Ballard pulls up to the hidden location of the dollhouse and parked the car.

"Look, if we could take some time then we could prepare. We could get some supplies. We could get some rope. Rope is always good." Kepler tried reasoning.

Ballard turned to the man, expression leaving no room for arguments, "We have to go now."

"Uh-huh, because why?" Kepler asked

"They had a spy watching me. Someone… closer to me who turned out to be a doll." Ballard explained.

"Is this the fabled Caroline?" Kepler asked.

"Someone else. So I figure I've got a day or two before they figure out I know… and kill me." Ballard said.

"This-this other doll, are you going to save her too?" Kepler asked.

"No. She told me herself she can't be trusted. She warned me. After I get Caroline out, I can come back. Come one." Ballard explained before getting out of the car.

Jason looked at Ballard with narrowed eyes before getting out of the car as well. He wouldn't tell him his brother was also a sleeper agent, especially after hearing his resolve to not attempt to rescue the other person close to him due to her being what he assumed to being a sleeper agent. He would try to get his brother out, but if all else failed… he was prepared to become a handler to stay close to and protect his brother.

"We're here?" Kepler asked, his voice high in terror, "So soon. Uh… Let's go around the block."

"Come out." Jason said sternly.

"Come on, man! This is like one of those buddy cop movies where you're the hard-nosed FBI agent and I'm the guy who hates buddy cop movies.

Ballard opened the back door of the car and stared down at Kepler, "Get out of the car or I show the DEA your carrot plantation."

"Uh… okay. Okay." Kepler whimpered as he was forced out of the car.

"I am sorry to do this." Ballard said.

Jason smirked, "I'm not."

Ballard continued as if Jason hadn't said anything, "But we've got to get in there and save her."

"Then what?" Kepler asked before continuing in a downward spiral, "We go in there then we're in there. There's… there's more people in there. I'm not good with people."

"They're not people." Ballard stated before walking away.

"I'm not good with that sentence either." Kepler said as Jason forced him to keep up with them.


Sierra sat up after her 'treatment' and began to make her way towards the elevator, "The helicopter better be waiting because whatever is up with this body of yours, it's changing every minute. Tissue's breaking down from bacteria, the body's own chemicals, you've got putrefaction, fermentation, and not to mention the effects of insects and other animals, then you got the elements: rain, condensation…"

She was cut off by the elevator door closing, beginning to take her to the helicopter waiting for her on the roof. Boyd slowly looked at Topher with a raised eyebrow and Toper shrugged with a nervous chuckle.

"One FBI-trained forensic specialist… I-it's a tall order for a rush job." Topher explained.

"Sorry about that." Boyd replied.

"It's alright. It's a quiet night anyway. Echo's just coming in and then we're sleepy-bye." Topher told him.

Echo soon enough came back to the dollhouse and was quickly given her treatment.

"Hello, Echo. How are you feeling?" Topher asked softly.

"Did I fall asleep?" Echo asked.

"For a little while." Topher replied.

"Shall I go now?" She questioned.

"If you like." Topher answered.

Echo then left and had her dinner with the other dolls. She sat at the same table as November, Victor, and Oscar. Sierra wasn't at the dollhouse at the moment. Soon enough, it was time to go to bed and the dolls all had there nightly shower before getting into their pods to sleep.


The three of them silently snuck around the building until they found the large vent they had been looking for.

"How far?" Questioned Ballard.

"Ten stories." Kepler replied, "It's the best way in. I'm sorry, man. It's just how it is."

"Let's go." Jason said.

"No." Kepler whimpered as he clutched the wall of the building, "No way. You'd go down there?"

"You showed us this thinking we'd give up?" Jason asked with narrowed eyes.

"I was nurturing a tender throbbing hope that you'd both give up, yes!"

"Well, we're not. Show us the real way in." Ballard said.

"No, that's the real way in. I just thought that you'd both give up." Kepler replied.

They both glared at Kepler before sighing.

"Wish we had rope." Ballard thought aloud to himself.

"Ha…" Kepler replied, not pointing out that he'd just said earlier that they should wait to get some rope.

They quickly opened the grates blocking their way and began to climb down with relative ease. At least, Jason and Ballard did.

"Falling!" Kepler cried out.

Ballard and Jason ducked in preparation of Kepler falling, but it never happened. They looked up and noticed that he was fine, just hanging barely a few feet off the ground.

"Falling now!" Kepler yelled with a whimper.

"You're not falling." Jason deadpanned.

Ballard quickly got up and held his ankles.

"I have your ankles." Ballard told him.

"Let go!" Kepler yelled.

Ballard quickly released his ankles.

"Okay, no, no, no, no. Don't let go!" Kepler yelled, quickly changing his mind, "Ankles, ankles, ankles, ankles, ankles!"

Ballard quickly pulled him down and Kepler slowly slid down before being caught in Ballard's awaiting arms.

"Riding up, riding up… I'm getting a wedgie." Kepler complained with a whimper.

Ballard slowly placed Kepler back on the ground, allowing him to slid down against wall to sit on the floor.

"Say, this is… clean and enclosed. I'm staying here."

They both stared at him, unimpressed by his declaration.

Ballard quickly kicked a smaller vent open, "Come on."

He then quickly began to crawl through the vent with Jason following close behind him.

"Uh, just because we can move forward, we must? You know, this is the same expansionist thinking that lead to the Trail of Tears, man.

"Carrots." Ballard called back, unconcerned.

The sound of Jason's smothered laughter echoed from within the vent. Kepler leant back with a sigh, only to smack his head against the wall. He then followed the two of them into the vent. They quickly made there way into the hidden building. They allowed themselves to be shown the route they needed to go down by Kepler and they eventually entered the area of the dollhouse containing their actives. They glanced around, quickly noting how nice it looked. It looked more like a spa resort than anything else.

"It's real." Ballard whispered to himself.

I finally found it.