A/N - Alright - I give up on trying to force you guys to review. Three reviews is rather pathetic, but, seeing as it's Halloween (the greatest holiday EVER), I'll give you a break.

After this chapter there's only 1 chapter left. I've given up on trying to make this a tear-jerker, but hopefully there'll be a few happy-sad moments before we're done. I meant to have basically everything resolved in this chapter, but it didn't quite work out that way...I guess you'll just have to see for yourself : )

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns everything you recognize, and the quotes are courtesy of Epicurus and Picasso, respectively.

Death Is Nothing

Death is nothing to us, since when we are, death has not come, and when death has come, we are not.

- Epicurus

Chapter 5: Everything You Can Imagine

Part II

Everything you can imagine is real.

- Pablo Picasso

He had never before realized how slowly time passed – every second seemed longer than the last. He wasn't sure what it was that was keeping him up this night – all he knew was that a vague feeling was growing steadily stronger in the back of his mind, a feeling that something was happening. Something…cataclysmic. Earth-shattering. And he didn't know what it was.

He didn't glance up as tiny specks of rain flung themselves at his window; the beginnings of a deluge. Within minutes torrents of rains were lashing against the castle walls, and spears of lightening tore jagged strips out of the black, midnight sky. And still, utterly engrossed in thought, the headmaster sat, staring unseeingly into the cheerfully crackling fire, a stark contrast to the bleakness outside.

There was something going on. Something…devastating. And he was powerless to stop it.

:::::Sirius' POV:::::

They were whispering again.

He shivered, trying to ignore the voices that were seething in the back of his mind. They were furious about something. It was bad, very bad, when they were angry. Anger meant pain.

Brazen fool, snarled one voice, one he had never heard before. Thief. He is passed, it is forbidden –

You called him back. drawled another voice, sounding cruelly amused. They are thoughtlessly brave, these humans, especially where one of their own is concerned…

But he is ours! whined a shrill, petulant voice. He cannot steal him, either of them…they came through, they are ours by right!

Sirius stifled a whimper, the first voice's anger cutting into him like a knife. He saved the first one when we should have taken him, and now he's saved the second. They are ours now, both of them. He will not save them. He will die.

The second voice laughed, but he couldn't understand what they were saying – everything was drowning in a fog of deep, crimson red, and he could feel consciousness slipping away from him….

:::::Dumbledore's POV:::::

Night was fast turning to day, but the sky outside was so wreathed in ebony black storm clouds that, had it not been for the small clock on the far corner of his desk, he would never have noticed. For four hours now he had sat, immersed in thought, and still the warning in his mind had grown stronger. Stronger, but no less incomprehensible.

At last, reluctantly, his gaze shifted from the now glowing embers of the fire to a large, leather-bound tome lying closed on his desk. Its ancient pages were cracked and soiled, and a huge, deep brown stain dripped down the cover, which read, in faded but once brilliant silver lettering – Caducus Venificium.

He had traversed these ancient, timestained pages twice before, but now, an unknown warning stirring within his mind and the storm raging ceaselessly on outside, he felt compelled to read them again. Opening it gently, he ignored the billowing clouds of dust arising from the yellowed parchment and, almost hesitantly, began to read.

:::::Harry's POV:::::

Afraid of what he would he would see, Harry screwed his eyes shut, trying to ignore the incessant screaming beating against his skull. Sirius had not let go of his death grip on his arm, but he hardly noticed it now. The pain wracking the rest of his body drove everything else out of his mind.

What had just happened? Everything was becoming so blurred now – the lines between reality and fantasy were fading faster and farther away. He remembered…darkness. And…something else. A laugh? But that wouldn't make sense – there was no reason to laugh, not here. Not anymore.

Almost involuntarily he let out a soft moan. His entire body felt as though it had been dragged through molten stone – he had never felt this pained, not since that night at the graveyard. How long ago all of that seemed now.

Every movement feeling as though the blood in his veins had turned to fire, he opened his eyes slowly and looked up. There was someone crouched over him…Sirius? The blurred shape was becoming clearer, and Harry could feel his heart clench suddenly….

:::::Dumbledore's POV:::::

Here legends awaken into reality; the grimmest, darkest sort of reality. And Hell is turned to Heaven and Heaven to Hell, and all the broken swords of men turn to ashes in their hands. Before the steely dawns of Time men built a portal here, a portal to the scarred realm of nightmares, and it engulfed them. All of the seas of the ancient world arose in fury, and drove the kingly lineage back into the fiery chasm they had called into being; and so, for a time, the scourge was lifted from the world.

But one escaped.

Gadeiros, the young ruler of the western half of the kingdom, fled the imprisonment of his people and returned to his ancient homeland, defying the condemnation and carrying the secret of the gateway with him.

He knew all of this already. Was there any point, really, in reading it again? Yes, a small voice in the back of his head whispered. He closed his eyes wearily. Yes. You have not seen it yet. You will. You must.

Two hundred score years later, and all the shattered lives of men who bore the secret had decayed into nothingness. It had died – the chasm was closed. The blight borne by Gadeiros unto the wild lands of his fore bearers had, at last, ended. All the fires of Heaven and all the lights of Hell were enchained forever in a tomb, an arched tomb of crumbling rock and a gently swaying veil…

:::::Sirius' POV:::::

More pain.

A thousand jagged spears were piercing his flesh, his soul – he wanted to scream, needed to scream, as though if he did everything would suddenly be alright again – but he couldn't.

You are Sirius Black. Brave, loyal, defensive, reckless, the one Remus is always chastising for some reason or other….You are Padfoot. Sirius Black. And you will not give Them the satisfaction of hearing you scream.

"Please." he whispered, his voice fading into the vast emptiness that he could feel was surrounding him.

No. You are Sirius Black. You are stronger than this.

"No." Sirius whispered, wishing more than anything that the voice would leave him along, let him scream out the agony that was burning his soul…. "No. Let me go. Please."

You are strong, Sirius! Stronger than Them. FIGHT THEM!

"I can't."

The words were broken and cracked, but, in the part of his mind that was still able to think, he knew they were true. And the voice heard them.

You have to.

:::::Dumbledore's POV:::::

It was truly morning now, and still the storms outside raged on, unabated. The fire had long since turned into a pile of cold, gray ash, but he was still here. He had not found whatever it was he was looking for yet, and so he kept searching.

From the moment they called it into being they were doomed, for they had centered all of the beacons of Heaven and Hell upon themselves, and unleashed a rampant power upon the world. They had summoned Darkness, and she had come – and so, when she called her fallen children back, they had no choice. Borne by nature's fury, they were swept into her halls and stripped of their humanity, broken until any lingering vestige of their shadowed life had died. They became echoes of the land they were now condemned to traverse – the Guardians.

His mouth curved in a small, humorless smile. Yes, he knew all of this – the Guardians. The hollowed bodies of the men who had dared to rival Time. Dared, and failed.

Within the barren land they wandered, leaving behind shattered, twisted memories of their distant lives. They became cruel, and covetous, and any lasting compassion they may have felt was swept away as they became a physical embodiment of the nightmares they had created. They harbored no fleeting strains of regret when one fell, by chance or purpose, into their depraved haven – filled with an avid bloodlust, a hunger for the very thing they had, by their pride, destroyed within themselves, they captured any such men and tortured them, tore out their souls and filled them with madness, so that they became haunted, shadowed mockeries of their former selves, lesser travesties of the Guardians.

He closed his eyes. "They captured all." he whispered – it sounded as though every word he was saying was costing him everything he had. This was what was happening to Sirius now, what none of them could save him from. All because of one old man's mistake…. "And none ever escaped."

:::::Sirius' POV:::::

Quiet, endless silence…. He wasn't sure what it meant. And it frightened him, far more than They had, They or anything else that he had seen….

He knew that he had to wake up. He didn't know why, but there was a feeling…someone needed him. But…why would anyone need him here? Unless it was another one of Their tricks…

It's not.

Unsure of whether he was glad the voice was back or not, Sirius remained silent.

They have not taken you. They will not take you.

"They have. They take everyone. James is gone, and Lily is gone, and everyone is dead…."

They have not TAKEN YOU!

He whimpered.

You cannot let Them, Sirius. Not now. Not ever. You are Sirius Black. You are not Them. You will never fall to Them. Never.

"What if I already have?" challenged Sirius – his voice was filled with a sudden anger. He was tired of it – tired of Them, of Their illusions, of hearing Their voices in his head….He was tired of Them toying with him. "What if They've already won?"

They haven't.

"YES THEY HAVE!" He didn't know why he was furious anymore, but he could feel-white hot anger overwhelming him – it was as though a dam had suddenly broken loose, unleashing all of his pent-up emotions. All of his pent-up anger. "THEY WON! THEY WON 14 YEARS AGO, WHEN JAMES AND LILY –" His anger was leaving him as fast as it had come – he broke off suddenly, overcome with massive, wrenching sobs. "It's too late." he whispered. "I'm so sorry. I tried, but I'm not strong enough. It wasn't supposed to happen this way."

The voice was silent. At last it said, as though the words cost it a great deal of effort, You have to keep trying, Sirius. You can't let them take you. I won't let them. But you have to keep fighting. You have to.

"What if I can't?" whispered Sirius.

Think of Remus, Sirius. Think of Harry. Fight for them. There are people who need you. People who care about you enough to die for you. You need a reason to fight? Have you forgotten who you are, Sirius? You are the one who would die, die if it meant protecting what you loved – you have to remember, Sirius. You have to fight. You are stronger than them. And you will not let them win.

:::::Harry's POV:::::

He stumbled to his feet, pain momentarily forgotten as he stared, frightened, at the person before him. "Who are you?" he whispered, his already pale face draining.

It…looked like Sirius. But it couldn't be. Something was different. The eyes….Sirius' eyes were haunted, empty pools of deepest grey, an emotionless scar left by Azkaban. But now….

He had seen these eyes before. But…it couldn't be. James Potter had died fourteen years ago…

A/N - Hopefully you're all rather confused at the moment...although I did put in rather a lot of foreshadowing hints in this chapter and the one previous....Harry must be thinking he's going crazy right about now. Poor chap.

Did anybody get the Atlantean bit? I hope so - I spent all of ten minutes researching it. lol. I really do love mythology, though, and Atlantis just fit so perfectly with this story...

Okay...time to thank the ::cough:: three people who had enough decency to review ::insert evil glare::

aschowin - Thanks! Hope this chapter was satisfactory. ::grins::

Redluxx - I was wondering where you'd gone. : ) Glad you liked the little family scene...impending doom really is rather inconvienent, isn't it? lol. Many, many hugs to Siri!

Raven Blaise - Thanks! Whenever I start writing a story it ends up twisting/turning in the most bizarre directions - trust me, the original plot for this story was nothing like the actual one! I think the actual one is better, though : )

That's it ::sigh:: PLEASE review, people! I'd really, really appreciate it, since I feel all depressed when nobody bothers telling me what they like/dislike about this story : (

Happy All Hallow's Eve!