A/N: Yes I missed a week oops but I'm lazy and here we are now so! This is the main climax and basically the last chapter (we have 7 chapters after this but it's basically all an epilogue).

Also don't trust a word I wrote in this chapter. Don't trust it. One single word. I do hope you enjoy it, in any case. Just don't trust a single word I said. Not one. I warned you.


/o~~~o/


"A dream?" Mara asked, abandoning Jerome's arm to come look at me with confusion. "What do you mean? We're all here. We get the dreams separately. This can't be a dream."

"Nina said that if anything was wrong, she'd send us a dream, remember?" I thought back to the 13th, when Eddie took us all into Shadowland to discuss our plan of action. Nina didn't tell us much, only that we should collect the Cup and elixir, which was in my bag.

"Yeah, she said one of us," Alfie questioned, having learned from Mara. "She'd tell us if anything was wrong and any new information we needed to know. Maybe we just fell asleep and forgot we came in here? Is it even possible to send all of us a dream at the same time?"

"I don't know," I shrugged, my breathing rate speeding up by the second. I began to feel my heart beat pounding in my chest, as I overlooked the familiar setting of Shadowland: the house to the north, the forest to the east, and the staircase behind us that led to the portal inside the warehouse. That was the only way in here, unless one of us received a dream. The 13th was only time ever that all of us had been inside.

Now, it was the day before Winter Break, the 23rd. It had been over two months since Nina was originally taken off the side of the road by Mr. Winkler, over two months since I received my first dream after finding Nina's locket on the forest floor.

I tried to put all the pieces together. On the 13th, during our chat in Shadowland, Nina told us she'd send one of us a dream if something was wrong. This dream, the one we were all in now, was the first one any of us had gotten since then, but instead of one person getting it, all of us did, and Nina was nowhere to be found. Was something wrong and she wanted us to know? Did we have to find her? I still had the Cup and elixir in my bag, just like Nina told me to do.

The first dream since the 13th and all of us were here. Cup and elixir in my bag. Nina nowhere to be found, as well as Paul, since he was scheduled to be in here at this time of day. Eddie was here with us, but he seemed just as confused as the rest of us, probably having no clue about what the hell was going on.

I went through the Dream Log entries in my mind, since I didn't have it with me. We learned that we should have figured out the answer to the curse before trying out the locket theory, which we...almost did. The locket theory proved true, but I still wasn't positive as to the answer to the curse, which would ultimately allow Nina to leave without severe consequences to either her or us.

Obviously, we were all in one big dream. I had the Cup and elixir, but what was I supposed to do with it?

It was just then that a piercing scream echoed through throughout the dimension.

Silence fell upon all of us on the concrete. "What was that?" Amber asked, a slight tremble in her voice. I was just as afraid as she was over the possibility of that scream uttering from the mouth of the person we were aiming to find.

Nina could be in great danger now, and we might be too late. I knew we were running out of time; the dream I had a few days ago proved that, when Eddie told me that Sibuna didn't work faster, both his and Nina's memories would be erased, and/or they'd both be killed. I couldn't allow either of those things to happen.

We were so close; Nina was so close to us. The Cup and elixir were tied to the answer to the curse somehow, I knew that much. I had no time to lose. I could get her back.

I could get her back. I could end this. I could get her back.

"It's okay," I assured Amber, trying to calm the shake in my legs, but they were shaking so violently it felt like I was standing in the middle of a snowstorm with jeans on. "We'll...we'll get to her in time. I swear we will. Mara, Alfie, what do you suggest we do?" I addressed the two Seekers, because they were supposed to have the answer to everything.

Mara was just about to open her mouth and speak, but closed it only one moment after. "I don't know," she admitted, rubbing the back of her neck in embarrassment. "I'm sorry. I have no idea. I wish that I could know, but...I don't."

"How do we know that the scream we just heard didn't belong to her, then?" I asked, my tone unchanged. It still shook with my legs. "How do we know that Paul isn't torturing her as we speak? How do you not know? If you don't know, then we have no clue about what to do next and I — oh — what do we do?!"

By now, Amber was cowering in Alfie's shirt, but Alfie looked just as distressed as his girlfriend. "I'm sorry, Fabian," Alfie apologized quickly, but his voice shook with every word. "I...I have no idea where Nina could be. She...she has to be here, though! She can't have gone far! If we just split up, we—"

One moment after, the world around me went black. I heard another scream, but this one was close and familiar: Amber, shrieking in fear, as the lights around us finally blew out. It was the middle of the night with all of us in a dream, the lights were out, neither Mara nor Alfie knew what to do, and the other people around me were just as terrified as I felt.

"RELAX!" I heard another voice — Jerome's — shout over the madness. It even calmed me down a bit, even though I couldn't physically see his face because of the blackout. "We are going to be fine. If we walk slowly, we're bound to find the house. If we find the house, then we find Nina, and we can end this—"

Another scream ripped through the air. It was much different than Amber's shriek, or Mara's cry, or even Patricia's yelp. It was a different type of scream...a tortured scream...a scream that was new, one that I hadn't heard before...

"STOP IT!" The voice screamed again, making me freeze on the spot. I knew it was Nina from the second the scream was uttered; it was coming from the house after all. The forest to the right and the staircase behind us, all of which none of us could see, were empty. Nina was in the house and she was in trouble. "JUST STOP!"

As all of us were silent, we could hear the other voice perfectly. It wasn't screaming like Nina was, but it was so cold, so empty and cruel that it made my skin tingle. Paul. "Do you know what you did?!"

"NO!" Nina screamed again, and even in my frozen state, I rooted her on in my mind. She was fighting back, after all this time. If I could only see the other's faces, I would know how they felt as well, but it was too dark for me to see anything else. There were no lights from the house in front of us, either. It was completely dark; how on earth were we going to find Nina?

I heard silent, quiet, but panicked breathing coming from beside me. I immediately marked that person as Amber, and if Amber was next to me, so was Alfie and Mara. Jerome was to my left, while Mick was most likely cowering next to Mara, and who knows where Patricia was. Amber was panting; it was quiet at first, but as time wore on, the panicked breathing escalated into what could almost be hyperventilating.

"They're here, you scum," Paul spoke again, almost silent, but loud enough that we could hear him from outside. "Your friends are here. I saw them. Did you send a dream?!"

"YES!" Nina yelled once more, but right after, I heard a pained yelp come from in front of us. I could only imagine that maybe Paul slapped or kicked her, and while I cringed at the thought, I knew he could do worse to her. He wasn't torturing her now. "Yes, they're here," Nina spoke again, and I could almost hear the smile in her voice. "I called them all here."

"But you know what's going to happen to you," Paul spoke. It was a statement and a question at the same time.

"Yes, I know what's going to happen to me. But they all need to be here for them to end this."

"Very well. I hope you enjoyed your time here, Chosen One, because it's about to be over. Your suffering can finally end, and I will be...over as well. So I hope you're happy."

"Oh, I'm beyond happy," Nina said, but I could hear the sadness leaking through. "It's been much too long. It's time to end this."

The two were silent, as well as everyone else out front. It was then that the lights came back on. As soon as they did, I did a face count: everyone was here. Amber was holding on to Alfie as if he was a lifeline, Mick was cowering behind Mara, Patricia's eyes were wide as she stood behind me with Joy holding her hand; Jerome's expression was blank to my left; Eddie, all alone, his eyes empty, was standing much behind me; and I was shaking like a leaf in a tornado.

It's time to end this.

Nina was in the house. We were all in the last dream. This wasn't like last year, when we were all excited about finally arriving at the last clue; no, this was much more dangerous. Deaths were possible. Excruciating pain was to follow. It's time to end this.

"Let's...let's split up," Mara's voice, extremely small, spoke up. Alfie, the other Seeker, stood beside her. "It...it will be easier to find her if we split up."

"I'm not going alone!" Amber exclaimed, probably much too loud. "I REFUSE to go alone. I can't. I'm too scared."

I was scared too. I wanted to tell her that, but I was half sure I made it obvious from the shaking of my legs. "We won't go alone," Mara promised blankly, "I swear. We'll...we'll split up in two. I'll go with Alfie, obviously—"

Alfie told Mara that wasn't a good idea, that the two Seekers shouldn't go together. So we made the pairs:

Mara would go with Mick, because she would have a vague idea of where to go, and Mick had none.

Amber would go with Patricia and Joy, since they had been a team from the start. Hopefully, I only prayed, they wouldn't lose their senses. If Amber was deaf and Patricia was blind, that would only cause more problems. Joy was only tagging along.

Jerome would go with Alfie, as Alfie was a Seeker, and they'd probably have a vague idea of where to go as well. Jerome was the Healer; if someone was hurt, he could help them.

Eddie would go alone. He was the Osirian, the Chosen One's born protector. Plus, Paul was his Worst, so if they came face to face, I knew they had to be alone. It'd be okay, I figured; Eddie was a tough cookie. He could handle himself. And if found Nina first...well, that would be better.

I would go alone as well.

I was okay with that. I had been alone my entire life before Nina came along, and plus, I didn't want anyone to see my panicking. I needed time to sort through everything, to think about where Nina may be in that house myself. I would be fine, Eddie would be fine, and all the other groups would be too.

This was it.

This was the ending.

After all this time, after all those sleepless nights and Sibuna meetings and Dream Log entries and the fear of going to sleep, we were finally ending this. We were splitting up to search for Nina, to lift the curse, to get her out of here and return to normal life.

No mysteries.

No dreams.

We could get her back. We could end this. We could get her back.

This was it.

This was the ending.

And I couldn't be more afraid.



Eddie Miller stood outside the house in front of him, fog clouding his vision. He stood with his fists clenched at his sides, and his lips pursed. He had tricked the others by saying he'd be searching for Nina, while in reality he'd be doing something completely different.

"Edison. How nice to see you again."

Eddie turned around, only to see a face he'd grown familiar with in the past month: Paul. Of course, it wasn't necessarily Paul; inside of him, commanding Paul to do whatever he said, was Eddie's Worst: the worst part of himself had escaped when he'd committed a crime back in America, then inhabited Jason and kidnapped Nina. Paul had only been the next victim.

"You're me," Eddie spat angrily, trying to calm the shake in his hands. He couldn't stand the face in front of him, because he'd caused both Nina and himself so much pain and grief. He wanted to see him gone. He wanted to see his dead body. "You see me all the time, since you are me."

"I'm not in the mood for sarcasm, boy," Paul retorted quickly, staying put instead of getting in Eddie's face. "I'm curious to know exactly why you are here."

"To bring an end to you," Eddie said simply, telling himself to stop shaking, you're only talking to yourself, he can't hurt you. However, it didn't necessarily help. He was shaking with fear just as hard as Fabian had been before.

"Bring an end to me?" Paul asked, with mock shock. He had put his hand on his chest, as if he thought Eddie was the cutest little thing. "Boy, if you bring an end to me, you kill yourself as well."

"I know," Eddie shrugged, taking a deep breath. He knew he had to stay strong. "I also know Nina's gonna die today. I'll die later."

"And you're okay with dying? What about your family? Your friends?" Paul asked, almost genuinely. Eddie almost wanted to answer and say that he wasn't okay with dying; he still had his whole life to live. He wanted to go to California and see the Golden Gate Bridge. He wanted to go to London and ride around on one of those big red buses because his father had told them they would when he was younger.

"My friends don't care about me," Eddie answered, honestly, his eyes on the ground. "They only talk to me because I'm the gateway to getting Nina back. My mom hates me and my dad barely knows me, so why would anyone care about my death?"

Again, Paul put his hand to his chest. Eddie wanted to stab a knife through it. "Aww, poor Miller. He has no one who cares about him, so he's going to die later in the year so the others won't have to suffer. You're a true hero, boy. You'd go to Elysium if that stuff was actually real."

"Nah. I'm going to hell," Eddie admitted, smirking. "But Nina's not. She was actually good and she doesn't deserve to die because you need to fulfill your 'mission'." He said, making air quotes around the last word. He knew he was going to hell after all the horrible things he'd done, but Nina was a good person. She'd go to 'Elysuim', or Heaven, or wherever the good people went when they died.

She'd be reunited with her friends in death. It would take a while, he knew, but at least the long, long years of waiting would pay off and she'd be reunited with them in death.

"Maybe she doesn't deserve to die, but I'll be granted eternal happiness and bliss, and the others will suffer as well. Everything will work out in my favor." Paul grinned evilly, finally walking and sticking his head in Eddie's face.

"What do you mean?" Eddie asked, thinking about what Paul had said only moments before. A confused expression crossed his face, before he stepped out of Paul's range. "The ones at Anubis House won't suffer. They won't have dreams anymore. They'll be happy, and...I'm sure that's what Nina wants. She wouldn't be dying today if it didn't mean they wouldn't get to be happy."

"You really think they'll be happy?" Paul's grin was as evil as ever, but his voice had a hint of happiness in it. "Nina is going to die today. You think they'll be fine with that? You don't think that Fabian, who has been in on this search for longer than anyone else, would be happy with his precious little 'girlfriend' kicking the can after all they've been through?"

Eddie swallowed some saliva down his throat, staring at Paul. This was the man who had handcuffed Nina to the bed, forbidding her from sending dreams, because Paul himself was too lazy to lock the door to Shadowland, allowing the ones at Anubis House to walk in. He had done some horrid, unforgivable things to both her and Eddie.

He hated him. And if Paul was honestly himself, he hated himself, then. Eddie had always hated himself.

"You think that they won't blame you?" Paul purred, smirking as he circled him in the fog, in front of the house. His footsteps echoed as he stepped on the stone floor. "I know they will. They'll never talk to you again, because after all, you're Nina's protector."

"I'm protecting her by letting her die," Eddie growled. "That's something you'd never understand."

Paul shrugged. "Fabian wouldn't understand either. He loved her...even I could see that. So if you think for one minute that Fabian won't hold a grudge against you for the rest of his life because you let his first love die, think again. He'll never forgive you. Amber Millington will burst into tears anytime you come into the room. She'll shove you and call you names because you let her best friend die. You're sitting in the seat where she should be sitting. They'll never accept you again."

He thought about that for a long, long time.

He could imagine Amber screaming at him, just like Paul had described. He'd sit down in the chair where Nina once sat, and suddenly Amber would start screaming.

"GET OUT!" He could imagine her saying. "YOU KILLED MY BEST FRIEND! SHE'S NOT COMING BACK, AND YOU'RE THE REASON WHY! HOW DARE YOU? GET OUT!"

He felt his chest drop six stories just by thinking about it. Amber and Nina were as close as Patricia and Joy were, if not closer. If Amber knew Nina was actually dead, and she couldn't come back, how would she react? Would she shove Eddie out of Nina's chair and hit him across the face? Would she run up to her room crying and lock herself in there for hours?

Then, Eddie could imagine Fabian staring at him with a look of scorn. He wasn't saying anything, but the emotions on his face were enough to send Eddie into a guilt trip. There was hope there on his face, but also a hollow feeling, as if Fabian would never recover from the loss of his best friend and his first love.

Patricia would shake her head at him any time he came in the room; Alfie and Jerome would call him unrepeatable names because of what he had to do; Mara would walk away slowly, as if Eddie was to be feared; Mick would simply ignore him; Joy would follow Patricia but know it was all Eddie's fault; Amber would yell and scream at him, and blame him for anything that could ever have to do with Nina's death; and Fabian would torture Eddie slowly just by looking at him.

Nina was going to die, and Eddie had to be the reason for her death.

It was the only way out of here.

Nina would die today, the 24th of December, 2011. All that time spent locked away in Shadowland and she wouldn't even get to experience Christmas or see the first sunrise of 2012.

Eddie would die later on, of course. As the Osirian, his fate was already laid out for him. He'd be grateful to die, though; all of Anubis House would despise him and his family hated him and since Nina would be dead, there'd be no real reason for him to exist anymore.

They'd both be dead by the end of the school year. He could feel himself growing closer to Patricia...there was a spark buried deep underneath there, he could feel it. But with what he was about to do today, and with his death in a few months, nothing could ever come of them.

This was the end. Nina was going to die, and Eddie had to be the reason for her death. This was the end.

He heard a cry of help come from somewhere deep inside the house in front of him, and he knew that the final chapter had begun.



The first thing heard between the three of them was a small whimper, and both Jerome and Alfie knew it wasn't from the other. Nina Martin, the person Anubis House had been searching for for over two months, was standing in front of them.

Her posture wasn't straight and the confidence she was known for had dissipated over the 68 days that she had been locked in here. Jerome and Alfie, both glued to the spot in shock, watched as Nina sucked in a shaky breath and muttered, "Please go away."

They couldn't see her correctly in the dim light of the room surrounding them. When Alfie and Mara had staked out the warehouse over a month ago, Mara had given Nina a black and white striped sweater and jeans, the same clothes she had arrived at Anubis House in, and they were the clothes she was wearing now. Her skin seemed fine to the naked eye, but Alfie knew too much; he knew what lay underneath the sleeves of her sweater.

What were they do? Neither of them anticipated having to be the ones to find her. They both believed, by either sheer dumb luck or fate, that Fabian would be the one to find Nina. They'd reunite, he'd break the curse, MIR would disappear, and it would all go back to normal.

Now, Jerome and Alfie stood in front of her, her legs shaking in fear. She was afraid of them.

"Nina," Jerome said softly, being the first to move forward. "Nina, don't be afraid. We're not here to hurt you."

"Just please go away," Nina muttered under her breath, staring at the floor beneath her. "You can't be here. Please leave."

Jerome, in turn, decided to take bigger strides to approach her. She stood while holding her arms behind her back, but the moment Jerome stood within five feet of her, her hands came from nowhere and pushed him away, telling, "GET AWAY!" and Jerome could do nothing but let himself be pushed, strands of dirty blond hair falling in front of his eyes.

She had pushed him away. He was the Healer, the one who could mend any break or cut, and she had pushed him away.

Alfie approached Jerome and put a supporting arm around his friend a moment after, but Jerome could only stare at Nina. She had taken a few strides backwards, her arms crossed across her stomach, her chest moving up and down with her long breaths. Her breaths trembled with her legs.

That was the moment Jerome knew it wasn't a joke; Nina was honestly terrified of them, but neither Jerome or Alfie had done anything to hurt her. Here they stood with full intentions of helping her but all she had done was — literally — push him away.

Jerome and Alfie shared a long gaze. They exchanged thoughts and ideas within the minuscule seconds they looked at each other. There were so many options to pick from, but if they happened to choose the wrong option, everything would come crumbling down on them. Nina was already terrified of them; neither wanted to make it worse than it already was.

While Nina stood, alone, Alfie sucked in a breath and took one step towards her. Nina immediately looked up and met his eyes, which were practically screaming at him to back away and leave her alone.

Alfie had learned many things from Sibuna, and one of them Nina had taught him herself: be the bravest you could be.

Nina was begging him to go away, all with facial expression, but he couldn't just yet. He dare not intrude on dangerous territory, so he held his hands up in the air so she knew he wasn't a predator.

"I'm not going to harm you," he promised, his words coming out slowly, but it was as if his sentences were going through one of her ears and out the other. "I swear. We're going to help you, Nina. We're going to get you out of here. Today will be your last day of hell, I promise, if you'd just help—"

"You can't get me out of here," Her voice was small; so quiet that Alfie had to focus on it exclusively to hear it.

"Well, we're going to," His voice was firm and strong, like the walls that surrounded them. While her eyes faced the ground, Alfie took a chance and advanced on her; taking baby steps, of course, but his hands were outstretched, all so she knew that no one was going to leave a mark on her body. Not today. "I don't care what you say. We're finishing this, here, now, once and for all."

"Yeah," Jerome agreed, catching up with Alfie from behind. "We're finishing his today, Nina, whether you like it or not."

"Just go away," Nina cried softly, her hands balling into fists to stop them from shaking.

"We're not going to go away!" Jerome exploded, but as soon as Nina whimpered and stepped back in fear, he immediately knew it was a bad idea. Here was a girl who had been exposed to physical and mental abuse for the past two and a half months, someone who had probably been yelled at thousands upon thousands of times.

Jerome yelling at her probably wouldn't help the cause, but he needed to get his point across. "We're trying to help you! God damnit, Nina, we're not going to hurt you!"

Suddenly, she lifted her head from the ground and caught their eyes. Jerome was shocked to find that they were no longer filled with fear and dread, but instead replaced with knowledge and courage. "If you want to help," Nina said, her breaths quick and short, "then give me the elixir."

"We don't have the elixir," Alfie said suddenly, trying to think of two things at once. At first, the world seemed to slow down once she had screamed and shoved Jerome away, but now everything was moving in fast-forward. "Fabian does."

"Oh," she sniveled, clutching her sweater for support, looking like she was about to collapse.

"I can call him!" Alfie yelled suddenly, almost hitting himself in shame. How come he hadn't thought of this before? "FABIAN! COME QUICK! WE NEED THE ELIXIR! NINA'S HERE AND—"

"No!" She exclaimed, her eyes widened with fear. "No, stop! Please! You can't call him!"

"Why can't I call him?!" Jerome boomed, only scaring Nina further. "They're probably already on his way! Work with us here, Nina! You're safe! We've got you." He grabbed her arm in reassurance, but she only cringed instead of pushing him away. "We've got you," he promised again, "we won't let go. All you have to do is pull yourself up."

"I need the elixir," she repeated, almost silently, and while Alfie nodded beside him, Jerome stared at the ceiling above him as he pieced he puzzle together. He didn't know what the two of them were speaking about, but Jerome took two and two and finally came out with four after weeks of coming out with five.

It made perfect sense: Victor creeping off to the cellar in the middle of the night, secret chats with Eddie and Mr. Sweet after school, talking about the Cup of Ankh even though they all thought it was destroyed...it all came together perfectly. Nina, however, was asking for the elixir to finish the search; but by finishing the search, she would be killing herself. Nina was asking for the elixir in a suicide mission.

"We're not going to let you die!" Jerome's sudden outbreak shocked Nina, to say the least. "How dare you think we'd just let you go like this! This is our final dream, and we're not leaving without you!"

He glanced to Alfie, who seemed scared but confident enough to agree with him. Alfie was a Seeker; he was supposed to know the answer to every question, the solution to every problem, but he stared at Nina with an amount of sympathy he hadn't shown for anyone besides Patricia.

And just like that, Nina took the first step away, towards the back of the room.

"What are you doing?" Alfie asked softly, any anger that had resided in his expression had now faded. "Where are you going?"

She continued to walk backwards, her eyes expressing fear and none other than. "No," she whispered, her chest moving up and down rapidly. "No. Get away."

The words, spoken by Nina, were soft as Alfie's had been but they echoed in Jerome and Alfie's heads, bouncing against their brains and pounding in their eardrums. 'Get away', she had said...as in, she wanted them to leave her alone on her deathbed and let her die in peace, not even bothering to try and let Jerome and Alfie figure out a solution. Jerome was the Healer and Alfie a Seeker...somehow, someway, they had to figure out a solution somehow.

Death was not the answer. But to Nina, it obviously was, and now it was their duty to make sure it wasn't. Jerome held his hands up, in the air where Nina could clearly see them, but not approaching her in any way. She was headed toward the back wall, near the door. He tried to say, "It's okay—"

"GO AWAY!" She screamed, louder than any one of them combined. The tears started coming right after, and Nina didn't even try to stop them. "LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"Nina—"

"PLEASE!" She screamed desperately, tearing Alfie's heart in two. Here was Nina, the leader of Sibuna, helpless and defenseless to a pair of useless, goofball teenage boys. She was scared of two harmless pranking boys, of whom she had lived with for over a year in the past. She knew of these boys, but yet she was terrified of them, as if the past few minutes hadn't happened. "JUST GO AWAY!"

"Listen to me," Jerome's voice was firm and unwavering, as it had to be in this moment. He was sure that Alfie was just as miserable about the current situation as he was, but they had priorities.

Neither could lie and say they didn't see the utter fear in Nina's gaze, but she stopped moving backwards once she hit the wall behind her. Even with Jerome and Alfie's hands in the air, she shook her head slowly. "No," she murmured under her breath, cowering into her hands to shield herself from them. "No, no, no. No. Please don't come any closer. Please just go away."

She slid down the wall, her hand over her mouth in an attempt to condense her sobs. Jerome stared, wanting to help but not knowing how; he was the Healer. He should know how to help her, or at least calm her down. She shouldn't be cowering from them like this, afraid that they'd hurt her or kill her or god knows what else.

But just when Jerome leaned down, with his hand out in a comforting gesture, Nina yelped, but Jerome hadn't even touched her yet. Nina started to breathe quickly and heavily, and a quick glance upwards revealed everything Jerome had feared...everything that had opposed them for the last two months, was right in front of them.

"Miss me, eh?" Paul winked, tightening his grip on Nina's arm, making her wince. "Well, you won't miss me for much longer. This will finally end. Call all your friends, and tell them to meet me outside this house, right now, or the girl will suffer."

And then he was gone.



[Back to Fabian's POV]

"It's us, Nina. Don't be afraid."

But I could tell she was very, very afraid.

"I need the elixir," she breathed out, panting slightly. I watched her face: her eyes darted around to everyone in the area, never settling on one of us.

I wanted her to look at me. I wanted her to settle on my face, let her soak in my features. I wanted her to be comfortable with me and feel assured by my presence like she did last year.

"Fabian," I heard a voice — Joy's — say quietly. She was shaking my shoulder lightly. "You have the elixir. Give it to her."

"No!" I protested, spinning around to face her, shaking Joy's hand off my shoulder. "No! I won't give it to her! Nina, you can't do this!" I turned back to Nina in front of me, my voice leaking with desperation. I held my gaze on Nina, which — surprisingly — she held. I stared into her eyes, but it was anything but romantic.

"Please just give it to me," she pleaded, exhaling loudly. "I need it. Please, Fabian."

I ignored her outstretched hand and hid my bag behind my bag, which held the elixir she wanted. "No," I repeated firmly. "I won't give it to you. I won't let you get killed."

"Please," she pleaded again, letting the tears fall. "You don't understand. I need it. Just give it to me."

My legs were shaking again. I didn't know if it was from fear or anger, but I knew one way or another I wouldn't let her die. She had people who cared about her.

I looked around at all of us: Jerome and Alfie were standing side-by-side, looking completely freaked, probably from their encounter earlier; Joy was still behind me from where I pushed her off; Patricia and Amber, much to my surprise, were holding hands, meanwhile Amber was already crying; Mara was near Alfie and Mick was all the way behind.

We were all here.

I knew this was the final dream.

It was now or never. I either saved Nina's life, or I let her die. But the problem was I didn't know how to save her life.

"I won't give it to you," I repeated, my eyes firm and unwavering. "We'll get you out. I promise."

"You can't," Nina's voice shook with her hands, staring at the ground now. "Just...just stop..."

"But we—"

"JUST STOP!" She suddenly exclaimed, scaring all of us. "Just stop. You can't save me."

"We'll try!" Joy suddenly spoke up from behind me. She was being unexplainably brave. "We'll try. I know it's possible!"

"It's NOT possible!" Nina protested yet again, making my chest ache. She wanted to die; she wanted us to live in a world where we knew we let her die when we could have saved her, and I knew all she wanted us was for this to end but I knew there had to be a way. There was always a way out for those who were clever enough to find it.

We were clever enough. Sibuna was clever enough.

"Nina, listen to me," I spoke fiercely, enough to draw her attention. "I don't care what you have to say about this. We are getting you out of here even if it takes the rest of the week. We've come this far! There has to be a way out if there's a way in!"

"Why can't you just understand?" She asked, her voice no more than a whisper. "Why can't you just listen and leave? I've told you already! THERE'S NO WAY OUT OF HERE SO JUST LEAVE! IT'LL BE BETTER FOR YOU!" And with that note, her head dropped into her hands and she tried to calm her sobs, but the tears fell and her voice shook with the unstableness of the words. "Just...just go...I don't know why you're wasting your time...just please go...p-please...I want you to go..."

I knew what would happen if we were to go, and I wasn't allowing that to happen. But just as I was about to assure her, in a calm tone, that we'd figure it out somehow, a familiar figure walked into the scene.

"What are you doing here?" Amber yelled, mostly in anger, but fear lingered in her tone somewhere. "GET OUT!"

"Oh, silly girl," the voice I knew all too well purred, placing his hand on Nina's arm. I could almost see the shivers go up her spine; she stood up straight, frozen in shock, with her eyes expressing all the fear she had shown for the past two and a half months. "You should know that I am not going anywhere."

Paul, also known as Eddie's worst counterpart, began to softly stroke Nina's arm. I wanted to run forward and kill him right here, because his touch was anything but comforting; Nina was shaking in fear every time Paul dragged his fingers down her arm, imprisoning her more than before.

I wanted to get rid of him. Nina had suffered too much on his hand. She deserved a touch that would make her purr in delight instead of shake with fear, a grip on the arm that would make her sigh in relief instead of stand on edge like a dog that had just glimpsed a cat.

"Get away from her," I growled, my teeth clenched so they wouldn't start to chatter from both the fear and the cold.

"Aww," Paul grinned evilly, tightening his grip on Nina's arm so she whimpered in pain. "Is Fabian trying to stand up for his girlfriend? How cute...but it won't be cute in a few minutes, because everything around here will be under my rule!"

"What, are you going to try to conquer the world?" Patricia spoke, from far behind us. I could tell she was trying to be brave, but the shake in her voice was evident from even where I was standing. All of us, even Nina, was very, very afraid.

We were all crowded around one area near the main house in Shadowland while no one said a word other than two people, but the howling of the wind was loud enough to make us feel like we were within hundreds of people.

"Oh, no," Paul laughed, in response to Patricia's comment. "But when this ends, none of us will be suffering anymore! You'll see! You'll all see."

I watched him with confusion as he turned around slightly, so that Nina was facing him. "Right, little girl?" He asked her, and she nodded impassively. I wanted her to show emotion; I wanted to see the spark of curiosity in her eyes whenever we discovered a new clue or when someone acted out of character. I wanted to know her again.

"Yes...you won't suffer anymore. How cute," He grinned, an evil, wretched version of Eddie's smirk.

Eddie's smirk wasn't evil like Paul's. It was ignorant and arrogant and annoying, but it wasn't evil. He used it to make people think he was better than them, that he was 'popular' and came off as a badboy. Paul's, however, was purely evil. It had evil intentions.

Afterwards, everything happened so quickly that even when I thought back on it, I couldn't remember it properly. The last thing I remembered was Paul smirking and saying that Nina wouldn't be suffering anymore, which I took the complete wrong way,

It was hard to even put it in order in my mind, but there were some things that stuck up above the others.

Paul had tightened his grip on Nina's arm until she was whimpering like a puppy that had just been stepped on. "EDISON!" Paul boomed, and all heads turned to Eddie behind us.

"Do you have it?" Paul wondered, his eyebrows arched.

"Yes," Eddie responded, almost mutely.

"Give it to me," Paul told him fiercely, sticking his hand out immediately, keeping the other gripped around Nina's arm.

Everyone around Eddie, including me, watched as he reached into his pocket and took out a bottle of orange liquid. I didn't recognize it at first — maybe some kind of juice? — but then I realized that I hadn't payed attention to whether or not the elixir was in my bag before Nina called us all in for this final dream.

Eddie had the elixir, not me.

"EDDIE!" I screamed, but he didn't turn around. I had begun to walk towards him, but both Jerome and Alfie held me back from running and slapping him. "DON'T GIVE IT TO HIM! EDDIE! NO!" I thrashed and fought against the two boys, but still they held me back and told me to stop from fighting them.

Eddie didn't even glance back, just stared ahead, indifferent to all that was happening around him. It was like he didn't care what happened, didn't care that I was screaming my lungs out for him to stop and didn't care that Nina was still whimpering and crying and that Amber was in the back, crying her eyes out, loud enough for anyone to hear and no one was comforting her.

"Finally," Paul breathed, a sigh of relief. "Thank God, the time has finally come. Thank you, Edison."

"EDDIE!" I screamed again, being pulled back by Jerome and Alfie, but it didn't stop my cries and pleads. "STOP IT! GET IT BACK! YOU DON'T WANT TO DO THIS!"

"But Nina does," Paul turned from Eddie to me suddenly, the evil grin appearing on his face once more. "She wants this, and since she wants it, Eddie will give it to her."

"NINA!" I screamed again, pulling Alfie's hand off of my mouth. He couldn't silence me that easily. "DON'T DRINK IT! YOU DON'T WANT TO DO THIS!" I called out to her, any attempt to get her to think straight and let us devise a plan, but she just released a sob and stared at the ground.

"Oh, no, Nina won't be drinking this elixir," Paul explained, holding Nina with his right hand and the elixir in his left. "In fact, I won't even be drinking this."

The crowd around me was completely silent; Alfie and Jerome had even stopped from pulling me back, but I was too numb and confused to run to Nina. I breathed in heavy breaths, my heart at the pit of my chest. This was actually happening; it wasn't a nightmare that I could wake up from.

This was actually happening; with the elixir in hand, I finally understood what would happen to her. All of this time uncovering the mystery, all those Dream Log entries, all the Sibuna meetings discussing what one of us learned, all the anticipation and sleepless nights...

They were all for nothing.

"Victor!" Paul called cheerily, off somewhere where I couldn't see. "Victor, would you come here, please?"

I was too numb to feel anything at this point, but Victor Rodenmaar Jr had walked into the crowd of eleven people. I didn't know if I was shocked to see him or completely unruffled. I didn't know if he was going to help us or work against us. I didn't know anything anymore.

This was all for nothing, and right now, on Christmas Eve 2011, I was witnessing the end of a close friend. I was witnessing the end of something I had been working for for the past two and a half months. I didn't know anything anymore.

"See, children," Paul turned to us all, "He will be drinking the elixir today."

"Victor?!" A few people called; I could hear Jerome and Joy's voice, above others. I even saw Amber gasp in recognition and confusion.

But to me, it made perfect sense. All of the puzzle pieces were finally falling into place right now.

The only way out of Shadowland was to break the curse, but to break the curse, you had to kill Paul.

Paul was Eddie's worst counterpart, the other part of him that you didn't want to tangle with.

Paul was technically not a real person, so you couldn't kill him. You had to banish him. And since Eddie was Nina's protector, Paul's main mission was to destroy Nina.

The only way to truly destroy Nina was to kill her, and that's what the elixir was for.

Victor was going to drink said elixir, so he'd finally be granted immortal life.

"Ah, yes," Victor breathed, surveying the bottle of orange liquid by turning it over and over in his hands. "Finally. The elixir of life...I can finally be truly immortal!"

"STOP!" Screamed Joy from behind me, somehow finding the courage to speak. "Victor, you know the consequences. And you've already tried this once before so just stop!"

"Your opinion is invalid, you puny girl!" He boomed, his brown eyes piercing our gaze. He had a crazed, manic look to them, and that's how I knew it was all coming to an end.

He began to untwist the lid while my heart started to run a mile. THUMP. His fingers moved feverishly. THUMP. The cork came off with a pop. THUMP. He stared at the open bottle of elixir, the bottle of fate, the only thing that would supply immortal life.

But it was also the one thing that would end up being Nina's downfall.

"Yes...yes!" Victor yelled with delight, his voice cracked with utter excitement. He had waited over 8 decades for this day. "Finally! I can rid myself of you miscreants after your silly little attempts to stop me!"

Jerome and Alfie had dropped my arms, but I felt too numb to run. I assumed they felt the same exact way, knowing very well what was about to happen, but feeling completely helpless to stop it. Paul was smiling maniacally, because his destiny was about to be completed. He; was about to destroy the Chosen One.

"Nina," I breathed, willing myself not to cry. It wasn't the time to get emotional. "Please. Don't do this. I...I love you."

Those words caught Nina's attention and she moved her eyes from the ground to my face, but she didn't say a word.

Paul and Victor were moving feverishly, but time seemed to slow down when she met my eyes. I held her gaze for only a few seconds, but it felt like so many more.

If this was the last time I'd ever see her, I wanted to drink her in and save her for later; her knotted dirty-blonde hair, the green eyes that were pools of sadness and deep regret instead of happiness and curiosity, as well as all the little things like the way she held her left arm with her right hand and the mole on her cheek and her fingernails, bitten to stubs.

I wanted to remember her. I wanted to remember her features. I wanted to remember her voice, so persuasive and optimistic. I wanted to remember her.

She inhaled. Exhaled. And took a step forward.

Paul gripped her arm, digging his fingers into her skin. She cried out in pain before burying that beneath the surface, but I could feel my heart fall with every inch that Paul's nails were breaking her skin. "Don't," she warned him, "I'm not going to do anything. Stop."

And Paul, reluctantly and with suspicion, slowly dragged his hand off of Nina's arm.

The only sound were the heartbeats of ten teenagers and Nina's footsteps as she slowly, slowly, inched closer to me. Her clothes were matted with dirt and soot and there were bleeding scrapes on her face, but her lips were pursed and her eyes were set like she knew she wanted to do this one last thing before she...

"Fabian," she sighed, like the word felt nice on her lips. She was barely a foot away now. "I'm sorry."

I didn't know what to say. So I didn't say anything.

She lightly brushed away some of the hair falling in front of my eyes. She had an expression I couldn't read; it was either sad or happy, somewhere in between, or something completely different. She exhaled one final breath before tilting my head down and kissing my forehead. Her lips were cold and chapped, but they felt nice on my head. I sighed. I had her.

Nina didn't smile, but she gazed at me for one final time. My eyes never left hers. It was one of the last times I saw her, alive, breathing, like she was before she was kidnapped.

Victor lifted the elixir to his lips.

And he drank it.

And the rest I couldn't remember.

Or at least, I didn't want to remember.

Because every time I closed my eyes I could still see the absolute pain on Nina's face as the life was sucked out of her and given to Victor instead.

Every time I closed my eyes, I could still hear the wretched screams coming from her mouth as she died, and the pleads from mine as I prayed to something, anything, that maybe she could live if we just found another way she could still live she could still live she could still live SHE COULD STILL LIVE IF WE

Every time I closed my eyes, I could picture her still body, lying in my arms, as I shook her and screamed for her to stay with me, but she was already gone and she couldn't stay with me. Every time I closed my eyes I could picture Jerome and Alfie trying to tear me away from her dead body, screaming for me to leave her alone because there was nothing I could do. Every time I closed my eyes I could see her eyes closing for the final time with as her screams died down and she found peace and the sobs escaped through my mouth and I collapsed on the ground because it was over.

It was over.