I stood in a large open cavern. It had much more space to run around in than the cramped tunnels we stood through in order to get here. Spider webs and bones littered the floor. Before me stood a large spider with the body of a woman. She wore a breastplate and nothing else, and carried a large poisonous sword.

All around me was my party, stuck to the wall in spider webs. They were bloody, battered, and hurt. I looked at each of them, to make sure they were all here. They looked alive, but not for long. Arin... Arin! He was hung up on the wall as well! Even he was defeated by this crazy monster lady. There was another elf boy, who looked at me with the most surprised look on his face. Everyone's mouth was webbed shut, so nobody could speak to me.

"Now, I'm interested in you." The voice spoke again, but it wasn't the spider girl. "Tell me, Annabelle, why do you hold such celestial energy?" A woman, with dark black hair and a full suit of dark leather armor, came out from behind the large creature. She held a smug expression on her face, and both hands behind her back.

"What?" I asked shaking my head. "Shut up! Let my friends go!" I demanded, pointing my sword towards them. She laughed.

"Pitiful, a girl holding so much power and you don't even know it?"

"Who even-?" I started to say, before feeling her magical energy erupt and fall over me like a blanket. I gritted my teeth and looked into her eyes. Fear crept up in my stomach and I forced it down, attempting to ignore it.

"I am Lilitha, a Lord of Terror. And this, is Circe, the spider queen." Lilitha grimaced.

"Basically, both of us could kill you at any moment, but there's a reason we're keeping you alive." She paced towards me slowly. "You have celestial energy buried deep within you, I have a built in sensor for this kind of thing."

"Celestial?" I managed. She got close, and I attacked immediately out of fear. I stabbed at her stomach with my dagger, and before I could also attack with my sword, my dagger shattered causing me to drop it. My hand burned and I recoiled backwards.

"Annabelle..." she said disappointed in me. "That is no way to treat a lord of Terror."

"We're supposed to kill you! You're preventing us from getting home!" I shouted.

"While that is true, you are in no condition to even bother fighting me here little one." She taunted, and I looked back around at my friends being tied up.

"You're so worried for your friends aren't you?" She laughed at me.

"Let them go." I pointed Vortex at her.

"Let me explain why I'm so interested in you first." She went on. I couldn't attack her, so I just decided to listen. "You have a ton of celestial energy inside of you, and I wonder when you're going to pop. I don't know how you managed to keep your body, travelling from one world to another. It's almost impossible unless you're an archon or celestial. Then that task would be child's play." She went on looking around at my friends up above.

"What? You're not making any sense." I stammered. "What do you want?"

"I want you." She appeared directly in front of me, moving through the shadows like a snake. "I want your power!" She exclaimed. "I need it, more precisely."

"So I'll cut you a deal." Lilitha gestured to the large room.

"Pick any one of your friends, and I'll let them go." Lilitha motioned to the elf boy. "This one is very important, don't leave him out."

"I don't even know who that is!" I stammered, before thinking about her offer. Obviously I would choose Arin right? He's the strongest, and could possibly help me save the others. I thought to myself. Or maybe Zach? He had a large power up lately? I was confused and couldn't make the decision right away.

"Oh Annabella, you naive fool." Lilitha grimaced before teleporting herself up to the captured elf boy. She moved so fast. She tore off the webbing from his mouth and grabbed his chin. "Tell her who you are." She laughed.

"Anna!" The elf boy shouted. "Run! Get out of here! Save yourself!" Lilitha rolled her eyes.

"What?! How do you know me? How do I know you?" I asked confused on who this boy was.

"Anna! That doesn't matter! Just run!" He shouted.

"I'm getting bored of this." Lilitha rolled her eyes. "Tell her who you are or I will."

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"I'm ... Jake." Jake said softer, as if he knew we were going to die. My eyes widened in fear and surprise.

"You're.." I almost believed him. "No you're not." I said. "This is just a trick. There's no way you're Jake." Anna paused, only half believing this statement.

"Oh, little one." Lilitha said. "I must say you aren't as gullible as I thought, however he is not trying to fool you."

"Anna. When we were kids, you watched your cousin die." Jake said, my eyes widened as I removed my mask and tears fell down my face. "You started fighting that day, you tore your uncle a new one, knocking him out." He coughed, in pain. "You came over to my house, and climbed into my window, shaking me awake. You slept next to me that night, because you just wanted to feel safe." It had to be Jake, He's the only one who ever knew this. "You don't have to believe me, but I need you to save yourself. You're so important to me. I don't want you to die." He started to cry.

"Now then, now that you know who everyone is. Who will you pick to save?" Lilitha grimaced, licking her lips and crossing her arms.

"Jake!" I shouted, rushing up towards him, leaping into the air and cutting some of the webbing off of him. I cried and clawed at the silk until Jake was free and he fell into my arms. I was easily able to carry him, and I descended the cliff wall back down to the ground, before laying Jake's head on my lap.

"You dumbass." He said, wincing in pain. "You should have ran while you had the chance." He held his hand on my face, wiping away my tears.

"How did you even get here?!" I exclaimed.

"Let's .. save that story for another time."

"Oh wait!" Lilitha smiled approaching us. "I LOVE this story! Can I please tell it?!" Lilitha was suddenly acting like a kid on christmas. Jake's face turned to shame as he looked away.

"Well! Here's how it happened. After your funeral, Jakey here started having dreams of your adventures! Kudos to me for that one, I was watching over you and feeding in your adventures to him." Lilitha had a sadistic look on her face. "So when the time came Jake offed himself just because he couldn't handle being without you. Isn't that so romantic?" I gasped and looked at Jake. I caused him to kill himself..? I immediately held him up to my shoulder, hugging him.

"But I brought Jake here, thinking he'd know where you got all your Celestial energy from. The only thing I really learned is that your daddy abandoned you when you were little. How sad." Her voice mocked me. "How sad is that?"

"Jake ..." I started to say.

"It's true." He mentioned. "You were everything to me. I had actually planned on asking you on a date that day. The very thought of you, dying because I was too weak... broke me." He started crying as well, and we embraced each other.

"Now I have just the grandest idea ever!" Lilitha said crouching down to us. "Anna, you still want to save all your friends right?" Her eyes were big and wide, and she started actively acting like a kid. I didn't know how to reply, so I just nodded in agreement.

"Perfect." her personality seemed to have almost swapped, as her voice got deeper and her mature demeanor returned. "Here is the deal," she paused for a moment. "Kill him." She walked away.

"What?!" I exclaimed, tears still falling down my face.

"Kill him, and I'll let everybody go." she said. "I don't need anything but your Celestial energy, and killing him should do the trick."

My mind went blank, the tears fell onto Jake who was now laying on my lap again. I lifted up Vortex, which had returned to it's dagger form, and looked down at Jake. He was smiling.

"It's okay." He muttered. "Go ahead. I'm of no use to you anyways." I couldn't breathe.

"No! You're so useful! You kept me happy even though nothing else would! You kept me breathing! You kept me fighting!" I stammered, crying.

"Hurry it up." Lilitha demanded. "Kill him now." I was shaking, I couldn't do it. I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe. Everything was hazy. I wasn't ready for this. I could feel Jake's heartbeat as he lay on me. I couldn't kill him. Every second that passed by felt like hours.

"Can't do it?" Lilitha questioned.

"No. I refuse." I said, gritting my teeth.

"Are you sure about that?" Lilitha snickered

"Positive! I won't do it!" I exclaimed.

"Fine. Circe dear," she motioned to the large spider queen who hadn't moved once. "If she doesn't kill the boy in 60 seconds, kill them all." Lilitha started to walk away. What? I thought to myself. I was about to cause the deaths of everyone I had met, including myself, and all I had to do to save everyone was to ... end the life of my best friend. I ... I couldn't do it.

"Anna." Jake said. "Look at me." I looked into his eyes, they were green and filled with so much sorrow. "Go ahead." He moved his arm from his chest. "In the heart, it'll be quick, I won't even feel it." He smiled, through everything he smiled.

"No.." I cried softly. "I couldn't.."

"Everyone is going to die.." Jake said. "You have to." He gripped my arm, pulling my dagger closer to his body, I fought against him.

"No!" I shouted. "I- I can't!" I tried to fight him, but a part of me knew it was the only way. "I just got you back! I just got you! I can't ... I can't..."

"It's okay Anna." Jake pulled my dagger in closer, and it stuck right against his shirt, directly over his heart. "Just one push." He smiled, Circe was getting ready to attack, cutting down everyone from the walls as they all fell to the floor. I looked around at everyone, and then back at Jake.

"It's not a crime, to save the ones you love." Jake smiled, through everything he smiled.

Push. The knife entered Jake's skin quickly, piercing his heart immediately. His face filled with pain and anguish as I cried. His mouth leaked blood, but his eyes stayed looking at mine. He kept smiling. I pulled the knife out, and his blood seeped through the wound, and all over me.

"Don't forget to smile." Jake said as his last breath left his body. His heartbeat stopped pulsating throughout me. I stood there, tears dripping down my face, as reality snapped me back.

"Jake?" I asked, moving him. "Jake...?" I asked again, shaking his lifeless body.

What had I done? I thought.

I sat, lifeless statue. Emotions flooded my brain, I couldn't comprehend them. My vision went black. My body shook, my breathing increased. I stood there, eyes wide in surprise and disbelief. Everything faded away, and out of me.

"Well, the girl actually did it!" Lilitha laughed, her voice being muffled behind my sudden loss of consciousness. I sat there, motionless.

I had just murdered my best friend.