... Dead or Alive?

[Madeleine Baudelaire&Russ Ford]

Madeleine followed the others - Professor Hoodham, Holden, Kira and "Miss Hymer" down the stairs into a dark cellar type room.
She could barely see anything except the outline of the person in front of her, wondering if anyone would bring up some light. She guessed that they were in a cellar, a store of some sort.
Until her nose started to work.
A stench rose up from the bottom of the pit, getting stronger as they descended - the unmistakable, disgusting smell of rotting bodies and death. Madeleine wrinkled her nose, then as she went further down into the 'cellar', resisted the fierce temptation to retch. Yes, it was definitely bodies of some sort, but where or what it was - well, that was yet to be discovered, she figured.
Then, the figure in front of her - 'Miss Hymer', maybe? - stopped, making Madeleine arrest abruptly at the bottom of a step.
Then, she heard Professor Hoodham's deep voice come towards her. "You have now reached the bottom of the staircase. This is the necropolis, or catacombs. The past and present Headmasters and Headmistresses are in the tombs that you will see in a moment. I will ask you to keep what you will see here a secret from your peers."
A small little ball of light started to glow in his hands, gradually brightening up to light up the room with a soft glow.
Professor Hoodham looked gravely at them all. "I must ask you to keep as quiet as possible here, and please, respect the dead people you will find here. Try not to step on any graves. And when I show you what you are to see - please, keep calm, and quiet, until you are given permission to speak. Yes?"
They nodded. Professor Hoodham smiled somberly and started to walk on.
Madeleine arched an eyebrow at the others, before following him. What could possibly be so important that they were being taken from their preparation to find Macy to the burial place of the school?
As she walked along, she could see the shapes of the large stone tombs at the sides of the room take form. How many people were buried here? she wondered. A good many, from the looks of things.
She was starting to get used to the smell, but as she looked around, she felt a horrible, horrible feeling rise up in her - after today, would she be like these people, nothing but a rotting corpse?

[Rachel Hymer]

Rachel followed the others down the long staircase into the pits of the school. It was getting hotter as they went, as they were getting nearer to the furnace in the centre of the school, but all she could imagine was a sigh on top of the large doors they walked though reading Abandon all hope, ye who enter. The smell was quite strong, and she saw that some of the other students weren't too fond of it either. What on earth were they doing here? Finally they reached the bottom and Professor Hoodham gave them instruction about being there.
They heard a long moan of a person coming from the other side of the room. She squinted her eyes to realise that there was a woman sitting there, her eyes as cloudy as a rolling storm. Beside her was a very large tiger, who was watching everyone, making sure that no-one of them tried to come near it's mistress.
"What?" She said voice. It was very strong voice which made Rachel shudder. "What do you want? You lock me up here for so long and now you dare to come down, and you bring students?! Students?!" The figure had stood up and had seemed to drift over to the headmaster, who even seemed slightly intimidated.
She was tall and looked in her mid-twenties, but something wasn't right. Her face was the colour of grey, her hair was long a faded, her eyes seemed like they were sleeping, and across one was a large scar. She was wearing a very long, dirty white dress that was torn at the bottom and looked like one big sack, except she had a large leather belt, seperating the top from the bottom. On the belt was many tools, and a large pouch that she could see the handle of something, possibly a knife pocking out. When she walked she seemed to leave a trail of not quite smoke, like whips of her soul, trying to catch up with her body. The tiger was large and had glowing red eyes, watching everyone carefully. It too, seemed to leave a trail of soul behind it. They both looked dead.
"Parmida." Professor Hoodham said, looking her in her eyes. "We need you help." She gave an evil smile at this.
"I knew it! I knew it!" She laughed. "What do you want, Major? What is it this time? Do you want me to get back that stupid girl who got her self taken?" Rachel had never heard the professor be called by his first name. She stared at the woman. The whole group seemed to listen to what the headmaster would say next.
"How do you know about her?" He said, sternly.
The woman laughed again. "News travels fast, my dear. and why should I help her?"
"Because, she is a student at our school. Your school, Parmida. And I know that, deep in your heart, you want to help her. The enemy armies took her."
At this 'Parmida', or whatever her name was, looked up, into his eyes. Her smile had drained from her face, and Rachel noticed the woman fingering the knife handle sticking out of her pouch in her belt. She sighed and said a very quiet "Alright." Suddenly, as if she had never said it, she raised her head and looked over all the people who were with them. Her eyes stopped on the girl wearing the armour. She then looked back at Professor Hoodham. "It this the new head of Warriors?"
"Yes, this is Miss Madeleine Baudelaire."
Parmida walked over to the girl and looked her up and down. "When I was living, I was the head of the Warriors. It's good to finally have another girl as the head of it again. I hate those pompous boys, brandishing their swords like they're Arthur."

[Madeleine Baudelaire&Russ Ford]

"Don't I agree," Madeleine said determinedly, thinking of Levi. ...Pompous boys, brandishing their swords like they're Arthur...
"And Arthur they are most certainly not," she added, having a hilarious but terrifying vision of Levi Ryder at Camelot, surrounded by Knights of the Round Table. Sure way to end the world.
She couldn't pretend not to be amazed by this... Parmida and the tiger. It was pretty scary... but there was probably worse things in this place.
However, Parmida definitely looked eerie, with her faded grey skin, long hair and scarred face. Her clothes were dirty and faded, and the weapons stuck in her belt added to her distinctly dangerous look. And the tiger... well, if you didn't find red-eyed tigers scary, there was clearly something very wrong with you.
What Madeleine wanted to know was why she hadn't... passed on. Why she was still in the school, kept 'locked up' in this necropolis, still with her weapons, alone save for this shadowy tiger?
And this was just making her more nervous. What if she died, and ended up here?
"You'll help?" Madeleine said quietly, realising that there was a plea in her voice.
Parmida nodded subtly.

[Kira & Lee Norris]

Kira could feel the blood rushing to her head. Fighting the urge not to stumble, she swayed slightly, then stood firm, watching Parmida carefully. Oh, wasn't irony a strange thing? It was the world's sense of humour, after all, and the world was not exactly the most normal of places. Nor was it the kindest, the fairest... or... well, you get the picture...
But was it not just a few hours before when she spoke with Will about resurrection? About all the strange possibilities it presented?
She was burning with questions. But fear held her back. It would not permit her to ask one.

[Rachel Hymer]

Parmida walked back wihtout answering Madeleine's question. Her tiger kept firmly by her side. She stroked it saying "Aah, my Shia." She smiled her faded red lips, and then looked up again. She kept eyeing everybody in the group and they could feel the tension. She stopped, right infront of Rachel. "Ilsa Yhana.." she whispered.
"What?" Rachel said, in slight shock. "Ilsa Yhana..that's the name of one of my spirits. The spirits of my ancestors protect me..Ilsa Yhana gives me love."
Parmida looked Rachel into her eyes, and Rachel felt like she wish she had never said anything. she wanted to just back away and go to the hospital wing, where she belonged.
"..I..I know..I can see them. But..Ilsa, why are you here?" She asked the air around Rachel. There was no reply. A faint smile came on Parmida's face. "I haven't seen you in so long." She looked at Rachel again. "I didn't know you were related to her...thank you, we were best friends in school." She smiled.
"Parmida?" Professor Hoodham spoke. "We are planning to attack their camps tonight. I've had word that she is held in the centre in their deprevation cell, so she can not use her powers. My students will get her out, I know it's very risky, but they are able to do it. Trust me. But the only thing is, is that they might counter-attack our school, so I am asking you is to protect the school. I know you can, and i nkow you will."
Parmida nodded and stroked her tiger. "I will help you. You do your job, and I will do mine. I think I'll just start with the basic force around the school, but if it gets anyworse, I can increse my power."
"Thank you, Parmida." Professor Hoodham said. "I hope we can talk again." He then turned round and beckoned everyone out of the Catacombs and up into the fresh air of the school. Back into the normal life, and into the air of battle.