The Bohemians all sat in The Center's Dining Hall as Nana placed bowls of the remaining Mac and Cheese in front of each of them.

"I'm not really hungry," Emily stated simply as Nana tried to place the seventh bowl in front of her.

"You really can't give up, Emily," Maureen offered. "You can still go up against this guy in a custody battle. I'm sure Joanne could represent you."

"On what basis?" Emily asked. "He hasn't abused her, has he? He's not an alcoholic, is he?"

"Well, perhaps," Joanne tried, "I could look up on this Colmillo person. Maybe I could find some bit of evidence that could help out." Seeing that Emily wasn't about to argue or point out fault, Joanne took that as a 'yes'. "Nana, could I see Penny's adoption papers? I want to know this man's full name."

"Of course. Right here," Nana held up some papers, reading over them as she passed them to Joanne. "The adoption of Miss Penny Hope Hollingsworth, by a Colmillo DeLarata…"

"What did you say?" Mimi's head shot up in surprise. "By who?"

"Colmillo DeLarata," Nana repeated. "Why?"

"Let me see that!" Mimi took the adoption papers and stared at the name. "Oh… oh my Go… OH, SH-T!"

"Mimi, what is it?"

"Colmillo DeLatrata! That's not a real name!" she cried in a panic. "It's Spanish! Colmillo de la rata, literally translated: fang of the rat!"

"The Rat Fangs!" Mark realized.

Emily's face instantly froze. It took her a few seconds to snap out of it, but once she did, she was on her feet, rage practically radiating off her, before starting to storm out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Nana called.

"Where do you think? I'm getting Penny back."

"Don't be foolish. You don't even have any idea where they've taken Penny, for starters. How could you possibly figure out where they are now?"

"The traditional way. Look."

Once again, Emily started to leave but Collins moved forward and took her arm, holding her back.

"Let go, Collins."

"You're upset and not thinking straight, Emily. Take a moment to assess the situation. This is a street gang, and they're been known to murder people. If you run off blindly, you're liable to get yourself killed."

"I can't just sit here. They could kill her, and it's my fault she's in this situation. I don't expect any of you to understand…"

"We do," Roger stated. "We know they're after you, Emily. We heard what you and Officer Kurtz were saying, that day at the hospital, when you passed out after seeing Madison. Chances are they're trying to use Penny as bait. They're using her to get you to do something stupid. If you go off, you're playing into their hands, and doing exactly what they want you to do."

It took Emily a moment to look back, her arms hanging limply at her sides.

"You… you've all known? This whole time? Then why are you still here?"

"What do you mean?"

"If you knew that they've been after me, you must have figured out that your lives are all in danger, too. Most people… they'd usually keep their distance from someone if they could get themselves killed from just knowing…."

"Last I checked, we're not 'most people'," Collins pointed out.

"Emily," Nana entered the exchange. "Perhaps… it's time you told them the full story. They're your friends. They have a right to know."

"I can't," Emily replied. "I… I don't want anyone else dying for my sake, Nana. I swore I wouldn't allow it long ago."

"And I've constantly been telling you there's no way you can deal with this on your own," Nana persisted. "Zack wouldn't have wanted you to face all of this by yourself."

"Zack didn't have much of a problem with facing his trials alone towards the end, if you'd remember."

"Emily, you're not Zack!" Nana began to scold the photographer. "You will never be Zack. And you shouldn't have to be. Just because Zack died before his time, that doesn't mean you have to. Or have you forgotten what Zack told you before he died?"

"I never forget," Emily responded after a very pregnant pause.

Mark stood up and helped Emily into a chair.

"Emily, you can tell us. We'll listen," he assured. "No matter how bad it is, we're all here for you. We all have baggage of some kind. But no one here lets one of us carry it alone."

"You… you won't like what you hear."

"Try us."

Emily slowly glanced around at the Bohemians, who were all waiting for her to answer.

"Nana?" she finally spoke. "You're, uh, gonna have to help me out here. Remember, I wasn't there when this started."

"Of course, Emily." Nana stepped up to Emily's side to convey the story, facing the Bohemians as she did so. "This whole mess with Emily and the Rat Fang Gang; it actually begins many years before Emily was even born. It begins with a young poet, Natalie, and Zeke, the son of an extremely well-off family."

AN: There might be a short span of time before the next chapter's up. I'm still writing it, but I do have it planned out. Anyway, the next couple of chapters are basically going to be flashbacks. Hopefully, they'll explain all previously unanswered questions to your satisfaction. Until next time...