Home ... Again???

[Argus Steele]

"Who are you girl, and what are you doin' here?" This Shift was so subtle that there was no warning. No Evan. No Stacy. No guards. Only a dredlock wearing male that did not looked overly pleased about this uninvited guest.

The point of a sword was directed at her slender neck, and the man's head was tilted to one side as if he were looking for something. Pulling the weapon back, he looked at her again. "Talk quick, before I change my mind. Who are you?"

She'd found herself looking around fast, then...staring down the point of a sword. A wide-eyed blink at him in surprise, and for a second she was speechless. Well, *this* didn't happen everyday! "Um..I'm Eve. What's...Where am I?" There hadn't been that feeling that the world was falling away; it seemed that she'd just blinked, and somewhere else. One hand went to her neck quickly, looking to see if the collar was still there. Granted, it wasn't blocking her anymore, but it was more curiosity. A flicker of her eyes from the sword to the man, fine brows rising a little. "Who are you?"

"My name don' mean nothin' to you, girl." Giving her the wary eye. "You be in my basement. Who sent you?" The sword didn't fit the 21st century decor: Plasma HDTV, Surround sound system, fully stocked bar, very expensive looking furniture, and a wall length fish tank, with every type known to man. The time was early eve, and the man seemed to at least be content that she wasn't a threat. A hand was extended to her. "You look as confused as me, girl. What be your story?"

"No, a name probably wouldn't mean much, but it's better than referring to you as 'hey you' or 'sword man.' " A slow roll of her shoulders in a shrug, and she didn't seem to be terribly concerned about the blade anymore. She'd taken to looking around, brows drawn together, a little frown of confusion tugging her mouth. "I was just...somewhere else, and I think I Shifted again..." But it had to be random, didn't it? She hadn't been *trying* to do it...but that didn't necessarily mean anything.

Realizing that she probably wasn't making a bit of sense, Eve shook her head and even got brave enough to take the proffered hand, though she'd mentally brace herself first. Just in case. "No one sent me. I think I got here by accident."

"Shifter. Accident. Hmn. You can call me Brehnic, and you be in the RLD. girl. An' for the record, you be ramblin' and not makin' a lick of sense." Motioning for her to have a seat at the bar. "What are you, some kind of teleporter? Though your kind was outlawed." Flopping down onto the couch, Brehnic didn't seem to threatened by Eve any more, only very curious. The sword had been replaced by a cell phone that hadn't been used. Yet.

Joy. Now it wasn't 'frail' but 'girl.' Eve wasn't sure which she liked better. A slight shake of her head, and she sat down there, crossing her legs, hands tucked in her lap. "Join the club. If people know what I'm talking about, I'm usually a bit worried. I'm not a teleporter...at least, I don't think so. Are they really outlawed?" This...had to be another reality, didn't it? Were they outlawed in her own? Funny, she'd never asked, but it would have explained why they'd had such a fit when she and Evan had blinked in and out...

"Expecting a call?" She'd noticed the phone, and arched a brow delicately.

"Expecting to make one, if need be. Tell me why I shouldn't. You look pretty normal, but I've learned appearances can be..." Letting his voice trail off, the phone was flipped open. "Last chance."

"...Deceiving. Yeah, I've learned that one well, too. You shouldn't make that call because I actually need to get the hell out of here and get back to where I started from." Hopping down from the seat, she shrugged. The young woman didn't seem very worried about him placing that call. "For the record, I never claimed to be normal. I'm not, not by a longshot. But there's a lot riding on this, so I've got to figure out how in the world I'm going to get back to the Center." She didn't turn away from him, but held her hands out wide for a moment. "Besides. You strike me as the kind of guy that has a few secrets of his own. Not too often you find someone using a sword for home or self defense." She had the feeling that she should have shut up before but...well...nervousness could do that to her.

"The center of *what?*" Now *really* looking at her. "Why is it that all the cute ones have to be so d**ned mouthy? You want to leave, go right ahead. Poof outta here, 'cause that's the only way you're leaving, girl." A small smile was on his face, but he was quite serious as a button was pressed. "Better safe than sorry, girl. You understand."

"No, I don't really, but if you want to be a jerk, go ahead." But she couldn't let him call someone to drag her out to whatever other facility or prison. She just couldn't. Eve really did feel that she was being pushed, and she was very close to that edge again...

Her eyes quickly darted from him to the phone in his hand. A touch to that free-streaming energy, and there was that bright flare, and she did a good job of directing it. The screen on the phone would jump, and the only thing it would emit was a loud static. "Yeah. Feel free to call someone after I'm out, okay?" And she'd turned, running for the nearest exit, trying to figure out how to get a handle on Shifting herself back to the Center even as she did. Funny, the last place she really wanted to go was where she *needed* to go, it seemed...

There was only one way out from the basement, and it led up. Brehnic was a little miffed about the phone though. He liked that phone! "Dammit! Is anyone *not* normal in the RLD?" Rising from the couch.

"Brehn, what is all the.... Noise." The voice that came from the figure that was blocking Eve's way out, and the face that she'd least expect to see - Steele? Those dark eyes narrowed as he held his hand out towards Brehnic. "Hold on, I got this one. Nora, no more games. I'm shooting you now."

Finding Steele there had set her back on her heels again, and her eyes really *had* gone wide then! She'd frozen in all movement, and it would have been quite possible to just knock her over with a nudge. "...Steele." Another blink, her mind catching up to his words. "You think I'm Nora?! That's...no." A vehement shake of her head, and she threw a fast look between the two men. How in the hell was she going to explain that she wasn't Nora? Her mind groped for that answer, but she found herself asking something altogether different. "...Which one are you? Argus or Tohmaz...or...?" Was there another? More to the point, what *was* it with her coming across *this* man in particular?

"Elf?" A single word uttered.

Brehnic would throw his own hands in the air. "Dammit Steele, be telling me when you're going to be using the basement for your...A little young isn't she? Mouthy too, just how you like 'em."

Steele would ignore Brehnic's ramblings, those dark eyes studying the girl before him very closely.

Her mouth fell open a little, but she snapped it shut and turned her head a bit, eyeing him critically. *Had* she met him, or was this just...similar enough? "Argus?" Carefully spoken, but she was watching his eyes. And ignoring Brehnic's comments.

There went the arch of the eyebrow. "Holy shxt. It is you. No fxckin' way..." Dressed in black from head to toe, Argus was still a little on his guard, but those instincts told him this wasn't Nora.

Brehnic on the other hand, just looked from one to the other. "Wait-wait-wait! This is *that* Eve?"


She'd relaxed, but only a little. She still wasn't sure about this situation, or that Brehnic guy. Speaking of which... "What do you mean, *that* Eve?" She had to throw a quizzical look back at him, then look back to Steele. "Um...What the hell is going on here?" More than a touch lost, but he'd apparently had an encounter or two with Nora - or the new look-alike, rather...

(m) "I need a drink." Well, so much for the happy reunion. Steele walked right by her and began fixing himself something pretty heavy. "Brehnic, you want something?"

Still looking back from one to the other, Brehnic would finally answer. "How about some answers on ice?"

Downing the first shot, Steele would pour himself another, giving Eve another look. "Ten years ago, one of my partners of the original NWI Shifted, and we never saw her again. Till now, looking the same as when she left."

Brehnic would do a double take. "She's *that* Eve?! Holy crap man! What the Hell is she doin' here? What? She home in on your aura or something? By the way, she owes me for the phone!"

"Yeah, sorry about the phone." Quickly spoken before she skipped the rest of the way back down the stairs, Eve couldn't even form an answer to that for a moment. Then, "Ten years?!" A glance between the two men, before she gave her head a quick shake. "No, no, no...See, when I Shifted, I ended up in another reality where the daemons were taking over. Evan - the equivalent of me there, I guess - tried to send me back last minute, and the next thing *I* know, I'm waking up, late for work, on the day when...when I met you at the coffee shop." Her brows drew together, and she looked as if she might say something else, but her confusion was clear. "I really was starting to believe that was my reality, too..." She needed to sit down. Now. Eve dropped back onto the couch, pressed the heel of her hand against her head. "You haven't changed much." Physically speaking, anyway. She looked up at him again. "What happened to Rico?" Her expression said she wasn't *quite* sure she wanted to ask, but had to.

Steele was quiet. That said more than enough.

Even Brehnic looked away on that one. "Did you hear her, man? The daemons were taking over. Shxt's gonna hit the fan if this keeps up. Yeah, I'll have that drink now. You gonna tell her?"

Argus just looked over at Brehnic, then back at Eve. Then fixed himself that third drink. "Rico was killed shortly after you vanished. Amber was kidnapped, and...the daemons took over here."

That made her feel more than slightly sick to her stomach. "Oh God..." Murmured softly to herself, rubbing her hands over her face, then pushing back the stray strands from her ponytail. No wonder he seemed...harsher. The situation was worse than ever, and she hadn't even been there to try and do something about it. "I'm sorry, Steele. It sounds hollow, but I am." Dropping her hands, taking a deep breath, and she got back to her feet. Rico was gone, and they'd gotten Amber - and she hadn't been there. Now is not the time for a guilt complex... Definitely wouldn't help matters.

[Argus Steele]

"She's going to have to..die you know, Steele. " Brehnic said that matter of factly.

"Yeah, I know. Too much of a risk to have her discovered. Don't try the mind tricks, Elf. I've already dealt with that." These guys were *serious!* No smiles or anything. Steele already had the look like he had been carrying the weight of several worlds on his shoulders, and he pulled a most interesting looking weapon from his jacket. "I hope this thing still works. Must be a reason I still keep it on my person, after all this time." A slow aim was taken, just as Brehnic was moving to grab the girl just in case she tried to run for it.

"You know, I don't really get what's with everybody trying to kill or capture me all the time." She was more angry about this than afraid. It seemed she couldn't even find a friendly face anymore! Eve had tensed up and thrown a steel-eyed look at Brehnic, before looking back at Steele. "You know what? Fxck it all. I'm pretty sick of all this anyway. Do it." She even spread her arms, and took a step back. Open target. "And when you do, kiss it all goodbye. You think what happened here is bad? It gets even worse, and I've *seen* it!" Evans world; that one kept flickering through her mind now. There might have been daemons in this reality, but at least it hadn't been completely decimated yet, hadn't been used up...

"Pull that trigger, and everything that I've learned, everything I've been prepared for is down the drain. The daemons win. Cromwell wins." A slight shake of her head. "...And you may never find out where Amber is." Not that Eve actually knew for sure, but something Nora had said had clicked in her mind: 'You've had a pair of eyes watching you, and we've tweaked a little reality of our own.' Who else could possibly be strong enough to do that, short of another daemon? She only knew of one person.

"Good girl." A bolt of crimson came shooting from the gun, and Eve's world went white around her. There was no pain to be felt, not even from the point of entry.

She could hear voices talking to her and around her, but it came off with a slow echoing effect. As her eyes would start sorting out the different colors and the images became more clear, she could catch up with the jumbled words. She'd find her head resting the the lap of a dark skinned woman, who was wiping her forehead with a damp cloth. "Easy, there Eve. The effects should be wearing off shortly. Right now, you're probably feeling like you're on a non-stop roller coaster ride right now. If you want to sit up, do it really slowly, okay?"

Several more people were standing around the woman, who seemed to be partially covered by the shadows. "Which Eve is this?" One voice would say. "Sure it's not Nora?"

Another would say, "No, this is Eve Lizt from Earth Realm Prime. Nora was the created clone gone rogue."

"Welcome back, Eve. I know you've been through a lot, and I swear to you every question will be answered." One of the figures stepped away from the shadows, allowing her to fully see his face. It sounded like Argus ...Tohmaz... but it wasn't. She had met him one time before: Arion would kneel down, offering her a glass of water. "Sip slowly, your body is still adjusting to the Phasing. She's going to be fine, gentlemen. Good work. "

Two of the others that remained in the back ground nodded. Eve could make those out to be Brehnic and Argus. As her focus cleared up more, she'd see different versions of herself, Argus, and Jared! The woman that was caring for her a female version of Steele!

The blur of the world didn't seem solid at first, and seemed about as substantial as a dream. Eve kept trying to retreat from it, to slip into the darkness of unconsciousness and not hear or see anything. It seemed that there was simply too much going on around her, or perhaps it was just amplied to her senses. The sound of someone speaking quietly sounded more akin to a shout, the light sound of a step more like the rumble of an earthquake. The light even seemed blindingly bright, and at first she tried to turn away, shield her eyes with her hands. The dizziness was refusing to go away, and she found herself having to crack her eyes open, find something to brace her hands on in an effort to steady herself. She did sit up, and too fast. The world spun several times around her, and her stomach made a loop or two as well. It took more than a few blinks to be able to see much aside from light, and realize that someone was talking. To her. She'd glanced at the dark skinned woman and blinked a few times, then looked to the man that offered her the glass of water. "What-?" Her throat was so dry it was hard to even speak. A hand closed around the glass, just a bit shaky, but instead of drinking it Eve was looking around. Recognizing some familiar faces that made her stare, flat out. What had...? Memory returned in a flash, and she shot to her feet - sloshing water around in the process, and not looking too steady. "Okay. Fine. So, who wants to tell me what in all hell is going on here?" Not the happiest camper right now, and none too happy with the Steeles and Brehnic.

Arion motioned to the others to give her some room, while Jared (dressed like some sort of medieval pirate) brought her a chair. "Steady lass, I kno' wha' you be goin' through. Too many mind games, an' not knowin' wha' is real any more. As Arion said, we'll be tellin' ye everythin' we know." With a bow and a kiss of her hand, he introduced himself. "I am Jared van Rico, of the realm of Rhydin. You be already meetin' Arion before, an' the lass tha' was watchin' over you is Aria Steele, o' the realm Terra Nine. The Daemon's have gotten a hold of a crystal that allows them to reshape all of reality; 'Tis called the Crystal of Making."

Arion would return with another glass of water for her, picking up where Jared left off. "They're looking to reshape the entire universe in their own image, and enslave mankind in the process. Me, along with my brothers Argus and Devantious, were part of a group entrusted with watching the Nexus realm to make sure the proper balnace was maintained. Sort of like that 20th century movie Time Cop, with Jean Claude Van Damme. You have your darker forces that would attempt to tamper with time for their own selfish needs. My brother Argus would soon betray us all, causing the Crystal of Making to fall in the hands of the Daemon horde. " Arion would pause to let this sink in, before continuing. Eve would see other versions of herself going about their business, male, female, alien, young and old.

"Argus betraying someone. What a shock." No, she *definately* wasn't happy with him now. It was one of those moments when she disliked the entire world. She'd thanked Jared for the chair and Arion for the water, but didn't actually use either yet. Stress made her want to pace, and holding the glass gave her something to do with her hands. "Okay, so where am I and how did I get here?" Basics first. Eve felt like she was going into overload, and was pointedly not looking at her alternate versions. She did *not* want to snap right now.

"Um...that would be us, Elf." Argus would nod his head. "You're not the Eve from my realm, but you were one the ones Arion told me to be on the look out for. The daemons took over my realm and had agents all over. Some even appeared as you in an attempt to find this safe haven." And that's when it would hit Eve; she was inside Stonebridge! "What I shot you with was a like a Transporter, meant to mask you from those daemon spell casters. We had to act fast, or they would have picked up on you even with our shielding. Sorry about that." Brehnic would nod in agreement. "It was ten years ago when you - the other Eve - vanished and we got that nifty little gizmo to send her here to the safe haven when...if she ever came back. We had to be sure you weren't a daemon shifter. That's how they...got Rico. " A slow nod. Nora's little comment before about Eve betraying them sort of made more sense now.

Arion would speak again. "You're inside Stonebridge and... " The sudden screams caused some to jump, while others turned to look. Aria would race off down the hall. "It's Eve, she's having another attack!"

"Don't...Don't call me that." A shake of her head, and Eve finally took a drink of the water. It wet her throat, but didn't do much else for her. She'd fixed Argus with that empty-eyed stare for a long moment. "And you couldn't speak to just *tell* me this?" Not that the reply even mattered. She was shaking her head again and turning away before he'd even had a chance to speak. She set the glass down in the chair and walked around a little, feeling a bit more steady on her feet. All of this made sense, and it didn't. In some ways, she was even more confused than before.

Arms folded, she stopped and stood still for a moment, just looking downward. She didn't even know how long ago he'd 'shot' her. It felt like just a few seconds, and in a way, she was disappointed. Not that she wasn't dead, but that she didn't have the sense of the passage of time - a little bit of time when it wasn't *something* going wrong, a little piece in the apparent chaos.

"Stonebridge as a safe haven. That's just wro - " Eve had been speaking more to herself than anyone, but her head snapped up at the screams. A frown at the explanation, and without another word, she'd darted off behind Aria.

"You don't need to be seeing this, Eve," Aria said while pushing people out of the way. "Trust me. I do not say this lightly." Looking over at several people in white lab coats. "How bad is it?"

The appearance of this new Eve caught them all off guard. Aria snapped her fingers in their faces. "Focus! How bad is it?"

A woman bearing a strong resemblance to Dr. Stacy Hanson spoke up. "It's not good. We can't keep upping the dosage, Aria. Eve's developing a stronger tolerance to it. "

Said another, "We're running a chance of irreversible damage, and she's not some lab rat!"

Aria was already prepping the drug with the original dosage. "I agree with Doc Hanson. Original dosage, and I'm going in to try and calm her down. Where's Maxwell?"

Stacy would look away for a moment. "He - he was giving Eve her injection, when she powered up and...killed him, used h-her TK to turn nearly every bone in his body to dust. The shock of what she did pushed her over the edge and..."

Aria looked over at Eve. "Stay here." The screams were louder as the room she was in was right down the hall. Shouts about glass breaking, and that *she* was free were repeated over and over again. Aria stepped inside the room, biting her bottom lip at the sight of the broken body of Dr. Damon Maxwell. The same one that Eve recalled was the totall opposite of her own version. "Hey, girl. It's me. Steele. You gotta calm down."

If Eve disregarded Aria's warning and followed, she'd see, unruly tangled hair, some missing in patches where she had ripped it free from her scalp, eyes wild, dark circles etched beneath them. Her skin was pale, her body a shell of its former self. Her upper torso wrapped securely in a straight jacket."...Theglasswillbreaktheglassdidbreakshesfr eeshefreetheglasswillbreaktheglasswillbreak... "

She didn't even open her mouth to say that she wasn't the kind to sit still; Eve figured Aria would probably know that, given that she'd encountered alternate versions of her before. Chances were that at least *one* of them would refuse to be still during something like that.

Eve had thrown everyone involved a glance while they spoke, but she'd been edging along toward the room where the shouting came from. TK turned Maxwell's bones to *dust?* Was her own strong enough to do that? She really didn't know, and hoped not to have to find out.

She could Feel the other girl, she realized; it was like a beacon in her head, a brighter flare of light against the foreground. The sheer volume of emotion coming from her was almost overwhelming; it played along Eve's nerves, trickled down her spine in a cold sweat, and threatened to be confused for something of her own. She'd had to stop, close her eyes and try to sort it out. She was worried, but not afraid. Not yet. A deep breath, and she finished her approach to the door.

The sight that greeted her there, while shocking, wasn't enough to put her off. How close had she come to being in that same kind of position? The fear could take over, grow into some great beast, almost tangible. "How often does this happen?" Her voice was quiet, and she was trying to feel the situation out. Tentatively, but she'd pulled her Shields into place, and probed delicately around this other Eve's mindset. It looked to her like the girl had walked the fine edge of madness and toppled over the other side. Calm. It was all she tried to impress on the tumult of the other girl, and even that with a very light touch. "The glass hasn't broken." Spoken very softly, and she wasn't sure the other girl could really hear her, anyway.

The screams suddenly stopped, and Eve stared blankly ahead. "Who can it be, knocking at my door? Go 'way, don't come 'round here no more. Can't you see that it's late at night? I'm very tired, and not feelin' right. All I wish is to be alone. Stay 'way, don't you invade my home. Best off if you hang outside. Don't come in, I'll just run and hide..." Her voice almost a whisper, those unfocused eyes now trained upon the one *speaking* to her. "I've done no harm. I keep to myself. There's nothing wrong with my mental health."

Aria would motion to the others to quietly pull Dr. Maxwell's body from the room while she allowed this to play itself out. The needle ready, just in case. It was like the calm before the storm. "I like it here with my childhood friend. Here they come, those feelings again ... "

Eve didn't expect this little break to last long. Not at all. While the other girl's eyes were fixed on her - even if she wasn't really sure that she was being seen - Eve moved slowly. Keeping her line of sight off Maxwell and the people moving his body. She was really hoping to be able to calm her down, but didn't think the likelihood of that too high; the best she might have been able to hope for was to keep volatile situation from effecting other people.

She was still delicately impressing that calming feeling, trying to slip a thread or two of it into the other Eve's mind, and the strangest thing crossed her mind then. A half-forgotten tune from a music box that she had when she was a little girl, one of the sort that had the little ballerina forever pirouetting in it. The soft tune threaded through the feeling, and Eve even found herself humming the sweet little song, quietly. Wordless, as she didn't have slightest clue what to say, and wasn't sure she'd be understood. But she did make a little motion with her hand toward Aria, slowly - a press toward the floor with her fingers. Wait. She didn't want to drug the other girl if it wasn't necessary, but she *was* worried about what would happen if it started all over again.

"Is it the man, come to take me away? Why do they follow me? It's the future that I can see, it's just my fantasy..." She allowed Eve to probe her thoughts. Come close, and closer still, said the spider to the fly.

A tiny smile on those cracked and split lips. "I don't know where I'm goin', but I sure know where I've been. Hanging on promises in songs of yesterday. And I've made up my mind, I ain't wastin' no more time. Here I go again, here I go...AGAIN!" Using the strands that were forged into her mind by the other, images of her being captured by daemons flooded Eve's mind.

Images of being experimented upon, tortured endlessly and other unspeakable horrors as they made they glass shatter and break. Images of her being used as a weapon of the daemon, appearing in random realms to kill those that did not suspect her intent. Images of many dying by her hands; her mind, so much deadly potential, but a little part of her soul lost with each death. Images of her encountering Argus and Jared, and Argus welcoming his wife back. Infant twins.

Images of betrayal. Argus wounded. Jared giving his life to allow Argus to escape with the twins. Images of Stonebridge. Endless slaughter. Being captured. "Kill...Me...Please..."

A tear runs down her cheek - a blood tear as the daemon influence begins to overtake her once again. Images of Dr. Maxwell talking to her. Trying to help her. - Stupid little man. - Closer. Closer still. - Lock the doors and the little piggies can't get in. How many licks to get to the inside of a tootsie roll pop? ... Let's find out.- Sounds of bones bending, cracking, breaking, again, and again, and again... - No, no. No tears. Such a waste of sweet suffering. Scream...But you cannot. How much can you scream with your mind before it shuts down? -

Like the snap of a mental rubberband, Eve would find herself back inside her own mind. Aria had injected the girl with the needle, but that original dosage woulf not be enough. The needle flew from the girl's arm and struck right between Aria's eyes - then injected nothing but air.

The second she realized what was happening, Eve had been trying to sever the connection. She was good - Eve couldn't do it. It was like trying to run with her fingers caught in the hinge of a door that had slammed shut.

It frustrated her, upset her, and the onslaught that started to assault her didn't help matters. The images and the very *Feeling* of the daemon essence made her sick to her to her stomach. Caught up in the turmoil, Eve didn't even notice that she'd reached up and grasped her own head, stumbled back a step. Somewhere in the midst of it all, the thought of Everett bled through. Hadn't he been something similar? He'd been tainted by the daemons in his own right...

It was dizzying, to find herself back in her own mind again. To find the situation that had quickly escalated around her. "Aria!" She went for the needle, but it was probably too late. She was also reacting on another level, though; Eve was still shaky, but was utterly disgusted by what this Eve had become. It was loathsome, vile, and she'd rather have died than become that way herself; maybe it was the same for this other Eve as well, but she wasn't sure it was her choice to make. She'd slammed shut against further intrusions, but reacted with her own TK, slamming the other Eve back against the wall. Once. Twice. Three if necessary. Not trying to kill her, but dampen that sick-light that was still on her mind's eye, to knock her unconscious.

"I get knocked down, but I get up again. You're never gonna keep me down!" Pure evil was etched into the girl's face. Naked twisted evil, and she reached out to Eve. TK versus TK. Her focus was on this weaker version of herself. A deadly sneer graced those features, and Eve would feel her own heart being squeezed like it was inside a vice, becoming tighter and tighter still...

...Until a sickening crack sounded off inside the room. Her body fell to the ground, twitching while the *lights* inside her mind were dimming, one by one. Aria dropped to her knees and her eyes held a totally feral look. "Dammit girl, I'm sorry."

The empty eyed doll-like stare would slowly be replaced with a more human one as the daemon effects were also dying off. A clear tear ran down her cheek, her mouth trembling as she tried to speak. "S-sorry. S-sorry ..." It wasn't directed at Aria or Eve, but to the figure that stood within the doorway.

"I know, kid. You're free now. Sleep. " And with that, Argus put a bullet into her head, then turned and left the room.

She hadn't been able to breathe, hadn't been able to feel much aside from the squeezing in her chest. Her vision had started to blur and fade into shades of grey when Aria had reacted, and Eve hadn't been able to do much at all - except fall to her hands and knees and try to breathe. The first breath brought on a hard series of coughs, but luckily there wasn't anything in her stomach to worry about losing.

As the coughing fit passed and she just breathed, chest burning with every breathe, she'd been focused on the other Eve. The needle...and Aria...what had just happened there? Pushing back to her feet, she was suddenly feeling a little lost again - until she'd realized the other girl was looking past the both of them. Eve even looked at him just in time to see him fire, but she didn't even want to hazard a guess as to where he'd been aiming. The light that had been the other girl had snuffed out too quickly. From there her wide-eyed stare rolled to Aria, and she realized that she'd stopped breathing again.

Others went rushing into the room. Dr. Hanson was trying to fight back the tears, until one of the other Doctors made a comment about using the body to see what was done to her. They had to pull Stacy off the cringing man, and she was using words that would make a sailor green with envy.

Aria continued to sit there. No one went near her; they knew the drill.

Eve would find herself being helped from the room by Arion. No words were spoken. What could he say right then? He'd just walk with Eve, pausing long enough to have Jared check on Aria, once she calmed down. The pair would continue on back down the hall.

Brehnic was talking with Argus when Steele's cold gaze fell upon Eve. "She going to be okay, Arion?" A slow nod was given in return, before the shouts of "Dad!" were heard, and two girls came running full tilt down the hall to hug Steele. "Jasmine, Amethyst. How are my two fav ladies today?"

In a span of a heartbeat, Eve would see the haunted look Steele had replaced by one of a more caring nature. He knelt down to return the hugs of his ten year old twin daughters. "C'mon, let's go topside to grab some lunch."

Too late. Jasmine had seen Eve and gasped, which caused her twin sister to look as well. They knew it wasn't their mother, but there was always the split second of hope. They would both say "Hi," in unison, and both looked almost exactly like she did at that age. One had her hair in a loose ponytail and bangs, the other had it down, free like the wind.

Arion would escort Eve to an empty room with a comfy sofa. "You need some time to yourself? I'll be right outside the door." Nodding his head, Arion turned to leave the room.

Eve hadn't really known what to do when everyone had come flooding into the room. She couldn't blame Stacy for her reaction; it was too crass, and she knew he would have been one of the very ones to treat the girl like a lab rat.

She'd been too numb to do much of anything, and hadn't made any move to do otherwise when Arion led her out. She didn't want to be touched, and he seemed to respect that at least; Eve felt entirely too delicate, too open, too raw. Too close to the edge of tears, to losing whatever courage or resolve she might have had left.

The sound of the kids had thrown her a little, and as soon as she'd realized who they were, her eyes had teared up, and she'd tried to duck out of their line of sight. Too late. She'd managed a smile at the pair - a little shaky - but had been relieved to get out of the hall. "I don't...yeah." She didn't like being alone, but for just a few minutes. Long enough to pull herself together, to stop feeling like she was going to fall apart any second. A little sniff, and she sank down onto the edge of the couch, then pressed the heels of her hands against her eyes. Deep breath. Just. Keep. Breathing.

A arm went around her; Evan! He didn't say anything, but kept his arm around her.

Outside the room, Brehnic was filling Arion in about what Eve had said to him and Argus, including the Steele named "Tohmaz." Arion nodded slowly, leaning against the wall, now deep in thought.

Aria had finally recovered enough for the doctors to examine her. The wound caused was nearly healed, and she just needed some air, promising them all they'd get their chances to prod and probe her to their heart's content. Jared was already waiting for her, with a cold one tossed her way and several on standby. "Pirate, you're a Godsend."

She didn't even ask if Evan was the one that she was familiar with or not; at that point, it didn't really matter. All she could really do was lean against him and let the tears go, because there wasn't much she could do to stop them. Eve was quiet otherwise, but her eyes were wide, and it was replaying in her head over and over. Bad enough that she'd been taken by the daemons, tainted and used as a weapon, but she'd also been a wife, a mother..and all of that had been destroyed by the daemons. How was anyone to stand against *that?* It was daunting at best, and completely hopeless at worst.

[Argus Steele]

Arion would give Eve all the time she needed to compose herself before continuing the conversation they were having before. Until then, he kept himself busy going over various duties within the walls of the Safe haven of Stonebridge Institution.

Aria was assisting Dr. Stacy Hanson in the proper burial of ... Eve. Jared and Brehnic were helping out where needed. Argus had ventured to the empty upper levels to think. Evan remained by Eve's side to offer what support he could, but didn't make an effort to talk unless she wanted to.

It wasn't long before Eve managed to pull herself together. More than anything, she'd wanted to just fall apart, try to let go of the threads of her sanity. It didn't happen though; maybe it couldn't. Her grasp loosened for a few moments, but just couldn't break entirely.

Withdrawing from Evan, she'd sat up on her own, but remained leaned for a moment longer. Long enough to rub her hands over her face and eyes, absently scrubbing at the tear tracks. She didn't feel better, really, but a bit more numb to it. Just...blank. "So which are you?" It was the first time she'd spoken since entering the room. Her voice was only a tad shaky, but just afterward she straightened, even stood up. "The Evan that I know, or not?" It was difficult to figure out how to phrase things, too easy to get confused. At least she sounded more stable now.

"If this wasn't such a depressing moment, I'd thwap across your head. I'm the *only* Evan, dead or alive." Giving that trademark Lizt empty-eyed expression. "This little adventure keeps getting more weird. What's the game plan?"

Leaning now on the far wall with his arms folded across the chest. "If you're asking me, we need to get back and stop Cromwell from doing any more damage. I'm positive he's having a field day with us pulling a vanishing act."

"Yeah, like I really had time to notice if there were any more Evans around. Everyone else seems to have a duplicate, so I figured, why not you too?" A shrug. "And yes, I agree, but the problem is that I don't exactly know *how* to get back there. Besides...maybe these guys actually know something we don't." A glance toward the door, and Eve tilted her head that way in invitation. "One way to find out, isn't there?" Then she was moving for the door.

Steele was making his way back toward the others; he was no use to them brooding topside. Taking the stairs back down, he emerged on the lower level just as Eve was exitng from her quarters. He'd stop and stare at her for a few moments, before continuing on. She wasn't his Eve, so there wasn't anything material to say, whether it was about what happened back there or anything else.

Evan scratched the back of his head. "What's wrong with Steele? I thought we Lizts were the only ones that had the 'look' thing copyrighted?" Offering a slight shrug of the shoulders, and giving him a wide berth.

And that's was when Eve would not only have the wind knocked out of her, but found the reason behind it sprawled over her." Omigosh! My bad! These floors are *not* for roller blading!" It was one of the twins, one of Steele's daughters. This one had the ponytail, so it had to be Jasmine. Eve would get her own empty eyed stare cast at not only herself, but Evan as well. The girl looked a little shaken up, but it wasn't due to the fall. "Um...sorry. Dad! Hey, wait up!" And off she went, blading after him.

"Sorry about that. She gets it from our Father's side of the family." Dry wit mixed with a healthy helping of sarcasm. Part Emo, part Goth, all attitude. Dressed in dark colors, she held out her hand to help Eve up. "Don't worry about the Contact thing. It doesn't work on me. Didn't work on my Dad either. d**n, just how many of you are there? It's like being trapped in some crazy house of mirrors!"

It had been something of a shock to come out that door and nearly run headlong into Steele. Evan hadn't helped matters; she'd opened her mouth to speak but had found herself cut off. Dropping her voice a bit, she muttered an, "I'll fill you in later," and took a step forward in an effort to catch up to Argus...

...And found herself bowled over by something whacking her in the side. No, not something - *someone.* Blinking at the girl, her throat got a little tight all over again, but Eve managed to keep from freaking out. A brace of her hands on the floor and wall to sit up, and she even offered a little smile. It was kind of creepy, looking back at Jasmine, and made her feel bad all over again. "Yeah. It's okay." She could only imagine how creepy it was for the kids, though. She sat still, looking after the rollerblading
girl for a moment before realizing that someone else was talking to her. Oh, so this had to be...Amethyst? Well, she was definitely dress how Eve had *wanted* to be at her age; too bad her parents hadn't allowed it. Taking the hand up, still a little tentatively, Eve absently dusted herself off, straightened her clothes. "Yeah, tell me about it. You can't even turn around here without seeing someone you think you know." A little shake of her head. "I thought I'd lost it, at first." She was still giving that 75/25 odds, really.

"God, you sound like Jazz. I'm feeling for my Dad. It can't be easy for him to keep getting his hopes up every time one of you pop up. Mom's not dead - Just lost, and once Arion figures out how to fix all of this, she'll be back."

Then giving Eve a quick once over. "You need to eat more. Sleep more. And get off the mirror kick." Blowing a nice sized bubble with her gum, she nods to the both of them before breaking off into a slow trot to catch up with her sister.

"Well, that was ... Interesting." Evan would just have a small grin on his face, watching the teen trot down the hall. "You know, once things get back to normal, I'm bringing the whole kid thing up again. Just so you know."

Eve found herself blinking at the kid, then glancing off the direction in which Steele had gone. She wanted to ask, but decided against it; maybe the kid didn't know about what had happened with the other Eve? "Gee, thanks." Every girl loved to be told that she looked like hell. Maybe it was a perspective thing? Amethyst's mother was the ruler she was being measured against, after all...

A shake of her head after the girl left, and she glanced at Evan. "Interesting doesn't even start to cover it. Come on. We need to find Arion." She didn't even acknowledge the other statement; truthfully, Eve would have been shocked and amazed if Evan *didn't* bring it up again. A glance around, attempting to orient herself, and with a shrug she started down the hall.

Arion was outside Stonebridge; the air did him some good. Things were almost past the point of no return, and if he didn't find answers soon... Dropping down to one knee, a pocket recorder was pulled from his jacket and switched on. "I'm starting to run out of options. The pieces are all around me, it's just trouble getting them to fit. We lost another Eve, and if that stat doesn't start showing signs of improvement..." Sighing deeply, Arion turned the recorder off and slipped it back into his pocket. "Hello Eve, Evan. " Spoken with his back turned to them both.

Evan shot Eve a 'how did he know?' look, before just shaking it off. He should be used to things like that by now.

"Hey, Arion." The young woman had figured he was aware of them, even if he didn't acknowledge them to begin with. She'd stopped a respectful distance away, folded her arms loosely and thrown a look around. Just studying the area, vaguely wondering *what* it was about Stonebridge. A slow breath, and she turned back to him, dropping her arms. "I take it things aren't going so well, then." Duh, Eve. Quick shake of her head. "Sorry about freaking on you guys earlier. I think it was all too much too fast." First the incident with Cromwell and her own breakdown, then Shifting again and being Phased there. A lot to process even in the best mindset.

"It's us that should apologize for you getting dragged into all of this..."

[Argus Steele]

Arion sat outside to talk with Eve and Evan. It was almost like talking to Argus or Tohmaz because Arion looked *so* much like his brother, save for the fact that Arion was clean shaven, and spoke ... well, properly. "I guess it's safe assume that quite a bit has happened since our last encounter. As I said before, I'll try to the utmost to clearly answer any questions you wish to ask. And I do have one of my own."

"I'm sure it has, but that doesn't mean I know much more than I did before." Eve had taken to leaning her back against the wall, left foot drawn up to prop there as well. Her arms were folded loosely, and she'd pulled the ponytail holder out of her hair, but had the purple elastic around her wrist. A gentle shake of her head and glance his way. "So what is it?"

"Tohmaz. I think he may actually be my missing brother. " Slow nod of his head. "I was telling you of what was going on before... " Another look toward the doors of Stonebridge. "Have you ever heard of the Realm Walkers?"

Evan perked up. "Yeah, but it was like some sort of cosmic urban legend. Doc Darcy was doing a paper about them when she became my shrink. I became her research go-for, so I started reading more about it out of curiosity." He stopped long enough to give Arion the eye. "Wait a minute ... You're a Walker? No fxcking way! And Tohmaz is too? Hxll, that explains a lot then!" He looked back over at Eve. "Don't you get it? ...You do get it .... You don't get it. I'll shut-up now."

Eve had to look back at Arion at that, eyes narrowing, lips parted slightly in speculation. For a moment, her gaze bounced between Evan and Arion, listening to them talk, before she dropped her arms. She'd never heard of the Realm Walkers; that was a new title to her. But... "Yeah, if that's what I think it is, it explains a lot. And, before my reality was tampered with, Tohmaz was an Argus." Shrugging, she turned her gaze away from both of them, looking forward thoughtfully. But Arion had said... "Are we talking about the same one that betrayed you guys here?" Little show of emotion, even though she was hoping for a 'no' on that one.

Sighing, Arion went silent, as if he was figuring out what to say. "Argus was a good person. Being a Realm Walker takes a lot of restraint in not tampering with time lines, history and such."

Evan chimed in once again. "Wait, you're saying he was seduced by the dark side of the force?" Feeling Eve's eyes on him, he simply said, "What?"

Arion cracked a tiny smile, and nodded. "Something along those lines. By the time we discovered the truth, it was too late. Argus was tried by his peers, stripped of his powers, and sent to the Abyss - a never ending void where one just falls forever, for all eternity. Our other brother Devantious had stumbled upon the Daemon Horde, a race of dimensional demons looking to escape the Shadow Realm and rule the material plane. Argus was the obvious choice to target, because of his chaotic nature. He never broke any of the rules, but he'd always find a way to get dxmned close. Not that Devantious and I complained, because it was his style that kept the cosmic balance intact."

Evan raised his hand this time. "So how did your brother get free from that void? The daemons?"

Arion shook his head. "Not directly. There is a Crystal of Making that allows its bearer to wield the forces of reality. The Daemon Lords were somehow able to get their hands on the Crystal, and tampered with key elements - one being the Realm Walkers. They'd wiped nearly all of us out before we knew what was going on, and if they used the Crystal to target Argus ... The Abyss is protected from such tamperings. It would cause a backlash, which in turn would have caused the void to collapse on itself, killing all inside. Argus included. Myself nor Devantious felt his death; we three are Bonded."

Evan raised his hand once again, then rubbed his temples. " Hey, Arion, um ... Can we get the shorthand version? Tohmaz? Is he your brother?"

Arion nodded. "I believe Tohmaz is, and I think the Argus she met prior was him as well. "

That got a frown from Evan. "But how ... Nevermind. I'm getting a migraine."

Another nod. "If the Daemon Lords tried pulling him from the Void, it would have caused a glitch in reality - like what we are seeing now. Argus died in the Abyss. Tohmaz isn't Argus."

Evan, with his head still down, raised his hand again. "Because Tohmaz was never a Realm Walker, but has that potential inside of him, and is randomly affecting those around him. Like Eve?"

Arion unfolded his arms and nodded at the pair. "That is my assumption as well. Tohmaz is what Argus would have been if he had never been a Realm Walker."

Eve thought she was following things pretty well - to start with. It had been starting to make sense to her - even if it *had* still been strange. Her eyes had been bouncing between the two men as if she were watching a tennis game, and in the midst of it all, she'd only had one little thing to murmur. "If he's the one, then I don't feel quite so bad about throwing him into a wall." Which didn't really say much for her; she *still* felt bad about it, and would probably continue to do so regardless.

But then she found herself looking at Arion, more than a touch confused. "You guys might want to make me a chart or something here, because I think you lost me on that last left turn. So...you *don't* think Tohmaz is Argus after all?" This was just...weird. Beyond weird. Evan was right; thinking about it too much was going to give her a migraine, too. A brief sigh, and she took a second to rub her eyes. "Okay, okay...by randomly affecting those around him, what do you mean?" Another look at Arion. She didn't really care if her questions seemed silly or not; running on assumption was *not* something she liked to do.

Evan would lightly punch her shoulder. "It wasn't Argus or Tohmaz that was doing all the mojo, Arion. There was another factor that we keep skipping over: The Daemons. Eve has told me a lot that has happened to her, and the one factor I noticed? There was always a daemon around. When his brother first met you at the coffee shop, didn't you say that there was a freaky looking Goth couple checking you out? And then the second time, it was just the dude? But he was still a daemon, right?"

"Yeah, they've been pretty liberally peppered in. At the coffee shop where I met him, both times there was at least one present. Then at the girl's house..." Pausing to rub a hand over her face, squeezing her eyes shut. "...Then those critters at the road, and Cromwell..." Dropping her hand, Eve rested the back of her head on the wall, looking upward. "...And I still have to figure out a way to deal with that one." Not looking forward to it, but it had to be done, didn't it? "But the last time at the coffee shop, it was just the guy. I had the specs on and didn't See anything else out of the ordinary."

"And the guy at the bookstore. Maybe it's too simple of a theory, but what if Cromwell was trying to paint Eve as the bad guy, like they did your brother? Eve, did they go after Tohmaz like they did Argus?"


"Yeah, the bookstore. Forgot about ol' Morty." It was easy, given that she'd only had the one go-round with him. Eve was quiet for a moment, considering that one. Did they go after him much? She was shaking her head gently, brows drawn as she thought about it. "I don't...Tohmaz tried to keep me out of things, so it seemed. He dealt with something in the girl's room before I got there, and I remember one of those things going after him while Jara was down...He definitely had a way of popping up at tense moments." A faint grin, and shake of her head. "And the bookstore again, but I wasn't there so I don't really know what happened." She was getting tired, making her thoughts a little more disjointed, making memory fuzzy. She pushed off the wall, straightened her posture and hooked her thumbs in her belt loops. Tried to wake up a little more.

Arion listened with a small smile on his face. "Argus went into - Evan, you don't have to keep raising your hand."

Looking over at Eve, Evan pointed a finger at her. "We're looking at the big picture so much, what about the little things? How about that Tohmaz warmed up to Eve pretty dehm quick. I mean, she saw him naked!" Okay, that just had Arion giving both of them a strange look. "All I'm saying is, the first go round Eve had Nora, and now me. She had Jared, now Jara. She had Amber ... now .... Um.. the dog? And Tohmaz. No one else accepted her as quickly as he did. Eve's been getting better with her skills this time around. It's like something or someone is prepping her."

"Oh, telephone, telegram, tell-Evan!" That had Eve rolling her eyes in mild annoyance. "I accidentally walked in on him." Yeah. While he was walking around his kitchen without a stitch on. "It's not important news or anything." She and Evan acted more like siblings than alternate versions of themselves. He was the pestering little brother! "But, yeah, we did seem to click. When he met me again in the coffee shop, he even asked me if he'd met me before - in all seriousness. Of course, I guess finding the hidden room in his apartment along with another thing or two had a way of making an impact." A half shrug. "I agree, though. Things have been different this time around. The first time, I had only *just* discovered that there was more to this than Sight and ForeSight. Now...my TK is much improved and I don't...I don't think I've even really started to delve into this. Yeah. Someone wants me to learn more. I just...I'm more worried about *who* and *why.*" Reaching up to rake her fingers though her hair, push it back from her face, her fingers paused at her neck, lingered. "...When I had that collar on and I was...I don't know, I think I was tripping out, something happened just before I came to. Nora was there - but it wasn't quite her. She said she was one of Cromwell's copies and that she, along with someone else, had been tweaking a little reality of their own." Realizing how insane that probably sounded, Eve had to laugh a little, and figuring what the hey, she even added on. "She said that no one would have ever suspected someone to be watching through a dog's eyes." Eve even had to laugh a little at that one. It just sounded ridiculous, but it was one of those odd moments she had a hard time shaking - was it just a product of her own mind, or something else?

"It is too news! How many times have you walked in on him before like that? She didn't freak out or anything. It was like 'oh well.' Not around someone you don't know, right? Not liked you kissed Argus..." A glance at her. "...Did you?" Said as he moved out of fist and foot range. "Million dollar question though: Why her?"

Arion quietly looked from one to the other. "I'm not sure. It is painfully obvious that the daemons are behind most, if not all, of this. We need to get you two back to where you belong. The good news about that is that you'll be back to the exact moment you left. We have a Nexus effect here; that's why the daemons can't get through, or even their Shifters ... but I ramble. Hm, using a dog as a familiar. It could be possible. Perhaps you are learning more to not end up like ..." Another glance towards the doors. "Wait, where is this dog ...?"

"She was at Tohmaz's place, unless someone picked her up. Hey, if you're putting us back at the same moment we left...is it possible to put us somewhere else there?" Being back in the Center didn't sit well with her. Of course, she wasn't really sure *where* might have been a good idea...Cromwell probably had everyone in a tizzy looking for them, regardless.

"It's a longshot, but I think the daemons have accidentally made you a Reality Glitch, so it is possible." Standing, he dusted himself off. "What do you have in mind?"

Evan chimed in on his heels. "Yeah, James Bondette. Jamie Bond? What next? Tele-Evan? Boooo! I'm Evan Almighty!"

Arion admired the fact that the two kept their sense of humor during all of this. "One word of advice? If and when somehow we fix all of this? All that was done would be undone." Evan became solemn again right then.

"Oh, only in your dreams are you almighty. But I am!" Arion had a way of killing that levity, though. Her smile faded off, and her jaw tightened as she looked at Evan. It was a problem; while Eve wanted to put things right, she didn't want to relegate Evan back to being a ghost, either... "I don't know." She'd pointedly given no response to that; Eve didn't know how to react to that, or what to say. Wasn't there another way? "We just...I think if we end up back in the Center that it won't help at all." A second of thought, and she gave a little shake of her head. "Stupid idea, maybe, but what if we go get the dog? See if we can find out exactly *who* is watching in turn?" A glance between the two men, all seriousness now. "Of course, I'm open to ideas."

"Sherlock, they're probably watching Steele's place. Too bad Cromwell has everyone snowed. A surprise ally would be great, right about now."

And that was when Aria and Jared walked out of the building. Evan looked at them, then back at Eve with a slow but sly smile slowly appearing. "If time is not a factor, how about we prepare some premade messages?"

"Yeah, name a place they probably wouldn't be watching? I wouldn't be shocked if they didn't also get the cops on the lookout too. Dangerous mental patient on the loose, and all." Just a little dry humor in her voice there. Arching a brow at Evan, Eve canted her head just a bit. "I'm game. What do you have in mind?"

"Well... " And Evan would toss his ideas at those assembled. It was time to give Cromwell a fat dose of his own medicine.