The five guards glared into the bleak gray corridors, the lights flickering ominously above their heads. Once they had taken a few steps around into that turning, they each raised their guns simultaneously, having spotted movement. One frowned, seeing that it was in fact a small rodent. He took charge, squatting down in front of the creature. The guinea pig's large brown eyes were slightly odd. They held more intelligence than your average guinea pig's should.

Clang.

The guard slumped to the floor. The others stared, seeing two blondes and an albino in front of them, all wearing similar, dare they say it, uniforms. The male blonde, who appeared no older than sixteen, had hit him over the head with the butt of a gun, and had cool blue eyes that spelled trouble with a promise. Before they could react, he had charged toward them and swung his arm at each of their knee levels.

Immediately, the remaining four crumpled. One of the stronger, more enduring guards scrambled to his feet, clawing out at the boy. The blonde female caught his wrist, and as he began to experience a searing pain unlike any other, he realized he was being burned, his flesh sizzling though he could do nothing to stop it. The others heard him cry out and saw the results: his wrist had been burned right through to the bone.

Three guards left, and all three were paralyzed in shock. A dark-haired man rose to his feet and went to attack the white-haired boy, who was facing the opposite direction, not paying attention to the carnage occurring behind him. He dived at the scrawny boy, who did seem to be anywhere near as strong, fast or deadly as his associates. Without hesitation or panic, the albino ducked so that the man went flying over his head. The guard felt his hands merely brush the boy's curls as he rolled into the wall past him.

The blonde boy flicked his head to one side, his spine emitting a loud, painful-sounding crack. He sighed in relief as the tension loosened and smirked at the rest of the guards. The blonde female spoke briskly in Japanese, clicking her fingers and smiling dangerously as flame danced on her well-manicured nails.

"Who… who are you?" choked out one of the guards.

"Now what sort of people would we be if we answered such an undignified question appropriately?" the blonde male said smugly.

"You're monsters!" the other guard gasped.

"Guess you already know," the blonde woman shrugged. She threw her hand out casually and a jet of fire surrounded the men, not spreading, just holding them captive. "It's nice to know we're so famous here."

"The communication devices," the guinea pig reminded the blonde woman as he crawled into the white-haired boy's outstretched palm.

"Oh, of course. Would hate to forget. How careless of us," the woman muttered. She clapped her delicate hands once and watched with bitterness as the walkie-talkies on the guards' waists melted away.

"CCTV," the albino murmured.

Her voice was terse. "Let them watch."

XXX

Ben was the one to help B and Lara get in. He made the door open without a code or emergency key, just focusing on unlocking each latch, flicking it once with his mind and watching as the magic began to unfurl. As soon as the door swung open, however, they were met by two stocky, well-built agents, very much like security guards, each with a vicious-looking German Shepherd at their side.

"Well, well, well," a brunette guard chuckled darkly, "look what we have here, Fredrick."

"Isn't that funny, Roland?" Fredrick growled. "Look at how they think they can get anywhere they want. And those clown costumes? Who do they think they are, some kind of superheroes?"

"We should set the dogs on them," Roland grinned devilishly.

"Get behind me," B warned the two teenagers. He pushed Ben and Lara behind him, urging them back towards the gate. "It's not safe for you. I should never have brought you here. Go."

"He's right," Fredrick sneered. "Man's at least got some sense about him."

Ben began to pull Lara away, not wanting his best friend injured in the fray when her power was not particularly destructive and could not protect her, yet she was ignoring him. She peeled Ben's hand from her arm and ducked under B's. He gaped at her. Taking a deep breath, with little confidence under her belt, she bent down to the eye level of the two German Shepherds. Their instant reaction was to snarl at the approaching human.

"What d'you think you're doing, girly?" Roland snapped. "These aren't cutesy pet dogs!"

His words fell on deaf ears. Her expression pleading and soft, she initiated eye contact with the pair of canines opposite her. Something about her face, the calmness radiating from her, made the dogs uneasy.

It began to click in Ben's head and his eyes widened, an almost-laugh escaping him in his disbelief. They had been accosted so quickly, and had been compared to others with stronger offensive powers than theirs prior to their arrival, that he had actually forgotten what it was that Lara was capable of doing. If she could not do it, then nobody in the entire world could.

"Please," she whispered, keeping the conversation quiet and private. "I would be much obliged if you would permit myself and my friends to pass."

"What's she doing?" Roland demanded.

"She's a total nutcase, I knew it!" Fredrick scowled. He yanked on his dog's leash. "Away, Marcus! Away!"

The dogs seemed to become bemused, shocked than they understood with perfect clarity what it was this two-legged being was saying to them. She was communicating with them in the politest possible manner, and treating them as more than just animals. She was treating them as equals. They had never experienced such a pleasant feeling.

"Marcus?" Fredrick said. "Rufus?"

"Think about how cruelly these people are keeping you on chains," Lara told them softly. "You are creatures of flesh and blood, as they are. I understand."

What the other humans heard from the dogs was a low growl, which they believed to be directed at Lara. What they were saying really was to be translated as, "How dare they do such a thing!"

"I know," she agreed.

"What's going on?" Roland hissed to B and Ben.

"She's being kind," Ben responded dryly. "Something I doubt you would know."

As soon as this fantastical gem was spoken, the German Shepherds had turned to face their supposed owners and had leapt up to bite them, knocking them to the ground. B couldn't help laughing a bit, following Lara and Ben inside. She called back to the dogs happily.

"Thank you, gentlemen! You truly are a credit to your species!"

They paused for a moment, barking their appreciation at her words before continuing to gouge their handlers' skin.

XXX

Light was still having to order Emilia about the place, or she would gain consciousness of her actions and would fight back. He pulled her around a corner, beginning to be irritated by the fact he was taking complete and utter responsibility for another, who was currently incapable of doing anything herself should she be of any use. Still, he saw the need to behave in a fiercely protective manner, surprising himself.

He knew he simply should have left her back in her house near Covent Garden, somewhere, anywhere other than where he had dragged her to. She was in mortal danger, and she didn't even know it. Oh, God. Was he beginning to feel guilty? He was trying to save the life of another, and she had practically promised she would help, before…

She blinked and shook her head behind his back. At first, she almost screamed. What was this place? And why the fuck was she here? She looked about frantically, then caught sight of Light standing beside her.

Oh.

What an absolute dickhead.

Everything she remembered swam into focus, whirring and making everything much more rational. How dare he use her in that way? She had never promised to do anything, he had only ever assumed that she had! And he had broken her promise to her, that he would never use persuasion on her. He was the fucking jerk in the wrong here, not her. He was not looking at her at the moment. An ideal opportunity for an opportunist with her own ideals…

Her hand rose to bring down on the back of his head, only to have him see her and shove her shoulder away from him.

"You bastard!" she gasped. "I can't believe you did this to me! You… you promised!"

"Promises are easily broken," he repeated back to her sourly.

"Well, aren't you a charmer?" she growled. "Did someone teach you that, or were born that way?"

"There's a woman in this building who could be dead from your mother's hands, Emilia," he snapped. "This is no time to be acting like a spoilt brat!"

She scowled at him. "Excuse me?"

"Quit stamping your feet and screaming like no one's listening," he elaborated icily. "We're right here, Emilia. And you're behaving like a child. So put your own feelings aside to save someone today, all right?"

"You don't trust me?"

"I don't. And I know you don't trust me, either."

"No, of course not!" she shouted. He clapped a hand over her mouth and pointed surreptitiously to the area around the corner. She tore his hand away. "Okay, okay, I get it! But it's still your fault. You dragged me here, to this forsaken place!" She punched him hard in the chest.

"Ow!"

"You know what? I'm going home!" she hissed.

"You can't do that!"

"Just watch me!" she barked at him. She went to turn a corner and found herself face to face with an older man with a worn face and black moustache. His spectacles made his expression less severe, as his eyes were tired behind them. She backed away and was suddenly back-to-back with Light.

Light was now facing a woman with blonde curls tumbling past her shoulders, eyes bright blue and blazing with rage.

"We have you now, so you may as well give up," the woman snarled.

Emilia's eyes widened in shock. She recognized that voice.

"We just want to ask you some questions," the man opposite told her.

Light froze. That voice was all too familiar. He felt Emilia's fingers thread through his own so that they were clasping hands, holding onto the only security that they possessed, despite not really having trust in each other.

"It's okay," Light's father said kindly, seeing Emilia's distress. "We'll just walk you to custody and talk about this."

"Turn around and put your hands behind your back," Emilia's mother ordered Light sharply. "Right now!"

"Agent Deaver, they will only resist more should you speak in that manner to them," Light's father said. "Come along now, we'd best be on our way."

At the same time, Light and Emilia turned to face each other, with exactly the same expression painted on their faces: one of horror, distress and concern. With little in common but their dislike for one another, all they could do was hold on tight. Emilia wrapped her arms around Light's torso whilst his arms settled on her shoulders, and that was when their parents saw them.

"Light?" whispered Soichiro.

"Emilia?" shrieked Clarissa. "Emilia, what on earth do you think you're doing? Let go of him, immediately!"

For all this, Emilia only clasped him tighter. "No," she said through gritted teeth.

"Light?" Soichiro repeated, horrified. "You're the threat? Did you hurt those good people?"

"Dad-"

"Dad?" Emilia was beginning to feel light-headed. She brought her lips to Light's ear. "Move around me and face your father. I shall speak to my mother."

"You have betrayed me, Emilia, acting like one of them," Clarissa insisted. "How could you do it?"

Emilia stood up to her full height, glowering at her mother. "Acting like one of them, Mummy?" The word was like poison, bitter and lethal. "I am one of them. You were so absorbed in killing innocent people for things they cannot help that you never even noticed."

"Let us go free, Dad," Light urged his father gently. "There is no need for any trouble. You will forget this incident ever occurred."

"I will let you go free," Soichiro murmured.

"No!" Clarissa yelled, grabbing her daughter's wrist. By the time she had blinked, Emilia was out of her clutches. "Em-Emilia?"

"Hold onto me," Emilia instructed Light.

They shot off into the labyrinth of a building so quickly that Clarissa had no time to call her cohorts to inform them of her only child's location.

Hi, there! I'm so sorry I have not updated a great deal as of late. In the UK, we go through something around this age for two weeks called work experience, and I was doing mine at a police headquarters, so I had very little time to actually write anything.

So here we go. I do hope that I did not disappoint. As you can tell, the story is far from being over. I hope you enjoy and forgive me for my absence.

Thanks! (By the way, a review would not go out of place. Just hinting.)

C.