"Should we . . ." Erik began cautiously, taking a quick step towards the door.

"No!" Dane nearly shouted from his place on the floor.

"As if any of us would ever listen to you," Emerson laughed bitterly, scrambling from the floor onto his feet and practically running towards the door. Why Damien had released his voice? He must have been too preoccupied with Jade

Drake stood up casually and as his seat was nearer to the door than Emerson's, he stood and stopped him dead in his tracks. He was furious and shouted, "What do you think you can stop me?"

Drake frowned this man only wanted to watch this all play out like a show, never missing a moment. "This isn't a play."

"Of course it is!" Emerson laughed loud and clear, his voice ringing through the wooden halls of the mansion. "You just can't see the strings and words that are holding us all upright, can you?"

"She's out there in the cold without even a jacket," Erik growled at Dane, who simply shook his head.

Then the door re-opened with Damien dragged Jade in by her arm slamming the door behind the two of them. "Let go of me Damien!" She shouted as if he were trying to murder her and as it was, he was forced to obey her. She stumbled backwards from the force she had been using to try and free herself.

"You all are crazy!" She continued through her tears.

A smile slipped onto Emerson's thin lips and the light caught his glasses. "My dear sister-"

"Don't you dare start!" She hissed, putting a hand to her head. "All of these lies, Damien loving me?"

She began to laugh hysterically and Emerson approached her all the while his eyes meeting the raging ones of Damien's as he slowly embraced Jade to everyone's astonishment. She began to weep on his shoulder as Damien began to grit his teeth together, but when Petra grabbed his eyes and shook her pretty little head he sighed. Then Emerson grinned at Drake and flicked his fingers and took a step away from Jade who seemed frozen in her puppet like position. Drake looked around him. Everyone was still except for Emerson and Damien who was beside himself livid with anger.

Emerson took careful steps towards Drake and then ran his hands through the air above Petra's head. Then the light caught hold of thin almost invisible strings wavering back and forth as Emerson played them like a harp. Petra rocked back and forth with their movement.

Emerson titled his head back and laughed, "She is nothing like Lyra! You all are fools, every one of you."'

"Are your emotions coming back to you?" Damien scowled. "See even you can't bear looking live ghosts in the face anymore than you can meet my eyes."

"Ah," Emerson sighed after laughing for so long, "you are truly the devil."

"And you a demon," Damien tipped his head to Emerson as if this were some long, never ending dispute. Immediately Emerson flicked his fingers and time seemed to resume as Jade stumbled forward, without Emerson's support. He offered a small laugh as an apology.

Jade then turned to face everyone, "Do all of you only see me as Lyra McClair?"

Petra smiled and stood as she gracefully moved her way towards Jade, well aware of Emerson's, and Dane's eyes following her, "My dear, of course we do. You look like her to the very last freckle on your nose. You speak like her and behave like her. Hell, you've lived the exact opposite of her life and have turned out the exact same. Now you must choose, Jade. Will you go back in time and save us all or go and leave, never looking back until time is up?"

"Why is it up to me?" She pursed her lips.

Now Dane stood pleading with her, "Jade I'm begging you to end this."

"Do what you want," Petra responded tartly, "I'm tired of Dane and Damien's rules. I want fate to choose for once."

"Jade, just come with me and let's leave them all behind," Erik said holding out an open hand to her.

"He loves you Jade," Drake muttered softly, catching everyone's attention. No one knew who he was talking about. Damien or Erik?

But Jade chose as she turned towards Damien, "You can't possibly be serious. You loved Lyra. I am not Lyra anymore than Drake is you."

Damien was silent for sometime, holding her stare steadily. Then he gave up and muttered, "No, you aren't, but you're certainly damn close."

She turned to Dane, just as Drake had expected her to. "What do I do?"

Petra pursed her lips and strut her way even closer to Jade, taking both her hands in her's, "Jade, Dane has his own agenda. This is your decision. You need to grow up and make a choice!"

Pressing her eyebrows together in frustration, she sighed in defeat, "I don't even know what the consequences of each decision are."

Emerson grinned, "That's quite simple Jade. Go back into time and speak with our father and convince him not to split Damien and Lyra when Lyra dies and then," he paused pursing his lips, "and then."

"Yes, and then what?" Damien growled. "Who disappears and who stays Emerson?"

Emerson's look of confusion melted and he answered gravely, "It seems to me that all of us will. Time will reset to right before Lyra died. We are the future of the people in that time, but it will be a future that no longer exists. So I conclude that we won't exist anymore either."

"And how is that any better than leaving things as they are?" Jade shook her head.

"Well," Emerson answered with raised eyebrows, "things will inevitably end up that way even if you allow things to remain as they are now. When you and Drake grow so old that you will die time will restart."

"And how do you know any of this?" She countered him, crossing her arms across her chest in frustration.

"I don't," he smiled, "there's no way of telling what will happen for sure. Drake and Damien and you and Lyra may merge into one another and time could begin from here or back then. You two could simply be eliminated from existence or Damien could be. Or maybe Alistair will concoct some sort of solution to start time up again but keep us all existing here. I really don't know, dearest."

She turned so that her back was to all of them and buried her face in her cupped hands and that was exactly how everyone stood for a while in silence, waiting for her. Yet, to no one's surprise Erik spoke out before her, "Jade-"

"I know," she muttered softly, dropping her hands and turning back to look at him. "I know."

With that Drake's heart sunk and probably Dane's and Damien's as well. That was her decision. Wasn't it? Because there was smug faced Erik smiling like the irritating bastard that he was.

"I'm sorry," she shook her head at Dane, "but I need to make a decision for myself for once. Petra's right." Damien narrowed his eyes at her like he knew what she was going to say, "I'm going with Erik."

Dane stared at her in abhorrence for only a moment before he turned on Damien panic ridden, "You have to make her, Damien. I swear to God I can't live like this-"

"Calm down," Damien ordered his brother, "and get a hold of yourself." He sighed, putting on a nasty smile, "Erik," he spat, "if any harm-"

"That would be you," Erik scoffed, "that is all the lot of you have ever done to her is harm her over and over. You have no consideration for her-"

"Shut up idiot," Emerson growled at him, "god I can't stand the sound of his voice."

Drake looked around himself at everyone. Petra was smiling leaning back into a chair as if she knew what was going to happen the entire time. Dane had now sunk to the floor where he simply stared straight ahead in thought. Emerson was about to tackle Erik and Jade and Damien were staring into one another's eyes as if talking through their gestures.

He smiled, making Drake frown. What were they planning? Jade, he thought to her angrily.

She turned her eyes onto him with the same smile, which pierced his soul and reminded him of his true feelings for her and how he felt about Erik whisking her off. She walked up to him and then grabbed both of his hands between her's gently.

Thank you for everything Drake. We're both finally free, she then wrapped her arms around his neck and embraced him.

He frowned. Was he free? He hadn't heard those exact words come out of Damien's mouth and besides what did free even mean? Time was stuck. He was seventeen and had never had a job in his life. Where the hell would he live? Then he sighed as a burst of happiness rushed through his veins. He would go back to the Airship Academy and finish out his education.

I will miss you, he bit his lip, none of this felt right. Yes, Jade was entitled to her own decision, but time couldn't stand still forever. Why couldn't they just try to resolve everything instead of kicking it down the road?

Don't worry, she released him to look him in the eye.

"You should say goodbye to Dane," he muttered, looking at his dear old uncle or well, whatever. He was biting hard on his lip and staring up at the ceiling, mulling over it all, trying to forgive Jade.

She nodded and with a sigh sat down on the floor beside him, laying her head on his shoulder, slowly turning so that her chin rested where her head had and then whispered something into his ear that was blocked from Drake's knowledge. Dane's eyes widened as a smile grew on Damien's face. She was telling them that she'd fix time in a few years that had to be it. Drake decided to himself.

Petra was still smiling as she finally let her voice out, "And for Drake, Damien?"

His eyes shot towards her and with a decisive nod and with little to no though he spoke, "I cannot stand him," he turned towards Drake with a friendly smile that was pure evil, "I'm assuming that you'll run as far and fast as you possibly can from me once she's left without force?"

Drake laughed hard to cover up the pain in his chest. He was an orphan. "Can't even pretend to want me for old times sake?"

Damien seemed to see it though and frowned. "It is a bit awkward isn't it? But I guess if you want to st-"

"NO!" Drake almost shouted. "No," he laughed, "I've had enough thank you, Damien."

Damien narrowed his eyes and bit his lip. "Where will you," he paused as he realized, "the Airship Academy? Consider it paid for then."

"Thank you," Drake stuck out a hand in a business like manner. For a moment Damien looked at the outstretched hand like he'd never once given a handshake in his life, but it soon melted into a smile and he shook it with a deep laugh.

"All right then," he looked at Jade and then Erik and finally back to Drake. He smiled seeing the copy of himself hide so much anger and pain. Damien had been planning this day for seventeen years and it had all gone completely wrong. He was going to have to wait even longer, but he was patient if Drake knew anything he knew that. "Forgive me?" He offered Jade a half hearted apology through a smile as she and Erik were slipping through the large door way that he was leaning against from the inside.

She looked up at him, starting from his hand trailing his scared arms up to his lips and dove into his eyes. She put on a smile people get right before they cry. It was like she honestly had forgotten and forgiven his terrible deeds, like she had known him and cared about him forever. She took a step forward with outstretched arms, clearly about to embrace him, but he retreated with an uncomfortable laugh. "Let's not play too many games at once, Jade."

He was right though. Drake could hear her thoughts. She didn't forgive him. How could she? She was simply being nostalgic and trying to find closure. "Fine," she muttered, "so how do we say goodbye Damien?"

He smiled at that and took a quick step forward. Then leaning down kissed her on the forehead gently. She closed her eyes. Drake couldn't understand his feelings for this girl. Was he simply destined to love her because of fate or did he actually?

"If you need anything," Damien began to mutter, his lips still pressed tenderly against her skin.

"We won't" Erik snapped. He was clearly ready to be done with all of them. It irritated Drake. Why did he get to take her? Then he sighed. She chose him that was why.

Damien stood straight and stared down at Erik with a hate filled smile, "This won't work forever. I hope you realize. She and Drake will continue on aging. Unless," he laughed, "you plan on being married to a woman ten years older than you and then twenty and then-"

"I get it Damien," Erik growled, "I'm only two years younger than you all right. We will figure it out as we go."

Drake hadn't thought of that though. It didn't really bother him except for the thought of one day being older than Damien. It was only eight years away and he'd be twenty-five, a whole year older than the man who was supposed to be his father. He shuddered.

"Let's go, Jade please," Erik almost begged her.

She shot Drake one final glance and one last thought. Good luck. Then she turned and followed Erik out of that door. The soft thud echoed in the halls once the door shut.

Drake stared at that door with the rest of them for at least a minute. He couldn't believe that she had actually gone with him, but why not? That was all she had wanted to do since Damien had forced her to live with them.

"You're still in her debt," Drake muttered, slowly, looking up at Damien, who was of course smiling at a time like that.

"Come on," he sighed, ignoring him and wrapping an arm around his shoulder tightly, making him shudder. "I'll drive you up to the Academy."