A wet black nose nudged at my cheek.

"What?", I groaned, trying to push off the pressure that was on my stomach.

I heard Shepard whine and I then went through a realization of what had all happened.

I was laying in a not so familiar bed that had to be owned to Martha. Everything surrounding was purple.

Maybe this was a part of the extensions they had been building. I could smell glue like the wallpaper was just pasted on.

Not that the chemicals could mess with my head anymore than what I had dreamt. I don't mean the monster, that was very real.

Somewhere in my mind I could peel open this corner to what I was dreaming. I could look at the whole picture, but glue was to stuck and I wasn't figuring out what I had framed anytime soon. What had shook me so bad?

I stood up from the bed and Shepard jumped to the cold wood floor with me. I stepped carefully, trying not to make much noise. It was extremely dark out, it had to be late.

Speaking of It. I glanced out of the window which was showing a great view of the water, but even from Tom's island I could see a even bigger statue.

"What did you Jordan?" I asked myself.

I found a door which went to a hallway. A long hallway that had multiple doors attached to it as well, which almost made me think that It had attacked here due to all the different shades of purple.

Dried flowers sat in portraits hanging on the walls with lilac and white wallpaper on them. It was almost like magic how Martha made everything so cluttered so quick, but cluttered in a good way.

Shepard was keeping behind me, since I was the thing he knew best right now. He didn't seem scared, though, he seemed like he had familiar smells and familiar voices to keep him calm. It must be better then being stuck in that house.

"Martha", I called out.

Then I heard the clutter of silverware and dishes and immediately knew where the kitchen was.

I continued down the hallway until I was asking in the familiar yellow light of Martha's house at night.

Martha, who's hair seemed more lilac than ever, dragged out a chair from the kitchen table to sit on.

She was working on a million and one things at the same time and I had about as many questions. Last time I was awake I was about to be killed by some monster that a gods vengeance had brought down upon a town full of jackasses.

"What happened?" I asked.

Martha shook her head, looking a little less frazzled knowing that I was awake. "Jordan instinct wasn't strong enough."

So I was correct on thinking that the monster was definitely It. "What do you mean?"

"It's not his fault", Martha sat down by me. Her eyes were still as bright but the under part of her lids were dark and dreary, "my father had very high magics users in very high places. He always had that rapier enchanted to come to him."

"Which is the weapon Jordan wanted-?" I learned how to put puzzle pieces together quick when I was asking Martha questions. She doesn't waste time when she's telling you any information.

"It is his", Martha said more to herself.

I shook my head, staring down at the white marble table. I wasn't going to try to put that puzzle together. It seemed a lot bigger than wanted.

"What about the Lieutenant?" I asked stepping back ink the live of my mind that had seen the Lieutenant so horrified. Not just scared for him, but for the town. As if he could care about anything but his own safety. "Where did he go?"

Martha was now holding her head, and I swear I could almost hear it pulse. She was being eerily calm. Martha is usually never calm. "I don't know. He probably escaped unlike the rest of the town."

And I tried not to think of the town as Shepard continued to nudge at my hand. The screams and shrieks were enough to remind me that I wasn't the only thing It had tried to damage. At least, unlike the town, I got away.

"Where's Jordan?" I asked hastily.

"With the rest of the team by the rest of the monster", she then motioned to the window. "It's almost sunrise so you can walk over safely."

And I left with my backpack slung across my shoulder before she could get out another word.

"Well shit", Jordan spoke out.

His hands were on his sides as he stared at the even bigger Ianite statue. Not to mention that we were basically four yards out from the town as the rest was covered in taint. The parts that weren't covered with taint were covered with a thick layer of ice and snow.

The storm that has passed through last night froze anyone that hadn't sealed shelter in Steve's barn or killed because of the taint dead.

"I have no words", Sonja gasped out. I grabbed her hand, trying my best to comfort her, as she looked like she was about to burst into tears.

Hope stomped through the heavy snow that was laced on the ground. I couldn't hear words from behind me. She wouldn't speak. I wasn't sure if she was mad at Jordan or had told herself that she should be mad at herself.

"What do we do?" I questioned. I needed to think of a plan quick. We all needed to think up of a plan quick.

"We find Ianite." Jordan answered that question to fast. He answered it like he had everything already in motion. The plan was set and ready and easy, even though finding Ianite seemed impossible.

"We don't know where this Ianite is Jordan." Tom tried to be as peaceful as possible. His voice was a soft as it would allow itself to be. "We don't even know where we are. I don't even think Martha knows where Ianite is."

"I could make a tracking spell-" Wag butted into the conversation. "If we had something of Ianites I would have enough of the elixir to bathe the item in and then you could follow the glow of the item from there and-"

"-but you can do it?" I asked, stopping the magic lesson before it could get any longer.

"Yes". He answered abruptly. "That's what I meant to say."

Martha joined by Hope with quiet footsteps. I didn't even realize she was coming until she was there.

Unless it was magic.

I narrowed my eyes at her. Can she use magic?

Wag looked to the snow on the ground and his cheeks got an even brighter red then the cold had made them. "What in short I was saying is that we can find Ianite, if she's in our infinite universe." Wag tried to cover his face with as much as his hair would allow. "Sorry for rambling."

"It's alright", Martha said. Her voice was a lot more dingy then normal. A lot more peppy, a lot more trying. Like a tiny little bell. "And I do have a few items of my mother's." Martha glanced her eyes up, thinking of a few things. "I hope there not to terribly old."

"Unless they were used a billion years ago", Wag continued to stare at the snow, but his voice was as snarky as normal, "I think we're good."

Martha giggled, which I only heard her do around Steve. "Okay then. We can find my mother."

The team and I glanced at each other awkwardly.

What the hell just happened.

Jordan was the only one not weirded out, but he never counts. He was to busy fussing in his head about Ianite and the statue and how the hell we're going to get Andor back.

I sighed. "Okay that's a plan made", I paused, just simply thinking through my life choices, "I guess."

The scarf, which had to have been Ianites, had an iridescent shimmer to it. The green made it look like all of the pine trees covered in ice, shimmering in the sunlight that wasn't melting anything.

"So what now?" I asked Wag, as I was being way to impatient. "What do we just sit here or what's happening?"

"Give me a moment." Wag said sharply, which signaled me to stop talking. Wag glared at the scarf, seeing through every piece of fabric, like he was reading off invisible words that we couldn't see.

He looked back up at us, making eye contact. The blank glimmer her had was gone. "Well she's in this world." He then raised an eyebrow, sort like Hope does. "I'm not sure how far. I think I need to muster up enough magic to teleport you."

"But you don't have magic." Tucker added.

Wag gave Tucker an exhausted look. "I have been able to make artificial magic and I rather not tell you how." He then stopped with his slow ramble, stood up, and ambled to his spell book.

I took the chance to sit by Hope and try to think of something to explain myself. I could have thought up of something nice to say. Just pour words out like Hope was able to, but since I'm horribly awkward all that I said was, "your not mad at me, are you?"

And Hope nodded her head no. Not in a bitter way, like she was trying to hide the fact that she was really mad. She truly wasn't mad, just to frazzled and exhausted to say the word no.

"Alright everyone stand up", Wag motioned his hands and we all rose lethargically, "I'm going to try to make this as quick as possible."

Martha stood back from us, as it seemed she was not coming along.

"Ready", Wag opened his spell book and held it in his arms. He looked down at the book, "one",

The air started to get tingly, and I started to feel lightheaded. Magic always felt weird.

"Two."

And then my head started to feel heavy, but also light. Also my body went through some strange mix of hot and cold. Even though my whole team felt the same way we all stood with a straight face.

"Three."

And with some burst that was more quiet and seemingless then peace itself, we were standing on white sand and a sunset of oranges, blues,and purples loomed on top of us.

It was a lot warmer wherever we were, but I could still feel a nip of air. It felt like old supermarket air conditioning. Maybe any really cheap building in summer. Maybe that's what the weather reminded me of.

Hope still wrapped her rose-gold jacket around her and snuggled the brown one even tighter.

I saw infront of me, across the sand was a light bricked house. The brick was almost beige to white, with a willow door, and some sort of dark sangria purple sorta leaves covering the house as a roof.

Everything looked very poorly put together, but the landscaping surrounding was gorgeous. Thousands of cedar trees surrounded. Greener trees than I had ever seen. I wasn't sure how they grew in the pale sand.

There were so many of the trees, but somehow they weren't so packed together that you couldn't see what was there. It wasn't so much a forest, but enough to make this desert seem lush.

"Hello", I meek voice let out. It sounded almost like a mouse. A very groggy mouse that just got up from a nap.

I hand with the very familiar, somehow was dark and light in the same shade, skin tone opened the door.

With a bright smile, which I never seemed to imagine on her, I was greeted by a familiar and ageless face. A face that had made me believe I was a hero.

"Ianite?"

"Ianite?" Jordan questioned.

Not sure what there was to question. Ianite was right there, standing in the shape we had left her.

Her wrists were bare, showing that chains weren't holding her back anymore. Her dress was still the same royal purple that glided down to the ground and a dark green pendant hung from a silver chain on her head.

Her skin was still glowing the same glow it always did. Her eyes were dark and purple and wise.

"I can't believe you're here", Ianite's face lit up, "it's been ten years I thought you were gone?"

"We've been looking for home", Jordan answered and he stepped up to her. "We can't find it."

Ianite's face became glooming and she almost looked embarrassed. She rung her hands together as if she was nervous. I could never see a goddess being nervous, especially her.

"I have not been there for those years you have been gone", she took a deep shaky breath, "it's just been a burden to look at the town."

And then I realized with those words that something strange was going on. She spoke of a town, but all of nature was her. As Mianite was the god of light, Dianite is the god of death, she is the goddess of growth. Plants, feelings, even war. Everything that could blossom into something beautiful was hers.

Ianite spoke of Mianite, and everything that grew into something beautiful as if it was her child. Why would she speak of just our living spaces?

"What?-" Jordan shook his head, "Nevermind. All that matters is that we found you and we need your help."

Ianite then smiled brightly again, hearing Jordan say those words. "What is that?"

"There's this place and is covered by, well it's called taint, all that and it's part of you I guess." Jordan then started to catch on his words, "Well it is kinda my fault that it got out of hand because I really wanted this weapon, which sounds childish, but-" Jordan reached through his brown leather backpack and brought out the rapier. "I mean look at it."

Ianite didn't seemed shocked by the news of the taint and how it had became It. She was more interested in the weapon. "Your sword." She answered.

"Well I want you to have it." Jordan let out shyly.

Ianite looked surprise and her face was given an even brighter smile. "But it's your sword."

Wait a minute his sword.

"Well not really." Jordan said

That sword was Martha's fathers sword.

"Hey Ianite why didn't you tell me you had a family?" Jordan asked.

HOLY SHIT!

"Oh my god!" I yelled out.

"What, what?!" Tom screamed out behind me. He looked like he was at the edge of his seat.

"I would hope you knew I had a family, seeing your my husband, Spark."

And everything was silent. Not a peaceful silent. A shocking silent. Like someone just threw a bunch of treasure in a fire pit.

What had Ianite just said?

"Your Spark. The farther of my two children Helgrind and Martha", Ianite spoke so slowly. Hoping the words would etch in his brain. Like Jordan would believe it.

But he wasn't Spark.

"I-" Jordan stopped talking, like he just chocked on shock. "Your not my Ianite."

Tucker held out his hands. "What the hell is going on?"

"What is going on with my town", Ianite's voice raced, "Your the heroes?! What has gotten so horrible in my beloved town that the prophecy?!"

"HOPE'S SCREWING YOUR GRANDSON!" Tom screamed from behind a tree.

I could have lunged over Tucker to choke Tom to death. "I DID NOT!-"

"The town", Jordan continued to speak the very important words. "It's been destroyed by the taint. Andor's been taken to the prison. Helgrind's gone mad with power-"

"Why", Ianite boomed, "Why has my son betrayed me!"

"Something about his daughter and wife dying and he blames you-"

Jordan immediately regretted what he had said as Ianite sank to her knees and broke down into crying.

"No", she started horrible sobbing and crying. Her words came only as whimpers as she sat to the pale ground shaking, "it's all my fault! I killed them!"

"What-" we all let out.

"The monster!" She continued to die out the words as best as she could. "The monster I made! It killed them! I thought it was a nightmare but it's real! After Dianite died and my husband left, I couldn't take them! I couldn't take the apparitions of another world!"

"What another world?" Tucker asked even through the sobbing. "Our world. Where are we?"

"Mother!"

Martha ran up to her mother with open arms.

"I killed them", Ianite continued to sob as Martha wrapped her hands around her mother. "I made my son go insane, and let my grandson stay with him!"

"It's not your fault", Martha soothed. "It's not your fault."