Jace felt relief flood him as she set him down on a rooftop. He glared at her, "You are cruel and heartless and-"

"Awesome?"

He gave her a flat look, "No. You're dumb."

"I'm the one that got us off the roof of the mall wasn't I?" Chandra asked.

"Yeah. And you also got us chased by a jet for four hours," Jace snarled.

"She gave up didn't she?"

"After four hours," Jace muttered. He lifted his head to the horizon, "And only when she realized she'd run out of fuel before being able to catch you in a jet."

"It's not my fault I have better maneuverability," Chandra shrugged.

"Tina's having Jenny set up a system of teleportation portals. They'll take us directly into the school where they will have an ambush waiting for us all day every day."

Chandra nodded approvingly, "Alright. Nice."

"You say that a lot," Jace rolled his eyes, "Also why are you even so approving of that? It means more work for us!"

"It'll make things more fun," Chandra shrugged. She smirked, "Be sure to find some place to sleep tonight." She disappeared into the alley below them and was gone.

Jace sighed, "Oh. Yeah." He looked around dully. The night sky was clear but because of all the city lights he couldn't see the stars. He rolled his eyes before dropping into the alley. Elspeth doesn't know about any of this does she?

She probably knows we've been out of school.

Oh. Jace headed to the house.

He opened his eyes to the sound of a faint voice echoing in his head. As he became more awake he recognized the voice.

I hate to interrupt the fun but has anyone seen Nix? She's been missing all day so far.

Jace sat up and wandered down the stairs. What time is it? He kept the thought to himself as he didn't actually want an answer from anyone.

"Jace?!" Gideon looked at him in surprise.

Jace grabbed a box of crackers and looked at the clock. It was well after noon. He rolled his eyes, "Of course it is." He waved at Gideon, "Tell Kaechia I said hi."

She's missing?!

Jace didn't recognize who was speaking. He grabbed the skateboard Locke had given him from where it was leaning up against the wall by the door and left the house. He met up with Chandra, Isabelle, Tina, Jenny, Sakura and Rick on their way back to the school.

"YOU CAN SKATEBOARD?!" Jenny cried in surprise.

Jace stopped and shrugged, "What of it?"

"Jenny," Sakura said firmly, "Not now. Nix is missing. We have to find her."

Jace walked with them through the streets. They were joined by a group consisting of Yuri, Michael, David, Onyx, Erin, and Kyle before reaching the gates of the school.

Lilianna waited for them with Melody, Emalia, Hades, Kamiya, Debby and Claire. She had her arms crossed over her chest and was studying them carefully.

Sakura looked at them, "When was Nix last seen?"

"I last saw her really early this morning," Melody said, "she said she was going to get some flour for today."

Sakura nodded, "Alright." She hurried into the girls' dorm. Jace followed her silently. He made sure she didn't notice him with a few simple spells. The pink haired girl dug through her smaller bag and pulled out a device.

"A tracker?" Jace said out loud.

Sakura glanced at him, "She's a sentient robot. She didn't tell you that?"

Jace stared at her, "No."

"Oh," Sakura shrugged.

Jace studied her through narrowed eyes. He still had the feeling he knew her from somewhere. He had the feeling he had at the very least seen her before when he hadn't in his memory. He furrowed his brow in frustration. Where have I seen you before?

She glanced at him, "How fast do you think you'd be able to come up with a rescue plan?"

"That depends on how far she is," Jace said.

"The tracker's last signal was from the northern border of the United States near Canada."

"Last signal?" Jace asked.

Sakura nodded, "Yes. It seems to have been disconnected or blocked off somehow."

Jace cocked his head to the side, "Near Canada? I don't think you realize how strange the residents of this city look to the outside world. A rescue's not-"

"She may be a robot but she's your essentially your sister, Poseidon!" Sakura said firmly.

Jace's eyes widened and he stared at her, "What?"

Sakura kept her gaze steady, "We will be rescuing her and I am asking for your help."

Jace was about to shake his head but before he could speak Jenny was in the doorway, "Of course we'll help! There's no reason we wouldn't right?" She looked at Jace. Jace stared at the ground in silence for many moments. He knew Sakura would think he was abandoning her. He lifted his head and fixed the pinkette with an icy glare, "My name is not Poseidon. My name is Jace. And that is what you will call me if you want me to continue aiding you." His voice was cold and hard.

"I apologize Jace," Sakura nodded.

"Is that a yes?" Jenny asked.

"I'll help," Jace shrugged, "For however much that's worth." He turned and stalked away.

Jenny stared after him, "What happened?"

Sakura shook her head, "It's much too complicated to explain right now Jenny."

"Cat Ears!" Ral raced up to him.

"What?"

"Damn. You're in a sour mood," Ral sighed. He shook his head, "Anyway, I had an idea last night so I went to Echo. We tried to figure it out but there's something missing in the equation. Not even Cain knows exactly what's wrong-"

"What idea are you talking about?" Jace snarled.

"A mana fix," Ral said sheepishly, "Also why are you so mad?"

"I'm not mad."

"You're certainly not pleased Cat Ears."

"That doesn't automatically mean I'm mad!" Jace snapped.

"Alright. Jeez. Any news on Nix. Is she actually missing or…?"

"Last anyone knew she was up near Canada. How she got there so quickly is anyone's guess." He narrowed his eyes, "I have an idea." He looked at Ral, "When everyone realizes I'm gone tomorrow make sure no one comes after me."

"Why?" Ral asked warily.

Jace started walking towards the dorm room, "It'll ruin my plan."

"Cat Ears. What is your plan?"

Jace shrugged, "She's up near Canada. I'm going looking."

"Cat Ears...are you getting yourself caught?" Ral couldn't say he was surprised really.

Jace looked at him, "Not exactly."

"How can you even be sure-"

"I have four words for you Ral," Jace snapped, "Planeswalking telepathic killing machine."

"You aren't a killing machine Cat Ears."

"Would anyone that didn't know me see me as anything different?" Jace asked coldly.

Ral sighed, "Point taken I guess. You're still not a killing machine."

Jace rolled his eyes, "Just make sure no one comes after me. Especially Chandra. She'd ruin everything."

"Alright. I'll keep trying to work on the mana blanket too then."

"Alright," Jace glanced at him, "If my hunch is correct then we'll need that if things go wrong."

"Hunch about what?"

"Nix," Jace said darkly. He left Ral where he was and disappeared into the dorm building.

Ral stared after him curiously, "Alright...Cat Ears. That was quite the odd conversation." He took a deep breath, "Alright."