Warning: some harsh language at the end of the chapter.

It's so white…

---

Musa was sound asleep when Flora came in to check up on her. The blue-haired fairy snored soundly on the bunk with the blanket wrapped tightly around her slender body. As light-footed as she was, Flora had no trouble keeping quiet as she made her way over to the two medical capsules at the back of the room. Here, sleeping involuntarily, were Bloom and Helia and Flora found her gaze fixating on the later.

She loved Bloom, but she was a fairy and Flora knew her magical powers would help her heal faster. She wasn't so sure with Helia, however. Specialists were strong and very capable warriors, but they lacked the healing factors that all magical beings possessed. She couldn't help but admire them for being so durable. Even without magic, Helia and the boys did not hesitate to put themselves in danger against terrible odds. Right now he looked so fragile, so weak, and so pale. The color was gone from his skin and his dark hair had lost its luster.

"Helia." Flora touched the glass case that separated her from her beloved. "Please be okay."

Not wanting to be rude, she then turned to her friend directly beside Helia and stared at Bloom. Her breaths came out in steady, controlled tones and the readout from the medical screen showed her body temperature had returned to normal. She would make a full recovery at this rate and Flora was both happy…and torn. Why wasn't Helia making a full recovery?

When Timmy had found their bodies, they were huddled together inside a hallway that had been burnt by an exploding conduit. The steam was enough to melt the bones off a human body but apparently Bloom had erected a shield to protect them at just the last second. The conduit was very close and she almost did not have enough time. Timmy guessed that Bloom was forced to use up most of her magic just to keep them alive. He ordered Tecna to cut off all power to the conduits within the corridor and when she did he rushed to their side only to bump into the remnants of Bloom's barrier. She was a very powerful fairy to have the shield up even after she had lost consciousness.

Once the barrier subsided, Timmy called in for a medical service droid team and alerted Skye. They were rushed to sickbay and have remained there ever since.

Flora praised Bloom for saving Helia's life. She was willing to sacrifice herself for him and put all her energy into keeping that barrier up. The fairy wondered if she would have had the same fortitude had Skye been the one in danger. Would she risk her life for him? Give her life for his? Such selflessness was what they taught at Red Fountain but the girls at Alfea were trained to value life at all costs. They'd fight to the death for their friends but what about those whom they had no familiarity with? Would Stella or the other girls do the same?

Would I?

These difficult questions plagued the exotic-colored fairy. Her only wish was that one day she could return the favor. Not that she wished any harm to befall Prince Skye or his friends – just that she could prove to herself that she was as selfless as Bloom.

"F…Flora…."

The weak voice permeated her hearing and she looked into the dim, blue eyes of a very close friend. Bloom was awake and she looked so very drained.

"Bloom!" she exclaimed, then immediately covered her mouth for fear of waking Musa. Lowering her voice, Flora went closer to the capsule and spoke so that only Bloom would hear. "How are you feeling?"

"So…weak." And Bloom sounded it. The energy was gone from her voice and it took a good deal of effort just for her to look around. "Where…am I?"

"Sickbay. We found you and Helia inside the corridor and rushed you here immediately. You two were in really bad shape."

"Helia?" Bloom's eyes widened. "Helia! Flora, how is he?" Her concern suddenly gave her strength.

Sparing a glance at her love, Flora's face turned sad. "He hasn't woken up. He almost didn't make it, Bloom. If it weren't for you, Helia would be dead right now."

"No." Tears welled up in Bloom's eyes as she recalled the events that led to her present condition. "That's not fair."

"I know. But he's safe now and it's all thanks to you."

"No." Bloom's voice grew louder and the tears came out. "Flora, no."

"It's okay, sweetie. He'll be fine and…"

"You don't understand!" Bloom cried. She began to whimper. "Flora…he saved me."

---

"Starting our descent." Skye announced. He and everyone aboard braced for turbulence and they got it tenfold the moment they entered the atmosphere. Luckily, Skye was with them and he was the best pilot at Red Fountain. But storms weren't impressed with reputations and this one gave the trained pilot a run for his money.

According to Tecna's scans of the surface, most of the planet was ravaged by stormy weather on a constant basis. This provided only a small window for ships to enter or leave safely. It was not advisable to attempt a landing during one of these storms but on the plus side it provided excellent cover for those wanting to land unseen. Stealth was the key, and Skye wanted their arrival to be as unannounced as possible. Now if only he could hold the ship together.

"Hang tight, guys." Skye said.

Timmy served as navigator and guided Skye in. "There's a thunderclap heading our way. ETA, five seconds. Advise evasive maneuvers."

"On your mark." Skye readied himself for the onslaught.

"Mark!"

The prince rolled the ship into a tight dive that pulled them just barley out of range of an enormous cloud that would have enveloped them had they not dodged it. Still, its wake shook the tiny vessel violently and every one of them had rattled teeth.

"Cutting it a little close there, buddy." Brandon said.

"Maybe I should drive." Riven said.

"We want to get there in one piece, Riven." Skye had not forgotten the close scuffle he almost had with his red-haired companion back on the Sparx and was still mad at him. "Just leave this to me."

"My hero."

Ignoring him, which was becoming more difficult lately, Skye took them in on a descent course. They eventually they broke through the cloud cover and got their first look at the surface. Skye had heard of the fabled Omega Dimension, whose bleak landscapes resembled something out of hell. Skye pictured something more fiery and ash-strewn, but this was as close to that mystical afterlife as he ever wanted to get. The white dunes stretched on forever and what little sunlight reached the surface fought for standing rights with the ever encroaching clouds. Mountains loomed overhead and Skye switched to night vision to avoid crashing into them. This would be a real test of his skill.

"One coming up." Timmy warned. "Bearing 1-5-0."

"I'm on it." Skye reared the ship around the imitating peak of the first mountain. Several more greeted them on their next foray and the trip suddenly turned into an amusement park ride with the ship swaying back and forth between peaks. One narrowly grazed the right hull.

"Watch it!" Riven barked as he was closest to the window when the ship tapped the rocks.

"Didn't mean to scare you." Skye couldn't help but smirk. The bad blood between them was getting to him and he knew he should let it slide. But sometimes it felt good to get some payback. "We're almost through."

Timmy checked the layout. "The coordinates are just ahead. I'll look for a place to make a safe landing."

That 'safe place' was like finding a needle in a haystack but against all odds, it was Timmy afterall, he managed to direct Skye to a flat outcropping that was barley the size of the shuttle. Little by little, Skye inched them downward, the winds making the task all the more difficult. They met with a bump which signaled their landing was complete. According to Timmy, the cropping was sturdy and provided ample solace from the fierce winds. Now came the hard part: leaving the ship.

"Check your gear and remember to keep warm."

The four specialists prepared themselves for a most unwelcome field trip and once they were properly sealed up inside their suits, goggles and hoods and all, their leader approached the door and opened it.

"Shit!" Riven cursed.

"I heard that." Brandon added as he huddled his arms together. Even with the protection of the suits they still felt the chilling sting of the weather.

"Let's keep moving. It'll keep us warm." Skye took the first steps off the ship and his boots sank ankle-deep into the snow. Fighting the sting that assailed his senses, Skye pressed on. One by one, the boys left the comfort of their ship and trekked onward. They came to the rock wall and looked up. This was not going to be easy even with their training.

"Wish I paid more attention in those rock-climbing lessons." Brandon commented.

"Let's do this. Riven, break out the grapples. Timmy, check our position on the map. Brandon, make sure the ship's secure."

Everyone followed Skye's orders and once everything was set they readied their grapple hooks. Tying ropes around each of them, the quartet began the climb.

Every ounce of their strength and endurance was tested that day. After what seemed like hours of climbing they found they had only gone up about thirty meters from where they had started. Skye was in the lead, followed by Riven, then Timmy and finally Brandon. Little by little, they etched their way upward. After about fifty meters they stopped to catch their breath. A nearby rock face protected them from the wind but that still didn't mean the danger of losing their hold on the mountain was gone. In a moment, Brandon asked the question that was on all their minds. "How much further?"

Timmy had the answer. "About another twenty meters. There's an opening that leads into a cave complex just up ahead. We can take shelter there."

"We could have just flown up and grappled down the mountain." Riven said, jamming another hook into the stone wall.

"In these winds? You're crazy, bro." Brandon shot from below.

"This is crazy." Riven growled.

"Alright. Let's keep moving. The sooner we get…" Skye hoisted himself up. "…to the cave, the sooner we can rest. Follow my lead."

That's all we ever do, Riven thought.

The rest of the climb went on in silence; save for the howling wind, of course. Timmy was right on the money and there was indeed a gap along the mountain side big enough for a human-sized creature to enter. Those "creatures" eagerly climbed on in and when all four were present and accounted for they each stopped to rest, drink some water, and thank the gods for their good fortune. Popping a few nightsticks, Skye filled the cave with a green glow. He scoured the interior and found a deep passage leading deeper inside. The cave looked naturally formed with countless gaps, stalagmites, stalactites and holes running along its surface. At least it provided shelter from the storm.

"Everyone good?"

Riven scoffed. "No, Skye. We're inside a cave with a raging blizzard outside. If it's all the same to you, I'd much rather be on the Sparx."

"No argument there." Skye muttered.

Timmy checked their position. "The cave leads to a system of caverns up ahead. There's a small corridor that leads upward toward the surface. I'm detecting man-made construction directly above us. Once we reach the upper levels we should be just inside the perimeter of the facility. No detectable movement or lifeforms suggest any surprises along the way."

"What about traps?" Riven asked.

"We'll just have to be careful."

"Great." He retorted.

"What's life without a little danger?" Brandon asked.

"A chance to enjoy it." Riven answered, and to his surprise Brandon laughed.

"Let's move." Skye hoisted his gear onto his back and pressed on. With Timmy's directions, the group managed to navigate the labyrinth of tunnels without getting lost. They kept in tight formation, dropping a nightstick every now and then to illuminate their path back to the cave entrance. Once they had gone a good ways in they stopped to get their bearings. Actually, Timmy did, for he was the one with the computerized map. This reprieve allowed the boys another few moments rest and they took it without complaint. Traversing these uneven tunnels would have challenged the most physically fit person and the boys were in top form. While Timmy studied the data, Riven sat down on the far side of the wall. His eyes studied everything around him but he purposely avoided staring at his friends.

"What's with him?" Brandon whispered to Skye. The two of them were looking over the materials they brought with them when he asked the question. Brandon was more alert than most people realized and he saw more than he let on. He could see Riven distancing himself from the rest of the group and turned to Skye. The prince knew that all was not well between he and the lone wolf that was Riven. Suddenly he had turned into the same outsider he was back in freshman year; before he had learned to trust. This would not be good for team spirit and it could very well jeopardize their mission.

Seeing what Brandon was talking about, Skye seriously considered walking over there to talk to Riven himself. Maybe they should straighten this out before they ventured any further. "I'll talk to him."

"Maybe I should." Brandon suggested. "You two don't seem to be on the best of terms lately."

"A common occurrence, it seems."

"Yeah…well, why don't you let me speak to the man and if he tries to lop my head off then you can have a go?"

"Better your head than mine."

"Thanks, bro." Brandon said sarcastically.

Riven noticed Brandon's approach and frowned. He really didn't need this now. Brandon's bright and sunny attitude was always a sharp contrast to his dark and gloomy outlook on life. Like yin and yang, light and day, good and evil, there was nothing these two boys had in common other than attending the same school or dating girls from Alfea.

"What's going on, Riven?"

Shaking his head, Riven got up to leave. "I'd better check my gear."

"Whoa. Easy, man. Just came over to see how you're doing?"

"Fine." He lied. "Now if you'll excuse me."

Brandon wasn't backing down that easy. Hell if he could survive one of Stella's temper tantrums then Riven should be a piece of cake. "Talk to me, bro. You know we're friends."

"Friends know when to leave one another alone."

"And," Brandon retaliated. "When to get involved. You see I look at you and I see a man who's proud, brave, chivalrous, and though he'd never admit it, a romantic. I know girl trouble when I see it and you've got Musa written all over your face."

Riven glared at him. "Brandon, if you know what's good for you,"

"You're about to threaten me, but that's good. That's really good. Because it proves I'm right. Take it from a guy who's had ladies fight over him numerous times. Now that I'm with Stella, I know what it is to be truly in love. You and Musa have the same connection. We're in the same boat here, Riven. Anything you want to know about girls just ask me and I'll help in any way I can."

With an eyebrow curled, Riven cocked his head to one side in a demeaning manner. "You want to help?"

"Sure."

"Then answer me this, Doctor Casanova. Why is it that a guy who's met a wonderful young woman who truly loves him always manages to make her life miserable? Can you answer that?"

Brandon thought on it. "Why that's simple." He placed a hand on his shoulder. "Because that guy is a jerk and doesn't know a good thing when he sees it."

"Are you trying to piss me off?"

"Okay, okay. 'Jerk' was the wrong word. I'd say that guy is clueless. He's finally found someone to love and because he never had that love returned to him before he does not know how to give it back. That a good enough answer?"

For once, Riven was speechless.

"See how answers come when you open up?"

The speechlessness vanished. "You don't know shit." He shrugged him off and walked away.

Brandon hung his head. For a moment there he actually thought Riven was going to open up to him. But he may as well have been trying to pry open a steel door with his bare hands. Hell that may have been easier.

"Satisfied?" Skye walked up to Brandon from behind.

"I don't know, bro. We need to have harmony in the group. Convergence and all that."

"Convergence? What are we, fairies?"

"We're best friends. And that means we should be able to talk to each other."

"For friendship to work," Skye turned to Riven who was rummaging through his things. "It has to be given from both sides. Riven has always been there when we needed him, but whenever he's the one in danger he'd rather go down with the ship than accept a friendly hand."

"It's Musa."

"Isn't it always?"

The two Eraklyonites watched Riven from afar. He had his back to them but they knew that he knew they were watching him and talking about him. He didn't know which was worse; being stuck inside a frozen cave with friends he refused to open up to, or being aboard the Sparx where half the fairies would have loved to have tossed him out the nearest airlock. Musa would probably be at the head of that line.

Musa…

"All set." Timmy announced, breaking the awkward silence. "I know where we have to go."

"Finally." Riven said, changing his solemn façade. "Let's do this and get back. I'm tired of this shithole."

Brandon smiled over at Skye and winked. At least a foul-mouthed Riven was better than a sulking one. At the very least he can take his frustrations out on any enemies they may encounter up there. Fighting always did make him happy.

Gathering their things, the team hiked onward, the ground slowly elevating as they did so. It wasn't long before they had to move at an almost diagonal position just to keep proceeding.

"Almost there." Timmy said.

"Almost where?" Riven asked.

"Here."

"Where?"

"Look up."

They followed his lead and Timmy pointed to a large hole several feet above their heads. "We take this and it'll lead right into the mining facility."

"Good enough." Skye removed his backpack. "Take out your grapples."

"More climbing?" Brandon sighed as he looked through his bag.

Once they had secured foothold at the base of the hole, Prince Skye was the first up. He disappeared from sight for a moment and when he came back his face was covered in some strange dust. "There are a lot of holds along the wall. Should be easy to make our climb. Start following me in."

They did as they were told and one after the other they climbed up to the hole. Before going any further, Brandon dropped a nightstick back to the stone floor. "The hell you do that for?" Riven's voice asked from above.

"So we know how far down it is." Brandon answered. "If I lose my footing and fall, I want to know how much time I have left to make peace with my maker before I meet him in person."

---

Bloom was openly weeping by the time Flora figured out how to open up the capsule. Several warning lights flared to life the moment she did so but the fairy paid them no mind. She just wanted to hold Bloom and to comfort her. She found both to be more difficult than she thought. At first touch, Bloom pulled away from Flora and turned to her side. "No." She cried. "He's hurt because of me."

"What are you saying, Bloom?" Flora asked but Bloom just cried. Her body shook with sobs and she pulled her legs in to hug them against her chest. When Flora tried to reach out to her again, Bloom shrugged her off. "Bloom…"

"He saved me, Flora. Helia got hurt because he saved me from the blast."

Upon hearing that, Flora's eyes widened in surprise. All this time she had thought it was Bloom who saved Helia from the conduit explosion. Now she finds it was the other way around. But how? Bloom had erected the barrier. They would not have survived if she didn't.

"Bloom, tell me what happened. How did Helia save you?"

Bloom stopped crying long enough to answer her. "T-the conduit blew up and I…sniff…and I screamed. It happened so…hic…so fast I c-couldn't do anything. Sniff. I thought we were dead…but Helia…he covered me. H-he threw himself upon me and he…sniff…and he saved my life. He just…jumped on me and he took the full…hic…impact."

"That's not possible!" Flora had raised her voice. "He'd be dead if he did that. Helia doesn't have any magic. The barrier is what saved you two from being boiled alive!"

Finally Bloom looked at Flora and her eyes told her a different story. "I…I don't know how, Flora. I could have sworn we were dead but…cry…somehow, something saved us."

"W-what do you mean something saved you? Did you do something?"

"There was no time." Bloom emphasized the point so hard that it was like she was pleading innocent to a crime she did not commit. "I didn't have time to think so…" she wiped her eyes, slowly getting herself back under control. "…when the corridor exploded there was nothing I could do. Helia shielded me with his own body but even I knew that wouldn't be enough. Before I lost consciousness I could feel something standing between us and the steam. It felt like some sort of wall had been erected and it was protecting us. I hadn't done anything and Helia was knocked out. Even as I drifted off I knew the barrier wouldn't last long. The next thing I know I wake up here with you beside me." Bloom' s tear-filled eyes looked at Flora. "I'm so sorry I couldn't save him. I would have, but it was just so sudden. You know I would have taken the full blast if I could. I just…I just didn't have time."

This was all too much for Flora to take in. She got up from the bed and approached Helia's capsule. Inside, the handsome young man slept soundly. He was in stable condition but still very weak. Here she thought Bloom was the one who had sacrificed herself for him and now she finds it was quite the opposite. But it didn't make any sense. If Bloom didn't erect the magical barrier, then who did?

"Helia?" Flora said aloud.

Bloom tried to get out of bed but her body was still weak. All she managed to do was bring her legs over the side of the bed and wait for the blood to return to those lowers extremities. "Is he…okay?"

"He's lying still in a capsule, Bloom." There was a harsh edge to Flora's voice that Bloom had never heard before. "He's not okay."

Bloom heard it and she cringed in her bed. "I'm so sorry, Flora."

Clenching her fists, Flora looked over her shoulder at Bloom. "Are you sure it wasn't you? That you didn't erect the barrier?"

"I know I didn't. I told you there wasn't,"

"Time." Flora finished. She then returned to Helia. Her love.

Bloom lowered her head. "I can't tell you how sorry I am. I'd give anything for him to be up right now instead of me. You know I…"

"Bloom?" said another voice in the room.

All the talking had awoken Musa from her sleep. Now the musical fairy was sitting up in her bed and when her eyes at last fell upon Bloom she brightened up immediately. "Bloom!" Jumping out of her bed, Musa rushed to her side to embrace her. "Bloom! You're awake!"

"But Helia isn't." Flora sighed.

"I'm so glad you're okay." Musa said hugging her. She pulled back long enough to realize that her friend wasn't jubilant. "What is it? Are you okay?"

"Helia almost died trying to save her." Flora announced. "And here we were giving credit to the wrong hero."

"Flora?" Musa looked between the two. Something was very wrong here. "What's going on?"

The doors swung open and three very scared girls rushed in. Tecna was in the lead and had been issuing orders to the other girls when the emergency signal came from sickbay. Layla and Stella had joined her in a mad dash to sickbay, expecting something very wrong to be with Bloom. What they found was a different picture.

"Bloom!" Tecna exclaimed. "You're awake!"

"That's my girl!" Stella rushed to her and embraced Bloom even more passionately than Musa. Despite her wounds still hurting, Bloom ignored the pain for it was another type of injury that hurt her the most. That of betraying her friend, Flora.

"Good to see you again, Bloom." Said Layla. Her mood brightened up tenfold when she spotted Musa sitting beside her. "And you look so much better, Musa. Guess that sleep really did wonders for you."

But Bloom did not hear it. She was just too bridled with guilt to be happy.

Stella looked at her quizidly and turned to Musa. "What's wrong?"

Musa in turn gazed at Flora. "Ask her."

"Flora?"

Flora did not look back. "Why don't you tell them, Bloom?" She did an about face and her sparkling green eyes burned with emerald fire. "Tell them how Helia almost died to protect you."

All girls gasped.

"I…is this true, Bloom?" Musa has to ask.

The Earth girl covered her face with her hands. "Yes. He almost died and it's all my fault."

"No." Stella comforted her as Bloom began to cry. "It's not your fault. I'm sure you did everything you possibly could to save him."

"But I didn't, Stella. Helia saved me. He saved me from the blast and when we were lying on the ground he erected some kind of barrier to protect us from the steam. If it weren't for him, I'd be dead right now."

"It's always about you isn't it?" Flora hissed.

To Tecna, everything Bloom said defied reasoning. "He erected a barrier? But, Bloom, Helia has no magic."

"None that we know of." Stella added.

"But who else could it have been? It was just Helia and me inside the corridor when it exploded. I couldn't erect a shield in time so it must have been Helia."

"But he's,"

"I know what I saw, Stella!" Bloom yelled and began to cry even more.

Musa stood up. "Don't blame yourself. It was all an accident. Nothing could be done. Right?" she asked the other girls and when no one answered she turned to the one fairy who could have alleviated Bloom's guilt. "Right, Flora?"

But Flora said nothing. Instead she turned and left the room without so much as looking back.

"This is unbelievable." Tecna whined. "Whenever we manage to get some harmony back into the group, another girl goes and turns tantrum on the rest. Are we falling apart?"

No one said anything. Deep down, they knew their friendship was in serious trouble but if there was a magic spell to fix such a thing they knew nothing about it.

---

"Shouldn't be that much further." Timmy said.

"You said that fifteen minutes ago." Riven spat.

Timmy was doing his best but Riven's constant retorts were getting on his nerves. "Look, this is a hastily drawn map given to us by your friend, Mister Icaran. If you have any gripes then you should take them up with him when we get back. In the meantime, follow my instructions."

"You tell him, Timmy." Brandon's voice echoed from down below.

Riven told Brandon to shut up and any comeback the brown-haired specialist had was drowned out by a shrill beeping. "Timmy, what is that?" Skye asked being closer to him than the others.

The pad Timmy used had a map displayed on the screen. The four specialists were depicted as four yellow dots venturing up a long, green shaft representing the passageway they were in. For the longest time, those four dots were the only living things inside the system of tunnels. Now, however, the laptop had picked up something else…something moving very fast in their direction. "Guys…we've got company."

From up above, Skye had just finished placing another hook when Timmy made his announcement. Standing precariously with each foot on a narrow ledge, the prince looked back down as if he didn't hear what Timmy just said. "Say again."

"Something's heading this way." Timmy became anxious and that was never a good sign. Timmy was usually the most level-headed member of their group, using plain old logic to solve any and all problems that presented themselves. The most frightening thing to Timmy was coming up against a problem he did not understand or couldn't figure out right away. By all previous scans, there was nothing living this deep within the tunnels and yet the screen showed him otherwise. What bothered him most was the speed in which the object approached. For something to be moving that vast in this twisted place, it would either have to have wings or crawling along the walls. Timmy saw nothing that suggested avian life inside the cave. In fact, any winged creature would have to be warm-blooded to survive in these cold temperatures which meant they would need to eat to keep their metabolism working and hence generate heat. In order to keep up their strength, the flying creatures would need a nearby food source to provide that energy.

What if it crawled? Any resident crawler of the cave would need powerful limbs to navigate the cave. Again that strength would require an easily accessible food source. So where did that food come from?

Timmy suddenly remembered there were four of them in the shaft.

Riven and Brandon were still arguing when Timmy called for their attention. "Guys!" They stopped. "Look alive. Something's heading our way."

"What kind of something?" Riven asked.

"Something that shouldn't be down here."

Timmy watched the readout as the something drew closer. "Here it comes. Less than sixty meters and closing."

"You think it's hostile?" He heard Brandon asked.

"Don't know. But you can bet anything approaching four lifeforms of our size at such a pace doesn't scare easy."

"Hostile." Riven said and removed his knife from the sheath.

"Take it easy, Riven. We don't know if,"

"Better safe than sorry." Riven cut him off.

"I'm with Riven." Brandon said.

Timmy looked back at the readout. "Forty-five meters."

"Which direction?" Skye asked but Timmy couldn't say.

"Which direction?" He asked again.

"Not sure."

"Guess." Riven prepared himself.

"Um…south, I think."

"Wonderful." Brandon was right at the bottom end of the line; so that was where he readied his defenses. Poised to strike with his knife, Brandon readied for the inevitable fight that would follow. "Got my back, Riven?"

"Don't you mean your top?"

"Oh…now he cracks jokes."

"Speaking of cracks, better watch yours."

Brandon could not believe this. Now of all times Riven decides to become his usual, jerk-off self, just when they were facing a possible life or death situation against an unknown enemy. Honestly, he just couldn't figure the guy out.

"Thirty-six meters." Timmy said. "Thirty-two. Man, this thing's fast."

"Shouldn't we keep going?" Riven asked Skye.

"I can't see the top. If this thing is moving as fast as Timmy says then there's no way we'll outclimb it."

"Twenty-four, twenty-one, eighteen, fourteen…" Timmy counted. Soon he noticed a pale blue dot appear on the screen. It covered the distance between it and them remarkably fast and was almost on top of the four yellow dots. "Nine, five, here it comes!"

"Dammit!" Riven cried.

"Get ready!" Skye ordered. "Timmy, put the computer away and take out your knife."

Timmy rushed to comply but no sooner did he reach for his weapon when the wall behind him burst open and something grabbed him from behind. The youth was pulled in with such force that it was as if his body was sucked in by a vacuum cleaner. Crying out, his friends tried to save him but it was too late. Whatever took him was long gone and all they heard was Timmy's cries.

"Timmy!" Skye screamed, making way for the hole.

"Oh shit!" Riven yelped as the laptop Timmy carried went crashing down and nearly broke his head. It banged him on the shoulder on the way down and fell past Brandon who was too worried about Timmy to even think of grabbing it. "Where is he?"

"Fuck if I know!" Riven said.

"No!" Skye reached the hole and peered inside. All he saw was darkness. "Timmy! Gods damn it! Timmy!"

---

Now I know some of you guys are thinking Alien, right. The whole trapped in a claustrophobic atmosphere with something very fast out to get you must be one of the scariest things imaginable. Being dragged through the dark by a thing that's likely to eat you has got to be just as bad. What does this mean for poor Timmy? Am I going to kill him off? Will a main character finally die? I'm not telling. You'll just have to wait.

And thanks to PhoebetheQueenofDragons, DayDreamer9, ThatFreakyVoiceInYourHead, SnowCharms and everyone else for sticking with me. Hope this chapter makes up for the previous stale one.