Yes, hello, guys. Sorry you had to wait so long. I'm a bit rusty at writing these characters, but I'll do my best to give y'all an ending! On the bright side, I like to think my writing has improved just a bit in the past few years, so we'll see what happens.

I don't own Lab Rats or anything you recognize. If you don't recognize it, it's probably mine.


"There are wounds that never show on the body that are deeper and more hurtful than anything that bleeds."

Laurell K. Hamilton, Mistral's Kiss


Leo

He couldn't run fast enough.

Leo didn't know how he ever wound up in this situation. Try as he might, Summoner Hall and Krane were drifting farther and farther away in their Circles. Dark shadows danced in the corner of his eye, cackling, taunting, urging him to run faster, or everyone would die. He could feel heat on the back of his neck, the breath of a massive beast, almost burning his skin and urging him on.

His heart pounded in his chest, his stomach dropped, his limbs burned. Ahead, his targets drifted farther and farther away. Behind, the beast's breath seemed to draw closer and closer. He drove himself harder, his legs aching, his lungs screaming for air. If he didn't make it, if Hall succeeded in drawing that beast into this world, into Krane-

A small dragon rose in the distance, opening her mouth. A tidal wave of blood crashed over Hall and Krane from her maw. Leo dug his heels into the ground as hard as he could, but it was too late. The crimson ocean swept him up in its wake, washing him back towards the beast behind him. The sharp scent of iron was overwhelming, his eyes seeing nothing but the bright-red fluid around him. Too much for anybody to survive losing, too much for any one person to have spilled, far too much for him to ever have on his hands. He opened his mouth to…scream, maybe? Call for help? Apologize to his victim? It didn't matter. He couldn't get a sound out before he was choking, drowning in the order he'd given.

"Leo!"

Leo's eyes shot open. Mr. Davenport was leaning over him, holding his shoulders so he wouldn't spring up too fast. Leo grabbed Mr. Davenport's wrists, his eyes darting around. The hotel room came into focus, dully lit by the first inklings of dawn.

Mr. Davenport rubbed his thumbs in small circles on Leo's shoulders, his brows drawn together. "Calm down, buddy. You're okay. It's just a dream. Breathe."

Leo slowly released Mr. Davenport's wrists, trembling. He turned slightly to prop himself up on his elbow, sitting up at last. His breathing wasn't calm – he wasn't calm – but he was just relieved he could breathe at all. The still air was cool on his sweat-soaked skin, his pajamas clinging to him in uncomfortable ways. After several seconds, he rubbed at his eyes fiercely. He could feel the streaks of tears down his cheeks. Damn it, he'd been doing so well, too. He had gone several nights without having that dream.

Mr. Davenport squeezed Leo's shoulders, his eyes searching his face. "Was it the same dream again?"

Leo nodded, sighing hard. He would give anything to sleep normally for the rest of his life.

The soft click of overlapping scales drew Leo's attention. Ysthry was uncurling at the foot of his bed, yawning. Leo sucked in a breath, half-expecting blood to pour from her jaws. He saw nothing but the acid coating her teeth and a curling tongue, though. She craned her neck around, nibbling at a spot under her wing. Leo let the breath go again, wiping at his nose for a second with a sniff.

Mr. Davenport looked sideways at Ysthry for a second before focusing on Leo again. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Leo shook his head, avoiding Mr. Davenport's eyes. How was he supposed to talk about it with anybody, let alone his father? How did someone just talk about murdering someone like it was nothing? How could Mr. Davenport possibly help him with this? He couldn't fix everything, no matter how much of a genius he was. Not until he invented time travel and stopped Leo from summoning anything at all.

Mr. Davenport sighed, but nodded. He pulled Leo into a tight hug, speaking softly. "If you're sure. When you're ready."

Leo set his jaw. Mr. Davenport was just trying to help. Leo couldn't just snap at him for it.

After a moment, Mr. Davenport let go. He gestured towards the bathroom with one hand. "Your mother is already downstairs, I think, so get dressed." He patted Leo's back before standing up, a smile spreading across his face. He clenched his fists and held them up, not unlike an excited kid. "Maybe we'll get there before Adam eats all the waffles this time."

The corner of Leo's mouth twitched. It was impossible to beat Adam to the waffle cart, but they could always try. Leo pushed his blankets back as Mr. Davenport crossed the room to a chair. Bree was sitting down, staring at the wall, vacant as always. Leo scooped up a shirt and pants as Mr. Davenport took her hand, guiding her up out of the chair. Leo looked down again, hurrying to the bathroom and closing the door a bit too hard. He rested his head on the door, letting out a quiet groan. He already had enough on his mind. He didn't want to worry about how long it was taking Chase to find Bree, if he even could.

Leo took his time changing to allow himself enough space to calm down. Enough space to ground himself back in reality. Enough space to breathe for just a moment. He needed to be calm when his mother saw him, or she would ask too many questions. He couldn't handle that this morning.

When he finally opened the door to step out of the bathroom, he was greeted with the sight of Adam and Trevor sitting on the couch Leo slept on. Trevor was clinging to Adam's hand like a lifeline. Frowning, Leo looked around the room. It was odd to find Trevor without Douglas, but the man wasn't around. Adam waved one hand, giving Leo a tight smile. "Morning, Leo."

Leo's eyes were drawn to a pair of geckos hanging on the wall behind Adam and Trevor, their tongues flicking occasionally. They were undoubtedly Ysthry and Yahn. "Morning." He furrowed his brow, watching as Mr. Davenport guided Bree to sit on the edge of the bed again. "Where's Douglas?"

"We were kind of hoping he was here," Adam answered, his good eye flicking between Leo and Mr. Davenport. "We haven't seen him all morning."

Mr. Davenport was frowning himself now. "Did you check downstairs? He's probably glaring at the desk clerk or something."

Trevor sat up, biting his lip. "He wasn't there."

Leo glanced at Mr. Davenport. Douglas dropping off the radar was never a good sign. "What about Mom? Did you ask her?"

"We didn't see her, either," Adam answered. "I thought she was still up here."

"She's not downstairs?" Mr. Davenport's eyes widened when Adam and Trevor both shook their heads.

Leo raised his hands up. "Okay, everybody calm down. How far could they have gotten?" He gestured at the door. "I'm sure someone has seen them. Maybe you guys just missed them."

Leo was wrong.

Leo was so very wrong.

The only one who claimed to see the two was the desk clerk Douglas hated, and that was the night before. He said they had left to go walk around the block, but didn't come back before his shift was over. He figured they just took their time coming back.

It was around this time that they all had to acknowledge that something bad had happened here. Tasha and Douglas weren't just unaccounted for; they were missing entirely.

Mr. Davenport came unglued almost instantly. His wife vanished with his brother? There was no good way that could possibly end. He paced around the room, dialing Tasha's phone, then Douglas', then Tasha's again, repeating the pattern for several minutes before he gave up on either one answering. Leo held tight to Ysthry in his hands, running his thumb over her slick gecko skin to ease his nerves. His mother would be okay, right? Douglas didn't have any kind of vendetta against her or anything. Maybe they just got lost in the city? Though why they would ever walk around at night in a city they didn't know was a major point of confusion. Douglas might be reckless enough to do that, but Tasha wasn't. Not after everything they'd been through. Even then, Douglas wouldn't just disappear without Trevor. The kid was glued to his side, just about, and Douglas did nothing to discourage that.

So…where were they? What happened?

Mr. Davenport ran his hands through his hair, clenching his jaw with frustration. He blew out a frustrated breath, then turned to face them all. "Adam, we're searching for them."

Adam nodded, standing up. "You got it."

Mr. Davenport pointed at Leo then. "Leo, I need you to stay here, in case they come back."

Leo jumped up from his seat on the couch, gesturing at the door. "My mother is missing, and you expect me to stay here?" Leo wanted to be out on the street, turning every stone until he found her. He couldn't lose another family member and do nothing about it. Not when they were supposed to be safe now.

Mr. Davenport gestured broadly around the room. "Someone has to stay with Bree and Trevor."

Trevor sank down in his seat. Even with his young age, he understood the gravity of the situation.

Leo opened his mouth to protest. They could bring Trevor and Bree along, couldn't they? "Big D-"

"No, Leo." Mr. Davenport's tone left no room for negotiation. He started for the door. "We'll call you if we find them, but until then, stay here. Understand?"

Leo clenched his jaw, balling up a fist. He didn't want to sit around while this was unfolding, entertaining Trevor and making sure Bree didn't stumble into something dangerous. It made him feel so helpless.

At the same time, keeping track of Trevor and Bree on the streets would slow down the search….

He held Ysthry out to Adam, who took the gecko and tucked her into his pocket next to gecko Yahn. "Here. I hear geckos have really good noses."

Adam furrowed his brow, frowning. "Huh?"

Mr. Davenport nudged Adam's shoulder, directing him to the door. "Geckos, good noses, got it. We'll find them." He pulled the door open, then hesitated. Adam paused behind him, frowning still. Mr. Davenport locked eyes with Leo, biting his lip for a second. Whatever internal debate he was having, he finally pointed at Leo. "And stay away from the desk clerk. I don't know what happened to them, but I have a feeling that he's lying."