Green rushed into the space behind the bookshelf without hesitating as the other's stood, dumbstruck. "No! NONONONO! This can't be! Somebody, help me." She was hysterical. Too mortified to even cry. The only one to move was Pearl, and that was just to turn around and throw up.

It wasn't a pretty sight. Each of them had their arms tied behind their backs and a gag in their mouth. Bruises and cuts littered every visible bit of skin. The person who did this didn't stop there, though.

Red was lying motionless on the floor. His left shoulder had been ripped open so that blood, muscle, and bone shone in the dim light. One of his eyes had swollen shut and there was a gash on his forehead that was still bleeding.

Blue was the hardest to look at. He propped against the wall. His arms and legs were crumpled and bending in the wrong places where his bones had been broken. One eye was gouged out so that they could see the back of his skull through his socket. To top it off, someone had sliced him open from the base of his neck to his stomach. His entrails were just visible if you looked hard enough.

And then there was Yellow. Poor little Yellow. She hung from the ceiling by her neck, head twisted from the break in her neck. Brown boots dangled inches off the floor. Her once bright brown eyes now stared dully down at them.

Green ran from one to the other, trying in vain to help them. She pressed her hands on Red's shoulder to stop the bleeding for a moment, then she ran to Blue to lay him on his back. She looked back and forth before running to Yellow. "Somebody, help me!" she screamed, trying to lift Yellow to take the pressure off the neck. "JUST HELP ME!"

Ruby stepped forward. He passed Pearl who was doubled over and retching, Crystal who was clutching her bad arm and stared at the wall in front of her, and Black who had turned away and was pressing his head against a nearby bookshelf.

Out of all of them, Ruby's tear stained face was the only one that seemed composed. The boy had already seen more than enough death. Even if celebi had changed his timeline, he had seen people he cared about die. He could carry on. He stopped a few steps behind Green. "Slow down, Green. This won't save them."

Smack!

Ruby's head twisted sideways as the back of Green's hand hit his cheek. His face didn't change. He rubbed the side of his face and looked back to see Green glaring at him. "You don't know that," she said through gritted teeth.

He sighed and stepped past her. Her anger turned into confusion as he knelt down next to Blue and placed his ear close to Blue's nose. He closed his eyes and nodded. Then he pressed an index finger against the side of Blue's neck.

"What are you doing," she demanded. "That's not going to help him."

Ruby pulled his hand back and stood up. "You're right. He's already dead." Green opened her mouth to argue, but he lifted a hand to silence her. "There's no pulse. No Breathing. Nobody could survive a wound like that, and he's already gone."

All the air in her lungs came rushing out at once. It felt like someone had punched her in the stomach. She stared at her friends broken face for a moment. "Blue…"

Ruby moved on to Yellow. Crouching down, he gathered the small girl's legs in his arms and lifted her until the noose slipped down her head. Once it was loose, he pulled her forward until it slipped off her head. Crystal and Black peered into the space as he spread her out on the floor. Pearl wiped his mouth and peeked in from outside the room. They had come to their senses. Too bad they didn't know how to help.

Ruby brought his head close to Yellow's nose and rested his finger on her neck. He knew the poor girl was already gone, but he went through the motions for Green's sake.

Green sunk to her knees as he shook his head and moved on to Red. "I'm so sorry," she wailed. She buried her face in her hands, twisting her bangs in her clenched fingers. "I should have been faster. First Silver, now you three… I'm all alone."

"That's not true," Crystal said. She rushed to the other girl's side and shook her shoulder. "You're not alone. We're still here. We're going to get back home to the professor and your parents."

While she comforted Green, Ruby checked Red. He placed his ear close to his nose. No breath… wait!

A weak breeze hit his ear. Could it be? Ruby pressed his finger to the side of Red's neck. A weak pulse! He nearly fell over he turned so fast. A smile lit his face. "I think Red's alive."

Crystal stopped mid sentence. Green peeked above her fingertips. "R-R-Red?"

"Really," Ruby shouted. He whipped back around and got to work untying the gag and restraints. "I've got a pulse, and he's breathing. There's no doubt about it. Red's alive." Now the others could make out the telltale signs. The rise and fall of his shoulders, the pained strain in his face…

Green scrambled away from Crystal and shook Red's intact shoulder. "Red! Red, you have to wake up. Come on, Red. Open your eyes."

His eyes scrunched up painfully for a moment, then fluttered open. Well… one fluttered open. The other was still swollen shut. He stared blankly at Green and Ruby for a moment, then shone as he recognized who they were. Ruby lifted the gag from his mouth. "There," Ruby said as he tossed the rag over his shoulder. "Now you can talk."

"I can't believe it," Red rasped. He tried to push himself up to a sitting position, but his arm caved and he fell back onto his back. "How… how'd you find us?"

"Kind of an accident," Crystal said, coming close. "What happened?"

"Not sure," Red said. He rubbed his hand and tried to sit up again. This time, Pearl stepped forward and helped him stay up. Red rubbed his head, smearing blood from the gash on his head. "I remember hitting the ground with Yellow in my arms. Blue landed next to me, and then everything goes black." He wiped his bloody hand on his shirt and lifted his head. "Wait, if you found me then do you know where Blue and Yellow are?"

Ruby and Green shot each other a look. "You really don't know?" Green asked. Tears finally started to form in her eyes.

"No," he said in a confused voice. "What's wrong?" He wobbled a bit as he struggled to his feet. He lifted his head to look around. Too late, the others realized the situation and rushed to stand in front of him to block his vision. They couldn't make him unsee what he already saw, though. "Yellow… Blue…" Red whispered in disbelief. Green took his arm to support him as he stumbled forward. The others parted to let him through.

"Sorry, Red," Ruby said from behind him. "We found them like this."

Red wasn't listening though. A low moan filled the room as he yanked his arm from Green's hand. Unsteady on his feet, he scrambled away and bumped into the doorway on his way out into the library. Nobody followed him. He needed his space. Besides, they could tell he hadn't gone far. They could hear the sound of him retching and sobbing in the aisle outside.

Emerald didn't know how long he had been chasing after the figure. It felt like forever, and his legs burned with the effort of keeping the stranger in sight. "Please stop," he gasped. The person in front of him glanced back, then darted into the next aisle of shelves.

Finally, he had to quite. He slowed to a stop and doubled over panting. "Come… (pant) back… (pant)" It was useless. They were too fast, and he never was good at running.

When he regained his breath, Emerald straightened and walked between the bookshelves the stranger disappeared behind. They were long gone. He scratched his head and thought a moment. What had they been doing while the light was out? Who were they? Emerald had thought they seemed familiar, but that didn't help at all.

Emerald's gaze drifted over the rows of books above him. The stranger had been pulling a book out. This place was full of booby traps. Maybe it was one of those traps you only see on tv? The one where you pull out a book and a secret passage opens up. Or what if it did something worse?

He realized with a jolt that he wasn't with the others anymore. Who knew how far away he'd run? His heart beat faster, threatening to beat right out of his chest. His feet pounded the floorboards as he took off running. He needed to find them. "Where are you," he shouted. "Where are you… are you… you…" His voice echoed back. That terrified him even more. This place couldn't be that big, could it? "Someone help!"

Something made a loud thump on the shelf next to him. Emerald skidded to a halt. His eyes shot to the top of the bookshelf. The figure he had been chasing was standing on top of the shelf!

"It's you," Emerald breathed, staring up at them. They lifted an arm and pointed back the way he came. Far, far down, Emerald could just make out the figures of his friends at the end of the aisle. The stranger was showing him the way to go. But, it wasn't really a stranger. From this vantage point, he could see who it was clearly. "How did you…"

They shook their hands to stop him and pointed at the shelf behind him. Emerald turned to look at what they were seeing. "What?"

Big mistake. The moment Emerald looked behind himself, a hand shot out and lifted him by the front of his shirt. The boy let out a bloodcurdling shriek before a knife whistled through the air.

The scream stopped as suddenly as it started. Silence fell over the library for a heartbeat, then crashing as loud as thunder shook the place to its core.

Ruby's eyes widened. "That was Emerald."

Green nodded. "He sounded terrified, but what's that other sound?" The remaining dex-holders rushed out of the space behind the shelf. Before them, aisles and aisles of bookshelves toppled over. Books spilled to the floor as they tipped and knocked over the next shelf. The chaos spread as every row of shelves fell over, domino style.

Red was still among the shelves.

He had his back to them. The arm with the ruined shoulder pressed against a shelf to help hold him up. "Red," Green shouted as the falling shelves came closer and closer. "Get out of there!" He turned towards them at her words. Confusion and fear was etched on his face. "Don't just stand there," Green screamed and waved her arms. "We gotta go."

Red regained control of his feet. He took off down the aisle at them as the falling bookshelves came close. The kids left the space in the wall and started running towards the way out. Green waited a heartbeat longer than the rest. When Red reached the end, she grabbed his arm and half ran, half dragged him towards the exit.

Six pairs of feet pounded the floorboards. They ran ahead of the crashing and out the door. Behind them, the last heavy bookshelf toppled over. It fell sideways, taking out the light by the door and blocking the way back in.

They couldn't go back, even if they wanted to.

God, am I twisted? 0_O I'm so sorry world.

While I'm interrupting the story to comment, I might as well ask. Who do you guys think the killer is? Emerald obviously recognized that person in the library, and I left a few clues, but I still want to keep it pretty confusing. Let me know what you think so I can know if I'm doing my job right. :D

Or not, and just enjoy where the story takes you. ;)