A/N: The story starts off right where the last one ended, just ta let y'all know...

***A few hours later...***

Tom knocked on Phi's bedroom door. She opened it to find a very worried expression on her older brother's face, "I think something happened to Alex, Phi. He should be back by now... It's starting to get dark and dinner will start in half an hour!"

"I'm sure he's fine Tom. Besides, he is twenty one years old! I think he can take care of himself by now...of course, I could be wrong about that." Tom gave her a hard look and she sighed, "Fine, I'll come help look for him..." She grabbed her leather jacket and walked quickly out of her room, trailing just behind Tom. She wouldn't admit it, but she had been beginning to worry too, and was glad for the excuse to go look for Alex. Maybe she would finally remember to pick up her motorcycle too. It had been buried in the snow for two and a half days...hopefully it would still be able to run okay.

As they made their way through the hall, they ran into Devic heading out from the knight's-in-training wing on his way to the Dinning Hall. He stared at their heavy overcoats and said, "Where are you going? It's almost dinner time, and a rumor has been spreading that we will get to hear some news about how the negotiations are progressing from some of the younger knights."

"We're going to go look for Alex..."

"Is he missing? How long has he been gone for?"

"A little more than half a day..."

"Hmm...Is there anything I can do to help?"

Phi looked thoughtful for a moment, obviously not wanting to hurt the boy's feelings, "Well...you could tell us about any news about the Scanrans that they give out tonight."

Devic frowned and nodded, not liking to be kept out of the action but sort of understanding, "Um...okay, see you tonight then..."

Tom and Phi watched him walk down the hall, then set off again and walked out to the front courtyard. Phi jogged over to the spot where they had come through to Tortall and yanked her bike out of a huge snow drift that had piled up on top of it. She wheeled it over to the front building, leaned it up against a wall, then ran off to join Tom again as he peered around the Palace grounds. There was nothing out there besides the two of them.

Tom frowned but determinedly kept walking forward and eventually they left the Palace's walls and began to explore the main street of the city. Phi stopped and looked around uncomfortably, "Tom, do you really think Alex would have come out here by himself? I mean, he knows he doesn't know his way around, doesn't he?"

"I thought so..."

"Then why are we going out here when I know that neither of us knows our way around?"

"Because we're following Alex..."

"But we don't even know that he came out here Tom! How come you are so sure?" She suddenly grew suspicious, "Is there something that you aren't telling me?"

"No...not really." He hated lying to Phi, but would she really believe that he was just going off a hunch? That he just knew for no explainable reason that Alex was somewhere in the city? No...she would think that he was ill again, "Just...just trust me on this okay?"

They continued to walk straight down the middle of the street, jumping out of the way every now and then as a horse trotted past or some merchant yelled at them as he pushed a cart by. It was getting really dark now and the sun had almost set when someone called out, "Hey! Wait a minute? Where do ya think you're goin'?"

Tom and Phi stopped dead in their tracks and turned around. A man walked up from behind them and stared curiously, "What are you two doin' outside of the Palace? Did you get bored like me, or did ya just decide ta get yourself lost?"

Tom sighed with relief. It was George. The man grinned as he saw recognition dawn on Tom's face and slapped him on the back, "Sorry if I gave the two of you a bit of a scare, but I wasn't expecting to see two people such as yourselves wandering around at this time of day. There are some thieves and robbers in this world ya know, people that you wouldn't want to get messed up with..."

Phi glared at him suspiciously as George guided them away from the heart of the city and back towards the Palace, "What are you doing out here then?"

"Well now aren't we curious? I would say that it is none of your business what I am doing out here, but then, you'd probably say the same when I ask you what you are doing out here..."

Tom spoke up while Phi continued to glare, fully aware that he had just changed the subject, "We were looking for Alex, one of us who came to Tortall through the portal..."

George's expression changed, "Well let's just hope that he didn't decide to come out here..."

"I think he did..."

George's eyes darkened and his expression grew thoughtful as they passed through the gates to the Palace walls, "Tell you what...I'll make sure your friend isn't into any trouble and bring him back here, that is, if he is in the city, if you don't tell my wife where I am. She would come out here and kill me if she knew I was ditching the negotiations...I told her I was feeling sick and I escaped through our bedroom window, so I don't think she will be too happy to find out that I am perfectly healthy..."

Tom nodded gratefully and turned to Phi as George walked back towards the city, "That was nice..."

"Ya, but there's something about him that I don't trust..."

"I know what you mean, but I suppose he is one of the 'good guys' so I trust him..."

Phi frowned thoughtfully but didn't say anything more. They headed back up to their rooms to get ready for bed. Tom pointed out on their way up that they had probably missed dinner and neither of them were very hungry so they didn't bother to find out if they were late or not.

They separated when they reached their assigned rooms and with a wave good-night, closed their doors and began to get ready for bed. Only Tom left his door unlocked, just in case...

***That night...***

Tom slowly sat up in bed. Something was going on. His mind was buzzing and drowning out all of his senses. He couldn't see or hear anything except for blurs of light and tiny muffled voices. He felt his feet touch the ground, but he hadn't wanted them to move. What was going on? He felt himself walking towards the door, opening in and slipping out into the hallway. But he didn't want to do any of it! He tried to shake his head to clear it, but his head didn't move. He didn't even blink.

As Tom passed Phi's room, he ordered his hand with his mind to pound on the door or to call out something to wake her up, but nothing happened. He began to panic slightly as the buzzing grew louder. He had completely lost control over his actions! But who, or what, had control?! And where were they taking his body?! He moved silently down the main staircase, like a ghost, and glided through the front door.

Tom prepared himself in his mind for a blast of cold, because he was only wearing pants and a thin t-shirt and walking barefoot out into the snow, but when he left the entrance hall, he felt nothing, as if his body where in some bubble. Or maybe, he wasn't able to feel anything because he just wasn't able to, just like he wasn't able to move his hand. A sharp pain sliced through Tom's head and he cried out in pain...at least the Tom in his mind did. Tom's body continued to walk straight out to the city, just as he had late that afternoon.

***Phi's view***

She was startled awake by strange noises coming from the next room over. She sat up and listened carefully. It sounded like Numair and Alanna. But what were they doing in Tom's bedroom?

Her door was flung open and Alanna appeared in her doorway, looking very distraught, "Good..." The lioness stuck her head around the corner and called into Tom's bedroom, "The girl's still here!"

Phi stared, completely shocked to see Alanna standing in the room in her night clothes. Numair peered around the knight's shoulder, also wearing his nightclothes, "Thank the gods at least one of them is still here..."

Phi finally found her voice, but it sounded tired and dry, "What's the matter? What's goin' on?"

Alanna sighed, "We don't know...Numair said that he felt a magical surge of some sort coming from your brother's room, and woke me up, thinking that something had happened."

Numair finished the story for her, "...But when we got here, Tom was gone, not to mention that Alex wasn't there either and the door was unlocked...Phi, do you know where Tom is?"

Phi shook her head, her mind drawing a blank. Why would Tom go anywhere in the middle of the night? It didn't make any sense, "He...he left his door open so Alex could come back in...we didn't know when he was coming back, so he didn't really have a choice..."

"What happened to Alex?" Numair had a strange, thoughtful expression on his face, as if he already knew the answer to his question but he thought it was polite to ask.

"He...he went on a walk in the morning today...yesterday" it had to be past midnight, "...and hadn't come back by the time we went to bed."

"What time did he leave?"'

"I dunno, about eleven I guess, maybe a little earlier..."

The mage fell silent and disappeared from Phi's sight and Alanna ran a hand through her disheveled red hair, "Well, if you notice anything else, let us know..."

Phi nodded, a feeling of anxiousness beginning to grow in her stomach, "What's going on?"

Alanna sighed and began to close Phi's door again, "We don't know..."

***the next morning***

Phi's eyes sprang open and she sat up so fast she nearly fell out of her bed. Did last night really happen? Was Tom really gone too?! Now that her brain was completely working, she began to panic. Where were Tom and Alex?! How could they have left her all alone like that, with out even saying that they were going to leave?! How long were they going to be gone?

She stumbled out of bed, stuffed some clothes on, pulled her door open, and ran to her brother's room. The door was slightly ajar and when she went inside, a small sliver of light that was coming through the shutters on the windows showed that both beds were...empty. Her brain seemed to shut back down and she stood there, dumbly staring into the room for what seemed like an eternity until her stomach growled and she shook herself awake.

Phi realized that she hadn't eaten a thing for at least twenty hours and walked slowly to the Dining Hall. When she got there, the room was already busy and at least half the tables were taken up already. She got her food, then sat down by herself at a small table in the back, completely ignoring everything around her until Devic came and sit down next to her.

The boy smiled, "Can I sit here?" She nodded and he sat down. He was about to take a bite of his breakfast but then looked up and found Phi staring down at her own meal in deep thought with a pained look on her face, "What is the matter?"

"Tom's gone..."

"What?" he dropped his fork onto his plate, "What do you mean 'gone'?"

"He disappeared last night..."

"Disappeared?"

"No one knows where he is and he has already been gone for hours...not to mention the fact that Alex is still missing from yesterday..."

A concerned look appeared on Devic's face, "Did you tell anyone about this?"

"Numair and Alanna know...Oh, Alanna's husband, George, knows that Alex is gone too. He said that he would look for Alex in the city last night."

"In the city? Why would they be out there?"

"I don't know..." A hardened expression replaced her pained one, "But Tom did..." She looked up at Devic, who was staring at her, his hand still in the air from when he was holding his fork, "Devic, Tom knew that Alex was in the city! He told me that I should trust him, but he wouldn't tell me how he knew..." She quickly devoured the rest of her breakfast and stood up, "And I'm going to find them..."

"Hey! Wait a minute!" Devic took a couple gulps of his own food. "I'm coming with you!"

"No. What if something happens? I need you to stay here to tell people where I went if something goes wrong..."

"But you should have someone with you who knows the city! I'm going with you Phi, and there is nothing you can do to stop me so don't even try!" He stood up to prove his point.

Phi sighed, then smiled dryly, "Fine...you can come..."

He nodded and followed her out of the room and towards the front door, "So, do you have any idea where they could be, or if they're even in the same place?"

Phi's mind froze but her body kept walking straight. What if they weren't in the same place? That hadn't occurred to her before but what if it was true? "They are in the same place." She said it with such determination that Devic didn't ask anymore questions and Phi almost began to believe it herself.

They had walked for about halfway through the front courtyard when someone from the Palace called out for them to stop. Phi slowly turned around and came face to face with a curious looking Esmond, "Where are you going?"

"Out...for a walk..."

He gazed at her suspiciously through narrowed eyes, "Really..."

Phi nodded politely and the knight looked at her for a moment more, and then turned away, "Fine. Lady Alanna told me to let you know that you are not to wander off. I don't know why though, and she wouldn't tell me a thing more..."

The two watched as Esmond went back inside and Devic turned to Phi, "Maybe you should listen to what Alanna has to say. She is usually right about these kinds of things you know..." Phi shrugged and continued to walk through the gates and into the city. Devic sighed and picked up his pace so he wouldn't lose sight of her in the bustling crowds, which was actually very hard to do, considering that Phi didn't seem to be trying to stay with him. A few times, Devic had to actually climb on top of a stack of boxes to look for her. After the third time of doing this, when he reached Phi again, he grabbed her sleeve, "There is no way you are losing me again!"

Phi grinned a little and together they fought their way through the main street, having no clue where they were going.

***Back at the Palace***

Esmond walked quickly through the main hallway of the Palace, his mind drifting over way too many things. First, he began to worry about where Phiona was going, then he realized that a much bigger and more prominent problem was that of the Scanran diplomats and how a resolution still hasn't been drawn up yet and meanwhile people were dying because of all the aftershocks of the old war. His thoughts then turned to Kel, who, like he had said, ran into him on their way to the palace when they passed through a small village, and she said she would be home a few days after they arrived.

Numair came out of the conference room looking exasperated and exhausted, probably because he had stayed up late last night looking for the abnormal flux in the magical flow last night. Esmond nodded to the mage, who stopped briefly, glad to talk with someone who wasn't discussing peace treaties, "You look tired Esmond...Is there anything wrong?"

"No, no...I'm fine. I just have a lot of things to think about right now I suppose..." he motioned with his head at the double wooden doors and Numair rolled his eyes.

"I know how you feel...I could not stand one more moment in that room. I do not know how Jonathan does it..."

Esmond sighed, "Yes...of course there is Kel who is coming home in a few days, and then Phi and Devic decided to take a walk in the city..."

"They what?"

"Oh, I saw them walking out of the front entrance, they said they were taking a walk, and they were headed towards the center of the city. They seemed sort of...tense though."

Numair's face darkened, "This is not good...we need to find them!"

Esmond looked very confused, "...but why?"

Numair shook his head, "There is not enough time for me to explain it to you. Find someone else, and try to locate them...hurry! Their lives could be at stake!"

Esmond snapped into action and sprinted down the hall to find Owen, all other thoughts gone from his head. Numair watched him round the corner, then set off down the opposite way towards his study, his brow furrowed and confused thoughts clouding his mind.

A/N: Wow, that was confusing!! I hope I will be able to make it clearer for all of you, but um, for you who didn't understand my poor description of what is going on: Tom's body was "possessed" and he was taken who knows where along with Alex, Phi is left alone in the Palace and with Devic's help decides to take some drastic and rash measures, Numair is worried about something that he can't yet explain (he knows something is going on, but he doesn't know what, and he isn't happy about the fact that he doesn't know...)