Nobody was quite sure how to handle the situation. It wasn't exactly a familiar one. The dog-type creature smiled. It wasn't a friendly smile. It was creepy, but not yet dangerous. I didn't doubt that it could turn that way. "I said hello," the creature spoke again. He sounded polite enough but there was something cold about his tone. "It's only polite to say hello back." The air trembled with uncertain 'hello's from everyone. His smile widened and became more mischievous. "Good."

He seemed quite content to sit and study us. I wondered what exactly he was, but asking what someone is rather than who they are is a bit rude. "Who are you?" I ventured. He looked amused.

"I think the question you really meant to ask is what am I, is it not?" his grin widened. "But you didn't want to be rude… interesting. I find you intriguing Isabel."

I blinked. "How… how…"

"How did I know?" he finished for me. "I know a great many things while knowing nothing at all, and as for what I am…" In one step he sprang up and became a horse unlike any I had ever seen before. Everything changed but his eyes stayed the same. "I can be a great many things." He gave me a toothy smile before becoming a dog again. "But I prefer to take this form today."

Still, he was being friendly but there was something untrustworthy about him. He gave me cold shivers when he looked at me. I took Jack's hand. He gave mine a quick squeeze. The creature saw this and smiled again, but in a way that scared me.

"Love," he said. "Love kills. Love hurts. Love hearts. Hearts. Seventeen hearts here."

I hadn't counted, but I assumed there were seventeen of us. Jack opened his mouth, "What…"

"Seventeen heartbeats standing in a line," the creature cut across him.
"Seventeen heartbeats thinking they'll be fine.
Seventeen heartbeats beating loud and steady
Little do they know one of them's dead already."

A great feeling of unease passed between us, a ripple of discomfort as we all looked at each other. Considering that it was him the creature had possessed, Gibbs was looking the most worried. Everyone tried to surreptitiously check their own pulses.

"What do you want from us?" Jack asked calmly, stepping forwards.

"Nothing," was the reply. "What do you want from me?"

We looked at each other, not knowing what to give away and what information to withhold. Although I had a feeling he probably already knew what we were here for. Jack hesitated but spoke with confidence, "We're looking for Atlantis."

He nodded, "And what's stopping you?"

"Well…" Gibbs looked like he was already regretting speaking. "Right now… you are."

"Am I?" He licked his lips. I saw his teeth flash. "How rude of me."

"Which path do we take?" I asked, indicating to the four possible choices that lay ahead of us.

"Which one do you want to take?" Not for the first time today, he answered a question with a question. It was getting rather tiring.

"Which one will lead us to where we want to go?" Jack was getting rather ratty.

The creature shrugged. "All of them, none of them. Maybe only some of them."

"This is ridiculous," Jack dropped my hand and stepped forwards. He walked straight past the creature and through the opening directly in front of us. The second he did so everything started spinning and the openings changed order so fast it was impossible to tell which one Jack had travelled down. I called for him. The creature laughed and began to circle us.

"Where is he?" I asked.

"Somewhere, everywhere, nowhere to be found
With us, beside us, somewhere all around," was the infuriating answer.

"That doesn't make any sense!" I turned to face the creature. His smile was twisted.

"Who says? Who's to say that nonsensical things don't make any sense? If you only have the common sense to make sense of the nonsense this would all be rather sensible," he laughed again. I felt incredibly disorientated. "The journey to Atlantis is a personal one more than anything else. You must all take it alone. If you make it to the other side you will be reunited and pass on to the Forests of Atween. If you perish at the hands of your own demons you have nobody to blame but yourself."

"Our own demons?" I repeated.

"The secrets and fears and troubles in your head

Every little nightmare that's filled you with dread

In the Maze you're not likely to get lost or left behind

If you're never seen again it's because you've lost your mind," he sang it like it was a nursery rhyme. I shuddered. Behind me, Ragetti whimpered.

"So…" he gulped. "We have to… face our fears… in there… alone?"

The creature nodded. "One by one," he grinned and turned to me. "Isabel… you next."

I stepped forwards and looked at him. "Will I find Jack again?"

"If you both stay sane."

Jack wasn't sane to start with. My own joke made my heart sink and I took a step forward. Stay strong, Jack. I thought desperately in case there was some crazy way that he could hear me. In my head I heard his voice, soothing and familiar. You too, love. I looked at the crew and tried to think of something worth saying. When nothing came to mind I smiled encouragingly. "See you soon," I mumbled.

"I'll see you again, Isabel," said the creature. "You intrigue me."

I stepped forwards and everything around me changed. The hedge walls twisted and spun and the opening closed immediately. For a second there was nothing but silence. And then a sing-song voice drifted over to me. One I knew all too well,

Isabel's somewhere, everywhere, nowhere to be found
She's with us, beside us, somewhere all around
The secrets and fears and troubles in her head
Every little nightmare that's filled her with dread
In the Maze she wont to get lost or left behind
If she's never seen again it's because she's lost her mind

Seventeen heartbeats entering the Maze
Seventeen heartbeats lost in the haze
Seventeen heartbeats beating loud and steady
Little do they know one of them's dead already…

Ooh, bit ominous :P Love you guys lots like jelly tots. Or maybe more like Chocotlate Orange, I prefer them to jelly tots.