"RYAN LOREN: I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!" Quinn screamed, rounding on her youngest brother furiously, diary in one hand, scissors in the other.

Ryan stared at his older sister for a few blank moments before turning, dashing for the door to the bedroom.

"LITTLE BRAT!" Quinn dropped the diary and lunged at him, her hands clasping around his knees. "YOU WILL DIE!"

"MMMMMMMMMMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM!" Ryan screamed at the top of his lungs, despite the fact that he was thirteen, and usually disconnecting himself from his mother as much as possible.

"SHUT UP!" Quinn screeched, flopping onto Ryan and causing both of them to collapse onto the ground.

Ryan struggled to get out of Quinn's grasp, but she was determined to let no such thing happen.

Zach, on his way to breakfast, past them in the doorway, struggling. "Um, Quinn, let me take those scissors from you," he said, bending down and prying them out of his younger sister's hands. "there. Now you can strangle him easier."

"ZACH!" Ryan howled, glaring. "I'LL GET YOU NEXT!"

"How about you get Quinn first," Zach advised, jumping over them and heading down the stairs, thinking about breakfast. Now... should he have eggs or cereal?

"Will you two SHUT UP?!" Derek stuck his head out from his bedroom door irritably. "I WAS TRYING TO SLEEP!"

"BE QUIET!" Quinn yelled back, successfully flopping onto Ryan and preventing him from getting up. "I'M TRYING TO KILL HIM!"

Derek glowered at her, and walked over to the struggling duo, wrapped in a large down comforter. "I WAS TRYING TO SLEEP! IT'S NINE AM! SHUT UP!"

"SHUT UP YOURSELF!" Ryan screamed, although he had to gasp for breath halfway through.

"Mom! Mom! Ryan and Quinny are fighting again!" Emily dashed out of her own room, and leaned over the banister, trying to see downstairs. "MOM! THEY'RE GOING TO KILL EACH OTHER!"

"We are not!" Ryan and Quinn simotaniously snapped.

"And don't call me Quinny," Quinn added.

"I'll call you what I want to call you," Emily reprimanded, still leaning. "MOM! DID YOU HEAR ME?"

"I don't think she's home, Em," Zach called back up. "Zir's missing too, so I'm betting she took him on a walk."

The four others remained where they were unhappily. They all glared moodily at each other.

"What? She's gone?!" Derek demanded, still wrapped in his comforter. "It's as if she KNEW we were going to be loud."

"You're ALWAYS loud," Emily said primly.

"I'm not loud," Ryan muttered, only to be slapped by Quinn. "GET OFF!" He roared.

"HYPOCRITE!" Quinn roared back, quite enjoying herself.

"MOLESTER!" Ryan shouted, his voice cracking halfway through.

Quinn laughed at him, but rolled off anyway.

Their mother was a professional author, as well as an eighth grade English teacher at the middle school they all had been forced to attend. She wasn't quite like other people's mothers, which they all knew. She tended to evade having to clean up fights between her five children, refused to cook for them complaining that cooking made her ill, and she enjoyed nothing more than lying around on the lawn, insisting that she was coming up with new novels. Their father was an architect, and he just laughed whenever his children complained about their mother or each other. He however, enjoyed cooking with a strange passion, so their was never any conflict about who would be forced to make dinner.

Emily sighed lustily, and walked back into her room. "You three should get ready," she added, before closing the door.

Quinn exchanged looks with her two younger brothers.

'Why?' Derek mouthed, obviously clueless.

Quinn shrugged. Emily was like that. She knew the whole family's schedule by heart, although she hardly ever told them if they had soccer practice each night or not.

"EM! WHY?!" Ryan jumped to his feet and began pounding on Emily's door. "WHY SHOULD WE GET READY?!"

"Stop! You're going to dent it!" Emily pulled the door open irritably. "The Clife's are coming over, of course."

"Oh."

Quinn leaned backwards into her own room. "Oh great. Mom could've TOLD us at least."

"She expects us to all have her and Em's memory," Derek replied mournfully. "What do you wanna bet that Chris will brag about his PS2?"

"He's going to- I'm not gonna give you money!" Ryan said as Derek held out a hand hopefully. "Don't you dare-" he added, noticing as Quinn began to crawl towards the one upstairs bathroom. "MINE!"

"I'm older!" Quinn protested, laughing as Ryan sprinted towards the bathroom, slamming the door in her face.

"I've decided," Derek said theatrically, throwing part of his comforter over one shoulder, "that I will go as I am."

"You're mental. Anyway, you need to brush your hair," Quinn said, standing up and heading for the stairs.

"HELLO!" The front door banged open, and Zir, the family husky bounded inside, barking. Mrs. Julia Loren stood at the doorway, beaming.

"Good morning, Mom," Quinn said, bending down to pet Zir, who licked her enthusiastically on the face. "How was your walk?"

"Cold. I should've worn a coat," she replied, kicking off her shoes. "Hey, did you remember that the Clife's are coming over? Mary called me yesterday and said that they got into town ok."

"Awesome." Mary Clife was a strange acquaintance of her mother's. Apparently they had met in college, and hated each other, and they still seemed to hate each other, but the Clife's visited them anyway, and they always visited the Clifes. The two sons, Chris and Tommy were by far, the most irritating people that Quinn had ever met. Personally, she didn't understand it at all.

"Zachie-poo!" Julia had made her way into the kitchen, and instantly threw her arms around her oldest son's shoulders. "I love your hair, kid!"

"Mom... I'm nineteen..." Zach said, trying to disengage the woman.

"You're hair and Ryan's are the best, you see," Julia said, ignoring him but removing herself and sitting down at the kitchen table. "Derek's is too flat. HEAR THAT DEREK?!"

"I'M TRYING TO SLEEP!" Derek roared back, and his mother laughed.

"Ah... you know, when I was your age, Quinners, I always thought that I'd end up with two sweet, obliging children who loved me unconditionally, and gave me chocolates for no reason," Julia said, turning to beam at Quinn.

"I dunno," Zach seated himself across from his mother, a plate of toast in one hand, apple juice in the other. "From what I've heard of your childhood and from what I know about you, I wouldn't have my hopes up too high for agreeable children."

"Hmm... I still like your hair, Zach," Julia said, grinning, obviously delighted with herself. "So I have this new idea for a story, but I'm not sure if I really like it or not... pass the juice. Quinn, can you get some cups down?"

Quinn obeyed, and poured apple juice for herself, smiling as she realized how weird it was that everyone in the family loved apple juice, and hated pulpy orange juice.

"Well, so the Clife's are coming over... hmm... perhaps I should clean..." Julia said, frowning slightly.

"Perhaps you should, Mum," Quinn said, grinning. For all that her mother was the strangest person she knew, she couldn't help but love her. Julia was immature at times, but she could also be horribly serious when the need arose. She smiled fondly, and grabbed a piece of Zach's toast and stuffed it in her mouth before he could object.

"Did you see that?!" Zach demanded, pointing at Quinn indigently.

"Yeah." Julia nodded encouragingly. "I did it all the time to my older sister. You're a bit too much like her for comfort, Zach. Quinn, however, hasn't quite lived up to the potential in her. If she was truly my heir, she'd try and steal another piece."

"Mom!" Zach said, laughing helplessly.

"Mother, Ryan's not letting me in the bathroom," Emily said, entering the kitchen.

"Em!" Julia beamed at her, and scooped her youngest daughter into her arms. "You shouldn't worry- he can't stay in there forever."

"And if all else fails you can always climb in through the window," Quinn added, sipping at the juice. "I tried it once when Derek was being a butt."

"He's always a butt," Emily said nobly. "Mother. I need to shower before the Clife's get here."

"What? So you look good for Tommy?" Quinn asked snidely.

"Seriously! He's only twelve! I'm fourteen, Quinny!" Emily said, scandalized.

"It's Quinn. What do you mean your fourteen anyway? You're like a little bratty prat kid," Quinn said loftily, waving her hand slightly. Perhaps I AM like Derek. acting again, Quinn thought, smiling.

"What about Mr. Chris Clife, Em-Em?" Julia wondered, leaning forward. "He's cute. Good hair. Although I think he's dyed it."

"He has. He was telling me about it," Quinn said with a sigh. "Bothersome boy."

"Bothersome children. GO! You are giving me head pains!" Julia said, waving her arms around dramatically and flopping back into her seat. "Go! Leave this place!"

None of them moved, and Julia groaned horribly, before sitting up, and drinking her apple juice, almost normally.

"Mom... please don't act this weird in front of the Clife's," Emily said, concerned. "Sometimes you just overdo it."

"I can't help it that this is the way I am," Julia said, shaking a finger. "Well, I'm gonna go clean. Emily, make sure that Quinn and your brothers clean, ok?"

Emily frowned at Zach and Quinn, who blinked back. "You two never DO clean, do you?"

"We try," Zach said, shrugging dismissively. "Anyway, I'm getting too old to clean."

"Phfft!" Quinn snorted into her juice. "You maniac!"

Derek entered the kitchen, almost colliding with Emily, who was stomping out of it. Quinn didn't fail to notice how he was still wrapped in his comforter. "Out of my way pathetic mortal!" Derek yelled, kicking at Emily, who glared.

"Derek, Mother wants us to clean," Zach said, standing up. "What you think of that, oh great immortal?"

"Heh. I say that we rebel. Get your sword, Zach. Quinn, you can be our scout." Derek said, sitting down. "And I shall be your gallant leader. Do you think we should recruit Mage Ryan?"

"I rather think that Mage Ryan is too busy making himself beautiful to serve us, Commander," Zach said, keeping a perfectly straight face.

And then, the world wavered.

Quinn lifted her head, staring as the air in front of her seemed to move and blur, but after a blink, everything was normal.

Derek paused, and rubbed the back of his hand over his eyes, and Quinn was sure that he had seen it too- there! It wasn't her imagination! "Yes. Mage Ryan I believe, WILL join our troops. Where is the Evil Overlord currently stationed, Quinn?"

Quinn opened her mouth, but nothing came out as the world shimmered and moved again, this time stronger, and for longer. Quinn gasped for breath- but there didn't seem to be any air. Choking, she slipped off her chair, the world pulsing around her, and before she could regain her thoughts, the world went dark.

^~^~^~^~^~^~^~

Eeeee! There! Chapter one is complete! Mwa ha ha ha ha!

3 Thea Lowe

Why'd I put a heart there? Hmm... strange...