She threw her arms about him, clinging to him. He was taller than she was, she was disappointed to note, as she buried her face in his shoulder, overwhelmed in her joy.

He held her back, a sudden look of alarm across his face, "What are you doing here?"

"I- I'm here for you! I'm here to save you! The building is about to collapse!"

"Yes I know! Wow, you're hair's so different! I love it, but wow!"

She stared at him, shocked, "You know?"

"About the fire? Yeah, I assume you mean the upper building, the one you just came from?"

"Fire? And no, the entire building!"

He smiled as if suddenly understanding, "Don't worry, not this part. We're protected here. Come on," he tugged at her arm. Most of the kids who had been watching them became bored and went on the way, but an intrepid few stayed. It felt silly for her to worry about making a spectacle of herself, but she suddenly felt very self-conscious. Gripping his arm tightly, she pulled him closer to herself.

"How do you know about the building collapse?"

He shoved his glasses up with one finger, "How could I not know? It's been orchestrated for months."

She felt her face pale, "Months?"

"Yes, of course. I mean, the building is far too old to be of any use anyway, so why not use it for some good?"

"Klaus, I don't know what you're talking about. What do you mean orchestrated?"

He peered at her confusedly, "What do you mean, what do I mean? You know about the collapse, yes?"

"I know about a collapse, but I don't know that we're talking about the same one."

"This building? Right now? Right when everything's finally falling into place and you just happen to show up?"

"What do you mean 'falling into place'?"

"You have to know they're here. Why else would you be here right on time? They love fire so much, they won't expect it to turn against them. They've been outsmarted at their own game, Violet." The victory in his smile unsettled her.

"It's been planned all along," she whispered the words, growing cold.

"I mean, you must have known. How else would you get here at the same time?" He held his hands out to her, grinning furiously before enveloping her in another hug, "So how did you get away? When did you get away? Why didn't you ever write back? Violet, where have you been? The Quagmires had said they'd seen you, but we lost you after the fire." She didn't have an opportunity to answer, her thoughts spinning at a dangerous speed between questions. "Can you believe all of this?" He held his hands out, palms up, excitedly. She felt woozy as she stared at him.

"So it's a trap?"

He tilted his head, amusedly concerned, "Of course it's a trap."

"You're okay with this?"

"I- You're not? You're confused Violet, it's fine. Come on, we'll get you something to eat, let's go."

Her gut clenched as she grabbed his arms tightly, "Klaus, we have to stop this now."

"Stop? What-"

"Klaus! I didn't get away! I came here with them. I'm only here right now because I didn't-"

"Is that what this is? Listen, Violet, it's fine. No one could possibly hold that against you. You're here now, we're together, and you're going to do so much good."

"You're not listening-we need to find Sunny, and we need to go."

"Go? Violet, no. You're confused; it's fine. We won't be hurt down here," he gestured towards the walls. "We're safe. You're safe. It's over now, after this they'll never be able to hurt anyone again. Can you even fathom how many people we'll be helping? Well, not us, but someday-" He gripped her tightly, staring into her eyes intensely.

"I can't let them- I can't-" she tried to pull back, looking over her shoulder, terrified.

"It's okay, don't worry. It's all completely foolproof. It's almost over, you don't need to be scared anymore. There's no room for villainy here." He tugged at her hands, trying to pull her forward.

She stayed rooted to the spot, feeling her axis shift. She wanted to believe him, wanted this to be right, but it couldn't, no matter how badly she wanted it. She took a deep breath in, steeling herself.

"Klaus, are you safe?"

"There's no safer place to be! But come on-"

"I mean with them. Are you safe here? Are you okay?"

He squeezed her hands, smiling, "Violet. We're completing our parents' work, making the world better. There is no safer place for us to be."

She swallowed down a sob, trying very hard to fight the pinprick of oncoming tears, "And Sunny? Is she safe?"

"Better than safe-she's thriving. She's absolutely brilliant, Violet, absolutely brilliant- Come on, come see for yourself. God, we've missed you so much. You never answered, by the way, why'd you stop writing?" He tugged at her hand, but she didn't move.

"Tell her that I love her, okay? Tell her just how incredibly much I love her."

"If you'd hurry along, you can tell her yourself! After we get you something to eat, of course."

She shook her head, "I can't. There's not enough time." She wasn't able to stop the tears anymore, silent streams running down her cheeks.

He regarded her, confused, "What do you mean there's not enough time? We have plenty of time."

She hugged him tightly, savoring every moment that she had, "I love you. I love you so much more than I could ever say, even if I did have the time,"

"Violet, you're scaring me. Come on, let's go."

"Mom and Dad would be so proud of you. I'm so proud of you." She squeezed his arm, and then turning quickly, turned around and began to run back.