The room stunk of blood and body odor. The smelled overwhelmed Nycole sending her falling backward into the wall. The empath was taken a back. This place, this room, seemed familiar. Almost as if it was a scene from a bad horror movie the girl couldn't remember. Trying to brace herself against her nausea and disorientation the empathy strained to see the rest of the room.

"There was once a prince with a crown of glowing metal and flame." The girl's voice was quiet calming. The whispered sounds of the conversation barely caught the empath's attention. Stretching her consciousness outward, Nycole searched for the storyteller. The emptiness for the situation struck here.

"There isn't real." Nycole said out loud. "This must be the rabbit hole..." her voice trailed off.

"His crown was robbed from him by fate, by death, and by regret. He had failed his position and his people." The storyteller continued trying to ease the pain of something or someone.

"I know this story… Kathain!" The empathy called out. "Kathain, where are we?"

"He had allowed the stinging poison of betrayal to eat away at his house, his clan, his people. His crown was stolen because of suppose crimes against his kin. He had to eradicate what he saw as a bastardization of the blood." Kathain was here. But where is here?

"To hell with this shit!" Frustrated at the situation the empath stood up. The girl moved forward deciding to not to stay in the corner. She had to find her little sister and move on. The swinging red light sent flickers of light here and there.

'I know I have seen this somewhere before.' The empath thought.

It was only when the girl caught a glimpse of the couple huddled on the floor that she stopped. Who was Kathain talking to? Staring into the almost pitch black shadows Nycole tried to make out the figure. The features resembled Brett.

'God no, please don't let this be Brett. Not after everything. This just can't happen.' Nycole pleaded internally. It had been hard for her to open up to people. It was Brett and Kathain that had found her when everything else in her life had gone wrong. It was the two of them that taught her to trust again. It was okay to want to depend on people; that not everyone around you was out to screw you over. The sheer thought of this scene weakened the empath.

Nycole bent down in front of the seer. The look on Kathain's face showed a mix of compassion, torment, and sympathy. Nycole stared into eyes that couldn't see her.

"The Prince will become a general, a leader. He will be a prince among men, no longer needing his crown of metal. His glory shall come from within."

"Kathain, I know this all revolves around you. Help me. Tell me what I am supposed to do." Nycole pleaded to ears that didn't hear her.

Closing her eyes Nycole focused on the darkness. In the darkness the girl searched for a spark of life. The empath reached out. Allowing her physical body to fall away. The façade of the room around her fell away leaving a glimmer in the darkness. There in the black Kathain's soul called out to Nycole. Slowly picking her arms up from their limp position, Nycole reached out to the seer. The empath pulled both in mind and body.

The seers stiffened. The body under Nycole's hands seemed to jerk in resistance. Startled the empath snapped back to herself. Staring into the seer's eyes Nycole tried to understand the problem before her.

"Alright Kathain. I know you are in there. I know that even though you are not interacting with me you know I am here. More then that I know you are fighting to stay where you are but why? Why are you holding on to this scene?"

Racking her brain Nycole could only stare. The scene didn't change. The seer seemed to quell the pain of her audience. The dim red light overhead swung slightly casting an eerie light. Frustrated the girl wanted to strike out at the seer.

Closing her eyes again Nycole reached out for the seers true self. Nycole allowed her emotions to run unchecked. Under normal circumstances the empath would be terrified to do such a thing. An empath's ability to sense another person's soul was equal to their ability to affect another person. It was the one thing that terrified her. Nycole always wondered if people liked her for her or if they liked her because she wanted them to. It was that question that caused Nycole to recluse from the social world. The empath ran from the real world hiding from the people she craved.

But now Nycole needed to use her gift to affect another. So the girl set out to rip into her best friend Kathain. The empath closed her eyes. Bright white tendrils stretched out in front of her in the darkness wrapping around the flickering ember. Nycole felt Kathain's pulse of life within her. Putting her hands firmly on the left arm of the Seer, Nycole pulled violently. The spark of life flickered then exploded before her. The girl's arm stiffened then gave way.

The empath tumbled backwards landing flatly on the concrete floor. Her arms wrapped around the fragile figure that landed on her. The empath relaxed allowing her head to lie on the floor. The empath tried to regroup. Exhausted the girl closed her eyes wanting to give way to sleep.

"Nycole, what … where … what the hell are you doing here?" Kathain pulled away from the empath.

"I am laying on the floor in set of a bad horror movie ripping the soul of my best friend out of a mental representation of herself. What does it look like I am doing?" The girl replied flatly.

"I guess that makes sense." Kathain murmured as she looked around.

"So I take it you know where we are? Or at least what's going on?" The girl said as she sat up. Nycole pulled her legs up in front of her chest. "I mean it's not like this is a happy place to be."

"No it's a party. Here's your sign." The seer replied as if astounded by the empath's confusion.

"Alright, better question, how do we get out of here? I know I am never thrilled at staying in during the day, but Nocturne is looking like a day spa right now." Nycole was frustrated. The sickening smell of the room seemed to well up again.

"I usually just wake up, but I don't know how you got here. Man I wish I could dream up some popcorn." The seer turned taking a spot next to Nycole. The two watched in silence at the scene before them. The two watched a future Kathain try to sooth her patient. They listened to a story they knew too well.

"There was a mirror and the girl inside of it was kind of a smart ass. Kathain I promise I wont let this happen." Nycole said off handedly. Nycole couldn't take her eyes off of the two lumped figures. The limp figure seemed slightly draped over the seer's legs.

"What me being stuck here without popcorn?" Kathain seemed to say without realizing the situation.

"No. I won't let this happen to you or Brett." The empath declared firmly.

"I know. Brett is going to be fine… so you don't have to worry." Kathain said as she looked back to the scene in front of them. "Well let's think about this. We're in my head. If I wake up it should snap both of us back to our own bodies. And if nothing else you get trapped in my head until we can get you out. I mean come on at least then you wouldn't have to pay your bills." Kathain's face seemed to brighten at the rather morbid silver lining.

"Oddly enough that's slightly comforting and makes a lot of sense. I mean come on it wouldn't be the dumbest thing we have ever tried. So I guess there is only one way to try this." The empath said as she turned from her comfortable position to Kathain. Before the Seer could reach Nycole drew back. Knuckles slammed squarely into the young girl's jaw send violent pangs outward. Kathain's eye welled with tears her vision blurred.

xxxx

"BITCH! That hurt!" Kathain screamed as she lashed out at the empath.

"Kathain! It was a nightmare." The scruffy voice of the bartender caused the girl to recoil. Wiping her eyes the girl starred at Geoff.

"God Nycole. Where is Nycole?" Kathain begged of Geoff as she tried to pull away from her single bed.

"We moved Nycole into another room. We hoped separating you two would snap you both out of it. I don't know how she is." The bartender turned away from Kathain allowing the girl privacy enough to change. "Nycole is downstairs on one of the couches in Heaven. Brett and Kristo are watching her. Raven and Bear have been trying to break the connection between you two all day. Any longer and we wouldn't have opened tonight."

"I need to make sure she made it out." Kathain said not allowing herself to think about the possibility that Nycole was trapped in the mirror.

"Finish getting dressed." The bartender said.

xxxx

A violent scream erupted from Nycole as she laid on a platform in Heaven. The sounds of agony refused to stop as Brett held her down. The empath was still out. It was obvious that the connection had been severed. But how violent had the severing been? There was no telling at this point what was going on inside of the girl.

"Come on Nykke. Snap out of it." The fire starter stared down at the unconscious body that fought him. He didn't call her Nykke often. Actually she hated most people calling her that. But for him Nycole made the exception. He didn't understand why Nycole seemed to make allowances for him, but the empath did.

The girl's eyes snapped open. Her body trembled under her hands. She seemed so fragile suddenly. Nycole's eyes seemed to scream her confusion. Her eyes scanned the room trying to make sense of everything. Brett stretched out his arms pulling the girl close. Her arms snaked around Brett trying desperately to hold on to something.

"Oh god Brett. We were so lost. And I saw things. I was lost in her. And she was lost in the future. Oh god. I promise I wont let them do that to you. I promise I will protect you two." Nycole sobbed. He didn't understand her. Then again at this moment the fire starter was just happy she was wake.

The fire starter allowed the familiar lullaby to pass his lips. It was the song he sang when everything else in the world was going wrong for the empath. It was the melody that soothed her. The soft tenor toned notes seemed to lull the weeping girl into a state of calm. The empath curled into him. Brett's arms folded her into him. Her limbs relaxed. The girl seemed to slip away from him. Pulling her tighter into him, Brett lifted the girl.

"Brett! Did she wake up?" Kathain begged as she rounded the corner at the entrance of Heaven.

"Yeah. She rambled about protecting me and she seems to have passed out again. I am going to take her up and put her into bed. I don't know what happened, but she seems exhausted still. Kathain, what happened to your jaw?"