A/N: Oh my god I wrote something. I wrote a thing I WROTE A THING. I FINISHED THE THING. I FINISHED CHAPTER 52.

It's been a LOOOOONG time since I last updated (Tomorrow will mark 3 months), so if you completely forgot what happened in chapter 51, all they learned was that Victor knew about their secrets and Shadowland, and the chapter ended with Fabian saying they had to find a way into there, and that's where this chapter begins.

I haven't proofread this, so there might be some mistakes, but I'm sorry. This story is finally getting back on track after countless months on hiatus, and while I couldn't be happier, I couldn't force myself to read over this and look for mistakes. In any case, I do hope you enjoy the chapter in case there ARE mistakes.


"How is this going to work?"

"Shush!" I put my finger on my lips, to warn whoever had spoken to keep quiet. "I just need...to concentrate..."

Our group of nine teenagers was quiet for three more seconds, until Amber exclaimed, "But I just don't see how it's going to work!"

"And I won't figure it out, Amber," I sneered, turning away from the door in front of me and glaring at her, "if you don't keep quiet!"

"Sorry," Amber's voice was small when she apologized, staring at the floor morosely.

I felt bad about yelling at her, but now wasn't the time for guilt. I was in a warehouse, surrounded by eight other people, watching my every move. I was allowed to be a bit nervous, considering I was Fabian.

The eight other people were the residents of Anubis House, obviously, and we stood outside the door to Shadowland inside the warehouse where Patricia was held for a few days last year, when she was kidnapped by Rufus after the play. Before, Eddie had basically just confirmed for us that the locket was indeed the way into Shadowland, and now we were trying it out after days upon days of Nina telling us to do so.

I wasn't sure what I was supposed to be doing with it, so right now the chain was tangled around my fingers and I was inspecting the door, trying to find like an indent, or somewhere to put the locket in. I didn't know how it would work, considering Nina was the Chosen One and the locket only worked for her, but we'd figure it out in time.

"Eddie?" I called over to my roommate, gaining his attention. "Do you think you could...do you think you could help me out, here?"

"Oh!" Eddie exclaimed suddenly, pushing through the crowd to get to me. "Yeah. Sure. What do you need help with?"

"You've been getting in," I told him matter-of-factly. "You're the one that comes in every night. So how do you get in?"

'"It's always just unlocked," Eddie shrugged. "See?" To show me, he pushed on the door and unlike the day we were trapped in there, it didn't budge open. "It's not time for me to report to Paul yet. It's not unlocked, so I can't get in."

"So do we have to wait until nighttime?" I asked, my eyebrows arched.

"I don't think so," Eddie reasoned, turning his gaze back to the door. "I think he'd know if I brought a guest...I think he'd lock us all in again. I'm like 80% sure that the locket is the way to get in, though, so we should definitely try it."

"I just don't see how to get in!" I supported Amber from before, banging my palms on the door in front of us once. "How could the locked possibly work, if we're not the Chosen One, and the person that actually is the Chosen One is inside that door?"

Eddie sighed, shaking his head. "Dunno."

"Give it here," a different voice said suddenly. I turned my head to see Patricia, pushing her way through the crowd to get to me as well.

It took me a second, but then I realized that Patricia was trying to get me to give her the locket. By the time I realized that, however, Patricia's hands were already gripped around the locket. "No!" I protested.

"Why not?" She asked, but didn't loosen her grip on the object. "I might be able to figure it out."

"I just don't want you to have it!" It was a selfish reason, but Patricia hadn't gotten a dream. She didn't know what it felt like to be so close to Nina, but yet so far away, especially being me, her boyfriend last term. Patricia scoffed at my answer, pushed me aside and moved the locket towards the door, but I gripped it as soon as she pressed it onto the door with five fingers and the locket began to glow.

Glow. Like it did whenever it was about to open something last term, like the secret room in the attic secret passageway to the cellar or the Arabic dictionary that led us to "Under the eyes of Horus, a globe and hollow lie. Two left for eternity, but just one left to die". All of us, even the people that were simply watching us from the side, stopped what we were doing to watch the locket glow lightly.

"Why is it doing that?" A voice I indentified as Mara asked softly, the first thing any of us had said since the locket began to glow. "I thought it only glowed like that when it was about to—"

"Open something," Patricia and I said at the exact same time. As our gazes met, a jolt of realization coursed through me: this had happened before, but not in our hands. The locket was glowing, which meant it was opening something...and something was obviously the door."

"Amber," I called for her attention, which I gained immediately. "Come over here for a moment, please." Amber took in a deep breath, straightened her posture, and walked slowly over to us, since we were in the front of a crowd of seven other people. Her straight-as-a-pin blonde hair stayed perfectly still as she walked, until she reached us and arched her eyebrows like I had done before.

"Would you please place your hand on top of mine and Patricia's?" I asked her politely, my expression calm instead of panicked or begging. Neither of us were careful to disturb the silence of the warehouse, knowing Nina and Eddie's Worst and so much more was beyond this door, and we were close to opening it ourselves.

Without question, Amber inhaled another long breath of air before holding it in and placing her hand on top of mine, which was on top of Patricia's. As a result, the glow on the locket deepened, becoming a darker shade of purple than it was before. Something had changed in the atmosphere...I could feel it. Something was happening.

I smiled ridiculously and so did Amber, knowing that she had done her part. In response, the rest of the seven other Anubis residents rushed over to us, discussing within themselves about what had just happened, and what was about to happen.

Alfie placed his hand in next, following Amber so he could be on top of hers. Jerome followed Alfie, and Mara followed Jerome. There were six people holding the locket now, and the shade of purple radically changed from when it started. Eddie volunteered to place his hand in next, so of course Patricia had to follow. Patricia encouraged Joy to put hers in next, and of course since Mick was the last person, he had to be the last to place his hand in as well.

A loud cheer erupted from us, but it was soon silenced again by a click from the door in front of us. Nothing more, nothing less, just a click.

Silence was predominant between the nine of us, since none of us truly knew what to do next. I knew something had changed, and that 'click' had just proven that. The only thing that had stayed a mystery was what the click meant for us, and whether it was good or bad.

Eddie decided to play risktaker and remove his hand first, immediately dismissing all of the other hands on the locket, since he was in the middle. His big, thick hands slowly pushed the door open, not making a single sound as it exposed more space, unknowable space that was allowing us to unlock it secrets, to find a way into the place we had been dying to get into for almost two months now. It was open wide, even though we didn't know the answer to the curse yet.

Eddie turned around, exposing his ecstatic expression. I didn't know what he was so happy about; I, personally, was terrified. If Amber wasn't here and she didn't wrap her arm around mine, I might have ran away screaming. "Are we ready to see this puppy?" He asked all of us, his gaze traveling from face to face, waiting for confirmation for all of us.

In such a short second, we had access into Shadowland. The locket theory did work after all, as it had worked all of this time. With Amber's arm slung through mine, knowing she had to hang on to something concrete and secure, we were the last ones to step through the door and into the unknown.


/o~~~o/


"What the hell are you doing here?!"

She looked the same as I last remembered her, but maybe with a few differences. The black and white sweater she wore on the first day here was also what she was wearing now, along with a pair of jeans. A concerned expression crossed her face, but I couldn't detect even a hint of happiness.

None of us said anything, but instead remained silent. Nina stood in front of us with casual clothes on, her eyes wide and unhappy. "Leave!" She announced, pointing behind us with her arm outstretched. "Now! He's going to come back soon and I don't want you to get hurt! Now go! Please!"

"Hey hey hey hey hey," Eddie soothed, pushing through us rather uncouthly and running ahead to Nina. Her took her head in his hands and shushed her. I didn't think she was crying, but her body shook softly and Eddie whispered comforting words. "It's okay. He's not here right now and nothing is going to happen to us."

I would think she'd be happy to see us, but now it just proved that she was too scared. I'd love to see her, but if she was too scared about something happening to us, I'd better leave. "But what if something does happen to them?" She asked shakily, trying to break free of Eddie's grasp, but he was too strong for her weak frame.

"Nothing is going to happen to us," he promised her, enveloping her in a hug. I watched their embrace, sort of selfishly and stupidly wanting to be the one that was hugging her. It had been so long since I had actually touched her. "I swear."

I turned away from them, looking to Patricia to see if I had to calm her down or not. I figured she'd be angry with Nina for not sending her a dream, especially now that she could see her and all. However, she seemed calm, almost; like the sight of Nina and her new friend Eddie was soothing to her.

Eddie whispered something in Nina's ear, and the two released their embrace. Eddie kept a comforting arm around her shoulders, but Nina's eyes met mine, and I finally saw the sadness in them. Maybe I'd never, ever understand what she's been through during her time here, but I could tell all she really wanted was for us to go through the way we came and not to come back. She wanted us to be safe.

"Hi," Nina sniffled, rubbing her nose with her sleeve. Our gazes met, and neither of us turned away, like I expected them to. Instead, her saddened, red eyes held with mine, her shoulders sagging.

"Hey," I whispered, not truly knowing what to do. Here I was, finally in front of the girl who had given me a backbone and made me a better person, yet I couldn't even find the courage within myself to go up to her and give her a hug. She'd been suffering and crying throughout the nights, but she bounced on her heels and held on to Eddie's hand for dear life.

"So what's going to happen?" Amber spoke up, looking like she wanted to break the silence between the ten of us and go up and give Nina a hug as well, but she held herself back. "Like...what are we supposed to do? We know the locket works, obviously, but if we just came in here to test the locket out, what's the hurry to stay?"

I caught Eddie giving Amber the evil eye and chuckled, but Nina took in a deep breath before speaking again, addressing all of us around her. "I'm sorry for making all of you come in here, but if you don't mind, I have some things to discuss."

A quiet murmur drifted throughout Shadowland. As Nina and Eddie led the way inside the house, I couldn't help noticing the scenery: the plump, leafy trees that were losing its leaves as time marched on, the crunch sound as we killed them with our shoes, walking over them. It felt strange to be here, somehow, like I was in a forbidden area.

I had been in Shadowland before, obviously, but never like this, with nine other people. On normal nights, it was just me and Nina, listening to whatever information she had to give me. Now she stood in front with Eddie, leading the way into the house, holding her arms behind her back. I knew that "people didn't really change", but she seemed different, somehow. Like her time in Shadowland had permanently changed her for good.

"What do you want to discuss?" Joy wondered, plopping down on the floor near the couch. Eddie had sat down on the three-person couch along with Joy while Nina took to the floor, so of course Jerome had to jump in there and steal the last spot before anyone else could. Nina and Eddie were at opposite ends of the circle, able to stare at each other while they talked about whatever they were about to discuss.

"Well, I'm guessing you tried out the locket theory?" I didn't want to say a single word; just hearing her voice, so commanding and sure of what she was doing felt right. She was always the person who knew what to do and where to go, how to do this and the reason why we have to do that, and I always followed. I trusted her more than anyone. It felt nice to be able to have a person of that girl back, the girl I knew before she was kidnapped. Maybe I could get her bac one day.

"Well, obviously," Amber announced again, desperate to get Nina's attention. Maybe it was just sheer amazement that we were all in Shadowland with her, and not one person was acting like this was extraordinary, but Nina just didn't seem to want to give Amber the attention she wanted from her. "But we know some other stuff, too. We've been collecting it all, in a Dream Log. Lately, the dreams have been scattered and such...but I know we'll piece it together in time."

Nina nodded quickly, but in Amber's direction. "Alright," she shrugged, glancing over at Eddie on the couch. Every head in the house turned to him, but soon moved back to Nina when she said suddenly, "Lay it on me."

"We got the Cup and the elixir from the attic," Mara spoke for all of us, facing Nina with dignity. At least she wasn't scared to talk. "We stored them in your room."

In turn, Nina nodded, listening closely. "The locket is definitely the way in, as we know that since we tried it only a minute ago. We know the teachers are involved, but we don't know how, when, or why...Nina?" Mara turned to the American for assistance, who's eyes widened when she realized she'd have to speak.

But she sucked it up anyway. "Yeah," Nina whispered, the sadness in her eyes deepening. "They're involved. Eddie...Eddie's Worst, or Paul as you know him, was basically...in...Mr. Winkler. He piloted his every move, including coming back and kidnapping me. I don't why any of this happened, but Jason got Victor and Sweetie involved as well, resulting in..." She gestured to the area around her, the dreary common room with cobwebs and a termite-eaten coffee table in the far corner of the room.

"Anything else?" Alfie decided to ask after a nudge from Mara. "Are we missing any more vital information?"

Nina blinked, before looking at the ground and contemplating his question. I honestly missed her, and all those times she wouldn't think things through without going straight into it. Nina'd get us in trouble all the time, and unfortunately she couldn't lie to save a poor soul from eternal damnation.

"I don't think so," Nina said nonchalantly. "I think you've got it all. If you want, you can go back now—"

"No way!" Jerome, surprisingly, spoke up from his spot on the couch. "We still have so much to figure out. We're not leaving here until we have it all down to the last detail."

"You came in to find out if the locket works," Nina's eyebrows arched, her eyes narrowed. "Not to question me."

"Well, we're going to question you!" Amber yelled cheerily, like questioning was something to celebrate in a cheerleading routine. I had just had my butt grilled by Victor only about an hour or so ago; I didn't need Amber enforcing the idea that being questioned was good, especially if you didn't want to give away answers. "We just want to help you, Nina. Just know that."

"I know you do," Nina fixed Amber with a sympathetic and grateful look, admiration clear. "I'm sorry, Amber. I don't know anything to tell you...why would I keep you here, in a prison, when you could be happy and safe in Anubis House?"

"I'd rather be here with you," Amber admitted, sighing and staring down at the ground again. Alfie had thrown a comforting arm around her shoulders now, but no tears had come out; instead, the impact was an awkward silence, none of us knowing how to continue the conversation.

I desperately wanted to, though; I wanted to stay for hours upon hours, talking about our lives and the funny moments that had happened, or the stories that felt the need to be shared. I just wanted to talk with her, to touch her and be with her; I had gone much too long without Nina in my life, only appearing in dreams. Yet right now, I could physically touch her as she was sitting two meters in front of me, but I was too much of a chicken to do so.

I could say FUCK EVERYONE and just spend the rest of my day with her alone. As much as I'd love to do that, though, I knew there were restrictions. No play, no fun, just work. Alfie couldn't goof off with Jerome here no matter how much he might want to. Instead, all we're talking about is the search at hand and things about it.

We discussed that too often; maybe, if we wanted to excavate new information, we needed to talk about something else.

"So..." I finally found the courage within myself to speak up, and a total of nine shocked heads turned my way, one of them being Nina herself. She smiled in return, grinning at me like I wasn't looking straight at her and no one else. "Nina, what have you done lately?"

"What?" Nina's happy look was replaced for a confused one, as soon as she realized what I had asked. "'What have I done lately'?"

"Yeah," I shrugged, trying not to care what the others thought of the question. I wanted to know what she had done lately around here, like if she had played Spit with Eddie in her spare time or stole weirdly-shaped pebbles from the garden. "Like...what do you do to pass the time?"

"Fabian, we don't have time for this question," Eddie interrupted, moving his gaze back and forth from me to Nina, never settling in one place. "We need to figure out, together, how to get Nina out of this place. We don't have time for willy nilly—"

"No, it's okay," Nina weakly smiled across the circle, forgetting to address anyone else in the room but me. "Um...well, obviously, I talk with Eddie when he comes in. I just kind of wander about the forest aimlessly. I sit...I think...I think about you guys...I think about home. I can skip a rock across the lake. I sleep. I eat. And that's...really it."

"And..." Mick decided to speak up, slowly raising his hand so every head turned to him. "Does...do the teachers tell you who to send the dreams to?"

"They used to," Nina shrugged, seeming like the memories didn't haunt her whatsoever. "In the beginning, Paul would come in and tell me that 'I had to send a dream to Fabian tonight', or that 'Amber is the person who should get the dreams'. But then he stopped later in the month, and I just decided to do whatever I pleased. If I wanted to send a dream to Fabian, he'd get one. If I wanted to send a dream to you, Mick, you'd receive a dream."

"So he stopped telling you who to send the dreams to?" Alfie wondered, and in response, Nina nodded again. "Wow...why did Jason do that? I mean, considering Jason was Paul back in the day. Did he get the teachers involved with that aspect, too? What do the teachers have to do with this whole shebang?"

"They come in sometimes," Nina shrugged, playing with her fingers. She seemed lonely to me.

"Who?" Mara wondered.

"Um...Mr. Sweet. Some blonde woman...she told me her name once. I forget it though. Jason came in...you know, before he di— passed away." Nina immediately corrected herself, but I saw no reason to. It was inevitable: Jason had died on Halloween. It was tragic, yes, but we had to move past it. "Victor comes in sometimes too."

I blinked, trying to take all of this in. Just when I thought we were alone in this search, no one could understand or even fight us, the teachers had to come in again and ruin everything. "Was the blonde woman named Kathleen?" Asked Jerome, leaning forward in anticipation.

Suddenly, Nina snapped, even though I already knew it was Mrs. Fitzgerald. "Yeah! That's her name!" She exclaimed, a small smile creeping on her face. Through it all, she still had to remain happy. She knew she had to.

And that was the worst part of it: having to remain happy when all you wanted to do was break down and cry into someone's shoulder, to have someone hold you so you know you're not alone. But Nina was alone for most hours of the day unless she was sending someone a dream, so if she felt like crying, she had no one to cry into.

The small smile remained, but the sadness in her eyes was clear. She had no one.

We were all silent for the next few seconds, not really knowing what to say next. "...Nina, did she do anything to you?" Amber asked slowly, her eyes as fragile as the girl's in front of her. Amber hated feeling this way...I knew that, at least. She wanted her best friend back.

The silence returned, but for a shorter amount of time this time around. "...No," Nina spit out the word much too fast. "Why would you think she'd do anything to me?"

"Because basically, she was MIR when she locked us in Shadowland. Then the nights after that, you didn't send us a dream for eleven days." Jerome stated again, his butt on the side of the couch.

"Oh," Nina finally realized the flaw in which she was saying, which only made me more suspicious. All I was concerned about at this current moment was her well-being. "Well, no. She didn't do anything to me."

"Are you sure?" It was me who spoke this time; I couldn't take being silent any longer. I knew I had spoken to her before and all, but we needed to sort things out between us.

It was hard to read her expression, since it varied. At first, I caught shock and horror, like she couldn't imagine talking to me again in fear that I may do something to her.

Just that simple thought was enough to send my heart plummeting to the bottom of my chest. "Yes," she breathed, unable to look me in the eyes for more than five consecutive seconds at a time. "She didn't do anything. Neither did Paul, when he was back to his...normal self, being Eddie's Worst and all. Nothing happened."

"But then why did you—" I tried to interrupt, but I didn't get very far.

"I don't wanna talk about it, okay?" Nina's words were faster than I'd ever heard her speak, rushing the words out for reasons unknown. After I nodded in agreement that I wouldn't talk about it anymore, silence ensued between all of us, since no words were being asked to be spoken. What was there to say, after all? Nothing good could come out of what was to happen. Even the slightest possibility of getting her out of here had become tedious, annoying, and repetitive, dream after dream after dream.

"Let's get down to business," Jerome spoke again, his butt still on the edge of the ripped couch. "We have to get Nina and Eddie out of here before something happens to them, because if we don't move fast enough, they could die."

None of us seemed shocked to hear that sentence, and that was just another thing to add to the list of things to be sad about. "We won't let that happen," Alfie continued, his expression confident and serious, but his eyes, just like Nina's, gave it all away. He was scared shitless. "Somehow, we're going to get both Nina and Eddie out of here alive. One way or another, we will achieve this."

"What if it's inevitable?" Joy wondered innocently, the first time she had spoken since coming in here. "What if there's no other choice for them to die? Everybody...everybody starts to die from the second they're born. What if fate is real and has everyone's end planned out for them? What if fate chose this way for both Nina and Eddie to die?"

"We won't let that happen!" Amber snapped, speaking in the place of Alfie. He seemed grateful that he didn't have to speak anyway, meanwhile Amber wore a look of complete and utter hatred. "Okay? No one is going to die. I refuse to let that happen."

"Yeah, but—"

"But nothing!" Amber's voice was rushed, just like Nina's. I didn't know why she was so determined to get her words out so quickly. "We'll do it somehow. I won't leave Shadowland without knowing how to get her out alive, so Nina, do you know how to get out of here alive?" The blonde turned to face her brunette best friend, who seemed emotionless from where I was standing.

"Sort of," was Nina's immediate response, after swallowing saliva and trying to think of a good answer.

"What do you mean 'sort of'?" Jerome snapped.

"I mean...I have a vague idea," she mumbled, ignoring the rest of the group's expectant gazes pointed towards her. I couldn't imagine all the pressure they were putting on her.

"What's the idea?!" Patricia snapped, but Eddie sent her a glare stronger than metal, and she immediately shut her mouth.

"I don't know if it's gonna work—"

"Tell us anyway!" The group imploded, me and Patricia excluded. I didn't want to make her nervous, though with seven other teenagers yelling at her, I don't think it helped in the slightest.

"It might bring serious consequences—"

"Tell. Us. Anyway," Jerome said, his eyes fierce and unwavering. I supposed all he wanted was for us to finish this.

"Fine then," Nina's voice was harsh, like the screaming only made her angry. "I need you to go home and collect the elixir and the Cup."

"But we just hid them—" Jerome began again, but Nina held out a hand to stop him mid-sentence.

"I don't care. You told me to tell you, so I'm telling you." She snapped, her eyes just as fierce as Jerome's had been. Compared to the scared girl I'd seen in the past few dreams, she was much stronger, much more wise. It made me wonder what happened to her during the hours of day we didn't see her. "Just get them and hold on to the until I call you all back here."

"You mean like...coming back to Shadowland in the day like this?" Mara wondered thoughtfully, her tone much softer than any of the others.

"Not exactly," Nina shook her head, gazed down again, then refused to answer anything else.

"But then what—"

"Just listen right now, okay?" The anger faded from her eyes. "I might not send any of you a dream for a while. Just know that if anything is wrong, I'd send someone a dream, alright?"

I thought about that for a moment, that she might not send us any dreams for a long time. How much longer would it be before we truly knew how to finish this all? Days? Weeks? Months? It could be March before she sent any of us a dream again. She could die before she sent any of us a dream again, and we'd all be waiting aimlessly for something that could never happen.

"But what if something was wrong and you couldn't send us—" Alfie began, in his spot next to Mara, his fellow Seeker.

"If anything is wrong, I will send you a dream, okay?"

"Okay..." He mumbled, sadness creeping into his eyes. I'd never seen Alfie upset; scared, yes, but not upset. He was always ecstatic and cheerful, never letting the day drag him down. Now, he seemed as upset as Amber was before.

"Now go," Nina suddenly told us, "if you stay here too long something may happen."

Without a question, we all dispersed, heading back to the door ahead of us, which would lead to the door to the warehouse. Even Patricia moved and left, Joy helping her walk and talk. Alfie and Amber held hands as they left, Alfie with his arm around her, whispering comforting words in her ear. I could only wonder what was going on in her head.

However, I stayed behind. I had unfinished business to sort through with Nina.

"Hey, Nina?" My voice was soft as I called her name, so as to make her know I wasn't angry and I wasn't going to hurt her.

Her back was facing me. When she turned, I saw her features: the lines under her eyes, her drooped shoulders, her bruised shins. It made me want to kick a wall to know how damaged she was, but whatever was damaged could also be fixed. We were the only people left in the room. "...Yeah?"

"Could I...stay and talk with you? Just for a little bit?" I asked her, biting down on my tongue.

I didn't want to scare her, but I definitely wanted to settle things between us...and maybe make-up after all our time apart.

"Yeah, sure." Nina smiled weakly, but I could tell she was trying to make an effort. I followed her into the other room.


/o~~~o/


Long story short, Nina and I made up. She explained that she only broke up with me because she was afraid something might happen because of our relationship status. I told her that I missed her more than anything, which she agreed to; after she hugged me, she gave me a soft peck on the lips, before exhaling and walking away.

I didn't know if that meant we were in a relationship again or not, but neither of us were holding a grudge anymore, so that had to count for one thing.

I could only remember two of the things from our conversation in Shadowland clearly: that Nina wanted us to hold on to the elixir and the Cup for unknown reasons, and that if anything was wrong, she'd send us a dream. My suspicions were confirmed about her statement when I didn't receive a dream that night, or the night after that.

Winter Break was slowly approaching, and we didn't have much time left. If we stalled any longer, Nina and Eddie might die or get their memories erased. We only had a limited amount of time left in the hourglass.

As the days dragged on, time seemed to move faster, somehow. Sibuna held meetings every single day, about whether or not any of us received dreams, and we tried to piece together the clues. We tried to find a way to remove the curse and get her out, finishing this once and for all. We'd all had enough of the sleepless nights to last us a lifetime. School limited our time and Eddie and Patricia proved to be annoying together, but eventually he started helping us instead of opposing us.

Then the 23rd came around.

Or, should a say, never came around. Because on the night of the 22nd, all Mick talked about was how he was going to spend his Winter Break, since the break officially began on the 24th. None of us had received a dream or talked to Nina since the 13th.

But on the morning of the 23rd, none of us woke up.

I found myself in Shadowland, a place I had visualized countless times within the past week and a half. The only reason I knew this was a dream was because of the way I landed on my feet: unsteadily, but I knew enough about the dreams to know how to land properly.

Then I realized I wasn't alone.

Everyone else in the House, including Patricia, was here with me. They all glanced around with confused gazes, realizing that we all, in fact, were here together, trying to piece that information into an understandable statement.

"This is it," I was the first to speak up, gaining their attention. "This is the final dream."


A/N: OKAY SO THAT ENDING WAS HORRIBLE because I rushed it in about 10 minutes, but now the chapter is finished. Finally. It only took me 3 months.

The next chapter, 53, I can honestly say WILL BE UP BY NEXT WEEK. I swear on Rose Dawson that chapter 53 will be up by June 15th. I'm currently in the middle of writing chapter 54 but I'm hoping I can finish it by Friday. In any case, chapter 53 is finished and will be up, that I swear to you.

Also, concerning my writing: I'm currently writing two Anubis fics: one is an angsty Fabina one-shot, and another is a multichapter with Peddie and Fabina that should be up next weekend. The multichapter is the one most people voted for on my "Help Needed" thing I posted a week ago, so I hope some people are looking forward to that!

I'm so so so sorry that I took so long, but as explained before, I was having a lot of problems and it took me 3 months to finally sort through them. I'm grateful to anyone who stuck around, though, and maybe you can review as a welcome back present? ;)