Darkness swirls around Layla, pushing her away until her head swims and her vision returns as though she was dragged through muddy water. The room spins, threatening to disappear until she shakes her head and blinks hard. She sees her hands bound before her, entwined with another set of hands, both sets wrapped in heavy, scratchy chains. Her heart rate quickens, the gross wetness of a slobbery gag fills her mouth.

Before panic sets in, she goes over a list her mother had taught her in case this happens. Something she deemed important to teach her sometime after the attack, just in case.

Her limbs are sore, but not broken. Her face feels sticky, she hopes it's sweat, but it's futile as she feels the stinging ache tracing along the side of her face. As if someone had done so to ensure the message found her. Ice flows through her veins as she blinks away the fatigue, noting her version is wobbly but working.

At the end of the list, she lets fear wash over her, letting it take hold of her thoughts as she pictures the Houndoom waiting beyond the spotlight around them. Prowling as if she were his prey and, for a moment, she believes she is.

Then she gathers herself, pushing the fear to the edge of her thoughts and struggles to form any coherent words thanks to her gag. Beside her, Lance stirs and she whips her head around to look at him.

There's no gag around his mouth, but his cape is gone, ripped from him given the holes in his jacket. His head hangs forward, still out and unmoving. For a moment, she feels the worst has happened, and stills to monitor his breathing.

When she sees the rise, she almost relaxes but instead jiggles the chains attached to her to rouse him. Probably a stupid idea, but she's scared and not afraid to admit it. If he didn't think of Team Rocket before, he's going to be thinking of it soon.

Her muffled cries sound pathetic as she tries hard to wake him. Her shaking hands, squeaky voice and blurry eyes must be a sight to behold.

"Unh..." he grunts.

Finally, she could scream.

"Huh?" He breathes.

She frowns, why doesn't he have a gag?

"Lay-Layla?" he blinks up at her.

The growing black eye makes her flinch as he peers at her, his good eye widening at the sight of her. His eye traces something on her face and she prays it's the worst wound she gets while she's here.

"Are you okay?" He clears his throat. She shoots him a seething look. "Yes, I'm okay. But you have a cut on your face. Shallow."

She rolls her eyes then peers out around them. The ring of light extends well past them and she can't see on the other side; to know where they are or who holds them. Though it won't take much of a guess to know.

The real question is: is he alone?

"I can see you," a voice teases and Layla freezes.

She turns to stare at Lance, his eyes already on her, trying to calm her as he scoots around to stay close to her. They remain hunched on the floor considering the short lead of chains holding them to the ground. He tries to protect by shadowing his much larger frame over hers. She's never noticed the bulk of him compared to her, and now she's thankful for it.

"How sweet, how heroic," the voice spits the words out as if they're curse words. "I know the promise I made, but I won't be calling it in today. Unless you choose not to cooperate."

Layla fights back a whimper, her trembling already annoying her as the light dims and Archer appears before them, his grin just as nasty as the last time she saw it. Dread fills her veins then, leaving only Lance's warmth as he leans heavily on her, and she's desperate to stay close and stay grounded.

He straightens his back, his right arm moving to loop over her left shoulder so that her head leans on his shoulder and she's close. The best he can do with the restraints, he doubts Layla can hear the nails of Houndoom skulking about behind them. Pacing like a predator poised to enjoy a big dinner.

"What do you want?" Lance demands, his voice hard.

"I have some questions," Archer muses, pulling up a chair to sit. He crosses an ankle over a knee and laces his fingers together over them. Like this is a friendly chat. "About that girl you know, her father, her uncle... I need answers."

"What makes you think I have them?" Lance replies, half of his attention on Houndoom while the other half gauges Archer. He leans back down, feeling the spot where his pokeballs should be.

"Don't bother, they're on the table," Archer waves his hand to their right side of the room. "You won't be able to get to them, Erebus won't let you do that."

"How fitting," Lance comments, and he feels Layla tremble next to him. "It's okay."

"Don't lie to her," Archer laughs. "I said I wouldn't kill her, no I see she plays a role in this, but that doesn't mean I can't hurt her."

Before Lance can retort, Archer snaps his fingers and Houndoom lunges from the right without hesitation. Layla's scream rips from her throat as she cowers into Lance, and he responds by shoving her body down with his arm. The pokemon's teeth snap just above his ear, definitely close enough to get skin if Layla had been sitting up.

"Point made!" Lance snaps.

"That was for her," he sneers, snapping his fingers again to call off the pokemon. "I didn't know she'd be there so I took her as a treat."

Lance's guilt worsens as Layla trembles in his grasp, her breathing very much an issue with the gag in her mouth. His mind whirls with possible exits, he needs his pokemon to go against Erebus before he's a threat to Layla. And then they have to get out of wherever they are.

What questions does he have? If done right, he could get his own answers.

"Years ago, you raided the Viridian Gym," Archer starts. "Why?"

"That's it?" Lance sits up. "You can look in any newspaper, we didn't hide anything!"

"Yes, yes," he stands. "You went searching to find a Team Rocket base of operations in accordance to their leader having worked there. Blah, blah, blah! But why? His office was free to check, why make a big deal about searching the gym? Unless there was something more in there."

Lance grits his teeth, so he didn't know that there was that monstrosity lurking behind those walls for doing who knows what. He still has nightmares of Serena's screams as she was dragged across the floor, her blood and the wild look in her eyes... The fear forces him from sleep more often he'd like to admit and he forces his face to remain cool and composed. Archer isn't a fool, if he reads any information on Lance's face, more than what he gives, there's going to be trouble.

"Tell me," Archer presses further.

"There was a lab down there," he admits. "It was destroyed by the time we got to it."

"Correct," Archer confirms their protocols for such things. "However, it would be stupid of me to believe that the whole thing was destroyed when there were no pictures of destruction? No smoke, no rubble. So what was in there?"

"Like I said, a lab," he starts. "There was a computer, a platform and then, like, a stage on the bottom."

"Stage?" Archer tenses. "For a performance?"

"I don't know, like I said there was a wreck. A lot of machinery was down."

He hates that he's giving up this information, but he'd already hurt a man today and he'd be damned if he sank low enough to let Layla get hurt. That man in the shop, he could work through that, find it in himself to move on, probably. But Layla? If she got hurt to protect Serena, he couldn't live with it. She's tough and just as desperate for answers, but it's not worth losing the one person he's finally started to trust.

"Hmm," Archer sits back. Then suddenly a snap of his fingers.

"No, no, no!" Lance shouts as Houndom tugs on Layla's leg, pulling her out from underneath him. "Stop! I swear it!"

Another snap.

"I know," he grins. "I just wanted to have some fun."

"Bastard."

"Thank you," he waves off the name. "Then tell me about the girl, Serena," Archer pauses at the look Lance gives him. His bared teeth at the word, so he says it again, "Serena, Giovanni's niece. The opposite to him."

"What. About. Her?" Lance grinds out, barely in control enough to feel Layla crawl back to be by him. He accommodates her again, this time his movements more stiff as Erebus paces again behind them.

"What relationship does she have with him?"

"Why are you asking me this?" he blurts out before thinking better of it.

"Watch it," Archer stands yet again and mirrors his pokemon's pacing. "I can't get to Aaron, I'm not foolhardy enough to believe I could, even with what's happening on the surface."

Surface?

So they're under the shop. How far?

Lance has to be quick, has to be sure to get them out of here alive. If Archer doesn't do anything worse between now and then.

"She never spoke much of him," he states, remembering the paleness in her child's face when she first spoke of Giovanni to him and his cousin. She was so young, yet so old when explaining what had happened to her. "She said that her father was always going after him and that any contact was solely on Giovanni's terms."

"Of course it was," Archer said with something like awe in his voice. "Did he ever take her anywhere?"

"Like the candy store?" Lance snarks back.

Archer chuckles. "I like that. You're lucky this time. No. Away to some place far away, for an extended period of time. You guys were joined at the hip so don't even pretend not to know."

She had. But he wasn't going to give that up, and he wants to dance around it for a long time.

"I only knew her after she moved to Blackthorn," he states. "If this was before that, well, I think you can imagine she wouldn't speak about it."

"Liar!" Archer shouts. "Tell me what you know! I don't care about her, I just want Giovanni back so if they were on the island-"

At Lance's start, Archer silences and turns away to face the chair, the rage rolling off him in waves. Layla trembles more, Lance glances down noticing her silence in the past few minutes and urges her head up to look at him. A mistake given the tears soaking her face and gag, the fear in her eyes and another glance shows more bite marks on her ankle.

Her worst fears and he's useless to protect her like he said he would, like she believed he would.

His eyes glance to the pokeballs on the table, most his and some hers, and he remembers that day he was desperate for Ryu to pop out to save Serena. It was a one time trick, one he hasn't been able to replicate. Most times pokemon can get out of their balls if they want, however, it's on their own basis and when they want to.

"I'm sorry," he murmurs to her.

She nods up at him, her breathing slowly calming as she stares at the earnest sympathy in his eyes. The pain is genuine as he regards her, she really feels like a mess and wishes she'd stayed home this morning.

"You're sorry now?" Archer whips around. "Not yet."

"I don't know what you want," Lance retorts before he can do anything. "Serena is not here and no one's heard from her."

"She's missing?"

Not the turn he was expecting, but Lance isn't going to let it get away from him. "More or less."

"Oh, so you don't know if she left or someone took her," Archer muses. "Interesting."

"Who would have taken her?" Lance asks, genuinely curious now that the conversation is shifting.

"I can think of a few people," he responds, his eyes darting to Layla for half a second before going back to Lance. "Giovanni had lists of assets, who knows what favors he cashed in."

"Stop acting like he's the top of the world," Lance sneers at him. "You worship the ground he walks on and yet you were left behind."

"Entrusted with Team Rocket, you can't shake my faith in him," he rolls his eyes. "I would say it's much like you were left the League, but Serena didn't really have a choice did she?"

The hurt flashes across Lance's face, too quick for him to hide, and he curses for showing the weakness. "You don't know anything."

"Please, it doesn't take an idiot to know things were rocky," he laughs. "The two of you were glued at the hip, then suddenly she hands the title to you and disappears that same night on a jet? I wonder what you did. Or what she did. Didn't want to fuck you? Like every other trainer in the region? Did you have to work for the title?"

"Shut up!" Lance snaps at him. "You don't know me or Serena!"

Archer laughs, a cold and horrid sound that makes Layla gag. "You think you're special when you're like every other dragon tamer from that disgusting village."

He snaps before Lance can respond.

The champion shouts again, covering Layla though it's useless when she slips from his grip and writhes under Houndoom's grip on her leg. The pokemon's fire alights with excitement as she struggles, her legs flailing and lashing out at him. Her hits don't do much with the pokemon refocusing with a quick leap back and forth. Lance lets his fury go and twists his body around when Erebus gets too close and it's his kick that sends the pokemon sprawling back a few feet.

The pokemon cries out in pain, but Lance watches how the pokemon lands just a foot away from the table. His form is big enough to cause enough disturbance to release their pokemon. When he glances at Layla, she meets his eyes having seen what he did and nods.

Smart girl, he wants to say, but turns his attention to Archer.

"Why is Erebus obsessed with her?" Lance demands, holding Layla against his prone body.

He slides his hands up and carefully starts untying her gag, tired of listening to her straining breaths and screams. Her body trembles against him, but slowly calms as she senses what he's doing.

Archer has turned away to pat Erebus's head, his body then facing the back wall to fiddle with something there. Lance knows to mark this as the near end to their encounter and he's going to have to figure out how to get them to the surface.

"Erebus is familiar with Layla," Archer finally answers.

Layla gets free and takes a couple quiet, but deep, breaths to steady her wild heart. The world spins around her and she rolls onto the cold ground beneath her. Lance's heat was nice in calming her, but she is tired of this. She wants to go home...

"Wait, what?" she speaks up without thinking about it.

She shoots Lance an apologetic look but he brushes it off in favor of watching the man's next move as he spins around to face them. It notes her freedom but doesn't seem to care as he leans back against the table. His posture grows tense, but his eyes relay boredom, like he's just stalling.

"It's just as you said," Archer grins at her. "That first night we met, back when I thought you were just another pretty face."

She grimaces at the back handed compliment. "So, he is from that night."

"He is, but I am not," Archer deigns to say it. "I do know that there was an intruder in your home that night and that it wasn't an order from Giovanni."

Layla's heart pounds as she stares at the man, praying he'll turn around and keep talking, and hoping he'll tell her more. "What do you mean?"

Archer snaps twice and the pokemon bursts between them, his body knocking Layla to the side, her body contorting as Lance gets jerked the opposite way. The two grunt with Layla whimpering as the pokemon tugs at her only to dodge her foot and slam into Lance. He loses his breath, Layla can feel it from the way his body slumps to the ground.

His eyes struggle to focus as Layla uses her side to urge him up.

When they face Archer he stands behind desk, the lights dim allowing them full view of the room. Behind him sits a wall of monitors, showcasing various places around the region all synced to now and swarming with people and pokemon. Layla watches people cower in Goldenrod from something while in other places, pokemon struggle against an invisible force.

"What are you doing?" Lance demands, swooping down to dodge another barrage from Erebus.

"Getting a message out," Archer replies. "Keeping you busy while I do so."

Lance struggles to stay upright as Erebus practically drags them around, between Layla's cries and the pokemon's snarls he can't concentrate. Can't come up with a plan to get them out of this and stop Archer.

The pokeballs sit on Archer's left, waiting for them, but even kicking a boot wouldn't knock a pokemon free. He'd need something with more substance, even if it breaks the table. A pokeball will pop open if damaged, or given enough bounce to alert the pokemon inside to trouble. But what...

"Oof!" Layla gasps as the pokemon slips on the tile floor and slams into her.

Lance shoves the pokemon off and the action brings him to action. "Follow my lead."

Erebus snaps at Lance's hand, narrowly missing his fingers, but the champion responds by kneeing the pokemon's back legs to throw him off balance. Houndoom rolls away and tries again only to get the same treatment from Layla, a leg this time as she lashes out to interrupt his torment. They continue on as Archer laughs at their feeble attempts, not sure why they think it's a good idea to fight against the hell hound, but he likes a show.

It isn't until Erebus, sick of their kicking, decides to approach from the top. The pokemon leaps into the air, ready to crash on them with his teeth gleaming and claws spread. Lance rolls back and, with all his might, slams his feet into the pokemon's chest. The air whooshes out of the pokemon, covering them in a layer of hot air, and flies back.

Lance doesn't bother to watch the pokemon soar back, opting to pull Layla close to him again as the sound of metal crunching echoes throughout the room. Layla closes her eyes, too scared to see if they failed, and hears the glorious sound of pokeballs hitting the ground.

Archer stands up too late as Kai releases first. "No!"

"Rain Dance!" Lance commands his pokemon, grinning when his pokemon doesn't take his surroundings and only listens to him.

The air grows thick with humidity as the pokemon gathers his strength and gathers clouds along the ceiling. Layla watches fat drops of water plummet the short distance to the floor, the speed picks up immediately, and she smiles into the downpour. She lets it wash away her tears and fear.

Archer recalls his pokemon and tries to save the desk only for it to short out. "This isn't the end!"

He backs to the wall and taps something behind him, a latch opens and he disappears down it, leaving the two in the rapidly flooding room. Lance snarls after him, but lets it go when he's gone and faces his pokemon with a smile of relief.

"Help us out, bud," he gestures to their hands and the dual type leans in close.

The water already an inch high, Kai wastes not time in using Hydro Pump in short, powerful bursts to destroy the chains binding them. Layla heaves a sigh of relief, wrenching the cuffs off and getting to her feet. Her mind still reels but she smacks her thoughts away, knowing she can have a breakdown later if only they get out of here first.

"Come on," Lance passes her pokemon over. "We have to find a way out in case he brings the place down."

Layla nods, pocketing her pokemon and sticking close to him. Lance gathers his own pokeballs, returns Kai to his ball after a hearty thanks, and wipes the water from his eyes. He calls on Ryu to break down the door next to the latch Archer had gone. It releases them into a bleak hallway, dimly lit and reeking of garbage.

He takes her hand and pulls her down the left path, Ryu hot on their heels. "This better not be a maze."

"Wait," Layla tugs him to stop and tosses her pokeball in the air. "Belle, find us a way out. Come get us when you do."

Lance nods in approval before turning to take another endless hallway. "No signal this far underground... This will be tough."

Layla doesn't respond, trying to keep herself together as they come across more hallways, dead ends and wrap tiles that dizzy them. She's not sure how much time passes by the time Belle finds them and leads them out, but Layla hopes they aren't too late to help anyone else.

Ryu keeps an eye behind them, his wings tensed and ready for anything as they pass through hallway after hallway. Her rain drenched pants cling to her legs causing discomfort as she runs, the heat from running against the cold of her clothes, and she struggles to keep up. Lance pulls her along, desperate to get out, the hallways starting to look like the mansion all over again. He swears to himself they'll escape, they can't die today, not yet.

"Oh thank god," Layla breathes as they come to the stairs and Lance pushes her through it.

They leave the shop, neither looking at the broken cupboard, and into the freezing air of Mahogany. Layla instantly cringes at the sudden freeze in her wet legs and the cold air cutting across her cheeks as they collapse on the ground.

"We made it," she huffs, glancing up at the sky while Lance's phone rings.

"Hello?" he puffs, his voice raw from shouting so much.

"Lance, thank Arceus," Aaron's voice comes through. "I was about to come looking for you, what happened? Actually, wait, there's trouble in Goldenrod. Team Rocket took over the tower. I think it's mostly taken care of but we're chasing multiple leads. Can you go secure it?"

"Only if you send a team to secure the shop here," he replies, glancing down to see Ryu guarding Layla from the wind. "And an Alakazam, Layla and I are pretty beat up."

It's true. He wasn't feeling Erebus's hits in the room, but out in the open now that he can stand and move, he's sore. He can only imagine the range of feelings Layla is going through, and he's not abandoning her here, they're both going.

"Of course."

Within minutes a league pokemon arrives with a team in tow, Lance gives out his orders, helping Layla to her feet and wrapping her in his cape. Too tired to fangirl, Layla hugs the cape to herself and lets Lance call the shots. Her mind swims with recent events but all she can think of is going home to Morty. She scrambles for her phone at the thought of him and, sure enough, it's either dead or broken. The ache of needing to hear Morty's voice saddens her as Lance joins her once more.

"Let's go," he glances at her after returning Ryu to his ball. "I promise no near death experiences."

"Hey, you protected me a lot in there," she returns, leaning on him as the pokemon teleports them.

He doesn't respond, that was the bare minimum? He could have done so much better. Her screams in that room, the gag in her mouth, will haunt him for a while. Is that what he does to his friends? Push them away or put them in danger?

"Hey," Layla nudges him as they land in the city. "I wanted to be there. Stop it."

He relents in his self loathing enough to realize the two kids exiting the tower look familiar enough. He points them out to Layla. "Isn't that Lyra?"

She whips her head around and frowns. "And Silver."

Lance acknowledges that with a grimace. That kid is a piece of work, they'd battle once already and the way he treats his pokemon is downright atrocious. In his early years, Lance was rough with his pokemon but not to that extent. It took all his willpower not to arrest the kid, if only to intimidate him, but that was the other thing.

Silver is unmistakably Giovanni's kid. And Lance is sure if he said that outloud, Silver would have his head on a platter. The way Giovanni always looked prepared for a fight, with words or pokemon, and the way he spoke. Short and quick, he hated repeating himself and loathed anyone that wasn't paying attention.

Where Giovanni was deadly, Silver, on the other hand, was more rough-edged. It could be given his age, barely 17, or the way he seems to stumble after his father. Using what resources he gleaned from him to stay afloat.

"Are you guys okay?" Layla's question pulls Lance from his reverie.

He frowns at the blood on Silver's temple. "You should stay put and get that looked at."

"Stuff it," Silver bites back, turning away but Lyra straightens up and steps in his way.

"That's enough," she states. "You were tossed down a set of stairs. You are waiting here for EMT if I have to chain you to the lamppost."

Layla whistles, glancing at Lance with a smile. It falls away at the struggle in his eyes and she sighs at the young red haired boy. "I wouldn't cross her."

"I..." Silver grunts, struggling to come up with an escape root. He glances between them, and the policemen emerging from their posts along the street and sighs. "Whatever."

Lyra beams, following him to sit on the sidewalk, leaving Layla and Lance to get the story of what happened from the officers.

Their jaws drop hearing of the takeover, the way Team Rocket sprung an attack on the Radio Tower to get a message out to Giovanni and the way Lyra and Silver combed through each floor to find the director. Apparently, Team Rocket targeted other places around the two regions to scramble the G-men and police units so they could do this. It was an organized attack, a last ditch attempt to reach out to their former leader before disappearing.

Any grunts in the building, with their admins, disappeared afterwards. They didn't see any of them exit the building. Wesley shows up with Juniper in tow and the G-men with a squad of policemen and women enter the Radio Tower to investigate.

Layla practically collapses into her mother's arms. "Oh, mom."

"Why are you always where I don't want you to be?" her mother sighs, running her fingers over Layla's curls. "You're soaking wet! And you have a big cut! Mama, we need to get your father."

"That's my fault," Lance flashes a smile and Layla glares at him. "Oh, double entendre!"

"I'm keeping this," she clutches his cape close. "And, no, not your fault. Stop it."

"Both of you need to head home, shower and change," Wesley steps over. "The other agents can take over gathering the evidence. We can get statements from you two tonight."

Layla grimaces. "I'll be at Morty's. He's probably freaking out right now."

"All the more reason to go," Juniper hugs her close. "I gotta stay and help out. I'll send your father over there to fix your head. Take it easy and don't push it."

"I know. Thanks Mom," Layla responds. She gives her mother one last hug and pulls Lance aside. "Listen," she starts when he struggles. "Thank you."

"I didn't do much-"

"Stop it," she points a finger at him. "I mean it. I'm not a stranger or civilian or whatever. We're friends, and that means if you're going into dangerous territory, I'll go too. Neither of us really thought Archer would kidnap us. There was a chance but we both thought it was low. There's nothing you need to do to make it better."

He struggles, her green eyes flaring with her intent to ease his worries, but he finally relents and relaxes with a sigh. "Okay... okay! I'll try not to be angsty about it. Now go home and rest, you did great."

She beams at the compliment and hugs him before they can really realize it. "You did too."

They part ways and Layla welcomes the sight of a league pokemon beckoning her forward and how the world spins around her. The pokemon dumps her in front of Morty's house and the door swings open to reveal said man with Nox beside him. The two look ready to run, Morty's eyes widen at the sight of her while Nox just snorts and disappears back into the house.

His breath stops as he takes in her soaked clothes, puffy eyes and bloody shoes. It's been hours since her last text and then the takeover happened and he had to lockdown Ecruteak with no Eusine in sight to help figure out what was going on. He knew she was safe with Lance, but there's always a voice in his head reminding him just how much trouble Layla can get into, even while under supervision.

He races down the steps and embraces her without another second to wait. "I was so worried about you."

"Hi, hon," she smiles weakly at him. "I'm so sorry to have not been able to text you."

He's silent, taking in the sight of her, before he gathers her in his arms again. "I don't care, now. I'm glad you're home."

Her heart soars at his words, the crushing weight of him against her, and the familiar smell of honey and tea. She melts into him, tears filling her eyes again as she finally lets herself relive the fear she'd been holding at bay. The terror, the anger and the desperation to get out comes crashing down on her.

"Come on," he urges her inside and to his room.

He sits her down on the bed, Nox taking his place, before heading to the bathroom to start the shower. Despite her body shivering violently, Layla is happy to have Nox at her side, and even places a chilled hand on his side. She's disturbed to find his skin warm, but overcomes it to gently rub the spot and smile when he hums in content.

"It's ready for you," Morty emerges a few moments later. "I laid out my sweats and a shirt for you too. Are you hungry? Do you need anything?"

Layla relaxes on the bed, leaning her to head on Morty's stomach and releasing a deep sigh. "I want a break. You wouldn't believe what happened."

His hands land on her shoulders and he squeezes gently. "Trust me, I will."

Layla releases it all, starting with the scouting all the way to Goldenrod and what it looked like when they arrived. Reliving the day makes her tired all over again, and she realizes just how close she was to dying if it weren't for Archer's secondary plans. He needs something and it must be vital if it means he let her live.

"Do you think it's done now?" Morty frowns, his grip on her tightens.

"Archer's terror?" she replies. "Yes, thankfully. They dipped as soon as we made it to the City. Even the G-men have cleaned out their new HQ's."

"It's a mess and I feel like we just went through this not too long ago."

"Unfortunately, I don't think it's the true end," she sighs. "I think there's more and we are just a part of it. There's no other reason he would keep me alive."

Morty shivers, his fingers on her shoulders grip tighter. "We will be ready for him. As the challenge season comes to an end, I want to cash in some vacation time and train more pokemon."

"Well, I want to work!" she replies with a loud laugh. "I want to study and work."

He laughs with her, realizing how ridiculous these simple notions must be and just how much their lives were on hold. To go back to something so normal and to have her at his side leaves him feeling hopeful and motivated.

"Hey," he takes her hands in his. she leans back to smile at him. "I want this with you. I won't be backing down any time soon. From now on, we are a team."

Her heart melts as she reaches up to hold his hands. "Yes, we are."

It falls silent for a few seconds between them, nothing but the sound of the shower going fills the room around them. Layla's eyes never leave his as her smile widens and turns sneaky.

"Time to sho-"

"I'm going to make you food while you shower."

"Oh, come on!"

Layla melts under the stream of the shower, the hot water washing away the slime, grime and cold from being stuck in Mahogany Town. Her body aches, the cuts on her legs sting and she feels as though her joints are going to explode. Images of Archer and Erebus pollute her mind as she tries to go about a regular wash routine, leaving her to stop and check the bathroom for intruders every few minutes.

She can already see the number for her therapist on her phone's screen as she leaves the shower and gets dressed. Even though life is going to be difficult in the next couple of months, she still feels excited. No more Archer, or Team Rocket hanging over her waiting to stop her or kill her.

Of course there's the question of what today means and what Lance is going to have to do, but a selfish part of her doesn't want to know any of that right now.

She pulls on the clothes Morty set out, her favorite of his sweatpants, T-shirt and socks and marvels at the wondrous feeling of comfy clothes. When she steps into the hallway, she hears the voice of her father laughing with Morty and even Eusine, when did he get here? And it brings a smile to her face.

Finally, a somewhat normal life, she breathes to herself. I'm alive.