Act A mask or veil to hide the pain. What a beautiful show they all put on. Sparkling dresses, expensive suits Cover up the iron chains. And so they dance 'neath blinding lights. To seem the same is to succeed. Reality, a disturbing thing. The crowd arrives to love the lies. For ages now, we've danced the dance Same steps, same song, same stage. It ends in tragedy, as Shakespeare so loved. We can't hope for a chance. And thusly, darling, I depart From this stage of grief and repetition. You can stay, cold comfort yours, Or follow me and my insane heart.

Working with her twisted threads She weaves a web of beautiful words The scales of long dead butterflies A mask to hide the spider's lies Empty promises and crocodile tears Aren't enough to save a mind. What of the spider who loves the angel One has fallen, one never flew Suffering alone isn't to her liking So with fangs and threats, she poisons his soul. Is that not love? Or is it death Love and death are synonyms When dealing with the broken weaver A spider, the lady of many sins.

The false lights will leave you blind Mesmerized, twisting the thoughts Of grown and child alike And yet they fear the dark Because it holds the truth What better place to spend your #life Than in a fool's paradise. I take off the mask of light And cast it away Embracing the dark And the truths, horrible and beautiful.

Cronus Awakened Chapter 10 The darkness was thin, punctuated by dozens of iridescent stars, and bands of cosmic dust trailing along. Hues of every kind were represented in the cascading, ever shifting display of light. Alex turned his head, looking around. He recognized this place. This was where Hecate had taken him. So she must be nearby... “Alex.” The voice resonated with light, yet sounded strangely hollow. Almost insubstantial. “Hecate?” One of the distant stars had begun to move. Shifting and twisting itself into a vaguely human shape. “Yes.” “Why am I here?” “Because you need to be.” “That doesn’t tell me anything.” “Don’t be so hasty, child.” “Hasty!? You freaking teleported me to some random creepy place, and you expect me to listen?!” Immediately, the atmosphere began to change. The stars seemed to dim, as if being drained, and color gradually began to drain out of the scene. “Watch your tongue.” Hecate whispered, her resplendent form still unmoving. “NO. I don’t have to follow your orders!” Alex glared at her, seemingly oblivious to the rising temperature and the ever-growing darkness. “SILENCE. YOU WILL FIGHT FOR GOOD, NOT YOURSELF.” The sky suddenly extinguished itself, as did Hecate. A pressing feeling of dread and regret formed in the pit of Alex’s stomach. “YOU ARE BLESSED WITH THE POWERS OF LIGHT AND THE STARS!” The sky seemed to compress in onto itself, growing denser and darker. Like a void. “Do not underestimate them...” The air seemed to be tearing itself apart, the very air nearly sucked out of his lungs... And then it was bright again, the stars blinking on as if nothing had happened. “Do you understand...” She whispered. Alex, still dazed, nodded. "Good." Hecate said, handing him a small silver dagger, the hilt if which was carved with an elaborate pattern of the#moonand sun.

Cronus Awakened Chapter 9 Marisa leaned up against one of the nearby trees, its bark charred and blackened. She winced as her hand brushed an ember. "Hey..." She muttered, "I haven't been much help, have I?" Nott looked over at her, surprised. "Not like me flying in circles was any more helpful," she muttered. "Especially since I almost crashed into a tree." "If you two are done with the pity party," snapped Alex, "Angela is hurt." "No, I'm fine..." Angela muttered, blushing slightly. She seemed embarrassed to draw attention to herself. "Please don't fight..." Nott glared over at Alex, but kept silent. She looked down at the smoldering grass once more. "Angela, that weapon of yours... What does it do?" Angela looked over at Nott. "It turns things into a breeze... Breezes can't hurt anyone," she responded quietly. "What about tornados?" Retorted Jacob. "Don't be a smart ass," muttered Alex. "SHUT UP," snapped Nott. Marisa looked over at the quarreling boys nervously. "Breezes are less strong then gales, and gales are less strong then tornadoes..." She muttered. "Not that I want to be rude or anything..." Flins looked straight ahead, biting his lip thoughtfully. "Do you think we'll get any weapons such as that?" He inquired. "I dunno, maybe we should just wait for someone else to pass out..." Said Alex, shutting up when he caught Nott's gaze. "I wonder if they're watching us," Muttered Flins. The group fell silent for a moment at the prospect of being watched by many people they couldn't see. "I dunno, maybe..." muttered Nott. "HEY, NYX!!!" she shouted. Angela backed away from her a few steps." "CAN I HAVE A COOL WEAPON?!" Nobody responded with the exception of a lone blackbird. "Well... Apparently not," muttered Nott, disappointed. "What did you expect..." Retorted Alex. "I mean, you were yelling... Yelling at... Sky..." Alex's eyes became glazed over. In a matter of seconds, he had fallen to the ground unconscious, blackened grass crackling where he hit.