The dinner out with her parents and her brother had only made her fear worse - had only emphasized how much she loved her life on Earth, how little she wanted to go back to Illyria…

And yet she knew that she had to find out what was happening there. Jennetta had been so sure that something was wrong.

Isabel had only seen her real mother once, that time they had played the destiny message in the pod chamber. She had only spoken to her once directly, when they had managed to use Stonehenge as an interstellar telephone booth.

Diane Evans was her mom. There was no question about it. Isabel almost felt like she was betraying her mom by even considering contacting Milena. And yet she wanted to.

But then again, she didn’t. She didn’t want to know, didn’t want to be told that they had to go back, that she had to leave Alex and Maria and Liz and Kyle and her parents behind.

And so Isabel stared at the orb, tried to ignore the fact that it felt like it was calling to her - "Use me! Use me!"

For the three thousandth time since yesterday, Isabel considered going to Max, telling him the truth about what Jennetta had asked her to do - in fact had insisted that she do. Let him make the decision! He was the king!

But she already knew what Max would say. He would say that they had a duty to find out the truth. And that would land her right back where she was - in indecision-land. Because just being told to do it was not going to be enough. And then Max would be mad at her.

Isabel sighed, picked up the orb, turning it over in her hands. Just do it Isabel! She commanded herself internally. Close your eyes and try and use it!

She dropped the smooth rock onto the bed beside her. She was going to talk to Max. Maybe it WOULD be easier if he told her what to do.

Isabel stood up quickly, smoothed down her red silk pyjamas and patted her hair. She didn’t want Max to see how flustered she was. She wanted to do and say what needed to be said on her own terms.

She was in front of her brother’s door with her arm raised to knock when she suddenly became aware of soft voices in his room. He wasn’t alone. Isabel realized that it had to be Liz, that she had likely come through the window. No one else would be in Max’s room so late.

She couldn’t do it tonight then. She wouldn’t do it until she spoke with Max.

Isabel rolled her eyes, let the annoyance rush through her. While she loved Liz like a sister, it was very irritating on occasion to have to always come second with her brother.

She refused to allow herself to reflect on the fact that it was almost a relief to be able to blame someone else for not being able to use the communicator. It wasn’t her fault. She wasn’t afraid. She had just decided that Max should know, that was it! Since he and Liz couldn’t seem to spend a minute apart, it would just have to wait.

She refused to reflect on the fact that Max would just tell Liz everything about their conversation anyway, that Isabel could easily go in there and ask them BOTH what she should do.

Tomorrow would be soon enough.

Isabel marched back into her room, resolutely pushed the orb near her pillow. She would talk to Max tomorrow. Everything would be fine.

She tossed and turned for what felt like hours, but finally, close to dawn, Isabel drifted off into a light sleep. She didn’t even notice that the orb was touching her hand.

It was only later that she realized that was probably why it happened. ******************************************************* *DREAMS* Isabel

Isabel sat up, blinked.

She looked around, confusion flowing through her. She was sprawled on a white marble floor, the cold seeping through her silk pyjamas as though she was naked. There were tall windows covering the white walls surrounding her, a dull yellow light seeping through and making the walls muted as well.

The silence was deafening.

Isabel shivered. She felt as though she was freezing to death. She didn’t like this dream. Fortunately one of the benefits of being a dreamwalker was that she could wake herself up out of dreams she was not enjoying. And she was definitely NOT enjoying this dream. Being uncomfortable and cold were not options when she COULD be dreaming about she and Alex living in New York, Isabel a famous super-model, Alex a gazillionaire because he had invented some new amazing software for Microsoft…

Isabel shivered again, pinched herself.

Nothing happened.

She stayed exactly where she was.

Isabel frowned slightly, pinched herself again, harder this time. She closed her eyes, knowing that when she opened them she would either be awake or on a beach in Maui with Alex and her friends sipping Mai-tais.

And yet she was supremely not surprised to find herself still freezing AND in the white chamber when she opened her eyes.

Suddenly fear claimed her. Was she dead? Had she died in her sleep - destined never to wake up?

It was then that she became aware of the fact that the silence was no longer solid…she could hear screaming and strange crashing noises coming from somewhere…

She climbed unsteadily to her feet, looked around for a door-way. There didn’t seem to be one anywhere. Isabel moved towards one of the floor-to-ceiling windows, cautiously peered out.

And found herself staring into hell. ******************************************************* "MAAAXX!"

Max sat bolt upright in bed, winced when he realized that Liz had still been cradled against his chest. He glanced at the clock. It was 5:14 a.m. Their parents were going to kill them!

Liz’s eyelashes were beginning to flutter, as she became aware of the loss of Max’s warmth. "Mmmmm…Max?"

Max stared down at her for a moment, wondered what it was that had jolted him awake.

And then it came again. "MAAAXX!"

It sounded like a wail and a plea rolled into one. Liz’s eyes snapped open, stared up at him in shock.

"Izzy!" They both said at the same time.

Max was on his feet and out his bedroom door in two seconds flat. His mom and dad were already stirring in their bedroom. "Isabel!" Max heard his mother stumbling around in the stupor of someone just woken from a sound sleep.

Max didn’t pause. He threw open his sister’s door, saw that she was lying on her bed, her hands clasped around an object that was resting on her stomach.

She was weeping silently now. Max could see that she was still asleep.

He fell to his knees beside her bed. "Isabel! Wake up!" Max felt Liz come up behind him, could feel her concern coming off of her in waves.

He tried to shut out the way Liz always seemed to claim all of his senses whenever he was in her presence. He had to worry about Isabel now. "Isabel!" Max gently shook her. She continued to weep, suddenly let out another ear-piercing shriek.

"JAAAAXX! Mother!!!"

Max flinched. He realized that she had not been saying "Max" at all, but rather "Jax," as in "Jaxon." Something was definitely wrong.

"TRIIISSS!"

Max felt helpless. He continued to shake Isabel but she refused to open her eyes, seemed to be trapped in a nightmare.

Max could hear Liz speaking quietly to his parents, who were now both in the room as well. He ignored them, placed his hands on Isabel’s temples and struggled to connect with her.

He knew what he had to do. He had to go in and haul her out of whatever horrifying dream she had become entrapped in.

The images began to flow fast and furious…

Flash*

Isabel, accompanied by Michael, bursting into a chamber. He could feel Izzy’s absolute terror… He felt her heart stop in horror at the sight that she and Michael found. Max recognized himself sprawled on the floor, blood seeping out from beneath him. He saw Tess lying peacefully on the bed in the room, looking like she was sleeping, except for the blood that stained the pillow behind her head. And suddenly the girl on the bed was no longer Tess…it was Liz…Max felt Isabel’s terror becoming a frenzied crescendo…

Flash*

Isabel in a long, white, blood-stained gown. Max realized that she was cradling a body in her arms… it was Michael. He could feel her fear, and yet resignation, as faceless beings advanced on her…she knew she was going to die…And suddenly the boy dead in his sister’s arms was no longer Michael…it was Alex…and Isabel’s grief increased ten-fold…

Flash*

Bodies everywhere…blood stained the walls of a white marble chamber…a room lit by a dull yellow light…

Flash*

A woman, Max saw that it was their real mother, standing in the Waylandian Ring, her arms outstretched… "Save me my daughter! Mirana! Save me!"

Max could feel himself beginning to get lost in the flashes. They seemed to be repeating on a constant loop…

He had to get Isabel out of there.

"Izzy! Isabel!" He called her name, searching for her conscious self amongst all the chaos that existed within her mind.

He could feel his sister slipping away into insanity…her mind was like a thin thread…he didn’t know how he saw it, but he did…it gleamed in front of him like spun gold…

As suddenly as he was in Isabel’s mind, he was out.

Max collapsed onto the bed.

It seemed like a very long time before he realized that Liz was beside him, lightly stroking his face. "Max! Wake up my love! Max…"

He closed his eyes momentarily, reopened them and focused on Liz’s face. She was looking at him with fear in her eyes.

"Isabel?" He croaked, after trying twice.

"She had one of the purple orbs in her hands Max." Liz told him quietly. "I took it away and she woke up."

Max looked across the bed, saw that his sister was sitting up, was being cradled in their mother’s arms. He frowned. "How long have I been out?" He asked.

"At least five minutes…" Liz replied, pulling him off the floor and on to the bed beside her. "Are you all right?" She was running her hands all over his body, checking for injuries, although he could have told her that she wasn’t going to find anything physically wrong with him.

It was all in his mind. He knew he was NEVER going to be able to erase those horrifying images he had seen in his sister’s head.

Max turned to look at Isabel. She was staring off into nothingness, her dark eyes wide and blank. She was clutching their mother as though she never wanted to let go. Diane was stroking her blonde hair, crooning nonsense, trying to soothe her.

Max couldn’t even begin to imagine how she was suffering. She had been LIVING those horrible things…

And suddenly he was staring right into his sister’s haunted eyes. She blinked, became aware of him. "Max…" She swallowed. "Did you see it?"

"Yeah Iz." Max nodded weakly. Liz had her arm around him. He could feel her trying to will some of her strength into him - it actually seemed to be working.

"Max, it’s not what you think." Isabel continued, as though he hadn’t spoken. "That wasn’t the past…I thought it was at first. But it wasn’t."

"What are you saying honey?" Diane asked, continuing to stroke Isabel’s hair. "What did you two see?"