Hollis had to think about this, because he couldn't help but agree on some level. It was a nice thought, but more than anything he was actually terrified of the idea. If something like that could really happen, and wasn't just some myth people made up to shun the fear of death...

     "If that could actually happen though, I'd rather die."

     "Hm?" Ambrose's eyes widened and his brow perked.

     "I'm only starting to get back the pieces of my life that came before this, and thinking about the people I had in my life...and the people I have now, I don't think I could get myself to stay alive long enough to see them all perish behind me. To live long enough to meet more people and then see them all perish too. That's not the kind of existence I'd want, even if I could live in dreams and never have to deal with the stress of reality."

     Ambrose was stunned. He figured Hollis might still be averse to the idea, but he hadn't realized it was for such a deep reason. The thought of losing the people you care about had never once crossed his mind.

     "So, you're a sweetheart deep down, huh? That's cute."

     "Shut it. Anyone would think the same thing. Wouldn't you?"

     Ambrose seemed to fade into thought momentarily before his smile returned. "Yeah. I guess so. My friends mean the world to me. I wouldn't want anything to happen to any of them. You too, guy."

     Hollis scoffed. He still wasn't totally sure how to feel about this guy, but the more he grew accustomed to him, the more he felt the need to hide that fact. He didn't want this kid to think he was winning.

     "Nice to know you're a sweetheart too." As soon as the words left his mouth his stomach turned. He'd never used the word sweetheart and now he regretted it beyond comprehension.

     "Nice, nice! Thank you!" Ambrose nodded his head over and over, a look of pure pleasure plastered across his face. Little did Hollis know, there was no beating this guy.

     "Oh, that's right!" Ambrose nodded, seemingly to himself. "I've got a proposition for you. You've already got some drive to get out of here, right? Here's something else. Once all of this is said and done, I'll tell you my real name."

     "I don't really need to know it that bad."

     "Aww, c'mon. Are you sure? You're really not that interested?"

     Hollis could say he wasn't all he wanted. In truth, he was curious. He wanted to know what this guy was really like, and who he really was. "Fine, alright. It's a deal, I guess."

     "Good, good." His smile softened; a pleasant warmth came to Ambrose's cheeks before being hastily replaced with an impish fervor. "Now that that's out of the way, wasn't there something you wanted to talk about?"

     "Ah? R-right." 

     This guy, he thought to himself. He's way too perceptive!

     "Ah, well..." With one last reach into his pocket, he further confirmed the disappearance of the knife. He knew that if someone took it, it had to have been someone at the meet-up. That means any one of them knew he had taken the knife from the killer and thus, they were likely the killer or involved with the killer. Ambrose included.

     After taking a moment to hold a back and forth with himself, he opted to explain, assuming that if he didn't say anything Ambrose would simply figure it out himself.

     "I...I had his knife, the Somnium Killer's." Ambrose simply blinked hearing this, so Hollis continued, "I had it but...it's gone now. I think someone took it."

     "When did you lose it? Actually, when did you last have it?"

     "When we, the three of us were standing in your mindspace inside the palace."

     "Terra and us?"

     "Yeah."

     Ambrose didn't give much of a reaction. His expression was unreadable. "When the three of us were talking, you know for a fact that you had it?"

     "Yeah. I shoved my hand into my pocket and felt it. It was there, I know it."

     "And you didn't check at all after that? When did you realize it was gone?"

     Hollis was surprised by how seriously Ambrose was treating this. He felt very professional in his mannerisms, in his speech. It almost felt like he'd done this before. Hollis finished explaining all the details he could, even running back and explaining how he got a hold of it for what seemed like good measure. Ambrose nodded along, his entire form seemed to be wholly devoted to hearing the older boy out. By the time Hollis was done, Ambrose had only one thing to say.

     "So, it was one of us that took it."

     "It had to be."

     "So, you know what that means." Ambrose wore a small smile. "One of us really is the killer." Before anything else could be said, Ambrose's eyes flew open and he froze. Hollis didn't say anything and decided it best to wait and see what happened. After a moment, the sandy-haired youth blinked and his smile returned. "Terra sent me a message. She must need something." He stood up, stretching briefly before continuing. "Even if she doesn't need something, I think we should pay her a visit after hearing about this."

     "'We'?"

     "Of course. This guy is interested in you, right? He let you escape, so there has to be some meaning in that. Whoever it is that's behind this, bringing you along to talk with them would work better than keeping you hidden, I'd say."

     "So you want me to be bait?"

     "Yep!"

     It didn't take long for Hollis to give in and the two of them traveled over to Terra's mindspace. Before they jumped through the door to enter, Ambrose chuckled. "Just so you know beforehand, Terra has a fondness for England that is nearly unmatched."

     "Do I want to know what that means?"

     "We'd be better off not mentioning it beyond this point."

     Simply sighing, Hollis held back any further questions.

     When they arrived in the mindspace, the atmosphere was bright and cheery. Sunlight trickled through the leaves of the trees that sprouted up from the street corners, and these streets were adorned with neat brickwork. Unlit street lamps sat at nearly every corner and before them presided a large, Victorian manor with ivy spreading up the walls and bright flowers budding here and there.

     Everyone seems far more creative than me...

     "Well, we better not keep her waiting, right?" Ambrose laughed as he moved on ahead, his colorful pajama having been swapped out for his usual attire. Hollis quickly switched his out and followed after.

     Upon entering the building and wandering the halls, they immediately spotted the young woman. The room was a pleasant mix of pale, sunny yellows and whites with a plethora of classical decorations adorning every corner from the walls to the windows. She sat at a small table with plated sweets and was holding a dainty teacup. Not only that, but she was dressed in a puffy, Victorian gown to top it off.

     "Oh! Ammy! You brought...Hollis as well? Hello!" In her usual fashion, she gave them a bright, glittery smile.

     Wow, she's really playing into the part, Hollis thought, unsure what exactly he was supposed to think of this extreme dedication.

     Ambrose made only a slight movement, and within seconds, he had swapped out his pajama once more, now fitting more properly into the Victorian setting. "How's this, dear Terra?" He threw on a phony accent as he tilted the top hat he now donned in her direction. She clapped playfully, her cheeks flushing with pleasure. "Marvelous, Ammy! You look...spectacular!"

     Oh geez. I'm not doing this... This time, Hollis stood his ground and left his clothes as they were. I've played enough dress up today.

     Twirling his new cane, Ambrose shifted his weight as he asked, his tone playful, "What was the message you sent, my lady? I didn't feel like getting up to look at it and I wanted to give Hollis a good look at some other mindspaces."

     Hollis held his breath. He was relieved that Ambrose wasn't mentioning the knife, but it made him wonder what exactly he was planning on doing. He clearly wanted to know which of the members took it just as much as Hollis, if not more.

     "Oh, good thinking," Terra started as she set her cup down and came to a slow stand. After a moment, she snapped her fingers and, in a flurry of lights, her clothing changed to her usual attire, her pink tube top and shirts. With the clinking of her gold and white bracelets, she clasped her hands together as she stretched.

     That dress did look uncomfortable, Hollis thought with dread.

     "I was going to ask about the killer some more, actually...if that's alright."

     "Well, to be honest, we were just discussing that." The tall youth's expression never changed, but there was something about his face that seemed to become gloomier. "What were you hoping to talk about?"

     "Well...it was about the picture." She seemed to hesitate saying this, but regardless of her inner concerns she went on. "I was thinking...that it couldn't possibly be you." Whether he meant to or not, Ambrose nodded along. "Everybody seems to change their looks here...no matter how big or small. Could someone possibly...imitate someone else's appearance? Especially down to such small details? You two looked one-hundred percent identical."

     "That's a very good point, Terra." Ambrose spoke in a jovial way, as if this wasn't as serious a matter as it seemed. This appeared to relax the young woman. "So, if it's true that the killer looks that similar to me, that would mean that this person has to see me so often that they can pinpoint all of those details down into that appearance."

     "So...you're saying the killer has to be...someone in the forum?"

     Holding up a single finger, he said in a cold voice, "Exactly."

     Hearing this word, Terra went pale. Ambrose spoke again, attempting to reassure her. "Don't think about it like that, Terra. This killer is clearly Somnium himself. If you think about it, there was really little other option. Basically, it was staring us in the face from the beginning."

     "...I suppose you're right. It should have been obvious. I don't know why...it got to me like that." She looked like she wanted to laugh it off, but she didn't.

     Hollis watched with clenched fists as the exchange came to a crawl. He felt bad for her, she seemed to be a genuinely good person. This whole thing seemed to be a wreck to her nerves. There's no way this girl did it. It's just not possible.

     When everyone started to grow uncomfortable with the atmosphere, Terra attempted to change the subject, suggesting the boys try some tea. Ambrose gladly accepted and Hollis followed suit. They chatted for some while more before eventually parting ways. Leaving through the front door, Ambrose grabbed Hollis's wrist once again, as if it had become a habit.

     "C'mon. Let's take a look around. It's pretty impressive really."

     "I gotta ask, would she have gladly joined the redcoats?"

     Ambrose simply stifled a chuckle and led the smaller boy throughout the streets of the mindscape. With that dreadful discussion long gone, they enjoyed the interesting sites of the world. Gardens abounded at street corners and smaller buildings dotted the faux cityscape. People in Victorian clothing wandered about minding their own business, whether they really had anything to do or not. To Hollis, this seemed far livelier than the mindscape Ambrose had. Glancing up to the sky, Hollis admired the bright sunlight shining over this fictional world and the beautiful fluffy clouds that spread out above.

     "I don't think it was ever this bright in Victorian England..."

     "Oh? Ever read Sherlock Holmes?"

     "No."

     "Ah. Dommage pour mon joli petit compagnon." With a seemingly sarcastic sigh, Ambrose continued on. Though Hollis didn't know French, he did recognize the word 'petit', but chose to ignore this.

     In reality, though Hollis was quite a bit shorter than Ambrose, he was around five foot eight. Ambrose, on the other hand, was well over six feet in height. By comparison he made Hollis look much smaller than he truly was. Again, he chose to ignore this.

     Once their tour of Terra's world was done, they decided to part.

     "It honestly pains me to say this, but I do have to get going eventually."

     "What? You think I can't handle myself?"

     "Exactly."

     Hollis hadn't really expected him to say that. In a way, he was joking when he said it, he didn't really think he could take the killer on again if he put all his effort into it. He had been so much stronger than him, he clearly had the strength of Ambrose. There was no way he could fight that off. Even though he knew this, it still struck him a little hearing Ambrose agree.

     "I wish there was some way you could contact me if you were ever in trouble..."

     "Why you? And... Look, it doesn't matter. I escaped once, I might be able to do it again."

     "Might isn't a particularly convincing word, guy. Don't try slipping that past me, alright?" With a tilt of his head, his sneer came back. Hollis felt even more beat down.

     Crossing his arms over his chest, Ambrose let out a long breath. "Just...whatever you do, watch yourself. Be careful. That's all I can say."

     "And that's all I can do. Got it."