Sorry for taking so long to update, guys. This week has really just been crazy. But this next chapter is filled with action, as are the chapters for the rest of the story! If my count is correct, we have about two chapters left :( I wish this story didn't have to end because you all have been so wonderful and supportive, but it does. But you guys got me past 200 reviews, which is incredible! Shout out to Bagilia for sending in those last few reviews to get me up there. Glad you're finally out from exams!

Since I'm terrible about replying to reviews, I've been ignoring some pressing questions, most of all: what can we expect for the ending for Ezria? Well... it's not good. Ezra may have admitted he cares about Aria at least slightly, but that doesn't confirm a happy ending for this story. I've been saying since the beginning that the ending of this story is not a happy one. If you're a die hard Ezria fan and you think you're going to hate me if they don't get a happy ending, I suggest you stop reading now. If you think your heart can handle it, by all means go ahead! But I warned you... anyway, enjoy this chapter, and leave a review at the end!

Spencer steered down the streets of Rosewood as she tried to dry her tears with the back of her sleeve, a hard task as she strongly believed in driving safely and keeping her eyes on the road at all times.

She and Toby were over, Aria was nowhere in sight, and for all she knew Mona, Cece, and Ezra could be doing a world of damage. Everything was suddenly tumbling downward into a giant whirlpool of damage that she would never be able to crawl out of.

Just as she lost her train of thought and her vision started to blur with tears, her cell phone rang. Spencer sniffled loudly as she picked it up. "H-hello?"

"Spencer?" Emily asked worriedly on the other end. "Is everything okay?"

Spencer sniffled loudly again, before clearing her throat. "Just peachy, Em," she said hoarsely. "What've you got? Did you find Aria?"

"No, but I did find something else out entirely that might just end this entire thing," Emily said determinedly. "I need you to meet me somewhere."

"Oh, okay," Spencer said abruptly, a little caught off guard as she put on her turn signal. "Where?"

She could hear Emily gulp on the other end. "Ravenswood."

Spencer slammed on her brakes, nearly dropping her phone in the process. "Ravenswood?!"

"Yes," Emily said confidently. "And bring Hanna."

"But Emily - "

Spencer could say no more, because the last thing she heard was a click on the other end, signifying that the conversation was over.

It took several minutes, as her bobby pin was rusty and kept twisting the wrong way, but finally Aria was able to break into the filing cabinet. She sifted through papers, file reports, and markers that had dates written on the tabs, until she finally got to one listing the current month and year.

That makes the most sense, Aria thought to herself as she pulled out the files, holding it in her hands as she flipped through the pages, skimming them for information, which there was a lot of.

Her eyes danced back and forth, back and forth, reading and rereading sentences until she understood every word, every letter. She could feel her heart leap into her throat as she crumpled the file in her hands, wanting so badly to rip it into shreds.

"So you've read it," a deep voice from the front of the room said, not even in the form of a question, but a statement. Aria leaped 2 feet in the air as she whipped around, and she felt her skin prickle at the sight.

There he was. Ezra Fitz, in all of his gorgeous glory.

And for the first time, she was actually seeing him in his black hoodie.

With a shaking hand, Aria held up the file as she glared straight through him. "So it all leads up to this." She spoke quietly, fearful that any louder and her voice would start trembling. "You... you were going to - "

"You need to understand something," Ezra said darkly, his voice like an icicle slicing into her heart, as he walked forward. "You may not like the answer, but you need to understand something: as much as I don't like hurting you or the others, I have to if it means getting to Alison."

Aria gulped loudly. "You were going to... kill us?"

Ezra bowed his head, turning away, as the sight of the hurt in her hazel eyes was too painful. "The torture just wasn't enough... but we finally got a hold of the right technology. A new adapter set came in recently that not only repaired the sound system in the lair, but also dealt with the wiring in our weapons so that we could easily clean up our tracks. It wouldn't have left a trace."

Aria let out a shaky, anger filled breath. "You really need to get to Alison that badly? She's been dead for years now!"

"You and I both know that she's not, Aria!" Ezra shouted, and Aria tried her hardest not to wince at his sharp tone. "Don't think that I don't know what you found out when you girls came to Ravenswood. Don't underestimate me."

"How could I?" Aria said in a mock tone of admiration. "It's impossible to underestimate you sick, sick humans."

"Aria - "

"I can understand you wanting to do something to me," she spat, running over his interruption like a steamroller. "If I annoyed you, if I made your life less bearable by holding you up in your apartment with me and making you watch every single black and white film known to man, I'm sorry. But don't you dare go near my friends!"

"I'll do whatever I need to do if it means getting back at that bitch for what she did to me!" Ezra shot back. "You're all just pawns in a larger game of chess, and the sooner you girls realize that, the sooner this entire thing can end. You may have thought you were clever, sitting in my classroom and sending me petty glares from the far side of the room, pretending that you couldn't be broken, but you can be broken! And you will! In fact, you're supposed to be the first to be broken!"

Aria's heart stopped. "What... what is that supposed to mean?"

At this, Ezra couldn't help it. This was it. He was so close. He was in the room with her, so close to wrapping his hands around her neck, and the ball would get rolling. Alison would come running. As much as he hated to admit it, he knew that deep down Alison cared for the girls. He would never tell the girls this since he wanted them - hell he wanted everyone - to hate Alison as much as he did, but he knew she wanted more than anything to come rushing to their aid.

And with this final blow, she most definitely would. Little torturous tactics had done nothing, but by going this far, he knew the job would be done. Any remorse, any second thoughts, any cold feet along the way would be forgotten the minute he got a hold of Alison DiLaurentis once and for all. He'd be a free man. He could leave Rosewood and start his life over voluntarily, without being forced into it.

Everything would soon be right. All because of this very moment.

"Because of what you know, and what you revealed to the girls," Ezra began coyly, realizing the game he was now playing, "the team and I have decided that you will be the first to go. Once shots are fired at you, Alison will run to the rescue, and by the time we get to the other girls - "

Ezra didn't get a chance to finish, because before he could react Aria was charging toward him full force. He jumped back in surprise, but next thing he realized she was on top of him, and he was on the ground. Ezra struggled, trying to get out of her grip, but she was running on pure adrenaline right now, smacking him about, most likely to stall in some way. Damn, why are all of the Montgomerys so STRONG?

"Doesn't feel so good when you're on the bottom, huh?" she growled in his face. Without thinking, Ezra slapped her across the cheek. Aria yelped, reaching for her cheek, and he took this time to push her off of him and scuttle his way into a standing position.

But just as he had gotten off of the ground, he heard a loud CLANG, and when he looked down, he gasped.

Aria, upon catching her breath, followed his eyes, and gasped as well.

The knife. His father's knife. Mona had retrieved it from Cece for him weeks ago, and he had forgotten it had been tucked away in his pocket ever since.

Ezra looked up in fear, and saw Aria's eyes glowing in the dark like that of a cat, calculating as the cogs turned in her head and she studied him, searched him.

Shit.

"Emily! Emily!"

Emily pulled her Burberry scarf tighter around her neck, blocking out the cold, as she turned toward Spencer and Hanna's calls.

"We came as fast as we could," Hanna said, huffing and puffing as she bent over, hands on her knees, to catch her breath. "What did you want to tell us?"

"And why did we have to come all the way down here?" Spencer asked, looking around her at the creepy, gothic looking buildings and the flocks of black crows flying overhead. She was less than happy to be back in this town, she could say.

"Look, I don't have time to explain everything," Emily said hastily, "but the A team is more merciless than we thought."

"What do you mean?" Hanna asked. "We always knew that they were - "

"Well, even that was an understatement," Emily continued. "Guys, they'll do anything, anything to get to Alison, even if it means doing horrible, horrible things to us in the process."

"So what? We're their little puppets, you're saying?" Spencer asked, growing angrier by the second at the thought of someone using her like that.

Emily nodded her head. "They don't care what happens to us, they just want Alison. Alison did something horrible to Ezra, and to an extent the others."

"What did she do?"

"I can't explain now," Emily said, "but it almost justifies everything they're doing to get to her. But that just means we're in even more danger than we were before, which means - "

"Which means we need to find Aria as quickly as possible before they do something to her," Spencer finished, her heart suddenly racing. "Is that what all of this is about? Do they have her captive? Is that why we're here?"

"I don't know," Emily said, somewhat defeatedly, "but everything has somehow led back to this place, and the lair is right up there, so I thought it'd be a good - "

Before Emily could finish her sentence, there was a long scream coming from an upper level, and the girls halted as their blood streams ran short, turning to arctic temperatures.

"It's Aria," Spencer whispered. "That's Aria's scream."

"C'mon!" Hanna said as she charged toward the door to the stairwell, starting up it. Spencer followed, and Emily started to as well, but then she heard another scream, this one not coming from anywhere in the building.

"Help me! Help me!"

Emily paused, processing. That sounded a lot like...

"Emily, help me!"

Alison.