Kris pushed off the exterior wall of the Western Dorm; she had been listening in on the commotion inside through a lobby window near the front door. When Amy started pushing Jessica to return to her nightmare she had decided that she had heard enough. She stomped across the Academy ground to her Aunt's home where she entered without so much as a knocking. The house was dark and silent, if Kris did not know better she would have thought it were destitute for years. She took off her shoes before venturing further into the house. "I am in here Kris." Sophia's voice weakly drifted down the hall. Kris slowly crept towards the living room to find it filled with the soft glow of the fireplace. Sophia sat upon her high back chair staring at the flames, a long distraught look upon her face. She appeared to have aged many years in the past few hours, her skin was beginning to droop around the corners of her mouth and her eyes were sinking into her skull, "Aunt Sophia, are you alright?" Kris inquired disturbed by her Aunt sudden change of appearance. Sophia's eyes slowly moved from the firelight to her niece's face and gave her a small weak smile, "It has been a long day and it is causing a strain on my powers to hold this world together." She explained then patted the chair next to her, "Come sit. I'm sorry to say, but Missy is not in the shape to get you some hot cocoa." Kris cautiously did as she was told not able to take her eyes off her withering aunt, "What is going on?" She anxiously inquired, "It is as if everything is crumbling around me." Sophia gave a single slow nod and pointed to the flames before them, "I have been watching." She remarked sadly. Kris turned to gaze upon the flickering flames, before her images formed upon the firelight. She could see the lobby of the Western Dorms with the girl's huddled over Kim, Kima and Jessica, then the image rippled to show Tanya in the cafeteria, red-eyed and crying. Next was an image of Cherilyn sitting upon her new bed with a photo of Tanya in hand, tears streaming down her cheeks, "I want to help them." Kris exclaimed as the images hovered before her eyes, "Tell me how to help them?" She demanded, glaring at her aunt. Sophia reached out and lightly patted Kris's hand, "There is such fire in that heart of yours. You would dive into the pit of Nightmares itself if it meant helping your friends, would you not?" She remarked with a look of shame in her eyes, "I have always admired that about you." "It will also be the death of her one of these days." Gwen commented as she stepped out of the shadows beside the fireplace. Kris leapt to her feet at the sight of her sister, "Gwen!" She exclaimed happily, grateful to see her sister again, "I need to go back into the Dream Realm. My friends are in trouble and I need to save them." Gwen shook her head, "I can not allow that." She stated unfortunately. Rage filled Kris, "Why not?!?" She roared and grabbed her sister by the front of her blazer, "You allowed me to help Jenn so why don't you let me help Jessie?" She demanded. Gwen set her calm eyes upon Kris's, "First it was Jenn and now it is Jessica. Dear sister, can you not make up your mind?" Gwen inquired nonchalantly, "You cannot have them both to yourself you know?" The fire in Kris's eyes began to fade as sadness and confusion filled them, "But... I... I can't..." She stammered, "Jessie needs me right now. I can't just leave her like that." "Does she really need you?" Sophia inquired lightly, "Or is it you that needs her?" Kris staggered away from her relatives, rubbing at her head in frustrations, "J... Jenn does not love me anymore..." She chocked back a sob, "All I wanted was to be there for her and I screwed up. Now she hates me. Why could I not keep my emotions under control, like you Gwen?" Gwen let out a deep sigh, "You were always more human then Angel." She remarked downheartedly, "I knew father should not have forced you to become one of us." "More human?" Kris blinked in confusion, "What do you mean by that?" Gwen glanced at Sophia who lightly closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair, not uttering a single syllable. "I'm tired of these mind game." Kris growled, realizing that she was not going to get any more out of these two, "If you will not help me then I'll find someone else." She stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind her. Gwen peeked through the heavy dark curtains of the living room window and watched her little sister run across the school ground, "Should I go after her?" She inquired in the darkness of the room. "Leave her be." Sophia weakly replied, not moving from her chair, "She needs to work things out for herself for once. You can not always be watching over her, you know that do you not?" Gwen let out a sign of defeat and let the curtains fall back in place, blocking out the afternoon sun, "I know... I just wish there was more I can do to help her. She is all alone out here." Sophia gave the angel an unsteady smile, "That girl is far from alone. She will find her way. You will see." Her eyes shifted back to the fireplace, "And she will need you again soon. You just have to wait for the right moment." ***** To be Continued . . .
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