My jaw slacked. "Oh my gosh," I whispered, staring at the room. I could see it - how beautiful it must have been once. But now it was dead and empty, and I didn't know what to say. "Olivia..." I slowly walked over to her, trying to help her, but she didn't look as if she wanted the held.

She pushed me away, and began walking into the room. We followed her hesitantly. She pushed past the fallen bed frame and burnt drapes.

"Olivia," Mason said slowly. "No one's here. Are you sure your mo-"

"I know what my mother said!" Olivia snapped. "This is not what it looks like."

I glanced over at Wyatt, who shared a worried look with me. Just as Haley, the last one, stepped into the room, the door closed shut.

Mason, shocked, jogged over to the door and started pulling. "We're stuck!" he exclaimed. He stopped trying, and turned to Olivia. "You're mom tricked us, Olivia! That's just great," he mumbled, glaring down at the door.

"No!" Olivia yelled. "She did not! My mother would never..." she trailed off, and her eyes widened. "M-Mother?" she breathed, catching the shadow that sat behind a wall none of us saw earlier.

"Who's there?" Eli yelled, approaching the shadow cautiously.

With a wave of a delicate hand, the shadow stood. Suddenly, the lights brightened, and the room seemed a lot less scary. "Olivia," was her first word, walking towards us.

Olivia ran towards her mother, and hugged her around the waste. Her mother - my aunt - carefully put her arms around her daughter as well. "I'm glad you're safe," she said softly. "Although I suspected better leadership skills from you."

She ducked her head. "Sorry, mother. I was" - she flushed - "scared."

Aunt Natalie pursed her lips in distaste, but sighed. "Yes, I suppose it must have been somewhat frightful for you, Olivia. You managed well, I hope."

Olivia nodded. "Yeah, except I feel disgusting and dirty right now."

"We'll get you washed up later," she reassured her daughter. Then, turning to us, she caught my eyes. "You must be Verity," she said, her voice low and calm.

I blinked, surprised she would recognize me after so many years. "Yes. You must be my aunt, Natalie."

She sighed, but nodded. "Yes, you may call me your aunt." She stepped closer, examining me. "You look a lot like your mother, it seems. Especially your eyes..."

I nodded. "Yeah, but they say I'm more like..." I trailed off, not wanting to talk about it anymore.

"Hmm," she murmured. "You were supposed to have a little brother, if I remember correctly. Where is he? Not still back with them, I hope." Although she didn't seem to be the nicest of people, my aunt, she did seem concerned for my brother's well-fare.

"No," I said, frowning. "He-" I couldn't seem to find my voice anymore once I started thinking about Leo.

Wyatt stepped in for me, fortunately, once he saw my dilemma. "He was taken before they took us, but he wasn't there when we arrived. We don't know where he is."

Aunt Natalie's eyes flew to Wyatt. "And who are you?"

"He's my step-brother," I piped in, finally able to speak.

"So he's Dan's son...?" she asked slowly, obviously not believing that my uncle could ever marry.

"Um, no. He's my uncle's wife's younger brother," I explained. "They don't have their own kids yet."

"Doesn't surprise me," she muttered under her breath. "Right, well, I have much to tell you children before they come to take us. So, I suggest you all sit so I can get this over with."

"Now I know where Olivia got it from," I heard Mason mutter to someone else.

"First of all, I think you all know of the Vespers, correct?" Everyone nodded, except Wyatt and I, but she continued without notice. "My mother, who was a Vesper, has escaped from prison, and now is working with them to get back at us. Fortunately, she has forgotten the clues. Unfortunately, she remembers who landed her in jail. Now, with the Vespers on her side, she's even more dangerous."

It was strange, learning that your grandmother was evil.

"All the branches have been working to try and keep them away, and out of our way as we try to experiment on the serum. But, when you guys got taken away, we decided that the only way to save you guys was to take a break from our work and go undercover. This may be why most of you weren't able to contact your parents. However, I stayed behind for my daughter." She paused, looking over at her daughter who sat, head hung in shame. "It took longer than I expected, but when I finally got the call, I made sure to call the branches immediately."

"What are we going to do now?" Cassidy asked, frowning.

"Don't interrupt me, girl," Aunt Natalie said, scowling. "Now, I am to send you all back to your corresponding branch headquarters. Your parents are all waiting for you."

There was an outbreak of murmurs and even cheers, but I wasn't celebrating yet. "But what about Leo? What about my brother?"

She frowned down at me. "I don't know, Verity. You will have to ask Dan. Now, they will be arriving soon. I must make a phone call first, so if you will excuse me..." She was just about to leave when Olivia stopped her.

"Wait!" she said. "Mother, I know I am supposed to go to the Lucian headquarters with you, but I don't like it there," she whined. "Can't I go with Verity to the Madrigals?"

I frowned. I did not like that suggestion one bit.

"Why would you want to do that?" her mother asked incredulously.

"I've never been there, but Uncle Ian was a Madrigal -"

"He only married a Madrigal. He is a Lucian by blood," she scowled.

"Still! I want to see it!" Olivia whined. "Please, mother? Can't I go with them?"

Aunt Natalie stared at her daughter for some time, but finally sighed, "Fine. Now, I have to go take a call." She left the room, and Olivia smiled.

"Yes!" she cheered.

I looked around the room, and everyone seemed happy to be seeing their parents again. Even Haley was smiling, talking with Cassidy. Finally, my eyes rested on Eli, who was quiet and sober compared to the rest of them.

"Where do you think he's going?" Wyatt asked, following my stare.

"I don't know," I admitted. "But who cares? He's one of them. He shouldn't even be here." I scowled, turning away from him now.

"Verity, he saved us," Wyatt told me. "He may be one of them, but he doesn't act like one."

I walked away, over to where Mason and Caleb were talking. I watched as Wyatt walked over to Eli, and they started talking. I sighed, shaking my head. He was right, and I knew it. But... how could I accept him so easily? It was his family's fault we were here and Leo was missing.

After some time, Aunt Natalie returned. "Our rides are here."


A/N: Gah, again, if anyone is confused, Verity and Leo ARE indeed the children of Ian and Amy. But they are not EXACTLY like their parents. That's incredibly unrealistic -.- No one is exactly like their parents.

I don't know if you guys haven't realized this, but I actually really enjoy writing this story. Creating the characters was definitely fun. But I'm curious - is this interesting to you? I know that sometimes the story is more interesting to the writer rather than the reader, so I hope it amuses us both.

And... yeah. I hope Natalie seemed in-character to you all. Right now, I think she looks kind of shifty though ;) But there's a reason for that, later to be revealed. Hope you all enjoyed...