A/N: eh...this is just a really short filler chapter to prepare you for the next one. Not much going on but it was nessasary. Also, my creative spirit has turned into a ghost and I can't seem to find it anywhere...so you'll have to forgive me if this chapter is a little dry. I'll juice it back up once I find that stupid ghost...grrr...

The Riddlyr

Chapter Twenty-Five

Rail rocked back on his heels, pressing his lips into a thin line as he watched the dirty water of a flooded tunnel rush passed. Far behind him, the muted noise of the new base could just barely be heard…the place where everything was crumbling. The skeleton of a leaf danced precariously on the water, sending ripples sliding up the bank, soaking the hem of Rail's pants.

"Rail?"

Mary's soft voice floated from behind him. Rail kept his eyes fixed on the far side of the flooded tunnel, tracing the lines on the palm of his hand carefully as Mary sat down next to him. The river flowed passed in silence for several minutes.

"It's not over yet, you know," Mary offered quietly, her tangled hair providing a curtain to shield the concern on her face. "It's been several hours since Nero was shot…and there's no sign of infection…maybe there never will be. He'll live…and we can still go on, right?"

Rail picked up a pebble from the ground, carefully rolling it between his fingers with a worn look in his eyes. "Max is gone. Itex will destroy the fledglings before we have a chance to regroup. Almost everyone's dead. Nero's not the only one I'm worried about…"

Mary chewed on her lip, sliding her scarred foot out of its rumbled shoe and slipping it into the water. The current parted around her, staining her skin a faint brown from all the dirt hitching a ride on the Waterways. Mary pulled her foot out, wiggling her toes thoughtfully in the dim light.

"You see how dirty it is?"

Rail glanced at Mary's face, burned beyond recognition, the only hint of humanity being the spark left in her eyes. She turned to him, sliding her foot under her knee and rubbing at it with the hem of her shirt. The dirt washed away as easily as it came.

Mary let her foot slide back in the water, "See? No matter how dirty it gets…I can still clean it off. And no matter how many times I put my foot in the water…it always gets dirty."

Rail took a deep breath, biting back his impatience, "Yeah, so?"

"So," Mary stressed, "it's like the world. We can clean it up all we want, but someone always has to go and stick their foot back in the water. Sometimes it seems hopeless…like the world can never be fixed. But if it really is true that history is doomed to repeat itself…then the good will always win, right? Because the good always wins…it has to."

Rail hugged his legs against his chest, rustling his wings and resting his chin on his knees. He stared at the water curiously, letting Mary's words replay in his head. If good was destined to win…why did it have to be so hard?

"I was thinking," Mary said suddenly, "about something Max said."

Rail bit back the surge of anger in his chest, "Yeah?"

Mary brushed the hair out of her face, "She said you care more about Nero than you've ever cared about anyone before. I've noticed it too…whenever you visited Scribble City before you always seemed to distant…bitter somehow. But when Nero came…it changed. Why…"

"Nothings changed," Rail interrupted, his hand curling into a fist.

Mary blinked, a frown tugging at her lips as she stood up.

Rail let her leave, returning his stare to the water. He glared at the dirt-stained tunnel walls, the anger he'd kept buried rising in his throat. The water would always be dirty…there was no cleaning up a mess like this! Mary didn't know what she was talking about…

The wall was bitterly cold as Rail leaned back against it, the rough stone biting into his wings uncomfortably as he closed his eyes. Why did he care if Nero died? The kid was worth nothing now that Itex had taken what they wanted from him. He was just getting in the way…a betrayer.

A stone clicked a ways up the tunnel, sliding soundlessly into the water. Rail groaned and pushed away from the wall, burying his head into his hands. How could he think that? Nero was…what was Nero?

The brother I never had.

Angel brushed her hand over Nero's forehead, breathing a sigh of relief and letting a smile slide across her lips. His fever had gone down…so much in fact he was almost cold. Wordlessly, she fished a thin blanket out of the supplied from the old base, letting it settle over Nero's form.

Subconsciously, she reached for his thoughts, pulling back suddenly as if she'd been stung. Angel stared at Nero's closed eyes, her heart pounding as she glanced over her shoulder. The small groups of young Erasers and fledglings were scattered far away from her, most sleeping soundly, exhausted from their flight.

Angel took a shuddering breath, bracing herself as she reached out once more…

Nero twisted around, ignoring the biting spray of the ocean on the back of his neck. It felt like someone was watching him…just out of sight. The constant rain of feathers stopped suddenly, the last stragglers from the storm sucked under the black water.

"Water," Nero breathed, stretching his fingers into the waves.

He prayed it was Angel watching him. He prayed that she would hear…

"Water."

Rail jumped when Angel brushed her light fingers over his shoulder. She looked troubled, her brow furrowed as she folded her arms across her chest. "I saw his thoughts," she said flatly, "he wants to tell us…water."

"Water?" Rail repeated, still distracted from his talk with Mary.

Angel nodded, sitting down beside him, "He was sitting on a big rock by the ocean…" she shook her head, rubbing two fingers across her temple, "…it was strange…I've never seen peoples thoughts like that before. It's always been a voice…their inner voice simply speaking to me. Nero…its like he showed me instead. Water…that's all he could say."

She slumped her shoulders, "Water."

Rail closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

Why water?

Itex was set near the edge of Fallbrook, away from the city where they could avoid unwanted complaints. They controlled the world from the outskirts, the puppet masters hidden in the shadows. They could have anything they wanted…all they had to do was ask.

Fallbrook…a city built for the soul purpose of housing Itex.

A city built upon a network of tunnels.

The Waterways…

Rail's eyes snapped open, "Angel…I get it."

Angel flinched as Rail lurched to his feet, almost pushing her into the stream in his hurry to get passed. She gritted her teeth, pulling herself to her feet and following him as he lurched toward the new base. Water…what was there to get?