I'm kinda proud of how this one turned out compared to the original.

"When she awoke, the world was on fire."

Scott Westerfeld, Uglies

Bree

When Bree was seven, she learned what meditation was through Chase and Mr. Davenport. They were sitting on the Lab floor, Mr. Davenport talking Chase through the process. Mr. Davenport claimed that an essential part of Chase's training was to manage stress and emotions in any situation. Chase, who was a few weeks away from turning seven himself, had trouble sitting still. He kept shifting his weight, opening his eyes and complaining that his thoughts were wandering. Mr. Davenport was eerily still, his legs crossed and his back straight as he told Chase to acknowledge the thought, then get back to what he was supposed to be focusing on.

Chase would close his eyes and try again.

These meditation lessons lasted a few weeks. Mr. Davenport roped them all in, teaching them several ways to center themselves, manage stress, solve problems, anything at all. Bree couldn't sit still long – she was born to run – but she found walking meditation useful. She also liked one where she counted heartbeats, breathing in and out according to how fast her pulse was. She would hold her wrist as discreetly as possible, breathing to soothe her nerves.

Breathe in for four heartbeats.

Adam gravitated towards guided meditations. He said it was easier to pay attention when someone was talking to him. Bree could understand that one to a point, but she would rather just run to a mountain than visit one in her imagination. Not Adam, though. He could get lost in the journey, letting go of reality for a while, for all the good it did him.

Hold your breath for two heartbeats.

Chase was the one Bree was likely to catch doing different types of meditation. He was a fan of Tai Chi, meditating on the movement of his body like Bree did. He sometimes sat still in the Lab with a small fountain or the sound of the wind playing in the background, focused on the sounds as he retreated into himself.

Breathe out for four heartbeats.

There were times when Chase turned the lights in the Lab down and lit a candle. He would stare at the flame through half-closed eyes, writing in a notebook sitting in his lap without paying attention to what he was doing until afterward. "I'm trying to find inspiration," Chase explained to her once. "Fire is all about change, so why not?"

Hold your breath for two heartbeats.

Bree didn't understand what Chase meant by that, but she came to know that when she saw Chase using a candle, he was trying to solve a problem. It was easy to see when he hit a dead-end with an invention or was reflecting on his actions. He burned two candles the night before he threw the Student of the Semester competition. He went through another after he came back from Antarctica. Bree couldn't count how many he burned when Leo crashed into their lives.

Breathe in for four heartbeats.

Bree tried not to ask Chase what problems he was working on when she caught him staring at candles. She figured he'd come to her when he wanted to. Even Adam respected the situation enough not to interrupt when Chase burned candles. The more Bree thought about it now, though, the more she wished she'd interfered.

Hold your breath for two heartbeats.

The more Bree thought about the time leading up to Chase running away, the more she recalled burned-down candles appearing everywhere. She walked into the Lab to see Chase trying to solve some issue more often, raking his fingers through his hair as he read through his stream-of-consciousness notes after the candle went out. Bree wished she read those notes now.

Breathe out for four heartbeats.

Bree never asked what was wrong. Was someone at school giving Chase hell?

Hold your breath for two heartbeats.

Was it something at home? Was Chase trying to work out how to escape Adam's rough-housing? Was he threatened by Leo again? Was it something she said?

Breathe in for four heartbeats.

Was it a problem none of them, not even Chase, could understand? Was there something inside of him breaking, and none of them noticed? Was he staring at the candle not to solve his problems, but wishing he could burn something away?

Hold your breath.

"They didn't find anybody."

Mr. Davenport broke Bree from her thoughts with that statement. She tore her eyes away from the burning house as Adam squinted into the darkness around them. He glanced at Mr. Davenport as he asked, "So, they're okay?"

"I hope so." Mr. Davenport ran a hand down his face, sniffing before looking at them again. "Like I said, they didn't find anybody." He nodded towards the firefighters milling around in the background, illuminated in flashes of red, blue, and firelight. "They weren't inside, at least."

Bree held her wrist, still feeling the pulse under her fingers. It was hard to remember that she was angry at Chase when she was watching his new home burn. God, she could feel the heat even across the street. She couldn't imagine how bad it was inside the place. "Then where are they?"

"Well, Master's still alive."

All three of them looked down at the three dogs at their feet. One of the dogs – Bree was pretty sure that one was Mesth – scratched an ear with his hindleg.

"This is all my fault," Yahn groaned from Adam's pocket. His little mouse head was visible as he looked at the house.

Adam shoved his hand in his pocket, scooping Yahn out and holding him up for everyone to see. He was so serious now. It was like Adam hoped Yahn could point Chase out in the darkness around them. "How is it your fault?"

"Probably has something to do with that spy he lost." Vilar's tail wagged on the ground as she sat. "I wonder who Lovett sent to do this?"

"Afrit, probably." Mesth shook his fur out. "Who else?"

Carth watched the firefighters as they sprayed water on the house, his head tilted. "Where is all of their water coming from? Wouldn't it be more efficient to let it burn out?"

"They don't want it to spread to other houses." Mr. Davenport reached towards Yahn with one hand, stopped inches away from the imp, curled his fingers, and dropped his hand to his side again. He turned around, watching the house as he cleared his throat. "Which one of you said Douglas was still alive? How do you know?"

"We're still here." Vilar yawned, standing up and pushing her front paws forward to stretch. "If Master died, we would've gone home."

"Okay, what about Chase?" Adam rubbed Yahn's back with his thumb, staring at the dogs. She couldn't tell if his eyes were red from the firelight or the beginnings of his heat vision. "He's a smart guy, right? He can escape a fire."

"A fire, yes," Yahn squeaked. He covered his face with his paws. "An afrit? Maybe not. Master might only be alive because Half-Breed distracted Jasper. For all I know, Half-Breed was eaten, and that's why his body isn't there."

A crack shot through the air. Everybody jumped as a large portion of the roof collapsed into the home. Smoke billowed out of the new opening as Bree shifted from foot to foot, her heart sinking. She hoped that wasn't a sign from the universe. She glanced at the firefighters swarming around the yard. "You think anybody was in there?"

Mr. Davenport stared at the fire with wide eyes. He couldn't answer that; none of them could. "I hope not."

"So, Half-Breed died," Mesth said, his mouth open in a lupine grin, nudging Carth with his nose. "Think that afrit left a bone or something I can chew on?"

Bree grabbed her wrist again, sucking in a breath. She fought the urge to kick the imp in the ribs, her muscles tense. She didn't want a lecture about animal abuse from firefighters right then. Why couldn't they have gotten here sooner? They could've helped. She could've helped. She could've had them out of that house in seconds, and nobody would be wondering if Chase got himself killed.

Chase wasn't stupid, right? He wouldn't hang around to get eaten…unless he cared about Douglas. Chase wasn't a reckless hero, but he was still a hero. She found that she wouldn't be surprised if he sacrificed himself so Douglas could get away.

They were all trained to protect others, after all.

Breath in for four heartbeats.

If Chase died for Douglas, Bree would never forgive either one of them.

"Okay, somebody start talking." Mr. Davenport turned to the dogs. "Who's this Lovett guy?"

Bree didn't listen to the cacophony of demonic voices. It was hard to make sense of anything they said between all four imps talking. They interrupted each other, contradicted things constantly, and Carth even admitted he had no idea who Lovett was. No, Bree watched the firefighters instead, running around three firetrucks as flames lit up the night. God, there was no saving that place. Whatever was left when the fire was out would have to be destroyed.

"Fire is all about change."

Breathe out for four heartbeats.

Adam nudged her with his elbow. "Remember the avalanche?"

Bree nodded, clenching her jaw. She didn't like thinking about that. That incident haunted her for weeks after. Haunted everybody. She could still hear Chase screaming over the comm set. "You think he got lucky this time, too?"

Adam looked at her now, his eyes more intense than his frown. "I think Douglas wouldn't let Chase die here."

That made a shocking amount of sense for Adam. If Chase died, then Douglas lost all the time and effort it took to create him. Bree was sure that was the only reason Douglas saved them from Krane. It wouldn't make sense for Douglas to throw Chase away to escape a house fire.

Breathe in for four heartbeats.

Bree didn't want to feed the hope in her chest, but she couldn't help it. "You think they're both alive?"

Adam swallowed, jerking his head towards the fire. "If they are, they wouldn't stay here. Not with someone hunting them down."

It was like a switch had flipped in Adam somewhere, granting him a form of common sense that most people couldn't grasp. His logic was simple but often sound when he was in this mood. The same kind of intelligence got him to call Tasha and tell her to come home instead of waiting for Mr. Davenport and Chase to fix the faulty teleporter. Bree searched Adam's face, wanting to believe everything he was hinting at. "We need to check the neighborhood."

Adam nodded, his thumbs brushing over Yahn's back one more time. The imp had given up on getting a word in with Mesth, Carth, and Vilar babbling. It was probably the firelight playing tricks with her eyes, but she could've sworn the imp was smiling. Adam slipped Yahn back into his pocket, sighing. "I'll go north, and you go south?"

Breathe out.

Bree nodded, letting go of her wrist. "Okay."

Chase

The sky was changing color when Douglas dropped onto a park bench, breathing hard. I was so relieved by that. My lungs and throat were hurting, and I was dragging my feet. Groaning, I plopped onto the bench beside him. I let my ears and tail come back into existence for a moment now, watching the sunrise. It was dark enough that I wasn't worried about someone seeing me yet, and I wanted to get the throbbing in my side to ease up. I was sore enough without shifting pain at the moment. I wiped my running eyes and nose, coughing a couple of times. My senses were going nuts with the smoke inhalation. That was the worst thing we got from the fire if I ignored Douglas' ribs. Any burns we got from it weren't any worse than sunburns.

We just had to deal with what we could. We couldn't do much to help our throats, lungs, and eyes. The occasional coughing fits we broke into were just icing on this cake. I leaned back into the bench, sighing as my tail twitched on the ground.

Back to the streets again, huh?

I lowered my ears. I really didn't want to go through that again. Three months was hard enough the first time around. I nudged Douglas with my elbow, clearing my throat. "So, now what?"

Douglas took a deep breath, wincing. He leaned his head back and rubbed his eyes. "I don't know. Look, it's a religious holiday for me, so I can't think. Ask me next month."

I touched my forehead, activating my bionics. Readings and diagrams flooded my vision as I scanned Douglas, raising my eyebrow. Only one rib was broken, and that was minor. "What religion?"

"The religion of don't question my beliefs, or I'll sue you, damn it," Douglas grumbled. He leaned his head forward again, looking at me as my scan concluded. As I dropped my hand, Douglas let out a breath. "Don't worry about me, kid. I'm fine."

I lowered my ears, frowning. It was easy to look worried that way. "Yeah, yeah, but…." I pointed at Douglas' abdomen, wincing. "Is your liver supposed to be that color?"

Douglas' eyes widened at that. He prodded at his side, hissing. "Wait, what's wrong? What color?"

"Lilly." When Douglas' head shot up, I pointed at him again, rotating my finger in a circle. "Your belly's kind of yellow, too."

Douglas stared at me for a few seconds before he smiled, letting out a breathy laugh. "Seriously?"

I couldn't stop myself from purring. "Your rib is cracked. Hairline fracture." I didn't bring up his lungs and throat. I was sure he could feel the problems with those as much as I could feel them in myself.

"Could be worse." Douglas leaned back again, closing his eyes. "I hope Lovett and Jasper give up. I don't want to do that again."

I perked my ears, nodding. Oranges, reds, and pinks spread over the buildings across the street as I watched, wiping my nose again. It would be nice if Lovett decided that we weren't worth the effort of tracking down. He had Azazel's Bane back, so what else could he want? Unless Krane demanded that we be finished off, Lovett might leave us alone now.

If you're lucky, Jasper lies and calls you dead.

That would be perfect. We needed time to regroup. Those letters had been our best lead, and they were gone now. We only had a spy with Yahn and a connection between Lovett and Krane. I couldn't make sense of it. Why would Krane get involved with Summoning when he was already so powerful? Why was he writing to Lovett, who just happened to own a god-tier amulet? Why would Lovett send a spy to watch my family when Krane could just pop in and kill everybody? How did Jasper track Azazel's Bane so fast? I had counted on a day before word spread around about where it was. Douglas didn't have a way to suppress the magic pulses like Lovett. Either Jasper knew who stole it or got really lucky flying around.

We were right back at square one. We were wandering in the dark, hoping to stumble into answers. Right now, we couldn't do anything but lay low and plan our next move. I ran my fingers through my hair, then dropped them to my stomach with a sigh. Time to pull the thorn. "Douglas?"

Douglas hummed in response, his eyes still closed.

I lowered my ears, swallowing. My tail swished on the ground as I spoke my mind. "We're over our heads here. We need help."

Douglas opened his eyes this time, sitting up to look at me. "Help from where?" He waved around us, scoffing. "We don't have anywhere else to go. Krane knows all of my old hideouts, and I can't start calling in random people. I'd have to explain everything to them, including bionics." He pointed at me. "Even if I explained your bionics away as demonic, we can't trust any Summoner now." He threw his hands up. "Who knows how many are working with Lovett? He – "

Douglas broke off with a fit of coughing. He doubled over, covering his mouth with one hand and raising a finger towards me, asking for a second. I sighed, patting his back. At least with his tirade on hold, I could get a word in. "We have a place to go. Mr. Davenport – "

"No, you have a place to go," Douglas managed around his coughing. The fit ended a few seconds later, and he sat up. Patting his chest, he tried to catch his breath. "Donnie's not going to let me through the door."

I pulled my hand back, wiping my watering eyes. He was right, of course. Mr. Davenport would rather tell somebody they looked better than him than let Douglas live in the house. He made that abundantly clear when he threatened to shoot Douglas' head off. I curled my tail around my feet, sighing. "Look – "

"If you want to go back home, that's fine." Douglas watched the sunrise now, avoiding my eyes. Even so, I could see how hard it was for him to say that. "I don't blame you for it, but I can't go with you."

See? You don't need him, and he doesn't want you.

I lowered my ears, scratching at the base of one. "Oly and Yahn are already there, though. You'll have to go back to get them."

Douglas waved the words away. "I can Summon them."

"With what supplies? Everything we had burned, remember?"

Douglas clenched his jaw, looking at me again. His voice was stern now. "I already said you can go."

"I heard you." I kept my tone calm. I didn't want to make Douglas' mood worse. "I'm not leaving you, though. Not with Jasper, Lovett, and Krane out there." I broke off to cough a few times, shaking my hand when dark phlegm covered it. Christ, that had to be healthy. Douglas patted my back this time, scratching between my wings as I cleared my throat again. "You think it's easy for me to walk in there? It's not. We need you, Dad. You know more about Krane and Summoners than any of us. Without you, we're shooting in the dark."

Douglas narrowed his eyes, pulling his hand away from me. "You can't just tag 'dad' on a sentence whenever you want your way."

I hissed a breath through my teeth. There went that tactic. "Am I wrong, though? Like I said, we need you. This is bigger than your fight with Mr. Davenport." I jabbed my finger into my palm, accenting my point. "All of our lives are in danger. Are you going to walk away from that?"

Douglas turned to look at the sunrise again, silent. He slumped down like an angry kid, bouncing his leg while taking a deep breath. My tail twitched as I waited, watching while Douglas thought. Several moments passed, the sun peeking out around the buildings now. I shifted my tail and ears away as the world lit up. At last, Douglas spoke. "Donnie's going to keep me outside."

I smiled, tension dropping off me like water at his decision. "Tied to a tree in the yard with your imps, throwing food outside once a week."

He looked at me, reaching up and resting a hand on my shoulder. "If I don't survive, tell my story."

We kept eye contact for a couple of seconds before we both broke out laughing, both of us dissolving into coughs after a moment. I would kill for some hot tea with honey right now. My throat felt like someone scraped it. Douglas brought a hand down on my back as our coughing fits faded, rubbing his chest with his other hand as he sighed. "Fine, then. Let's go beg Donald for mercy."