"Nice try, but we just happened to know that magic doesn't work in this mansion," Roma replied. "And we're not going to leave. Like we said before, this is for your own good." She was ready for a fight with Jakob also, even though she really didn't want to. She smirked at the thought that they were actually winning this fight. Hoxac's plan was not working

Nicholas saw this as the perfect opportunity. "Roma, go through the door!" He screamed out to Roma. After she was safely on the balcony, he followed after her through the door. "Like i said, you'll thank me in 10 years." He said, closing the door and locking it behind them. When he turned around he found himself staring at Hoxac who was staring at Jakob's parents-a very king looking couple, who were laying on the floor seemingly dead. He gulped, suddenly realizing the reality of the situation. He had just locked them in a room with a murderer.

"Oh no," Roma whispered as she saw the only other person in the room, besides them, who was alive. "Nicholas, what have you done?" She closed her eyes, hoping for this flashback to be over any second. Hoping for all of them to wake up, back at the Hoxac Mansion in the future, with all of the doors and windows unlocked again. She wanted so badly to leave this horrible scenareo.

"Oh... come to join the party? The more, the merrier." Hoxac's voice resounded, as he looked at the two in surprise. A huge, malevolent grin spread across his face, as he twirled with a huge bloody leadpipe in his hands, like a cabaret dancer. "But where's the laddie? I thought I heard him. He must be very worried about his mama and papa..." and as he said this, the imposing man fell into a fit of greedy laughter.

"Crap.. They're up to something! Something bad!" Jakob leapt front, trying to jerk the door open, but he only managed to pain his shoulder. "C'mon, Orion, help me get in!" and he frantically looked for something to slam the door open with, eventually finding a big, heavy armchair to the right. He started pushing it as quickly as he could, his hair dishevelled.

Nicholas swallowed, trying to get himself to breathe. Now what was he going to do? "Hoxac, we know what you're up to. We're not letting you get to Jakob like that, or any of us for that matter." He said as bravely as he could. They were in trouble this time. Maybe if Roma transformed and started attacking Hoxac they could push him off the balcony. It was the only plan forming in his head, and he struggled to think harder for a better one...

When Roma reopened her eyes, she saw what she least wanted to see. Hoxac with a huge leadpipe in his hands, a maniacal grin spread wide across his face. "You're nuts, Hoxac! You're not going to kill us! You don't have the guts to." Hopfully, this would buy them time while she thought up a plan. She looked around the room but could not get inspiration anywhere...until she realized that he was at least solid. But the last thing she wanted to do was tackle a mass murderer.

"Who said anything about killing you? It's not your turn, now is it?" the man said, rather dully, putting the leadpipe down and staring intently at the door.

Seconds later, it jammed open, revealing a panting Jakob being practically thrown in the room together with the armchair. After a roll of minor swearing, he got up and the first thing his gaze fell upon was Hoxac, who now looked as innocent as ever. Then he saw the horrible massacre that lay before him. He stared for a good minutes, then tears began welling up his eyes.
"No, it can't be..."

Roma looked at Jakob in pity. They had lost the battle. He saw what he wasn't supposed to see. She felt tears well up in her own eyes, tears of failure. Knowing she had failed to keep her promise of protecting Jakob was killing her inside. "Jakob, I'm really sorry," she whispered to him. She would have done anything in her power to prevent him from seeing it.

"Who did this? You did this? You...wanted to attack me all along!" he mumbled in-between sobs, glaring at Nicholas and Roma. For some reason, he hadn't crumbled down or collapsed or died. It could have had something to do with not witnessing their death - it was what had gotten him half mad in the first place. Now, he had been presented with the fact and he didn't know how to face it. He looked at Orion, pleadingly, then returned his glance at the two, and at the leadpipe, laying on the floor.

Hoxac, in the meantime, said nothing, for some strange reason. He seemed to be enjoying this.

"We didn't do this! It was him!" Roma said, pointed to the madman in the center of the room. He looked like he was pleased with his own work - or Nicholas's work. If he hadn't locked them into this room, Jakob would have never suspected them to kill his own parents. "Jakob, I swear it wasn't us. It was Hoxac."

Jakob looked at the two, suspiciously. He would have retorted, but he remembered the voice calling his name. Why? They had knocked him down before he entered the room, and he was there... Hoxac was there... calling him... after he probably killed his parents. He exchanged a glance with Orion, and recalled him mention Hoxac wanting to finish off his family.
"I don't believe you!" he yelled at Roma, thinking of something to do to get away from Hoxac at the same time. He hurried his gaze to flick to the two to show them that he understood, as Hoxac bent down to pick up the leadpipe, for whatever reasons he knew.

Roma knew that Jakob had a plan, but could not guess what it was. As she thought of all the possiblities in her head, she saw Hoxac bend over to get the leadpipe out of the corner of her eyes. Instince acted upon her. She ran up to the leadpipe and kicked it from under Hoxac's hand. Watching it slide off of the balcony, she smirked. "Guess that ruined your little plan, didn't it?"

Hoxac turned to Roma, listlessly. Taking out a huge kitchen knife, all bloodied up, as well, he neared her, and pointed the weapon milimetres from her neck.
"Listen, girlie, it can be over as soon as I want. I'd advise you not to talk above your position." he had finally reacted like his old self, and Jakob was looking like he also did now.

"You really think I'm scared of that?" Roma asked bravely. "Do you think I'm scared of death after spending so much time in that house of horrors of yours? And after seeing Jakob suffering for the second time for his parents' murder? Well, Hoxac, I'm not. You've made enough people suffer for one lifetime. No one is scared of you anymore. And no one is going to die here." She was half shaking, thinking about what Hoxac would do now.

OoC: Wow. That speech sounded really corny.

ooc: oh, no, Hoxac is impressed

Just as Jakob started to move in their direction, Hoxac flung both Roma and Nicholas towards him, so that all of them now stood huddled up in the same place, opposite the exit. The murderer then took to laughing.
"Nice speech, only I beg to differ. There are people scared of me. And there are people to die still by my hand." and as he said that, his eyes seemed to redden, to the resemblance of the colour on the blood-stained knife.

OoC: Well, I feel proud that I impressed a mass murderer.

As Roma was flung across the room, she wondered if everything was back to normal yet. There was only way to find out. "Jakob, do you recognize me?" she asked him. It sounded very stupid to ask someone that, but she had to make sure that he knew them now. She was half hoping that he didn't recognize her because that would mean that they're still in the flashback and Hoxac would still be solid enough to punch in the face, which Roma had a strong urge to do.

ooc: you should be! oh, I have to go, it's late here, eek.

"Yeah, I mean... what do you mean if I recognize you?" Jakob whispered. He was still in that stage between full-fledged consciousness and the bewilderment correspondent to the state induced by Hoxac.

The older man, in the meantime, inspected Orion, to whom he spoke in a faked gentle voice: "Dear nephew, one notice: I wouldn't leave my... treasure... unprotected if I were you. Weird things happen in this mansion." this was followed by a mental-like laughter, and Hoxac bowed towards Jakob's mother, grabbed her lifeless head and pointed it towards the group. "Isn't it so, Mrs. Leden?" He then started nodding the poor woman's head, so that he'd get approval one way or the other.

OoC: Me too. I have to get a shower and do homework. Bye!

"Nevermind," Roma whispered to Jakob. She winced as Hoxac nodded Jakob's mother's head. It was a very disturbing scene. She looked at Orion. "What treasure is he talking about?" That was the worse situation she had ever been in. She hoped that she'd never have to be in that kind of situation again. But she still had a feeling that Orion was hiding more.

Nicholas put his head in his hands. It should all be over now but why wasn't it? He gave out a cry of frustration. "Why are you still here?" He cried out to Hoxac. "Why are we still here? Why isn't this over?" Things weren't making sense. The flashback should be done by now...so why wasn't everything back to normal?

Ooc: Thanks Chris, I'll take it from here.

Orion was motionless, as he stared at Hoxac and everyone around him. A million thoughts were whirling through his head, as he flicked his gaze from Hoxac to Roma, Elizabeth and Nicholas. One thing was sure: he suddenly remembered these weird people. "..Roma? Elizabeth... Nicholas?!" Orion breathed, opening his eyes wide. Everything was coming back to him.. His uncle.. included. Orion's eyes narrowed, as he glared at Hoxac. "No! I won't let.. you..kill them. None of them..!" Orion shouted, blabbering uncontrollably at Hoxac. "Not after you you killed my best friend's parents.. all those children... and everyone else! You're not killing my friends!" With that, Orion clenched his fists and ran headfirst at Hoxac. The minute his fist hit his Uncle, there was a bright flash and the group --- except for Orion ---- was on the floor of a strange room. Everything seemed to be back to normal -- how everything was dirty, and they were back in the same time that they left at. The only thing missing was.. the parent's bodies.. Orion... and Hoxac.

"Where...Where's...What?" Nicholas said between pants. He was breathing deeply through the whole ordeal...and now that everything seemed over...he was so confused. He sat down on the floor and shook his head. "That was unnerving." He said pointedly and began playing with his sneakers, sort of relieved to be out of dress clothes.

Roma looked around. Everything was...normal. Everyone was there...except for Orion. "Where's Orion?" she asked, looking around again. Did something happen to him when he punched Hoxac? She guess so since she couldn't see him. Her eyes began to well up with tears. "Something happened to Orion," she whispered.

"Did he get stuck in the flashback?" Nicholas said, looking around to see if maybe they had missed something. "Or maybe Hoxac took him with him or something...I don't know." He lay down on the floor. Although he was glad to be rid of Hoxac, it didn't seem like this was a fair trade. Where could Orion possibly be?

She took a deep breathe. "Maybe...Orion's just upstairs or something. Maybe he just wasn't taken to the same exact spot we were," she replied. She was in denial. She knew something bad must have happened to him when he punched - or attempted to punch - Hoxac. And to think that she herself had almost punched him. This would have been her fate. But it wasn't - it was Orion's instead.

"I tried punching him too...remember?" Nicholas said, trying to think of what could've happened to make him disappear like that. "I mean it wasn't during the flashback, but i did punch him. This might have something to do with Orion being related to Hoxac...remember what he was saying about that?" As he was talking certain things came back to him. Orion had been talking about him having to turn into a specter too...because he was a member of the family. All this was giving Nicholas a headache. He was glad he was sitting down.