"I doubt a pickaxe will work, Aaron." I say when he comes back carrying a very sharp one.

He takes his jacket off and attacks the wall. Sure enough, a few minutes later, he turns away, red-faced and angry. "This is COMPLETELY INSANE! Why is this wall solid? I-it wasn't like this before!"

"Maybe it---"

"SOMEONE! Help!" Garroth's voice screams.

"What? Garroth?" Aaron mumbles, dropping the pickaxe and racing out of the room, with me right on his heels. "Garroth, what's going on?" We rush into the room to see Kim on the ground and Garroth leaning over her, poking her. AGAIN.

"What happened?" I demand.

"I---I don't know! She had come in here acting strange, and then the next thing I know, the lights flickered and she collapsed!"

"Is she breathing?" Aaron asks.

"Yes, I checked. She's just---"

Kim starts coughing and she sits up. "Kim?" Garroth asks.

"Ugh." Kim groans. "Garroth?" She asks faintly.

"OHH, Kimmie Kim!" Garroth crows. "I was so worried about you! What happened?"

"I... I think I was having a bad dream." Kim mutters. "I... I dreamed I kissed Zane, and that I was in love with him."

We all look up at each other. "Wow." Garroth finally says. "That does sound bad."

"Kim, are you sure that that was a dream?" Aaron asks.

"Huh?"

"Well..." I start slowly. "Zane said that you actually kissed him... and now you're telling us that you dreamt the same thing."

"That... is a bit odd." Garroth admits.

Kim sighs. "I don't know. The dream felt weird! It was like I couldn't control my own body...And now I feel like I can't think."

My stomach rolls inside me. Potion "me" refuses to look at her eyes, but I think back just to make sure. I don't remember her eyes being green... And she seems like herself now...

"I have a bad headache." Kim continues weakly. "And I feel cold!"

"Let's get you in bed, Kim." Garroth says sweetly. "You need to rest!"

"Please." Kim says wearily. "I would love that."

"Garroth, Violet." Aaron orders. We both look up. "Take care of Kim. I'm gonna get Aphmau and see if we can find another way into the cave."

"Go on!" Garroth says. "We can take care of her!" Aaron nods and leaves the room, and Garroth and I pick Kim up and tuck her into bed. We gently close the door behind her and breathe a sigh of relief when we hear Kim snoring softly.

Garroth grins at me. "You should go check on Zane. I'll stay here."

"Okay, Geroth!" CURSE YOU, IVY-SELF!!

"It's GAR-ROTH!!!"

I go downstairs just in time to watch Zane go outside. I follow him curiously and see Lucinda, Aaron, and Aph outside with him.

And Lucinda has bright green eyes.

The second Zane and I make eye contact with her, a weird spark happens and a shudder goes through my body.

Oh, Irene.

It's happening. It's happening right now.

"Hey, Aphmau." Lucinda says, her voice as sweet as honey. "Do you think you would come help us find someone in the woods?"

"Huh?" Aph asks.

"Yeah... Lucinda, Zane and I could really use your help." I hear myself say, just as sickly sweet as Lucinda.

"We think our brother is still out there..." Zane says.

"What's going on?" Aaron asks suspiciously.

"What?" Aph asks us. "No! I'm not going to help you find someone I don't even know."

Potion "me" fills with anger. "You should really come, Aphmau." I say, positioning myself in front of her with Zane and Lucinda.

"Yes, come and see our brother!" Zane coaxes.

"We know you would love to see him!" Lucinda coos. Rage tears through me, the REAL me, as I pray to Irene that Aph and Aaron get themselves OUT OF HERE.

"No!" Aph protests.

We all look at each other. Then back at Aphmau.

And Lucinda pulls a spiraled green-gemmed wand out. I don't even have time to wonder where she got a wand before a bright green flash sears my eyes and Aph is leaning over, groaning in pain.

"Aphmau!" Aaron yells.

"You will come with us to find our brother, Aphmau." Lucinda commands.

Aphmau keeps groaning, but she still looks up weakly. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" She pleads. "I don't... know..." Her eyes grow wide and she stands tall. "What I was thinking!" She laughs, and terror courses through my body. "I would absolutely love to come and see your brother!"

And then I see it. No.

Aphmau's eyes have a thin circle of green in them.

"Perfect..." I purr.

"LUCINDA, WHAT DID YOU DO?" Aaron demands, running forward. "Why did you cast a spell on her?"

"Aaron, calm down, I'll only be gone for a second!" Aph laughs.

"Aphmau, no!" Aaron says sharply. "I won't let you! This isn't Lucinda, she would never make you do something you didn't wanna do!"

"But I need to see their brother!" Aphmau explains, like it's the most reasonable thing in the world.

No, Irene, please...

"LUCINDA!" Aaron charges Lucinda, but she raises her wand and blasts a huge blue sphere at him, blasting him backward into the door, where a very surprised Garroth stands.

Very suddenly, I'm back in my own body, able to feel and touch and smell everything around me. "NO!" I scream, breaking my shell for just a second. And then, before I can even realize what I'd done, SHE's back, and I am forced to retreat to my mind again.

Garroth runs over to where Aaron landed. "Aaron? What the---Are you okay? Aaron? Aaron??"

We all walk inside after them, Lucinda in the lead. "Pitiful." She smirks. Garroth turns to us, his eyes wide and fearful as they land on Zane and I.

Aaron stands up slowly. "Ugh...Lucinda! What happened to you? Why are you---"

"Have you ever wondered about werewolves, Aaron?" Lucinda interrupts smoothly.

"What?" He asks.

"You heard me... Werewolves. Their...origin."

Irene, no...

Aaron's eyes go wide and terrified, like a caged animal's. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"About the most horrible monster among them, Aaron!" Lucinda murmurs.

"Lucinda..." Aaron pleads. "Please!"

"There's a story about the origin of the werewolf race." Lucinda continues. "It happened thousands and thousands of years ago. There was a man who was dearly in love with his wife. So much that he would do anything for her. And she loved him just the same... They lived together happily for many, many years. But then one day, his wife fell deathly ill. The man was heartbroken. He couldn't live without his love... So... out of desperation, he made a pact with a demon. During a blood moon. The pact would allow the man to bring back his wife from the dead. However, that pact required the sacrifice of a living creature. To which the man chose a wolf. The god of wolves found out. Furious, the wolf god cursed the man to forever walk the Earth as not a human, but a monster."

Her eyes glint as she watches Aaron's reaction. "Part man, part wolf."

"When he returned to his village, he was scorned. People rejected the beast he had become. He was banished to the depths of the woods where he would stay for years. But the man grew lonely. He wandered back to the village. It was there that he realized his curse was not that he was a hideous monster. But that he was cursed to turn other humans into half human, half wolves. Driven by his... loneliness..." She grins at Aaron, "he transformed the entire village into werewolves. This was the first pack of werewolves ever to roam the Earth. And he was their leader. A monster driven mad by loneliness. The other werewolves feared him and his power. And that is the story of the first werewolf. They call his bloodline... The Ultima."

A chill runs through me. Ein was right. Because there is no way Aaron could look so terrified if he didn't know it was the truth. Everything I've read on the Ultima... was right.

And it's inside Aaron.

Right now.

Zane turns to Aphmau. "Let's go, Aphmau." He says, and turns to leave. Aphmau and I follow him and we wait for Lucinda, who just raises her wand and, with a flash of green, Aaron and my big brother disappear from view.

I feel myself dissolve away from the cold sting of the snow. I want to scream, to tear at my skin, to----

We reappear in a wooden cabin.

And Ein is already waiting, his eyes glinting as evil as before as he stares at Aphmau, who seems to be back to herself. His tail swishes back and forth with glee.

I feel myself shove Aphmau forward, and she falls on her hands and knees in front of Ein, looking up at him in pure terror, the spell Lucinda cast long gone.

He spreads his arms. I barely catch the glint of green in one hand, but it's there. "Welcome, Aphmau."

And then he shatters the potion in front of her.