The pounding on the door mixed with the tears of Cat and Jade was the only sounds that permeated the air. André and Tori were huddled together not daring to face the injured figure that was Beck. Trina was sitting apart from the group gently twirling the wooden table leg in her hands. Robbie was leaning lightly on the guitar in his hands. Robbie knew he had to take action unless he wanted the group to fall apart, so he pushed himself up straight and made his way over to Beck.

He leant the guitar against the wall and went and knelt by Cat. He placed a soft hand on his shoulder and gave Beck a look that showed the conflict that was going on in his mind.

"Cat would you go and talk to Trina. I'd try but she hates me" Robbie asked in a soft tone.

"But I don't want to leave Beck" Cat whined.

"Please Cat, I won't leave Becks side and he's got Jade as well" Robbie tried to convince her.

Cat sighed and gave Beck a quick hug before walking over to Trina. Robbie sat against the wall letting Jade cry openly for just a bit longer. Robbie gently cleared his throat to let Jade know he was there.

"What do you want Shapiro?" she spat with venom.

"Please Jade, not now" Beck wheezed lifting his hand and placing it on the back of Jade's.

"Fine" she whispered, shooting a death glare at Robbie.

"Hey Beck what say we get you cleaned up" Robbie proposed, "Hey André, Tori will you look through the dressing rooms and find the first aid kit. Be careful"

The pair looked over at them and it was clear that Tori had been crying. André gave a curt nod before leading Tori towards the back.

"Nice to see you confident Rob" Beck told him, trying to smile but it came as more of a grimace.

"I'm only doing what is necessary. Want to tell me what happened?" Robbie said.

"He got bit idiot! What else do you need to know?" Jade screamed at him.

Robbie let out a great sigh and ran his hands through his hair. He knew what needed to be done but he wasn't sure if he was able to do it. It was then that he looked over to Cat and he found his strength again. He knew he had to keep his promise to her but that didn't make it any less hard.

"You know what happens next" he asked, softly rubbing his forehead.

"I can guess" Beck said, letting a nervous laughter fall from his lips.

"Then you know what needs to be done"

"Yes"

"Do I have you consent to do it?"

"Better you than anyone else"

Jade's eyes blew open as she realised what the two boys were talking about. She then proceeded to throw her body on top of Beck. Beck gently wrapped his arms around her and began whispering soft comforting words in Jade's ear.

"YOU'RE NOT KILLING MY BOYFRIEND!" she yelled, raising her head to glare at Robbie.

"Then you condemn everyone here to death" Robbie calmly informed her.

Before Robbie would have shrunk away from Jade and her stern looks, but now he was made of stronger stuff. He matched her glare with one of his own and was surprised when Jade withdrew slightly from the confrontation.

"He's right, babe" Beck cooed in her ear.

Just then André and Tori came back, but to everyone's surprise there were more people with them. Robbie was the first to notice them as the others were all locked into their own worlds. André cleared his throat loudly enough to pull the others from their worlds long enough to register the new arrivals.

"CHILDREN! How excellent to see you" Sikowitz announced. Most of the group let smiles infect their demeanours, except Jade and Robbie. Jade was still too focused on Beck and his impending fate to care. Robbie pushed himself off the wall and walked over to Sikowitz. Cat had already pulled him into a bear hug, whilst Trina stood awkwardly to the side.

"Nice to see you Sikowitz" Robbie said as he offered a hand. It was then that he felt himself caught in a vice tight hug. He looked down to see that a girl had broken from behind Sikowitz and had thrown herself at him.

"You too Lucy. Didn't see you back there" he said, wrapping one arm around her. He tried to joke with her to keep the atmosphere light.

Lucy eventually detached herself from Robbie and he looked her over. She seemed as if the chaos had left he untouched. He long brown hair was still perfect and straight and Robbie could still smell the raspberry scent from her hair on his shoulder. The only difference he could see is that he eyes weren't as bright as he was use to.

"Um... how do you know this girl Robbie?" Cat asked. Robbie could swear that there was a bit of menace in the question, but he played it off as a trick of the mind.

"She's my neighbour" he simply offered, to taxed by the day to go into more detail.

It was then that a hacking cough broke the atmosphere causing all eyes to shoot to Beck. Robbie walked to Tori and took the first aid kit from her. He walked back towards Beck and knelt in front of him. He opened the kit and went to start cleaning him when Jade roughly shoved him aside and did it herself.

"Good Ghandi what happened to you Beck" Sikowitz bellowed, only just having seen Beck in his dishevelled state.

"Why is everyone here stupid? He got bit. Now leave it!" Jade commanded.

"Jade, it's only a matter of time. No matter how much you shout, it won't change it" Robbie explained.

"You're not taking him away from me" Jade quietly whispered.

"Babe he has to. No matter what happens I want you to live" Beck placated.

"I won't take him until it's absolutely necessary. So just enjoy the time you have" Robbie said, walking away from her, towards André. "André when it comes to it you may need to restrain Jade"

"Ok" André agreed.

Robbie went and sat on a chair that was away from the others, although he made sure that he had a clear view of Beck and Jade. They were having a whispered conversation and it was clear that a great deal of emotion was being shared between the two. A soft noise next to Robbie caught his attention and he looked over to see that Cat had taken a seat next to him. She wore a pained expression on her face.

"Do you really have to kill Beck?" Cat asked, turning her body to completely face Robbie.

"I made you a promise to protect you, when Beck turns he won't know who we are. That means he'll attack anyone. I won't break my promise to you. Even if it makes me do the unthinkable" Robbie said, his eyes never leaving Beck.

"Can't we just keep him, like a puppy or something?" Cat responded.

"Could you really cope with seeing him like that every day?"

"I could put makeup on him so he wouldn't look any different" Cat suggested.

Robbie suddenly let out a loud bark of laughter. He couldn't help but revel in Cat's sense of hopefulness. He let the dark mood that had fallen on him lift enough so that a smile split across his face. Then the darkness surrounded him once more as the sound of retching reached his ears.

"He may look no different but he wouldn't be Beck" Robbie sighed.

"Beck wants to talk to you" Jade injected in a monotone.

With a great sigh Robbie pushed himself off of the chair and dragged himself towards Beck. His limbs seemed to gain extra weight with each step he took. As soon as he was in front of Beck he let the weight of his limbs drag him to the floor. It took everything he had to look Beck in the eyes.

"I think it's come to that time Robbie"

"You sure?" Robbie asked hoping that there was some way out of this.

"Yes, but before you do it can I ask a favour?" Beck said wincing and placing a hand over his wound.

"Given what I'm about to do, of course" Robbie replied.

"Promise you'll keep Jade safe"

"She's going to hate me after what I do. But I promise that I'll do my best" Robbie replied knowing that the promise would weigh on his soul as much as his promise to Cat.

Beck was suddenly taken by a coughing fit, causing him to double over in pain. Blood seeped through his fingers and dripped on to the floor. Jade began to speed to his side, a loud metallic crash informed Robbie that André had dropped the shovel and was holding Jade back. He rose and walked over to the duo, picking up the shovel. Looking at the pain in Jade's eyes nearly forced him to drop it, but he tightened his grip and turned.

"I'm truly sorry Jade"

He walked back over to Beck and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, giving him a feeble smile. Then he stood straight and brought the shovel back. The brief second between raising it and bringing it down, he recognised the fear and the relief in Beck's eyes. Then it was over and Beck slumped to the floor. Robbie dropped the shovel and reached for the curtain behind him. Yanking it with all his might the curtain fell and he used it to cover Beck's body. Not a second had passed before Jade was on Beck and crying hysterically.

"We're not leaving today so get rest if you can and we'll set out tomorrow" Robbie said.

He didn't wait for a response before he disappeared into a corridor that lead up to the walkway. He climbed up the ladder and walked to the end of the catwalk. He sat down letting his legs dangle from the end of the Cat walk. It was then that he let the tears fall freely. He let the weight of his action crash against him. He was so absorbed in self pity that he didn't realise when someone sat down next to him, until they spoke.

"Guess it's hard" came the voice that went through Robbie like an electric shock.

"Yes and I'm not sure I'm strong enough to do this" Robbie said.

"Well that a load of BS" Trina responded.

Robbie looked over to her, his eyes bloodshot from the tears. He hadn't really spoken to her since they ran into each other. He wiped his tears away with his sleeve and shot Trina a ghost of a smile.

"Care to elaborate" Robbie hinted.

"You protected Cat even though it meant she would hate you. You ordered me around for my own safety. You risked your life to best figure out how to protect us. Hell you just killed one of your best friends, not a feat anyone else here could do" Trina told him.

"All necessary" he responded looking at his feet.

"Fine even if you believe that to be true, sending Cat to talk to me wasn't. You knew there was something wrong and even when you have more important things to deal with" Trina said, grabbing his chin and forcing him to look at her.

"Did she help?" he asked, ripping his face from her grasp.

"You see even now you're still trying to help. She kind of did" Trina responded.

"Would it help talking to me? I'm not in the best place, but I'll do my best" Robbie offered.

"I won't burden you more" Trina said, rising from her position next to Robbie. She was suddenly dragged back down by Robbie.

"That wasn't a no. And I offered" Robbie said.

"Fine, but you can't tell anyone. Ever since this happened I've felt helpless. Me, the strong confident Trina felt true fear. I couldn't protect Tori or myself. I had to rely on André and then you" Trina rushed through it.

"That's a load of bull. Why do you think I gave you a weapon and not Cat. I know you're strong and you could use it. Beside without everyone down there and you I would be helpless. I would have died by now. You guys are the ones that give me strength to fight." Robbie commented, finally looking her in the eyes so she could see the truth in his eyes.

"Thank you Robbie"

"From now on I want you to help me train. It's no secret that you're strong and I'm weak, physically so you're going to help me and anytime you need my help I'll be there" Robbie offered.

"You got yourself a deal Robbie" Trina said giving him a hug.

Suddenly someone behind them cleared there throat, causing the two of them to jump apart in shock. Lucy walked up behind them as Trina quickly extricated herself from the situation.

"Later Rob" Trina said walking away.

"Hey Robbie do you mind if I rest here. I don't know anyone down there and I'm scared" Lucy asked, putting a small whine in her voice.

"Sure, I'm going to be keeping watch anyway so you'll be safe" Robbie replied.

Lucy sat down next to Robbie, taking one of his arms and placing them around her. She rested her head on his shoulder and closed his eyes.