Things have been kinda quiet lately and it's kinda creepin' me out y'all. I've been writin' my ass off for you guys and I still got nothin' review wise. What the heck? Is my work that bad? Oh who cares? As long as you guys read it and you guys like it, who gives a flyin' hoot? Oh well. That's just life as we know it. Anywho! I don't own FAKE in any shape or form though I wouldn't mind havin' a Dee plushie to huggle to death. Enjoy!

"Iii" speech

Iii thought

Iii written text

Chapter 5: Turns For The Worst: Friends Lost

Driving home in the cold rain, its almost melodic pound against the roof of the car filling in the calm silence of the vehicle while Evan took everything in stride. Turning corners as if on a dime and keeping the large contraption at a safe speed, Evan made it look as easy as sleeping. Even though Dee was asleep, the teen's road etiquette was enough to keep the poor man snoozing the ride away. Pulling up to the curb, the teen brought the car into park and turned it off. Looking to his right, watching the older man doze, he only stayed there for a few seconds before exiting the car and entering the cold winter rain.

Ignoring the vicious bite of ice-cold water from the sky, Evan leaned back into the car to grab the umbrella, opening it from himself as he closed and locked his door before going around to the other side. As gently as he could, the teen opened the passenger side door and moved to unbuckle the barely conscious man before lifting him out of the car and under the umbrella as he kicked the door closed. Locking it behind them, Evan soon lifted the man again in order to get them indoors before they got too soaked.

Getting the dark haired cop inside the building was easy enough, but Evan tried not to hit his head against a nearby wall at the sight of the many flights of stairs they'd have to take just to get to their floor. Closing the soaked umbrella, the teen looked around for a back up plan only to silently thank whatever gods that were listening for what he saw: an elevator.

Thank the Heavens for small miracles. He thought as he moved toward the panel and pushed the 'up' button, waiting patiently with Dee's still snoozing self not far off while the doors finally opened to reveal the finely furnished mechanical box that sadly only went in two directions. Evan quickly dragged the cop inside the enclosed space, pressing '10' and watched the doors slide to a close.

Just as he let his thoughts wander a bit, the sound of the elevator's bell snapped him back to reality, the door's smooth glide giving way to an empty hallway. Evan was quick once again in grabbing the cop under the arms, lifting him off the floor and proceeded to drag/carry him toward the apartment door. Just by looking at it he knew he wouldn't need the key to open it, much less touch the handle to get it open. Huh. Man, that guy works fast. That's Ramsey for ya.

Nudging it with his foot, he couldn't help but smile as the door quietly swung open, allowing him to enter unhindered. Knowing that no one would see him with the unconscious man in his grip, Evan pulled said cop into the apartment with the same unrelenting strength he somehow possessed. A soft click from the door behind him was all he needed to hear as he went to put his living load to bed.

--Meanwhile, At East Bronx High School—

Despite not looking the part that much, Chevy was proving to be a very fast moving person, even though he seemed to have some kind of weird sway in his step as he went along the empty halls. Carol, Bikky and Ryo were already having problems enough at even understanding how he'd gotten there in the first place but didn't dare ask after what'd he'd said some time before. But this didn't keep them from asking different kinds of questions. Ryo was the first to speak. "Anything yet?"

Chevy didn't turn as he paused to somehow sniff the air through the scarf that covered his face. Eyes of silver grey seemed to drink in everything within range as he looked around before speaking. "Not much but this area's a bit concentrated. Most likely a regular class or two your friends might be taking this semester. Nothin' too special."

"But is it getting stronger?" Bikky inquired, hoping that the teen had some idea where his friends might be. But Chevy seemed a bit skeptical.

"Can't really tell. There are too many scents here, all mixed together into one stinky mess that'd have had me sneezing if not for this scarf." He grumbled almost to himself but said it loud enough for them to hear. Bikky just gave the teen an annoyed look before speaking again.

"And that means that all of this is pointless?" he demanded, sounding irritated at their supposed guide whose calm demeanor had yet to change.

"Not necessarily." Was the calm reply as he turned a bit to his left.

"What do you mean?" Carol asked, taking the opportunity to get a word in.

"I'm pickin' up some weird smells from that way and a bit from over there but…" the teen paused, as if uncertain of what to say. Unfortunately, today was the rare occasion where Ryo was running low on patience as he spoke up.

"But what?" the cop asked, edging on desperation for answers.

Chevy rubbed his chin through his scarf, seeming to contemplate something as he spoke again. "It might be nothin' but I doubt it is by this point."

"Then get to it!" Bikky growled, looking annoyed.

"Point is... we just might have a raid on our hands." The three froze at this, their minds trying to process what he'd said. Bikky soon broke the silence.

"A raid?" they all asked in unison, each equally confused.

Chevy nodded. "Yup, you bet. Though it's unusual for any of them to invade a public school. It's not exactly something that fits their normal patterns."

"Meaning they don't do this often." Ryo said in a thoughtful tone, making Chevy nod again.

"Exactly. Actually this is a rare event in itself but I remember enough from my training to know what we can and can't do about it. For now, we should keep looking to see if we can't find anything that doesn't belong so I'll need you guys to be watchin' for anythin' strange."

This brought about confused expressions, eyebrows raised. Bikky couldn't hold back his exclamation. "What? Why us? Can't you tell what does and doesn't belong?"

"I never went to high school." Chevy deadpanned, nearly making the blonde anime fall before he just scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

Carol decided it was her turn to ask questions. "Oh. Then where did you go?"

"Home schooling." His tone had a calm ring to it, but Ryo gave the teen a thoughtful look when he heard the sadness hidden away in his voice. Bikky and Carol didn't seem to notice as Carol spoke again.

"Really? What for?" she asked innocently, unaware of how the teen before them bristling instinctively.

"Are you gonna keep watch or not?" this was said in a fairly irritated tone, sounding snappish enough to make the two teens nod. To that, Chevy merely grunted before turning away to sniff the air again. They didn't hesitate to follow him when he moved down another empty hall, the roar and whistle of rain and wind the only thing echoing off the walls.

--Ryo's Apartment—

Knowing that Dee was still out cold and the answering machine was empty of messages, Evan padded around in slightly soggy socks toward the kitchen in the hopes of finding something worth making. He couldn't help but feel a little tired himself but he fought against the sleepiness that attempted to take over his brain. Turning the corner into the pristinely clean kitchen and heading straight for the fridge that he immediately opened to survey its contents, hoping there was something he could get in his stomach before getting some shuteye himself. Getting some juice and some leftover chicken from the dinner two nights before things got hectic, Evan made a plate for himself before sticking it in the microwave. Watching the food slowly spin in the machine, Evan felt something behind him move, the flow of energies in the room changing to make way for the new source that lazily made its way inside.

Quickly turning and almost jumping away, Evan blinked to find Dee standing some few feet away, his eyes still a little heavy from sleep but he seemed conscious enough to know his own whereabouts. "What's cookin'?"

Evan blinked again but soon realized that Dee was referring to the microwave, its shrill beeping taking up the silence, the teen moving to open the door in order to carefully remove the plate. Not knowing if the man was hungry enough to eat his food and since he couldn't exactly ask, all Evan did was give the cop an inquiring look. Somehow getting the message in his muzzy state, Dee shook his head and went straight for the coffee maker on the opposite side of the room. Despite having his back turned, this move still earned him a raised eyebrow and an amused roll of the eyes from the teen who sat himself down at the table.

Silently digging into his freshly heated meal, Evan carefully watched the sleepy cop out of the corner of his eye to ensure he didn't do anything hazardous in his heavy-eyed state of mind. Thankfully all the man did was open a cupboard in order to find a mug and poured some of the dark liquid into it, putting a spoonful of sugar or two in, stirring them in as he headed to the fridge in search of cream. It didn't take Dee long to take a seat in one of the chairs near Evan's. The teen ignored him even though he knew that the older man, who randomly sipped the hot brew, was staring at him.

"Do you know what's goin' on in this place?" Dee asked lazily, giving the teen a thoughtful gaze from over his coffee mug.

Evan was caught off guard by the sudden question, pausing in taking another bite of food to look at the cop with a look of confusion. Tilting his head, his expression shifted a little to one of inquiry. Dee just snickered with a smirk as he shook his head at the teen's silent response. "By now I doubt even you can answer that. We're all so out of the loop to where it's almost funny."

The teen felt a little worried now, the man's words not making much sense in his mind, the plate of food before him temporarily forgotten as he tried to piece things together while Dee kept talking. "I didn't expect an answer from you anyway since you can't seem to talk yet. But I don't blame ya. You're just one of the people caught in the middle of it all, just tryin' to keep goin' while things get crazy. But still, I can't help but wonder what that head of yours is hiding' from everybody." He mused before sipping his coffee again.

Evan was really suspicious now. Is this guy drunk? Is he even conscious of anything? I doubt he even knows what he's saying right now. Did he put something in his own drink to where he'd say funny things just to freak me out? Apparently not amused by Dee's strange words, Evan got up to inspect the insides of the fridge so as to count all of the beers inside. From small past experience, Evan knew that Ryo wasn't even a drinker and that Bikky was underage, but Dee… Dee seemed to be the kind of person who got drunk for the hell of it.

Hmm. Interesting. All of them are unopened so that means he used the cream or the milk when he was in here. He thought as he grabbed the cream carton and sniffed at it, satisfied to find nothing wrong before going for the milk. Closing the giant contraption again since he'd found nothing there, Dee watched Evan curiously as he walked across the room to the coffee maker to open its lid and look inside. Finding nothing the teen went to the sugar bowl only to come up empty again. Only one possibility left. Well, here goes.

Dee jumped when Evan suddenly seemed to appear next to him, feeling his forehead in search of what he could only guess to be his temperature before switching to his wrist to find his pulse, watching the clock on the wall for a while. Pulling away in confusion and exasperation Dee gave the teen a weak glare. "What are you doing?"

The teen said nothing but instead looked around again, this time finding what he was looking for. Grabbing a notepad and pen from one of the counters, he immediately started to scribble something down. When he was done, he pushed it in Dee's direction for the man to grab and inspect. What he read seemed to click.

You said something strange and so I went to see if you'd put something in your drink to make you be strange. Then I looked to see if someone had done it on purpose. When that didn't work I looked to see if you were sick.

"Oh. I get it. You had me lost there for a minute. Ok I know I'm not sick and no I didn't do anything to my own damn coffee. And I know that sure as hell that no one got in here to do somethin' like that to me either. Happy?"

Evan nodded quietly, a small grin making itself at home on his face before moving back to his previous seat to finish his forgotten and hopefully not cold meal, leaving Dee to his late afternoon coffee.

--At The School, Some Hours Before—

Lass had been trying to get through the crowds to her next class, disappointed that she hadn't seen either Bikky or Carol all day. And I couldn't find them in the cafeteria either! Where were those two anyway? She thought in her frustration, nearly tripping for the third time that day as she totted her books as easily as she could. Upon entering the room did she sense that something was a bit wrong with it. Nothing obvious or visual, but something in the atmosphere instantly put her on edge, chills going up and down her spine as she nervously took her seat in the second row of the classroom. She never noticed who'd she'd sat down next to until he caught her attention in a way that nearly made her cry out in panic.

He looked like Evan, and seemed to be dressed a bit like him, but the look on his face and the shine in his eyes were completely wrong. Lass felt like running from the room and never coming back just by the way he was staring at her. And he didn't look happy at all. Not in the slightest. Narrowing his eyes at her, he grunted before saying roughly. "Well, well. So you noticed after all. That's very good, very good indeed. Proves that you're not stupid."

Lass felt herself go red in the face with rage at the Evan look-alike's last comment but he cut her off before she could say anything. "No need to get all in a huff. I don't want to be here anyway. But I gotta be since it's protocol."

"Protocol?" Lass inquired, confused.

"You know about it am I right?" he asked, his eyes seeming to burn into her skin.

"Yeah… and?" was all she could say in her nervousness due to that demonic gaze bearing down on her.

"Then shut up and listen." He snapped, suddenly irritated, making the poor blonde jump at his tone. "Cause I'm only gonna say this once. First: I know exactly how girls like you are so don't go chatter boxing about my guys or me. Ever. Second: you might need this."

As he said this, he'd reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a flip cell phone, its silvery surface gleaming in the artificial light. Opening it up, Lass inspected the thing only to find it looked completely ordinary in every way.

"You want me to have this? It's just a phone! What's it good--?" she didn't get to say more as the teen next to her just rolled his eyes and snapped again.

"Plenty. Trust me. Its extraordinary functions will only operate for you and your friends who also just so happened to be involved. With everyone else, it's just some phone they can call their car dealers with."

Unfortunately, Lass was still a little confused about this. "But how--?"

"Simple: when you touched it, it's DNA identification program kicked in and stored you in the main server that's hundreds of miles away. This baby's built to work where other phones can't." he grumbled in annoyance. But something else in his voice told her that he was just boasting about the thing, and not getting angry over her questions. For the moment, she let it slide.

"So how does this help me? At all?" she asked, sounding absolutely skeptical.

He just sighed in deep irritation but answered anyway. "If you need help, this thing will get us to come help you. It won't matter where you are or what's happening. All you have to do is use it and it'll do its part. Simple as that."

"You mean… against those strange people?" Lass had to ask in her fear and curiosity, already shivering at the memory of ordinary people suddenly turning to attack her for no apparent reason.

"Shush woman! Not so loud! And to think those other two were dumber than you!" he growled angrily, sending cautious glances around the room as other students got into their seats for class, still ignoring the two as they went about their business.

"Other two? You mean Bikky and Carol? I haven't seen them all day! Do you know where they are?" Lass asked almost desperately.

The Evan look-alike looked bored out of his mind, raising an eyebrow at her as he responded. "In class most likely. Duh! Does it look like I know or care?"

She couldn't help but sweat drop at his response. "Uh… not really."

"Didn't think so." He growled, rising from the desk next to hers. "Later."

"Wait!" she said suddenly, making him pause and look back at her, still looking extremely bored out of his skull.

"Hn?" he grunted in annoyance.

"Other than giving me this… phone thing… why'd you come here?" I can't believe I just said that. Lass thought as she waited for her answer to come.

He just stared at her. And stared, almost as if she'd said something completely random, and that it'd made no sense whatsoever. And stared some more with a very emotionless look on his face. "What… the hell kind of a question is that?" he growled, his expression never changing as Lass desperately tried not to blush.

When she said nothing else, the teen sighed in aggravation, turned toward the classroom door and in the blink of an eye, he was gone. Giving her no chance to question where the teen had gone and how, class quickly came into session as soon as the teacher walked in to start his lecture.

--With Lai, A Few Minutes Later—

Sitting in the library, studying up for a test he had in almost an hour, Lai scanned the pages of the book in front of him while trying not to let his thoughts about the busy lunch hour get in his way. But sometimes even your thoughts just don't listen. Where were Bikky and Carol? I found Lass just fine but… those two just weren't there! Why is that? Did they get caught up in something? Or was it something else entirely? Could that weird group Gayle was talking about the other day've attacked them?

"I don't know. You tell me." A strange voice suddenly said, snapping the raven-haired boy out of his thoughts.

Jumping in surprise, Lai nearly fell out of his chair when he saw an all too familiar face right across the table from him, giving him the utmost bored expression he'd ever seen. "E-Evan!?" he stammered, utterly surprised to see the other teen there at all, and at his school no less.

The Evan look-alike just scoffed in irritation. "Why does everyone think that? Ugh. I swear some people are just plain stupid sometimes don't you agree?" he growled with a slight sneer on his smooth face.

Lai was shocked. The Evan he knew couldn't talk, at least not yet anyway. And even if he could, something told him that he wasn't this rude or nasty at all. Effect: instant suspicion. "Well if you're not Evan… then who are you?"

"Hm. And to think you actually have the brains to ask me that." The teen growled, smirking in amusement now despite the fact that the rest of his face had yet to show any kind of expression at all. "But sadly, unlike your blonde friend, I choose to leave that answer box blank thank you very much."

Lai couldn't help but sweat drop at this. "And why is that?"

"I like watchin' people blow their brains out just tryin' to figure people like me out. Besides. Why ruin the fun by telling you my name?" the teen inquired with a mocking look, his cold, sharp eyes seeming to flash with mischief.

However, Lai wasn't impressed, just annoyed as he spoke again. "Who are you then? Rumplestilskin?" he asked, his words just completely drenched with sarcasm.

"Haha very funny. I've met that shrimp but trust me. I'm not him." the teen dead panned, catching the raven completely off guard to where he almost forgot where he was and why. Blinking at the teen's words, Lai could only say one thing:

"Huh?!"

The teen nodded, as if in acknowledgment to the boy's surprise. "Tell me about it. He's a sneaky little bastard. Had to put that little snake into a box for stealin' that one rich lady's baby. A life sentence I think is what he got. I think they buried it too, just to make sure he wouldn't go anywhere. Love to see how he gets out of that if he tries."

Lai was just plain stunned at the other teen's words. Everything that was coming out of his mouth was just plain unreal and made hardly any sense whatsoever. "What do you-?"

He didn't get to say more as another student wandered over to where the raven-haired boy was sitting. "Lai-san? Why are you talking to yourself? Are you practicing for a speech or something?"

"Huh? Uh… well I…." Doesn't this guy see him? Can't he see that I'm not alone over here? Lai thought as he tried to come up with a good excuse.

The student didn't give him a chance to say much else. "Hmm. Whatever it is keep it down! Some people are tryin' to ready okay dude?"

"Uh… yeah… sorry." Was all the raven could say in response as the student wandered off again, leaving Lai and the other teen to themselves. "How come he didn't notice you?" he immediately asked, giving the other teen a nasty look.

The Evan look-alike just stared coolly before answering. "Unlike you, I can become invisible to the human eye. I can also make another human think that they never saw me, even though they've seen me pass them by, in plain view. You seem to have some talent of the mind, but only enough to save yourself from breaking a leg or calling for help."

Lai blanched at this, his voice coming in a whisper. "How do you know about that?"

The teen scoffed again. "You say that as if I should be blind. I can see it, quite clearly too. Your aura's a bit strong for a human's, and your DNA strand appears to be a little more complex than most."

"Do others have this… difference?" Lai inquired hesitantly, a bit curious on the subject even though the other teen didn't look interested at all.

"Only if they concentrate like you. Kinda like your girlfriend over in the physics classroom." The teen said in a fairly bored tone.

"Physics? That's on the other side of the campus!" the raven-haired teen exclaimed in astonishment.

The teen shrugged with a tired sigh and a nod. "Tell me about it. 'Cause it took me a little while to get over here. But I should be getting on with business since that's basically why I'm here in the first place."

"Huh?" Lai could only say in his confusion, watching the teen search his jacket for something.

"Found it." The teen stated in the same bored tone as he brought something out of his jacket pocket and put in onto the table between them. "Here ya go."

Lai could only stare at the object with the greatest amount of confusion anyone could muster. "W-what? A phone?"

"Yup." The teen said with a nod, still sounding a bit irritated.

"You came all this way to give me this? What for?" Lai demanded, remembering to keep his voice from getting too loud again as he spoke.

"So you don't get killed. That's why." Came the simple answer that silenced Lai for at least a good twenty seconds.

"W-what?! Killed? By who?" the raven-haired boy stammered, blanching from the thought of being knocked off a bit too early in life.

The other teen just shrugged, the bored expression still gracing his smooth features. "Anyone. Anything. Anywhere and anytime, regardless of what's going on around you. Anyway, that's yours to hold on to and use for when you get into a corner that you can't escape. Trust me. You're goin' to need it sooner or later."

Lai could only stare at the phone on the tabletop before him as the other teen rose from his seat to leave, the chair not even scraping the floor as he did. "See ya around kid." He called as he walked off, his back turned away from the teen still sitting at the table behind him.

The raven-haired boy didn't notice until he was almost gone. "Huh? Wait!"

The other teen paused, turning around a little bit with an inquisitive look on his face. "Hn? What now?"

"Why?" was all Lai could think of to say, already kicking himself for not being able to add more of it.

The teen didn't say anything at first but turned away again, waving lazily before seeming to vanish amidst the shelves like a ghost.

Lai could only stare at the now blank space between the bookcases, his test now forgotten as he sat in a daze, the new phone in hand. It wasn't until the bell rang that he snapped out of his stupor, quickly collected his things and left for class, the teen's words still resounding in his head like a thunderous echo that refused to fade.

--East Bronx High, Present Time—

Bikky, Carol and Ryo, despite wanting to believe in Chevy's tracking expertise, were truly starting to believe that the guy was leading them around in circles. True he'd said that he was trying to decipher Lai and Lass's smells from that of the other ones made by the rest of the student body. "You think this is easy?" he would grumble from where he was ahead of them, walking with a slightly drunken shuffle. "I'd like to see you try to find two people out of almost two thousand other students sometime."

At first, none of them could think of a response to this and dared not irritate the teen more than he already was. But after a while, Bikky could already feel his own anger getting the better of him as time really started to tick by. "Hey are we gettin' any closer to finding them yet?"

"Not sure but I'm pickin' up somethin' in this direction." Chevy said in a thoughtful tone, pointing to a hallway to their left. One they were sure they hadn't gone down before.

"Do you know what it is?" Ryo asked, leaning his head a bit as if trying to see farther than one in a straight posture could.

Chevy just shrugged, his silvery grey eyes surveying the empty space just as thoughtfully as before. "It could be your friends but I think it's somethin' I'm used to bumpin' into."

"Meaning?" Bikky inquired, taking his turn to talk again.

"Give it a minute." The teen said in a patient tone, not taking his eyes away from the said area of space that stretched away from them.

It only took a good thirty minutes for a small figure with the build of an eight year old to come running top speed around a corner, skidding to a stop before running off again. Heading right at them. As the other three panicked, Chevy didn't move as the small figure came zooming down the hall before it shouted in an obviously feminine voice as it suddenly leaped at the teen. "CHEVY NII-SAN!"

"Huh?" Bikky, Ryo and Carol could only exclaim as Chevy let out a chuckle as the small girl collided with him at break neck speed, nearly knocking him over in the process.

Much to their amazement, it was a small girl, most likely ten years of age with long brown hair the shade of sand wood and had eyes that would put the most vibrant iris or lavender to shame. Her skin appeared sun kissed and warm, her clothes, thought a little baggy but fit well enough, were slightly vibrant colors compared to the neutral and muted ones Chevy had on. Thought everyone else was surprised at this great show of affection, Chevy didn't seem bothered in the slightest.

"Hello Kiku-chan! How's my little sis doin' today?" Chevy could only say while trying not to laugh at the girl's excited antics.

"T-that's your sister?!" Bikky exclaimed in shock at the girl nearly squeezing their guide to death.

"Who'd you think it was? A tailless monkey?" the teen inquired from under his mask-like scarf, seeming to have an amused tone by now.

"Hey!" the girl said with indignation, swinging a kick at Chevy's legs. Lucky for him, she missed. Pouting almost cutely, the girl folded her arms and turned away as Chevy continued to hold back his good-natured laughter.

"Okay, okay sorry. It's just a joke sis! Now what're you doing here anyway? I thought you were back home doing your homework." He asked, seeming suspicious about her presence for a few moments.

"I was but I got called in by that guy." Kiku said with her voice still filled with childish indignity as she pointed at something down the hall from where she'd come a few moments before. Sure enough, there was Lai, looking purely exhausted but relieved to see some old faces as he tried to remain standing.

"Lai! Are you okay?" Carol asked, concern showing in her voice and on her face, Bikky and Ryo mirroring the same looks as her.

But he just waved their worries away. "I'm fine. That girl moves fast! I've never seen anyone go as fast as her before! Is she even human?" the teen inquired between gasps for air.

"I'm just as human as you!" she snapped, glaring childishly at the older teen with a rage that made Chevy snicker from under his mask-like scarf. It wasn't long before the little girl turned on him. "What're you laughing at?"

"N-nothing." He said between chuckles, unable to hide his laughter as Kiku's face started to change color.

"You're not being nice at all aniki." The girl growled angrily, only making the older teen laugh a little harder as he tried to speak as seriously as he could.

"Who said I had to be?" Chevy inquired, feigning seriousness through chuckles and snickers of uncontainable humor.

"Aniki!" she yelled, waving her arms and stomping her foot angrily.

"What?" he asked, faking innocence perfectly.

"Stop being mean!" Kiku snapped, her face turning a bright shade of pink.

"Sorry, what was that?" he asked, putting a hand to his ear, his silvery grey eyes shining with amusement.

It wasn't long before she burst with an infuriated scream. "ANIKI!"

"Sorry! Can't hear you! Say again?" Chevy queried through some more of his chuckles and snorts of laughter at his siblings' obvious rage.

Kiku's face was really starting to turn red with fury, as Chevy just seemed to crack up uncontrollably in response. Even Ryo was having trouble not laughing at the squabble between the two. This scene would've gone on for a while longer if an air of seriousness that killed the mood completely hadn't replaced Chevy's amusement, as the teen suddenly turned his head to the right.

"Aniki?" Kiku inquired in a worried tone, her anger temporarily forgotten as she stared at the older teen with confusion.

"Shush." He growled, the word hissed most likely between clenched teeth.

"But--." She began before he cut her off.

"I said shush." Chevy snapped, not looking at her as he stared down the hall to their right.

Silence fell over the group, all five of them watching the sixth of their group stand almost stock-still as his silvery grey eyes seemed to pierce the walls surrounding them as he stared off into the distance. Looking closely, Ryo could almost swear that the teen's ears were moving from under his hair and the cloth that hid his face.

Within seconds, the teen was moving again. Only this time, they varied in a very different fashion than before. His movements weren't swaggering or disoriented. No, they were clear minded and well placed. And it was a good thing too, for just at that moment, a dark shadow came flying from down the hall and zipped right for the blonde cop. Ryo, of course, panicked and tried to move away from the thing only for it to twist in midair and go after him again. Or at least it would've if Chevy hadn't swiped it away as if it were a fly.

"Get going. Now. I'll stay and deal with this." Chevy snarled, glaring at the disoriented thing lying on the floor, performing a full 'body' shake so as to clear its senses in time for round two.

"But Chevy--!" Ryo began to say but got cut off.

"No buts! Move!" the teen snapped angrily, swatting the shadow again when it came around for another try. But the cop refused to move, trying to think of a way to help the teen fight the thing. What if he gets hurt? What if it defeats him and comes after us? What should I do?

"Leave it to aniki!" a familiar voice cut into his thoughts, making him blink and look down to see a pair of iris purple eyes. Oh yeah… Kiku.

"Huh?" such was his response to the girl's words.

"Aniki's strong! Like I wanna be someday. So don't worry, aniki can fend for himself. Now c'mon before he gets mad at us too." Kiku insisted, pulling on the blonde man's sleeve so as to lead him in the opposite direction.

Finally giving in, Ryo turned away and ran after the group of teens and the small girl, hoping that their remaining member would be okay on his own.

--Meanwhile, At The Precinct—

Gayle, sitting in the infirmary and bored as hell, perked up at the sound of the room's door opening to reveal Diana, Berkeley and Chief Smith entering. And each had a pretty serious look on their faces as they approached the teen's bed as he sat watching and waiting while they walked up to him. "Somethin' I can help you guys with?"

A bit startled by the eerily calm tone the teen gave them, Berkeley was the first to regain his composure. "Actually yes, there is."

Gayle raised an eyebrow at this, his expression unchanged as he continued to stare unblinking at them. "Oh? And that would be?"

"You can start by telling us what this other Evan is capable of." Chief Smith growled in a demanding tone as he took up one of the visitor chairs, Diana taking another while Berkeley remained standing, giving the teen a 'don't mess with me' look.

The teen in question, if on purpose or not, seemed a bit confused as well as surprised by this inquiry. "Excuse me?"

A bit impatient, Berkeley cut in again. "You said that Evan had a brother. An identical twin, if I remember correctly. Mind telling us more?"

Gayle looked thoughtful, rubbing his chin while turning his gaze to the wall some distance from him. "Hmm. Sorry, but such things are classified. It's our law you see. I've already told you enough as it is. End of discussion."

This didn't sit well with the chief at all, since he quickly rose from his seat to point a finger at the teen and snap angrily. "Look you! You're a bird for as long as I say you are. Now start singin.'"

"I don't think so." The teen said bluntly, already starting to sound annoyed.

"Say what?" the older man snapped, a vein threatening to burst in his head somewhere.

Gayle didn't bother trying to beat around the bush. "You heard me. The song ended as soon as that meeting did. I'm not allowed to go any further into the subject than I already have."

"And if you do?" Diana asked, speaking for the first time when it came to the conversation at hand.

The teen just shrugged, nonchalant and calm as he spoke. "I'll be branded a traitor and most likely hunted if they don't court-martial me first."

All three looked utterly shocked as Diana nearly rose from her chair, her voice strained as she tried to keep her tone steady. "W-what? Your own group would do that?"

"You wanna find out?" the teen growled, giving all three a fairly serious glare that showed just how sincere he really was. He was answered by silence, his grim expression never changing as he stared the three adults down. "I didn't think so."

"So… we can't get you to say more?" Berkeley said in a soft voice, a bit unnerved by how mature and oddly dangerous the teen looked when he'd spoken.

Gayle's expression had relaxed as he sighed, shaking his head in finality. "No. No you can't. I'd be disobeyed a standard law of procedure. Even the twins and Chevy aren't stupid enough to do such a thing."

"You guys are that strict?" Diana asked in amazement. Even she'd not known about this despite her experience with them.

"We gotta be, or this place'd be in chaos with all sorts of crazy shit flyin' everywhere. Can't have that kind of stuff goin' on all the time. Safer to be 'hush, hush' and not 'check this out!' for every day of the week." The teen said wearily, obviously not in the mood for '20 questions'.

"But why?" the chief inquired, having lost some ground during it all.

"Can't say remember?" he grumbled, rubbing one of his eyes with the palm of his hand, already shifting to lie back a bit more.

"Ah." Chief Smith said shortly, choosing not to say much else.

Berkeley was already on his way towards the door, the chief and Diana not far behind him as he smiled back at the sleepy teen. "We'll come visit tomorrow. Be sure to get some sleep."

Gayle nodded, trying to remain awake long enough to speak properly. "I'll keep that in mind. And officers?"

"Yes?" Berkeley inquired as all three paused to listen in on what the teen had to say to them before they left.

Cool grey eyes seemed to flash with an eerie light. "Just one more thing: if we get mad and we tell you to leave, do as we tell you."

"What? Why?" Diana asked, hoping they'd get a good answer from the boy lying on the hospital bed a fair distance from the door.

He only smirked mysteriously at them, saying nothing as they left with a whole new set of woes on their minds.

Another chapter done and ready for reviews! I'm really rollin' along now that I've gotten rid of that damn writer's block that's been botherin' me. Thankfully there are no notes today so that means we can go right on to what's to come in the upcoming chapter! Talk about good odds! And here we go:

Next chapter:

Chapter 6: The Broken Leash: Chevy Gets Serious

He may be laid back and lazy as hell, but today… he's gettin' riled up to where he definitely has to show off his mad skills. And better yet, it seems that Gayle's talkin' in riddles while Evan has a bit of a seriously weird family history that no one wants to talk about! And things are only just gettin' started! Find out in what's to come in:

Chapter 6: The Broken Leash: Chevy Gets Serious!!