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This story and its characters are completely original and belong to Zelosh and him alone. Any resemblance it has to another story is accidental as well as coincidental. While this story is fairly clean there may be things you find inappropriate or offensive. Read at your own risk.

With that, enjoy your stay inside The Eternal Door.

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Eternal Door

"I can't sleep..."

"Um..." Gil's mouth opened but shut slowly as he realized he had yet to come up with a proper response. This was definitely new, and he hadn't been quite prepared for it either. The sight of Jack's room had left him in awkward silence and he could almost feel a snicker coming on but he repressed it. "So this is a rather interesting side of you."

Jack grunted and found a place to put his box of stuff before turning back to reply. "What's that suppose to mean? I don't suppose you had any choice in decorating your room did you?"

"Well no..." Gil admitted, since he didn't exactly like his room either. Too many sticky notes for his tastes. "I just find it ironic that's all." He didn't really want to tick the lizard off anymore, he had just gotten on the kid's good side.

The room was a decent size with blue walls and a deep violet carpet. There was one window but instead of an actual view it looked like someone had painted random crap on the outside of it. All of that ends what Gil found normal about the room, this was where stuff got weird. The blue walls were covered in spaceships and stars and all that other spacey crap. The bed was a racecar bed, it even had that little steering wheel at the foot of it. Every little piece of furniture, gadget, and light had some odd theme to it. The night light was an ocean blue with a wave design and starfish on it. The chest in the corner was wide open and overflowing with fake swords and guns, there was even an intricately designed magic wand. The wand seemed to fit in with the other magic themed items, namely the lamp which looked like a living tree and the fan which had giant leaves instead of fan blades with fake gems embedded into the design. The small desk on the far side had a row of adventure books and anything from Atlantis to Indiana Jones graced the collection. Also, on the desk was paper with crayons sprawled out over the surface. It seemed as if someone had just been there drawing their hearts out and taping the resulting pictures of future ambitions to the walls.

All in all, it had a strange and wonderful feeling to it, but it all seemed too childish to belong to Jack. It should belong to a seven year old who did nothing but dream, something Gil was sure most anyone could understand. As a kid, people dream of growing up into a world where everything is fun and exciting, but then as they get older they start to lose that power to dream.

"Yeah sure, whatever." Jack huffed and fell onto the bed which, despite its insulting design, was actually quite comfortable. Gil's eyes had followed him, trailing up and down the surface of the car. That's when he noticed blood on it, but it was hard to view them in the dimmed light. "Hey!" Apparently, Jack had noticed. "Invasion of privacy! You've seen my room now get out." He had thrown the covers over the blood words, showing that he clearly didn't like him trying to decipher them.

"Fine fine I'm leaving! Thanks I guess." The jackal threw his hands up as if exasperated and prepared to leave, but he did stop to look back once more before exiting. "Just make sure to be out when the trial starts."

"I know that already..." Pausing to stare at the ceiling, the lizard waited until the door was completely closed. He then got up and tried to listen in, putting one ear on the wood. Footsteps going away it sounded like, so Gil must have actually decided to leave. That was good, he wanted the privacy right now.

The door had no lock unfortunately, so he improvised by pulling the dresser, with great difficulty, to sit in front of it. He was an independent teenager who could never have enough freedom, even he knew he had a bit of an obsession with his personal space. That's just the way he was, especially since he hadn't lived in a normal room for some time now.

He didn't have a family, there was only one person he considered family that had taken him in. He for the most part was just a street rat, shadowing his guardian and trying to be like him. Jack acted tough, tried to look cool, was quick to anger, and absolutely without a doubt would tear the throats out of anyone who dare even insinuate that they were insulting his big brother. Well, he called him his big brother anyway.

"Hey... brother, can you hear me?" Jack stalked over to the desk sulking as he went. He shoved the over items off and tossed his head into his arms. He felt tears coming on but denied them fiercely. "I want to apologize. I think I was trying to replace you." Despite his best efforts to not cry, his emotions were beginning to pour out. He was sick and tired of holding it all in. "I just need you... I hate this place, I hate doing this all on my own. How do you do it?! I always looked up to you because you're so..." He was losing his ability to speak properly and started to choke.

"You're so strong brother. I want to be strong too..." Quiet, it was so quiet in that room, but it still felt so alive. The lights had at some point dimmed even more letting the various trinkets and gems in the room to glow slightly. It was a sight to see, but he ignored it. "Blake was kind of like that. He got scared at first, but that's understandable. Even so he reminded me of you, calm but with a hidden force I guess."

He lifted his head, the tears were now visible on his glossy scales. "I feel alone again brother. I'm not strong... I can't deal with this! Come on! Show me a sign brother... show up like you always do. Make it seem like you never left me!" Shooting up his eyes raged with a distraught fury causing the chair he was sitting in to go crashing down. "ANSWER ME! Why won't you... I-I... can't take much more of this." All the anger left him and he was once again slumped over the woodwork overflowing with grief.

It wasn't like he was really that mad, Jack was just being honest and true to his feelings. He was venting, letting out every little thing he could now so that he wouldn't have to deal with it later. That's what his guardian told him, let it all out, don't deal with it later. "I want to be strong..."

The room was silent besides the muffled sniffles and sobs of the lone reptile. He whimpered as it suddenly occurred to him the room was rather dark. He cursed mentally and felt utterly exposed and weakened in this state. He was afraid, he didn't like this one bit, and he couldn't take this place anymore. The whole lie that this place was a safe haven was a complete deception. He didn't feel any safer here than he did in the trials, and now it was becoming pitch black and the door was blocked.

Jack fretfully stumbled around trying to feel his way towards the door. He just wanted out, there was no light switch so he wouldn't bother trying to turn the lights back on. The room had a life of its own, and things that changed so much couldn't be trusted. He was trapped inside the belly of the beast, something much worse than death approached his figure in the darkness.

"AH!" Jack yelped and tumbled forward hitting his head hard against the wall causing the world around him spun rapidly in his dementia. He couldn't tell what was going on anymore, this delusion was becoming too strong and the horror that was his imagination would be the end of his sanity. He could picture it in his head, every unspeakable terror lurked in the corners and watched patiently.

The monster under the bed had a missing eye where blood and maggots oozed out of the empty socket. The man watching from outside the window had a trench coat and bandages covering his face; he sometimes scratched against the surface of the glass with his long, sickly green nails. The ooze in the corner of the ceiling had no form and always hid just out of sight, but when he closed his eyes it would ever so slowly dripped down on top of him during sleep. The ooze would then encase him and...

Jack screamed and shouted out for help. His head ached and he was terribly confused. He was terrified of this place, he didn't want to be alone anymore. Being alone sucked, people dieing sucked, always being in danger sucked. He had had enough of this crap in the real world and now that he's dead he has to deal with it here too!

However, at this moment, the fear seemed to dissipate as reality hit him. Oh... that's right, I'm dead. It would be weird to say he forgot but he kind of did. The ironic thing was he had been technically praying to his living guardian, not the other way around. He wondered if his body had been found yet, he wondered what went through his big brother's head when he saw the corpse. Jack's face contorted with misery, and he didn't care if it made him look disgusting right now. He felt awful but also worried.

"Do you miss me?" He curled up into a tight ball, very characteristic of an armadillo lizard, his kind. Sorrow permeated through him followed closely by depression. He didn't care if the monsters got him anymore, he just wanted to disappear. He didn't want to die, he already did that, he wanted to go far away and never come back. If hatred was a strong word then it wasn't strong enough because he abhorred this place, no he detested it with a passion. He wanted to go into a blind rage and destroy everything until there was nothing left. Maybe if he was strong enough, he'd be able to tear open the world and finally make his way back to the only family he had left.

Despite current emotions and thoughts, he could feel his tight grip on himself beginning to loosen and his anguish and laments simply vanish. There was light in the room, a bright light. He was confused but couldn't avert his gaze, the light was so beautiful. It was enticing, it was familiar. It radiated with hope that warmed his soul. There were so many adjectives he could use to describe it but each failed horribly in doing so. He felt wobbly and dizzy suddenly, but still managed to stare right into the white before him. Being completely awestruck made it difficult to think straight or even sit upright, and Jack was so much more than awestruck right now.

Reaching out slowly, Jack breathed out short, raspy breaths in anticipation. A crooked smile touched his features. "Brother?" He spoke out one final word before his voice was taken from him.

* * *

Ryan's ears perked up slightly, he could have sworn he heard something over the crackling of the fire but it was faint so it was hard to tell if it was just his imagination or not. He would've dwelled on it further but his tail had wandered dangerously close to the flames and forced him to abandon the thought in hope of saving his fur from catching on fire.

He didn't know where Jessica was at the moment but he figured it really wasn't any of his business. The trial would most likely be starting soon and everyone probably wanted what time they had to themselves, for better or for worse he guessed. It was a good thing because one could recuperate more easily by themselves, but it was also bad because it made him feel slowly disconnected from everyone else. They needed to be together, trying to make unbreakable bonds, because without that connection they wouldn't survive. At least, that's what he was beginning to believe, but even so he was a hypocrite. He was still having difficulty being around Gil.

It wasn't that he hated Gil, but something was definitely up. He wanted to hear the whole story behind the kidnapping, perhaps it was for a good reason, maybe even one that benefited Jessica in some way. He had never heard of a good intentioned kidnapping, but hell he was willing to believe anything after talking to a chalkboard. The only thing he was afraid of was getting angry again and lashing out before even half the story was out. He wanted to know, but keeping his distance seemed like a safer choice at the moment.

Over to the left Kid was playing just inside his vision. He wasn't exactly watching her but he occasionally noticed some of what the cub was doing. It was hard to tell, but he was pretty certain she was ripping off all the cushions from the couches and stacking them up. He couldn't imagine what for, the furniture was plentiful so that meant a lot to work with. It donned on him when he noticed a sort of uniformity to the way they were stacked and realized a carefully place blanket had formed a makeshift roof. She was building a fort.

It was slightly comical, or at least he found it amusing enough to grin and continue to watch. His interest had now been piqued so he was intentionally picking up on her actions and strategies during the course of the construction. Walls often fell or were rearranged but slowly he could tell she was getting the hang out it. It was actually turning out to be a rather impressive fort, but it was still slow improvement.

Ryan identified the problem when he saw her constantly climbing on top of nearby couches to reach up higher. She wasn't tall enough to build it the way her mind imagined it apparently. Suddenly, he was restless and wanted to go over. It was childish but that's why it was so charming. It appealed to the kid in him, it made him want to just have fun. He couldn't remember the last time he had fun honestly, it felt like he had been in Judgment forever.

Making his way over he went undetected and stood stationary right outside the fort. He was not so discreetly staring at Kid as she went about her business, but she still hadn't seen him yet. He didn't want to just jump in and aid her in the task, but it felt strange asking. Did Kid even like him that much? He wasn't sure what to do from here.

Turns out he didn't have to do anything actually. Kid had noticed him by now and froze up. She didn't move a muscle, didn't even twitch, as she peered at him through squinted eyes. He didn't think it was for intimidation, it actually looked like she was sizing him up and coming to some sort of conclusion. The awkward moment had lasted too long though and he just had to say something before she could finish.

"Uh... hey there." He did a short wave, but got absolutely no response making him feel even more out of place. He scratched his head unsure of what to say and was rather puzzled as to why he was even there. He kind of was hoping she liked him and was looking for a way to pass the time. The worst part was the thought of being hated by half the people here. He figured Gil was already mad at him because of everything so it would only make matters worse if Kid was the same.

Suddenly, Kid seemed to relax and continued to stare with wide eyes at him before reaching for a cushion. She trotted over and promptly shoved the cushion into his arms without a word, silently communicating through finger gestures and puppy dog eyes what he needed to do. Steadily he began to figure out what she wanted and carefully placed the cushion on top of another one up high on the stack. He looked back waiting for her approval and saw that she was happy with it.

"Thanks Ryan!" she said cutely with a big grin.

He smirked, "Glad to be of service... anything else I can do?"

She thought about it for a moment and began to see where else his height could be of use. It appears her light bulb went off because she shouted for him to come on to the other side of the fort. He got to go through it much to his joy, crouching down so as to not topple over the grand structure. She was about to say something before she was cut short and interrupted.

She wasn't stopped by someone else speaking, actually she could of kept talking and he would have heard her, the problem lied with what made her stop. A loud snap had boomed in the room ruining their fun, but whether they liked it or not the trial was beginning with or without them.

Ryan sighed and immediately felt anxious as his chest tightened up. He didn't want to go back, that was natural of course, but he had no choice right? "Let's go Kid..."

"'Kay..." she responded simply.

Despite what he said though, Ryan quickly concluded he had absolutely no clue as to where to go. His eyes darted this way and that but there were no changes in the room. He panicked as it occurred to him the dangers of not finding the entrance to the trial. "Come on Kid we have to hurry!" He grabbed her hand and tugged her along, sprinting for the door as he assumed the trial was out in the hallway if not there.

The door opened before he even got to it and Jessica came charging in, almost collided with them. "Ryan! Where's the entrance?!"

Petrified, Ryan tried to fit all the pieces together. "What do you mean?! It isn't in the hallway?"

"I haven't seen anything change!"

"Nothing has changed in here either!"

"Then where is th-" A hissing noise stopped both of them dead in their tracks. It was the hiss of air as if from vents they did not know existed in this room. They were dead after all so they didn't need air, why would there be vents?

It didn't take Ryan long to find out why though, a green mist had filled their vision and he coughed violently. "Jessica wh-" He couldn't see anything and before he knew it his whole body was tingling and numb. He keeled over and convulsed several times. Whatever was happening it was giving him seizures as everything faded into black.

He couldn't think, couldn't move, the darkness was stealing away his consciousness and replacing it with emptiness. Whatever happened from there on out was not recorded into his memory, he couldn't see or feel any of it.

* * *

Pain, that's one way to describe how he felt, cause that was the first thing to greet him in the land of the awake. His head was swimming and felt like a ball of lead, but he still managed to sit up once before falling back over making him repeat the process. Ryan opened his eyes a tad, since movement wasn't an option, trying to get a glimpse of the room he was in before his eyelids became dead weights and closed on him again.

Finally, a groan escaped him and his throat suggested an extreme need for water. It was an odd sensation, he wasn't use to being thirsty after all this time, they weren't suppose to need sustenance or anything like that. The dryness, however, was clearly evident.

Groggily, Ryan managed to get up once and for all using the wall as support. It was like a bulldozer had rammed him because everything ached. At the very least, it was dwindling as he continued to awaken allowing him to pay attention to the surroundings instead of his burden.

He was in a well lit square box of a room, the light coming from a chandelier dawning twelve candles up above. The concrete walls, which were notably sandy brown, were almost completely barren except for the chains that were bolted to them. Wait... chains? Ryan flipped out momentarily as the notion came to him that he might be chained up. Metal clinked noisily as he jostled around supposedly confirming his suspicions, but he promptly figured it out. He was fine and free, the metals around him had no hold over him.

Speaking of metal, chains were hardly the sole decor. There were weapons hanged up too, but they all resembled objects straight out of the renaissance festival. He figured they must all be fake but the swords, axes, maces, flails, and other tools of war were most definitely real. It was like a torture room but it failed to accommodate any sort of equipment or sharp, pointy furniture to finish the mental image he had of such places.

There was no one else there as far as he could tell, but there were three open corridors on all sides of the room except his. He questioned whether he should actually go anywhere and considered the idea of taking a weapon with him, but looking down he saw that something had already been strapped to his side. It wasn't a sword or a hammer but rather a gun much to his surprise. Actually could it be called a gun? The barrel was extremely large so it presented itself as more of a flare gun or one of those amazing hand fireworks launchers that were now illegal in Havenine.

He labeled it as a tool meant to be used since he was clearly in a trial right now, he just didn't know what it was to be used for yet. There was no wooden sign in the room to tell him what to do, so he went off of instinct and decided it best to head down the middle corridor, the one right in front of him.

It took only a few steps forward to notice movement in the room just beyond. At first, he took it as a threat, but the figure was easily recognizable. It was Gil, thankfully, and Ryan would really prefer not having to deal with monsters this time around so it was a welcome discovery. Just to clarify, that included them turning into monsters. He didn't want to deal with that again either.

"Hey Gil!" Ryan called ahead, seemingly startling the guy but he assumed that's just because the trial was making him jumpy. The tiger was now taking his final steps into the room and could see that it was similar to the one he had just been in. Also, Kid was there too. "Do you guys know what's going on? This should be a trial but... I..." He paused on "I," Gil was glaring at him and fumbling for something at his side. In moments a gun was being pointed at him. "...Gil?"

"Shut up! Don't you dare move..." He shakily prepped a weapon identical to the one Ryan had.

"Whoa what the hell are you doing? Calm down we need to figure out what is-"

"I SAID SHUT UP!"

"Stop Gil! Stop fighting!" Kid had chimed in and jumped into the line of fire shocking both of them and amping up the danger levels significantly.

"Get out of the way Kid... You saw the sign! Besides..." This time the jackal really was pointing it at the cub. "You shouldn't trust me either remember?"

"THE HELL GIL SHE'S A CHILD!"

"I said stop fighting!" she whined again. Pouting she garnered Ryan's attention and stuck out a finger towards something behind Gil. "Let him read it."

Gil looked back and forth between both of them before reluctantly lowering his aim and sidestepping off to the side. Ryan was both confused and pissed, but upon seeing the wooden sign he remembered that it was crucial he understand the rules for the trial. He read swiftly, soaking up the information as he went. It read...

TRIAL OF CONFLICT

GOAL: Kill the impostor.

Ryan immediately stopped and turned to them with his jaw dropped. "Kill the impostor?! What the hell does that mean? Is it actually telling us th-"

"Keep reading damn it!" Gil lashed out but it was easy to tell he was shaking and dismayed by this whole situation. Begrudgingly the reading continued.

**RULES: You were all put to sleep, and in the time you were asleep one of you was taken away. The taken one is safe, but they have been replaced by an impostor. The impostor will behave and speak just as if they are the real deal, but do not be fooled because if they are not dead in exactly twenty minutes every one of you will die and only the taken will have survived this encounter. Note that these rooms are like home base in that you cannot die in them unless time runs out or you are shot with the equipped weapons

TOOLS: There is a weapon at each of your waists. Each gun has one bullet, it is a certain kill.**

"No..." It was all Ryan could say in return. This was way worse than he had originally imagined and every possible bad ending streamed through his mind on replay. "So if I'm not mistaken, one of us isn't the real... us, so we have to..."

"Eliminate them." Gil said heartlessly, apparently he had already dealed with his emotions on the matter and was determined to survive because Ryan didn't need to look twice to see that his eyes were cold and calculating. "Do you get it Ryan? I'm sorry but I know I'm not the impostor, but that doesn't mean I know you aren't."

"Just stop talking Gil. I get it." The response exhibited malicious intent, Ryan was not going to give in to this heartless jerk. "By the way, if you keep stirring up trouble I'll have to believe you're lying because only a sick, twisted killer would scheme of ways to create conflict between us." He pulled his gun out as well, making sure to do it so that by the time the other noticed it was already in hand. Gil was getting the message that two could play this game.

It was like all the good intentions from before, all believing in companionship and supporting one another, had melted away into thin air as if it had never existed in the first place. Ryan felt cold hearted but that failed to keep his blood from boiling. He didn't even give a moment's thought as to where these thoughts were coming from, he didn't care.

"Both of you, put the guns down now." The voice was distinctly familiar but he could swear he'd never heard a sound like it. It chilled him to the bone and he almost put the gun down. He glanced over at Jessica and stared into raging eyes. He could never understand how she managed to express so much emotion, but however she did it the message was getting across.

"Jessica! I..." Ryan felt slightly happy at seeing her because he knew she was okay now. Then again, did he? That might not be Jessica. "You don't understand what's going on."

"Oh I understand just fine, but I don't need to pull out my gun to get you to understand. Now both of you put them down." She stepped inside with Jack in tow and headed over to the sign.

Ryan wasn't sure how to put his down at the same time as Gil in order to make sure he wasn't just about to be shot, but then Kid stepped in and pulled Gil's arm down gently. He reluctantly did so and Ryan followed suit feeling slightly ashamed he wasn't man enough to go first. Seriously, what had gotten into them? He wanted to blame the jackal for everything, but he knew his response was misplaced and senseless.

"I see..." Jessica's features softened with worry. Of course, it all made sense now, but she didn't want to believe it. Turning to them she tried to find the words to say but was at a loss. She threw her hands up slightly desperately trying to figure this out. "Twenty minutes... do we have a timer?" Gil said nothing and gestured to a black rectangle on the ceiling that displayed the timer like a digital clock. It was at eighteen minutes now.

"We need to work together right?" Jack said simply breaking the awkward silence beginning to form. How he stood there taking on the pressure Ryan would never know. He seemed distant and unconcerned, almost apathetic to the situation. "Hey! Don't look at me like that, I'm not the one who was saying we should all help each other and all that crap."

"Jack's right we need to work together," Jessica added in. She was trying to be helpful but she knew she didn't know how to accomplish working together. It was like a good luck phrase that would magically make everything alright so long as they "worked together."

"So we work together by..."

"Well we all know each other pretty well, I think if we just sat down and talked it through we might be able to figure it out." Ryan was trying to make it look simple but chances are it wouldn't be, and it was too late to say he didn't feel on edge around Gil.

"I'm not sitting down..."

"It's an expression Jack and you're not helping."

Jack huffed and rolled his eyes being slightly rebellious for whatever hormonal reason. He didn't look like he was in danger, rather he looked so calm, albeit annoyed and full of angst, but still calm. "Fine fine. Okay so I'm guessing the impostor, since they're suppose to completely mimic one of us, isn't actually a person. Does that help?"

"So like a robot?" Gil caught on fast and thought it through for a moment. It was far fetched but it made sense and gave them somewhere to start. "Okay then lets try it."

"I always knew robots would one day pose as humans and take over the world. Well... more like the underworld," Ryan added in jokingly since neither he nor Jessica knew what they could possibly do with that kind of information.

"So what exactly..." Jessica was about to ask what Gil's plan was, but he then abruptly headed for the wall before picking the most appealing knife he could find. He didn't hold it menacingly or point it at anyone, wasn't much of a threat anyway if it couldn't kill them, but instead studied its reflective metal carefully before he poised it above his wrist. He cut himself in one swift strike and cringed as blood splattered out. "Jesus Gil what the hell are you thinking?!"

"See?!" He showed his wrist off still wincing in pain causing the majority of them to look away in disgust. "Blood, red blood. Sure this isn't a full proof idea, but assume the impostor doesn't have red blood or isn't even alive at all."

"So you think cutting yourself is the answer?!"

"What choice do we got?!" He turned to Jack and held out the knife for him to take. "Here, we all have to do this."

"What? I ain't touching that!" Gil growled slightly but Jack merely crossed his arms in defiance. However, he groaned an gave in a few seconds later. "Fine I'll do it, don't get your panties in a knot."

"Gil I'm not so sure..." Ryan began to speak his worries since he was with Jessica in categorizing this in the list of things crazy people do, but the jackal wasn't having it.

"Ryan how about you try helping yourself?"

Ryan simply grunted and took the knife from Jack with completely renewed distaste for Gil. Jack frowned unhappily at his healing arm but seemed vaguely glad to know blood did in fact run through his veins still. Ryan had to close his eyes to do it, self infliction was just wrong on all levels no matter what the excuse was, but he managed somehow. "Here, have your damn knife back, its got my blood on it now." He dashed it to the ground at the jackal's feet.

Gil didn't want to pick it up, but he also didn't want to start another fight since being sensible was technically the better plan. Either way it was time to move onto the next person. Turning around he immediately froze up and realized where the flaw in this idea started.

Kid looked back at him warily and with every advancing motion he made she stepped further back with widened eyes. There was no way he could do this now, but Jessica had decided that for him already. Getting in front of him she shoved him back harshly and went straight to shouting. "FUCK NO! No way, no how, never!"

Despite deciding not to do it, her interference caused his rage to flare. "It has to be done and you know that! Give me another idea if you got one!"

"I will then, but you aren't going to come with a hundred feet of this child with that bloody knife you hear me?! Just give me time!"

"We don't got time!" He gestured to the clock which indicated they had fifteen minutes left and tried to get closer again.

"Back off." She pulled out her gun and aimed to kill. "You're sick Gil."

"I'm reasonable," he responded coldly before grabbing at his own gun to even the playing field. However, his hand only met air. He flipped and spun around to figure out what was going on and suddenly met eyes with Kid. She had sneaked around them and stolen his gun, the same one aimed at his head right now.

Not what he expected to happen. "Whoa Kid calm down." He suddenly wasn't as quick to get aggressive when he had no way to defend himself. "I mean come on you'd heal and it doesn't hurt that much. You said we shouldn't fight so..."

"You're against fighting now huh?"

"SHUT UP JESSICA! I'm sick of your lip you hypocrite!"

"Oh so now I'm the hypocrite?! Well newsflash Gil you-" Amidst their fighting Kid began to shake and whine slightly. Her finger twitched and she go scared. She didn't like what was happening, she only took his gun because he was going to threaten Jessica. She liked Jessica, but now Gil was at a disadvantage and she didn't know what to do.

"Stop fighting!" She cut them both off and with wet eyes squeezed shut pulled the trigger. Gil looked back just in time to see the barrel explode. By God's grace he swayed just enough to feel the rush of air indicating that something powerful had just passed by his skull.

Gil freaked and swiveled back around with horrific thoughts as to what he might see. He saw Jessica on the ground staring dumbly at the shattered wall beside her. He could only inwardly breathe a sigh of relief before turning back to the cub. "Kid what were you..." He was at a loss, there was nothing he could say right now, but nothing any of them did warranted being shot at. His sympathy for children all but disappeared. "Kid you mindless moron! You almost killed us! What were you thinking?!" He was in such a rage his own tears went unnoticed and cared for. Being so close to death... he didn't like it. He didn't want to die ever again.

This time Gil really did go after her, grabbing her thin arm mercilessly and considering his next course of action. He wanted to hurt her so badly. To punish her, anything to vent his emotions in the form of physical conflict. Jessica was not okay with that and recovered in the most efficient way she found possible, by turning all her fear into resentment.

Screaming out she raised her gun once more at Gil's back and might have actually pulled the trigger if Jack hadn't slammed into her arm and pressed her up against the wall. She was strong enough to fight back, but not quick enough to resist being shackled to the wall by chains. He only managed to shackle her gun hand before she lashed out at him. Unfortunately, the gun slipped from her grip and landed too far out of her reach. Jack considered going for it but backed off when she had suddenly armed herself with a spiked mace. Sure he wouldn't die, but somehow getting his head bashed in didn't sound pleasant in the least. He'd also be vulnerable until he heals.

"Jack... what do you think you're doing." Ryan spoke up after standing by for too long. He was at a loss at what to do because, since Gil wasn't exactly in danger himself the majority of the time, he couldn't bring himself to attack Jessica like Jack did.

"I'm stopping her duh. She's out of control!"

"How is that a good reason to chain her up?! What if there isn't a key you idiot!" He watched helplessly as she struggled for freedom.

"Let go!"

"Let go of her Gil!"

"I-I... I won't do anything I just-"

"Gil just let go we don't need this right now! I understand your feelings but..."

"Ryan help me get Jessica away from the gun before she hurts someone!"

"Heck no! Jessica you just need to calm down so we can get you out."

"No way are you letting her out! She'll try to kill me again!"

"I SAID LET GO OF HER!" She threw the light mace at the jackal and hit dead on. A sickening crack resounded off the concrete walls and all stared mortified as Gil's body collapsed limply to the ground. Kid was free but began flailing about as if that would get the blood off of her. Something in her snapped as she desperately dashed out of the room leaving wails and screams in her wake.

"Kid no!" Jessica jumped to go after her but her progress was halted when her chain yanked her back. Now that she was distracted Jack took his chances and jumped for control of her gun and succeeded.

His moment of victory was short lived when a blow to his backside sent him sprawling down one of the corridors screaming in agony. Biting his lower lip he swallowed the pain and held out both guns at Ryan who did the same with his. It was another standoff, but Jack was the more confident.

"What are you gonna do? I got two and you only got one."

Ryan shrugged and kept his aim steady. "What difference does it make? A sure kill is a sure kill."

After thinking it through for a moment, Jack realized there was no sense in killing a person twice over. "Fair enough." The lizard simply glared before sprinting off into a different room.

Ryan was no longer in the mood for games, and Jessica was still tied up. Gil stood up suddenly and whimpered pathetically trying to get his scattered brain straight. Turning to him Ryan didn't even think about raising his gun to threaten him. After all, it wasn't like Gil had anything left to shoot with. "Gil..." he started with a stressed expression. "Just go... please."

Gil wanted to protest but somehow couldn't argue, and through a means unbeknown to him getting his head bashed in diminished all his anger but frustration remained. He just wanted things to stop. He couldn't take the pain anymore and the fact that they healed just to be hurt again didn't make it any easier. Maybe it was best if he left, he already did his damage and seeing Jessica's fiery eyes teared up his soul to no end. What had he done? "I-I just want to live! I..." He brought his hands up to wipe of the blood but failed to wipe off the tears. "I'm sick of living dead Ryan."

The tiger's face distorted with anguish at his friend's pain, but his sympathy wouldn't change his mind. Too much had happened, it was too early to forgive. "Just stop Gil. Go." You're breaking me. Ryan spoke coldly but only because couldn't stand hearing anymore. He needed to be left alone to think.

They took one last prolonged moment to watch each other's conflict hardened defenses breaking down before Gil turned his back on him and left. He said one last thing before disappearing, "You got eleven minutes Ryan, don't waste it..."

Ryan looked back at Jessica who was silently curled up on the ground where she refused to uncoil. He didn't dare move her. It was clear she wanted solitude, but that would not be granted. Ryan couldn't leave her like this and he had to get her free. All the same she knew she had to find Kid but she didn't want to deal with this anymore. She wanted to be back home where everything was okay, she wanted to escape far away and never come back to the challenges she currently faced.

Then again, who was she kidding? How was home any better? Her life was cursed, everyone she got close to was destined to die. That's how it has been and shall always be. She wasn't safe here, there, or anywhere. The day she succeeded in protecting the ones she loved she would die, again, doing so, because the only way she figured to prevent a cursed death is to kill the curse. She was the curse, and she hated herself for it. She hated that she could leisurely sit here while Kid was off somewhere in danger and not do a darn thing about it.

Ryan stood helplessly keeping watch. In that moment, he completely dedicated the remainder of his short lived time here to protect her ignoring the possibility that she was the impostor. It was time to give up, he was sick of seeing others get hurt. He'd rather die here than stand watching another do the same. He wouldn't go through dealing with death ever again. Not with Blake, not with his family, not with anyone anymore.

It was the easy way out to avoid being outside the casket looking in by being in it, but he was making a crucial mistake by falling into this line of thinking. He forgot why his loved ones hurt him to the point of breaking.

Because sometimes we have to die, in order to truly live.