Crystal woke in her bed in her dorm room, to find a group of strange people looking down on her. Rob was there, and so was Kaitlyn, Gabriel was lurking by the door, leaning against it, not really coming inside. Meredith, Bonnie and Elena were there too. Bonnie was putting a cloth in some kind of liquid and bringing it over. Mary-Lynnette was sitting on a chair by the bed. Susan was lounging against the bathroom door. Poppy and James and Ash were there.
"Oh, you're awake," Bonnie said. "How do you feel?"
"I...don't know yet," Crystal murmured. She had convinced herself that she must have been dreaming. Of course she had been. You didn't move to a new place and find all your favourite characters from your favourite books there. Or a character you had created. But...but here they all were again.
And as for the vampire attacking her and herself doing an energy blast with fighting witch's orange power and the realisation that she must be...a Harman lost witch...
She groaned. "I think I'm going insane," she muttered.
"Insane? Why?" Bonnie asked, putting the wet cloth on Crystal's forehead. It felt cool and faintly scented of something she couldn't place. She wondered what it was.
"Because none of you people are real," Crystal said vaguely. "You're all characters in a series of books. I've read them hundreds of times. Susan isn't even a real person. She's just a figment of my fucked up imagination. Kaitlyn, you should be with Gabriel. What were you thinking, leaving him when he loved you so much? And Elena, you could have had Damon. I'd have him any day. But I guess if Gabriel's now available, I'll have him too..." And she passed out again, drifting away into her soft, happy slumber.
* * *
The people in the room exchanged glances.
"Characters in a book?" Kaitlyn echoed. "What *is* she talking about?"
Elena sighed. "Who knows? And how does *she* know about Damon?"
"And what would she knows about Gabriel's feelings for Kait?" Rob chimed in his own question.
"I don't think she's so bad," Gabriel protested, his lip curling. " I like her."
Kaitlyn rolled her eyes. "Of course you would. She just practically offered herself to you."
Meredith walked over to the bookshelf, and pulled something down. "Maybe she isn't crazy," she said softly.
Bonnie glanced at the book. "What's that?"
Meredith frowned and opened the book, flipping through it. "It's...about us," she said. "Our lives, what happened the last year or so ago."
Elena took it, scanning the back cover. "But that...that's impossible. Have you read it?"
"Not yet, but I will," Meredith said. She glanced over at Crystal's bookshelves. Lots of books on vampires and supernatural stories, a few witchcraft books. Some textbooks. Her CD collection, a few videos for the TV, and VCR, all along the horror movie genre.
Something was off here. You didn't just pick up a book that told your life story.
"What are we going to do about this?" Elena asked.
"I have absolutely no idea," Meredith answered. "But I think we should keep an eye on our friend over here." She nodded over at Crystal.
"But what about the guy with the long pointy teeth who attacked her?" Rob said.
"What guy with pointy teeth?" Elena asked, her eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"We heard someone scream and came to help and saw Crystal being attacked by some guy with long canine teeth. He looked kind of dirty and nasty and I stopped him before he could hurt her, and during the attack, Crystal did something - some sort of - of - magic blast I guess is the best way to describe it." Rob stopped before he went on. When he spoke it was slowly and carefully. "And well, I know this may sound completely crazy but he was well - I think he might have been a vampire."
"And maybe Crystal's a witch," Bonnie suggested. "With new powers. Cool."
"It's not crazy," Meredith said with a sigh. "Vampires are real. Elena's dating one. But he's a nice vampire."
"Meredith!" Elena snapped. "We don't want the whole campus knowing there are undead among us."
"She's not the only one," Susan said, nodding over to Mary-Lynnette.
Everyone looked at Mary-Lynnette who flushed. Ash rolled his eyes.
"You're a *vampire?*" Bonnie asked Ash.
Ash sighed heavily. "All right all right. Yes, I'm undead. But do are Poppy and James and Susan."
"Makes sense," Bonnie muttered, glancing at Susan, who gave her a deadly look, midnight eyes flashing silver.
"No one's supposed to know about us," Susan said bluntly. "But..."
"Don't worry, we won't tell," Kait said. "We've seen some pretty weird stuff too."
"Yeah, look at Rob," Gabriel snorted.
Rob didn't say anything, just ignored him. "Come on Kait," he said. "It's late, I think we'd better go."
"But what did she mean about Susan being a figment of a fucked up imagination?" Gabriel asked.
No one answered. Meredith had pulled off another book, and opened it reading, "'You know, someone told me this would happen,'" Ash said. '"That you'd come to a hick town and chase a goat killer?'"
Both Mary-Lynnette and Ash turned to her, looks of shock on their faces. If it had been another situation, the looks would have been comical. "What?" Ash said, reaching over and snatching up the book.
"Hey, here's one about us," Poppy said. She pulled a third book off the shelf, flipping through the pages. "This is unbelievable."
"What the hell is going on?" Ash demanded, a question no one had an answer to. "You don't just pick up a book and find your entire life story written down, everything you say documented word for word."
"Susan, you're Internet Queen," Poppy said. "Why don't you see what you can find out?"
Susan sighed. "All right. I guess I've got nothing better to do." She left the room.
Kaitlyn and her friends left, along with Meredith and her friends. Meredith had taken the series about her life, and Poppy had borrowed the book about her and James. Ash had gone as well. Mary-Lynnette sat on her bed, unsure what to do. She looked at the book Meredith had read from, something called *Daughters of Darkness*. Her life story. With nothing else to do, she started to read.
* * *
Crystal woke with a splitting headache. How unfair. On her second day too. She vaguely remembered last night and the very strange day. She glanced around to find Mary-Lynnette was already up, her bed neatly made. She was deeply engrossed in Crystal's copy of Spellbinder, the third Night World book, telling Thea and Eric's story.
Mary-Lynnette looked up. "Feeling better?"
Crystal groaned suddenly, remembering everything very clearly, and making a complete fool of herself too. "Oh God," she muttered. "Everyone must think I'm crazy. I was completely out of it."
"Well, it's not every day you're attacked by a vampire. I remember how I reacted when I first found out," Mary-Lynnette said with a shrug.
Crystal looked up at her bookshelf, noticing several gaps. Her Vampire Diaries series ones were gone. So was her copy of Secret Vampire and Daughters of Darkness.
"Poppy has the first two Night World ones, and Meredith borrowed the other ones," Mary-Lynnette explained, seeing her look. She shook her head in mild disbelief. "I can't believe it," she said. "It's so amazing. All our life stories written out word for word."
She was looking at Crystal, as if for an explanation. Crystal just shrugged. "Don't ask me, I didn't write them."
There was a knock on the door and Poppy came in, looking slightly bewildered. "You guys are *not* gonna believe what Susan's found on the 'Net."
"Go on, I'll catch up," Crystal said. She dragged herself out of bed as Poppy and Mary-Lynette left the room. Her head throbbed painfully. This was all too bizarre. She wondered how Meredith and crew were going to react to the VD series. She wasn't sure she'd be too pleased to find her entire life story written down on paper for everyone to read.
She made her way down to Poppy and Susan's room to find them all crowded around Susan's laptop computer, looking totally baffled and bewildered. She really couldn't blame them.
"I just can't believe it," Poppy was saying. "There's so *much* about us available to everyone."
"Look at the bright side," Mary-Lynnette offered. "At least everyone seems to like the books we're in."
"I just can't believe so many humans know about the Night World," Susan said snidely. "The council are going to be so pissed about this. Their assassins are going to have a field day."
"I have a question," Poppy said. "How come there's no book about Susan?"
"That's something that bugged me too," Susan said. They both looked at Crystal.
Crystal flushed, sitting in one of the chairs. "There's no book about you, Susan, because you're a character I created." She stood up. "Give me that." She took the computer, logging on to Twilight Tales, one of her favourite internet sites, where the best collection of LJS based fan fiction was found. She pulled up her story Black Lighting, detailing Susan's life.
Susan shook her head in mild bemusement. "I really don't believe this."
"There's something I don't understand," Crystal said with a frown. "I wrote a second story to this. You became good after you were turned into a Wolf, and became Seraphin Wolf, one of my RPG characters."
Susan shrugged. "Don't ask me."
"You know, I always wondered why I had so many different encounters of meeting Ash again after he left the first time," Mary-Lynnette said thoughtfully.
Crystal pointed at the screen. "Everyone seems to love writing fics about you and Ash. Maybe it's cause of the way the book was left."
Susan smiled. "No one seems to like that guy Tom we met last night much. Everyone seems to think Jenny should be with some gorgeous sounding guy called Julian."
"Oh they're all from this series called the Forbidden Game," Crystal said vaguely. "And they're right. Tom's a jerk. I'd have Julian over him any day."
"From his description, so would I," Susan said with a grin.
"What's happening with all this stuff about the Wild Powers?" Poppy asked. "We can't seem to find anything conclusive about finding the Fourth."
"I'm sitting right here," Susan said, waving slightly.
Crystal shook her head. "I don't know. The final Night World book hasn't been written yet. That's one of the reasons I created Susan. But lots of other people have created fourth Wild Powers too. There's nothing conclusive about how the Night World series is going to end."
It was all becoming very, very overwhelming. She couldn't under their questions about why everyone was there. She made a vague excuse to leave the room. She needed some air.
When she had first wanted to go away to college she had wanted a more interesting life, cause her own sucked. But it looked like she was getting more than she bargained for.
* * *
"Oh, you're awake," Bonnie said. "How do you feel?"
"I...don't know yet," Crystal murmured. She had convinced herself that she must have been dreaming. Of course she had been. You didn't move to a new place and find all your favourite characters from your favourite books there. Or a character you had created. But...but here they all were again.
And as for the vampire attacking her and herself doing an energy blast with fighting witch's orange power and the realisation that she must be...a Harman lost witch...
She groaned. "I think I'm going insane," she muttered.
"Insane? Why?" Bonnie asked, putting the wet cloth on Crystal's forehead. It felt cool and faintly scented of something she couldn't place. She wondered what it was.
"Because none of you people are real," Crystal said vaguely. "You're all characters in a series of books. I've read them hundreds of times. Susan isn't even a real person. She's just a figment of my fucked up imagination. Kaitlyn, you should be with Gabriel. What were you thinking, leaving him when he loved you so much? And Elena, you could have had Damon. I'd have him any day. But I guess if Gabriel's now available, I'll have him too..." And she passed out again, drifting away into her soft, happy slumber.
* * *
The people in the room exchanged glances.
"Characters in a book?" Kaitlyn echoed. "What *is* she talking about?"
Elena sighed. "Who knows? And how does *she* know about Damon?"
"And what would she knows about Gabriel's feelings for Kait?" Rob chimed in his own question.
"I don't think she's so bad," Gabriel protested, his lip curling. " I like her."
Kaitlyn rolled her eyes. "Of course you would. She just practically offered herself to you."
Meredith walked over to the bookshelf, and pulled something down. "Maybe she isn't crazy," she said softly.
Bonnie glanced at the book. "What's that?"
Meredith frowned and opened the book, flipping through it. "It's...about us," she said. "Our lives, what happened the last year or so ago."
Elena took it, scanning the back cover. "But that...that's impossible. Have you read it?"
"Not yet, but I will," Meredith said. She glanced over at Crystal's bookshelves. Lots of books on vampires and supernatural stories, a few witchcraft books. Some textbooks. Her CD collection, a few videos for the TV, and VCR, all along the horror movie genre.
Something was off here. You didn't just pick up a book that told your life story.
"What are we going to do about this?" Elena asked.
"I have absolutely no idea," Meredith answered. "But I think we should keep an eye on our friend over here." She nodded over at Crystal.
"But what about the guy with the long pointy teeth who attacked her?" Rob said.
"What guy with pointy teeth?" Elena asked, her eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"We heard someone scream and came to help and saw Crystal being attacked by some guy with long canine teeth. He looked kind of dirty and nasty and I stopped him before he could hurt her, and during the attack, Crystal did something - some sort of - of - magic blast I guess is the best way to describe it." Rob stopped before he went on. When he spoke it was slowly and carefully. "And well, I know this may sound completely crazy but he was well - I think he might have been a vampire."
"And maybe Crystal's a witch," Bonnie suggested. "With new powers. Cool."
"It's not crazy," Meredith said with a sigh. "Vampires are real. Elena's dating one. But he's a nice vampire."
"Meredith!" Elena snapped. "We don't want the whole campus knowing there are undead among us."
"She's not the only one," Susan said, nodding over to Mary-Lynnette.
Everyone looked at Mary-Lynnette who flushed. Ash rolled his eyes.
"You're a *vampire?*" Bonnie asked Ash.
Ash sighed heavily. "All right all right. Yes, I'm undead. But do are Poppy and James and Susan."
"Makes sense," Bonnie muttered, glancing at Susan, who gave her a deadly look, midnight eyes flashing silver.
"No one's supposed to know about us," Susan said bluntly. "But..."
"Don't worry, we won't tell," Kait said. "We've seen some pretty weird stuff too."
"Yeah, look at Rob," Gabriel snorted.
Rob didn't say anything, just ignored him. "Come on Kait," he said. "It's late, I think we'd better go."
"But what did she mean about Susan being a figment of a fucked up imagination?" Gabriel asked.
No one answered. Meredith had pulled off another book, and opened it reading, "'You know, someone told me this would happen,'" Ash said. '"That you'd come to a hick town and chase a goat killer?'"
Both Mary-Lynnette and Ash turned to her, looks of shock on their faces. If it had been another situation, the looks would have been comical. "What?" Ash said, reaching over and snatching up the book.
"Hey, here's one about us," Poppy said. She pulled a third book off the shelf, flipping through the pages. "This is unbelievable."
"What the hell is going on?" Ash demanded, a question no one had an answer to. "You don't just pick up a book and find your entire life story written down, everything you say documented word for word."
"Susan, you're Internet Queen," Poppy said. "Why don't you see what you can find out?"
Susan sighed. "All right. I guess I've got nothing better to do." She left the room.
Kaitlyn and her friends left, along with Meredith and her friends. Meredith had taken the series about her life, and Poppy had borrowed the book about her and James. Ash had gone as well. Mary-Lynnette sat on her bed, unsure what to do. She looked at the book Meredith had read from, something called *Daughters of Darkness*. Her life story. With nothing else to do, she started to read.
* * *
Crystal woke with a splitting headache. How unfair. On her second day too. She vaguely remembered last night and the very strange day. She glanced around to find Mary-Lynnette was already up, her bed neatly made. She was deeply engrossed in Crystal's copy of Spellbinder, the third Night World book, telling Thea and Eric's story.
Mary-Lynnette looked up. "Feeling better?"
Crystal groaned suddenly, remembering everything very clearly, and making a complete fool of herself too. "Oh God," she muttered. "Everyone must think I'm crazy. I was completely out of it."
"Well, it's not every day you're attacked by a vampire. I remember how I reacted when I first found out," Mary-Lynnette said with a shrug.
Crystal looked up at her bookshelf, noticing several gaps. Her Vampire Diaries series ones were gone. So was her copy of Secret Vampire and Daughters of Darkness.
"Poppy has the first two Night World ones, and Meredith borrowed the other ones," Mary-Lynnette explained, seeing her look. She shook her head in mild disbelief. "I can't believe it," she said. "It's so amazing. All our life stories written out word for word."
She was looking at Crystal, as if for an explanation. Crystal just shrugged. "Don't ask me, I didn't write them."
There was a knock on the door and Poppy came in, looking slightly bewildered. "You guys are *not* gonna believe what Susan's found on the 'Net."
"Go on, I'll catch up," Crystal said. She dragged herself out of bed as Poppy and Mary-Lynette left the room. Her head throbbed painfully. This was all too bizarre. She wondered how Meredith and crew were going to react to the VD series. She wasn't sure she'd be too pleased to find her entire life story written down on paper for everyone to read.
She made her way down to Poppy and Susan's room to find them all crowded around Susan's laptop computer, looking totally baffled and bewildered. She really couldn't blame them.
"I just can't believe it," Poppy was saying. "There's so *much* about us available to everyone."
"Look at the bright side," Mary-Lynnette offered. "At least everyone seems to like the books we're in."
"I just can't believe so many humans know about the Night World," Susan said snidely. "The council are going to be so pissed about this. Their assassins are going to have a field day."
"I have a question," Poppy said. "How come there's no book about Susan?"
"That's something that bugged me too," Susan said. They both looked at Crystal.
Crystal flushed, sitting in one of the chairs. "There's no book about you, Susan, because you're a character I created." She stood up. "Give me that." She took the computer, logging on to Twilight Tales, one of her favourite internet sites, where the best collection of LJS based fan fiction was found. She pulled up her story Black Lighting, detailing Susan's life.
Susan shook her head in mild bemusement. "I really don't believe this."
"There's something I don't understand," Crystal said with a frown. "I wrote a second story to this. You became good after you were turned into a Wolf, and became Seraphin Wolf, one of my RPG characters."
Susan shrugged. "Don't ask me."
"You know, I always wondered why I had so many different encounters of meeting Ash again after he left the first time," Mary-Lynnette said thoughtfully.
Crystal pointed at the screen. "Everyone seems to love writing fics about you and Ash. Maybe it's cause of the way the book was left."
Susan smiled. "No one seems to like that guy Tom we met last night much. Everyone seems to think Jenny should be with some gorgeous sounding guy called Julian."
"Oh they're all from this series called the Forbidden Game," Crystal said vaguely. "And they're right. Tom's a jerk. I'd have Julian over him any day."
"From his description, so would I," Susan said with a grin.
"What's happening with all this stuff about the Wild Powers?" Poppy asked. "We can't seem to find anything conclusive about finding the Fourth."
"I'm sitting right here," Susan said, waving slightly.
Crystal shook her head. "I don't know. The final Night World book hasn't been written yet. That's one of the reasons I created Susan. But lots of other people have created fourth Wild Powers too. There's nothing conclusive about how the Night World series is going to end."
It was all becoming very, very overwhelming. She couldn't under their questions about why everyone was there. She made a vague excuse to leave the room. She needed some air.
When she had first wanted to go away to college she had wanted a more interesting life, cause her own sucked. But it looked like she was getting more than she bargained for.
* * *