Nova crouched in front of Adrian's sleeping form, placing a kiss on his cheek. "I'm sorry it had to be this way," she whispered. "Goodbye, Adrian Everhart." She stood up and sprinted towards the door—hoping to leave before running into any more Renegades.

She ran all the way back to her house, not bothering to stop once. When she reached the rowhouse, she was a bit out of breath but wasted no time in explaining to Anarchists what had happened.

"We probably have another hour before he wakes up, but we still need to move fast," Nova said, taking off her communication band and leaving it on the counter. Honey and Leroy nodded, then Honey dashed out the backdoor to get her bees and Leroy went upstairs to collect his things. Phobia lingered downstairs, making Nova feel uncomfortable.

With a sigh, she trudged upstairs and began gathering her things, throwing clothes and weapons into a pile on her mattress. She glanced around the room, scanning it to make sure she didn't miss anything, then her eyes landed on the vanity, catching sight of the butterfly. It was just another reminder she needed to move fast.

The Anarchists had no idea where they could go, where they could be safe, but they did know they had to get far away from the little rowhouse on East Ninety Fourth and Wallowridge that had been home to them for only a few months.

When Adrian awoke about an hour and a half later, he was in the medical wing surrounded by healers—and his dads.

"What," Adrian began, "what happened?"

"One of the guards found you passed out at your desk," Hugh said. "They tried to wake you, but when you didn't come to, they called the healers. The healers have been trying to wake you for the past hour or so." Adrian nodded as the memories of what he discovered started coming back to him.

"Dad, Pops, can I talk to you two real quick? Like alone?" Simon looked at him suspiciously as Hugh gestured for the healers to leave the room. Once they were alone, Adrian spoke up, "I know who Nightmare is." Hugh and Simon shared a look, then motioned for Adrian to continue. "Nightmare was a lot closer to us than we thought." He paused, tears forming in his eyes. "Nova's Nightmare. Nova McLain, except her last name isn't McLain, it's Artino."

Anger flared in Hugh's eyes, "How did she get away with it for so long?" He buried his face in his hands, mumbling, "How could we be so stupid?

Adrian's tears began to fall faster as explained all that he had discovered. Simon pulled him into a hug, whispering, "I had never imagined it would have been her. I'm sorry, Adrian."

"Dad, what are we going to do?" Adrian pulled away from Simon, looking at Hugh.

"I'm going to send a team of Renegades to her house to search it for evidence and to arrest her—assuming she's there. But meanwhile, I suggest you call Ruby and Oscar and tell them to come here as soon as possible."

Adrian nodded and lifted his wrist band to his mouth, "Something's come up with Nightmare and I need you two at HQ immediately."

Hugh and Simon left to go deal with finding Nova, leaving Adrian alone with his thoughts.

"What happened?" Ruby asked, her voice laced with concern. Oscar was standing next to her, holding her hand. She glanced around the room, "Wait, where's Nova?"

Adrian flinched at the mention of her name and ignored the second question, "I found out who Nightmare is." He paused. "But brace yourselves, I don't think any of us could have predicted this."

"What do you mean?" Ruby said, her brow furrowing in confusion.

"Nova...Nova's Nightmare."

Ruby gasped. "No, you must be mistaken. There's no way she could Nightmare!" Tears streamed down her cheeks.

Adrian explained everything he had found, and when he was done, Ruby pulled him and Oscar into a hug.

"Adrian, I'm so sorry. I know how you felt about her," Oscar said. The three friends stood there huddled together, thinking about how one of their close friends had been revealed as their worst nightmares.

The trial of Nova Artino went on for far longer than expected. But in the end, she was convicted as guilty on multiple charges, and the Council decided for her to be neutralized. Even though she had been neutralized, it had been deemed too dangerous for her to be released because of her many skills.

It had been very emotional for Sketch's team—especially Adrian. Somewhere in between the time of Nightmare's true identity being discovered and the trial, Danna had returned and told her side of the story. How she had followed Nova, and how she had been trapped in a jar. It only deepened Adrian's resentment towards Nova.

A/N: I'm honestly not sure how I feel about this chapter.