Rating: PG-13 for language, situation, sexual innuendo and drug use.
Disclaimer: All characters and story plots belong to the authors and may not be reproduced or archived without their permission.
Author's note: TCP stands for "The Crazed Psycho".

         She straightened out her gray skirt before opening the door to her room and heading out to her younger sisters' room.  It was a habit with Wendy that every morning she would spend at least five minutes with Jacqi, the least sane of any of them.  She walked down to the end of the hall and gently opened the door a crack to see inside the darkened room.  Hiding in a corner was Jacqi, sound asleep with a ratty and torn blanket in her arms.  Wendy closed the door and gently approached her sister.

"Jacqi_J.J. _are you awake sweetheart?" Wendy asked softly. Jacqi stirred, but did not wake.

"Pumpkin, I'll let you have a brownie for breakfast if you wake up." Wendy still whispered.  Jacqi's eyes slowly began to open and when she saw her sister looking at her, she smiled, like a baby would when first spying its mother.

"Hiya Wendy!" Jacqi whispered, softly but her tone very childish.  Wendy smiled at her sister, but it was a fearful smile, one that wasn't sure what her sister would do next.

"A brownie? With sprinkles_well, silver sprinkles? And_and a glass of fruit tea?" Jacqi asked as she slowly stood.  Wendy nodded slowly.

"Yep.  Anything, but you have to come down stairs first and be on your best behavior.  Can you do that?"  Wendy asked, the fear and dread never leaving her body.  Jacqi thought for a moment and then nodded her head feverently. Together, the two girls went downstairs.

         By the time the two girls were having breakfast, it turned out that Jacqi was eating a bowl of Cheerios while Wendy herself was eating two eggs over easy, using her pieces of toast to dip into the runny eggs.  Jacqi was drinking a cup of Tzao

Passion tea while Wendy had Earl Grey.

        It was a quite morning in the household.  Khlara had all ready gone out shopping, for a new dress probably, while Jason_no one was ever quite sure where Jason went, and honestly no one wanted to know.  The mystery of where Jason went was the happiness of it all. It was like a grand surprise when he came back, and you always knew he had a wonderful story to tell you of what his adventures had been. They were never exciting adventures such as battling dragons or fending off a hundred snakes, but adventures of how he went shopping for a shirt he just bought and how he fought with the sales clerk to give him a ten percent discount.  They were silly adventures like that, but it was those adventures that made his sister's love him.

        Wendy rarely got to spend time with her brother, even if she had all the time in the world.  But between bartending and writing novels, she could never fully fit her brother into her schedule, and that's what she hated the most, that the sibling she probably loved the most, she had to spend the least time with.  On the contrary, it seemed she had plenty of time to spend with their older sister, Khlara, who did nothing but sing and spend her times at cafes drinking coffee and tea.  And Khlara always had to annoy Wendy with the local health facts that smoking, drinking and the few drugs she did (pot and weed) were not very good for her.  Wendy could care less.  Wendy was a responsible young adult who always made sure she never got out of hand with what she did, but from Khlara's perspective, this was not enough.  No, it was never enough.  Bringing in the sole income for the family, buying the groceries, being a world famous author, taking care of their mentally ill sister and keeping their brother out of trouble all by herself was never enough for Khlara.  She always wanted more and it was when Wendy dwelt on what her sister wanted was when she herself swore that someday she would get rid of her.  But she couldn't. Khlara was a part of the family and not only that, but she loved her, no matter how much she was irritating.

        Wendy sighed and by the time she looked up again, Jacqi had finished her cereal and was waiting patiently for whatever next step her sister might have in mind.

"You want the brownie now?" Wendy asked as she picked up her sister's bowl of leftover milk and put it in the sink to soak.

Jacqi nodded as she continued to stare at the table, absent-mindedly shredding her napkin into little pieces.  Wendy sighed and grabbed the brownie from the cabinet.  It was one of the pre-packaged Jenny Craig type brownies that were fat free and rather tasteless.  She plopped the brownie in front of Jacqi and the younger girl looked up, her face blank but clearly asking `aren't you going to open it for me?'

"You're a big girl now Jacqi.  You can open it yourself, and if you can't," Wendy shrugged, "Then I guess you don't really want it."

"Objectivism." Jacqi mumbled as she picked up the brownie and began to open it.

"I'm going out with Khlara. Are you going to be all right here by yourself?" Wendy said as she cleared the breakfast table and ran water over the dishes.

"Be fine. Have fun. See Jason." Jacqi said through mouthfuls of brownie.

Wendy smiled and shook her head.

"Can you speak in anything other than fragmented sentences?" Wendy asked as she turned around.  Jacqi looked up and blinked a few times.

"No." and then she turned around and ate the rest of her brownie as Wendy headed out the door.

 

         The ashes from the rolled up joint slowly fell into the ashtray as the young woman chuckled at the round cafe table.

"Wendy, do you really have to smoke that here, and in public?" Khlara asked her sister from across the table.

"Kay-kay, you are so--"

"It's Khlara, Wendy." the girl interrupted again.

"Khlara you are so literal minded.  How you ever became first born, I swear I'll never know." Wendy said as she sniffed a little and took another puff.

"But you do know, don't you, and that's what always bothers you the most. The fact that you weren't first born."

"No, the fact that I always have to smoke when you're around so I won't mash your face in is what gets to me." Wendy replied as she took a moment to examine the quickly fading rolled up weed that she had a notion to smoking whenever the mood overcame her. Unfortunately, that mood always came when Khlara insisted on having a private chat, in the `Au Paris Natural' cafe in the middle of Host Plaza, perhaps the most public place in all of the host body.

"You could quit." Khlara suggested softly to her younger sister who wasn't very young by most standards. Perhaps she was only younger by a few months.

"I'd still smoke the nic-cigs." Wendy replied shrugging, taking her last puff of weed and then tossing the joint into the cobble-stoned streets where it would stay until the trash pickup later that night.

"But they have gum for nicotine. It would almost be safer if you smoked those."

"But they get me hyper. The weed just relaxes me, makes my body go limp. Let's me think." Wendy replied, sitting back in her chair now, looking at her technicolored manicure. The nails having been done that morning. Perfectly rounded in shape and colored in purple, orange and green, Wendy's favorite colors.

"You're killing tons of brain cells. How do you expect to continue writing screenplays and novels when you'll be brain dead?"

Khlara asked, her voice rising above the whispered din of the other diners.  No one turned to look at them.

"My dear sweet Narc, the host body will take care of that." Wendy replied as she slowly sat back up in her chair to examine the leftovers of her lunch. Some fish bones and a couple kernels of corn which she began to stab at with her fork.  Khlara sighed, took up her glass of Merlot and began to sip at it as she relaxed into her own chair.

"You make her work too hard." Khlara muttered between glass and liquid.

Wendy's head shot up from the kernel stabbing to look at her sister's own brownish-green eyes.

"It's that god-damned bitch that takes her over. And her...her mother that only aggravates it...I swear Khlara, you make me angry and my vocabulary will disintegrate! You know my problems of repetition." Wendy hissed as she lowered her head to the table and scooted closer so no one would over hear.

"I know. I'm sorry. I should have never brought up--"

"Don't say her fucking name you twit!" Wendy cried out, her chair sliding back as she almost stood up on the cafe's sidewalk. A few people turned their heads to look at the two women, but as Khlara and Wendy looked back at them, they turned back to their own conversations.

"Je suis desolée, d'accord?" Khlara said softly, looking into Wendy's face as she slowly sat back down into her chair.

"Rien...I mean, it's all right." Wendy said, sighing and picking up her glass of water. She flipped the two braids that hung near her temple, back behind her ear to keep out of the way of her tender heart shaped face. Khlara decided to change the subject as she sat down her Merlot.

"What of TCP," she began as she picked up the dessert menu and looked it over,  "Have we decided to rename him yet? He really can't go by initials anymore."  Wendy nodded as she set her glass down.

"Jason. It's the only plausible name choice for him. It's the reverse concept of Jacqi. Twins and yet set apart by society standards and of course, science." Wendy began to explain. Khlara looked up, a knowing smile on her face.

"Which means that you're only wanting to bed him because of the name change." the woman replied, trying so hard not to giggle.  Wendy's eyes widened in shock.

"Morally and socially un-accepted." was her own answer.

"In reality, sure. But this is the host body.  It's not wrong here."

"You know it's not accepted as canon unless it is written and published so it may be viewed by the public, and that won't happen because of the morals behind it. We do have standards my dear." Wendy explained as she looked around the cafe, spotted a waitress and snapped her fingers, the signal for bring the check.

"Face it Wendy, you're obsessed over him." Khlara said, her whole face growing into something that looked like pure evil, as if she was planning to tell the whole world about her sister's problem.  Wendy leaned back in to her sister and replied,

"He's hot." as a small shiver ran up her spine.

"He's your brother," the waitress said as she ripped off the check and laid it down on the table. "But good luck." she added as she walked away. Wendy sighed as Khlara laid down a few coins to pay for the check and the girl's left the cafe.

        As they walked down the small street, which was already filled with people going about their random day chores, they smiled, as one stranger appeared familiar to them.  Tall, at least 5'11' in height, slim and with jet-black hair, he had gray eyes and a smile that never left his face. He was tan and had a lithe movement to his walk. He was well built, but not overly so, enough not to be embarrassed if he went to a gym.  He carried a gray and white striped bag in his left hand and approached the two ladies.

"Hello girls. Out for your daily stroll along the gardens?" the man asked as he looked between the two. The tall, white-blonde, heart faced woman in gray and the average height golden brown, oval faced shape girl in purple.

"Yeah, we are." Wendy said with a blushing smile and a coy turn of her head.

"Just got back from Au Paris Natural. Fish special today." Khlara said, making small talk, but feeling nothing special towards the man.

"Great! Any names for the stereo-typed brother yet?" the man asked, looking from Khlara to Wendy.

"Jason." she breathed out as she closed the gap between herself and the man, resting her right palm on his Old Navy green tie-dye shirt. The man, Jason, clasped his own free palm over Wendy's.

"Great name, I suppose Nathaniel comes with it as a middle?" he asked as his palm left her hand and cupped her chin to slowly raise her eyes to his. She gazed into his gray eyes and felt her knees go weak.

"Of course." she replied in a whisper.  The man leaned down, as if he were to kiss her lush pink lips, but at the last moment, before their lips met, he turned her face and kissed her cheek, stepped back and let go. The moment was gone.

"Thanks Winds. I always know I can count on you." Jason said as he went around Wendy, patted her shoulder, gave a quick hug to Khlara and headed down the street.

Khlara slowly approached the still stunned Wendy.

"You okkay?" she asked, worriedly.

"Why must he toy with me like that." Wendy said softly, her voice bordering on tears before her eyes and the two girls began to walk down the street again, only Khlara with her arms around her sobbing sister.

            Khlara had led Wendy back home, Jason ending up following them after he had watched them go by while he was spending his time in a curio shop. Jacqi had met them at the door and by now Wendy's eyes and tears were dry. They were red though and Jacqi could help but ask,

"What's wrong?"

"I have writer's block again." Wendy sighed as she let herself fall onto the cool marble floor of the house's foyer.

"Oh god." Khlara replied exasperated, quickly heading for the stairs and running to her room. Jacqi leaned over to her eldest sister and patted her gently on the head before heading into the kitchen.  It was only Jason who crouched down next to the girl and talked to her.

"How long has it been?" he asked in a soft, caring voice.

"Let me think...April, May, June, today's July.... four months then?" Wendy asked, her voice muffled by the marble floor underneath her.

"What have you been wanting to write about?"

"I swear to God I don't care, just anything. Anything at all." Wendy replied.

"You're lying."

"Shut up."

"Tell me the truth." Jason said, sighing a bit as he lowered himself to sit on the floor.

"Lie to me." Wendy said, an evil grin spreading across her face as she turned her head to look at her brother.

"Tell me the truth."

"Lie to me." Wendy said again, the grin never leaving her face. Jason only sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Lie to me." he finally responded after a few moments.

"I want to write anything, but I really wanna finish that saga I started on. The Mousecapade one. It's only right to finish it before

I start on Pandora's Box." Wendy said, adjusting her hair so it would spread out all over the floor.

Jason nodded slowly. "Tell me the truth."  Wendy only sighed.

"Tell me a truth." Jason repeated, reforming the sentence.

"You break my heart in two and I wish I could find a guy like you."

"Poetry, my dear sister, is not you. Now," Jason rose with a slight grunt as his bones creaked from sitting in one position for much too long. "Get off the floor, go take a bath and live like you will never die."

Wendy sat up, placing her hands in her lap as she now sat Indian style on the floor. "I don't like baths though." she complained. "A shower then, whatever you want. I--" but before Jason could finish the sentence a huge explosion, like the sound of a car back firing, was heard as the small town suddenly had a slight jostle.  Immediately Jason fell to the floor, placing his body over

Wendy's as she crouched onto the floor, holding her face. Jason placed both his hands over his head and neck, but tried his best to protect Wendy.  It was like an earthquake, the whole ground moving beneath them, the sound of small explosions, one by one sounding off, not like fireworks, but like thunder.

      When it was over, Jason carefully looked up and saw that no damage had happened to the foyer at all. Wendy looked about as she got up, her eyes wide, scared as only one thing rushed to her mind.

"I'll go check on Jacqi." she whispered, standing and racing towards the kitchen as Jason nodded and headed up the stairs.

    Heading carefully into the kitchen, Wendy still found that the house had not been affected at all by the earthquake or the thunder, and by the looks of it, neither had Jacqi.  She sat at the kitchen table, eating a brownie, a glass of fruit tea in front of her.

"Jacqi, are you all right?" Wendy asked, just to double check. Jacqi looked up to her sister and Wendy found that Jacqi's eyes were red, watering. Her lip quivering in some sort of fear.

"J.J. ...talk to me." Wendy said slowly as she approached her sister.

"I don't like her." Jacqi said simply in a whisper. Wendy took a deep breath and nodded as her youngest sister spoke a full sentence.  By this time Khlara entered with Jason's arm around her shoulders.

"What's happened?" Khlara asked as the lights began to flicker and went out. Total darkness now enveloped them. Wendy raced over to Jason and he put his other arm around her shoulders.  Jacqi sat at the table and gave a soft childish giggle.

"She's coming back because some one didn't lock the closet very good. I think...I think we should kill her this time." Jacqi replied softly, a grin overcoming her lips.  Wendy looked up to their brother.

"Jason, I'm scared."

 

        The soft summer days fluttered by and began to ebb into cool autumn nights.  The town had survived the earth shake that had happened only two months ago, but for Wendy, it seemed as if her family was now trying everything just to hold on. Jacqi began to laugh and giggle more, but as she did this, she no longer spoke in her sentence fragments. If anything, the only time she spoke was when she wanted more. More fruit, more tea, more food.  Jason paraded about as normal, when he was seen that is. He shopped more, came home late most nights, it was as if he was vanishing before them.  Khlara began to clean the house. Not a spot was left unturned and within weeks the once grayish looking house was suddenly gleaming white. When the sun hit the house, people began to wear sunshades, afraid that the glare would harm their eyes.  And as for Wendy...she was on edge. Constantly. A nervous wreck afraid to talk to people and even more afraid to listen.  She babbled to herself on occasion and when questioned she shook her head and said it was nothing, only to walk off and continue mumbling to herself.

        The town as a whole survived, and even though the days were always bright and warm, people smiling, laughing, going about their days, they knew some sort of dark cloud hovered over them.  Something had come with that explosion, but none voiced what that something might be.  There were rumors of course that spread through the city. People said that the town would never be as it had been in its former glory while others swore up and down that a war would soon come and leave the town a destitute place.  No one spoke allowed the rumors though, not in public places, only in private homes.  Their glorious city of Ancient Rome was beginning to fall and all of them wanted to keep it as a delusion.

        "I'm writing again." Wendy announced at the dinner table one night as she began to place a spoonful of green peas in her mouth. Jason looked up at this while his other sisters continued eating.

"Indeed? What's the latest romp?" he asked.

"Children of course. There can be no life without children." Wendy replied, not looking up.

"There could be." Khlara retorted, but she too did not look up. In fact, the three girls made sure their eyes stared directly into their plates to properly bore holes into them.

"Explain how Khlara?" Wendy asked.  And at this, Khlara kept silent.

"Children are nice. They bring a certain essence to the world." Jason commented before returning to his own plate.

"Bad." Jacqi mumbled with her mouth full of mashed potatoes.

It became silent again.

A crack of thunder snapped overhead and the diners jumped as they looked out the dining room window. It was pitch dark, the stars weren't out and no lightening followed the thunder.

"What was it?" Khlara asked softly, her green eyes wide in fear as she looked at each of her siblings.  Wendy looked shaken as well, but tried to keep calm, and it didn't even look as it phased Jason, that is, not until a strong gust of wind blew open a nearby window and began to make the curtains flutter in the breeze. Wendy jumped up and quickly forced the window to close, latching the lock on it.  Turning around she saw Khlara huddled up against Jason, crying and Jason's face buried into that of Khlara's shoulder. Jacqi stared at her dinner plate.

Why does she get to be cuddled? I nearly threw myself into the face of danger! Wendy thought angrily, her eyes sad as she looked at the two, her face showing no emotion.

"It was just the wind," she said, perhaps harshly, as she went to sit back at the table. Jason sat up, as did Khlara, but it was she who spoke,

"I think I've lost my appetite. Excuse me." and placing her napkin on the table, Khlara stood and left the room.

Jason watched his sister leave the room and then looked over to Wendy who was proceeding to continue eating.

"What was that about?" Jason asked.

"What was what?" Wendy asked as if nothing had happened.

"It's not everyday Khlara suddenly loses her appetite."

"I have no control over her eating habits."

"Maybe not, but you've been a little more than hostile to her lately." Jason pointed out. Wendy looked up from her plate, her eyes aflame with anger.

"So what? You care about her now? What? Are you doing her behind my back Jason? Being the smartass hypocrite and doing Khlara behind my back?"

Jason banged his fists against the table and stood.

"Wendy, you know that is not true and never will be true. I don't know what's going on, but I really hope that you and Khlara get your act together. Don't you ever wonder? Maybe it's this hostility between Khlara and you that makes the Core unstable like this. Maybe there is no--"

At this, Jacqi burst into tears,

"NO!" she screamed before running out of the kitchen. Wendy and Jason both watched, stunned as the youngest one ran off.

When she had left, Wendy looked to Jason fiercely,

"Great going Jason. Really, good job. Someday I think you'll be the one that gets us all killed." and with that, Wendy left Jason. He stood alone.

 

        Toujours Reve was an elaborate mansion that covered several city blocks, but then again, it was set just outside of the city, far enough away from the other people that Wendy, Jason, Khlara and J.J. could all have their own privacy. The elaborate white marble seemed to just rise from the green field and the rose bushes that lined the front garden.  Greek statues, gargoyles, crosses and several precious stones lined the pathway that Jason walked up. The pathway itself was gray marble. He knew they had no parents, even though Wendy claimed they did. But if they did have any, they must've been rich, that's all Jason could figure out.

        As he reached the several small steps that led to the porch with the swinging oak bench, he found J.J. sitting at the top, her knees pulled to her chest, her face head down upon them.  Jason raised a brow,

"Eh, J.J. what's going on?" he couldn't help but just directly ask. J.J. looked up, her cheeks red, her eyes glassy, her lips swollen and dark pink.

"I've been crying," she said softly. Jason nodded slowly, kneeling to get a better look at his youngest sister.

"They've been yelling for hours Jason. Tell them to stop it. Tell them to shut up. Kill them Jason. Kill them." J.J. said in her soft whisper. Her fragmented sentences had slowly over the weeks become full sentences. He was waiting for the day when she would start speaking in complex or compound sentences.  He nodded slowly as he stood, knowing that his sister really didn't mean for him to kill the others, but ever since Zoë had suddenly left, J.J. hadn't been able to apply her words to anything else.

        Jason walked into the entranceway, the cool white marble chilling his feet as he took off his shoes and listened. There was silence. Perhaps J.J. hadn't heard the yelling stop, or maybe the girl's were upstairs.  He placed a foot on the oak floorboard stair case and took hold of the redwood banister, hoping that he would find nothing, but as he slowly climbed the stairs, he could hear the shouts,

"You bitch! You do nothing!"

"Nothing? I bring in all the money you--" and here, Jason sighed. It was Wendy who had the dirtiest mouth out of all of them.

Luckily, his hearing skipped over her dirty mouth.

"So? I watch J.J.! Do you think you could handle her insanity?"

"She-she's getting better, now that Zoe's gone..."

"You have no clue. No clue at all Wendy. Audrey...J.J.'s going to have someone new, Zoë...part of her still lurks, but she's developing Audrey, and goddess help us all if J.J. will have to deal with the two of them. You know she can't handle anymore people...the core--"

"We know nothing of the Core Khlara, nothing at all," and here, Jason carefully entered one of the many spare rooms where his older sisters, Khlara and Wendy, were fighting. Wendy's hair was even in more disarray than normal. Khlara was half-naked, a skirt covering her waist and below. Above she was naked; while Wendy seemed to have gotten the dressing part down. Obviously she had instigated the fight, as always.

"The Core...it's unstable. Ultimately it handles us all." Wendy finished.

"But J.J., she helps fight it."

"I don't know what J.J. does, but you know that none of us understand why--"

"The Core's been reading. We're multies Wendy, you know it and I know it. You know how suddenly we blackout, how violent thunder storms suddenly just pop up...we don't live in a--"

"No! Shut up! You don't understand any of it! You-you're just saying that! Shut up! Shut up!" Wendy began to scream, trying to put her hands to her ears while flying towards Khlara, putting one hand over her mouth, the other at the base of her neck.

Jason took three big steps, it was all he needed at his soft run as he pulled Wendy back and slapped her hard across the face, giving the same slap to Khlara.  Two large reddish-purple marks began covering their faces. Khlara just reached up to touch her face, her eyes in shock. Wendy on the other hand staggered back, her eyes suddenly staring daggers into Jason's face. As she pulled her hand away, Jason and Wendy found it was covered in blood, whereas her cheek was perfect, save for a small scratch across her cheek. Wendy hissed at her brother,

"Asshole. You goddamned fucking bastard of an asshole." And at this Jason raised his hand, taking another step towards

Wendy, who only stood her full height raising her chin in defiance,

"Go ahead, hit me again. Bitch slap me you cunt."

        Jason's hand faltered before it fell to his side.

"Khlara, get the hell dressed and take J.J. out for some ice cream."

"But Jason--"

"Khlara, shut the hell up and do it before I make you do it." Jason replied as he cut his sister's words off. Khlara nodded and scrambled out of the room. Wendy on the other hand continued to stare her daggers at her brother. Her eyes narrowed her face in a scowl.

"Go take a cold shower, and wash your mouth out while you're at it. It's dirtier than your thoughts."

"And how would you know?"

"Because no one in their right mind would ever want to fuck their brother. Now get out of here. I need to clear my head." Jason replied, his voice getting softer. Wendy began to stalk past him, but he quickly grabbed her upper arm, holding her tight. They looked into each other's eyes.

"We are all here for a reason. I just wish you would stop acting like you own all of us. We each pull our own weight around here. If Khlara thinks she has the science figured out but isn't hurting anyone, then leave her alone." Jason said softly as he made sure to continue keeping eye contact with his sister.

"Go fuck yourself." Wendy said coldly, pulling her arm away as she continued stalking out of the room.

"I do. Regularly. You should try it sometime yourself you bitch!" Jason called after her.

Whether she heard the words or not, he was sure he'd never find out.

        Wendy wiped away the few remaining tears as she undid the wraps around her pony tails, her long, soft, alabaster white hair cascading into a small puddle at her feet.

"Stupid Jason," she mumbled, "Teasing me all the time, dealing with matters that are of no concern to him.  Don't even know why we have him."

"He is needed.  For the Core."  Jacqi replied as she entered Wendy's room, closing the door behind her.  Wendy jumped, obviously startled by her sister's sudden appearance.  Jacqi was wearing a long white shirt with Mickey Mouse as a sailor on it. The right sleeve had been cut and frayed, with the ends knotted.  The material was so thing the soft outlines of the young girls' muscles could be seen.

"The Core," Wendy began, "What do you know of the Core? When can we know what it wants of us?" Wendy asked.  Jacqi smiled gently as she placed herself on the edge of the canopy bed.

"We will never know. Be thankful we are rid of Zoë. She is only but a name, as is Audrey."  Wendy nodded as she flopped onto the bed, making Jacqi bounce and giggle.

"We're trapped forever, here, then?"

J.J. shook her head, but furrowed her brows in confusion.

"You do not like the house of our ancestors? The ancient marble? The luscious gardens they have provided for us."

"No, no!" Wendy replied, her face growing in shock, her eyes wide. "I love it here, it's marvelous! But ... I want to travel beyond our world, into something bigger, grandeur."

"Illusions of grandeur get you no where Belle d'vie."

Wendy lowered her head and looked at the grey-ish white carpet.

"I want to burn down the walls of space and time."

"You ask of the moon and stars Bella. You ask for Jupiter and you will get yourself killed. This you understand."

"The great mistress Yoda and I am her padawan," as Wendy looked up, a slow smile spread across her face, "Yes J.J. I understand."  J.J. returned the smile.

"Good. Now is the time for my tea."

            The emptiness of the dark hallway seemed to vibrate and bounce off of Khlara's own body. Like the hallway she was in, she too felt empty and hollow. A soft light glowed at the end of the hallway, just a sliver towards the floor, as if it was leaking out from behind a door. It began to grow cold and Khlara hugged herself tightly. The sleeveless dress did nothing to protect her upper body from the snowy coldness of the room.

"Why is it so cold?" Khlara asked herself aloud. There was of course no answer.

 She continued to walk, hugging her body looking at the pitch darkness about her.

"What kind of mind game is this? What have I done wrong?" and as she asked this, she heard the screeching of tires and a scream. Chattering babble, with words she couldn't make out began to fill her head.

"What's happened?" Khlara screamed out. The blackness swept away and left her in a hallway drenched in red.

"Is someone hurt? Why won't anyone talk to me? Where am I?"

 The room went white and now Khlara began to shudder, as she grew colder.

"This is the inside of your heart child. Change your ways before Easter or continue to suffer."

 And then Khlara woke up.

         The soft, cool satin sheets made Wendy feel as if she were sleeping on a cloud, but the dampness in the air and the warm energetic feeling rushing through her body told her otherwise.

"Oh wow!" she breathed out softly before looking down into a pair of gray green eyes that flashed at her.

"Jason?" she couldn't help but question. The eyes flashed again and she shivered in delight.

"Wow!" Wendy whispered as her head fell back onto the satin pillow. A lone hand traveled around her torso as she gently closed and opened her eyes.  Softly, the cry of a child called out in the background.  Wendy's brows furrowed at this. The immense pleasure stopped, the eyes vanished. The childlike cry sounded again.

"J.J?" Wendy called out. There was no answer. She slid out of bed, her hair cascading to the ground as she wrapped herself in a blue Egyptian cotton robe.

"J.J?" she called out again, but there was still no answer.

 Wendy rushed through the darkened hallway and into the bright white light that enveloped her and surrounded her.

"Wendy!" an unrecognizable voice cried out, "Wendy, save me!"

"Who's there? Where are you? Who are you?" Wendy shouted back as she blindly searched for the owner of the voice.

"Wendy! Help me! Please! Please Wendy! Don't let me die!"

"I won't! Just hang on!" Wendy covered her mouth as she coughed at the surgence of dry heat. "Hang on! Where are you?"

"Wendy! Wendy! Please! Please Wendy! I'm dying! Save me! WENDY!"

There was a strangled choke and Wendy knew the owner of the voice was dead.

"Oh Avalon." Wendy whispered as she came upon a clearing.  She waked onto the black top. The sun shined overhead and not a cloud was in the azure sky.

 A small body clothed in white lay upon the middle of the ground and as Wendy reached it, she gently turned the body over.

 The lifeless green eyes of her sister J.J. stared back at her.

Wendy gasped and took a step back.

 Her eyes opened to see her own image reflected back from the mirror on her ceiling.

         As Jacqi slept that night, she dreamt of a white polar bear carrying her through Africa. Occasionally she would see Tiger Woods putting into a hole.

"Hey Tierces! Take care of that girl!"

Jacqi would wave and Tierces the polar bear would gallop off toward Egypt and the setting sun.

        The moment of peace that Jason received as he entered the room was the best feeling he had had all day.  The soft white walls amplified an unknown brilliant light onto the thousands of blank sheets of white paper that lay on the floor.

         As he came to the center of the room preparing to sit himself down upon the floor, a hundred tiny pieces of torn white paper flitted and floated down from a hole in the ceiling, falling about Jason as if it were snow.  He smiled and tried to catch a few pieces, but none fell into his hands.  He blinked his eyes, took in a deep breath and let it out slowly to find emerald green sparkles flying on the moist air he let out. The dazzling green danced and reflected in Jason's own green eyes and his smile turned into amazement.

         He picked up one of the torn pieces of paper and found a word in black printing on it. Beauty it said. Jason blinked, confused and picked up another piece of torn paper. Love was written on this piece of paper.  He picked up one other piece of paper. Life. Another piece of paper. Freedom. And as Jason slowly picked up all the pieces of torn paper, he found that they all said the same. Beauty, Love, Life, Freedom. Love Beauty Freedom Life. All the torn pieces of paper said the same thing. And as he picked up the previously blank sheets of white paper he found that they too said something. Color. Never. No. Black, white, never love, freedom, never. And soon all the pieces began to say the same thing.

         Jason looked at his hands, found them dark brown, crinkled with gray hair. Catching a glimpse of a strand of his black hair, he found it dull, oily and greasy. It was shaggy and looked as if he hadn't cut it in a while.  His white shirt was stained with black ink and mud. His black slacks were dusty and slightly gray. His socks had been moth eaten, full of holes everywhere. His shoes had disappeared.

         Bright flashes of reds and yellow began to blind him. Blues and purples, oranges and greens flashed as if they were light bulbs on their last filaments and with two more blinks, Jason's entire world went black and white.

"What have I done?" he cried out in a sob as he fell to the ground. "It's all gone. Gone all gone. But where? And why me?" he asked softly, curiously.

"Why not you?" a soft, womanly voice called to him. "You who revere color and beauty, love and freedom more than your own sisters. You who claim to embrace all and yet break your heart when it leaves you. Woe to you Jason, the fatherless son, the unloved brother. Your passion will be the death of you. Of you_of you_" and the voice trailed off as Jason's eyes opened and gazed at the posters of the nude fairies that covered his ceiling.

 

        "You're up." Wendy stated as she walked into the kitchen dressed in a red satin bathrobe.  Khlara sat at the kitchen table, her hands wrapped around a lilac coffee cup.

"I couldn't sleep. I had the strangest dream." Khlara replied before taking a sip of her chamomile tea. "You?" she asked afterwards.

Wendy opened and reached up into one of the kitchen cabinets to retrieve a pink coffee cup.  She shrugged as she walked over to the stove and gently shook the teakettle, listening to the still hot water hiss against the cool steel sides.

"It would seem as if Orpheus has not blessed our house this evening. I had a bad dream myself." Wendy replied as she poured the hot water into her cup and sat down across from Khlara at the table. Wendy selected the same kind of tea, chamomile, and dropped the bag into her cup to soak.

"I wonder if J.J. will be all right?" Khlara thought aloud as she stared off into space, her gaze passing over Wendy's shoulder.

"She should be. I couldn't imagine why not."

"And Jason?" Khlara asked as she tied her purple silk robe tighter around herself.

"What about me, may I ask my dear sisters?" Jason questioned as he walked into the kitchen, a white terry bath towel wrapped around his waist, his black hair wet and slicked back against his head. Clean shaven, Jason smelled of bay leaves and the gentle chiseled muscles of his hairless chest began to make Wendy blush a bright cherry red.

"Sleeping well Jason?" Wendy asked as she stared at her teacup. Jason looked at the floor and closed his eyes. For a slight moment, Wendy imagined Jason walking up to her, carefully taking her chin into his hands and kissing her softly on the mouth.

"No." he replied as he looked back up, shaking Wendy from her temporary daydream. Jason sat down at the table with the girls. Wendy gulped and nodded as she watched her brother sit down.

"Excuse me." She said softly, leaving her untouched tea as she ran out of the kitchen and up the stairs into her room.

"What's wrong with her?" Jason asked as he looked to Khlara. Khlara raised a brow as she looked to Jason and brought her cup to her mouth. The look was simple to translate. `You need to ask?'

Jason smiled. "Oh."

         Our mother's name was Samantha and in dire truth, all of us here are half siblings. My father was Two. Khlara's was Four. Jason's was Six and Jac_J.J.'s was Eight.

         During this time, the time of our parents, J.J. could speak in full sentences. She and Jason would fight every night and their fathers, Six and Eight, would do likewise.

         Then, a period of Great Sleep fell upon all of us. It killed Two, Four, Six and Eight. It locked Zoë into a closet and put the rest of us asleep. Samantha, mother, was lost and we will never know if she is alive or not.

         During the Great Freeze, Zoë was destroyed even though her ashes remain. Audrey, mother's second sister (Zoë being the first) set upon us to keep us from suffering the same fate as our fathers. Then Audrey left, perhaps to return to our mother. We will never know this either.

         After tonight, I hope our world will be peaceful again. But here in our unknown collection, one may never know.

        Jacqi poked the large brown door to her eldest sister's room. It slowly opened as if it was pulling itself open. Jacqi smiled as she saw the crack between door and threshold, large enough for her small body to enter. Enter she did, into Wendy's bright white room with the four poster canopy bed with the light blue sheets. The white carpet, the white desk, the white closet. The mirrored ceiling and the white sit down make up desk. Jacqi continued to smile, knowing quite well that while what she was doing wasn't exactly right, it wasn't wrong either. She softly padded over to the desk and looked at the innumerable sheets of white binder paper, the dark black pens and then large box of 124 Prsimacolor pencils. Jacqi carefully scooted out the wire pink chair and sat herself upon its fluffy pink seat, smiling as she looked at the tools before her. She picked up one of the black pens and uncapped it. Her left hand slowly carressing the white paper as if it were a child's face. She slowly put the night colored ink to the paper and wrote.

I am not David.

Jacqi giggled at her childish scrawl. Printing that looked like it belonged to a child of five and not one of 13.

I protect the family.

I w ----- Je voudrais _____----^^Iwantateddy BeAr.

Jacqi looked at her writing, the last words barely readable. She capped the pen and smiled at her piece of paper, completely written upon and in some writer's minds, ruined. Jacqi scooted out of the chair and slid it back underneath the desk and then picked up the paper. She walked over to Wendy's bed and carefully placed the paper on the pillow and then skipped out of the room.

 

    "Hi."

Wendy looked up from the back patio birch swing. Her legs against her chest, her arms holding a red and white book, she blinked as she saw Khlara standing in front of her, her hands behind her back.

"Hi." Wendy replied, adjusting her position to sitting with her feet on the floor. Khlara sat on the other edge of the swing and looked at the small purple package she placed on her lap. Wendy stuck her bookmark inside her closing book and swept a strand of hair behind her right ear.

"I - I want to, well, I guess I want to apologise." Khlara began, uneasily as she continued to stare at the package.

"For what?"

"For being a bitch. For treating you like I have."

Wendy smiled, "Don't you think I know that? You're my sister. I, okkay, so I have held it against you, but I mean, still...I guess sometimes you can't help but speak your mind, and in a way, I like that about you."

Khlara looked up and into her sister's blue eyes. "Really?" she asked, a small grin spreading across her face.

"Really." Wendy replied, smiling back.

"Here." Khlara said as she forced the package onto her sister's lap and then raced back inside the house.

Wendy blinked and slowly began to open the package.

Inside she found a pink vibrator with a purple heart on top.