There was no time.
This thought kept racing through Nox's mind as he ran through the silent streets towards the train station. He didn't own a car, and there was no way the trains ran at 4 in the morning.
The only possible way was to hail a taxi near the train station and ask the driver to drive three hours to reach his destination as fast as possible. Or, he could check the car rental place nearby.
The sound of his own pounding footsteps rang in tandem to his beating heart, erratic. Nox was already out of breath, his lack of stamina becoming more apparent as he sprinted down the street.
Abruptly, he skidded to a halt, mind in scrambles as he faced an intersection at the road. Going right would take him to the train station, while going left would lead him to the rental place.
So should he go right? Or left?
Nox sighed in frustration, feeling the seconds slip through his fingers like air. His agitation seemed to trigger the presence inside him, causing it to stir uneasily. But it wasn't helpful at all in this situation.
Emotions heightening to a pinnacle, Nox yanked on his ability in frustration, wanting to vent his helplessness somewhere as he stared at his choices.
[Connecting to beacon.]
[Connection successful.]
With an unexpecting gut-lurching feeling, he appeared in a familiar living room, an ugly beige rug underneath his feet. The familiar gray couch that he spent his teenage years lounging on, reading through the thick piles of books that would be stacked onto the small side table.
Turning around in disbelief, Nox got a faceful of Roxanne's enormous DVD collection haphazardly stacked next to the TV.
A crash startled him out of his gawking, eyes wide as he took in Roxanne's equally shocked appearance. Her dark tawny eyes stared back at him incredulously, long black hair falling down in limp waves. The source of the crash belonged to the broken mug scattered on the floor.
Nox held out a hand in her direction. "Stay there, I'll clean it up." He quickly grabbed the paper towels from the kitchen and crouched down to pick up the sharp shards.
As he worked, he felt Roxanne staring holes into the back of his head. It felt like she was trying to fry off his hair. She was oddly quiet.
"Why are you here?" she asked, choking on her words. "How come I didn't hear anything? You didn't even text back."
Concerned, he looked up, only to see her delicate features twisted; the corners of her eyes were red. Feeling awkward, Nox hurriedly stood back up, giving her a one armed hug while his other hand carefully held onto the collected shards. "Why are you crying all of a sudden? I thought you promised to stop being a crybaby ages ago."
His words had the opposite effect as Roxanne buried her head into his chest, arms wrapped tightly around him in a vice grip. "Dumb brother." Her words were muffled but Nox heard her loud and clear.
Sighing in resignation, he shuffled them around, putting the broken pieces in the trash can as Roxanne stepped on his feet so she could be dead weight. "I'll tell you the whole story later, so first tell me what happened to Mom and Dad," he patted her back, speaking in a coaxing voice.
Come to think of it, the way he coaxed his sister and the way he coaxed his ability was disturbingly familiar…
Roxanne rubbed her eyes, reluctantly pulling away to show him their parents' room. "See, their blankets are completely torn apart." Indeed, it looked like the fabric had been tossed through a paper shredder.
What a headache. He had no clue what was going on anymore.; the only thing keeping him calm right now was that Roxanne was unharmed.
If their parents had been pulled into a trial, then the cold truth was that there was nothing he could do. As he came to that conclusion, a sudden sense of calmness surrounded him. To anyone else, it might've felt unnatural to be so composed, but Nox felt something click inside him, finally setting down. A missing puzzle piece that has been found.
"Nox?" Roxanne's voice dragged him out of his thoughts.
He patted her head by habit. "Let's go back to the living room, Rox. We can file a missing persons report." His anxiety and hopelessness when he saw Roxanne's text messages wasn't because of its contents, but because he was afraid that something had happened to Roxanne.
For now, Nox needed time to gather his thoughts. There was still no explanation for the mysterious 'beacon' that let him travel over two hundred kilometers in a few seconds. Shaking his head, Nox let out a long sigh. "I'm pretty sure Mom and Dad are in a trial right now," he confessed. There would be time to explore his ability later.
Roxanne frowned at him, "What's a trial?"
Quickly, he summarized his previous experiences and his new ability.
Roxanne bit her lip, deep in thought. "... Is there any way to enter their trial?" There was a familiar look of determination on her face.
Nox hesitated, "You… you believe me?" He raised an eyebrow. "No questions?"
"I don't think you'd joke to me about something like this," Roxanne said firmly. Her sudden shift left Nox flabbergasted. "So I'm asking you how we can go save our parents." She jabbed a finger at him. "Tell me, why didn't I get pulled in with them?"
That was a good question. "I don't know," Nox said, dropping his head. Their rooms were only two doors away from each other. It was especially baffling that their parents had disappeared inside the house, instead of being pulled in from an outside location like he had.
'Hehe.'
Both of them glanced at each other. Roxanne shook her head, shrugging at him. 'Wasn't me,' she mouthed.
'Would you like to play with me?'
A shower of sparks abruptly exploded in the hallway, revealing a small porcelain doll. Nox flinched, leaning away from the specks of light raining down.
It floated a few feet above the ground in an old-fashioned dress, fragile features painted on its pale face. Big, lifeless blue eyes stared at them unblinkingly, curly black hair framing its dainty features. A light blush was dusted on two white cheeks.
As the doll spun around casually, the numerous ruffles floated around it in a gentle circle, swishing with its movements. The doll looked like the kind someone could find staring at them motionlessly through the window of a dusty antique shop.
Nox grabbed Roxanne's arm, pulling her beside him. He could feel a faint shudder running through her body. Roxanne was afraid of life-like dolls.
Like the one in front of them.
Her expression was a mix of horror and disgust. "What the hell is that."
The doll let out a small tinkle sound, like it was laughing. 'I'm the dollmaker's favorite doll, of course! Would you like to play?'
Its head tilted unnaturally as it repeated its previous question, a pretty grin stretching across its tiny face.
Nox tightened his grip on Roxanne, refusing to answer. He shot her a warning look. Rox rolled her eyes at him and made a zip motion across her pale face, another shudder running through her body as they turned to face the doll again.
Seeing their lack of response, the doll stopped smiling, straightening up with an empty expression. 'You don't want to play?'
Nox tensed, feeling a violent aura swirling around the doll, surrounding them with ill intent.
Roxanne grabbed his arm, nails digging into his skin. "We do. We want to play."
"Rox, what are you saying?!" Nox looked at her in agitation.
She was determined, eyes looking unwaveringly at the doll. "Mom and Dad might be playing. This is one of the trials you were talking about, isn't it?"
It was but… Nox scrutinized the doll in front of him. His last trial certainly hadn't been an invitation. If it was another bloody battle like the last one… what would that mean for Roxanne?
Nox looked at her resolute expression, realizing that he wouldn't be able to stop her. She was always headstrong and resolute in her decisions. "I-"
Nox couldn't protect her forever.
"...All right, we'll play. But we're going to stay together no matter what," he stressed, taking her hand in his. Just like that time.
She gave him an affirmative squeeze, teasing, "Yes, Mom."
He scowled at her.
The doll spun around in elated circles. 'Great! Master will be so happy! More friends for Adeline!'
In the next moment, Nox felt his body being pulled away by an unseen force, blurring the brightly lit hallway. Hit by a sudden feeling of being tossed down into a deep hole, he held onto Roxanne's hand as tightly as he could.
Eyes closed, he waited for the dizziness to disperse. Soon, Nox felt the solid ground beneath his feet. A quiet gasp from beside him made his eyes snap open.
The first thing he saw was a sea of wooden limbs in front of him. Contorted in every way possible, the limbs were scattered across the surface they were standing on.
Roxanne spoke faintly besides him. "Well, at least it wasn't an army of dolls that greeted us."
"I don't know if that's very reassuring."
"You're a killjoy. I'm trying to lighten the mood."
"There's no mood here, though." He picked up a wooden arm nearby. It was the same size as his own, carved with smooth, practiced lines. Curiously, he removed his hand from Roxanne's and touched the light polished wood. Each finger could be bent and twisted like a normal human hand.
Roxanne looked at the arm with poorly veiled disgust. "Put it down. We don't even know what that is."
He stretched the arm in her direction, making clawing motions at her face. "Don't tell me you're scared of wooden limbs, Ms. Future Criminologist."
Faced with said wooden limb, Roxanne slapped it out of his hand with a look of abhorrence on her face. "What if that belonged to a real human, huh?"
Nox didn't look at the arm again. A giant object caught his eye, leaning against a pile of limbs. "What's that?"
They stared at it cautiously, seeing a giant mechanic…. robot. It looked like something right out of the steampunk era, with a large circular brass shell as its body, its head tilted down and rusty limbs lying motionlessly. It was an intricate creation- a piece of its brass cover was missing, showing numerous gears slotted in place. The metal automaton was particularly eye-catching, out of place with the wooden limbs.
Roxanne approached it, fascinated by the robot. "Nox, look at how all these things are connected together!" she said, unable to contain her excitement. "It's like a giant puzzle!"
"Rox, get away from it," Nox sighed. "What if it accidentally activates?"
She stuck her tongue out at him. "Look at all this rust, there's no way- ah?"
Krek.
A dim light flickered from its head, shining down on the siblings.