Fanfic: Paranormal || Horror, suspense || UPDATED 09/08/09

Author's Note: My first attempt ever at a horror fanfic. x3 ....feel free to give advice/critique and whatnot, though.

RATING: Rough/High-level PG-13
For disturbing scenes, violence and some amounts of gore

MAIN CHARACTERS:
Roy Harper (Speedy)
Lian Harper
Raven Wayne (Phantom)
Garth (Aqualad)
Saykira
Garfield Logan (Beast Boy)

PROLOGUE

"Lian, I said to hold my hand."

I glanced to my right side and smiled as Roy Harper quickly ducked down and snatched the little hand of the girl scampering along ahead of him. She giggled and came to a bouncing stop, her bangs bobbing about over her dark brown eyes.

"Car'vil!" She squealed, giving his arm a gentle tug and falling back into her clumsy skip. Garth let out a slight laugh from behind us, his right hand gently clasping Saykira's and swinging slightly with each stride. She was smiling softly, her long hair pulled up into a high bun. The Atlantean shot Roy a grin.

"She sure seems excited about this, Roy."

The red head let out a huff, smirking over his shoulder a bit as he scooped Lian into one of his arms and rested her on his hip.

"You kidding? This is all she's talked about all week."

I glanced over my shoulder to give Garth a further nod of confirmation. It was true. During my visits to East Tower throughout the previous two weeks, Lian had done almost nothing more than talk about the big carnival coming to town. Dinah, Ollie, Gar, Garth and I had been trying to weed out some more bonding time for the two...but maybe mentioning the idea early on hadn't been the smartest move. It had been a long few months; while Roy had finally started warming up to Lian, there still seemed to be almost...a wall between them. All things considered, and the heat of the summer evening aside, the events to come seemed promising. Along with father and daughter, the party tonight consisted of Garth, Saykira, Garfield, and myself. It was possible that we might run into Wally and Jinx, but, the speedster had never confirmed anything when I had spoken to him on the phone earlier that week. Whether I was disappointed or relieved, I couldn't decide.

With a bit of a sigh, I reached up and adjusted the hair-tie around my high ponytail. The gravel under our shoes crunched as we stepped along, disrupting the silence. There was a soft scrape of it from behind and I glanced over my shoulder. Saykira had stumbled and nearly taken Garth down with her. She was wearing a pair of low heels, but, heels none the less. The witch normally traveled barefoot...shoes weren't her fancy. She grunted softly as the Atlantean helped her to steady on her feet, still gripping tightly to his arm.

"...sorry," she muttered. Garth just smiled softly.

"Heh. Don't worry about it."

As she rebalanced her footing, Gar bounced to their side, grinning his trademark, toothy grin.

"C'mon, Kira, lighten up a little!" He chirped, ignoring the icy look she gave him. "Tonight's gonna be awesome. You'll see!"

Her dark green eyes stared at him for a few seconds longer before she looked back down the road. Garth frowned slightly. I turned my own attention back down the road and eyed the various rides that poked up out of the trees. The most noticeable was the ferris wheel; the bright yellow, green and red paints and lights glowing softly against the late afternoon sky. I stuck my thumbs into my jean pockets and let my gaze drift up to the clouds. A breeze slowly touched across my face, knocking a few loose strands of my blonde hair over my eyes. I breathed the air in and slowly sighed it out.

"...s'nice night."

Roy let out a grunt, but I think he nodded. Lian giggled as she pulled herself over his shoulder and tried waving back at the others. He gently pulled her back down. Garfield took a few large steps and reached my side, giving me a twitch of his ears.

"You gonna explore the fun house with me?" He asked, his thick eye brows slowly rising and falling over his forehaed. I offered him a dry smirk and a tilt of the chin.

"Depends. Are you going to make a fool of yourself like the last time I did?"

"Dude. It wasn't MY fault that mirror looked like...not a mirror!"

Saykira snorted from behind us and my mouth twitched. Garth let out a short laugh and shook his head.

"Isn't it kinda...obvious? Considering there's another 'you' running directly--"

"Shaddup, Fishboy," Gar interrupted, shooting the Atlantean a playful glare. Roy released a short snicker and I grinned.

We stepped down the wooded path, the gravel road slowly shifting to nothing but the natural dirt of the small forest. Lian quickly became enchanted with the various calls of the day animals falling to bed and the night animals coming to life. She pointed and gasped faster than Roy could react. After a few minutes the toy box-like sounds of carnival music and the sounds of children screaming and cheering came into an ear's reach. Shortly after that, the large metal gates appeared at the tree line. They were black, pointed and strangely old looking. I had to blink a few times as the lights seemed to explode through the leaves and slowed to a stop to place my hand on my forehead to block some of it.

"Good lord, this place is huge," I muttered. Roy stopped beside me; I could see him glance at me from the corner of my eyes.

"What'd you expect, Wayne? It was only advertised all over the place."

"Well, Harper, it is located in the middle of the woods. ...wonder how the heck they got it all out here so quietly. S'kinda weird."

"Guess it takes you away from the distractions of city life," Garth offered as he and Saykira stopped on my other side. Her arms were still gently entwined around one of his as she poked her head around him to look at me. I shrugged and brought my gaze back to the two.

"Good point."

Gar suddenly shoved through the four of us and twisted around to face us, throwing his arms out.

"Dudes! What're we waiting for?!" He demanded, a playful serious look on his face. "C'MON!!! The rides, the candy, the entertainment?! It's CALLING my name!!"

Roy smirked as he shifted Lian's weight into the center of both his arms, letting her hug him around his neck.

"You sure that's not just the carnival mistaking you for a missing performer in their freak-show?"

Gar glanced to him, putting his hands on his hips and shaking his head.

"Not cool, dude. Not. Cool."

"Alright, guys, geeze," I said, grinning and giving his hair a ruffle as I stepped past him. He snickered. I lead the group to the ticket stand at the front two gates and moved ahead to the ticket window, leaning against the window sill as I reached into my back pocket.

"Six," I said shortly, whisking the five scarlet tickets out and giving them a brief wave. "All-night tickets. Prepaid for all rides. Food'n drink as well. One child."

I slid them under the semi-circle glass opening and the man behind the window scooped them up. He looked middle aged, had a large mustache that sort of curled on the tips. Small eyes, large nose, and lips pressed tightly together as if he was either upset or totally focused on something. His eyes snapped almost effortlessly over the tickets before he stacked them together and tore the stubs off with ease. He then flicked them back under the glass window and I quickly had to press off my elbows to catch them, the movement causing me to duck down a bit.

"Enjoy," he grunted, giving me a twisted smirk. I forced a smile past my lips and let out a short laugh, quickly turning on my heels and stepping back to the group. I could feel the weight of the man's gaze still riding on my shoulders and I mentally shook it off. I passed the ticket stubs back to their owners, giving Roy both his and Lian's and reexplaining the tickets.

"Food, drinks and rides are all paid for. They're all-nighters, but Roy, Lian and I will be leaving as soon as she shows signs of being tired. Gar, how long do you plan on staying?"

"S'long as they do," the green boy answered, grinning as he threw a thumb over his shoulder at the Atlantean and witch by his side. Saykira's frown deepened and Garth let out a bit of a huff. I couldn't help but smirk at the two.

"Come on, guys, he's not that bad."

They just gave me a dull stare, ignoring the short green boy as he smirked and wiggled his ears mockingly. Roy chuckled and gently let Lian down after she squirmed in his arms.

"Alright, alright," he muttered, straightening her shorts. "There, now just make sure you--Lian!"

She twisted around and giggled, running through the gates. Roy let out a huff and jogged after her, the rest of us falling into a swift walk to make sure the two didn't get far. Lian continued skipping along, looking excitedly around at her new surroundings and the crowds of people. Watching her dodge blissfully through the crowd was like watching one of those old cartoons where the baby character manuevers through a construction zone without even noticing the dangers. Roy wasn't as lucky, having to stop every few strides to avoid mowing over a child or running into a couple holding hands.

"Lian!" Roy called again, dodging a few stray kids to reach her. She looked over her shoulder, laughed happily, and turned her head back around...a bit too late to stop herself from running head on into a woman's legs. She bounced off and landed on her bum soundlessly. Roy groaned under his breath as he reached her and gently pulled her up from under her arms.

"...Sorry, ma'am," he muttered, lifting Lian into his arms and lowing his voice for her. "Lian, are you okay?....I told you to stay with me."

As we caught up, the woman turned around. She was tall, thin; with short black hair that reached just past her ears and framed her face. Her face was undoubtedly beautiful, with curved, red lips and long eye lashes that accented her earthy colored eyes. She was dressed in a clean, professional dress...I assumed she must not be here for the entertainment or attractions...she must run the place. She smiled down at Roy and cub, letting out a small laugh.

"Don't worry about it," she cooed, leaning over a little so she was at equal height with the girl in Roy's arms. "Hey there, sweetie. Are you alright? The was quite a fall."

Lian blinked at the woman before hiding her face away under Roy's chin. He frowned a little, but she smiled none the less.

"Aw, what an adorable little sister."

I noticed the subtle flinch in Roy's face and he shifted Lian's weight in his arms.

"Uh...daughter...actually," He mumbled, his eyes suddenly finding a ride off to the left rather interesting. The woman stood straight again and blinked, her brown-green eyes surveying the two.

"Oh. ...well, then," she said, the smile again returning across her lips. "...I hope the two of you have a lovely time. ...Are these your friends?"

"....yeah," the red head answered shortly, turning around and waving a free hand to us as he spoke. "This is Garth, Saykira, Garfield, and Raven."

The woman's eyes followed his hand fluidly as he called us off, but locked specifically on me at the end. She studied me a second, causing a strange, uncomfortable feeling to pass through my spine. I shifted my weight a little to correct this and she smiled. It didn't make me feel better.

"Raven?" She repeated, pointing a long finger at me, "Raven Wayne?"

"Heh. Yep. That's me," I answered, forcing myself to offer a hand to shake. She stepped forward and took it, gaving it a very brief shake, then released it, and moved on to Gar. He grinned and gave her a light salute as he shook her hand loosely.

"Nice ta meetcha, ma'am!" He quipped. She just smiled and moved on swiftly to Garth. He gave her hand a firm shake, smiling and offering a polite nod. She moved on just as quickly, offering her hand to Saykira. The girl only withdrew more against Garth's arm and turned her head away. The woman looked slightly taken aback and stood straight again.

"...Well, then."

She straightened her smooth black jacket and nodded to us, her gaze seeming to skip directly over the long-haired witch at Garth's side.

"I hope the six of you have a wonderful time. We're going to have many special and exciting events happening throughout the night."

She smiled, turning her gaze towards Roy and Lian again.

"...I do hope you all intend on participating."

The changeling who had been beside me sprang forward, his face lit with excitement.

"Oh, SWEET!" He chimed, bouncing a little on his toes and balling his hands into loose fists. He turned his head back towards me. "I'm so stoked right now! Food, drinks, rides and now surprise events? This is gonna be wicked cool!"

The ends of the woman's lips etched a bit.

"Yes. It will indeed be quite....wicked cool," she muttered smoothly. Saykira lifted her head and blinked at her. The woman didn't seem to notice the movement, nodded and turned away. "I'll see you around, I'm sure... Enjoy your stay."

With a small scrape in the dirt, she turned on her heels and strode off into the crowd, leaving the six of us blinking after her. It wasn't until she had vanished from our sight that we exchanged silent glances among ourselves. I finally pulled my gaze off of Saykira's hardened face and looked in the direction the woman had gone, planting my hands firmly on my hips and pressing my lips together.

"...I wonder if she's the head honcho," I muttered. Saykira grumbled something and Garth shrugged, his gaze following a group of smaller kids as they scurried towards the Merry-Go-Round.

"Possibly. But it would of been nice if she had at least given us something to call her by."

"Meh," Roy scoffed, bouncing Lian's weight gently so it was more comfortable in his arms and starting down the walk way. "She said she'd see us around...I'm sure she'll wise up and give us something eventually."

CHAPTER 1

"One...two...three!! WHEEEEEE!!!"

I laughed as Roy and I swung Lian through the air, each of us holding one of her hands. She kicked her little feet and exploded into a fit of cheerful giggles, stumbling a little as she landed and bouncing on her toes once she had her footing once more.

"'GAIN!!" She squealed. “’Gain! ‘Gain! ‘GAIN!!”

Roy chuckled and rolled his shoulder with a short grunt.

"Lian, that's got to be the twentieth time we've swung you to kingdom come. Daddy and Aunt Rae need a break."

She let out a soft whine and wiggled her hands from our grasp, falling back and running to Garth. She clasped her arms around his leg and sat on his foot, giggling as he continued to walk along. The six of us walked on through the crowd, watching kids scamper by and their parents battling to keep up with them. I watched a stand operator hand over a large stick of cotton candy and the roller coaster drop over its highest edge. As the echoing screams of excitement and terror came from the riders, I turned my head to look at the group over my shoulder.

"So guys, how're we gonna do this?" I asked, smirking some as Garth plucked Lian off his leg and set her on his shoulders instead. She squealed excitedly and wrapped her arms around his head as I continued. "We gonna ride some stuff together? Or, split up and meet back in a few hours?"

Gar scratched his chin, pretending to be in a state of deep thought.

"Well," he purred, ears bobbing up and down a bit. "If we rode things together, that'd mean we'd be limited to the kiddy rides, would it not? However, if we split up, then I'd have to choose which two to follow and pester."

I smirked and Roy turned his head enough to give the shape shifter a low level glare. Saykira huffed and Garth gave his head a bit of a shake as he chuckled under his breath.

"You're making assumptions, Gar," he pointed out, reaching up to gently center the toddler on his shoulders. "No one said we'd split up the way you might think."

The green teen grinned to the Atlantean, propping his elbows in the air by resting his hands on the back of his neck.

"Yeah-huh. Whatever you say, dude."

"Let's just find a map of the place and figure out where we're going," Roy muttered. "S'place is huge. Last thing we need is for someone to get lost."

He paused, then turned his upper half around.

"...actually, Gar, why don't you see if you can find a map?" He suggested. A bit of a wicked grin etched at the edges of his mouth. "...just don't get lost."

"Oh, HA. HA. HA," Garfield said, the irked sarcasm filling his voice, "very funny. ....NOT."

"Come on, guys," I chuckled, lightly shoving Gar's head away as he bounded up to me. "Let's at least try not to be at each other's throats tonight, mkay? ...hey, look."

My eyes locked onto a large wooden sign just up ahead as some walking people stopped blocking it.

"...was that there before?"

"Uh, think so," Garth answered as we stepped up to it. "Pretty sure I saw it."

"Guess the crowd was in the way," I muttered, putting my hands on my hips as the rest of the group slowed to a halt.

The wooden board was brightly painted in a variety of 'fun' colors--your typical primary colors of red, blue and yellow, along with some greens, purples and even a pink here and there. In one sentence, it was a map of the entire park. In several long sentences, it was an extremely precise map of the park. Not only did it literally contain every turn, ride, and concession stand in existence, but, the map was even drawn according to the direction we were facing. I was surprised the artist had even managed to get everything so detailed on such a small board in comparison to the park. The distance between each ride could have been perfectly to scale for all I could tell.

"...impressive," Roy uttered, folding his arms. I gave a slow nod in agreement. Garth let out a low whistle.

"Geeze...this place really is something."

"No kidding," I added. Gar sprang up to the front of the group, pointing excitedly up at the map.

"Oh! DUDE. Check it out!!" He cried, bouncing a little in his knees and glancing back at us briefly from over his shoulder. "The funhouses are just around the corner! SWEET!! We can totally start there, get ourselves all mentally screwed up, and then ride the big stuff!! Betcha fishboy hurls first!"

Garth gave the green boy a bit of an irked look and seemed to reframe himself from saying anything. He eased a little as Saykira let out a soft giggle and Lian began to play patty-cake with his forehead (how that’s possible, only a child would know). Roy raised a brow at Gar and frowned a bit.

"No thanks," he said. I looked to him and shrugged.

"Well, Roy, y'know, Lian might actually enjoy the funhouse," I suggested, "it could be a fun thing for the two of you. I know she'd appreciate the moving floors…that Gar hates…"

It took a second or two for the hint to click, but the redhead gradually smirked at me.

"Yeah, guess so. What do you think, Lian?"

"FUN!" The toddler squealed, waving her arms a little and slapping her hands lightly across Garth's forehead. His eyes blinked rapidly in reflex and he chuckled, shaking his head a little.

"Well, come ooooooooooooooooon!!!" Gar practically squealed, grabbing hold of my arm and starting to drag me along. "Those funhouses aren't going to explore themselves!!"

I laughed lightly and allowed myself to be tugged along, glancing back at the others as they quickly fell into step behind me and my 'little brother'. I couldn't help but notice Saykira looked a little uneasy. She seemed to be staring off at something, but, when I tried following her eyes I didn't see anything. ...Guess she was just uneasy with the crowds...

------------------------------------------------

The images of the five teens and cub slowly faded, a thick black mist taking their place. A soft shimmer came from the fog and the glass of the crystal ball glowed softly from the surrounding candle light. Boney fingers slowly traced the exterior of the glass. A black nail with a reddened tip made a soft, high-pitched squeak as it scraped the surface. The hands continued to slowly sway and stroke along the sphere's crystal skin and a soft, enchanting laugh came from the lips of their holder.

"Oooh, what a prize to beheld," she cooed, slowly pulling her hands away and sitting back in her chair; a nail tapped slowly on her lower lip. "...such trophies. Such...beauties..."

There was the sound of an opening door, the brief laughter and cheers from children, and then the closing of a door. The man from the ticket booth slunk in, his beady eyes darting around the room as though paranoid. He waited a moment. Then, ever so cautiously, he approached the small round table, holding out a small bag of collected money and ticket stubs.

"...the earnings for the night, Madam," he whispered in a hiss, putting them as silently as possible on the table and pushing the bag towards her with his fingertips. She reached over in a snap, her skeleton-like hand slamming over the bag. The fingers slowly curled over the fabric as it was dragged across the table.

"Haaaahhhhhhhhhh," came the breath. "...very gooooood..."

A smile parted from the dark red lips as she turned her head. The single loose strand of black hair dangled away from her eyes.

"....Seregust....do you know of the guests we have the...honor...of hosting tonight?"

There was a pause. The man twiddled with his fingers and shifted his weight. Her presence was horribly cold. Horribly unnerving. Horribly heavy, like lead on his shoulders. But he was compelled to answer.

"...Yes, Madam," he whispered, twitching his fingers near his nose and lowering them again. "They were at the ticket booth not ten minutes ago. The tall blondie. She appeared to be the leader of the group....yes. Yes, her!"

He pointed, finger shaking with either excitement or fear, at the crystal ball. Raven's face slowly melded through the fog. The woman slowly sat forward again, rubbing a hand along the glass of the ball.

" Ms. Raven Wayne...heir to Wayne Enterprises...master of double sabers...goes by a rather ghastly name at night. Living the ultimate of double lives…the woman who has it all, but…never able to find out who she…really is…"

A chuckle slowly crept through the air, causing the man to flinch back, his mustache twitching. A finger slowly traced the side of the blonde’s face in the crystal ball as it faded out, moving on to different a series of moving images of Raven and Phantom; from being at work, to the barn, to scouring the rooftops of Gotham City. Then, they slowly melded away into smoke…but then returned. This time, images of Roy and Speedy slowly faded into the fogs of the ball. The woman continued to speak, her airy voice floating fluidly through the silence.

“Roy Harper,” she hissed slowly, “a boy of such talents...such a story…and such wonderful eyes…keen accuracy…bright with life and spirit…such a beautiful shade of green…”

Her nails inched their way along the glass above Roy’s face, causing the fog that made up his eyes to slowly swirl away. It faded until nothing but blackness was left in its place. The nails continued to creep across the glass and the fog sprang back to life, swishing and swirling within the ball. It took on a dark green color, images of Garfield and Beast Boy slowly filling the wispy glass. As his wolf-form howled, the man shrunk back a bit more, raising his clinched palms to his lips and shivering slightly. The blood-curling howl only seemed to delight the woman more as she lowered her face just inches from the glass.

“Garfield,” she whispered, “Such potential, such power, such…intelligence…and yet you cage it all inside and put on the mask of a clown; desperate to keep it all a secret from the world. You won’t be able to hide it all away forever, my dear…oh, no, not at all…”

Her face slowly lifted away from the crystal ball and the images faded away, the green shifting into a deep blue. Within seconds images of Garth appeared, varying from him walking on land and swimming through the ocean. She let out a low laugh that slowly rose to a high-pitched cackle.

“And here we have the prize visitor…the Atlantean…a rare breed; not even supposed to be walking on land…and yet you, Garth, ignore all those laws…all in attempt to better yourself…all in attempt to gain the attention of that who’s ignored you, pushed you aside…tried to forget you all these years.”

She hummed softly and swept a hand across the crystal ball, causing the images to vanish into a puff of smoke. With a soft, bell-like chime, the smoke sank to the bottom, causing the ball to become completely translucent once again. Then, she slowly turned, clasping her boney hands together and tapping her long pointer finger nails against each other in an unwavering rhythm.

Tap. . . . tap . . . tap . . .

“…Tell me, Seregust,” she hissed, causing the man to lick his lips nervously and force himself to stand upright. At these actions she smiled. A sweet, demonic smile. Lips parting and too-perfect white teeth slipping into view. “…I do not know much about the child and the girl with the …long hair. …I need you to observe the events of the night and…tell me more about them. They might prove to be…just as useful as their big-game friends.”

“Y-yes…madam. Of course, Madam!” He stuttered, dipping his upper body and stumbling a small ways as he backed up to reach the door. A glance over his shoulder caused him to shiver; she was still smiling at him. That devilishly sweet grin. Finger nails still tapping.

Tap. . . tap . . . tap. . .

He grunted as he nearly tripped again, but snatched the door handle, pulling himself up and ducking out of sight. There was a brief break of the silence as the sounds of the carnival and the excited screams of children burst through the door; disappearing as sudden and quickly as they had come.

For a long time she didn’t move. Her eyes remained fixed on the door as if staring through it at the man leaning against it on the other side. Her grin only grew as she slowly turned back to the table. A hand swept across the table and closed once again over the small bag of nightly earnings.

“Ah yes…the night is young and the moon will soon be high,” she chuckled. “We have much time to explore the fair…ride the rides…meet new people…collect some prizes…after all…we have all night.”

CHAPTER TWO
The ground practically shot out from under me and I let out a sharp yelp, tightening my grip on the rail and flailing my other arm out in attempt to balance myself. There was a burst of laughter from the rest of the group as Roy snatched my arm and pulled me upright again. I grinned and laughed a little, positioning my feet on the sides of the moving floors.

"I HATE these things!" I snickered, rubbing my arm as he released it. Roy just sent a wryly smirk in my direction before scooping Lian off the floor. She had been giggling and allowing the floor to toss her about from side to side.

"And they hate you back, Rae."

Garth and Kira were shortly ahead of us, both clutching to the rail and trying to walk along the floors as they rapidly shifted backwards and forwards. Gar took the easy way out and simply turned into a monkey. The little green primate easily ran along the rail and even dared to do a dance a few inches in front of the Atlantean's position.

"Hey! That's cheating!" Garth retorted. He briefly pointed a finger at Gar before stumbling and having to get a better grip on the handrail. Kira smiled over her shoulder at him and giggled. Roy grinned as he steadied himself and attempted walking forward again, Lian still in arm.

"Easy there, Gill-head--you squeeze that rail any harder and we'll have to pay to fix it!"

Lian giggled. "Gill-head!"

"Agh! ROY! Stop teaching her to say that!" Garth said, sending the red-head a second's glare. Roy's grin widened.

"And if I don--GAH, DAMNIT!"

I jerked my head up from staring at my feet to where Roy had almost been thrown backwards from the flooring.

"Roy! Lian!"

"Dangit! ....I said dangit!"

"Ho-yeah, we'll know for sure when she repeats it later!" Garth called over his shoulder. Roy growled as he repositioned his feet.

"When I catch up to you, Fishsticks--"

"Hehe! Fishsticks!"

"That's NOT my name, Lian!"

The green monkey broke into a chirping laughter. Garth growled at it and Kira seemed to be holding in some sort of snicker by the way her nose was wrinkling up. I grinned and lightly shoved Roy in the back.

"Hey, Harper, get a move on before you land on me."

He sent me a look over his shoulder, but I couldn't see his mouth. Whether it was smiling or scowling, I couldn't tell...but I snickered anyway. Garth and Kira finally managed to stumble their way to the next platform, Roy shortly behind and quickly followed by me. Gar was already standing at the exit, grinning his trademark, toothy grin.

"Congrats, dudes! You survived the first house!" He announced, striking a pose. Roy performed a lazy jazz hand.

"Oh, whoo-hoo, my life is complete."

Lian was quick to copy his bored expression. "Hoo, life com'pete."

Roy smirked a bit and bounced her in his arms. Our group exited the fun house and started back onto the carnival path. Gar stretched as he bounded ahead of us.

"So, dudes! Where to next? The coasters? Merry-Go-Round? Ferris Wheel?"

"Oh, gosh no, not the Ferris wheel," I mumbled, holding out a hand and waving it back and forth. "I hate those things."

"S'not like you have to worry about breaking any bones falling from it," Roy muttered, the edge of his mouth twitching. I poked his arm a few times.

"Yeah, whatever, it still freaks me out. The constant jerking to a stop to let people on or off. All that junk. Being stuck up on the top."

"I'll just turn into a giant gorilla, Casper."

"Oh gee, all my fears have been resolved Mighty Joe Young style. I feel so much safer now."

Gar grinned back at me and opened his mouth, but there was a soft squeal of speakers as an announcement blared through the park.

"Attention, all!"A woman's voice broad-casted, "The first event will be beginning shortly! The Bubble House Race! Come to the fun house at the front of the park! Please come in teams of two; friends, family or meet someone new! Events begin in ten minutes! Don't be late and don't miss out!"

There was a brief tune before the speakers clicked off. Gar grinned from ear to ear, turning around and bouncing a bit on his toes.

"DUDE, that sounds AWESOME," he cried, leaping forward and grabbing my arm. "Casper and I can TOTALLY be a team! And Roy, you and Lian! And then, Garth and Kira--"

"Are sitting this one out," Garth interrupted, holding up his hands and shaking his head. "Ugh, sorry, guys, but I can't take another 'fun' house. The moving rooms and floors in that first one were enough to last me about two hours."

Roy let out a bit of a snort and the Atlantean spared him a narrow stare.

Kira nodded. "I want to see if they have a reptile house," she said softly, her voice it's usual quiet tone. "These carnivals normally do, right? ...With the two headed snakes and turtles?"

"Wimps," Gar quipped. He quickly dodged the Atlantean's hand with an impish laugh. Lian giggled and clapped her hands as I shook my head at him.

"Sounds good. We'll catch up with you two later, then?"

"Sure thing," Garth answered, nodding his head. "We'll meet you at the Merry-Go-Round or something."

"Right. And we'll text you when we get out of the 'fun' house."

The three of us waved Garth and Kira off as they once again locked arms and headed in the direction we had come from, probably off to find the park map again. Humongous as it was, they should have no problems with that. I turned back to the remaining part of our group. Roy seemed preoccupied with straightening out one of Lian's braids and Gar looked like a racehorse ready to break out of the holding boxes.

"Can we go? Now?"He whined, putting on a puppy-face and dancing on his toes.

I smirked and rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah, we can go. Guess we just head back that way."

We started off, following the path back down towards the front gates. As we walked, I tried jogging my memory to see if it recalled any fun house being at the entrance of the park. Of course, things had happened so quickly--with Lian running off and all--that I had absolutely no idea if I had spotted one.

By the time we had reached the front of the fair, a crowd of people had already formed. Most of them were already separated into their two-person teams. There were best girlfriends holding hands and giggling. Boys knocking knuckles together and talking victory cries. Parents and children, boyfriend and girlfriend...the team possibilities seemed rather endless. In front of the crowd of people--just ahead and to the left of the park entrance--was a very large and brightly decorated fun house. Clowns were painted and plastered all about the exterior, grinning as they bounced around, clumsily attempting to pop the colorful bubbles. Flocks of the bubbles floated and hovered about the house itself; even the front door was over flowing with them. The sunset made each of the fragile little orbs glisten when they floated in front of it. As we pulled our band wagon to a stop, Roy lightly plopped Lian back onto her feet.

"Duuuuude," Gar exclaimed softly, pointing. "That looks. So. INTENSE."

"It looks like a week's worth of bathes to me," Roy scoffed. I opened my mouth and he was quick to throw a finger in my direction. "....not a word, Wayne."

I simpered. "...wasn't gonna say anything, Harper."

"Uh-huh. Yeah."

Lian bounced on her toes, her breath coming out in excited little huffs as she looked from Roy to the fun house and back again. She pointed a short, tubby finger towards the bubbling building.

"Les'go les'GO!" She cried happily, grabbing for his hand and attempting to tug him along. Roy grunted and chuckled as his upper half was forced a little lower.

"Okay, okay, Lian! We'll go, just don't rip daddy's arm out of his shoulder, huh?"

She giggled and continued to try and tug him along with her. Gar and I fell into step behind the two and he gave me a light elbow in the side. I grunted and side-glanced him. He grinned.

"So. Casper."

"...so. Garfield."

"...we gonna take it easy on carrot-cake and muffin up there? Or should we throw'm in the oven?"

A smirk tickled the edges of my mouth as Roy shot us a glance over his shoulder. The four of us weaved our way through parts of the crowd to try finding the front. There didn't seem to be much of a line. Everyone was just sort of clumped together, chatting and standing around. A boy bumped into my arm and I sent him a 'watch where you're going' stare as we trudged along.

"Ugh, I hate crowds," I muttered. "No one pays attention to anything."

Gar chuckled and shot me a grin.

"C'mon, now, Casp, don't let it spoil a good time. We're gonna go in. Get covered from head to toe in bubbles. And come out. ....and beat Roy while we're at it."

"Oh-HO, you will, will you?" Roy straightened up and looked over his shoulder, gently pulling Lian to a stop. I grinned and opened my mouth to answer him when a voice boomed above the chaos of the crowd.

"Friends, families and visitors all!"

Roy, Gar and I twisted our heads around to the source of the sound. There, at one of the doors of the fun house, stood the woman we had met when we first entered the park. She was holding a large megaphone and wearing a black top hat with a bright red ribbon around the middle. She flashed a grin to the crowd as everyone almost simultaneously turned to look at her. She had changed from her previous dress to a much more ring-master-esque outfit. I was almost surprised to see she didn't have some sort of fancy cane to go with it.

"Welcome and thank you for coming! The first event is finally about to begin! The race through the Bubble Maze!"As she threw her arm out there was an explosion of bubbles from each of the windows. Lian jumped and squealed, giving Roy's arm a whole new series of tugs. He grunted and ducked down a bit more to prevent her from tearing his arm off. Gar shot me an ecstatic grin and I folded my arms, watching the streams of bubbles rise high into the night sky. The woman's voice continued to speak over the crowd, remaining consistent and perfectly clear. That must be one nice megaphone she had. "Teams will be entering the maze in groups of six! A team for each door! Each team for a group will receive a colored baton--" she held up three bright batons, one yellow, one green and one red--"to let us determine who the winners of each group will be! Will the first six teams please step forward to receive your batons?"

The crowd excitedly began to organize itself into more of a line. The four of us found ourselves a few yards away from the fun house gates; I estimated we'd be in the fifth or sixth group. We stood silently for a few minutes. I fell into my usual habit of people watching. Gar was focused on watching one of the larger roller coasters slowly pull to the top of the mountain and then careen down it in a furry of screams and cries of excitement. I also found myself tuning in and out of the conversation Roy was having with Lian.

"Dawdi, Unca Wa-wa says bubbles are bakeable."

"...Lian, I ...don't think it's possible to bake a bubble."

"Noooo, dawdi. Bakeable! Like Unca Owie's eard'ums when Aunti Dee-dee sceams."

"Ooooh, breakable. ....Heh. Yeah, Lian, bubbles are definately breakable... Just like Uncle Ollie's ear drums."

I wasn't sure how much time had passed before Gar was rapidly poking at my arm. I jumped a bit and swatted at his fingers.

"Hey! Knock it off!"

"Dude, we're almost up!"

"I see that, Gar," I laughed lightly. Roy gently pulled Lian to the front of the line and accepted the baton from the woman. She smiled brightly at him, then cast a very large grin down to Lian. The girl blinked up at her before squeezing Roy's hand and hiding behind his legs.

"Thanks," Roy uttered. He glanced down at Lian before gently guiding her to the white line in front of one of the doors. Gar and I stepped up next and she nodded, smiling again and handing us a bright red baton. I eyed it and turned it over in my hand as Gar winked and pretended to tip an invisible hat. The top-hat lady let out a bell-like laugh and turned to hand off the next baton. Gar and I took to the line in front of one of the doors. Just like the other six openings, it was over flowing with bubbles. Gar let out an excited squeal-like sound and grabbed one of my arms with both hands, giving it a few brief tugs.

"We're totally gonna own their butts."

"Heard that!" Roy called from the line he and Lian stood on. She was still bouncing energetically on her toes and giggling, trying to reach for the red baton in his hand. He smirked and began moving it out of her reach just as it appeared she'd manage to grab it. She squealed each time he'd jerk it away and hopped in place a few times...then tried again. I smiled at the two before taking a moment to look over the other four teams we were up against.

There was a mother-daughter team, two boy and boy teams and a girl-boy team who had to only be about six...maybe pressing seven. They were holding the baton between each other and grinning excitedly, oblivious to the crowd and other teams. I couldn't help but wonder where their parents were, or if the mother on the team to their left WAS their mother. The mother-daughter team was rather quiet, but seemed to be enjoying the upcoming event all the same; mother holding daughter and bouncing her lightly on her hip. The two boys teams seemed to be strategizing. One team was more focused on watching Roy and Lian, glancing back and forth at each other and talking. I shifted my gaze back to Roy and Lian and realized I wasn't the only one who had noticed the two. Roy's green eyes had already caught sight of them and he quickly stopped moving the baton. Lian snatched it and jumped about happily. I frowned and let out a bit of a sigh, turning away and looking back to Gar. He was still distracted with his own plottings on how he'd explain Roy's defeat to Garth and Kira. The mischievous glint in his eyes was enough to tell me that.

The woman's megaphone once again blared over the sounds of the crowd. "Are the teams ready?"

"More like BORN ready!" Gar chirped. He thrust a fist into the air. I smirked.

"Both members must maintain a hold of the baton at all times and must return the baton to its post at the end of the maze. Good luck! May the luckiest team win!"

"More like 'most skilled' team." I gave Gar a quick elbow to his arm. He laughed.

"On your mark!"

The laughter ceased almost immediately. Gar and I each took hold of an end of the baton, both lowering into a bolt-ready stance. The two boys' teams did the same. The boy-girl team just laughed and chattered excitedly, looking back to the top-hat woman continuously as if waiting for a visible signal. Roy quickly showed Lian how to hold the other end of the baton and the mother-daughter team followed his lead.

Gar threw Roy a toothy grin. "You ready to get served, Carrot-Cake?"

"Get SET!"

"Only if you're ready to get washed out, Grass Stain!" Roy shot back, shaking his free fist at the shorter green teen. Gar barked out another laugh and I grinned and shook my head.

"...GOOO!!"

We shot off, jetting across the small section of ground before bursting through a wall of bubbles. There was a bright flash of light as we entered the maze of air pockets and mirrors; I hardly had time to look over my shoulder to the others as Gar and I disappeared into the blinding door.

CHAPTER THREE - PART ONE

Roy tripped once to avoid stepping on the back of Lian's foot as he allowed her to drag him into the mess of bubbles. As harmless as the pockets of air had seemed upon entering the fun house, he now felt blinded. Not only did bubbles fill the maze's long pathways, but mirrors made the walls and ceiling. And wherever that light was coming from, it was magnified by great amounts. The mirrors reflected the light off the bubbles and the bubbles reflected the light off the mirrors. Damn building designers. The almost pure white-ness of the room seemed to have little to no effect on Lian, however. She tottered along through the bubbles, pausing every few seconds to try and catch a few to balance on her nose.

"Imma SEAL!" She cheeped pleasantly. Roy chuckled, blinking his eyes rapidly and visoring them with his spare hand.

"Yeah, kid. Fascinating act you've got going on there."

She giggled and scampered on, once again causing him to double over and grunt as she tugged him along. He groaned and ran a hand over his eyes and face before returning it to his forehead. The next thing he knew, he was inhaling bubbles into his nose and sputtering them back through his mouth. Biting back a swear, he shook his head and sniffed sharply. Was he just losing it, or were the bubbles getting thicker? He sneezed this time. Hoyeah, they were definitely getting thicker. A right turn. A left turn. Uuuh. Crap. Where the heck were they? Damn blinding light wasn't helping, either. It was even beginning to give him a headache. He thought he saw one of the other team members pass by a few feet ahead of him. Looked like a woman. A very fast moving one. His distraction was broken off when he nearly ran Lian over, letting out a sharp 'agh!' as he slammed on the breaks. She must have stopped moving.

"Dawdi! Look!"

"Huh? What?"

Roy looked down to where his arm seemed to vanish in the glare coming off the bubbles surrounding them. He squinted and was just barely able to make out the black blob that must have been Lian's hair. But he couldn't tell if and where she was pointing. He had to shake his head again; the glare seemed to be piercing his eyes to get to his brain.

"Look!"

"Look at wh--" There was a sudden tug on the baton. Then it went very loose in his hand. For a split second, he remained frozen. "...Lian?"

He gave the baton a flick, his eyes jolting open as he realized there was no resistance on the other side. No hand on the other side. He took a step and tried reaching down through the bubbles with his free hand...but he felt nothing.

"Lian?!"

Her voice came a few feet ahead of him. "Dawdi! Look!"

"Lian! Come back here, you could get lost!"

He started forward in the direction of her voice, now using both hands to visor his eyes. Freaking light. Freaking mirrors. Freaking bubbles. It was all too freaking bright. The headache was getting worse. He could barely make out the small black blur ahead of him now. It seemed to have stopped moving. Good. He picked his pace up as he walked towards her.

"Lian, I've TOLD you, don't run off like th--" BAM.

Roy yelped as he ran face-first into a mirror. A window. Something. He hit it so hard that the sheer shock alone from hitting it was enough to cause him to stumble on his own two feet and fall onto his back. A groan escaped his throat as he pushed up onto his elbows and grabbed his forehead.

"Whatthef...ow, geeze...Lian?"

No answer. Now he pushed completely upright, eyes wide with alarm despite the gleaming pockets of air and mirrors.

"...LIAN!"

Roy sprang to his feet and shoved his hands in front of him. They hit the invisible wall he had ran into and he quickly moved his hand across it, squinting his eyes to try and see through all the light. The black blur was gone.

"Lian, answer me! ...LIAN!"

After a few more seconds of silence, he shoved off the wall and tried running around it. But it was like he had gotten locked into a hall that went anywhere except where he wanted to go. He couldn't go around it. With a snarl under his breath, he sped-walked down the path that he could. The light seemed even more blinding now and he thought he passed someone about his height. But he couldn't tell. He didn't care, either.

"LIAN!"

The damn bubbles continued to burst in his face and get into his nose and mouth. They tasted awful. He took a right. Then a left. Then another right and a left. And then, just when he thought he wasn't getting anywhere, he suddenly stumbled through an opening. He landed in the dirt and grass on his hands and knees, staring down past his palms to where the ocean of bubbles ended. They were still glaring up at him with reflections from the setting sun. Still blinding him....distracting him.

"Dude! Roy! We TOTALLY beat you!!!"

His head jerked up to see Raven and Gar heading towards him. Gar was grinning triumphantly and waving their red baton. Raven was smiling hugely for all of five seconds; then she homed in on what was missing from the picture. Her face dropped like a brick into water.

"....Roy, where's Lian?" She asked. As the red-head pushed to his feet, he ducked his head again to avoid her hardened gaze as she continued, "PLEASE, don't tell me you left her in there."

Now he snapped his gaze back to her, green eyes flashing. "Did you REALLY just ask me that just now?! Yeah, Rae, I left her in that freak-maze!"

"Well, then, WHERE is she?!"

"I-I don't know! She ran off and I couldn't find her and the next thing I know I'm back out here again! I don't KNOW, okay?!"

"Dudes, calm down!" Gar piped up, gently shoving between the two taller teens. He glanced back and forth to them. "Seriously, it's no big. We'll just go back into the maze, I'll turn into a blood-hound, and we'll find her. And THEN we'll go to the winner's circle and get some pictures so I'll have proof to give G--"

"Kirstin?! .... Kirstin, are you out here?"

The three of us turned around as the new voice broke the air. A woman ran out of the maze door, bubbles bouncing from her sundress and hair as she looked around. A bright red baton was clasped in her hand. It took him a moment, but Roy recognized her. She had been competing in the race with her daughter. Only now, her daughter wasn't at her side. The woman quickly stepped about the exit of the maze, one hand over her mouth and the other fidgeting nervously with the baton. Upon turning back around she noticed the group and took a few sharp steps towards them. Her eyes were pleading.

"Have any of you seen my daughter, Kirstin?" She asked. Her tone was nearly as desperate as her eyes. "She ran ahead of me in the maze and I lost sight of her! I was...I was hoping that maybe she had found her way out and would be waiting for me."

Roy felt something in his stomach run cold. He turned his eyes back to Raven, who was shaking her head slowly.

"No, ma'am," She answered, her brows lowering. "We haven't. But, we'll keep an eye out in case she comes out."

"Oh, thank you!" The woman gasped, looking once again to the exit of the maze before looking out across the carnival. "...maybe she was just hungry...and went to find some cotton candy. She was asking for some earlier..."

She looked over her shoulder at the various vendors behind her before appearing to make a mental decision and heading off towards a candy stand. The group looked on after her, then Roy gradually turned his head back to the fun house.

"...Lian did the same thing," he muttered. His hands clinched once, and then he broke into a quick stride. "....That tears it, I'm going back in."

"Wait up!" Gar chimed, gripping Raven by the arm and beginning to drag her after the red-head. As they marched towards the fun house, Roy quickly stepped out of the way of one of the boy teams as they bounded through, whooping and hollering about successfully making it out of the maze. Roy sent them a look from over his shoulder. Gar was doing the same thing, but Raven seemed more focused on the doors of the maze. The other set of boys came out, but they looked confused. One of them caught sight of Roy.

"Hey! You!"

Roy's pace faltered at the call from one of the boys and he straightened up. His mouth opened to shoot something back at the boys, but the leading one beat him to the verbals.

"Did you see those two kids come out of here?"

That took him off guard. "....what?"

"The two kids? One of the teams? A little girl and boy, pretty young," the boy continued, taking a brief glance out to the crowd as he scratched his head. "We saw'm in the maze and decided to follow them to, er...spook'em or some'thin....but they just kinda vanished. It was real weird!"

"We tried find'n them again, but we wound up out here!" The second boy picked up. "Did they beat us out?"

....

Roy sharply sent Raven an alarmed look. She just glanced at him before shaking her head to the boys.

"No, we were the first ones out," Gar added, his face dropping a bit as he also shook his head. "They're the last ones in there, I think. 'Cause the other teams came out."

The boys exchanged glances before the lead one shrugged.

"Oh well," he muttered. The two pocketed their hands and headed off towards the Ferris wheel. "Maybe they caught onta what we were do'n and ditched us. Kids'er smart, y'know?"

A sour, sick feeling came to rest in Roy's stomach as he watched them go. Every force in his body was just ready to wheel and bolt straight back into the bubble pits but something compelled him to stay put. Like glue. Yes, Harper. There was glue on the bottom of your shoes--just RUN in there already! His brain and his legs weren't listening to each other anymore. Raven, on the other hand, turned her gaze back to him and took a few brief steps so that she was close enough to speak lowly and still be heard over the hustle and bustle of the carnival. Gar bounded to her side, ears high and alert and eyes darting about from door to door of the maze.

"Okay, look," Raven muttered, gaining half of Roy's attention. The other side of his brain was busy trying to replay Lian's disappearance. "Gar, you go in and help Roy find Lian. I'm gonna catch up to Garth and Kira and see if they've noticed anything weird."

"Anything weird?" Gar asked, giving Raven a half questioning, half almost bored look. "Dude, Casp, there's not really a need to put the bat-glasses on and be suspicious at every trick. It's a fun house, they're notorious for freaking people out and messing with them, y'know."

"Yeah, I know, Gar, but it's been driven into me since before I can remember. Call it instinct...or 'safety first', if you will."

"...'m with Rae on this one," Roy added, his eyes drifting back to the fun house. The green teen blinked at them for a moment before sighing and shrugging his shoulders.

"Okay, dudes; whatever floats your yachts."

Raven nodded once before glancing to Roy.

"We'll find her, Roy. I'm sure she's fine. She's a tough kid--growing up with you, Ollie and....Dinah." She smirked some. Roy managed a half-hearted smirk in return.

"Heh, yeah....kinda gotta be, I guess. ...Dinah, and all."

Her smirk dropped to a soft smile before she turned on her heel and power-walked into the noise of the crowd. Roy watched her go for a moment; trying to read what she was really thinking through the stride of her step. But Gar briefly tugged his arm and broke him out of it.

"C'mon, Roy," he chirped, flashing a toothy grin. "Casper's right. Lian's a rough chip to your tough cookie. M'sure she's fine."

Roy tried smiling back as he and the changeling marched towards the doors to the fun house. But the all-too familiar sick feeling of guilt had moved from the pit of his stomach to the back of his throat. And it didn't seem ready to leave anytime soon.

CHAPTER THREE- PART TWO

----------------

"...you okay, Kira?"

Garth's brow rose a little as he realized Saykira had been holding her arms close against her and rubbing them as they walked down the midway. They had branched out towards the middle-back section of the park looking for the reptile house. So far they hadn't been successful in locating it, but, they were enjoying observing confection and game-play stands on the way there. The carnival seemed to have everything. She looked to him quickly, blinked once and then gave him a small, sheepish smile.

"Hm? Yes, I'm fine. Just got a little cold, suddenly."

Garth let out a low sigh and rubbed his neck. "Geeze, and I almost brought my jacket, too....sorry, Kira. Maybe we can find a stand that sells something warm that's not swimming in grease."

She laughed softly, grinning now as she pushed some hair from her eyes.

"It's okay, Garth, I've been colder, really." Now she simpered a bit and looked out ahead of her, swinging her arms a little before settling them behind her back. "It's passed now...just a chill, perhaps. ...and I doubt we'd ever find any food of that sort here."

The Atlantean let out a soft huff and shook his head. "Whatever you say. ....and is that a challenge?"

"....is it?"

"...We could make it one."

"Oh really, now? What if it's the 'second event' of the night? Find the food stand that sells healthy, nutritious food and win a giant stuffed apple!"

The two let out a laugh and Kira stepped more against him; he swung his arm over her shoulders and gently squeezed her shoulder. "We'd totally get a head start, then. ...Why aren't you such a goob around the others? They'd like it."

She shrugged, eyes traveling to the earth at their shoes. Garth frowned a bit but refrained from pushing the matter any further. They walked on a few more steps before there was the soft chime of a ring tone.

...

"...Garth?"

"Huh?"

"...aren't you going to answer that?"

"....answer wh--OH. That's my phone, isn't it?"

Kira giggled and clasped a hand over her mouth while he pulled to a stop and patted his pockets, trying to locate the ringing device. When he finally found it in one of his leg pockets, he whisked it out and flipped it open. His finger hovered over the buttons.

"....how do I answer this thing again?" He asked, glancing up at the still giggling witch in front of him.

A voice came from the phone. "You already did, Mr. Spock."

Garth jumped a little and blinked at the phone before bringing it to his ear. "Right, uh. ...Knew that. I'm assuming this is you, Raven."

"Is that sarcasm?"

"If the seaweed tangles, cut it. ....what's up? Rendezvous time already?"

"No, not quite. ...Have you and Kira seen anything out of the ordinary?"

The Atlantean simpered a bit. "Does or doesn't that include some guy swallowing fire? Or maybe some weird mime dude--he was freaky, that's for sure." Kira let out a huff in agreement.

"...no, not like that, I mean...--where are you guys?"

"Uuuh..." He took in a quick look of his surroundings. "..near to the Merry-Go-Round."

"Awesome, I should be there soon."

"Soon?" Garth wrinkled his nose a little and tried imagining the park map. "This fun house you guys were at was at the front of the park, wasn't it? We're all the way towards the back of the middle section."

"Yeah, it was, but the thing spat us out in the back of the park."

"What? ...that's...odd."

"I know, right? It didn't even look all THAT big from the front. ...anyway, I should be there soon. You guys find the Merry-Go-Round and hold up."

"Right. See you there, Raven."

The two walked a small ways before locating the Merry-Go-Round. They stopped a few feet from it, Garth pocketing his hands and Kira gently wrapping her arms around one of his. The Atlantean glanced over his shoulder at the ride. It was colorful and bright, just like the other ones in the park. But unlike most Merry-Go-Rounds he had seen in various movies or pictures and advertisements, it didn't consist of colored horses. No. Instead, it had all sorts of different animals on it. An eagle with a saddle on it's back, a rhinoceros, an ostrich, a lion, some sort of animal he had never seen before and several others. Heck, there were even a few dinosaurs, which seemed to be popular among the younger boys. There was a horse here and there, but, the equines definitely did not dominate this ride. As he watched the ride kick into gear, there came a strange feeling of unease. The eyes of the animals were so incredibly detailed and...focused. As it passed, the large lion figure's dark eyes felt locked on him. The soft organ chimes of the music felt mesmerizing...--

"Garth! There she is!"

Kira's voice seemed to break out like an explosion in a field of nothing. He jolted out of the trance and almost over-turned himself as he whipped his head back around. Raven was just feet from them, lowering her hand from a wave.

"Alright, c'mon, we're going back to the front of the park," she said, suddenly changing directions and beginning to weave through the thick crowd once again. Garth and Kira exchanged confused glances before quickly stepping around a small family to get to her side.

"Whoa, Rae, wait up!" Garth called, managing to completely get up to her right. "Geeze, what's going on? ...Where's Roy, Lian and Gar?"

"Lian's missing," she answered bluntly. The Atlantean and witch once again exchanged a brief glance, this time with open jaws.

"...missing?! ...Aw, you gotta be kidding me--Roy lost her? In a FUN HOUSE?!"

Garth grunted sharply as the comment brought him a sharp smack to his shoulder. He slapped a hand over the beaten area and rubbed it. Raven sent him a side-glanced glare and huffed.

"She ran ahead of him and he lost sight of her--but NO, I wouldn't...I don't know, Garth, shut up--that's not why we're going to the front."

"What OTHER reasons would there be?"

"Some other kids went missing, too," she continued, her voice lowering slightly as they rounded a corner and ducked into another section of the crowd, "a daughter and two kids--both under the age of eight, I'm guessing." Garth opened his mouth but she kept going. "On my way to your location I noticed there were other people--parents, teenagers--looking for kids. Asking vendors and other people if they've seen them. Some of the people I remember seeing while we were in line. They were ahead of us."

"Missing kids?" Kira repeated. Her light green eyes narrowed slightly.

"You think it's some sort of park hoax?" Garth asked, blinking widely as he shifted his upper body to slip past some people in out path. Raven shook her head.

"Not sure. But if it is, I'm still going to give this woman a piece of my mind. Kidnapping as a joke to get people more 'involved' in the park? What the heck?" She snorted.

"It does sound....strange," Kira muttered, "I can't imagine the other parents are thrilled either. Perhaps some of them have already gone back to the front and questioned her?"

Raven shrugged shortly. "Who knows? Let's just get to the dang--"

"Attention all!"

The announcement caught the group by surprise and they all jumped simultaneously. Garth turned his head to the center-most of the park. There, standing on a large circular stage in the middle of the crowd--several yards away from their position--was the woman they had run into at the front of the park. She was dressed in a ring-master sort of attire, smiling pleasantly as she tipped a red ribboned top hat. In her right hand was a sleek black cane. That was all. There were no marks, no decorations. Just a simple, black cane. Raven stood still for a moment before taking a sharp step forward in the woman's direction. Garth grabbed her by the arm.

"Hold up," he muttered before she could snap at him. Her lips drew into a thin line as she turned her attention back to the ring master.

"The second event is about to begin!" She proclaimed, throwing her arms out in a celebratory fashion. Raven let out a snort. "The Scavenger Hunt!"

The three exchanged glances.

"Visitors will be separated into groups of--"

"Where's my son!?"

The voice rang out above the woman's and she abruptly stopped speaking. Her arms slowly lowered and she gradually turned her head around to stare into the crowd. Several heads turned in the direction of the source as well. They all turned to a man about middle height with blonde hair and bright, irritated eyes. His fists were clinched as he stared unwaveringly through the feet of heads to the stage. There was silence for a few seconds. Garth could pick up tense vibrations moving through the air, causing him to stiffen and shift his weight uneasily. Kira shivered and rubbed an arm.

The woman lifted her cane back into her hands and slowly twisted it through her gloved fingers. The silence of the crowd had spread, people at vendors and waiting in near by lines had even hushed down in hopes of figuring out what had caused the lack of babble and chatter. It was so quiet, that the group of three could hear the soft click...click....click.... of her heels as she sauntered across the stage. "...I...beg your pardon, ...sir?"

The man took in a short breath. "My SON. He got lost in that joke-maze of yours! Where is he?!"

"My baby sister's gone, too!" Another voice rang out, this one from a teenage boy. Now a woman's voice rang out. "Where are our children?!"

She had hardly finished the word before several people began talking and a whole new roar of questions and demands rose from the crowd, both towards the ring leader and each other. Garth muttered a short 'great Neptune' under his breath. Raven, now standing upright and folding her arms, locked her eyes onto the woman. She was smiling from beneath the shade of her top hat, fingers still slowly churning the cane in her palms. Then she lifted a hand high above her head, scanning the crowd with her eyes. The chatter continued before people gradually began to notice her motion and quieted.

"My guests," she chuckled, "there is no need to fret. Your young ones are perfectly fine. In fact, they walk amongst you right now, as we speak."

There was a moment of stunned silence before people began to look around, turning and twisting their bodies and heads in an attempt to spot any wandering children. Raven turned around and went as far to stretch her neck up just a few inches to get a better look over the crowd. Garth glanced over his shoulder, then turned back around, noticing that Kira was once again rubbing her arms.

"You okay?"

She hesitated, then slowly shook her head, looking towards him. "...something's wrong, Garth."

"Everything about this is wrong," Raven grumbled.

"No, I mean somethi--"

"Is this some sick joke?" Someone from the crowd barked. A chorus of agreements followed and the roar of the crowd rose again. The woman looked among them before slowly raising her hand once more. The noise of the crowd died down again, but not as quickly. People were becoming impatient. Fast. She smiled. Then slowly inhaled through her nose. Garth squinted a little as she let the air out again in a soft chuckle.

"...You don't believe me? ...Hm. Very well, then." The smile on her red lips grew ever so slightly. "....perhaps I will just ... have to show you."

As the crowd looked amongst itself, Kira suddenly grabbed hold of Garth's wrist. He jumped sharply in surprise as her nails dug into his skin and turned to face her.

"Kira, what--"

"We have to leave," she said urgently, staring through the crowd. Raven twisted around so she was facing them, her angered look contorting into one of confusion.

"...wait, what?"

The witch reached across Garth and snatched the blonde's hand with her other one. "We have to leave--now!"

"Kira, what's going on?!" Garth blurted as he was ripped forward, stumbling over his own two feet as the long-haired girl dragged him through the crowd. He and Raven bumped against each other and other guests as they were pulled past them. Raven grunted and shoved Garth's shoulder away from her. "Geeze! What the heck is wro--"

There was an eruption of sound from behind them. A catastrophic BOOM. Then screams.

Garth jerked his head over his shoulder reflexively, his eyes widening. The ring master had thrust her cane into the air...and now a twisting pillar of black, ink-like smoke was spiraling from the tip of it. It shot several yards up like a tornado, then spread out and began to fall towards the ground like billowing piles of ash from a volcano. Over the screams of the crowd, he could have sworn he heard other screams. Moan-like screams. Which seemed to grow louder the more and more darkness fell from the sky.

"What in the--" Raven breathed, barely getting a look at the scene before Kira whisked them around a corner. People were in a complete panic now, screaming and running in every direction. The group had to duck and dodge the entire run. Garth tripped again and jumped in mid step as one of the smoke-bombs crashed to earth just feet from them. The ground each ash touched seem to die on contact; the dirt became grey and any stray blades of grass shriveled up and turned brown. The Atlantean's breath caught and a sickening feeling rose in his stomach. There was a yell from somewhere ahead; he didn't catch the words, but he recognized the voice. Snapping his head back around, he caught sight of Gar and Roy sprinting towards them. Roy's eyes were locked on the sky and Gar seemed more fixed on them. There was another ear-rupturing explosion and Kira shouted something. The next thing he knew, Kira was flying through the air--pulling them with her-- and landing on the ground inches from Roy and Gar. Garth and Raven stumbled to their feet.

"Raven!--" her words became inaudible for a moment, but Garth managed to catch the last part "--lipstick!"

Raven reached into her back pocket and pulled out a black tube. Kira grabbed it, fumbled with it, then rapidly drew symbols on her hands with the dark purple makeup. The explosions were getting closer, becoming more unbearable. The sky was rapidly going black. Even the sunset's gentle red glow was drowned in its shadow. People were screaming, running, ducking into fun houses and behind vendors to search out some form of protection. Kira looked over her shoulder as she raised her hands--standing just inches in front of them facing the pillar-- and yelled something; the explosions may have drowned it out, but, Garth still got the message loud and clear. Get down.

He whipped around and reached for Raven, pushing her down. Roy followed his lead and shoved Gar downwards, reaching across and pulling both Raven and the changeling under him. Garth lowered and ducked his head, peeking out just as he raised his arms to cover his neck. The last thing he saw was the bright neon green glow of Kira's hands...and then nothing.

Just darkness.

Raevien wrote:CHAPTER THREE- PART TWO

----------------

"...you okay, Kira?"

Garth's brow rose a little as he realized Saykira had been holding her arms close against her and rubbing them as they walked down the midway. They had branched out towards the middle-back section of the park looking for the reptile house. So far they hadn't been successful in locating it, but, they were enjoying observing confection and game-play stands on the way there. The carnival seemed to have everything. She looked to him quickly, blinked once and then gave him a small, sheepish smile.

"Hm? Yes, I'm fine. Just got a little cold, suddenly."

Garth let out a low sigh and rubbed his neck. "Geeze, and I almost brought my jacket, too....sorry, Kira. Maybe we can find a stand that sells something warm that's not swimming in grease."

She laughed softly, grinning now as she pushed some hair from her eyes.

"It's okay, Garth, I've been colder, really." Now she simpered a bit and looked out ahead of her, swinging her arms a little before settling them behind her back. "It's passed now...just a chill, perhaps. ...and I doubt we'd ever find any food of that sort here."

The Atlantean let out a soft huff and shook his head. "Whatever you say. ....and is that a challenge?"

"....is it?"

"...We could make it one."

"Oh really, now? What if it's the 'second event' of the night? Find the food stand that sells healthy, nutritious food and win a giant stuffed apple!"

The two let out a laugh and Kira stepped more against him; he swung his arm over her shoulders and gently squeezed her shoulder. "We'd totally get a head start, then. ...Why aren't you such a goob around the others? They'd like it."

She shrugged, eyes traveling to the earth at their shoes. Garth frowned a bit but refrained from pushing the matter any further. They walked on a few more steps before there was the soft chime of a ring tone.

...

"...Garth?"

"Huh?"

"...aren't you going to answer that?"

"....answer wh--OH. That's my phone, isn't it?"

Kira giggled and clasped a hand over her mouth while he pulled to a stop and patted his pockets, trying to locate the ringing device. When he finally found it in one of his leg pockets, he whisked it out and flipped it open. His finger hovered over the buttons.

"....how do I answer this thing again?" He asked, glancing up at the still giggling witch in front of him.

A voice came from the phone. "You already did, Mr. Spock."

Garth jumped a little and blinked at the phone before bringing it to his ear. "Right, uh. ...Knew that. I'm assuming this is you, Raven."

"Is that sarcasm?"

"If the seaweed tangles, cut it. ....what's up? Rendezvous time already?"

"No, not quite. ...Have you and Kira seen anything out of the ordinary?"

The Atlantean simpered a bit. "Does or doesn't that include some guy swallowing fire? Or maybe some weird mime dude--he was freaky, that's for sure." Kira let out a huff in agreement.

"...no, not like that, I mean...--where are you guys?"

"Uuuh..." He took in a quick look of his surroundings. "..near to the Merry-Go-Round."

"Awesome, I should be there soon."

"Soon?" Garth wrinkled his nose a little and tried imagining the park map. "This fun house you guys were at was at the front of the park, wasn't it? We're all the way towards the back of the middle section."

"Yeah, it was, but the thing spat us out in the back of the park."

"What? ...that's...odd."

"I know, right? It didn't even look all THAT big from the front. ...anyway, I should be there soon. You guys find the Merry-Go-Round and hold up."

"Right. See you there, Raven."

The two walked a small ways before locating the Merry-Go-Round. They stopped a few feet from it, Garth pocketing his hands and Kira gently wrapping her arms around one of his. The Atlantean glanced over his shoulder at the ride. It was colorful and bright, just like the other ones in the park. But unlike most Merry-Go-Rounds he had seen in various movies or pictures and advertisements, it didn't consist of colored horses. No. Instead, it had all sorts of different animals on it. An eagle with a saddle on it's back, a rhinoceros, an ostrich, a lion, some sort of animal he had never seen before and several others. Heck, there were even a few dinosaurs, which seemed to be popular among the younger boys. There was a horse here and there, but, the equines definitely did not dominate this ride. As he watched the ride kick into gear, there came a strange feeling of unease. The eyes of the animals were so incredibly detailed and...focused. As it passed, the large lion figure's dark eyes felt locked on him. The soft organ chimes of the music felt mesmerizing...--

"Garth! There she is!"

Kira's voice seemed to break out like an explosion in a field of nothing. He jolted out of the trance and almost over-turned himself as he whipped his head back around. Raven was just feet from them, lowering her hand from a wave.

"Alright, c'mon, we're going back to the front of the park," she said, suddenly changing directions and beginning to weave through the thick crowd once again. Garth and Kira exchanged confused glances before quickly stepping around a small family to get to her side.

"Whoa, Rae, wait up!" Garth called, managing to completely get up to her right. "Geeze, what's going on? ...Where's Roy, Lian and Gar?"

"Lian's missing," she answered bluntly. The Atlantean and witch once again exchanged a brief glance, this time with open jaws.

"...missing?! ...Aw, you gotta be kidding me--Roy lost her? In a FUN HOUSE?!"

Garth grunted sharply as the comment brought him a sharp smack to his shoulder. He slapped a hand over the beaten area and rubbed it. Raven sent him a side-glanced glare and huffed.

"She ran ahead of him and he lost sight of her--but NO, I wouldn't...I don't know, Garth, shut up--that's not why we're going to the front."

"What OTHER reasons would there be?"

"Some other kids went missing, too," she continued, her voice lowering slightly as they rounded a corner and ducked into another section of the crowd, "a daughter and two kids--both under the age of eight, I'm guessing." Garth opened his mouth but she kept going. "On my way to your location I noticed there were other people--parents, teenagers--looking for kids. Asking vendors and other people if they've seen them. Some of the people I remember seeing while we were in line. They were ahead of us."

"Missing kids?" Kira repeated. Her light green eyes narrowed slightly.

"You think it's some sort of park hoax?" Garth asked, blinking widely as he shifted his upper body to slip past some people in out path. Raven shook her head.

"Not sure. But if it is, I'm still going to give this woman a piece of my mind. Kidnapping as a joke to get people more 'involved' in the park? What the heck?" She snorted.

"It does sound....strange," Kira muttered, "I can't imagine the other parents are thrilled either. Perhaps some of them have already gone back to the front and questioned her?"

Raven shrugged shortly. "Who knows? Let's just get to the dang--"

"Attention all!"

The announcement caught the group by surprise and they all jumped simultaneously. Garth turned his head to the center-most of the park. There, standing on a large circular stage in the middle of the crowd--several yards away from their position--was the woman they had run into at the front of the park. She was dressed in a ring-master sort of attire, smiling pleasantly as she tipped a red ribboned top hat. In her right hand was a sleek black cane. That was all. There were no marks, no decorations. Just a simple, black cane. Raven stood still for a moment before taking a sharp step forward in the woman's direction. Garth grabbed her by the arm.

"Hold up," he muttered before she could snap at him. Her lips drew into a thin line as she turned her attention back to the ring master.

"The second event is about to begin!" She proclaimed, throwing her arms out in a celebratory fashion. Raven let out a snort. "The Scavenger Hunt!"

The three exchanged glances.

"Visitors will be separated into groups of--"

"Where's my son!?"

The voice rang out above the woman's and she abruptly stopped speaking. Her arms slowly lowered and she gradually turned her head around to stare into the crowd. Several heads turned in the direction of the source as well. They all turned to a man about middle height with blonde hair and bright, irritated eyes. His fists were clinched as he stared unwaveringly through the feet of heads to the stage. There was silence for a few seconds. Garth could pick up tense vibrations moving through the air, causing him to stiffen and shift his weight uneasily. Kira shivered and rubbed an arm.

The woman lifted her cane back into her hands and slowly twisted it through her gloved fingers. The silence of the crowd had spread, people at vendors and waiting in near by lines had even hushed down in hopes of figuring out what had caused the lack of babble and chatter. It was so quiet, that the group of three could hear the soft click...click....click.... of her heels as she sauntered across the stage. "...I...beg your pardon, ...sir?"

The man took in a short breath. "My SON. He got lost in that joke-maze of yours! Where is he?!"

"My baby sister's gone, too!" Another voice rang out, this one from a teenage boy. Now a woman's voice rang out. "Where are our children?!"

She had hardly finished the word before several people began talking and a whole new roar of questions and demands rose from the crowd, both towards the ring leader and each other. Garth muttered a short 'great Neptune' under his breath. Raven, now standing upright and folding her arms, locked her eyes onto the woman. She was smiling from beneath the shade of her top hat, fingers still slowly churning the cane in her palms. Then she lifted a hand high above her head, scanning the crowd with her eyes. The chatter continued before people gradually began to notice her motion and quieted.

"My guests," she chuckled, "there is no need to fret. Your young ones are perfectly fine. In fact, they walk amongst you right now, as we speak."

There was a moment of stunned silence before people began to look around, turning and twisting their bodies and heads in an attempt to spot any wandering children. Raven turned around and went as far to stretch her neck up just a few inches to get a better look over the crowd. Garth glanced over his shoulder, then turned back around, noticing that Kira was once again rubbing her arms.

"You okay?"

She hesitated, then slowly shook her head, looking towards him. "...something's wrong, Garth."

"Everything about this is wrong," Raven grumbled.

"No, I mean somethi--"

"Is this some sick joke?" Someone from the crowd barked. A chorus of agreements followed and the roar of the crowd rose again. The woman looked among them before slowly raising her hand once more. The noise of the crowd died down again, but not as quickly. People were becoming impatient. Fast. She smiled. Then slowly inhaled through her nose. Garth squinted a little as she let the air out again in a soft chuckle.

"...You don't believe me? ...Hm. Very well, then." The smile on her red lips grew ever so slightly. "....perhaps I will just ... have to show you."

As the crowd looked amongst itself, Kira suddenly grabbed hold of Garth's wrist. He jumped sharply in surprise as her nails dug into his skin and turned to face her.

"Kira, what--"

"We have to leave," she said urgently, staring through the crowd. Raven twisted around so she was facing them, her angered look contorting into one of confusion.

"...wait, what?"

The witch reached across Garth and snatched the blonde's hand with her other one. "We have to leave--now!"

"Kira, what's going on?!" Garth blurted as he was ripped forward, stumbling over his own two feet as the long-haired girl dragged him through the crowd. He and Raven bumped against each other and other guests as they were pulled past them. Raven grunted and shoved Garth's shoulder away from her. "Geeze! What the heck is wro--"

There was an eruption of sound from behind them. A catastrophic BOOM. Then screams.

Garth jerked his head over his shoulder reflexively, his eyes widening. The ring master had thrust her cane into the air...and now a twisting pillar of black, ink-like smoke was spiraling from the tip of it. It shot several yards up like a tornado, then spread out and began to fall towards the ground like billowing piles of ash from a volcano. Over the screams of the crowd, he could have sworn he heard other screams. Moan-like screams. Which seemed to grow louder the more and more darkness fell from the sky.

"What in the--" Raven breathed, barely getting a look at the scene before Kira whisked them around a corner. People were in a complete panic now, screaming and running in every direction. The group had to duck and dodge the entire run. Garth tripped again and jumped in mid step as one of the smoke-bombs crashed to earth just feet from them. The ground each ash touched seem to die on contact; the dirt became grey and any stray blades of grass shriveled up and turned brown. The Atlantean's breath caught and a sickening feeling rose in his stomach. There was a yell from somewhere ahead; he didn't catch the words, but he recognized the voice. Snapping his head back around, he caught sight of Gar and Roy sprinting towards them. Roy's eyes were locked on the sky and Gar seemed more fixed on them. There was another ear-rupturing explosion and Kira shouted something. The next thing he knew, Kira was flying through the air--pulling them with her-- and landing on the ground inches from Roy and Gar. Garth and Raven stumbled to their feet.

"Raven!--" her words became inaudible for a moment, but Garth managed to catch the last part "--lipstick!"

Raven reached into her back pocket and pulled out a black tube. Kira grabbed it, fumbled with it, then rapidly drew symbols on her hands with the dark purple makeup. The explosions were getting closer, becoming more unbearable. The sky was rapidly going black. Even the sunset's gentle red glow was drowned in its shadow. People were screaming, running, ducking into fun houses and behind vendors to search out some form of protection. Kira looked over her shoulder as she raised her hands--standing just inches in front of them facing the pillar-- and yelled something; the explosions may have drowned it out, but, Garth still got the message loud and clear. Get down.

He whipped around and reached for Raven, pushing her down. Roy followed his lead and shoved Gar downwards, reaching across and pulling both Raven and the changeling under him. Garth lowered and ducked his head, peeking out just as he raised his arms to cover his neck. The last thing he saw was the bright neon green glow of Kira's hands...and then nothing.

Just darkness.

OOOH, CRAZY LIKEY!! :D MOORE!!! MUST....HAVE....MORE!! *twitch* lol good job raev.