Chapter Seven

Phoebe POV 3rd

Simon stared at her as if he'd been hit. Phoebe swallowed and wiped at her eyes.

"Simon..." she said, wondering how she could explain. He just shook his head and took a few steps back, linking his hands behind his head as he walked away from her. "Simon, just listen to me, please."

Simon got mad, whirling back to face her and shouting, "No, Phoebe. I don't want to play games with you and your friend."

Phoebe had a temper too, even though her eyes were dripping tears, still. "I'm not trying to play games with you, Simon! Zane has been my best friend since I was really young." She took a breath when she saw that he was listening; impatient, but listening. "I said that I love him, and I do." He threw his hands up and stalked away again. Furiously, Phoebe followed him, making him listen, at least. "I love him like I love James and Ava." She took a breath. "But I never said that I was in love with him, like I am with you." Her eyes widened at her blabber mouth and her face flushed red. She threw her hands over her mouth and turned around, starting to run away.

Simon caught her arm just a little roughly and yanked her back. "You can't say that kind of thing and leave, Phoebe!"

"What do you want from me?" She shouted, wiping her eyes and shaking his hand off. "I told you what was going on and you're still yelling at me, God!" She hiccuped a sob, wiping her eyes again furiously when they continued to water.

"I'm not yelling at you," he said softly, reaching to touch her arm.

Zane (When the argument first starts)

He tilted his head and watched as Simon and Phoebe argued. He heard what she said, and that made him smile, then he got irritated when she tried to explain it away. Then he growled, loudly, furiously, when she said that she loved Simon, and then he was even more furious when Simon grabbed her arm. And he felt cold when she didn't get mad about it herself. She didn't even seem to mind. She just kept talking to him, wiping tears from her eyes. Tears were always hard to come by with Phoebe. They made him furious.

Zane stood up with intentions to go interrupt, but Tobias caught his arm from behind.

"Don't do it, Zane." He sighed. "It's not worth it."

"What are you talking about?" Zane demanded, snarling at him. "He grabbed her. They're fighting."

"No they're not." Ava said sweetly from Tobias's elbow. "They're making up right now."

"Well they shouldn't be." He snapped furiously.

It's okay, Zane. We should just walk away and find something else to do... Ava's voice whispered gently in the back of his mind and he was powerless to resist when they led him away.

He watched them take off flying, hands in his pockets. They were amazing. That was something he'd missed out on in his years of torture in the Edison Group lab. He didn't get wings. He wasn't sure where his father was, anymore, and he didn't know where his mother was, hadn't for years, but he wanted, almost more than he wanted Phoebe, to have that freedom for just an hour. Of course, he didn't. He couldn't, and never would.

XXX

At the inn, they had the boys in one room and the girls in another, except to make sure that there was no bloodshed, they had Zane in the girl's room, and Tori went to sleep in the boy's room. James stayed with his sister at their father's house. Bo went home with promises to come back in the morning. Everyone fell into fitful sleeps, the day's activities and sadness and bruises roiling in their heads like a bad storm.

Phoebe 3rd

Earlier than even Phoebe was used to waking up, someone knocked on the door. Chloe mumbled from the other bed. Zane was on the couch, and Ava and Phoebe shared the other bed. Phoebe growled and buried her face in her pillow, but no one got up to answer it.

"It's fine, I'll get it." Phoebe grumbled, working her way out of bed and opened the door, scowling. Missy, James, and Bo all stood there, looking fresh and awake. She glowered at them. "What?"

"You look darling like that, Phoebe." James commented, but his usual snark was missing. "Hair all mussed. Did you have a bad night?" He asked, this time genuinely concerned as he examined her face. She glowered.

"I did, in fact." She muttered, shuffling back to let them inside. She yawned hugely and said, "Well, let me shower, then I'll wake the troops. We can get breakfast downstairs." She walked to her bag and glared at the ripped clothes inside. Then she turned to look at Bo, who grinned and held out a plastic bag.

"I'll go give the guys and Tori theirs." James said hollowly. Missy smiled and held up a bag that had a lot of black in it.

"This is for everyone in here. Bo said that you'd need dark colors to do what you had to." She shrugged. "I don't know what you have to do yet, but you'll tell me, won't you, Phoebe?"

Phoebe smiled. She'd always liked Missy. "We'll all tell you, Missy. Wait here. Hey, why don't you wake Chloe. I'm sure she'll like you." She grinned as she walked away.

When she emerged, Chloe was talking groggily with Missy. She shot Phoebe a dark look, then went to the bathroom to change. The clothes Bo had got them were black cargo shorts and a black t-shirt with cap-sleeves. And clean white socks that didn't rise above her ankle-high tanker boots. Phoebe approved. Chloe's clothes were an exact copy, just smaller sizes. Ava stirred a little, mouth open wide and drool dribbling down her chin, curls flopped over her eyes. Phoebe thought it was darling.

"How'd you know our sizes, Bo?" Phoebe asked, grinning as she sat beside Ava, who had also just woke up.

"I'm a good judge." He said vaguely.

"Uh-huh." Chloe said dryly, making Phoebe laugh and Bo blush.

"Yeah, I'm sure you're a very good judge. You know," Missy said thoughtfully, "he's almost as popular as James, at school. He was the second most popular guy at school, until James left. Then, well, everyone wanted to date him."

"God, Missy, please stop." Bo begged, ducking his face, which was bright red with embarrassment.

When everyone was grudgingly dressed and ready in black cargo's –the guys had pants instead of shorts—and black t-shirts, they went downstairs. And were stopped by a girl working in the place. She had long red hair and dark eyes and extremely red lips. She slapped her palm on James's chest, shooting Tori, who was holding his hand, a dark look.

"Where have you gone off to, Montgomery?" she snapped.

"Ah, hey there, Linda Jo." He said lightly, backing up a step and putting Tori behind him a bit. Bo and Phoebe rolled their eyes toward Missy and grinned.

"Hey yourself, James Montgomery. You think you can just dump me and disappear for a two years and then come back and not say something?"

"Well, that's how a break-up works, dear." He said blandly. "That's why it works. We don't have to say anything to each other."

"Don't get smart with me." She flipped her hair. "I can't stand when people think it's okay to talk to other people that way, especially guys to girls. You think you're in charge, when it's really us. And you didn't even say anything about my hair."

"What about it, dear?" he asked just as blandly.

"Ooh, you bastard." She seethed, her fingers curling to claws, though not lifting.

"I know you dyed it, dear, it's just that I don't pay much mind to those types of things, as you well know." He made his voice extremely slow and extremely southern, and Phoebe was sure he was mocking Linda Jo.

"Oh, I hate you, I really do." She snarled, then noticed Phoebe. She lifted her lip. "Oh. You're back." She made her voice extra sweet as she said, "And just what are you doing here?"

"I'm here with my friends." She gestured at them. "I'm just visiting, Lindy and there's no reason to get hostile."

"Uh-huh. I have no reason to get hostile except that the last time you were here, you put pictures of me and Montgomery all over the school website."

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have called me that certain name, Lindy." Phoebe smiled, all sugary and cupcakes.

Linda Jo took notice of Tori; she looked at James and Tori's hands. And growled. "Who's this little tramp?"

"I don't think so." James said very softly. "You can say what you want to me, but don't mess with her and don't even talk to her."

"Shut-up, James." Tori snapped. "She can talk to me if she wants. I think she should think before she does, though, because I don't take insults from redheaded country brats who think it's okay to march into other people's business and call names before she knows what the tramp can do."

Linda Jo glared at her. "Oh, you think you're so tough, city girl? Please. You don't even know him. You think he likes you for you? He probably barely remembers your name. The only thing he wants is in your pants and if you don't hand it over, he'll get bored quickly enough."

Phoebe stayed back and watched when Tori slapped the girl. It was easier that way. Bo winced, but stayed back as well. James stepped in and in front of Tori before Linda Jo could react. He got clawed in the face, but didn't move except to keep between the girls. Tobias took pity on him and tugged Tori back. Zane stepped forward too.

"Alright, that's enough. We're busy, kid, so back up."

"I can't stand you." Linda Jo hissed at James as he stepped in her way again. Then she focused on Zane. She actually flushed. "Hi." She managed.

"Hello," he said blankly, looking just a little bit over her head.

"What's your name?"

"Zane."

"Hi there, Zane." She shot a look at James and ran her hand down Zane's arm. "I do have a thing for dark haired boys." She swept her eyes toward Derek, too, who pulled Chloe closer to his side, almost as if trying to use her as a shield.

Watch out for the big bad redhead. Phoebe thought with an eye roll of amusement.

When the drama was over, Bo announced to them that while they'd watched Zane entertainingly flirt with Linda Jo (his was forced, and hers was...friendly) he had talked the manager, a family friend, into letting them use the inn's much-unused meeting room.

"Thanks," he added to the manager, who fluttered her lashes and smiled.

"I'll get the breakfast meal for y'all. I know how much you eat, Phoebe. Yes, I remember you from last time." She said, pinching Phoebe's cheek. "So I'll make sure the cook knows to make a whole bunch."

"Thanks," Phoebe said, a little garbled since Mrs. Harrow hadn't let go of her cheek yet.

"Oh, now, don't you worry about it, darlin'. Just sit on down and make y'all selves comfortable."

Everyone sat down around the table—a long rectangle table, efficient and useful—and looked at Phoebe. She pulled out the papers that Bo had given her. She spread the biggest one.

"Alright, these are the blueprints of the place. It's been changed a bit since you guys were there." Phoebe added, glancing at Chloe, who sat with Derek and Tori. Simon was on Phoebe's right.

She wasn't sure if they were okay, completely, but she knew they were better than they had been when they fought. Zane sat at the far end of the table, listening and watching and not speaking. He was sulking, she knew, but there was nothing she could do about it, and if truth be told, she was more worried about what Simon was feeling; he wasn't showing anything.

"I can see that," Chloe said, looking at it. "What's that?" she pointed to a large, slightly blank area.

"Ahh. The Ava-wing." James said with a low whistle. Ava flushed, ducking her head.

"The...Ava-wing?"

"They tried to keep her as far from any one else as possible, because of her powers. That's where they kept her. They tried to keep her as happy as possible."

"But I wasn't and I wanted to get out. But you said to wait, so I did." Ava said, smiling at Phoebe, who kissed her cheek.

"Yes, you did, sweetie-pie."

"What are these?" Derek said, nudging the other papers. Phoebe nodded for him to open them and spread them on the table.

"Maps and more maps. The blueprint, it shows us exact things, where the exact doors are and where everything is, mechanically and architecturally speaking." Phoebe said. She took one map from Derek. "This map shows us the way we will be going, the paths we take and the escape routes. Our only problem is that we don't know where Lauren and Kit actually are." She put that map aside and took the other one. "This is a map that tells us exactly where the guards are posted." She laid it out so that everyone could see. She took another piece of paper out. "This tells us what those guards can do. The guards are labeled by name and number on the map, and over here, in order, are their stats." She shrugged.

"How did you get all of this?" Derek asked Bo, looking over at him.

He looked down at his hands, shrugging. "I'm just really good with computers, that's all."

"He's a hacker." Missy said brightly. "And he's really good at it." She turned her eyes to him, fluttering her lashes.

"I don't really do anything bad. Just get stuff that people ask me to. I don't change grades, and I don't do government things." Bo said quietly, ducking his head. "I don't like people to know, because they ask for things that I can't do, and they get mad when I tell them I won't." Missy patted his shoulder, then left her hand on his arm. James noticed, Phoebe was sure.

Tobias picked up the map and the paper with statistics, his eyes flicking over them both at an amazing rate. Phoebe knew what he was doing and left him to it, but Tori didn't.

"What are you doing, trying to memorize it in seconds?" she snorted.

"I already did." He mumbled, setting it down.

"Tobias has an eidetic memory. Didn't we tell you that?" Phoebe asked innocently.

"No. You didn't." Derek said, then shrugged. "So he's going to know, exactly, what the guards in that area can do?"

"Yep. So we'll leave it to him to inform us."

"That's my job," Tobias said solemnly. "It's what I do every time we have to do something. The Edison Group didn't know about it, which is why they left me alone except for the wing-experiments."

Phoebe noticed Chloe staring at the table with dark eyes, looking a little annoyed. "Chloe, can you...is there a ghost you can call, someone who would know where Dr. Fellows and Kit are being kept so they can point it out on the map, and you can circle it for us?"

She smiled. "I know someone." Her eyes fluttered shut and Phoebe noticed Derek shift closer, hand slipping onto her knee. She thought it was cute.

Zane suddenly stood up and left the room, slamming the door with a bang. Phoebe didn't react, but the others did.

"What's wrong with him?" Tori asked, rolling her eyes. Missy nodded in agreement, as did Bo.

"He doesn't like ghosts. The fact that they exist freaks him out." Tobias provided, shrugging. "Everyone has that one thing..."

"Yes, well, I'm still not completely steady about it either," Chloe murmured with her eyes still closed. "Liz?" She said quietly. Her eyes opened when the ghost answered. She smiled, but her eyes were unfocused. Phoebe watched in fascination as she looked at something Phoebe herself would never see, no matter how good or great or perfect her vision was. "No, I just wanted to see if you could circle the rooms that Lauren and Kit are in, on this map." She nodded. "Thank you." Her eyes focused again. "Does anyone have a pen?" Bo took one out of his shirt pocket and laid it on the table, his face blank.

"What's wrong with Bo?" Simon asked, close enough to make Phoebe jump a little.

"He tries to ignore all the supernatural stuff." She shrugged, though her voice shook a little. "He doesn't want to get us in trouble, so he just pretends he can't see it or hear it. It's safer and easier that way, for everyone."

"Oh."

"Simon, are we-" she broke off, watching in fascination as the pen lifted up and circled, slowly and precisely, over two lock-up rooms that Phoebe recognized. They were side-by-side, hers and Tobias's. She shuddered and Simon touched her leg lightly.

"Thank you." Chloe said, looking at something just beyond Phoebe and the others field of vision, her eyes just a little unfocused.

Phoebe looked at James, who, though he may have been sitting close to Tori, was watching his sister, who was watching Bo adoringly.

"James." She said softly. "You know I don't do this often, but I'm going to ask you one time. Do you want to stay here, with Missy and Bo while we do this?" She looked straight at him. His eyes were startled, but staring back.

Before he could answer, Missy said, "You should go, James. I'm fine with Daddy and Bo."

He looked at his sister for a long moment before turning to Phoebe. "Alright. But after, Phoebe, I'm coming here for good. I can't..." he moved his hands. "I can't stay away again. My sister, my dad, I don't want to leave them again." He slid a sly look toward Bo. "Plus, I have to stick around to see if Bowen gets any uglier with time." Bo's bright brown eyes got even brighter with laughter.

"Same to you, James." He laughed, a rich sound that, as a girl, Phoebe greatly appreciated. It was really no wonder that James and Bo were friends. She imagined that at school, the girls probably couldn't decide who they wanted more: the sweet, helpful, and friendly Bo, or the slightly mean, slightly womanizing, and more than slightly dangerous James.

"You two are idiots." Missy mumbled, pinching her brother and elbowing Bo.

"So how are we getting to New York again? Are we driving?" Derek asked. "That's going to take even longer."

"Actually..." Phoebe gave a tight lipped smile. "We're flying."

Derek stared at her for a moment. "Flying. So how do we get there?"

"No, I mean in an airplane. As in flying." She gave a full-body shudder.

Chloe 1st POV

We went to the airport, but no one knew quite what we were going to do when we got there. It was crowded, but I had a feeling that this worked to Phoebe's plan exactly.

"Please don't get upset, because if you have morals, this will probably bother you, but we're going to use Ava." She explained quietly.

We stared at her for a moment, uncomprehending. Then my eyebrows rose as Ava smiled serenely.

"Oh. She's going to...tell them..."

"She's going to get us legit tickets, of course, but she's going to tell them that they've seen our ID's, and that they've been paid already." Phoebe shrugged. "I don't like it either, but..."

"Well, that makes it easier, at least." I mumbled, though I had to shift my backpack. I wondered if my debit card still worked. I knew that they could trace it, because my dad was still looking, though not as hard, but what would it hurt if they knew I used it here, down south, and I was going north?

"It's not a good idea." Derek said quietly in my ear. "If they can get us on for free, this once, then we'd better do it. I know it bothers you, it bothers me too, but I think while we're on a rescue mission, we should take what we can get."

"I know you're right, but that's not going to make it better."

"I know." He said softly, squeezing my hand. I squeezed back.

Watching Ava whisper into people's minds was weird. They first just looked at her. She smiled a little, tilting her head, and her eyes would flash once, and the person she was whispering to would answer aloud.

"Here are your tickets, Mr. and Mrs. Kim." The woman at the counter said to Simon and Phoebe, who both turned bright red and glared at Ava, who smiled angelically. Derek snickered against my shoulder. "And you, Mr. and Mrs. Schmitt." She said to us, and I flushed dark red.

"Ava, quit being mean." James said lightly, though he glanced at Tori with a grin.

We all had fake names and were sent through. Luckily, as soon as we got through security, the plane was boarding. I noticed with some surprise that Ava, Tobias, Phoebe, and James were all very pale and were hyperventilating. Simon grabbed Phoebe's hand, leaned over, and whispered, "It'll be alright."

We were seated in threes. Ava sat with me and Derek, oddly enough, and Simon, Phoebe, and Tobias sat behind us. Zane sat with Tori and James.

"What's wrong?" I asked Ava, who looked at me with wide, terrified eyes.

"We don't like planes. We prefer to fly with our wings. But we'd have to stop to rest if we flew ourselves." She said in a high voice.

"I don't think there's anything to worry about. There are flights all the time." I stopped myself from saying that rarely do they crash. There wasn't any point in scaring her like that. "Plus, if anything happens, you guys can just fly away from the wreckage."

"B-but you guys..." she sniffed, wiping her eyes. Touched, I put my arm around her.

"We'll be alright, Avie." I said, adopting Phoebe's nickname for her. "Why don't you go to sleep, so that you can just wake up when we get there?" She just shook her head, cuddling closer to me. I looked over my shoulder to see Derek watching, a weird look in his eyes.

When we got to New York, the first thing Phoebe did was assign us to go get food. She insisted we all eat in a restaurant because she didn't want to eat in a hotel room.

"I don't understand why we have to eat here." James said, though I assumed it was because he just wanted to get everything done.

"Because," Phoebe said as she led the way in. She took us to a buffet and used the last bit of her money.

"We might need that." Tobias whispered, looking suddenly stressed.

"And then we may not." She shrugged, but she had a weird reckless light in her eyes. "So, if we use it all, I can make more." She said, grinning at us as we were led to a table. "I'm creative."

"Hey." The sharp voice wasn't Tobias's, like I expected, but Simon's, and he actually looked a little jealous.

"Ew, Simon, don't be gross." Phoebe replied, hardly bothered. "I meant get a job." She sighed heavily. "A real job with animals."

"Do you want to work with animals when you get older?" I asked curiously as when we were at our table.

"Just grab a plate and get eating." The waitress said, smiling brightly. Tobias nodded at her politely, smiling, but she only had eyes for Zane, whose eyes were on Phoebe, whose eyes were on Simon for a moment before moving over to me.

"Yes, I do want to work with animals." She shrugged her shoulders in a way that I recognized and I tensed, almost expecting her wings to flare out, but when they didn't, I calmed, figuring she was showing me something. "You know, because they like me."

"They do?" Derek asked, surprised. I squeezed his fingers.

"Yeah." She frowned. "I don't know why. I know they don't like werewolves." Her voice lowered on the "W" word.

It was night time when we arrived at the Edison Group's lab. That was good, because we were all dressed in black, and blended pretty well. We'd stopped at a Radio Shack on the way there and bought long range radios. Phoebe connected them to earpieces, so that we didn't have to worry about loud noises busting us. Once there, Phoebe gave one look to my hair and smiled, handing me a black knit cap. She tied her hair in a long French braid, then pulled a cap over it, too. Ava smiled up at us, plucking at her dark hair.

"I don't need one," she whispered, "because my hair is already dark."

"Right you are, cutie-pie." Phoebe said just as quietly, patting her head and making her curls bounce. "Everyone know the plan?" The collective nods had her grinning. "Tori, Ava and James are staying outside to look out," she reminded them. "Is Liz here, Chloe?"

"I—yes." I said, looking over at Liz. She wiggled her fingers. "Yes, she's here."

"Good." She nodded and took a breath. "The side door that Bo marked is this way. Simon," she hesitated. I could tell that she wanted him to stay out, too, but she made herself just shake her head. "Never mind."

"Thank you," he said softly.

"Well, as you said, you're a sorcerer, and you have spells that are useful." She said brusquely, though her cheeks were pink. I wasn't sure if it was embarrassment that he'd noticed she was going against her instincts, or if she was excited about the mission. The glimmer in her eye said both.

"Good luck."

Phoebe stared at Tori for a minute, then smiled. "Thanks." She nodded at us and led the way.

We sneaked through the door, holding our breath and waiting for a swarm of guards or alarms to go off. Neither happened, so we assumed that Bo was right about this being the one door that they didn't even watch. I wondered if it was still in the wing that we destroyed the last time we were here, but it wasn't. I didn't recognize it, but it was clear that this wing was just as unused, dust covering the floor, cobwebs trailing from the ceiling. I had to cup my hand over my nose to keep from sneezing when we walked and kicked up the dust.

"Okay, we're in. There are cameras, so...James?" Phoebe said very softly into her earpiece.

Into all of our radios, I heard James say, "Bo's ready. He'll loop the video so that they don't notice anything."

"Thanks."

"Chloe, something's-" Liz started, cutting off abruptly.

I looked over at her, but she was gone. I blinked and opened my mouth to tell them that something was wrong, but then I saw a little boy just beyond them, standing in front of a wall. He waved at me, and I waved back. Then he beckoned me. He had dark curls and hazel eyes with black wings spread out behind him. He jerked his head toward the wall he was standing in front of. He had to be about ten years old. The others were already moving on.

Quickly, I moved over to the little boy. "What?" I asked quietly. He pointed at the wall and pantomimed pressing his palm against it and pushing. Biting my lip, I did as he instructed, surprised when the panel of wall open. I took a sharp breath. Just beyond the little opening was all dark. My heart thumped hard against my ribs. I looked at the little boy. He tilted his head, then went ahead of me. With him was a sort of light, a light I hadn't seen on any other ghost. Swallowing hard, I followed him. After crawling for a little bit, we came to some stairs. The boy glanced back at me and smiled again, then headed down the stairs. I followed him.

We arrived in a basement, of sorts. It was cold, and empty, and white. It was also filled with odd things that I assumed a pyromaniac like Rae would like, but things I wouldn't have any idea what to do with.

"What do you want me to do down here?" I asked, dusting cobwebs off of my clothes. The boy nodded toward the wires. "Why don't you speak?" I asked in frustration. His eyes grew sad and he turned his head. I followed his gaze and jumped with a squeak.

There was a circle of doctors in scrubs, standing over an operation table, looking down at the boy. He was strapped down and unconscious. The doctors were using a black Sharpie to draw incision lines on his throat. I caught my breath as they lifted a scalpel.

"I don't want to—please don't make me w-watch it all." I gasped, closing my eyes. When I opened them again, hesitantly, the boy was smiling sadly at me, but the residual, or whatever it was, was gone. I sighed and looked more closely at the boy. "Are you Ava's brother?" I blurted. His smile widened and he nodded. "What's your name?" He raised an eyebrow and pointed at his chest, where a small name tag read Jay. "Your name is Jay." He nodded. "Alright, Jay, what do you want me to do?"

Phoebe

She noticed, when they got further in, that Chloe was gone. Derek noticed at the same time as her, and he freaked.

"Derek, you have to be quiet." She snapped. "She probably saw a ghost. There are enough in this place." She murmured to herself, wiping her mouth. "After we get Lauren and Kit, we'll retrace our steps, and you can lead the search and follow her scent. They don't know we're here yet, so she's not in any trouble."

"I'm not leaving her to get lost in this place." He growled.

"She can take care of herself."

"Yeah, if there happens to be a convenient dead body around." He snapped.

"There are enough here." She repeated, turning on her heel. She heard Simon and Derek arguing, but she didn't listen. She hated this place, hated the smell and feel of it, and wanted to get in and out as fast as possible.

"There are guards over here." Tobias said quietly.

"I'll take them. How many?"

"Three."

"Zane?"

"I'd love to." He said fiercely.

Together, they quietly crept forward. Phoebe got behind the woman, the only woman in this part of the building. She took a breath, lifted her hands, and snapped her neck. It wasn't easy, as a person, to do it, and physically it would have been harder, if she wasn't freakishly strong. Zane snapped the man's neck like a toothpick, then looked at the other man. He turned to face them and widened his eyes. Zane punched his face so hard that he fell unconscious immediately.

"Leave him," Phoebe said when he bent to kill him. "There's no point, he's not a threat."

"At this moment." Zane grumbled, but didn't kill him.

"Let's keep going." She whispered to the others.

Derek looked downright furious, but he was coming. Phoebe let out a breath. She hoped there was time to get Chloe. She sincerely liked her and didn't want to leave her here. If there was a way, she'd get her out.

"Lauren and Kit's rooms coming up." Tobias said, though it was unneeded, at least for Phoebe. She'd recognize this hallway anywhere. A sick sense of dread overtook her, making her pause for a moment.

"We don't have time to waste, Phoebe. Let's move it. You wanted to keep going, then why are you stopping?" Derek said snidely. His eyes were narrowed, fists clenched...she was sure his heart was probably pounding and breaking.

"Hey," Tobias started, glaring. Phoebe shushed him.

"He's right, we don't have time to waste." She said briskly, walking forward and shaking off her fear. "Tobias, Zane, take care of the guards. I'd do it, but you know I'm best at picking locks." She knelt in front of Lauren's door and got to work.

After a few minutes, the door was open. Lauren was leaning against the wall, looking very sick. Phoebe rushed in and knelt by her side.

"Dr. Fellows? Dr. Fellows, look at me." Her eyes moved very slowly to focus on Phoebe. "I think she's dehydrated. Simon?"

He brought in the bag of supplies they packed, digging out a bottle of water. "Here."

"Thanks. Drink this, Dr. Fellows." She turned to Simon. "I'm going to get your dad's door open, okay? Stay with her." She exited the room in time to see Derek successfully pick the lock to Kit's door. "How did you-"

"I watched you, didn't I? What, am I blind?" he snapped, glowering.

"No, but most people can't just watch someone do something and then know how to—Mr. Bae!" Phoebe gasped, rushing in. Kit was on the floor, bloody and bruised.

"Tried to fight..." he mumbled, trying to lift himself up. He grabbed Phoebe's wrist. "Derek? Simon? Chloe? Tori?" he asked.

"Derek's here, and Simon's with Lauren. Tori's outside with James and Ava." She said soothingly, wiping blood from his face and neck with an alcohol swab. Derek moved closer so that his father could see him. Mr. Bae's amber eyes watched Phoebe for a moment, as if he knew that she'd skipped someone on the list, but they were confused, too, like he wasn't sure who.

"What happened, Dad?" he asked quietly.

"I tried to escape." He said, taking a breath and really trying to sit up. Phoebe supported him with her arm, examining him.

"You have no broken bones, and I think you can walk." She hesitated. "Is your head okay?"

"It's fine. I have a few bumps, but I'll be okay." He said, trying to get to his feet.

Derek helped him stand up, then shot Phoebe a look. She saw that whatever friendship they'd had was probably lost due to her pushing on and leaving Chloe. She lifted her chin and walked by. Tobias and Zane were back.

"They're taken care of."

"Alright. Tobias, please go in there," she pointed to Lauren's room, "and help her walk. Derek, you and Tobias are going to take them outside. Zane, Simon and I are going to find Chloe." She took a breath, bracing herself for arguments. Derek squared his shoulders and nodded.

"Alright, let's go." Tobias said, then frowned. "Well, I'd try to teleport myself and Dr. Fellows out, but I don't think that'd be fair." He smiled weakly.

"Go ahead," Phoebe said quietly. "We'll go the other way, toward where we came in." Before they could get anywhere, an alarm blipped, causing them all to tense. "Tobias, take Lauren and Kit back into your old room." She ordered, speaking rapidly.

Tobias hooked an arm around Dr. Fellows and his other around Kit, and led them back. Phoebe tensed, got ready.

The guards came rushing from everywhere. They grinned upon seeing Phoebe and she felt her gut clench. Her breathing came in harsh gasps. Oh, God, I'm here again, and they're going to catch me, and they're going to throw me on one of those tables, and strap me down, and- Her panic thoughts stopped short when a hand took hers.

She looked over at Simon, whose mouth was tight around the edges and pulled down grimly, but he still held her hand, even though he was worried—she could tell. He also looked older than he actually was.

"Hi, there, Phoebe, girl." A man grinned. "Where's that brother of yours, and that hillbilly?"

"Not here." She said, shrugging and stepping forward, getting ready. The man, Geoffrey, was making sure no one went first. He was in charge, she knew, and she also knew other things about him. What he did on his off time. Who he had regular dates with. "So...how's Dory and her crew?"

Geoffrey bared his teeth. "Recovering." He made a signal and they rushed forward.

Phoebe ducked a knife, then broke a wrist, all the while keeping half of her attention on her back.

Derek, while fighting, noticed something strange. Phoebe and Simon were protecting each other. Not that Derek himself wouldn't have protected Chloe, but this was different. He wouldn't let Chloe do anything in a fight like this, she would get hurt. He'd end up getting hurt trying to protect her.

Phoebe and Simon managed to protect each other without stumbling. It was like a rhythmic dance, except with bloodshed and grunts and the occasional half-crazed laugh. It was weird, Derek decided, but for his brother's sake, he thought maybe he could forgive Phoebe. One day, eventually.

For now, though, he couldn't manage to snap the neck of the man he was fighting, couldn't do it the way Phoebe seemed to find so easy. Couldn't do it emotionlessly like Zane was doing. Simon wasn't either, but that didn't mean...

"Derek, just cut off his oxygen until he passes out." Tobias said, his voice coming from behind Derek. "It's easier." His voice was just a little shaky. Derek closed the man's mouth, and held his nose closed.

Phoebe hit the wall with a grunt, the breath leaving her. She widened her eyes when a bullet exploded on the wall beside her head, and she dropped to the ground, kicking hard at the guard's legs.

Fire flared on Simon's pant leg, and Phoebe couldn't help but laugh as she rolled over to smother it with her hands. He caught her arm and pulled her up to stand next to him, just in time to take a fist to the jaw.

"Thanks for that, Simon." She managed to laugh as she punched the man back. A couple of her knuckles broke, but she ignored it.

This fight was probably going to end badly, but maybe, just maybe, she could forget about all that. She wished for that numbness that she'd had when she had to do something like this, with the Control Chip.

"What's going on?" James's voice said in her earpiece.

"There's a fight, James," she giggled into the speaker. "There's a fight and I'm going to win." Her voice sounded strange even to her, high and reedy and childish, but James seemed to recognize it.

"Shit," he said, then his voice was muffled, but still speaking. Phoebe took her earpiece out, dropped the radio and crunched it under her boot. Then she snapped her head up and grinned at the enemy.

"Derek, Tobias, take Dr. F, and Mr. B, and go." She said.

Zane looked at her, then said, "I'll make a clear path."

Chloe

I was up to my elbows in greasy, oily wires and parts, and I had no idea what I was doing; I was sweating and shaking, but I was listening to ten voices, ten children's voices telling me what to do. I couldn't see them—they were scared to show themselves.

"Cross the blue and the red there, and add that green one there, so you have time to get out." A girl said.

"Yeah, and put that bolt in there, with the wrench." A boy said, sounding much younger than the girl.

I wasn't sure what I was doing, but I knew that it was a bomb. The pieces looked the same to me, but the kids knew what they were. Absently, I wiped my forearm across my forehead, wiping sweat off, and probably black engine grease or something all over my face.

"Don't!" A girl shouted, and I stopped what I'd been doing. "That's the wrong piece! It's this one here!" A piece hit my foot.

"Thanks." I gasped, picking it up. I was on my knees, crouched in front of the patchwork thing I was making. "Are you guys blocking Liz?" I asked, still panting.

"Yes." The girl replied, calmly as she let the others instruct me further. "We have to block all other ghosts because if we don't, they'll have a necromancer send a ghost-spy down to find you." She sighed. "I hate them."

"Does anyone know where Phoebe and the rest are?" I mumbled, biting my cheek as I twisted the wrench as hard as I could.

"Phoebe's still alive?" A young voice chirped, excited.

"Yes, so are Tobias, Ava, and James." I replied breathlessly, eyes focused intently on my work.

"This one, the red wire." A boy said, close by. He sounded like he could've been Tobias's age, but calm and quiet. "They get distracted easily, but we're going to get you out safe and sound, Chloe, don't worry."

"I can't worry yet," I mumbled. "You guys have me working fast."

He chuckled. "If we don't, you won't make it out."

Jay was still there, pointing to the pieces that the kids who didn't have telekinetic powers told me to get. I appreciated it greatly, because otherwise I wouldn't know what they were talking about.

"Now, don't panic at this part, or else everything will be shot to hell." The boy said quietly. "I want you to set the digital clock you put in there, I want you to set it to three."

"Three, like three seconds?" I squeaked.

"No, calm down, honey." He said soothingly, and I swore I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Make it look like three o'clock. It'll give you three minutes. That's enough."

"How do you know?" I whispered, freezing in fear.

"Because your friends are already about to find you. You're going to have to make sure they get out with you, without asking questions, but that's no big deal." He sounded soothing still, and closer. "Before you do that though, I have to ask you a favor. My name is Tucker." I felt my gut clench. "I just-" his voice caught. "I know that, as a rule, necromancers don't really do favors for ghosts, but my girlfriend thinks I left her and my daughter on purpose. That I just bailed on them. I didn't. I have a bank account with a lot of money in it." He rattled off his information.

"I don't know if I can remember." I gasped. "I can't-"

I felt a cold touch on my cheek, like he'd kissed me or touched my face. "You will. I trust you. Thank you." He made a sound. "Even if you can't, it's okay."

"I'll try, I promise." I swore, then, and looked at the clock. I set it.

"Press the button at the top." Tucker told me quietly.

I did so and stood up. When I turned, there was a wall of ten kids of all different ages and colors and shapes, all with wings spread and oddly placed scars. They all waved at me, before disappearing. Jay quickly led me upstairs, and I wondered if I'd ever moved so quickly. Surely not.

"Chloe!" It was Simon's surprised voice as I tumbled into him. "Where have you been? Jesus, what's all over you?" He asked, steadying me automatically.

"We have to run, we have to run right now." I gasped, pushing him.

Phoebe took one look at me and took off running. Zane was right beside her. She reached out and grabbed my hand, grabbing Simon's with her other hand, and we were flying as quickly as Phoebe's long legs could drag us. I stumbled, but she didn't give me a chance to slow us down. Jay was still with us.

We were about eleven yards from the place when it exploded. And I mean exploded. It tossed us to the ground in a wave of heat. Phoebe spread her wings over us to protect us from the fire, but I felt it anyway, and my ears started ringing as the explosion rocked the ground. I curled into a ball, hands over my head.

When it stopped, smoke started billowing around us. Coughing, we got to our feet. Simon gasped and patted the back of Phoebe's shirt out, as it was on fire. She winced, but sighed when it was completely out. I stood still for a moment, head spinning and ears ringing. Phoebe said something, then wrinkled her nose and shook her head. Her ears must've been ringing too.

Zane was holding his head and moaning, and I remembered that his hearing was sharper than ours and felt a surge of sympathy. I touched my head and shook it, coughing as the smoke reached us. I took a breath and let it out in a sigh when the ringing stopped. I crouched beside Zane and spoke soothingly until he could hear me.

"What's that?" He stood straight up, knocking me back.

I glowered at his back, then turned to face Phoebe and Simon, who were trembling and dusting each other off, and talking, asking if they could hear yet. They clearly couldn't.

I looked over my shoulder again and saw figures running toward us. Zane went tense, but I didn't need to see their faces to know who they were—I could see Derek's form and I took off running.

We collided hard, but he didn't let me fall, he held me tight, then lifted me straight up and put his lips on mine hard, his tongue slipping between my lips and tilting his head. He held me tightly and I felt myself go dizzy. His fingers dug into my tangled, slightly charred and dirty hair. He was shaking, but still kissing me, and holding me off my feet.

"God, God, I thought you were still in there." He gasped, pressing kisses over my face despite the dirt and soot and whatever-else on my cheeks.

Behind us, Simon grabbed Phoebe in an embrace much the same as the one Derek had me in, except that she grabbed his face and pulled him close first, wrapping her legs around his waist while Derek had pinned my legs because he was holding me so tight.

Zane

The couples were kissing, all of them, laughing and joyously kissing others, too. Tori and James were making out one minute, and the next, Tori gave Tobias an enthusiastic kiss as well. It was just friendly, Zane could tell.

Simon and Phoebe were still holding each other, not only kissing, but breaking away for a few breathless moments to murmur to each other lovingly. Tobias was holding Ava, who was crying, while he applied medical attention to the two adults, who were still dazed and confused from their time in the lab.

So, since they were all busy, no one saw Jeffers limping out of the fiery lab, one of his arms held awkwardly to his side, as if it was broken. The other hand held something, but Zane wasn't sure what it was. He decided to let him get closer, even though it made his heart thump warily.

Jeffers got close enough to them to make Zane growl under his breath, and then he lifted his arm, aiming a gun at Simon's back. He wasn't close enough to touch, wasn't close enough to jump at, but close enough to hit Simon, if he shot. Zane wasn't sure if he wanted to stop him. Jeffers cocked the gun, just at the same moment that Phoebe murmured, "God, I love you so much, I do, I can't help it."

"I love you, too, so don't worry about it," Simon laughed quietly.

Zane closed his eyes. At the last moment, he said, simply, "No," and stepped into the path of the bullet as Jeffers shot.

Phoebe

She heard the shot and jumped, starting to drop to the ground with Simon, but she froze when she saw Zane's body falling. She stared, then looked past him to see Jeffers still holding his gun. Phoebe shut her eyes, which were teary.

Then she leaped straight into the air, spread her wings, and dove at Jeffers. He looked confused, who to shoot at?, but by the time he decided who to aim at, she'd already landed on him and snapped a kick at his throat, then smashed the heel of her hand under his nose, shattering it and sending the shards into his brain. He fell to the ground much the same as Zane had moments ago.

"Bastard," she murmured.

She knew, looking back at the group of them, standing stock still in shock now, that Zane had not taken the bullet for her, but for Simon, and that touched her heart more than she could ever say. Tears ran down her cheeks and with a sob, she covered her face with her hands, leaving her wings out as she cried. Simon came to her and pressed her face to his shoulder.

"It's over now." He said quietly.

"For now," she whispered, squeezing him tight.

"Phoebe." Chloe ran over and Phoebe laughed through her tears. "I'm sorry about Zane." She said, and Phoebe saw with some surprise that her eyes were wet, too, not filled with just sympathy, but genuine sadness.

"What a sensitive thing you are, Chloe Saunders." Phoebe murmured, reaching out to pat her shoulder.

"I—what?"

"Never mind." She smiled and pressed her cheek against Simon's shoulder. Tears still leaked, unnoticed, through her lashes.

"There was a boy, in the basement. Well, there were a lot of kids, but there was a boy named Jay."

"Ava's brother. He died when they tried to change his vocal cords."

"I know." Chloe murmured. "But there was another boy, too, and his name was Tucker, and he said that he had a daughter." She explained what he said.

"Yes, I remember Tucker." Phoebe said quietly. "But I didn't know he had a daughter."

"I need to know if you think it'll be possible to..."

"I'm sure it will. If not you, then I can do it." She said, lowering her eyes. "He was a sweetheart and I'd hate for his girlfriend to think badly of him."

"Lauren's checking Zane, to see if he can be saved." Chloe said hesitantly.

"He's dead." Phoebe said, squeezing Simon again for comfort. "He's dead, and I know it, because I felt it." She shuddered. "I'm going to miss him, the irritating..." she lost her breath and turned her face against Simon's chest, sobbing again.

He didn't shush her, like some people did.

He just stroked her hair and rocked her a little. Derek wandered over and took Chloe into his arms again, as if unable to let her go for too long.

This time, though, they all watched the burning building warily, waiting for anyone to come out with another gun.

"I did that..." Chloe said as they watched, face pressed against Derek's chest. "I can't believe I did that. I did do that, right?"

"Yes," Derek chuckled, "you did that, Chloe."

"I made a bomb. How weird..."

Phoebe figured she was in shock, just like the rest of them, and as a leader, Phoebe was supposed to deal with that, but she couldn't. Something in her was bleeding steadily and to compensate that, her eyes continued to leak tears of sorrow for her best friend while Simon stroked her hair, which had, at some point, come loose of it's braid.

She found it amusing, in a semi-hysterical, distanced sort of way, that in the movies, not only do people walk from explosions steadily, but their hair is always perfect or at least close to it. Phoebe's hair was knotted, and charred, and stiff with her own blood. And possibly other body fluids, from other people, but that was something she didn't want to think about. And, surprisingly enough, Simon didn't seem to care as he continued to stroke and soothe.

"Now, for the last time," Chloe said distantly, "I'd really like to never see this place again."

Through her tears, Phoebe started laughing, but it sounded like sobbing, and Simon clutched her more tightly.