They were gone. The only trace of them was a discarded sling on the floor, an open air vent leading to the roof, and a dangling rope over the fire escape. It took over an hour to even realize they were missing- a fact that would eat the team alive. Once James had hurriedly shut the door behind him, his siblings and friends left him alone. They all thought he wanted to talk to Pj privately. He wore his heart on his sleeve for her. There was a possibility he was going to finally admit his feelings for her; that would certainly be one way to talk her down. But much later they realized he shut them out to follow her into the unknown. He actively chose to encourage her instead of involving the whole team.
Kara and Oliver wanted to blame themselves for the whole situation. They knew their brother better than anybody. The three of them could finish each other's sentences and could practically read one another's minds. But they hadn't seen that coming. James wanted nothing more than for Pj to return to herself. He always looked out for others, striving to do what was best for all of them. Getting her to calm down and recognize that Amanda did something to her was supposed to have been the correct course of action; he had agreed to it. So how the hell could he just take off with her. What could've possible been playing through his mind to make such a leap with her.
None of it made any sense. How could he have taken off without saying anything. Pj, they could understand; she wasn't thinking, ruling only by emotions. But James knew better than to succumb to that hurt and rage. He knew they had to stay rational if they were going to save her from herself. Joining her in her escape was the worst possible choice. Felicity tried to defend him at least. Maybe he was only following her to bring her back. But Max argued if that was the case, he would've said something. They should've never let James talk to Pj in the first place. He was too clouded by his feelings to talk to her. He shouldn't have been let anywhere near her.
As soon as he thought it, Max knew that was unfair. He was clouded by his protectiveness for his little sister, after all. Ever since the siblings had found one another, they were determined to never lose the other. A war had kept them apart in the first place; they couldn't allow it to separate them any further. He blamed James for not being objective enough, but he couldn't think himself above it. If she had asked, there was a chance he would've escaped with her as well. Everyone was controlled by the love they had for each other. Of course it was easy for Amanda to manipulate Pj's strong emotions for the team. They were all each other's weaknesses.
But shifting blame wouldn't do any of them any good. James and Pj were gone. They could've been gone that entire hour, or just recently. Kara, Oliver, Max, and Felicity couldn't sit around and speculate; their parents needed to be involved. Though, they attempted to make that the last resort. No one wanted to admit that they sent James in alone, and thought he and Pj had just been making out. They knew how badly they screwed up- the longer they went without admitting it, the easier it was to accept. It wasn't ideal, however. Things simply continued to spiral out of control.
Not only did Pj manage to go rogue again, but they had no way to track her. The device Felicity had slipped in her shoe had been disabled. When she wondered how that could've been, Max had to admit that he told his sister about it. In his defense, she had asked how they found her with Amanda- what else was he supposed to have said. James didn't have a tracker on him either. And since they had no idea what was going through their heads when they took off, they had no clue where to begin in locating the pair. Fear and dread began to settle deep in their minds and in their hearts.
It wasn't like last time. The escape wasn't at all like the first time Pj went rogue. Her team knew what she was thinking then. They knew the point she was trying to make, and that no matter what she could handle herself. James had also gone after her that time, sure. Yet he stayed in constant contact with the others. Everyone knew what everyone was up to. And once he found her, they were reunited again, learning their lesson and moving forward. The thing was, both Pj and James were in a sound mind when they made those decisions in the past. In the present, though, they had been driven crazy. Running off of emotions was going to get them hurt. Or worse. And no one could handle worse.
Involving the parents should've been their first move instead of solving it all on their own. Kara, Oliver, Max, and Felicity lost so much precious time just trying to bring Pj and James home safely by themselves. Yet it was way over their heads. The whole entire team- family- had to know about the mess that was created. Doing things by themselves wasn't going to win the day. James' and Pj's escape was an example of that. Someone was going to get killed with all the secrets they were creating. They had to share things. Sharing was caring, right. Besides, they kept complaining they didn't have enough information on the Shop. So how was not talking to their team about everything beneficial.
Surprisingly, Nikita and Michael took the news of their daughter's disappearance well- they didn't lose their minds, but they were still severely upset. They were absolutely furious that the kids didn't tell them the second they discovered her missing. But they didn't blame them for not knowing she went rogue. The two should've done a better job of securing the room they placed Pj in. They were well aware of her capabilities of getting out of situations she didn't want to be in (climbing out of her crib as a baby was just one example). Eyes should've been on her at all times. There were so many mistakes they were going to have to pay for. She shouldn't have been trusted alone, and they were going to pay that consequence.
After Alex and Sean exploded first, however. They couldn't wrap their heads around their son running off as well. Just like their other son and their daughter, they couldn't make sense of it either. James wasn't like that. He would've talked it out, or told someone before he left. Going rogue and letting Pj walk into danger wasn't like him. Maybe it was their fault he did it. The two had told him to make a grand gesture for her so she'd know how he felt. That was probably his follow through of their advice. If so, encouraging her conditioning was the stupidest thing he could've done. Things could only end one way. And wasn't that what Amanda wanted, to tear them apart from the inside out. She already turned Sam against them. Killing their children would be the next step.
Ryan had another idea about what the bitch was up to, but he didn't voice it just yet. He let the team process first. There were frustrations to air, and not just about Pj and James running away. While Kara, Oliver, Max, and Felicity were dealing with that, their parents were planning a mission without them. They had promised to never take off without them again. Although they swore that wasn't the case, it felt like it was. How were they still so terrible at communication. Shouldn't they have learned their lesson. The kids knew to involve one another, and listen to alternate ideas. But there continued to be a rift between them and their parents. Maybe Pj's ramblings weren't that far off.
Once that thought was put out into the open, everything became silent. The family took a long pause, and actually took the time to think. Were they really going to turn against one another while two of their own were in danger. Blame didn't matter. Motives didn't matter. How stupid James was and how messed up Pj was didn't matter. They had to sort themselves out and chase after their family. The two couldn't have disappeared without a trace. Pj could've written her plans somewhere. Or maybe they were going to see Ben like they had before. Serious discussion had to occur later. For the moment, it was all about saving the people they loved.
Nikita automatically took point on the operation; she was the expert in going rogue, after all. She had Sonya, Felicity, and Birkhoff attempt to track the escaped pair through satellites and street cameras. Max, Kara, and Oliver were tasked with coming up with ideas of what their siblings might do first. Even if they weren't thinking straight, James and Pj were still agents on a mission. Michael and Alex were ordered to pour through the journal they recovered to see if anything was recorded in there, while Sean, Cassandra, and Ryan scoured the video they captured with BUTR. The footage was unbearable to watch, but it might give them something useful. In the meantime, Nikita would follow up with Ben and the Triad. It was all hands on deck. Nothing was going to distract them.
That was when Ryan finally spoke his mind. Of course Amanda wanted to destroy them by destroying the ones they loved. But what if she also wanted them focused on other things. They had been so busy with Pj, they hadn't put much effort in Shop operations. The team was supposed to be putting an end to that evil organization. But instead, they were putting out their own dramatic fires. He wanted to bring James and Pj home as much as everyone, yet Ryan couldn't let their missions fall aside. What was the point of bringing them back to safety, if they wouldn't be able to hold it for long.
Reluctantly, the team had to agree with him. Were they any better than the two rogues if they continued to let their emotions guide them. It was just so hard not to. Being rational didn't exist when terrible things involved family. Nikita, Michael, Alex, and Sean certainly couldn't see anything outside of finding their son and daughter. They were filled with so much rage and hurt at the situations their family kept falling into. They couldn't have a break. They couldn't have one success here or there. Why did they have to be constantly hurt.
Without any more time to waste, a hasty decision was made. Kara, Oliver, Max, and Felicity would be the ones to chase after Pj and James, while the others continued planning their mission. It definitely wasn't ideal, and no one liked it. But it was sufficient enough to get the ball rolling. The more experienced agents should handle a battle plan against the Shop, while the rogues' best friends talked some sense into them. Things just might work out, as long as they communicated. How were they to be a family if they didn't talk. There had to be enough trust that secrets couldn't exist. That was going to save everyone. No more secrets, no more hurt.