She is our Kin. Ours by blood, ours by destiny.

She is Kin. And that is all that matters.

I know! Road exclaimed both mentally and physically. She threw her arms into the air. You think I don't care for her, Dreams? she almost snarled. I care for her as much as you do! I wouldn't have saved her if I didn't! But she isn't the Fourteenth. Not yet. There must be a reason why Millennie told us not to interfere in her life until she wakes, Road reasoned.

Well, you've got a dot, Dreams admitted with a sniff. Adam would have never let one of us suffer, not without good reason. And he always seem to have one plan or another up his shirt.

I think you meant 'got a point' and 'up his sleeve', Road said, rolling her eyes at the malaproper. Dreams never got them right.

It's not my fault! Language changes so quickly, I don't even recognize it from my Mothertongue. English is so confusing!

Road deliberately ignored her protestations and sighed as she sat down on the bed by Ellen's feet. The younger girl was deathly pale, breathing in harsh, almost pained gasps. She looked so small and fragile, nearly disappearing under the thick blankets Road had covered her with. Road sighed and wiped her sweaty forehead with a damp cloth.

She looks just like a doll! Dreams gushed just like a fangirl, and Road winced. Honestly, their sister was comatose and her cuteness was all Dreams cared about?

And dolls. Why did it have to be dolls?

A porcelain doll, sure. Or a mannequin. I'm certain that she'll be happy to be dressed up by us. Once she wakes up, that is. Road glanced at her worriedly. Any ideas about why she's not waking up? She's been like this for hours!

Oh, but that's an easy question, my Host. She's dreaming. Reliving her memories. Stuck there until she finds her way out. And she'll come out all the stronger because of it, I'm sure. She's our fourteenth, after all. The strongest of us all.

Host. My Host. Those words made Road feel uncomfortable. She felt like gold in a clay pot. She was just the container for something that was much, much greater than herself.

Don't be stupid! You're a part of me, just as I am a part of you. Together, we are a whole. You, one of Noah's blessed children. Me, the summation of the minds of those whose footprints you follow. We are, together, the one hundred and eighth incarnation of the Ninth Apostle, the Noah of Dreams.

Road didn't even bother to correct Dreams' malaproper. She felt her heart warm at Dreams' proclamation, but there was something that also bothered her.

Dreams. Is there any way we could, you know, help Ellen? Help her get out of those memories, she tentatively questioned.

Dreams giggled childishly, which made Road feel like something bad was coming. Either that, or she'd missed something obvious. Or both.

You're so silly, my dearest Host. What do you think we are?

Right. Noah of Dreams. And Ellen was sleeping, or at least unconscious. That would mean that she was in her domain. It would be child's play for Road to enter Ellen's mind and help her out. Although…

Millennie's not going to be happy with this, though.

Why not?

She is our family. Using our power, on our own family, is a bad idea. I don't know if we should do this…

Oh, come on. We're trying to help her. Not hurt her. Besides, you said it yourself. She isn't the Fourteenth, not yet. Do it!

Okay, okay, I'll do it!

Yay! I know you'd agree with me! Dreams said happily. Oh, and Road?

Yes?

Be careful. Please…

The first thing Road saw after entering Ellen's mind was the sky.

She found herself lying on her back, on the ground. She could feel the grass beneath her and the soft whispers of the wind caressing her body. Her nose caught the smell of earth and water and trees and rain. The sky was the color of twilight, a peculiar mix of black, purple, red, and orange. There were moons in the sky- wait, moons?

Moons. Road blinked and looked at the sky again. There were, indeed, two moons in the sky, side-by-side. One was a full moon, colored eerily green. The other was a crescent moon that looked like it was made of the finest gold and platinum. She slowly sat up and looked around bewilderedly.

She was in a forest clearing, she realized. A moderately sized one. The grass was tall and unkempt, almost reaching her knees. There was a strange… building, in the middle of the clearing. It looked like someone had taken the pictures of various buildings from various eras, cut them into jigsaw pieces, and put them together with his eyes closed. Some parts of it looked like it was taken from a Greek god's temple (specifically the Parthenon). Others looked like it was made from wood and bamboo. It was an absolute mess, an architect's nighmare, and it looked like it would topple over at the slightest breeze.

In other words, Road loved it. Fascinatedly she got up and walked towards the building. It was strange and it was bizarre, but it was also very attractive and stylish, in an eccentric, weird sort of way. She halted when she saw the body of water that surrounded the building. The water made her extremely ill at ease. It was dark, deep, and unreflecting. She couldn't see her face under the light of two moons. Road picked up a stick from the ground and made to prod the water's surface with it.

"I wouldn't do that, if I were you," a voice rang out from behind her, startling her so much that she almost toppled over into the water head-first. "But you're certainly welcome to go ahead and try- I'm curious to see what would happen."

The speaker was a young girl, not looking a day over eight. She sat upon the branch of a tree and was watching Road with a keen expression on her face. She looked like a younger version of Ellen Walker with snowy white hair and intense, silver eyes that could cut diamonds. A black cloak flowed around her slim body like liquid darkness. It absorbed all light and reflected none, obscuring and occluding her from sight. Silver chains wrapped themselves around her arms and her torso, deceptively delicate-looking but strong, criss-crossing and intertwining at so many places that Road couldn't figure out where it began and ended. They jingled as she jumped off the tree branch and walked towards Road.

"Who are you?" Road demanded at the girl. "And how did you get here?" This was Ellen's mind. There wasn't supposed to be anyone here.

The girl snorted, which made Road jolt with unease. Such an unfamiliar gesture, on such a familiar place. It was so wrong.

"Funny. I should be the one to ask that question," she said, arms crossed on her chest. "You're not supposed to be here," she stated matter-of-factly.

"Answer my question!" Road demanded angrily. The girl shrugged.

"Why should I? You're the intruder here, after all." Her voice was cold, mocking. Road hated it. Without thinking (in hindsight, she was being very reckless and stupid) she raised her hand and tried to summon her candles. Keyword: tried.

The power in her body surged to life and flowed to her fingertips before it flickered and just died, like a snuffed-out candle. Road stared at her hand in disbelief and tried once more. Just as it did before, it failed. With a jolt and building horror, Road realized that Dreams' constant presence in her mind had inexplicably vanished, and so had her Noah powers. She was no more powerful than a sub-human right now, and it terrified her. She felt so weak and fragile. Empty. Powerless. Useless.

The girl stepped closer towards her, arms still crossed on her chest. "Well? Are you just going to sit there kneeling, or are you going to talk to me? I'm not going to be here forever, you know."

Road realized that she had fell to her knees in shock. The fear she had felt evaporated at the Ellen lookalike's words and tone of voice. It was replaced by anger. Her mind decided that te other girl was responsible, somehow, for her current predicament and she lashed out at her in her fury.

"What. Did. You. Do?" she hissed in anger, getting up on her feet.

"Me?" the doppelganger asked. "I didn't do anything." Her tone was innocent and blank. Road didn't buy her words for a second.

"You! You must be responsible for this! Answer me! What did you do to my power?" she screamed in rage and leaped at the doppelganger. A small part of her mind realized that her speed and reflexes were back to human levels as well. This only made her even more angry.

Ellen-clone dodged Road with insulting ease. "Me? Do something to you? I have no idea what you're talking about!" she snapped angrily. This girl had trod into her domain and asked stupid questions and then had the nerve to attack her without prior warning? She had to be crazy!

"Don't lie to me!" Road screamed in fury and threw herself at her. They both fell to the ground in a confusing tangle of limbs. The clone's face turned a shade of scarlet and she let out several very… interesting words that would make a sailor jealous. They were locked into a stalemate for several minutes, neither of them gaining advantage over the other. As much as she hated to admit it, Road was not very powerful, physically, when it came to Noah standards. And as a human, she had been a scrawny little thing without any kind of physical training. Slowly she started to tire out, while the clone remained as energetic as ever.

Finally the clone managed to tip the scales in her favor. With a quick move she threatened to jab her fingers into Road's eyesockets. While Road had turned her face away fast enough to avoid danger, it made it too late for her to see the sharp elbow that rammed itself into the spot just beneath her sternum. With Road preoccupied on other thing such as for instance, the pain that made it incredibly hard for her to breath, the clone was able to pin her to the ground and sit, none too gently, on her stomach.

"Now," she growled, irritation in her voice, "can we have a nice, civilized discussion?"

Road glowered at her, but also realized that she was in no position to protest. The feeling of ire and indignance entered her mind at the idea of being defeated by a mere, eight year old. But there wasn't any other way, was there?

"Let me go first," she growled. The clone gave her an incredulous look.

"And let you get away and attack me? Never. You will answer my questions in this very position. I won't let go until I'm satisfied."

"Well, then, I'm not going to talk to you," Road stubbornly declared.

"You already are talking to me," Ellen said unamusedly. "But that's alright. I have all the time in the world to hold you here."

Something in Road's stomach sunk, and it wasn't the clone's weight. "What, don't you need to eat or something?" she asked. A puzzled look passed the clone's face, but it was quickly hidden.

"Eat? Oh no, I don't need to eat. I've never had to." She gave Road a pointed look. "But I'm pretty sure that you do."

Well, damn. She didn't really have time at her disposal right now. Her body, in the real world, was probably in a comatose state. She had to help Ellen and get out of this place as soon as she could.

"Fine," she growled at the not-Ellen. "A deal, then. We take turns asking questions. One for me, one for you."

Not-Ellen tilted her head sideways, considering the offer. "That sounds acceptable. I'll go first. Name?"

She gritted her teeth. "Road. And before you ask, yes, that is my birthname. I renounced my last name long ago. Yours?"

Not-Ellen tilted her head sideways, again. "Ellen calls me Leah," she said slowly, "but I never had a name before." After this question, Leah tapped her chin thoughtfully, thinking of a question. "How did you come here?" she asked.

"It's something I was born with. Entering people's mind, I mean," Road answered. It wasn't a lie. She was born as the Noah of Dreams. "How did you get here?"

"I don't know myself," Leah shrugged. "I've always been here; since I could ever remember. I woke up here one day. That's all I know." Then she looked at Road. "Why are you here?" she asked suspiciously.

Road stopped herself from biting her lip and showing her anxiety. "I don't know. I just… I just came here. I don't really have any control over it.

Leah narrowed her eyes. "Good try, but I know you're lying. Tell me the truth," she hissed darkly.

"I am telling the truth!"

"Lies." Pale fingers slipped under Road's chin and tightened around her neck. Leah tilted her head sideways (again! When would she ever stop doing that? She was plenty creepy enough, and Road didn't like the way Leah examined her like a particularly fascinating bug) and purred, "you know, it would be so easy for me to just," here she tightened her grasp cutting off Road's air supply, "slip and break your neck, eh? What do you think, little doll?" Leah started to ramble. "You're dressed up, just like a doll, do you know that? A pretty little doll, so that's what I shall call you. But dolls can be broken too, you know? So, so easy." She hummed softly to herself for a moment before continuing, "and you know what happens to broken dolls, right?" Leah bent over and whispered into Road's ears. "They're thrown away. After all, dolls are only to be looked at. What use is a broken doll?"

"I'm not lying!" Road insisted. Wrong answer. Leah's fingers squeezed around her neck and pulled her up a few centimeters from the ground. Road could see the spots dancing in her field of vision.

"I don't like being lied to," Leah whispered in an eerily calm voice. "You will tell me the truth, even if I have to choke the answer out of you. You'll do it, won't you, Doll? Answer me, truthfully now." She dropped her hold and Road's head fell back with a dull thud. Her throat ached liked nothing ever had, causing pain with every gasp of breath. For a moment Road felt like someone had rubbed the inside of her throat with sandpaper. It hurt that much. It took several minutes until she could speak.

"I'm just trying to help!" she finally said. She tried to sound indignant but her hoarse tone made it sound more like a rasp. "That bastard probably did something do her, no matter what I do, she's not waking up."

She never saw it coming. The next thing she realized, her head was throbbing and she was upright, pinned against a tree. Leah held the front of her dress with both hands, her eyes a blazing, mesmerizing silver.

"What?" she hissed, furiously. "Say that again?"

Road tried not to gulp. "She's unconscious. In a coma. She wasn't waking up, so I tried to take a peek here and see what's wrong so…" Road took a deep breath. Ooh, that hurt. Bitch. "I ended up here. Usually whenever I'm in someone else's mind I could do… things but here…" she trailed off, not quite sure what to say. She wasn't lying, but she sure as hell wasn't about to tell the whole truth. That was something Millennie had drilled into her head, multiple times.

The best lies are those with a grain of truth in them, after all. There was no need to tell this… being, that she was a Noah. Oh, that would be just stupid.

Leah's eyes were still filled with anger and suspicion. Her fingers tightened around the front of Road's dress. "How?" she hissed, her voice as chillier than winter wind. It made the hair at the back of Road's neck stand up. Scary girl.

"Cross Marian. Maybe you know him. Smoker, womanizer extraordinaire, and all around jerk." Road personally thought those words quite adequately summed him up.

"Ah, yes. The red haired bastard." Leah's voice was calm. Deceptively calm. Road inched away from what seemed to be an imminent eruption of Mount Leah. "How- what happened?"

Ah. She had to be careful with her answer here, now. "Not quite sure," Road carelessly shrugged. Her throat had healed up. Huh. "I just- I just found her there with him. Knowing him, he wasn't up to any good, so I took her away."

Leah tilted her head sideways, nothing but genuine confusion and curiosity in her eyes. "Why?" she asked in a puzzled tone. " Why did you help Ellen? You could've just left her there alone, you know. You don't even know Ellen, do you?"

"I have… a personal vendetta against him. Cross Marian, I mean. He did something unforgivable, and I was chasing him down. I found him trying to take her away. I figured that this girl… Ellen, did you say? Would know something about him," Road explained, carefully pretending that it was nothing more than a chance encounter. "Besides, I could see that he'd hurt her. And he'd hurt me too, so… I just wanted to help."

A frown crossed Leah's features, her delicate eyebrows meeting together and her lips thinning into a line. She held that expression for a moment before finally nodding, more to herself than to Road.

"Okay. You'll do, I guess," she said. She grabbed Road's shoulder with two firm hands and looked into her eyes. "I'm only telling you this once, Doll, so you'd better listen carefully. I'll show you where Dummy's hiding. I'll even let you use whatever powers you have at your disposal. But you have to get her out of whatever hidey-hole she's stuck herself in. Is that an acceptable trade?" she asked. Road, surprised at the sudden change in Leah's attitude, could only stare for a moment. "Well? Answer my question, Doll!"

Road quickly regained her bearings and glared indignantly at Leah. "Answer my questions first. And don't call me a doll!"

Leah shrugged carelessly. "I guess that's acceptable. And I'll call you whatever I feel like. That a problem, Doll?"

"Yes it is! I'm not a doll!"

"You're dressed like one. Come back to me not wearing that pristine frilly dress of yours and I might reconsider, sweetheart," Leah told her with emphasis on the last few words. She said 'sweetheart' in a voice that screamed 'I'm-a-bag-of-instant-diabetes', which made Road feel vaguely nauseous. "Now. Questions. We don't have all day here."

Road quickly organized her thoughts and considered what she would ask Leah about. She settled for the biggest one.

"What are you?" she asked piercingly. Leah, again, only shrugged. That gesture was quickly getting on Road's nerves.

"Not really sure. So far as I can tell, I'm a part of Ellen. A fragment of her mind, perhaps. Which has its own personality and sense of self. Well, doesn't that goes to show how screwed up we are? Here we are, two 'people', one who shouldn't even exist, talking to each other in another person's mindscape." Leah let out a small laugh. "Well, I'm a part of Ellen. And this," she gestured to her surroundings, "is her mindscape. One's mind is their absolute Domain, a place where they are God. I'm pretty sure that you know this already, pretty little Doll, if you're so experienced with entering people's mind. So everything that I say, goes. Pretty useful, when you want to wrestle someone to the ground, or when you want to know whether they're lying or not. I just didn't expect you to have… what did you call it? Ah yes, 'powers'. I didn't expect that you would be unable to use your powers." Seeing the look Road shot her Leah hastily added, "Honestly, I didn't! I've never met someone here before, so how was I supposed to know? Though it makes sense, since this is my Domain after all. Only that which I allow happens here."

Tawny golden eyes narrowed at Leah. "What were you talking about, before? Ellen- hiding? And I have to drag her out?"

"Exactly what I said, Little Doll." Without any prior warning (which Road was really getting tired of, really) the petite little girl grabbed the collar of Road's dress and dragged her away. Road spluttered and protested, but Leah was freakishly strong for such a wee little thing. They stopped in front of a small well with rounded stone walls and an empty bucket next to it. Road glanced inside; the water was so far and deep away and the way it reflected the sky made her kind of dizzy. She gasped as Leah held her, suspended just above the mouth of the well. If Leah were to let go of her hand, then she would fall down.

"What do you think you're doing?" Road hissed furiously. Leah wasn't impressed.

"Look here, Doll. This is the portal to Ellen's memories, to where she's hiding herself in," Leah told her. " If I could, I'd gladly dive in myself but…" she shrugged carelessly. "Don't worry, you'll know what to do when you're there. Just make sure that Ellen makes it through intact."

"You can't do this to me! You haven't even explained anything to me! What do you even expect me to do?"

"As I said, it's not even the hardest thing on earth! Not even close! You'll know what to do. Your objective is simple, keep Ellen safe and whole. Guide her to her safe-place. I'm sure you can do it. You can't fail. You won't." Leah's voice was getting more and more desperate. "We don't have much time more, Doll! You must find Ellen as soon as you can!"

"And if I can't?" Road asked. As soon as she did, she felt her stomach drop. Literally as Leah let go and allowed Road to fall back in to the well.

"Neither of you will wake up! Good luck, Doll! You'll need it!"

It's dark. That was the first thing Road could think of. It was warm, but not unpleasantly so. Her surroundings was filled with a thick liquid that seemed to envelope her in a gentle hug, like she had taken a trip back to her time in her mother's womb.

It felt safe, and Road couldn't even laugh at the irony she felt. Her mother, her nutjob, delusional mother. Around her own mother, Road could never feel safe. But here…

Road opened her eyes. She was floating in a dark, endless sea of nothingness. She couldn't see anything beyond it. Or perhaps, 'see' wasn't quite the right word. She was just an abstract, formless being, floating in the vast sea that was Ellen's soul.

Road didn't know how long she remained there, aimlessly floating about. Her eyes were both opened and closed at the same time, as oxymoronic as it sounded. For a fleeting instance, she knew. Knew everything and nothing, a being so supreme that it was beyond the imagine of man. What knowledge she, as the apostle of Dreams, had collected in many, many lifetimes, was but a speck of insignificant dust. She was aware, of everything that happened on earth, the soft pitter-patter of human feet as they made their way across Gaea's surface, the rustling of wind that caressed Her lands both gentle and harsh at the same time, and the subtle, undeniable harmony as the planet continues Her never-ending journey across the space.

Yet as Road tried to delve deeper into Gaea, into Her awareness and slumbering, silent intellect, something tugged back at her. She could not, no matter how hard she tried, enter deeper into Mother Earth. Something was holding back, constraining her and keeping her from joining the Earth's consciousness.

Road wasn't very happy. She struggled and struggled against the bonds that held her back. It felt like swimming in a sea of molasses with rocks in her pockets. The thick and sluggish water held her from going forward, and the weight was pulling her down. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't be free. Abruptly, she realized that, slowly but surely, she was sinking. Drowning.

Road barely had a moment to register the shock and horror before the water drained away like someone had pulled the bathtub plug. Down and down she went with the water, spiralling and sinking and spiralling and…

Her eyes jerked open. She wasn't in the sea of Ellen's soul, not anymore. The 'water' had a distinctly cooler and colder feel to it. It was also somewhat brighter. Road twisted around to find herself whole and complete… mostly. She wasn't wearing any clothing, and her body had regressed to that of a young child. The same age she had awakened into her heritage as one of Noah's blessed children. It was a bit strange, considering that she wasn't even actually in a body right now, this was just her consciousness in Ellen's…

Road looked around, trying to find something that would clue her in to what Leah had talked about. The more she thought of it, the more she was sure that Leah was insane. The place was empty sans for herself and… bubbles?

Bubbles. She was surrounded by countless bubbles, all of varying colors and sizes. Some were a delicate string of silver and gold. Some were three feet in diameter and black in color.

Interesting. Road quickly found that she could swim around, albeit in a limited manner. It felt a bit like walking underwater, heavy and took more energy than walking in air, but doable. Road raised a finger and curiously poked a bubble with her finger. It was a small little thing, shiny pink and the size of a pearl.

In hindsight, that was not a good idea.

The bubble in question grew, larger and larger, to the point that it was almost five feet across. Images skittered on its surface, far too faint and fast-moving for Road to make sense of. She could only stare. And then…

It was like the metaphorical Big Bang. Except, not quite like that. It wasn't the start of a universe, nor did it happen in empty space. Regardless, from an outside perspective, that was how it looked like.

The bubble grew. Grew, and grew, and grew, and grew with ever-increasing speed. Road's 'eyes' (because as a metaphysical concept inside another person's mind, Road didn't really have eyes or even a body to begin with) went wide as she moved her limbs around in a frantic windmill-like motion, swimming away from the expanding bubble. It stopped growing for a split second, and then…

It burst, not unlike the way a popped soap bubble did. And all the hell broke loose.

AN: Eeep! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm so, so tardy. It just… passed my mind, you know? I actually had written big chunks of this before posting the previous chapter, but then my muse decided to change her job and make me write original fiction. Stupid, stupid muse. I don't even like vampires! Oh well, at least my mind's gotten on track now.

This chapter, we saw Leah's physical representation. Not really much different from Ellen. And yes, she's quite a bit on the creepy side of things. She's meant to be like that. Everything in the Ellen and Leah's shared mindscape? It's symbolic, sort of. I'll get to it later. Dream's malapropers are because she's 'lived' for so long, learning so many languages, that it's gotten rather mucked-up in her mind. Living a hundred and eight lifetimes, most of them which are longer than average, does that to you.

Anyway, please tell me what you think about it. Reviews would be awesomesauce