I was pacing up and down the living room.

I was wringing my hands as I thought of every possible scenario. Why on earth would Erin want Shrub? Where did she have her? Did Erin kill her already or was she holding her for something?

"Scott, STOP IT!" Gem said in a high-pitched voice, her chin resting in her steepled hands. I completely ignored her and picked up the pace in my pacing.

"Scott, stop your panicking!" Katherine cried.

What?" I mumbled and looked up. Large shards of ice were quickly growing from walls, ceiling, floor, long and sharp, and starting to block off the exits to the room. My eyes widened as soon as I realized, and they doubled in speed and began to grow faster.

I swore. "No, no, no. Not now, please." I pleaded, but that didn't stop it. "I- I-" I stuttered as everyone in the room jumped out of the way to avoid getting impaled.

"SCOTT!" Pearl shrieked.

"S- STOP!" I shouted, but it just quickened. "No- This is why I should have- I should have never left I-" I started panicking. My hands wouldn't stop shaking and sweat started to drip down my forehead, quickly crystalizing on its way down.

I saw Joel hit the ground to get out of the way of one of the spikes, Sausage barely made it out of the way of one, but it left a long bloody scratch on his upper arm, another one stabbed through one of the armchairs, lifting it off the ground.

"I- No! Why won't it stop!?" I cried, grasping at the roots of my hair. I was hyperventilating now, why was this happening?

"Scott, calm down!" Jimmy said from behind me, and I turned around to see him coming towards me fast. But a thin wall of ice shot from me, stopping him from making it to me. I stared down at it for a moment, and then looked in every direction, trying to find a way out.

I heard Jimmy grunt and I saw him kick the ice, shattering enough for him to step over. "Scott, its ok, calm down." He said and grabbed my forearms. "We'll find a way to get Shrub and save your sister, okay?" Then her wrapped his arms around my chest and pulled me into a hug.

For the bajillionth time today, I froze in shock. But...it worked. Slowly, the ice went down, and I stared as the room returned to normal. A little frosty, but normal.

"I- How-" I stuttered. Jimmy let go of me, and without looking up at me, walked quickly across the room and sat down next to his sister, sitting crisscross. Lizzie gave him a sympathetic look for some reason and put a hand on his shoulder, whispering something into his ear I couldn't hear.

I bit my lip and looked around at everyone, a few people were glaring at me. I backed up a few steps nervously, before turning around and entering the hall behind us.

I heard the door swing again, and I turned around to see both Gem and Katherine entering after me. "Scott, WHAT WAS THAT!?" Katherine shrieked.

"I- I'm sorry I-" I stuttered.

"Calm down, Katherine." Gem said. "I'm sure it was an accident."

I nodded quickly. "Yes. An accident."

Katherine crossed her arms and gave me a mild glare. "Any chance you can prevent another one of these 'accidents' from happening? I don't appreciate my furniture being punctured."

"Jeez I'm sorry." I mumbled, pulling at my collar awkwardly. "Vegans..." I muttered under my breath. Why are they so passive aggressive!?

"Scott, I think you need to rest...give yourself a break while we try to find out the best way to save Shrub." Gem said, putting a hand on my shoulder. But I shrugged it off.

"I'm fine." I said, my eyes narrowing. What was she up to?

"I think Gem's right." Katherine said slowly after glancing at Gem. "You look exhausted."

"I'm not tired?" I said looking back and forth between the two, before crossing my arms. "What are you trying to do?"

"Oh- Nothing!" Gem said with a very obviously forced smile. "It's just- we're going to face your sister and...you could never really beat her at anything-"

"Thanks."

"Oh, shut up." Gem snapped. "I mean we need you fully prepared to face your sister."

"Hm." I mumbled. I could still tell they were up to something.

"We got a spare room actually down the hall if-" Katherine started.

"Uh no." I cut off. "I am not going to sleep right now."

"Uh, yes you are." Gem countered, turning me around and starting to shove me down the hall.

"AY!" I snapped and turned back around. Gem gave me another sharp shove in the chest, and I staggered backwards.

"We are not doing this right now, COME ON!" She said and grabbed my wrist, dragging me down the hall.

I groaned as Katherine opened a door and Gem pushed me inside. "GEM!" I shouted as she and Katherine closed the door behind them as they stepped inside. "I SWEAR TO THE GODS YOU TWO ARE IMPOSSIBLE!"

"We're impossible?" Katherine asked with a raised eyebrow. I glared at her.

"You know I could blast you into the wall whenever I want, right?" I growled at Gem.

"Oh, can you? Then do it." Gem said and crossed her arms.

"Are you testing me?" I asked.

"Yes." Gem smirked.

I scoffed and flicked my wrist aggressively toward her. A blast of frost emitted from my palm, but before it would have smashed Gem into the door, her staff came out of nowhere, the wood absorbing the ice and she rapped me smartly on the forehead. "Wha- OW!" I said and grabbed my face where she had hit.

Gem giggled. "I win."

"Oh, that's it." I snarled and took a step toward her, but Katherine put a hand on my chest.

"Scott. Please. We just want you to get some rest. And take this thing off, it looks so uncomfortable." She said, fumbling with the chain of my cloak.

"What are you talking about? It's amazing." I said, but Katherine just rolled her eyes before pulling it off. Then she looked behind my back.

"Wait- I could have sworn you had wings last time I saw you." She said before poking my back.

"Ow." I mumbled before slapping her hand away. "I still do. Their just..." I shrugged.

"Why on earth would you bind them? What if you fall off a cliff, huh?" Katherine asked, crossing her arms. I shrugged again. "You know what? I don't care anymore. Now, GO. TO. BED." She said and shoved me over onto the mattress. 

"KATHERINE!" I shouted. "STOP IT!" I sat back up and tried to get up, but Gem forced me down.

"Sorry Scott. But we need some time to work this out without you panicking every few minutes." She said, and I felt a pinching in my neck right before Katherine pulled back a syringe.

"Wha-" I started, but then everything started to spin, and I fell back into the bed. My vision went in and out as I tried to stay awake, but like every other time, I failed, and fell to the sleeping serum.

Erin's wings kept folding and unfolding behind her back as she circled a podium.

"Now how did he do it...?" she mumbled to herself. On top of the podium itself, was a large egg twice the size of a person's head, black as obsidian. She twisted a red crystal between her fingers as she paced. "How!? ANSWER ME!?"

"Me?" Came a small voice, and Shrub's head poked out from a cage, dozens and dozens of feet above Erin's head, her face covered in blood.

"NO NOT YOU, YOU IDIOTIC GNOME!" Erin roared in fury.

"Well, that's not very nice." Shrub said and pulled her body back into the hanging cage.

Erin scoffed angrily and tossed the crystal in front of her. It came to an abrupt stop in midair before a smoky figure encased the crystal.

"And what do you want?" Came the rasp of Xornoth's voice, as his figure sneered down at Erin. The crystal pulsed inside of his chest like a heartbeat, he was there...but he wasn't.

"Stop being a prideful git and tell me how to get you out!" Erin snapped.

"Ah, and do you really want me out? I'd rip you to shreds, traitor." He growled.

"Oh, you'd rip me to shreds? You're the one who left me with our crazy brother!" Erin half-shouted.

Xornoth's shadow took a step toward her.

"Tell. Me." She growled. "I need you to finish the spell."

"How about no. I will not help you."

"You will." Came a horrible voice, like nails on a chalkboard from nowhere. It echoed inside my head like it was being spoken directly into my mind. Xornoth's eyes widened in fear as dark smoke started to issue from Erin's mouth, and her eyes rolled back in her head. "Or you will face the consequences..."

The smoke retreated and Erin's eyes narrowed as she raised her hand and the crystal zoomed back into her hand, Xornoth's image disappearing like a wisp.

She glared down at the crystal, before looking up, and glancing in my direction. Her eyes immediately filled with fear, and flickered purple. And her expression said one word. "Help."

I screamed and sat up in the bed, absolutely drenched in slowly freezing over sweat.

I heard running footsteps before everyone burst into the room.

"What the HELL is happening?" Sausage shouted, but I was already jumping out of the bed and grabbing my cloak.

"We've got to go. Now." I said and grabbed my sword leaning against the wall that Gem and Katherine had clearly taken from the sheath strapped to my belt.

"What is-" Gem started, but then her eyes widened. "Scott- What did you see!?"

I looked up at her and my eyes narrowed. "Erin."