Disclaimer: I don't own them. This story is strictly for entertainment and they all belong to Marvel® and Kid's WB. I only own the unfamiliar characters.

Author's Note: Hey you guys! I am truly and sincerely sorry for not updating sooner! I have been so busy at school and I got sick for awhile…so I am truly and honestly sorry. Unfortunately, this is the last author's note I will be writing for this story L I know it's sad, especially for me because I've had such great reviewers reading this story! I am putting it to an end…but before I do I want to thank one particular reader and it's Dee Saylors! Thank you for reviewing from the beginning-I'm going to miss getting your reviews! By the way, I must warn you there is a little bit of romance in this chapter, hehe! I just had to put a little more in here! Thanks again and to everyone else who's been reading this story! Oh, and one more thing, for those who have been reading and not reviewing…very bad! After this is an epilogue and if people don't review I will not post it! That's a nice threat because I really need your feedback even though this is coming to an end! I will hopefully be posting it within the next week, that's a promise!! Well, now, enough of my sappy ramblings and on with the show…I hope you enjoy and until next time, bye! Read, Review, and *ENJOY!*

Anon: Hey, thanks for reviewing again. I think you misunderstood. It's true what I had said and I think you skipped over chapter 7 because I had updated twice. Well, anywho, I'll happily answer your question again. No, unfortunately the Acolytes will not be making an appearance in this story. I'm sorry, but I hope you keep on reading! Thanks and enjoy!

Dee Saylors: Thanks for still being such a dedicated reviewer! I know, it's sad this story is coming to an end, but it was fun writing it and I hope you enjoy this chapter. BTW, I'm sorry you had the flu. That's the reason I haven't been able to post this chapter sooner. I've also been super busy with school, it's crazy. Oh, and I'm glad you enjoyed the comment about Kurt being a monk! Hehe, I did that on purpose! Thanks for the always awesome reviews, they really make my day a better one and enjoy!

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Fright Fest

By: pinkchick

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Chapter 9

The rain fell harder as it poured itself onto the earth's surface in anger. The night was shrouded in every bit of darkness and the land dripping with wetness. Mud seeped through the ground as the thunder grumbled and the lightning cackled amongst the dampness of the dark night sky. The trees swayed back and forth in response to the howling wind that threw the gust amongst their changing leaves. The crisping and different colored leaves fell into a heap onto the brown earth as the winds picked them up and flung them into the never ending rain.

People in the cities ran to seek shelter from the mass amount of pouring rain. The rain never stopped. The weeping sky kept bringing down its tears on the town of Bayville as the earth shook from the angry thunder. Inside the Xavier Institute, however, all was well; or so it would seem that way to the untrained eye.

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As the storm continued to pour itself onto the earth and the sky darkened even more, candles and lanterns lit up every inch of the Xavier Institute. The glowing lights flickered as a soft breeze blew by from an open window. Dark shadows danced and jumped up and down amongst the beautifully elegant brown walls. The soft glow of the flickering candlelight made the surroundings create a calm atmosphere compared to the chaos happening outside. The mansion looked somewhat fresh, no damages whatsoever from previous battles and the like. Fresh smelling paint could be caught in the air. The cooling scent of the crisp autumn breeze blew past the hall. The house was empty.

Two bedroom lights were on upstairs. A bright candle lit the entire living room area as another gust of soft wind blew in through the open window next to the very elegantly styled fireplace. Newly cut wood sat burning in the orange, yellow, and red glow of the bright fire licking away at it's hinges. Above the delicate fireplace hung a painting. Just a painting. It stood out amongst the wall and the glow of the fire.

The sudden calmness and peace was suddenly disturbed when an odd looking gray funnel cloud emerged from nowhere. Intensifying screams could be heard as the cloud neared the unscratched marble floor. In a quick flash it dropped three figures. The screams became louder as the wind blew ferociously and the funnel cloud disappeared. For one moment, the screaming subdued and there was silence once again. The three figures looked around at their surroundings strangely and curiously, trying to take in everything that had just happened slowly.

Scott, Kitty, and Kurt continued to look around. Kurt rubbed his eyes and rolled over onto his stomach, which at that very moment in protest, began to growl. He half expected Kitty to give him a glare, but she was too soaked up in looking around. If they weren't in the predicament that they were in, Kurt would have immediately run into the kitchen and grabbed something to eat. Right now, however, he was too petrified to even think about his growling and starving stomach. Kurt sat up slowly and looked at his two friends with a perplexed and worried expression on his face. What in the world had happened? That was the question on everyone's minds as the three continued to scan the foyer in which they had landed.

The foyer. That's odd, Scott thought. We were just in another room. He glanced around the hallway, the main staircase and then at the door. It all looked so familiar, yet, at the same time it just felt different. He moved his right hand up towards his face and checked his glasses just to make sure they were there. Taking a minute to breathe, he thought back to what had happened, what felt to him, like a lifetime ago. The horrendous events played over and over again in his mind. All the mysterious things that he never thought could ever happen were playing over in his mind's eye. Now he had to admit that being a mutant wasn't necessarily something he would have believed before, but ghosts.

Scott's thoughts again strode back to what he had seen downstairs, but this time something else flooded back. The lone figure of the ghostly girl. Scott shivered as he saw her face in his mind. His thoughts were interrupted when he felt Kitty grasping his shoulder tightly and shaking it. His injured shoulder. Scott let out a painful gasp and clenched his jaw to hold back the pain. His other hand immediately moved towards his shoulder. Kitty quickly removed her hand and muttered an apology.

Kitty needed something to cling to. She wanted to make sure she was still a living, breathing human being. This was the third time she had wondered what was going on. There were so many unanswered questions and the possibilities of the answers scared her. Maybe, she really didn't want to know the truth. That would make it even worse in her case. Kitty was on the verge of thinking that this entire night would never end and that she, along with Scott and Kurt wouldn't survive the rest of the night. She shook her head quickly and rearranged her thoughts. No, she would not think of things like that. She had to think of more positive things. Things could be worse. The image of the eerie looking girl crept into her thoughts and she brushed it away. Kitty took a deep breath and let it out. She was going to stay calm.

Out of nowhere, the trio heard a splat of some kind. Kitty once again immediately clung to Scott's shoulder, forgetting all about the injury. He winced under her grip, but didn't say anything to her. He knew she was afraid, and deep down he was too. Kurt moved closer to his friends and took his hand off of his stomach. His head moved back and forth in quick motions. They didn't want to be attacked by some unknown force and not be prepared. Kurt honestly did not want to go through what had happened downstairs again. Walls moving by themselves and people appearing through paintings was not his style at all.

Screams pierced the still air and Scott, Kitty, and Kurt bolted up from their sitting positions. They stood up, each holding onto the other in an attempt to stay together. The screams abruptly stopped and all they heard was a loud thump on the floor. Kurt's eyes grew wide as his stomach growled yet again. He gave a half smile at the looks that Scott and Kitty had on their faces. Laying a hand on his stomach he gulped back the knot forming in his dry throat. "Did you guys hear zat?" he asked.

Kitty and Scott also gulped back the knot and fear rising in their throats. They turned to Kurt and nodded their heads in response. The trio honestly didn't want to know what they heard. They just all wanted this night to be done so they could wake up and act like nothing happened. Deep down in their hearts, they knew they would never really forget. Scott, Kitty, and Kurt walked around the foyer in search of the sound. It also seemed as though it was getting brighter and brighter the more they walked around. Kitty bit her lip and clung to both her friends in a death grip. She closed her eyes as her lip quivered in fear. There was no one here, so where would the sound have come from?

Finding nothing in the foyer they began to walk down one of the halls. The entire time they heard nothing. Nothing but the sounds of their shoes straddling and scraping on the red carpeted floor. As they continued to walk, it seemed as though time slowed down and they were walking for eternity. Walking to absolutely no end, no solution, no world. They all feared they would somehow get stuck in this hellish nightmare and not be able to ever leave. The sun would never find it's way to the horizon. The sky would never stop crying as the thunder grumbled back it's response over and over again. They would never again feel the soft breeze blow on a warm day as the blankets of leaves surrounded them as they walked by.

Kurt sighed. He wanted to be back in his cozy position on the couch next to his beloved Amanda. He wanted to run his fingers through her hair and hear her laughter. Kurt would have even settled for the fact that Tabitha kept fast forwarding to the "scary parts". It was annoying in a way, but right now he could've cared less. Kurt would give anything to get out of this nightmare. It was probably worse than the time that he had to teleport and those demon looking creatures chased him and Logan. Kurt shuddered at the thought, but the fact was that they were walking down the halls to find the source of the noise that was probably a figment of their imagination anyway. In fact, Kurt didn't even want to know. It was getting him even more terrified. So, he just kept thinking of Amanda and at the sound of his grumbling stomach, he thought of food. How he also would love to eat a big sandwich right about now. Just thinking about it made him hungrier. Kurt kept walking with his friends towards what seemed like no end and sighed once more in retreat.

Kitty clutched Scott and Kurt's arms so tightly her knuckles were turning white. She knew she was starting to hurt them by the expressions on their faces, but she didn't care. Since they weren't protesting either, she figured it was ok with them. Out of all the things running through her mind right now only one question had been bugging her from the beginning. Why was this happening? Kitty couldn't remember doing something horribly wrong that she'd get punished for it like this. She pondered the thought long and hard. Nope. Nothing came to her. Then, in a sudden flash, the conversation with Kurt in the living room before all this had happened came to her in a whirlwind rush. Why, she didn't even know; but, it was odd. The thought that the ghostly girl had come after them twice already wasn't helping. There was something oddly familiar about the girl. Kitty felt like she knew her, but in a different sense than personal. It felt as though she had been through a lot. Kitty couldn't help but feel sorry and afraid of her at the same time. Shuddering, she wished in her heart that Lance could've been here. Then again, why would he be. Kitty just continued to walk and tried not to think too much about the situation.

Scott winced as Kitty's nails dug into his skin. She was tugging on his injured arm again. Scott looked at her and gave a half smile at his younger friend. He wouldn't have told her to let go even if he wanted to. He would never think of himself first in a situation like this anyhow. Thoughts trailed through his head like a man on a hike, but through it all he kept his mind trained on Jean. He wished he could see her now and prayed that she was alright. Scott probably figured he would never see her again. They had just gotten together after all these years of hiding his feelings for her and now he wouldn't even get to say goodbye. He wanted to tell her how he felt about her. How he truly felt about her. Scott wanted to tell her that he'd die for her, that he'd do anything in his power to help her, comfort her, and be there for her. He wanted to tell her that he loved her with all his heart. Oh God, he loved her. Scott took a breath. He vowed to himself that if they survived this, he would tell Jean that he loved her. He wasn't going to let anything happen until he's declared it; and he didn't care about going soft in front of the rest of his teammates. All that mattered to Scott was that Jean heard it.

They finally reached the living room. There was tremendous light pouring out of it. That scared the trio and popped them out of their thoughts and back into the reality that they still couldn't believe. The living room looked tremendously strange. That's not what it had looked like before. It looked somewhat old fashioned in a way. Scott, Kitty, and Kurt widened their eyes in a shocked manner and continued to stare around the extremely unfamiliar room. They were so flabbergasted that they did not notice the two figures lying on the hard marble floor. Scott was the first to realize that they were not alone and ran to the two still figures. He slowly turned them both over and was stunned at what he saw.

"Jean!?" Scott asked as he wiped away the loose strands on her forehead. She moaned and he took that as a good sign. He rocked her body back and forth as she slowly opened her eyes. He also had one hand on Rogue's body. She was also coming to.

Kurt and Kitty immediately ran over and assisted her. Rogue opened her eyes and shielded her face from the sudden intensity of light. She didn't know where she was, but somehow she wasn't afraid either. She knew she was amongst the people she knew best. Rogue, with the help of Kitty and Kurt, sat up. She looked around her and then up at her friends. "Wh-where am ah?" she asked.

"You're in the living room," Kurt supplied and looked around again. "Um, sort of." At seeing Rogue and Jean, some of the fear that had been rising suddenly faded away and he was his usual humorous self. They had finally found some of their other friends. The team was reunited. A heavy wind picked up and blew around them in anger. But, for how long?

Jean felt strong yet warm arms grip her shoulders gently. She didn't want to open her eyes for fear of what she might find, but the soft and secure hands cupping the side of her face told her that she would not be afraid of what she saw if she did. She heard soft words being whispered and without any fear or doubt, she opened her eyes. At first it was blurry, but then Jean's eyes adjusted and who she saw in front of her was her heaven on earth. Scott was smiling at her and when she completely realized what was going on, he had taken her in a warm embrace. "I love you, Jean," Scott whispered into her ear. Jean smiled at those words and how she was longing to hear them for the longest time. "I love you too, Scott."

Jean sat up and looked around at everything and everyone. First she spotted Rogue who, thankfully, was unhurt and awake. Then she looked at Scott again. She couldn't help but smile after everything that had happened. He had such a soft and loving expression on his face. At that, she wrapped her arms around him and before everyone knew it, the entire group was in a big group hug. They were so happy to be with each other again. They all whispered words of comfort to the other and simultaneously forgot where they were in the glimpse of time. They were together at last. A team. If they were together, everything was okay. Or so they thought.

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The rain continued to pour it's heart out onto the now muddy ruins of soil. It encased all of it's energy in the enlarged drops of rain that were splashing down and making a rolling river path. In the dark of the night only one lone figure stood across from the flourishly lit mansion. Though it seemed heavily weighted, the black shadow floated with grace as though it had been the same size all it's life. Or, rather, eternity. Things were going according to plan. It could not wait to get it's black body around some flesh. It was what the black shadow lived for. Killing. The black figure enjoyed that part of the job to the full extent, for it was only on Halloween that it got it's chance to kill. Slowly seeing that the X-men had been united with each other, it inched closer to the living room's window. This was going to be quite interesting. Quite interesting indeed.

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The lights in the living room began to flicker all of a sudden. Everybody stopped their quick reunion and looked around the empty room. The fire in the fireplace was still burning strong, as though someone was fueling it instead of the firewood clinging to the flames. A howling breeze blew from the open window near the fireplace. The candles flickered on and off as the X-men's shadows halted and they screamed. They started to move back slowly. Away from all that was happening. They were about to run out when Kitty abruptly stopped in her tracks and turned to the look at the fireplace. Curiosity approaching all of them, they followed her.

Kitty narrowed her eyes and then widened them. This was not happening. She couldn't believe what she was seeing in front of her. Everyone looked at her worriedly. "Keety, vat's wrong?!" Kurt asked her as he clung to her arm and shook her. Kitty swallowed and pointed to the painting above the fireplace. Scott and Kurt were the first to gulp back the fear settling in from the pits of their stomachs. It couldn't, be could it? Unfortunately, it was. The nightmare was reliving itself all over again. The painting that hung on the wall was the same one Scott, Kitty, and Kurt had seen in the room they had just been in. Only this time, to their disbelief, it looked brand new.

At first, Jean and Rogue were puzzled as they stared at Kitty and then at the painting. What in the world was scaring their friends so much? It was just a painting after all. Paintings never harmed anyone, did they? They both peered at it closer and froze in place. The painting somehow had Jean and Rogue painted in it. It also had Scott, Kurt, and Kitty, all in younger, old fashioned versions. That couldn't be, it was dated back to 1703. They didn't have time to ponder any of the new events because a strong and manly voice interrupted everyone's thoughts and they turned around.

"Katherine, you don't really believe in those dead spirits now do you?" a male voice asked.

"Of course not, father," a young girl's voice answered. "It's not like they're any from of reality."

The X-men just stared at what was going on in shock. Who were these people? What were they doing here and why were they dressed like this? Everyone looked at the young girl and then at the older man. Kurt walked up to them and waved his hand in their faces, but they were completely oblivious to him. "Hel-lo," he said. They ignored him and just kept on talking as if he wasn't there. "Man, these people are blind!"

Kitty gasped as she looked at the people in front of her and back at the painting. "What is it, Kitty?" Scott asked her. "Is something wrong?"

"You guys, I know who those people are," Kitty responded.

"I vas starting to vonder vhy they looked so familiar." Kurt hit his forehead with his hand. They all looked at him with their eyebrows raised and he stopped.

Kitty pointed her hand to the painting again and everyone gasped. It was true. The young girl and her father were the people from the painting. The scene that had taken place so long ago was somehow replaying itself right in front of their eyes. "So, what're you saying, we're in 1703?" Jean asked.

Kitty didn't know what to say to that. She didn't really believe it. Or did she? A new set of voices interrupted her thoughts. They were the girls who looked like Jean and Rogue. They walked into the living room. This was all so odd. Why was this happening and what did they have to do with it? The entire scene continued as two boys walked in wearing white satin sheets over their heads. The X-men just continued to encounter everything like they were watching some kind of movie and helpless to stop anything that was happening. It was like a bad dream. Out of nowhere, the young brown haired girl screamed and the next thing the X-men saw was that she was dead on the floor. It was like she was killed by some kind of unseen force. They were definitely in 1703. Then all of a sudden, as if an ending to a show, the lights went off.

When the lights came back, the black shadow figure was standing near the window. Everyone from 1703 was gone now and it was a showdown between the figure and the X-men. The quintet moved backward. They were all shaking with fear. They knew their powers couldn't get them out of this one and the fact that they were also confused of this entire situation was not helping at all. They all held each other's hands tightly as they ran towards the exit. Unfortunately when they reached it, it was blocked by a transparent barrier. This was not good. Where were they supposed to go now? They were being blocked on both sides. The window was being covered by the black shadow's enormous body.

Scott immediately scanned the situation over and narrowed his eyes at the black figure. The black shadow seemed to see it and looked like it narrowed it's eyes back also. Although it was faceless, it still scared Scott. Nobody could see his eyes, how did the figure know what he was doing? He shook his head. It didn't really matter now anyway. He moved his hand back behind him. "Everyone get behind me. Now!" Scott ordered. Fortunately, no one protested and he was thankful. He was once and for all going to get rid of this figure and he prayed that his beams still worked. Before he could even lift his glasses though, the black figure quickly moved forward and multiplied. Everyone widened their eyes and held back a gasp of surprise and fear. The new black figures that stood looked nothing like the main one. In fact, they looked oddly familiar. It was as if they knew them somehow.

There were nine of them and they were all shaped differently. As they neared them, the group of shadows looked more like an army ready to fight a war. Kurt was the first to realize who they were, although they were not in their regular forms. Kurt moved away from his friends and practically jumped towards one of the figures. "Amanda!" he screamed. Before he could head towards what he thought was Amanda, Rogue stopped him. She grabbed his shirt and pulled him back. "Kurt, don't."

"Vat do you mean?" Kurt asked, with a happy and fearful expression on his face. "Zat's Amanda, Rogue. I have to go to her."

"Kurt, that's not Amanda. Look at them. They're just shadows, not our friends." Rogue pointed to the figures that were still approaching slowly. It was true, their friends were nothing but lifeless shadows. Kurt, along with everyone else, eyed them all closely. So many things whirled around in their heads at what they were seeing. No, it was not possible. They must've been imagining things. But the more the shadows advanced closer, the more evident it became. The nine shadow creatures were their friends. "Oh my God," Jean whispered. "This can't be happening."

"We have to get to that window," Scott told them as he slowly formulated a plan in his head. "It's our only way out." They all nodded with their heads. Scott began counting to three and on three they would run around, through, or fight to get to their destination. "GO!" Scott shouted. They all began to run quickly and the figures followed them.

Amanda's shadow chased after Kurt and he screamed as she gained speed. "Amanda! Vhy are you doing this?" Kurt asked. 'Amanda' didn't respond, she just kept advancing. Tabitha's shadow leapt in to help her. Kurt was slowly being drowned out in a black pool of nothingness as they surrounded him. His screams attempted to hang onto something and then letting go and falling until it was no longer there.

Rogue leapt over the fancy looking couch and ran as fast as she could go. The shadows of Bobby and Ray followed suit. Rogue let out a scream and began to move faster. The shadows also gained speed. She looked ahead of her as sweat trickled her brow. Yes, she was only a couple of feet away from the window. One more step and she could…No, Bobby and Ray wrapped around her and were attempting to suck the air out of her lungs. The last thing she remembered was that her scream just became a muffled sound amongst the black abyss.

Jean was running the fastest she had ever run in her entire life. Her long legs swept across the rug as she tried to reach the large brown window. It was getting closer and closer, and she could feel her heart beating faster and faster the closer she inched towards it. The shadows of Roberto and Jamie dashed across the rug after her, excelling in speed. Jean ran with more determination. She was not going to let them win. Unfortunately, Jean didn't see the rug flipped upwards on the other end as she slipped and fell. The shadows of what were supposed to be friends warped around her and created a black four sided wall around her. With that, Jean's screams became only a low hum as they disappeared.

Scott ran and ran. There was no telling what the shadows were up to. He had to get to that window and quickly. A brush of hope graced his mind as he saw the large window approaching. He felt the freedom and wind rushing towards him as he neared and ran faster. Amara and Sam's shadows also ran faster and caught up to him eventually. Scott reached for the window only to have his hand swipe through a whirlpool of black. The darkness plagued him as his screams began to subside slowly, until there was nothing left of it at all.

Kitty ran across the living room floor with all her might. Lance was at her heels the entire time. For a moment she couldn't understand what he was doing here to begin with. He hadn't been there in the beginning of the night. Of course, she had disappeared and not known what had been going on the entire time. "Lance!" she shouted. "Please, stop it! Remember me, Lance. It's me Kitty!" She pleaded to him, but the shadow of Lance didn't seem to hear her. He just kept chasing after her. Kitty reached the window and turned around abruptly without thinking. Lance was an inch from her and was about to swallow her up. Kitty closed her eyes and waited for her end…but it never came. She opened her eyes and Lance suddenly disappeared into thin air. Slowly, she looked around the room and noticed there was no one there. Everyone had disappeared.

Kitty's heart leapt into her throat and began shaking all over. She was all alone now. Deserted. No one would hear her screams when her life came to an end. No one would care. Her friends were gone and in a second she would be too. She couldn't imagine that this was happening. Not to her, at least. Ghosts, spirits, and other types of life forms didn't really exist did they? Would she wake up and find that this was all a dream? Kitty slid into a sitting position beneath the window. She was so riled up in her own fear that she had forgotten about the escape attempt. The candlelight flickered back and forth as the room seemed to get darker slowly.

Kitty hugged her knees and closed her eyes as unshed tears started to formulate within them. There was a sudden noise from in front of her. Kitty's head immediately shot up and she looked around the room. It was dim, but she could make out something, or someone, standing a couple of feet away from her. Kitty regained her composure as she sucked down her fear and built up renown confidence. She had to do this, for her and her friends. The figure moved closer. It was the ghostly girl. But, this time she was not in any way eerie looking. Instead, in the dim light she looked radiant. Her white gown swished around her small frame as she slowly approached Kitty. Her blue eyes glowed in the candlelight and her brown curly hair swayed about her shoulders. Kitty finally came to a realization. The ghostly girl had been the girl in the painting all along. The dead spirit of Katherine Xavier was standing right in front of her.

Kitty stood up slowly. She swallowed the lump in her throat and walked forward until she was staring into the eyes of her look alike. "Wh-where are m-my friends?" Kitty asked as her hands became fists. "What do you want from me? Why are you doing this? Huh? Why?" she shouted.

Katherine just continued looking at her strangely and tilted her head. "Answer me!" Kitty yelled at the top of her lungs. "I-I haven't done anything! Why are you doing this?"

For the first time since the entire fiasco had begun, the young girl spoke. Her voice quivered a little, but then she just showed determination in her eyes. "You need to believe, Kitty."

"What are you, like, talking about?" Kitty questioned.

"You need to believe or it will come after you," Katherine responded.

"Believe in what?" Kitty questioned her again. She had a very determined look on her face. She needed some answers and she was going to get them.

"Spirits, Kitty," Katherine answered. "I have come to warn you. You need to let yourself believe or else it will come for you."

"Who's it, anyways?" Kitty asked, still puzzled. "Spirits aren't real. How can I believe in them?"

Katherine smiled at that comment. She pointed to herself and shook her head. "I am real, am I not?"

Kitty just nodded, no words escaping her mouth. Katherine reached out her hand towards Kitty's shoulder. Kitty moved her shoulder quickly, but then let the young girl touch her. For someone so young, she spoke beyond her years, as if through experience. Kitty closed her eyes as thoughts of Katherine's final moments rushed through her. She opened her eyes and understood. Katherine removed her hand and backed away. "Just believe, Kitty. Everything will be alright, I promise. I am always watching." Katherine kept moving back as she spoke and white light surrounded her. In a matter of seconds she disappeared into nothingness. Kitty reached her hand out to where she had been standing.

"Wait! You didn't answer my question," Kitty said. "Who's it?"

As if on cue, the black shadow figure appeared once again. Kitty turned back towards it and let the fear that had left her come back to haunt her body once again. This time, however, she felt renewed. She could fight this thing. Kitty would fight it if it was the last thing she did. The black shadow moved closer much quicker than it had before. Kitty glanced at it closely and realized that it was not enlarged anymore. It was the same size that it had been in the very beginning. This scared Kitty. Her body tensed and she felt her fingers numb. But, it wasn't because of the fear. She felt powerful and confident in herself. She was going to win. Kitty narrowed her eyes and the black shadow disappeared.

Kitty was confused. Where did it go? The answer to the question was behind her. The black shadow appeared and wrapped itself around her neck slowly, sucking the life force out of her. The non believers would pay. They would rot. The wind rushed out of Kitty's lungs as she began choking. She tried to grasp the shadow, but her hands felt around and there was nothing there. Nothing at all. It was like it was invisible. The rain outside poured down harder and shook the trees. Kitty gasped for breath. The black shadow tightened it's hold on her neck and let it snake around her to whisper in her ear. "Do you know what happens to non believers, my dear?"

Kitty could feel her eyesight getting blurry. The candles began to fade away and Kitty was beginning to lose hope until another wave of confidence hit her and she remembered Katherine. Just believe, Kitty. Everything will be alright, I promise. Just believe. That's all Kitty had to do. Believe. Kitty gulped down a breath of air and spoke hoarsely because of the still tight grip of the shadow around her neck. "No," Kitty replied dryly, "and do you know why?" She suddenly felt the black shadow tighten, but she kept her confidence. "I believe." The black shadow began losing it's hold on her. It was slipping. These were not the words it wanted to hear.

"I believe, Katherine! I BELIEVE!" Kitty shouted hoarsely as she felt the black shadow loosen it's hold completely on her neck. Kitty took in a much needed breath of air. The black shadow backed away and Kitty turned around to glare at it. She held her hand to her neck and narrowed her eyes. She saw it start to disappear into the air. Kitty smiled and stood up. The black shadow growled and let out an agonizing cry of pain before it completely vanished. That's when the entire world came crashing down.

Kitty looked around her and outside. The thunder cackled and the wind howled. The rain splattered the surface of the earth as the candles' lights dimmed out completely and the entire room warped into darkness. Kitty heard herself scream before everything clouded over and she fell into the engulfing black sea around her.

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