happened next was fire.

The stone vanished from Lapis hand and a burst of blue fire appeared in front of Lapis, between herself and the monsters. It towered high, so close that Lapis could touch it. But, there was no heat. In fact, if anything the fire felt cold. Her heart raced, but, she felt… a sort of resolve at seeing it.

Out of the fire came a monster, clad in armor and chains, it's armor had arms and hands carved into it, dozens and dozens of hands all over it. Something about it screamed violent, screamed pure destructive. It let out a bloodcurdling scream and Lapis found her head throbbing again. She grasped it with both hands as the beast, as Aigaion, charged towards the smaller monsters.

It threw a chain, wrapped around one of the creature's necks and with one hard tug—the head came right off. It threw it's sea-weed and algae coated chains all around, whipping and lashing at the ones surrounding Lapis and Jasper. Blood spewed from wounds, coating the dancefloor. Lapis, though in pain, could only stare at it.

Even as it was clear that Aigaion was the victor, it kept pummeling the defeated monsters until their bodies had completely disintegrated. Lapis could feel the blood lust. Was it the monsters, or was it her own? She couldn't tell, didn't know.

All she knew was that it was terrifying.

Standing up straight, Aigaion watched them and Lapis was once more afraid. Afraid that it might attack them. She couldn't move as it stared at them. But, that's all it did, stare. But, then it did something else. It spoke.

"Call to me again when you find need of my power. Call on me when you have need to let loose the storm within you and decimate those who cross your path," was its farewell as it faded away in front of Lapis. The stone returned to her hand.

She stared at the spot that Aigaion had stood, and then her head went dizzy. She crumpled to the ground only for Jasper to catch her and hold her against her larger body.

She could feel Jasper breathing heavily, her heart racing in her chest. Some of the blood from Jasper smeared off onto Lapis, but she was too tired to care, "Just what was that?" Jasper asked.

Lapis couldn't speak, it was hard enough to keep her eyes open. She was tired, she was weak. She wanted to sleep for a year. "Let's… let's get out of here," she managed. Her entire body hurt, hurt like she'd been run over by a steamroller.

Her friend shook her head, "Yeah, I wish I knew how," she said and lifted Lapis up into her arms, "Let's get you out of here. Before more of those things showed up." Lapis nodded and rested her head against Jasper, ready to doze off, exhaustion rooted deep in her.

But, life had a way of saying fuck you. Nothing ever went as they wanted it to.

That is to say, they barely got out the door before two more creatures appeared. Black ooze that manifested itself into floating balls with mouths, just like the previous four.

Lapis wasn't sure she had it in her to be able to call forth Aigaion again, to handle the pain again.

Jasper slid Lapis to the ground, letting Lapis cling to the wall for support as her large friend positioned herself between Lapis and the monsters. Lapis weakly called her name out but Jasper let out a small laugh, "I let you deal with the last group, now it's my turn to deal with this one," but, Lapis hadn't dealt with the last group. She still had no idea what happened. But, Jasper turned to the monsters and set her jaw, "Come on, try and fight me," Jasper barked, challenging the beasts as she cracked her knuckles.

She had to know that she couldn't win. There was no way that Jasper could beat those two things with her bare hands. But she stood there, ready to fight.

Crackling laughter filled the hall and the two floating monsters dove right for Jasper. Tongues out and dripping with drool, they dove in for the kill. Lapis clenched her eyes shut, unable to watch the murder she was about to witness.

"Maahes!" a voice shouted.

Lapis' eyes snapped open and in a blink of an eye, the monsters were gone, destroyed.

Lapis, body tense and locked, slowly turned around, lowering her arms from their defensive stance over her face, but still ready to protect or attack if needed to be. She was filled with confusion and fear as she stared across the room. At the young curly haired boy who stood there. But even more importantly, her eyes fell to the figure floating behind him.

She couldn't help the scream that tore through her throat, couldn't help but to stumble as she backed away, tripping over her own feet and falling to the ground as she stared up at the beast. A monster massive in size, a body of a man, but the head of a lion. Clad in shining gold armor like that of a knights, it's face was scared up as it stared at them. But, a few seconds passed and it just… vanished. Faded away right in front of them. Just like the one that had appeared when Lapis and Jasper had first encountered the monsters. Yet this one… it was less destructive.

"Hey, are you okay?" the boy asked as he sprinted over to them. She was small, a little chubby. If Lapis had to guess, he was maybe thirteen or fourteen years old. His eyes were full of worry at the two teenagers.

Jasper shook her head as she helped Lapis up. Lifting her back up. "Forget about us. Just, what were those things? What's going on?" she demanded, though her voice shook to show that she too was scared.

The boy pursed his lips and then looked around them. "I'll explain everything, just not here. The Shadows will be back soon. We need to get out of here," he said and looked back to them, "Follow me, I'll get you guys back to the real world and I'll explain everything there, okay?"

If this boy was offering a way to get back out of this mirror, Lapis wasn't going to argue with him.


Authors Note

As always, I really do look forward to hearing what you guys thought of these chapters. Good or bad, let me know what you think!