Disclaimer: I don't own glee

A/N: thanks again for reading! I would have updated earlier, but a relative moved in and I could barely get this chapter written since we only have one computer limited access to it X.X plus I lost power in the hurricane just when I had this chapter ready to go - but I got it back just now, so...yeah that's my excuse lol enjoy!

A Reader (anonymous): O.O I'm happy to say that this is a huge and creepy coincidence lol I've never heard of Vurt or Jeff Noon (my knowledge is stuck mainly on childrens books and a few Ray Bradbury, I know, I fail lol), but I looked it up and yeah I can understand why you saw the similarities. I hope this doesn't deter you from continuing to read Epidemic! :)

…

Chapter Twenty One

Training

…

Sleeping for three days had taken a toll on his body. It felt like he was in that weak and dazed state right after recovering from a fever. With the shock of almost getting killed by a hallucination, his body was ready to topple over. The shower helped though, as well as a good helping of breakfast lunch and dinner all at the same time. Kurt hadn't woken up yet, and Finn figured he wouldn't for a while. Just as he'd been asleep for three days, Kurt had been awake in that time as well. What little sleep he managed to get was obviously not enough.

"If you come to Babylon, you will die."

Those words had been running through Finn's mind ever since he woke up. It hadn't felt like a threat the more he thought about it. It felt like a prediction. A statement. If Kurt had been awake he'd either try to convince him that it wouldn't happen, or urge him to not go to Babylon.

Finn gently tucked the bed sheets over Kurt's sleeping form. He was completely conked out, even over the noises Finn had made in the small room he didn't stir, and it made Finn feel horrible over everything he'd put him through. If he didn't need him so badly to keep his sanity, Finn would have gone on this by himself.

But the problem was he needed him, and even if he didn't Kurt would still be by his side.

Sighing, Finn gingerly sat by Kurt, wondering what their next move should be. Even after visiting Ella and going through the Network he still had many unanswered questions. Was he really going to die? At this point after being stabbed on the shoulder he wasn't sure how ready he was for Babylon. He didn't have a plan of attack when he'd get there either. There would be victims there that Apate would consider good enough for further study, so that meant they had to be strong.

They were probably under Apate's control like Sam, too.

Apart from that small army was the one in charge of everything. After seeing those planets in the Network that so obviously belonged to adults, Finn was sure that this woman had abilities herself. If not, an incredible sense of manipulation to get the government to kneel under her.

"If you come to Babylon, you will die."

Finn twitched involuntarily as those words slipped in his head again. He believed it. Part of him wanted to runaway and stay hidden for the rest of his life, but another part wanted to stubbornly push on. What good was the world left if he did nothing to stop Apate? In the beginning he couldn't understand why he was the best option for the job. Now, though, he was starting to see why Ella and especially Suzy, had so much faith in him.

As a dream wanderer he could travel through people's minds and unlock clues to getting to Babylon that the two other dream wanderers couldn't reach. As an empath he could gain abilities and use them for himself. By now he gained self regeneration, a better control of his dream wandering abilities thanks to Ella, phasing, and if he practiced it enough times, telekinesis. There could also be the possibility that he gained Matt's time jumping, and Orion's 'word action' since he was able to see both displayed. The more abilities he gained, the more powerful he could be. The problem would be how much control he'd have over it. Just moments ago he almost bled to death from something that shouldn't have existed in the first place.

Sunshine's ability didn't help him until he focused hard enough. That would be troublesome if he found himself in the heat of battle. In the time he actually did managed to heal himself, someone else could come in and drive a bullet in his head before he could realize what happened. That's what frightened him and put doubt in him now. What if with that power, it still wasn't enough?

And what about Kurt? He watched him sleep peacefully, not feeling very peaceful himself.

If he went to Babylon. He would die.

Finn sighed and ran a hand through his ginger dyed hair. If he really was going to die, he had stop Apate before that would happen. And Kurt…

Would have to learn to live without him.

It felt hard to breathe when he thought this. Since the day he learned that Kurt could take away his hallucinations, Finn couldn't imagine living without him. Now those sentiments had changed drastically during their run from Apate. He didn't want to part from Kurt just to keep his sanity. He wanted him to stay with him because he was Kurt.

Kurt's chest rose and fell at a slow and calming pace, unaware of the turmoil Finn was burying himself in. He knew what Kurt would say if he told him about the warning the clown had given him. He knew he'd only worry him further, and after everything they went through, he didn't want to add that to the growing list of things that were causing Kurt to lose sleep.

Finn looked away, his body aching with something he was afraid to say out loud. The more he looked at Kurt, the stronger it became. He needed to distract himself, focus on something other than the boy sleeping next to him.

Shaking his head, Finn went to his bag for a change of clothes good enough to go outside in without getting recognized. He needed to buy some sharpies.

…

The office he woke up in was a startling and jarring surprise that was not at all pleasant and had him feeling like he wanted to throw up. For one thing, he distinctly remembered being in his apartment and becoming sleepy after eating the left over Christmas dinner he still had piled in his refrigerator. Not wanting to sleep on a full stomach he went to the living room for a bit of television before turning in.

Then…

That was all he could remember.

Blinking perplexedly, he stood up from the desk chair he'd been sleeping on and walked around the intimidating desk. There was a wall covered in a large black curtain, and out of curiosity, he peeled it back a little bit. The light shooting into his eyes took him a second to get adjusted to, but when he did, he immediately got that it was around midday and what the black curtain was hiding was a massive room below crowded with nurses and children dressed in while patient's attire. With a growing sense of apprehension, he backed away and stumbled over the desk, knocking over something that hit the floor with a clank. Blindly, he kneeled down and picked it up.

It was gold plaque that read CEO Laurence Niac.

He dropped the plaque as if burned, and in fright, fumbled it back into place, looking around and hoping no one saw that.

So he was in Laurence Niac's office. The man had made a name for himself in just a few short days without really trying. He never liked the guy even if he never met him in person – he reeked of hidden agendas of the sinister kind. What the hell was he doing in this man's office? How did he even get here?

Just as he wondered this, the door clicked open and a middle aged woman with a forgetful face walked in. He panicked and tried to find the right words to say without sounding like a lunatic or burglar.

The nurse saved him the time, "Hello Mr. Niac, ready for your shot?" she said sweetly, holding up a syringe and wiggling it cutely. "I've raised the dosage like you said."

"I'm sorry?" he shook his head in confusion, but the woman merely smiled, "I'm not Laurence Niac, I…" why was she calling him that anyway? There was no way she could have mistaken him for the CEO. "What's going on?"

"Oh it's all right," she steered him over to the desk chair and sat him down. Numbly, he allowed her, not quite sure how to take any of this. "The illusion Mr. Niac had on himself weakened and you finally woke up, but don't worry, everything will be all right again."

He didn't like where this was going. "No, I don't think you understand, I'm not Laurence Niac – I don't look anything like him!" He squirmed away from her grasp and away from the syringe. Something was very wrong. Why was he here? Why couldn't he remember? "I'd like to go home."

"You are home, sweety," the nurse said, waving behind her. Two burly men in white entered the office. He watched them in growing panic as they approached him, already knowing what was about to happen. "Now just sit down and – "

"Wait a minute, what's going on?" he backed away fearfully, "someone please give me an explanation!"

One of the men made a grab for him, but he jumped out of reach and gave up demanding answers and made a break for the door. Unfortunately once he reached it he saw the hallway crowded with security guards all with their guns aimed at him. The sight was enough to paralyze him in shock. It seemed he was cornered, and yet he had no idea why. What had he done? Why was he here? Why were people referring to him as the man who locked away children?

"No…" he backed away fearfully. Two pairs of strong arms wrapped around him from behind and the panic really set in. He twisted and turned, screaming for help, flinging his legs in futile hope that it would knock out one of the big men. "NO! PLEASE! STOP!"

He shrieked in pain as something sharp pierced his arm. He tried pulling away, but the men held his arm stubbornly still as the nurse injected whatever was in the syringe into his system.

His vision darkened and his desperate pleas sank into murmurs as his body relaxed and fell limp. His head lulled to the side, the last thing he could see before falling asleep being his sweater and pants transforming into a black suit.

The nurse and guards waited patiently as their superior came to. He shook his head and shuddered in the transformation that had become second nature to him he didn't need to focus on as much as he used to. He was in pain, but he stood up and composed himself quickly, throwing the nurse a sharp look as he smoothed his jet black hair back.

"You're late," he said curtly.

"We apologize sir," the nurse replied, all sweetness removed from her voice. "One of the patients 'woke up', we had to get her back in control."

"Hm," Laurence walked over to his desk, "Because of your tardiness He's now aware of who I am. It won't be easy keeping Him in control anymore. Was it Rachel Berry?"

"Yes," the nurse nodded. Behind her the guards stuffing the hallway could see the danger had passed and were now getting up to leave. "We've had to up the dosage, unfortunately."

"I'll have to speak with the Neurobiology Department," Laurence murmured distantly, opening the laptop at his desk and sitting down, "162 is starting to lose its affects – there's a flaw somewhere."

"162 is stronger than its predecessor," the nurse said cautiously, "too much on someone like Berry could break down her nervous system and leave her in a vegetable state."

"Sam's worked perfectly with 162," Laurence argued back calmly.

"Evans's system is unlike anything we've ever seen," she said rationally, "it's highly adaptable which is why he was able to take such high doses. Rachel Berry is just not that monstrously strong. None of the patients are."

"I'll keep that in mind," he looked over Rachel's profile, the big X covering her photograph marring the toothy smile. It indicated that she was not mentally nor physically capable of handling high doses of Pollen. He'd been aware of this since her integration to Apate, and was honestly not sure what would happen to her if she ever managed to leave the drug. Suzy Pepper's fate was an obvious answer, but that was if she decided to continue using her abilities even in dreams. "Berry's already completed her use to our cause, keep her doses normal and be sure that she doesn't use her abilities to excess or at all."

The nurse and guards by her side tried to hide their surprise, "yes, sir," was all she could say in her shock. Perhaps the shot she gave him was losing its affects as well.

"Now get back to work," the gaze he had over them was stone cold and completely Laurence Niac, erasing any doubts that he wasn't the man they thought he was. Jolting, they scrambled out of the office to their posts.

…

The motel had a few guests wandering around when he came back from the store. No one had bothered him, and didn't seem to care for his presence, more occupied with their own little worlds than the guy with the oversized beard and chunky coat that made him look fat. It suited Finn just fine, but it didn't stop his heart racing in fear that any second, someone would look straight at him and recognize him from the news.

Yeah, this wasn't as cool as the movies made it look at all.

When he got to the safety of his and Kurt's room, he realized that in the whole time he'd been away from his stepbrother, not one hallucination came to attack him. He hadn't been gone long though, the store was right across the street and the only things he got were markers and some frozen foods that were under twenty dollars.

Setting the bag by the stove, he went back to the bedroom area and saw that Kurt was still asleep. He had turned over at some point and now his bleached blond hair was pointing out in tufts. It made him look like a child and Finn couldn't help but smile at the sight.

Shaking his head, he turned back to the bag and pulled out the pack of sharpies he bought. The plan was to practice the abilities he'd learned, but he didn't want to cause a raucous and wake Kurt up. He needed a big empty space where no one could bother him. The parking lot was a possible choice, but most of the rooms over looked it, someone would see him and report him to the police, Finn or not he was still a kid with the Alice Syndrome. Maybe if he went to the roof…

Would the owner give him the key?

Just as he went to the door, he remembered that the hallucinations could still come to life later on. Biting his bottom lip, he went back to Kurt and grabbed the hand that had been peeking out from the sheets. The touch hadn't even stirred the sleeping boy. How long could they last before falling from exhaustion? Finn wondered.

There were so many questions swimming in his head. He still felt responsible about the kids out there causing riots. The Network would help him stop them, but he promised Kurt never to go back in. And Kurt had been so worried over him…

Sighing, Finn pulled off the fake beard and sat down beside the sleeping boy.

The truth had started to surface when he was dreaming – he knew he was beginning to doubt his feelings for Kurt, but he was awake now, and he was a mess of confusion all over again. Looking back at the desperation he felt for wanting Kurt that he would break up with Rachel just to have him…it felt like another person. He may have started to pull away from Rachel, but he wasn't so bad that he'd leave her at the drop of a hat just to be with someone else. The break up in her dream was hard, seeing her reminded him that he did miss her, that he did love her even if it wasn't as strong as before.

Now seeing Kurt with the clown gone and his feelings back under his control, it was like waking up from a strange and bizarre dream. Kurt was still Kurt. Nothing had changed about him except exhaustion. He remained by his side, taking care of him when he was in the Network, saving him from hallucinations, and trusting in his decisions. On top of hiding from police and anyone who could report them, sacrificing the luxuries of life for necessities that would make anyone mad with frustration, Finn was surprised Kurt was still with him.

It amazed him how important Kurt had become to him in such a short time. If it hadn't been for Apate, he and Rachel would be walking down McKinley halls hand in hand while Kurt would be off at Dalton trying to turn his friendship with Blaine into something more.

Oddly, at the thought of Kurt's friend Finn's mood turned slightly sour.

And why wouldn't it? He rationalized. Things had changed between Kurt and him. They kissed. Multiple times. All initiated by him.

And they were nice kisses, too.

He used to think that kissing a guy would be awkward with hard lips and teeth, and it sort of had been like that with Kurt yet it wasn't weird.

Rachel had said he'd become more attached to Kurt than to her. He looked down at Kurt's face – rid of stress and tension. He'd been waiting three days for him to wake up. He was probably also waiting to see where their relationship stood.

No, Finn corrected himself. He'd been waiting far longer than that.

This wasn't fair to Kurt. Finn had to give him his answer soon.

Reluctantly standing up, Finn slipped on the fake beard and left the room. He needed that key to the roof, there were a lot of things he needed to do before Kurt woke up.

…

They stopped at a motel in Pennsylvania. From what Jackie could remember, they were in Harrisburg. Try as she might, she couldn't distract herself with the buildings and people they drove past, that conversation she had with Sam had bothered her deeply. Looking at the blond settle in his bed, she wondered why he decided to stop here so suddenly.

"Finn might lose his car here," Sam answered, digging through the bag Jackie had supplied for him in their chase.

"Might?" Jackie raised her eyebrows, "are you sure he's even coming here?"

"It's a possibility," Sam slipped out of his sweater and pulled on a plain shirt. "Ever since we've been after Finn, I've noticed something interesting," Jackie waited expectantly as he put on a pair of pajama bottoms. "I see possibilities, but also truths – I'm getting better at understanding the signs."

Jackie didn't know how to make sense of this. She already knew about Sam's abilities before he did. "And?"

"In Youngstown I saw a building underground just at the outskirts. I ignored it because Finn was a higher priority." He sat down on the bed, his face not showing any sign of confusion or agitation. Clearly what he just said didn't sound weird to him at all, but the nurse was completely lost.

"Undergro – ?"

"It wasn't through X-Ray vision, I saw it as a blueprint, most things I see now are like cartoons," Sam shrugged, "it was an abandoned Apate facility, isn't that strange?"

"Apate?" Jackie frowned, "that's not surprising, it's common knowledge within Apate that before settling in Lima, a previous facility was in Youngstown."

"There was also one in Pittsburgh, and one here – Harrisburg," Sam continued. "Do you think it's a coincidence that Finn and Kurt happened to be in the same place?"

Jackie's eyes widened. She never knew there were other facilities abandoned of Apate. Then again, their research was extensive, it would make sense that they were in different locations to continue experimentations. The question Sam was asking, though, held an ominous note to it. "You think they know about those places?"

"No, they were nowhere near the facilities," Sam was quick to answer, "but I'm sure that in the other cities they stayed at were previous homes to Apate as well. I just stopped here on a hunch."

Jackie frowned, "and what about Babylon?"

Sam shook his head, "they'll be losing their car here, they'll be at their weakest here. I'm sure of it." Hesitantly Jackie dug through her bag for her own change of clothes. "Besides, if we don't stop them here, they'll reach Babylon in no time."

Jackie looked up at Sam, and for the first time saw concern on his face, whether for himself or the friend he was trying to arrest, she was not sure.

…

Howard was a gruff, but kind man. Something that was refreshing in the days Finn and Kurt had spent running. It didn't take too much convincing for Finn to get the key, but the owner was worried he was going to do something stupid.

"I'm not giving you something like assisted suicide am I?" the man asked lightly, not quite handing over the key yet, his eyes hard with concern. "I know about the symptoms of the Alice Syndrome, and this isn't a tall building, but the roof is high enough."

"I'm not going to - !" Finn almost pouted, why did everyone assume he wanted to kill himself? "I just need some fresh air, and the roof is the only place for that. It's too risky to go outside where people are all over the place," he mumbled the last bit as an old couple walked by to the doors. He ducked his head in paranoia. Howard eyed him skeptically, the key still clutched in his fist.

"What are you gonna do up there – stare at the sky? It's freezing, I'd figure you'd want to stay inside and have a hot cocoa." He crossed his arms, "I kind of want one, actually…"

"It's only for a few hours," Finn insisted, "I just need some time to myself so I…" he thought quickly, "can figure out a plan…"

Howard still needed a little more convincing. "I've gotten to know the Hummel kid the few days he's been here, I trust him enough, but I don't know you. What are you going to do up there? I said I wouldn't ask questions, but if it means destroying my establishment, I'd like to know."

Finn huffed, staring at Howard's hand that carried his ticket to controlling his powers. "You said you read the papers right?" He nodded with a grunt. "The disease also gives us ...abilities…"

Howard stared at him flatly, waiting to see if he was going to grow a second head. "Shit, you sayin' that's true?" Finn was about to say something more, but a young woman came by to turn in her key. He waited nervously as Howard calmly took it and accepted the last payments of her stay. When she was gone, Finn tried to breathe normally.

"I just need some time alone to…practice."

"Huh…" Howard had a mind to go outside for a smoke. He remembered Kurt told him they'd been going through things he wouldn't believe. He could only imagine what Finn 'abilities' were. "So you can what – breathe fire or something? Fly like Superman?"

"I'd rather not talk about it, but I promise to keep your roof intact," Finn said instead. The older man made a noise of disappointment, but relented and handed over the key. "Thanks," then after a thought he asked, "you wouldn't happen to have anything you wouldn't mind me throwing around?"

At this, Howard seemed less willing to give than the key, but he sighed and shrugged, "yeah, I got a bunch of junk."

So compared to the other scenarios that Finn had thought up, convincing Howard to give him the roof had been no trouble at all. Although now he did wish that he attained the ability to breathe fire, it really was cold up on the roof, and the snow that piled over the black ground didn't make him feel any warmer. However, it was much safer than the parking lot. The building was shaped in an L, and he was in an area where people below would really have to crane their necks to spot him. The fence lining the edge of the building also hid him from complete view, and provided safety in case a hallucination managed to toss him around. A little relieved at this, he removed his fake beard and stuffed it in his pocket. While it had kept his face warm it smelled funky and itched something fierce.

Dropping the bag, Finn tugged the coat tighter around him. It hadn't been long since he held Kurt's hand, he'd have to wait it out or somehow make the hallucinations come at his own will, the latter of which he didn't want to do. Taking a deep breath, he opened the pack of sharpies and picked out a black one. He may as well try to see if he got Orion's ability.

Just his luck that as he was in the middle of writing 'Warmth' on his wrist, something moved at the corner of his eye. Slowly, he looked up, already knowing what it was.

It was a cross between a man and a crab. Completely white and with a mouth that contained several little sharp teeth built to cut through meat. Its arms were wide and thick, instead of hands there were claws, and they were snapping with hunger. Swallowing down his fear, Finn clenched his trembling fists and focused on breathing.

'You're in control,' he kept thinking in his head. 'You're stronger.'

Sweat was starting to bead at his forehead as the creature took a few predatory steps forward, but he stayed still and kept his eyes straight at it. The crablike thing hesitated, confused that he hadn't run away, but it only paused for that second before pitching forward for the kill.

His resolve snapped, Finn bolted.

…

The place was dark when he finally woke up feeling more rested than he had in days. Looking over the clock, it was half past midnight, and apart from himself, Kurt was alone. Alarmed, he sat up and was momentarily woozy from the sudden movement. There was no noise coming from the bathroom, the second bed was empty and the small dimly lit kitchen held nothing but a plate by the stove covered by another plate.

Where was Finn? He slipped out of bed and approached the kitchen, not liking the silence that hissed throughout the small apartment. All of their stuff was still on the floor, so he couldn't have run away. Why would he? Kurt was the only reason he could walk around without getting attacked by his own hallucinations.

The note on the plate answered his question.

'Eat first then come to the roof'

Frowning, Kurt removed the plate covering his dinner which was a modest helping of eggs, bread, and chicken nuggets. Normally such a helping would make him skeptical and running to the fridge for a more balanced meal, but his stomach grumbled, reminding him that he hadn't eaten well. Giving the note one last look, he walked to the fridge for some of the orange juice he bought the other day.

…

It was dark when she opened her eyes. At least she assumed it was dark, unless she was actually in a well lit room and she was now blind. She moved to sit up, but fell back with a whimper of pain. There was a sharp burning in her chest, as if a gaping hole had been blown there. Shakily brushing over it, she felt bandages. The pain had felt like it was coming directly from her heart and she started to panic that she was having a heart attack.

A heart attack at her age. This didn't spell out a healthy future for her, she thought wryly.

The loud creak of a heavy metal door opening and closing caught her attention. She tensed up in alarm as approaching footsteps reached her side without introduction.

"Who's there?" she had wanted to sound demanding and pissed off, but it came out in a quiver and the mysterious intruder giggled softly, revealing it to be a woman.

"Don't be afraid," she said warmly, placing a soft hand over the girl's forehead, "you've been though a long and hard surgery, my surgeons as surprised you're even alive – I'm surprised. And impressed."

"Surgery?" that explained the bandages and pain, "for what?"

"A few days ago you were shot," the woman explained bluntly, "in the heart."

"What?" she reached for her chest again and winced, "how am I alive? I…I don't remember…"

"Just relax," the woman said soothingly, "I'm here to get you through this – "

"Where am I?" she tried to sit up, but the pain pushed her back down, "shouldn't I be given painkillers!?"

"Just relax or you'll put your heart through too much stress, Lily," the woman held her down, but not viciously. All of her movements were gentle and kind, but it did nothing to stop the girl from knowing that something wasn't right.

"Where am I?" she demanded again more heatedly, "and I'm not Lily, my name is Quinn Fabray!"

There was a moment of silence in which the woman gently prodded her eyelids to get a better look at her eyes. Quinn jerked away, wincing again when pain shot up from her chest.

"You're in my clinic," the woman replied, "you're safe, no harm will come for you here."

"What's – " Quinn jerked in surprise when something pierced her forearm. Before she could finish her sentence, she fell limp, back to unconsciousness.

…

The world he currently found himself in seemed to have no laws of logic. There were tables floating in the sky. Stairs that had no direction, and a garden populated by flowers that could talk and sing, though personally he preferred they'd stay quiet. It was a strange world, and yet not unwelcoming, and as he walked deeper into the gardens, he found who he was looking for.

Sitting at a table a few feet from the ground were Ella and Suzy enjoying afternoon tea. They looked up, or rather looked down, as Finn approached them.

"Uh…hi," was all he could say to the strange sight. Out of all the dreams he had, this was the liveliest he'd seen Suzy yet. Other than being pale, there was no sign of death upon her. Her clothes weren't in rags, but in a pastel yellow summer dress that flowed down and just barely touched the ground. As usual, Ella was in her trademark bell shaped dress but with less frill and startling colors, his light blue knee high boots glinted in the sunlight, the ridiculously high heels making him seem even taller even though he was sitting down. His large summer hat was also hanging off the corner of his chair, the thick ribbon wrapped around it flowing with the summer breeze.

While he tried to take in the sight, the stone path Finn had been walking on sprang to life and threw him up high without apology. He yelped in fright as he sailed in the air, his arms flinging this way and that until he settled suddenly on the only empty chair at the table. Shaken, his gripped the table and tried to get his bearings together.

"You've gotten better in handling your abilities," Ella said, giving him a nod of approval, "as well as Orion's."

At this, Finn looked at his right hand where the word 'Awake' was written in marker over it. In reality, he had written 'Sleep' on the other hand, which was now gone. "I was worried," he said, looking up at the decorated boy, "Kurt told me what happened…I have a lot of questions."

Ella nodded grimly, taking a sip of his tea, "our home was destroyed. Whatever that kid did to my mental barriers, they're gone now. We're safe -so don't worry about that, he and his friend didn't arrest us they were more interested in you. We're currently hiding in a cargo train on route to Connecticut."

"Oh," hiding in a cargo train didn't exactly spell out 'safe' to him, but if Ella was talking to him so casually maybe they were. He looked over to Suzy who smiled at him quietly. He felt like he hadn't seen her in ages. "You look great," was all he could say. The girl's smile widened and gave a nod in thanks.

"You'll have to forgive Suzy," Ella said apologetically dipping a sugar cookie into his tea, "it's been almost a month since her death. She can no longer speak."

Finn's face fell, but Suzy reached across the table and pat his hand, pointing to her smile which didn't seem forced. In fact, it actually looked rested. Finn wondered if speaking was what held Suzy back from being able to properly communicate with him. She always seemed to struggle in his dreams, but now he felt she wouldn't disappear again.

"She's impressed with you as I am over your progress, although seeing your form in the Network, I'm not surprised at all," Ella smiled, biting into his cookie. At Finn's confused look he went on to say, "from what I can tell our DNA takes visual form when we're in the Network – they become our bodies so we have a bit of a grounding to move around. You remember that I had a blue-ish hue," Finn nodded, "but yours had no definite color – it kept changing."

"Isn't that…" he'd been thinking about this for a while, and he figured it made sense, "because I'm an empath?"

"Exactly," Ella grinned while Suzy nodded happily. "Your DNA can never have a single identity because it constantly changes, and being in the presence of so many victims in the Network, you were basically reflecting their colors off of yourself. Being empathetic has also made you highly adaptable; you've realized this, haven't you."

Finn nodded sheepishly. "I've been practicing all day – I'm getting better, even with the hallucinations."

"Good," Ella sipped his tea with a pleased smile. "But that's not why you came looking for me."

"No," Finn confirmed, looking down at the little cup of tea that appeared before him. He wasn't feeling in the mood for it so he ignored it. "You remember when I got rid of the clown, what he said…"

All pleasantries left Ella and Suzy's faces. They looked at each other with something Finn couldn't understand, but made him feel pitied. Setting down his tea, Ella was quiet for a while before choosing to speak again.

"You know we're not forcing you on this mission," he said soberly, "I know we've said you're the one who has to do it, but you still hold the decision on whether or not you want to." Finn nodded, staring down at his untouched tea, "if it makes it any easier, I think bringing Kurt with you was a good idea." He looked up in surprise, not sure how to take that, "the clown you got rid of was not your imagination, but the entity of an intruder," Ella explained, "he's terrorized you for a long time, and yet just the sight of Kurt has him cowering. For some reason he greatly fears him."

"Why?" Finn frowned. He didn't think of that until now, but he remembered the sight of the clown scrambling on the ground from Kurt all donned up like a knight. It was weird, but at least it got rid of the clown for the moment.

Ella shrugged, unable to answer his question. "Why would he set you up with the one person he's afraid of? I wouldn't know, clowns are weird, they're all backwards," he shared a look of agreement with Suzy before turning back to Finn, "but whether he spoke the truth or not…about killing you. It's still your decision to make." His eyes softened, "we won't hold it against you if you back out."

Finn let out a breath of defeat. "So what do I do about Kurt?"

"That is entirely up to you," Ella said simply, raising his eyebrows. The answer didn't appease Finn, and he went back to staring at the tea, a plate of cookies appeared beside it, but he had no appetite for them. "I woke up earlier than you; I know how much that article affected the victims."

"The clown is working for Apate," Finn said quietly, "they're setting me up to look like the bad guy."

"So by being with Kurt, it only makes the stories true," Ella finished, nodding darkly. "It's not fair to the two of you."

"It doesn't make sense either," Finn shook his head, "why are they making this so public?"

"To distract you maybe?" Ella shrugged, "frankly, I've never fully understood the actions of that institution. Why change the genetic code of kids and then imprison them all? Or hypnotize everyone to your bidding?" Ella turned to Suzy who shared his confusion. "As far as the matter of Kurt goes, that's not for anyone but you to say, we can't tell you how to feel or how you shouldn't."

Finn's shoulders dropped helplessly. "I don't want to hurt him again."

Suzy held his hand, making him look up at her. She looked saddened that he was so down, but still she gave him a small smile and shook her head. No, he wasn't going to hurt Kurt.

"Considering the circumstances," Ella interrupted lightly, "I think you already know how to deal with this."

"How?" Finn frowned.

Ella smirked playfully, hiding it behind his tea cup. "He's already you're Knight in Shining Armor, isn't he?"

Before Finn could stammer out an embarrassed denial he woke up.

Ella and Suzy's playful smiles vanished at his leave. They returned to their lunch quietly, the little chirps from the birds and singing from the flowers doing nothing to brighten their mood.

"This isn't going to end well," Ella cut through the quiet clinking of tea cups against plates. Suzy set her cup down, shutting her eyes and releasing a few tears of guilt.

…

Finn had been gone for a long time. The food was cold when Kurt settled in to eat it. That meant that he'd been up at the roof all day and didn't come to him to hold back the hallucinations. Kurt couldn't understand why he would do this, but when it hit him that Finn was probably being attacked again, he fled to the roof with a racing heart and in only his street clothes.

His worries were short lived. The roof was a fairly spacious area, and they were on the darker side of the roof where the bright lights of the motel sign didn't touch them. Apart from the two, they were alone. And they would remain alone since Kurt took the only other set of roof keys from Howard who carried the original copy. Under the dim glow of the roof lights he found Finn standing unharmed with his eyes closed, not a single monster or killer in sight. Seeing the masked man about to kill his stepbrother earlier, Kurt was prepared to see anything, but Finn was perfectly safe. At least he hoped he was, he didn't seem to be alarmed like he normally would when he was seeing things.

Shutting the door behind him, Kurt was about to call out his name when something amazing happened.

There were old children's toys littered around Finn that Kurt hadn't noticed until now. He wouldn't have noticed at all if they hadn't started moving on their own. They dragged themselves across the snow that had been marred black with the ground beneath, a sign that this wasn't the first time they'd been moving. Kurt watched slack jawed when the next second they lifted off the ground and sluggishly floated around Finn with no particular direction.

It only lasted for a few seconds. Finn made a pained sound and the toys crashed to the ground, the magic gone.

"Ow," the tall boy mumbled, gingerly touching his temple.

"Finn?" Kurt squeaked. The boy whipped around in surprise, giving Kurt full view of blood dripping from his nose. The movement disoriented him and he stumbled backwards and fell clutching his head, "oh my god," Kurt rushed over him. "Finn, you're bleeding," he didn't have a tissue with him so he used the end of his sleeve and wiped the blood off his face. "Is that what happens when you do what you just did? What was that?"

"It's okay," Finn shook his head and blinked, "I'm fine now, I thought of Sunshine and…" he looked up at Kurt and stopped. The other boy waited expectantly, but it seemed he was speechless.

"How long have you been up here?" Kurt asked, hoisting Finn up to his feet with surprising strength. "Did any hallucinations come to attack you?"

"I…I've been up here all day," Finn pulled away and busied himself with collecting the scattered toys. "Practicing my abilities…"

"And the hallucinations?" Kurt spotted a garbage bag nearby and helped gather the toys in the bag.

"They came…I fought them off somehow," Finn nodded, not facing him. "You know when I said I thought they were from the nightmares of people around me?"

"Yeah," Kurt said slowly, distantly remembering.

"Well…I thought of dreams. My dreams…they became real too after I thought hard enough." He let out an empty laugh. "If I'd known that's all it took to get rid of them I would have done it much sooner…"

Kurt watched him closely. Something was bothering him; the weight of whatever it was giving him an air of defeat. "That's good isn't it? You won't need me as your crutch, you can move freely now – "

"No! I still need you!" Kurt jumped in surprise. Finn faced him again. There were tears forming in his eyes, he seemed scared and sad at the same time, and Kurt didn't know what to do, or what brought it on. "I just…" Finn stepped back in shame, "if I didn't have this problem would you still be with me?"

"What?" a passing breeze trembled through Kurt reminding him that he didn't have anything warm on to fight the cold.

"If I didn't need to hold your hand – if I didn't have hallucinations," Finn explained, clutching the action figures and toy cars to his chest, "would you still be here with me?"

"Of course," Kurt frowned, wondering why Finn was even asking. "Would you want me with you?"

He seemed stuck for words so he just nodded. While it cheered Kurt that Finn wanted him around not only because he took away his hallucinations, something was still wrong. Finn looked like a little kid clutching those toys, and Kurt didn't know how to approach him, it was hard to see him like this.

"Finn, you're starting to scare me, what's wrong?" he took a few careful steps forward, feeling like he was the one Finn was afraid of. Maybe the hallucinations he'd been fighting off traumatized him before he was able to get rid of them.

The other boy cleared his throat and blinked rapidly. "Telekinesis," he said finally. At Kurt's confusion he continued. "After I got out of the Network I stumbled into Rachel's dream. She has telekinesis – she showed me."

"Oh," was all Kurt could say. Ever since the article came out, he'd been trying not to hate his friend. He knew Laurence was responsible, and figured the best way to not be angry was to forget the article existed. At Finn's mention of her he not only remembered the article, but that she was still Finn's girlfriend.

And then of course after that he remembered the kisses they shared and how wrong and right it felt. His lips were still tingly from them, and it was awful because he knew they couldn't do it anymore. He knew that now that Finn got to see Rachel again he would remember how much he loved her, and how horrified he was over cheating on her while she remained in Apate enslaved by Laurence's hypnotism.

He had to forget about Finn. He had to forget any small possibilities of a future together.

He needed to think of Blaine. Sweet and dapper Blaine with his beautiful smile and beautiful voice. Single and gay Blaine with whom he could have a future with, who was probably also waiting for him at Apate and –

"She broke up with me."

It took him a moment to gather that. Even still he was gob smacked for words. Finn shuffled uncomfortably.

"I told her what we did and…she wasn't surprised. She expected it," after a second of hesitation, he dumped the toys in the bag Kurt had been limply holding. "It's weird isn't it? People seem to know more about my feelings than I do."

"Finn – "

"I don't want this to sound like I'm desperate or anything," Finn stuffed his hands in the pockets of his chunky coat. "But…I want to get to Babylon without any regrets."

That sounded pretty desperate to Kurt. "What do you mean by that?"

Finn paled, realizing he might have said too much. "I – I just mean…" he huffed, this wasn't how he planned to say this. Kurt shivered under a new breeze and shook his head. Snow was starting to fall again.

"Let's just go back to our room. It's freezing out here." He wandered back to the door, hauling the bag of toys over his shoulder, and still confused over what was going on. Finn wasn't telling him something, and it seemed he wasn't getting an answer right away.

He tensed up when arms encircled him from behind. Hot breath tickled at the curve of his neck and all of the sudden he wasn't cold anymore. He wanted to melt into Finn's arms, but he remained tense, unsure of whether or not he should do something because Finn really was acting strange.

"I don't know what I'm doing," Finn mumbled brokenly in his neck. "Can we just stay here for a few more days?"

Kurt shivered under his quiet and lonely voice. "Okay," the bag fell to the snow softly, toys tumbled out, but he hardly noticed.

Because Finn had him pinned against the door, the cold against his back chilling him like ice, and Finn's tentative lips burning him like lava. He knew he should have pushed away and come up with some kind of excuse for them to never do this again, but he couldn't.

He could feel Finn's tears hitting his cheeks, and the only thing he could think of doing was keep kissing him in the hopes that it would make it all better. For a few minutes it felt like Finn had relaxed. Lips bruising up and teeth chattering, they parted and just stood there, hot breath turning into vapor and clouding their vision.

"Just so you know," Finn murmured, strength returning to him. Kurt looked into his eyes, dry now, but still sad and filled with something that set his nerves on fire. "No matter what, I'll never regret this." He licked his lips and pressed his forehead against Kurt's, tempting the other boy to latch onto his lips gain. Kurt felt like he was prey caught by the predator, his body was shaking not from the cold but with anticipation, his breath stuck in his throat.

"Right," he choked, if only to return whatever this was back to normalcy. "I believe you."

Finn gave him another lingering kiss, his next words momentarily turning Kurt's mind blank. "I think…I might love you."