Okay, before anyone says anything about how this next chapter is a little far-fetched, I want you to know that the idea comes straight from an episode of criminal minds, and it is absolutely possible!

I'll have the next chapter posted soon, I promise! All will be revealed!

Ally had never considered herself to be a violent person. In fact, she often prided herself over her ability to control her emotions. But, just like everything else, Austin's disappearance had changed that. And she was appalled.

It's not like Tilly Thompson didn't deserve the few hits Ally had managed before her friends stopped her, but if anything, it should have happened the other way around. It should have been TRISH doing the punching, and ALLY should've been the one to stop her. But that's not how it happened, and Ally was ashamed. Not of hitting Tilly, like she said, she'd deserved it. She was ashamed of losing control.

So it was in an awkward silence that the three girls left to catch their cab. It had taken a lot of glossing over- and a few reassurances- to finally get Tilly permission to leave from her relatives. Apparently, she was supposed to be under careful mental supervision. It was about time someone addressed the issue of the girl's mental stability. If she didn't need Tilly, Ally would have insisted the girl be admitted in a mental hospital.

Finally, the trio found themselves in the cab and on their way back to Toronto. The cab driver, sensing the tension in the group, didn't make any attempts at conversation, and the trip was silent. Tilly sat by a window, her arms crossed and a pout on her face, glaring ahead at nothing. Trish sat next to her, trying not to touch her, squirming uncomfortably in the silence. Ally, on the other hand, appreciated the quiet. It gave her a reason to simply stare out the window, massaging her hands from her earlier violence. No one had ever mentioned to her that hitting someone hurt. All the more reason why it shouldn't be done, Ally reasoned.

The trip seemed to take a lot longer going back than it had on the way, which was strange, because for Ally, it was usually the other way around. The minutes ticked by slowly, and Ally caught herself counting down the seconds a few times, which definitely didn't make the time go by any faster.

Eventually, though, the group did find themselves back in Toronto. The sun had set, and the city gleamed with various lights, people darting back and forth through the streets as they would anytime during the day. Ally found the crowd comforting. She hated it when fans recognised her; it put her in the spotlight.

The cab pulled up to their hotel, and the three girls stiffly got out of the car, relieved to finally stretch their legs. Trish generously paid the driver. And the old lady gave a very nice farewell before driving off.

Ally and Trish had considered, briefly, taking Tilly directly to the police station to identify the maniac. But, as mentioned earlier, she wasn't considered to be a viable source of information, and ousting this creep in public like that, among his own people for that matter, would do nothing to help Austin. So instead, they decided to bring Tilly to their hotel and hatch a plan from there.

The girls practically dragged Tilly back to the room, the girl cursing and stumbling the whole way. As soon as they had stopped in front of the door, she yanked her arm out of Trish's hand, scowling. At least she didn't try to run for it. It seemed her anger over being cheated would overshadow her hatred of team Austin. Hopefully, it would stay that way.

Upon entering the room, they came across a sight that was so normal and yet seemed so out of place with the situation: The Moons and Dez were playing cards. They stopped once the girls entered the room, looking up, eyes widening in shock. Only Dez had actually met Tilly before, but the Moons knew all about her from the butterfly song incident.

Trish gave a quick explanation to the others as to why they'd brought Tilly to Toronto, saying that she had some information that might come in handy in the way of identifying the maniac. She certainly didn't tell them about Tilly's deal with him. Because if she did… Well, Ally's earlier reaction would seem warm and fuzzy by comparison.

Ally led Tilly across the room, and sat her down on a chair. She didn't bring any luggage with her, assuming they'd only need her for a day or so. Ally hadn't argued the matter, even though she had no idea how long Tilly would actually be there.

Trish managed to talk the Moons into leaving the room. They didn't want them to hear the plan, just in case it backfired. If the kids were in trouble with authorities, at least the Moons would serve as a good contact for Austin's case. Technically, they should have been the main contact from the start, but detective Mark had judged Ally's relationship with Austin to be the strongest, and since their parents hadn't even joined them in Toronto… Well. That made Ally seem a little more responsible. Trish didn't get Dez to leave. They were going to need his video expertise. Ally hoped he'd be able to focus long enough to help.

"OK" Trish said, addressing Dez. "Here's what you need to know. Tilly knows who took Austin- but she doesn't know his name. What she does know is that he's a policeman from this area."

"That's terrible." Dez said, a frown on his face. "We should tell the police!"

The others gave him an 'are you serious?' look. "He is the police, you fool! We can't tell them anything!" Trish exclaimed. Ally couldn't help but smile. It was the closest they'd come to normality in a while.

Dez pouted. "Oh. Then what are we going to do?"

Ally exchanged a look with Trish, and took over the explanation. "We have a plan." Ally said. "Since we can't take Tilly to the police station to show us who we're dealing with, we'll film the staff of the station and bring the footage back to Tilly. Then, she can show us who the guy is who took Austin. The police won't ever know." Ally tried to smile encouragingly. It wasn't exactly an ideal plan. Of course it would look suspicious if Dez went to the police station and started filming every person there. But despite the gaps, this plan was the best they had. They had to take this chance.

Dez, apparently, didn't notice the faults in the plan. Either that, or he didn't care. "That's a great idea!" He said, jumping up. He gave a cocky smile and tossed his hair out of his face. "I suppose you need me to take the footage?"

"Yes, and don't be so cocky about it. Your head is big enough as it is." Trish told him, giving him a look that said she was very much NOT impressed with the hair toss. Again, Ally smiled at the small semblance of normal they seemed to have recovered. Maybe, once they got Austin back, everything really could go back to the way it was. Maybe.

Dez practically skipped in the air, and quickly rushed off to get his camera. Ally then turned to Tilly, who had sat quietly through the whole explanation, which was unusual for her. She wore her usual scowl, but it was edged with a little bit of nervousness. "Are you sure you'll be able to identify the culprit?" Ally said, keeping her voice level as she looked Tilly in the eye.

She tossed her hair. "Yes" She said, arrogance clear in her voice. "But I'm gonna get my money, right? Because if I don't-"

"You'll what?" Trish asked, putting on her menacing face. It was extraordinary how Trish managed to look down on the people she intimidated, considering most of them had a foot of height on her. "You won't help us? Well, listen here. The only reason we haven't turned you in is because you can help us. If you don't want to be useful, than fine. We'll just turn you over to the police and they can put you in the strait jacket that's been waiting for you since the day you were born." Trish had delivered her whole threat without a breath, getting closer to Tilly with every word, and the girl leaning back every time she got closer.

Ally had to bite her tongue to stop herself from smiling. Ladies and gentlemen, Trish was back!

Tilly looked about as shocked by Trish's threat as she had been from Ally's earlier violence (which Ally would now spend the rest of her life trying to forget). The shock quickly reverted to her earlier hatred, but she bit her tongue. Deep down, Ally was pretty sure that Trish's threat had scared the blondie, even if she would never admit it.

"Got it!" Dez bounded into the room, brandishing his camera, a goofy smile on his face. Trish sat back down in her chair, giving Dez a smile, as though they'd been talking about nothing more than the weather. Ally just shook her head. She was already looking forward to the minute they would no longer need Tilly.

Dez sat down, and an awkward (well, for three of them) silence rang in the air. The silence, however, was quickly broken by the sound of Ally's ring tone. She took out her phone, surprised, and answered.

"Hello?"

"Ally Dawson?" Ally didn't recognise the voice on the other end, but it sounded friendly, if not urgent. She confirmed. "This is the police station. We need you, the Moons, and the rest of your friends to come to the station, now. It's urgent."

"But why…" Ally started, confused. But she quickly realised that the explanation would come a lot faster if she left right away. "Okay. We're on our way." She said, and quickly hung up.

The others gave her a questioning look when she said they had to go to the police station, but they conceded right away. Trish got the Moons while Ally grabbed her purse. She quickly told Tilly "You need to stay here and stay quiet. Don't answer the door, don't pick up the phone, and don't leave the room. We'll be back soon" Ally made sure her tone of voice left no room for argument. Tilly conceded with an annoyed 'fine' and the group dashed out the door.

One quick cab ride later, Ally, Trish, Dez, and the Moons found themselves at the station- again. Ally made a mental not to make sure, when this whole thing was over, never to come back to this particular police station again. The group was hailed right away by a police officer they didn't know. He seemed young, and his face was pale, with beads of sweat on his brow. He abruptly introduced himself as officer Morgan, and brought them immediately to the back room, one that they hadn't been in yet. It looked like some sort of technical room, and it had several other men within.

"How was the connection established?"

"There's no way of tracing it, he keeps rerouting the signal…"

"Can we turn it off?"

The drabble of conversation dropped off when they took notice of the group at the door. One man, an older man, scoffed and said. "Are you sure we should've brought them in? They don't need to see this."

"Yes, they do." Another man answered. He seemed to be the one in charge. "As we've already discussed, he could pass along clues to them that he could not to an outsider. They need to see this."

Ally just stared on, clueless, as the conversation occurred, until finally, she managed to find her voice again. Ally noted wryly that despite being a sixteen year old girl, she seemed to be the appointed leader of her group. "What's going on?" She asked. "What do we need to see? And where is detective Mark?" Ally had only just noted his absence.

"Asleep." The person in charge answered her last question. "Follow me, please." The officer turned and led them to the back of the room. The monitors seemed to be set up in a way that would allow everyone to see the screen while still being in range of the little camera on the computer. Ally's heart did a nervous flutter. She'd been too pumped with adrenaline on her way there to think about what she would find awaiting her.

They all approached a particular screen, and another drabble of conversation popped up among the police. Ally didn't notice. She was staring at the screen, eyes wide, as her brain slowly processed the information her eyes were sending. A dark room, with nothing but a red light, and a chair, with a bruised and battered boy chained to it…

"Austin?" Ally gasped, her voice several octaves higher than usual. The drabble of conversation in the back quieted down.

The bruised and battered boy looked up to the camera, tried to smile, and quickly gave up.

"Hi, Ally."