Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in this story. They are the property of Scott Westerfeld. I do not mean this fan fiction as a copyright infringement, simply as a tribute to his fabulous work.

Zane's POV:

I could hardly bear to see her beautiful face lying there in the cold stone of the Rusty building. Her large eyes were closed, but even on the rare occasions that she managed to rouse herself, her perfect eyes lacked all of the intensity and confidence usually hidden there.

David, who I had heard so much about, seemed disconcerted and convinced that he loved her more. I kept him away from her...I didn't trust the way he had let her back into the city, giving herself up to the oblivion that held her now. Why couldn't it have been me lying there, nanos sucking away all of my memory? Or David, even? Either of us deserved it far more than Tally.

He entered the room on hoverboard through a shaft high in the wall. "How is she?" he asked, frustration creasing his ugly face.

"Not good. But I suppose that's to be expected." I made it clear that I blamed him for her condition in its entirety. It was, after all his fault for letting her go. I never could have done that to her.

He sighed. "Why do you blame me? I tried to stop her. She made her own decision. She's very stubborn, you know," was his lame defense. But Tally had never been stupid–I would never believe she had consented to take the pills of her own prerogative. That was the choice I had made for myself, risking everything for the sake of my own bubbliness. Tally could not have made that choice–I had to believe it was someone else's fault, someone who had forced this condition upon her.

But then, I had to factor in my own personal blame. The pills had both been for her after all. Had I not taken one, she would be awake right now, and we'd be on our way to the New Smoke, together. And I had become bubbly on my own, not really needing the pill–so I had simply caused her brain damage, without any benefits otherwise. I stared down at her motionless figure once again, and closed my eyes, trying not to think.

David sighed, and then left, hovering once again through the shaft high in the wall. I fell asleep, knowing that the Specials would be there soon, and that the rest of the Smokies and Crims would be long gone–and accepting that I would be captured.

I hope you liked it! R&R, please! I'll try to get the next chapter up soon!