Warnings for violence, language, sexual abuse, other abuse, mental illness and captivity.

Chapter 29: Are you sure I'm the Threat?

When Alison heard clothes being taken off and a backpack being unzipped, Alison faced Maya and Spencer, still gripping onto the backpack for dear life. She sat down on a chair next to another window, keeping the pack with the documents low behind the duffel bag, determined not to let Spencer notice it or inquire about it. So much as one glance at Spencer's Radley file, and the brunette could have a nervous breakdown.

Either that or accuse Alison of fabricating the file for another one of her extravagant plots. The twisted part of that, Alison actually hoped that of the two possible reactions, Spencer claiming that the blonde had invented the Radley file was the preferable reaction. Better that than endangering Spencer's mental health.

Spencer kneeled down and unzipped one of the sleeping bags, glancing at Alison. "All those times you visited us," She said, more anger creeping into her voice, "And you never told us you were alive?" Alison let out a laugh, smirking, "Really? Is that what you think?" Maya looked between the two girls, unsure whether or not she should be listening to this conversation. In the car there hadn't been much of a choice with the close quarters, but now she knew she probably should go somewhere else for this conversation.

"I actually told Aria I was alive when I visited her when she was drugged by Meredith. The night you found out I was alive. She didn't believe me." Alison smirked, "There was a body, so I kind of can't blame her. I also told Emily when I pulled her out of the shack when she was…" Alison sent a worried glance at Maya, whose head had lifted at Emily's name. "When she was suffocating."

"Wait, what?" Maya demanded, looking from Spencer and Alison now frantically. "Another –A thing," Alison answered, dropping the backpack so no one would look at it, "-A tricked Emily into going into a shack and turned on these fumes of a car. Emily was fine after I pulled her out, just disoriented." Maya took a moment to process that, gasping, eyes huge. Alison gave Maya a look of sympathy. Hearing that the girl Maya cared about so much being in even more danger had to be overwhelming. Spencer cut into Alison's thoughts with a curt, "You didn't say you were alive. She said you didn't say anything except claim that you knew who –A was." Spencer was scowling, "If you knew, why didn't you tell us?!"

Alison frowned. Ah. Here it was. She was going to have to admit that she made a mistake. "I thought I knew who it was." She clarified. "I was wrong. I only found out about Mona after Noel told me about him seeing you and the other girls at the cliff, when Mona fell that night. And I did tell Emily that I was alive. I guess I wasn't the clearest when I told her."

Alison tried not to smirk at her own cryptic words that she had said to Emily. Yeah, maybe not the clearest to say the least.

"Because two can keep a secret, if one of them is dead."

Maybe that hadn't been very clear. Though Alison had hoped Emily had understood. The implication had been there all right. Two could keep a secret if one was dead, then there shouldn't have been any worry, should there? Emily would have realized that Alison was alive. At least, a part of her had hoped that when she had said those words to Emily. Even though she had been so sure that the girls were better off without her, a part of her wanted them to know she was still alive, even though she didn't want to admit that.

"You guess." Spencer snorted, "Who did you think –A was at the time?"

Alison didn't move, her blood starting to chill. Could she say it? Could she really say who she thought –A had been during the girls' last semester? Could she really talk about that?

A flash of her once mother, Jessica DiLaurentis standing over her, piling dirt on top of her daughter, crying out "What have you done?! What have you done?!" almost exploded in Alison's mind. She swallowed bits of bile as the memory taunted her. Sure, she had accepted long ago that Jessica could never be her mother. Not emotionally or otherwise. She had all but officially and legally cut the woman out of her life. And Alison had been taken in by women that had clearly been happy to provide her the love that Jessica had denied her, but it still hurt to remember what Jessica had done to her that night. "It doesn't matter," She forced out, keeping her face cool and maintained, "I mean, it's not like I was right. The person who I thought was –A, wasn't –A, obviously. It was Mona and her cronies. So it doesn't matter anymore."

It didn't matter that she had once suspected her own biological mother.

Or that she had wanted it to be Jessica that had been doing it. Because that was just the type of person Jessica DiLaurentis was. She played her games with people because she could. Because she lived off of other people bending to her.

She had been wrong, but it had fit so well, hadn't it?

Alison knew her cryptic and subtle words weren't convincing Spencer. The brunette was still studying her like she expected more, or a confession of some kind. Alison sighed, feeling her smirk come back, leaning against the back of the chair. "It doesn't matter who I thought it was. What matters is who it is now. Whoever that may be." Alison found her throat still dry. She wasn't surprised at all that her skin tingled with nervousness. If there had ever been a time when she hoped to be wrong, it was now. Unlike Jessica, she could possibly pray that her twin, Courtney was not –A, that was if she was actually religious or believed in an afterlife.

But she couldn't say that she had suspected Jessica. Even if she had given the woman up as her mother, even if she had decided even before she had been buried alive by the woman, that her abusive biological mother should never have had children, and had tried to get Alison to shift the blame of the texts from her stalker earlier to Spencer, making their fights worse, she still knew she couldn't say that she had thought Jessica to be –A in the beginning. Whatever else she was, Jessica had still given birth to her and Courtney. If nothing else.

Spencer glowered, eyes going to the floor in thought. "And you still don't know who that is?" Alison sighed. And here came yet another lie. Thankfully her face was completely neutral. "No. I don't have a clue. No more than you do." That inky black blob of guilt that Alison had felt over time, spilling all those lies to Spencer and the other girls, keeping secrets from them for years stretched out and encased her mind again, but she maintained her cool, calm expression. "Great." Spencer responded, still studying the other girl's expression but found no evidence of a lie.

Alison knew right now they couldn't move on with the conversation, not unless she wanted to risk further investigation on the other girl's part again. "Sorry, Spence," She offered regretfully, "We have more information, but we're not an all knowing group. We're not psychics." Okay, so some of them were. Carla Grunwald, Jack and Sabrina were, but here was the problem with psychics-premonitions often couldn't be relied upon. Premonitions weren't always accurate or specific, so the reliance wasn't always there. And visions, as Alison had learned from their group psychics, were often very muddled. That was why in movies, TV shows and pretty much in any story period, having psychics never worked. It was true to reality. Visions and all their muddled messages never really helped at all. And sometimes those visions were inevitable. And sometimes trying to prevent them actually made said visions occur.

She tried to go into another direction. "I'm sorry. I know we're not being very helpful right now." Alison forged a smile, "I can't say that we know everything, because we really don't. Do you think we'd be right here talking about it if I knew who it actually was?" Spencer was contemplating what the other said, finally stopped asking questions. Whether Alison was telling the truth or not, there was likely not much they could do right now. She just had to make sure Alison, Cece and even Maya didn't leave her sight for tonight.

"I guess not." Spencer said at last, sitting down on the drawer where she had taken out the sleeping bags. Her shoulders sagged. "You'll excuse me if I wanted –A finally gotten rid of."

Alison nodded. "I do know, Spencer. I want the same." Of course, hoping Courtney could be taken without the girl being injured, but Spencer didn't know that of course.

Spencer shook her head, "You could never know how much. We've all lost so much of our lives to –A. I've been applying to colleges, but I'd be really surprised if I got into any of them by this point."

Alison scoffed at the exclamation. "My foot. If they don't take you, then that's their loss, and they don't deserve you." Spencer gawked at the high praise, stunned. Alison raised her head, meaning every word she said. And why shouldn't she mean it? It was true. Any university would be lucky to have Spencer.

Maya watched the two and slowly went over to some books lining the shelves, deciding to look at them, realizing this was something she probably shouldn't be listening in on too much. Her detachment from the situation went unnoticed by both other girls and the two kept their gazes on each other. Alison continued, voice firm, "It doesn't matter if you don't get into Harvard, Yale, Brown, Princeton, or any shiny Ivy League school. Just because you don't get into those schools doesn't mean anything. The school you end up going to won't define you. You're more than just a freaking school or your grades. And just because an Ivy League school is the school your parents want you to go to doesn't mean that you automatically have to go to one."

Alison mentally cursed at herself for saying what she said. It was true that she was hoping Spencer and the other girls would have happy, safe, normal lives after all this, and she meant it when she said that any and all school would be lucky to have Spencer at their institution, but she had sworn to herself that she would stop sticking her nose into their business. It wasn't her place to tell them what to do or even suggest it. It never had been. Still, Spencer was going to stress out about college, and she knew it. Spencer's parents put her through so much stress, put too many expectations on someone so young. Alison knew what that looked like all too well. She didn't just need to see Spencer every day four years ago as proof of it. All she had to do was look in the mirror. Her parents had done the same thing to her.

She knew damn well what those kinds of expectations and that kind of pressure could do to a person that young.

"I," Spencer sputtered, still stunned, "What…...those schools are some of the best schools. Not that it's any of your business, but I need to get into those schools."

Alison sighed, trying not to be too hurt over what Spencer had said. No, it wasn't her business. But she wouldn't just stand back and do nothing while Spencer's life was dictated by other people. "No, you don't. No one has to go to a school they don't want to." Alison smiled, "I believe if you do something based on someone else's orders, that's not really living your life." As soon as she said that, Alison winced. Damn it. Well, there was her foot jammed right into her mouth. She hadn't meant to say it like that. Damn it. She mentally kicked herself. She opened her mouth to apologize quickly, but Spencer's fire had already been kindled. She stood up, a fierce look on her face, locking eyes with Alison's.

"What are you saying? I want to go to these schools. If I don't get into them…" Spencer's voice broke off, the brunette looking so forlorn that Alison was torn between wanting to take the other girl in her arms to comfort her, or to go back to Spencer's home and give Peter and Veronica a piece of her mind, which wouldn't be too hard to do, since they'd be too busy nearly fainting over her being alive.

"Is that you talking?" Alison asked in a gentle tone, "Or your parents talking? If this was what you really wanted, that decision would clearly be completely up to you. But it's not you making the decisions is it? It's Peter and Veronica, isn't it?" Alison knew already they had gone too far now. The genie was not going to go back into the bottle. Alison wasn't angry right now, but Spencer was. And Alison had foolishly already decided to open up some wounds in her urge to "help" Spencer.

Spencer's eyes darkened in anger, in that way that excited Alison. Though Alison was faintly aware of Maya's presence behind them and the other girl getting nervous, Alison knew it was too late now. So she just decided to finish the fight now. She had to, unless she wanted the situation to escalate any more than it already had. "What would you know?" Spencer growled, "You left. It's not your business. My parents want what's best for me. They're not like yours."

Whatever plans Alison had had of defusing the situation now, flew out the window as Alison burst out laughing at that preposterous statement. Spencer was clearly taken aback by the laughter. The blonde just chuckled, left hand going to her forehead, stroking her hair from her face, "Oh Spencer, I'm sorry. But did my mother and father give you the impression that they wanted the best for me? There's a reason why I left, as you know. You're right, I left, but I do know what different types of unhealthy households look like." Alison's hand left her face and her voice took a poignant tone as she faced the perplexed and frustrated Spencer.

"Spencer, I realized at some point that I couldn't live the dreams that my parents wanted for me. Your parents might not be physically abusive like mine were, but what they're doing is not for you. It's for them." When Spencer's eyes flashed again, Alison added gently, "I had to decide at some point if I was just living to be Jessica's and Kenneth's, and even Jason's sacrifice, and I refused. You don't have to be Peter's, Veronica's and Melissa's sacrifice, Spencer. Your life is yours to live. No one else's."

The stunned Spencer didn't say anything, her eyebrows knitting together. Alison chuckled again, tone rueful. "I know. I'm sorry. I told myself that I wouldn't butt into your lives anymore, but I…I can't bear seeing you in this much pain and stress." The words affected Spencer, startling her, and leaving her speechless. For about a few seconds, till her next words were out, "I'm not in pain." Spencer's words sounded hollow, though, completely lost on when Alison actually chose to start apologizing, which, four years ago, she would never have done. Alison smiled sadly. "If you say so." She said quietly.

Maya watched the whole thing, almost shivering at the tension in the room, realizing she was listening in on something very, very personal.

Alison just nodded. "But it is your decision in the end. Not your parents' or sister's, and not mine either. You do what you want to do, Spence." Alison sighed and sat back down in her chair, the dark impulses to insult Peter and Melissa being pushed aside. Right now, they had to focus on escaping –A. She averted her gaze from the brunette, keeping in mind where the backpack with the files were behind her feet, grateful when she heard the shower turn off, knowing Cece was done with her shower at least.

(Page break)

Seeing Charles enter the house again, Courtney crossed her arms over her chest. "So?" She demanded, "Is it done? Are Kahn and Drake gonna keep their mouths shut from now on?" Charles snorted, "Don't jump to conclusions," The blonde man pulled his right arm inside, revealing one of their tracking devices to his sister. "I told Noel where I had put our tracking device, because I want them to trust us more. We need their loyalty if we want them to let us kill off the A-Team members. So I told them and hopefully, that gives them good incentive not to tell Ali about me and what I'm doing." Courtney rolled her eyes and started walking away from Charles as he closed the door.

"Where's aunt Jessica?" Charles asked, looking up the stairs. "Who cares?" Courtney growled, "The bitch said that she had to do some checkups at the doctor's office. Probably bribing the doc to freeze her eggs so she can have more kids to abuse." Charles chuckled. "I think she's at the age where it won't matter if she freezes her eggs or not. I think her biological clock is past it by now. I don't know specifically how old my mother is, but I'm certain they're both too old to have kids now." Courtney shrugged. "Then she already froze her eggs and wants more kids to abuse. Whatever." The small blonde turned to her brother and cousin. "When the bitch comes back, tell her that I just went out to get something." Courtney hesitated as she scooted to the back door, "That's not entirely untrue though."

Charles grimaced. "The pig?" Courtney smirked over her shoulder at Charles. "You know it."

(Page break)

Noel arrived at the hideaway, car parking next to Shana's vehicle and got out, scanning the area, grabbing the black gloves from his pocket, putting them on and locked the door, going to where Shana said they were, knocking. The door opened a creak and Noel saw his sister, Margo peeking out. She smiled and opened the door fully, letting Noel in. "Hey!" Noel said, ducking in and Margo closed the door. "Is everyone alright?" Noel called out, looking from Shana, Kira and Sam, to Margo. All of them nodded. "Yeah." Margo said, "We're good. "Shana contacted me after she found out about Jack's vision." Noel nodded but brought a gloved finger to his lips. That quieted all of them as they looked curiously at him.

Noel looked pale and said, "I think we should check this place out. Scan it as much as we can, wherever we can. –A might have bugged us. Cece and I found a tracer on my convertible and got rid of it." As Noel spoke, he knew he had to decide if this was going to be a secret between him and Cece, or between all of them, to keep it from Alison, but he knew the more people knew, the harder it would be to keep that secret. So he made the choice immediately. This was between him, Cece and yes, even Charles.

At Noel's revelation, all of the girls in the room looked shocked. "What?!" Shana hissed. "Yeah," Noel chuckled, "I know, right?" "Shit," Kira growled, "Do you still have it?" "No," Noel said, thinking quickly, "I got so freaked out that I smashed it. Cece told me not to, but I was just freaked." Besides, if he hadn't given the device back to Charles, Alison and the others might have tried to track down where or who the tracer led to.

At the stunned silence in the room, Noel urged quickly, "We should start looking around. I don't think that there are any trackers or bugs here, but we should still check before we say anything else."

"Right." Sam agreed. Soon, all five people in the room, all with black gloves on their hands, started to check around the room, from inch to inch.

After almost twenty minutes of not finding anything, from the boxes, to the fridge, to the beanbags that were meant as beds, to the shelves, to the empty places of the hideaway, to the light bulbs themselves and the door itself (both places they checked, they found nothing) they finally submitted that there was nothing to be found whatsoever. Relieved, they faced each other again.

"One more thing!" Margo cried, pulling out her phones and reaching out for the others' phones. They looked at each other and all nodded. In the world where paranoia was the wise reaction to have, they had to take literally every necessary step to make sure they weren't listened in on. They all pulled out their phones and stuck them under the beanbags, obscuring whatever speakers or listening devices the already duct taped phones had.

When they looked at each other again, Noel smiled. "Okay, so speak then."

"Right," Sam said, letting loose a dry laugh. "Mrs. Grunwald called. She said Jack had another vision. This one way worse than the last." Sam looked nervous by what she was about to say. "Noel, has Cece been acting funny lately?" Noel looked confused before shaking his head. "Why?" Sam hesitated and glanced at Shana and Kira, then at Margo, who looked just as uncertain as the skateboarder did. She then looked back at Noel. "Grunwald called, under a guarded phone line, so no one could listen in, and told us about Jack's vision. It was a bad one. Apparently we had already started a massacre in Rosewood. At least, that's what the vision showed Jack." Noel's stomach tightened when he heard this, thinking about his and Cece's conversation in the car.

Jack was now having visions of a massacre in Rosewood. Was that really inevitable? Was it really going to happen? "How is Cece involved with the vision though?" Noel asked, dark eyebrows narrowed. Sam bit her lower lip and looked uncomfortable, as if she was saying something about Cece that she shouldn't. "Well," the girl began, "You see…

Shana decided to save her sister from becoming more uncomfortable and feeling like she had betrayed their other sister as she spoke up, "The thing is, that Jack saw Cece in his vision. She was wearing a black hoodie. So was Spencer. And he saw Alison's twin. Courtney. She was with them. And Wolfgang, Will, Sun, Gabe, Cyrus, Natalie, Miyako, her sisters, they were all there. They were part of the massacre. We, and Ali didn't show up at all in the vision though, according to Mrs. Grunwald. And the whole place was on fire. And three people that Jack didn't recognize that were wearing hospital gowns were running around, laughing."

Noel heard all this, eyebrows twitching slightly at the information he was absorbing. That sounded like chaos. They're massacres in a nutshell. There was a massacre on his way, and it sounded like all the others were getting ready to be participants in it. But what would Cece and Spencer be doing with Courtney? Noel's face became pale as he thought about the possibilities. The problem with some of Jack's visions, they showed what happened, but never how it happened. There were flaws in there being seers in the world, to say the least.

Still, how could Cece and Spencer have been involved? Even if Cece was keeping a secret about Charles from Alison like he was, there was no way Cece would side with the –A team. Not unless she was faking it. "She wouldn't join –A." Noel said angrily. "You know that." "Okay." Margo said evenly, "But Noel, even if we're sure of Cece, are we sure of Spencer? Ali knows her, but do we? And is Ali really so trusting of Spencer? What if she's wrong? I mean, you remember Mona and Hanna, right?"

Noel grimaced. He didn't want to lump Spencer in the same category as Mona, but Margo had a point. "Noel," Sam said, now looking scared, "Is Ali safe with Cece and Spencer? Should we really leave her alone there? Or Maya for that matter?" Noel snorted, though now feeling uneasy too as he thought about it, "I told you, Cece can be trusted." Kira nodded, "Well yeah, but even if she is, we've heard about the things Spencer and those other girls said when they thought Ali was dead. They say bad stuff about her, Noel. Hurtful stuff. They act like Ali's a bitch, even though they're just as bad. They blame her for everything. Are we sure Spencer can be trusted?"

Noel took a breath, thinking about this. All of them had a point. He really wasn't sure if Spencer could be completely trusted either. "Alright," He said, mind racing now, "Maybe we should have a couple of people watch the place. Shana, Margo, do the two of you remember where Spencer's grandma's house is?" Shana nodded. "Yep." Margo confirmed.

"Okay," Noel said Shana, Margo, the two of you watch the house, make sure Spencer doesn't try anything, if there's any chance at all that you're right. If so, call us, and the three of us will crash the party." Kira and Sam both smirked at the promise of action. Shana nodded and she and Margo picked up their redcoats from where they lay. The five of them grabbed their phones from under the beanbags. Noel followed Shana and Margo out to the car. He said, "There might be a bug or tracer on your car. We should check." Margo and Shana both said, "Okay." The three then proceeded to check every inch of the car, its engine and the tires and the places between the tires. Finding nothing, as Kira and Sam came out, they all said their goodbyes. They hugged the others and waved to each other. Noel added to both women, "If you're right about Spencer, don't hurt her. You know it'll hurt Ali, if you do." "Right." Shana said and she and Margo headed out.

The three remaining redcoats walked back into the hideaway as they heard Shana's car start up and drive out of the area. Noel looked at Sam and Kira. "Thanks for that new reason to be paranoid." He grumbled, looking back at the closed and locked door. Kira shrugged. "We're doing what's necessary. You know that, bro." Noel nodded. "Unfortunately, I do." He really, really hoped they were wrong about Spencer and Cece.

(Page break)

Alison leaned back against the cabin door, listening to the crickets, smiling, the backpack with Spencer's Radley file on her back, same as always. This wasn't that bad at all. Though she had been afraid that Spencer wouldn't trust her at all, and maybe she had spoken out of turn, earning a few dirty looks from Spencer that were probably deserved, here they were, at the cabin together. It was nice though. Being able to make sure Spencer slept and was taken care of and talked with the other girl about college, made Alison feel oddly warm and happy. Maybe she had gone against her own promise to herself that she wouldn't interfere in Spencer's life again, but if it meant making sure the brunette had a free, happy life, then it was worth it. Maybe it was selfish relishing in that she might have done something right, but it was what it was.

Maya had been nervous but agreed to help watch the stuff they had as they stayed at the cabin. Cece had been teasing with them a bit as they finally got tucked in for bed, with some last warnings from Alison. Spencer had been suspiciously watching Ali for a while, till she fell asleep.

Alison looked back through the small crack between the door and the doorjamb at where Cece, Maya and Spencer were curled up in their sleeping bags, the USB drives and the recording box snuggly between Cece's and Maya's sleeping bags, keeping them guarded. And now Spencer had learned that Noel and Cece were trustworthy-though she doubted the other girl believed that. Still, even if Spencer didn't trust them, at least she knew now that they were with the redcoats, and she now knew who the redcoats were. She'd have to tell Spencer about Wren soon too. She made a mental note to do that.

A snort of breath made Alison snap her head to the right, tense, ready for a fight. "If that's what making sure Spencer gets all tucked into bed does to you, I don't even want to think about how fucking Spencer might be!" Courtney grinned as she leered at her sister from where she crouched next to the redcoat. Alison didn't move, she wasn't even sure she could breath. Here she was. No mask, hood off, scarred face, grinning at her.

Having Courtney here, Alison could see, even in the dim porch light of Spencer's nana's house and the light of the cold, eerie moon that they weren't identical twins. Courtney's frame was slighter, her face more narrow and her hair lighter. Her eyes were lighter too and there was a scar from her forehead to the start of her right cheek. Here she was. Courtney DiLaurentis crouching down, knees sticking out looking not that much different from a deranged creature of some kind, looking at her sister with glee and amusement, black hood down, revealing a long mane of pale blonde, nearly white hair.

"Are you really here?" Alison asked, heart pounding, already sure of the answer, but needing the mad girl's confirmation.

"You know I'm not." Courtney sneered, bright blue eyes gleaming with her madness, "I'm just jumping in and seeing how you and Spence are. Did you like my little message a few hours ago? I'm not bluffing by the way. You might want to find a way around my gag order, or else Hannakins and mommykins go to jail." Alison's jaw clenched, blood boiling and for a moment, Alison forgot her shock over seeing Courtney without a mask and up close.

"I'd watch it if I were you." Alison hissed.

"Oh but that's the thing, isn't it?" Courtney chuckled, leaning back so she was propped up against the wall, "I might as well be you, right? Oh sure, we're different people, but we might as well not be. As I said, we're exactly alike. I might be a little more…unhinged than you, but I love a good game just as much as you do."

As Alison recovered from really seeing Courtney here, she mumbled out, "This isn't a game, Courtney. We're talking about peoples' lives here. You can't just toy around with people like they're dolls." Courtney smirked still leering at the older. "You used to."

Alison stiffened, a shot of guilt, reminding her what she used to be squirming into her stomach. "I regret it," She said evenly to the amused Courtney, "I'll regret it for the rest of my life. Do you want to end up doing the same?" Courtney snorted, resting her white-blonde head against the windowsill. "You think just because you feel guilt, you're a good person? What good does guilt do? People feel guilty all the time, but still commit the same atrocities that they did before. Because they excuse themselves, saying things like 'I'm just doing my job,' or 'I deserve this reward' or 'god will forgive me.' People commit wrongdoings all the time, knowing they're wrong, but don't stop. Why are you and I so bad by comparison?"

Courtney got up from where she had been leaning and started walking around the still seated Alison. Alison never once took her eyes off the other. "That doesn't excuse anything." Alison threw at Courtney. "We don't get an excuse for acting like every other wrongdoer in the world." Courtney stopped walking and turned to look Alison, smirking. "Don't we though?" Courtney swiveled around, walking slower, "You know that Rosewood cops aren't the only lousy cops in the world. Why, just the other day, there was a story about cops in Brooklyn shooting a black guy just because he had his hand in his pocket. Many of the cops there did not fire the gun that killed the man. But they were there, and they did nothing. Yet for their wrongdoings, they got no punishment, none. And do you know why? You know why they got off and why no one cared that the black guy died? Because apparently it's okay to shoot black people." Courtney's face became a devilish grin that made Alison's heart race at the maliciousness in it. "People get away with racist, misogynistic, and homophobic crimes all the time, and it's not even publically called a crime. So what's the harm here?

"If the cops can get away with anything, including being tyrants, why should the civilians who they're supposed to be protecting, do any better?" Courtney finished, swaying back and forth on her feet.

Alison shook her head, trying not to shiver at her sister's warped logic. "That doesn't mean that we get to act like tyrants." Courtney cocked her head, meeting Alison's eyes, smirking. "And murderers?" Alison didn't move for a second. "Tell me, Ali," Courtney continued, slowly walking closer, "How many people have you killed? While you're busy standing on a soapbox, lecturing me, how many people have you killed? I know that Ian wasn't your first kill. I've felt you kill before. How many, sister, out of curiosity? Can you even keep track anymore?"

Alison felt her throat go dry. Her sister was asking a good question. Whatever her flaws, Courtney was right about one thing. Her big sister was far from innocent. And never would be.

Alison DiLaurentis was not an innocent person.

Alison contemplated her sister's question. How many had she killed? Besides Ian, there were the explosions in the BPO labs, the fire in the city that she, Kira and the others had unleashed on Fat Bullet and his gang, the pedophiles in Boston that she, Miyako and Shana had massacred in a rage, and then there were the cultists in New Hampshire. Alison felt her shoulders sag. She really didn't know how many she had killed. She just didn't. She had tried to keep track after the first man she had ever killed in Maine who had tried to rape a girl, if only to make sure she wouldn't take anyone's lives for granted, even a rapist's, but she just didn't remember anymore.

She met Courtney's gaze, observing the satisfied, all too knowing grin on the other's face. "Don't answer," Courtney chuckled, "I already know that you can't remember. So tell me, oh noble sister, how is it, killing as many people as you've killed? Tell me, Ali, how does it feel to murder someone?" Alison scowled at the smirking psychopath. She couldn't help but feel some relief, though. If Courtney was asking this, then she hadn't killed anyone yet, right? Despite the crimes Courtney had committed, murder thankfully was not one of them. "I'm not telling you that." Alison grumbled, throwing a glance through the slightly ajar door, making sure Spencer was still asleep on the couch. If the brunette woke up and found her talking to herself, there would be a lot Alison just would not be able to explain.

"Hmm," Courtney mumbled, shifting closer. When Alison turned away from the door to face Courtney again, she almost jumped when Courtney ended up crouching down right in front of her, face just inches from hers. Alison looked at the other, confused. "You know," Courtney said, smirking, "Murder isn't the only pleasure that people condemn others for committing. Sex is one too. Not just rape, but just sex. I mean, have you heard how judgmental people are of each other's sexual lives and tastes? I mean, honestly, so some people like being tied up, some people like being spanked, some people like being cut or strangled. As long as it's all consensual and safety's taken into account, who cares?" Alison felt a numb feeling slither throughout her body. She did not like where this was going. And needless to say, she didn't want to be having this kind of chat with her sister.

"And I mean, it doesn't matter what kind of sex it is," Courtney elaborated, smirking and looking past Alison at the still sleeping Spencer, "Someone is gonna judge you, no matter what you do. So how about this, sis?" Courtney nodded towards the inside of the cabin, "Just have some fun for a little while. Because we both know, that no matter what you do right for this town, for these four girls, they'll never forgive you for who you used to be. They'll always judge you, no matter what you do to protect them. So just have some fun, okay? And don't act like Spencer wasn't looking at you in the bathroom. We both know she was."

Alison stiffened, disgust and unease mounting. "You saw that." She said, not using it as a question. She shouldn't be surprised. Courtney shrugged, "Of course I did. Maybe she won't say it, but I'm betting she wants you too. Besides, a little nice and good fucking from you might do her some good after Toby backstabbed her." Alison snapped her head around to stare hard at Courtney, feeling her right hand clench. "If you were actually here…" Alison warned through gritted teeth.

"You'd what?" Courtney asked, glancing down at Alison's balled up fist, "You'd hit me?" Her voice wasn't taunting, it sounded genuinely curious.

Alison mulled the question over and ignored. No. No she couldn't. She knew what damage physical abuse did to someone. Who she had been years ago had been proof of that. "No." She said at last, unclenching her hand. "I'm not going to do to you what our mother did to us for years."

Courtney snickered, looking back at Spencer. "Jessica never hit me. She just locked me up like I was an animal."

Alison stared at her sister, all anger and disgust leaving her for a moment, pure empathy hitting her, heart hurting for her sister and what their mother had done to the girl. "Why?" She asked at last, voice almost trembling, "Why did she lock you up?" Courtney turned back to Alison, smirk still fixed on her face. "Oh, Ali, you should know this game. If I told you that, where would all the surprises go? I can't tell you that just yet, it would spoil the surprise. Now, speaking of Jessica, why are you being such a prude over Spencer? It's not like the woman that gave birth to us was discreet at all when she went behind Kenneth's back and fucked Peter."

Alison cocked an eyebrow at how much Courtney was cursing. Boy. For a moment, the pain that came with thinking about what Courtney had gone through at Radley warred with some amusement. This girl didn't know about subtlety, did she? She couldn't blame her poor sister.

"I don't think we want to follow either Jessica or Peter's example, Courtney." Alison threw back, quite sure that Jessica and Peter were outstanding examples of what not to do in a marriage.

"Meh," Courtney lobbed, smirking, "Infidelity, who cares? But that's the thing. If human beings stopped being so prude, maybe there wouldn't be such a stigma over it. Animals have sex all the time. Why are we any different?" Courtney went back to leering at Spencer through the slender crack of the open door, making Alison turn to the door and slowly close it. This earned her a pout from Courtney. "Selfish." She mumbled, getting up from where she crouched down in front of Alison. "What was I saying again? Oh, right." Courtney twitched and her body convulsed, making Alison sit up straight. "Courtney?" Alison asked, concerned. Courtney grinned wide and giggled hysterically, making Alison almost jump. "Sorry," Courtney giggled, "Just a psychotic habit." Courtney's body stopped shaking and she just smiled, "Forget it. It happens. Just like people acting like they're better than everyone else just because they haven't had sex." Courtney's back straightened out as she started roving around again, "Or someone saying that they're wiser because they've had a lot of sex. Our society has such a ludicrous view of sex, doesn't it?"

Alison eyed Courtney, caught off guard. Hadn't Patrick said that Courtney hadn't twitched around or anything like that? Maybe Courtney could contain her habits, to a point. Trying not to let Courtney know what she was thinking, Alison asked, "So you've said. What's the point of this now?"

"I'm just saying," Courtney grinned again, "That it seems kind of funny that the ones preaching about what is right when it comes to murder or sex, are the ones breaking those rules regularly. Just look at cops, politicians and priests for fuck's sake. So if the people in power get away with committing such supposedly vile acts but cover it up because they don't want people to know they dabble in it, what's to stop the supposed flock from committing the same acts to experience that bliss? What I'm saying is, Ali, you're trying to be so good and self-righteous, you're ignoring your own desires. Have you lost all your need for Spencer while you were trying to be a better person?"

Seeing her sister tense, averting her gaze, Courtney chuckled, "Of course you haven't. And before you try to be even more self-righteous, as we've established, you've killed people. My guess? Countless victims." As Alison kept her eyes averted, Courtney lowered herself again, leaning close to Alison's ear as she breathed out, "Let me ask you this one thing before you go off to bed and tell yourself that you're not like me. All the people you've killed, when you took their lives, Ali, how did it feel? How did you feel when you were bathed with their blood?"

The question should have disgusted Alison. She knew it should have, but she knew she couldn't lie to Courtney either. If she wanted the other girl to trust her, then like Spencer, she had to tell Courtney the truth. Still, the answer just couldn't come out. It was buried under loads and loads of denial and words that she had repeated to herself over and over to keep herself from going over the edge and being afraid of looking the children in their family; Patrick, Sofia, Victoria, Julia, Jack, Jin, Kirana, Takuma, Rikona, Jesbir and the other children in the eyes and letting it known just what kind of monster she was.

"Come on, Ali," Courtney urged, "You can say it. I won't tell if you won't. But we both know the answer anyway. How did you feel when you killed all of your prey? When your hands were slick with blood? When you were high on the deaths of those whose lives you snuffed out?"

Alison closed her eyes. She knew Courtney wasn't really here. Not physically, anyway. But she could feel her sister's presence, feel the other girl's breath, feel her eyes burning into her sister. Inevitably, Alison knew what the answer was, and knew it was the one she had to give to Courtney. She had to tell her sister the truth, no matter how brutal or unforgivable it was.

Alison finally opened her eyes and stared off into the woods around the cabin. "Alive." She said at last, releasing a small, pained laugh, knowing that this admittance had done nothing. Just spoken what she and Courtney already knew.

Alison didn't need to see Courtney's face to know her sister was grinning. She felt the other lean in closer. "I knew it. Are you sure I'm the threat?" Courtney whispered into her sister's ear. "And you know what else? Spencer's like us too. She hasn't killed yet, but she will. And when she does? She'll feel the bloodlust and the power burn through her, just like you always do." Alison turned her head to glare at Courtney. The younger stood back a bit as Alison's eyes trailed up to Courtney's scar, going from the girl's forehead to her cheek. "Who did that to you?" Alison asked, now fixated on the younger's scar.

The pale-haired girl didn't answer as she smirked, slowly disappearing, image becoming see-through. "Courtney," Alison repeated, voice now strained, "Where are you? Please just let me help you, sister." The dark smirk on Courtney's face widened. "I'm not the one that needs help. See yah, sis." Courtney giggled before disappearing.

Alison watched as her sister's image vanished and sighed, leaning further back into the wooden wall of the cabin. What did she do now? Sure, she had seen her sister's face, up close, without her mask, but did that make a difference? No, it didn't. She had already known that she was looking for someone that looked just like her with a few small differences. And she had already known that Courtney was as batshit crazy as hell. But what good had this little meeting done? Nothing.

It had done nothing.

It had just confirmed that Courtney knew that they were alike, and that her sister wanted Spencer too. That part didn't make anything worse or better. Just confirmed everything. Alison peered back up at the stars. What did she do now? How could she help Courtney? Could she even do it? She thought about the mad gleam she had seen in her sister's eyes. Did her sister even want to be helped?

Behind Alison, within the cabin, leaning against the wall and listening in through the open window, was Cece. She tried to ignore her rapid heartbeat, shivering at what she had heard. She had heard Alison talking to someone. But she hadn't heard anyone else's voice. Had Alison been talking with Courtney? Had she literally been having a conversation with her psychotic twin?

Cece pulled away from the window, jarred, and hobbled over to the door, looking back over at the sleeping bags where the other three slept. She turned back to the door and pushed it open, looking down at Alison who turned to her, startled. "Cece?" Alison asked, curious, "What's up?" Her dark blue eyes became wary. "Were…were you listening?"

"What? No." Cece laughed, already knowing it was no use, "Of course not." At Alison's lifted eyebrow, the older blonde deflated. "I heard you, Ali. Only your voice. No one else's." Alison shifted, worried by what Cece was saying. Cece breathed out, walking out of the cabin, closing the door and kneeling down, sitting next to her sister. "Look, Ali, I know how your connection with Courtney works," She wrapped her left arm around Alison's shoulders and pulled the younger close, planting a kiss to Alison's forehead gently, smiling at how the younger smiled from the action.

"Love you, Cece." Alison said quietly, making the older hug the younger tighter. Cece knew that Alison was loyal, and loved her just as much as she loved the younger, but hearing Alison talk to someone that wasn't physically there-talk to Courtney, her unease grew. "I love you too, Ali," She said, hiding her fear, "You should get back to bed. We need to plan as soon as we wake up, and we should all get a full night's rest." Alison smiled, showing a big one but not fooling Cece at all. "Sure, like you've never pulled an all nighter of partying and was able to function the next day." The younger remarked, smile turning to a smirk as she got up from the wooden porch.

Cece chuckled, getting up as well, "I believe if I've done something, it's a model example of things not to do so as not to follow my mistakes." Alison shrugged, "Well, staying up all night isn't so bad. We've done it before. I guess time to get to bed."

Cece smiled and followed Alison inside, closing and locking the door before doing the same with the window she had been listening in on Alison through. She wasn't going to mention the fears that were on her mind. Not that she wanted to be secretive from Ali anymore than she already was being, but she had a feeling that Alison already knew.

As they got to their sleeping bags, slipping under them, Alison pulling off the backpack that she never seemed to let out of her sight, putting it in the sleeping bag with her, whispering quietly, "Night, Cece." And Cece smiled, mumbling the same back, she watched as Alison wrapped herself up in the bag. Cece laid her head against the puffy material, making out the three dark figured bundled up in front of her. She took one last glance at the USB drives and the recording box between her and Maya, in reassurance. She wasn't disconcerted by any means by Alison talking to herself. She knew it hadn't been necessarily herself she had been talking to. Alison had been speaking to Courtney, and that scared Cece for an entirely different reason than any worry for mental stability.

There was a question of just how much influence Courtney had on Ali. Alison pretended that she was at peace a great deal of the time, but her dark side was always lurking, just like it was for every human being. And the problem was, that just like every other person in Rosewood, Alison was very familiar with her dark side. How much an affect could Courtney have on her sister?

Cece turned more to the floor, burying her face in the sleeping bag. I'm not scared that you'll make a mistake. I'm scared that I'll lose you. Cece's pained thoughts stayed with her as she drifted to sleep fear for what Courtney might pull next plaguing her, along with wondering if telling Alison the truth about Charles might make a difference.

Outside the cabin, in the woods stood Shana and Margo, both having heard the "interaction" between Alison and this Courtney. Margo looked nervously at Shana behind the brush where they were hiding. "Ali has conversations like the sensates?" Shana's breath was low. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm hoping that's all it is." At Margo's questioning look, Shana said, even if Courtney can get into Ali's head, at least Alison doesn't have to deal with one more thing. Being mentally ill." Margo shrugged. "Well, she's still connected mentally to an insane person." Shana sighed. That was true.

(Page break)

Hours later

Connecticut:

The morning light poured in through the kitchen window into the room through the white curtain, shining on both the mother and her daughter.

The small girl put her toys and rubber ball back into the plastic bin where all the toys were kept, her mother, Adriana Castell sat at the table, stirring her morning coffee. Sofia grabbed the plastic white handle of the plastic orange cart and rolled it across the room, the cart full of shaking stuffed animals, trembling from the movement the girl was putting the cart through. Having long since gotten used to the noise, Adriana just sipped her coffee and turned the newspaper pages, till she heard Sofia stop and speak up, small voice worried, "Mama?"

Adriana turned to the girl, mid-sip of her coffee.

The little seven-year-old asked, almost looking worried about asking again, "Do you know if Ali and Sammy are coming back soon?"

Adriana didn't move at that. Only after another second pass, did she lower her cup back to the table and regard her youngest. "Fia, sweetie," Adriana began gently, "I've told you. Ali and Sammy have things they need to take care of in Rosewood. They'll be back soon." Sofia nodded, face lowering sadly, watery smile on her face, pulling at Adriana's heart painfully. "I know mama. But how soon?"

Adriana winced and was about to answer when there was a startling knock on the door, making both mother and daughter jump and turn to the door. Adriana looked at her daughter and said gently, "Wait a moment, sweetheart." She got up from the table and walked to the door. Adriana reminded herself where the weapons were in the house, before sliding back the pale curtain from the square window beside the door, revealing a figure Adriana recognized.

Shigeko Yamashita.

Adriana sighed, dropping the curtain. Miyako's older sister.

If it had just been Miyako that had come, or Miyako plus one of her sister's or more, she might not be concerned, but if it was only one of Miyako's sisters that was here abruptly and without any call to prepare Adriana, the woman had a feeling this was a serious matter that was about to be talked about.

"Sofia, sweetie?" Adriana called out, unlocking the front door, "I need to talk to Shigeko about something important, so can you go to your room, just for a little while and play with your toys?" She could feel Sofia's frown at the request but opened the door slowly, looking at a tall, cool faced Shigeko with short black hair in a ponytail and dark eyes watching the other woman with collected calmness and focus.

"Hey, Shigeko." Adriana said, not sure where to begin. Shigeko gave a small smile, "Hello, Adriana. May I come in? There's something that needs to be discussed." Adriana nodded, opening the door wider and gestured for the other woman to come in. Shigeko walked in smoothly, smiling and turned to where Sofia still stood, looking curiously at who was coming into the home. Sofia grinned when she saw the warrior in the room.

"Aunt Shigeko!" Sofia cried happily, dropping the cart's handle and a stuffed animal she was holding in her other hand and ran over to the tall woman. "Hello, Sofia. I missed you, little one." She leaned down as the girl jumped up, the two embracing. Shigeko patted Sofia's back as the overjoyed girl squeezed her arms around the woman's head fiercely. "Fia," Adriana chuckled, closing the door behind her, "Don't try to crush Shigeko's head. She needs that." Shigeko let out a chuckle, somewhat unbecoming of one as serious as she was, and she pulled away from Sofia. "It's alright, sweetie. I don't mind. Now, Sofia, is it okay if I talk to your mommy alone?"

The small girl frowned but looked between her mother and aunt and nodded, releasing the woman and walking to her stuffed bunny and bear, grabbing them both and heading to her room. "We can watch something later, right?" She looked over at Shigeko and her mother. "Of course, sweetie," Adriana answered, "Whatever you want. Beauty and the Beast this time, right?" The girl shook her head. "Uh-uh, I want to watch Aladdin. We can watch Beauty and the Beast when Ali and Sammy come back, right?" Both women tensed, but kept smiles on their faces. "Sure, honey." Adriana said as the small girl ran off to her room.

When they heard the girl's door shut, Shigeko turned to Adriana, standing up fully and walking to the dining room table, nodding to a chair. "May I sit down?" Adriana smiled, "Sure. Go ahead." Shigeko seated herself right next to the seat with the mug of coffee in front of it, facing the other woman. "So," Shigeko began, eyes hard, "Shall we begin? I think we both know what we're going to talk about." Adriana sighed, resigning herself to the inevitable talk. "Yes. I know. Concerning the kids we have in common." Adriana hesitated as she sat down, hands on the table in front of her coffee mug, facing the other woman. "And Rosewood."

So yeah, that's not good. The possibilities of violence are getting closer.

Awesome1: Yep, Courtney's very creepy now. But at least Alison got to help Spencer a bit.