Writer's Note: I know I haven't been updating at all. I've hit a snag where I'm temporarily unemployed, and I am starting school again. But I will update as I can! I'm really sorry, guys. But please give reviews and messages! Let me know what you think of the story so far!

PART SEVEN

A few days later

Spencer knew that Melissa wasn't going to be back for a few hours—she had gone out for lunch with their mother—and she also knew her father had not been to their home in months. Nonetheless, she went through Melissa's possessions in a hurried manner. She knew she had to be precise, for if there was anyone more anal and organized than herself, it was Melissa.

Spencer went through books and papers to no avail. She knew that the juicy stuff was most likely on Melissa's laptop, but she couldn't crack her password. She was going to need Caleb's handy dandy hacking skills. Even so, she didn't want it to seem obvious that she was snooping around her sister, and her sister would notice if her laptop was gone for any amount of time. Her phone was even more difficult to snag. Still, Spencer needed to look. Melissa's involvement with the A game and Spencer's friends was a mystery that was gnawing at Spencer, especially since the phone call she had overheard. What could her sister possibly have to do with the dollhouse and why could Spencer never know about it?

Please, Spencer pleaded in her own thoughts, Please not my big sister.

"Find anything devilishly good?" Spencer nearly jumped out of her skin. She slammed one of Melissa's books shut and spun around to see Alison standing in her family home's hallway. She had a mischievous grin on and a twinkle in her eye that shot Spencer straight back into ninth grade.

"Oh, don't act like you weren't sleuthing, Velma," Alison snickered, waltzing into Melissa's room, "Just let me know if you find anything worthy of my interests." She tilted one of Melissa's papers towards her and raised her eyebrows.

Spencer glanced at her watch. No, she had timed it correctly. Alison was just early and had let herself in. They had plans to go to the Lost Woods together and to check out the premises now that the Rosewood P.D. had gone in with a fine-tuned comb.

"We should get going," Spencer spoke sharply. She pulled Alison by the wrist and lead her down the stairs to the living room. The last thing she needed was Alison in Melissa's things. Her sister and her cousin almost never got along.

"Oh, come on," Alison said snidely, "I'm sure there's something you overlooked. I know how you like to defend dear Maleficent herself."

"We aren't in a Disney movie, Ali," Spencer shot at her and then muttered under her breath, "More like Gossip Girl meets How to Get Away with Murder."

Alison huffed but Spencer ignored her. Even though her cousin had done a complete turnaround from when they were teenagers, she still had her moments. Just as Spencer still had her own. They were both gluttons for punishment at times.

In fact, as they walked out to the car with their heels clacking on the asphalt and their purses riding on their hips, Jenna Marshall's words whispered into Spencer's ears once more, like a warning gust of wind.

You can take the mean girl out of high school, but you can't take the mean out of the girl.

[Change POV]

"I'm telling you, Caleb," Hanna exasperated, "This is weird, even for Mona!"

"Look," Caleb grumbled, "I'm sure you might be right, but Mona is unpredictable. She could have easily gone off on her own like she did last time. And the time before that. And the time before that."

The married couple had left Mona's unperturbed motel room, which they had visited that morning, and were now walking through the town of Rosewood towards her lair. It was a warm day, and the walk shouldn't have bothered anyone their age, but it was draining on Hanna. She was regretting wearing heels for the first time in her life. She tried to ignore the slight swelling in her feet from her ever-growing pregnant state, but ignoring the issue wasn't making her move any less sluggishly.

"This time is different," Hanna pushed, "She admitted the Bethany thing and the uber-uber A thing—"

"I'm not sure that's how you would say it—"

"And she had made plans to work with me," Hanna snapped, interrupting Caleb as he was interrupting her, "She wouldn't make plans with me and then disappear without a word. I'm sure by now she's proven that I mean more to her than that."

Caleb sighed. He took Hanna's hand as they walked and brought it to his lips. Her wedding ring fit into the circular shape of his mouth as he kissed her fingers gently. Hanna paused in her walk and faced him, shivering at his touch and how much she loved it. He looked into her eyes, and she saw all of the love and support she needed as an adult and all of the exciting rebelliousness that she had craved when they were teenagers.

"You're right, Han," her husband said, "As much as I hate to say it, Mona loves you. She loves you in a borderline obsessive crazy maniac way, but she loves you. And when we find her—and we will find her—I will make sure she doesn't pull anymore disappearing acts even if I have to spend every waking moment with her."

Knowing how much Caleb disliked Mona, Hanna knew that he was serious. She bit her lip and blurt out, "You would do that? For me?"

"I'd do anything for you, babe," Caleb smiled, "And that includes stalking the incarnation of that Devil Wears Prada demonic woman."

"Miranda Priestly," Hanna rolled her eyes, "The character's name was Miranda Priestly. And she wasn't a demonic woman. She was a goddess and my role model for half of junior year."

"Of course, she was," Caleb laughed. Hanna smiled as she listened to him chuckle. She leaned into her husband and touched her stomach. She hoped that the infant growing inside her was a baby Caleb. He would grow up to be such a cutie, Hanna mused.

And so, they continued their walk until they reached the building that Mona's lair was in. But upon entering the front hall, Hanna and Caleb were both smacked in the face with a putrid smell of something burnt. The lingering scent of fire and smoke set the married lovebirds on high alert. They both descended three steps at a time, which was, in retrospect, probably not a safe idea for Hanna.

Hanna nearly slammed into Caleb full force as they reached the bottom. Without even thinking, she shoved her husband out of the way to look ahead. Mona's basement lair door was broken down and there was caution tape stripped across it. A notice was on the wall next to it and it clearly stated:

Crime Scene: Do not enter. The Rosewood Police Department will apprehend any trespassers and charge offenders with contamination of evidence.

Hanna leapt to step through the tape, but Caleb grabbed her arm and held her back. She turned to protest, but Caleb's eyes flitted to her rounding baby bump and back up. He held a warning in his gaze. Hanna got the message loud and clear. She couldn't incriminate herself for the sake of her future child. Immediately, Hanna thought, Gosh, how did Alison help them bury and unbury graves while pregnant and scared for her child's future? That must have been awful.

Turning back to the scene, Hanna took out her phone and shined a flashlight into Mona's basement lair. The entire room was torched, but it had a dark and eerie image to it. The walls were burnt and busted in, the floor and its accompanying artifacts were smothered black, ashes scattered across the entire room, and half deformed dolls were lying everywhere. Mona's papers and photographs were unintelligible. Almost everything that served as evidence that the room was Mona's lair was destroyed.

Hanna gulped. She didn't want to ask the question, but she knew she had to.

"Where's Mona?"

Right on cue, Hanna's phone chimed. She cringed at the sound, but she opened the message:

Poor Mona, always sniffing where her nose doesn't belong. Kisses! –A

"Oh, my God."

[Change POV]

Aria and Emily had been sifting through A messages for hours. The only breaks they had taken were to care for the twins—feeding them, changing them, and finally putting them down for a much-needed nap. After all that work, Aria felt like she needed a nap herself. Parenting wasn't easy and she was finding it hard to concentrate on the messages and any distinguishing patterns between the different As—mostly because of parental exhaustion, but also because of her and Ezra not speaking. In fact, they had not spoken at all since their argument, but that was not the worrying part. The worrying part was that Aria was still angry.

That's why she didn't object at all when Emily suggested that they study the A messages at the Dilaurentis house. Emily had said it was more convenient because Alison was going to the Lost Woods Resort with Spencer and she was left with the twin babies, but Aria saw it as the perfect escape from the silent treatment given by her hurt husband.

But now, even sitting at the Dilaurentis house with the business of a growing family surrounding her, Aria couldn't help but think about Ezra, about not being able to have children, and about the A game. It probably didn't help that they had gotten to the messages centered around Ezra and his book—all the A messages sent to torment a pill-popping Spencer.

"Oh my God, these are horrible," Emily murmured as she clicked through the A messages and pictures that Mona and Spencer had both contributed to a few days before, "And these were sent by Charlotte? Do we know if she knew Spencer was her sister then?"

"I don't know," Aria said numbly, her eyes flitting from her own screen and to Emily, "Spencer said that Charlotte knew they were sisters when we were in the dollhouse, but she isn't quite sure when she found out."

"I just… The things that Charlotte did to Spencer," Emily said in shock, "And to Alison."

"And to us."

"I can't even begin to understand," Emily sat back on her part of the sofa. They had made the Dilaurentis living room their home base for the day. "Or to even justify how someone could do such horrible things… And for their own personal desire. How could you intentionally do such a selfish thing while knowing you were causing someone pain?"

A pit dropped in Aria's stomach. Her thoughts went back to that time—the time when Spencer was a wreck (again). Her best friend had been concerned about her, but she had also been driving herself crazy with addiction. Aria herself had felt bad for how she handled Spencer's issues. She had iced her out, but it had been for naught anyway. Even though Spencer was not a hundred percent correct on Ezra being A, she did uncover a secret that Ezra was holding.

Aria tried to word what she wanted to say carefully. She gave Emily a steady—maybe somewhat shaky—gaze and asked, "How you feel about what Charlotte did… Do you think that's applicable…? I mean, the causing pain for personal desire… Do you think Ezra is just as bad as Charlotte for stalking us and using us to write a book about Ali?"

Aria watched as Emily grew confused but eventually understood what the tiny girl was getting at. After what seemed like an unusually long time, Emily asked a question in return, "Does this have anything to do with the fight you guys had the other day?"

Aria nodded slightly. She wondered if Emily had even picked up that she had nodded at all. Another beat passed, and Aria grew nervous but curious.

"Well, how do you feel about what Ezra did?" Emily inquired. She gave Aria the knowing looks she gets on her face when she looks right through the outer façade one puts up. Emily had this way of seeing right through people.

"You know how I felt," Aria rolled her eyes, "I cried. Waterfalls. I went on a college trip and got wasted. I had one-night stand after one-night stand. I trashed his apartment, and I all but fell apart."

"And then Ezra stalked us again," Emily noted, glancing at the ceiling, "And Shauna shot him. And suddenly, you weren't angry anymore. And Alison told you to give him another chance. And you did."

"She told me he was one of the good ones," Aria said slowly, "And I believed her. And nothing has changed since… Except for when we broke up and he dated Nicole."

"One of the good ones," Emily smiled, but her smile faded quickly, "Is he one of the good ones because he took a bullet for you? Or because he used that sacrifice to blacken out what he did to you and to us?"

Aria didn't say anything. Ezra did get shot, and the book thing barely came up after he did. It never came up again that he had sought her out, knowing she was a minor and pretending he didn't know she was a minor. It never came up again that he intentionally started a romantic endeavor with her to get closer to her. Or that he intentionally lead her on to learn her and her friends' secrets. Or that he followed them. He took pictures of them and collected evidence on them. And it washed away like nothing because he nearly died trying to help her and her friends.

But does that make it okay? He hurt her, and he did so in a selfish manner. Was he really any different from Charlotte?

The front door opening took Aria's attention. Much to her surprise, Jason Dilaurentis came bolting into the room. His outgrown and long hair whipped around his long, masculine face. He still hadn't shaved his beard, but he did clean it up a bit. His bright and clear eyes fell on Aria, and she felt something in her that she wanted to stomp deep, deep, deep down. It was the same forbidden feelings she always had for Jason—from the beginning. The same ones she had seeing Alison's older brother during sleepovers, the same ones that matured when Jason moved back to Rosewood after Alison's disappearance, and the very same ones that bubbled over when the two had slept together on multiple occasions.

"Sorry," Jason said slowly, "I didn't mean to come in so abruptly."

"Well, you didn't wake up the girls," Emily said nonchalantly, closing both her laptop and Aria's and putting them on the coffee table, "So I won't have to kill you… today."

Jason smiled, "I actually came to visit them. I'm spending a few days in Philly between flights before I go to Ethiopia again. And I had some spare time, so I figured I would come see my family."

"Well, of course! You missed Ali, but you're welcome here anytime," Emily stood, stretching, "I mean, you still technically own half of this house. You know you don't have to stay in Philly."

Jason looked from Emily to Aria. His facial expression told her that there were reasons he stayed in Philly and not Rosewood. She assumed they had a lot to do with how they both had left things off the last time he left—her telling him she was marrying Ezra and them continuing to try and ignore the electricity between them.

Emily's phone began to ring right on queue. She checked the caller ID, hastily said, "It's Alison," and walked into the other room to answer the phone.

Aria and Jason looked at each other for a bit before Aria awkwardly said, "So… how's the charity going?"

"Good," Jason immediately brightened with a boyishly handsome and genuine smile, "I'm getting more and more donations and volunteers. Toby's been a great help so far. Yeah, it's been good… I'm just happy to be able to help people who need it… To not feel helpless."

Something stirred in the air and Aria looked away from Jason. She knew he was thinking about when they were younger. He had been the older brother who was too drunk to save his sister. Then, he was the outsider who was too outside to save the pretty girls who were going to suffer the same fate as his sister. And finally, he was just the outsider looking in hopelessly. It made sense that he wanted to help others, and she was happy he was finally able to do it. He had tried so hard to help her in the past but was unable to.

Maybe Jason was one of the good ones.

[Change POV]

"Ali," Emily breathed into the phone, "Hi."

"I can't believe it's only been a few hours, but I missed the sound of your voice," Alison said through the phone. Emily felt her chest pump hard. She had missed the sound of Alison's voice, as well.

"Is that the only reason you called?" The smile in Emily's voice was hard to hide. She leaned against the kitchen counter, only a room away from Jason and Aria, but even so, she kept her voice low.

"I wish it was," Alison said, "But the reason I called… Spence and I got to the Lost Woods. Rosewood P.D. really went at it, this time. They went through everything. They even dug up the beach area by the lake and different parts of the terrain. Spence is already calling up landscaping companies to come fix the place up."

"That's going to cost a lot of money," Emily bit her lip, thinking about finances, "The town should compensate you both for that. And for loss of business."

"A murder happened on our property," Alison sighed, "And we are who we are. So, I'm assuming that means we must make sure we aren't prime suspects first before we can argue about compensation. But don't worry, Em. Spence said she'd cover the costs."

"I'm sure she can with that Hastings money," Emily scoffed, envious.

"I'll tell her you said that, sassy," Alison purred before stating in a serious tone, "Well, that's not the only thing, though. Rosewood Police also took our guest book days ago when they began their investigation, but they returned the book after making photocopies. We have the guest list from the night that they believe Addison was killed—the same night that we found out about Spencer's twin. We didn't think anything of it, but Jenna Marshall had booked a room at the Lost Woods. Spence and I originally thought it was because she knew that Spence had been replaced—and she was hiding. But…"

"You think she had something to do with Addison's disappearance?" Emily stood up straight, "I mean, they did have that argument in the hallway when Jenna called Addison a bitch. Which, by the way, was just as unprofessional as me blackmailing the little brat."

"I can't say for sure," Alison answered, "But Lucas Gottesman also booked a room with us that night. He told us the Radley was booked through and through, but thinking back… Lucas has too much money to be turned away by the Radley Hotel."

"Why would he stay at the Lost Woods?" Emily wondered.

"That's what we are going to try and find out," Alison replied, "And if it has anything to do with this A."

"Be careful," Emily warned. She was worried about her future wife. She couldn't help it.

"It's not like I'm doing this alone, Em," Alison whined, "I have Spencer. I trust her with my life. But, I got to go. Give Lily and Grace kisses for me. I love you."

"I love you, too." And she really did. She loved Alison wholeheartedly. Which is also why she didn't stop worrying.

[Change POV]

Alison put her phone in her bag and walked back into the Lost Woods Resort's lobby. Spencer was sitting at the front desk. She was still calling different landscapers for quotes. Alison approached her, and Spencer looked up from the desk.

Ali mouthed, "I'm going to go take pictures of the mess for the landscapers."

Spencer nodded in agreement, and Alison went outside. The beach was no longer a swimmable area thanks to the Rosewood P.D. They had torn up most of the sand and dirt by the lake with the cranes and vehicles they used to investigate the water. They had also dug into several areas around the property using a metal detector to find the shovel. They hadn't found the murder weapon, but they told the Alison and Spencer they no longer thought the weapon was on the premises.

"Schmucks," Alison murmured as she pulled out her phone to take pictures. She wandered around the large yard area for a few minutes, just taking photos of the damages that needed to be repaired. Eventually, she found herself near the shed that held most of the grounds keeping tools. To her surprise, the lock on the shed door was cut.

Did the Rosewood P.D. cut the lock? Alison questioned, But I thought we had given them the master key set for the motel?

Ali pushed the creaky shed door open and stepped inside. Most of the tools had been returned to where they originally were before the police investigation. Apparently, they hadn't found any shovels in the shed that tested positive for blood spatter or lake water. She peeked around to see if anything was stolen or not returned when the door to the shed slammed shut and she was surrounded by darkness.

She spun around and went towards the door—to find that it was jammed shut. She banged loudly as she heard heavy footsteps stomping around outside of the shed. She knew how this went. She wasn't a foreigner to the situation. Every A always enjoyed locking the girls in small spaces. That's why, as Alison was banging on the door in hopes that Spencer or someone would come for her, she picked up a sharp gardening tool she felt around for in the darkness. She held it in her right hand like a weapon as she slammed the shed door with her left hand. Her breath shortened as she became more anxious and helpless to the situation.

The sound of remote splashing reached her ears through her own banging. What the hell? Alison thought. An irritating but familiar tapping noise replaced the sloshing sound. Alison stopped banging on the door. She listened as there was a series of small bangs and knockings. Eventually, as if someone had struggled with it, the door to the shed opened. Alison pushed out of the door with her gardening tool in hand and came nose to nose with Jenna Marshall. She was dressed all in black for a warm day, and she was wearing her trademark sunglasses. Underneath the sunglasses were very clear bandages on her eyes.

"Alison?" Jenna smiled wickedly, "What an unusual place for you to be… just hanging out."

"Did you lock me in here?!" Alison demanded, jerking away from the blind girl that always gave her the creeps. Jenna always unnerved her. She had haunted Alison's nightmares since she was blinded. Alison wondered if it was misplaced guilt for what she did to the girl.

"Me? A blind girl?" Jenna snickered, "Oh, Alison, you still have a wild imagination. Don't be so quick to assume."

"Then what the hell are you doing on my property?" Alison countered. She was frantic and slightly panicked, but she was also on the offense.

Jenna gestured towards the lake and she was surprisingly accurate. Standing by the shore and the edge of the nearby woods was an older woman.

"I had surgery on my eyes again. I am waiting to see how it goes, but I have been very anxious as this is my third surgery. So, my nursing assistant suggested that we go for a walk. She didn't hear you banging from the lake, but I did," Jenna explained. Before Alison could say anything, the girl turned around and began tapping towards the woman by the lake. She didn't even bother to wait for an explanation of how Alison got locked in the shed, but she called out, "You're welcome!"

As the blind girl disappeared with the woman into the woods, Alison felt more paranoid than ever. She didn't know if she could believe Jenna or not, especially with everything that had happened between the two of them. Did she send that nursing assistant to do her dirty work? Or was it really someone else?

"Ali?" The blonde girl turned from the spot Jenna and her aide had disappeared from and turned to Spencer. "You hadn't returned from taking pictures. Wait—what's wrong? Why are you breathing hard?"

Alison quickly rehashed what had occurred. She watched as Spencer went from concerned to angry. Spencer and Jenna had just as many ups and downs as Alison and Jenna, and Alison knew that Spencer was going to be quick to suspect that Jenna was somehow involved with locking Alison in the shed.

Before the two girls went to go back to the Lost Woods Resort building, they went around the shed and looked for any obvious clues. To their immense shock, they found a pile of wood stacked against the back of the wooden shed. It smelled like it had been covered in lighter fluid. Both Alison and Spencer went rigid as they looked at the pile.

"That bitch was going to burn the shed down with me in it," Alison said bitterly.

"You weren't the only thing she was looking to burn," Spencer noted, pointing.

At the very center of the pile, underneath most of the twigs and kindling, sat a wood-hilted shovel.

[Change POV]

Dinner time came and passed, but Charlotte did not show. Alex was disappointed, but she plopped down on her mattress and laid down. She stared at the ceiling and tried to busy herself by counting in threes.

To her immense surprise, her mum was active and moving. Typically, she sat around and stared at walls all day. Not right now. She was sitting up and looking at Alex. She did so for so long that Alex finally sat up and spat out, "Something on my face, mum?"

Her mum sighed and looked down before looking back up. "Do you always have to be so aggressive, Alex?" She asked.

Alex took a double take. She had always had the touch of aggression—especially since Charlotte died—faked her death—but she never had anyone call her out on it. Nor did she think anything of it upon reflection.

"Don't like it? Well, why don't you spend your time with your favorite daughter," Alex complained, "Oh, wait."

There was a pause as they both let it sink in that they may never leave if Charlotte never comes back. Why hadn't she visited them? Did she get caught? Alex wondered.

"I love all of my children equally," her mum said quietly.

"Bullshit!"

There was an awkward pause, and Alex couldn't stand it. She began to fidget with her dirty shirt. Finally, her mum spoke again, and she changed the subject.

"What are you going to do if—when—we get out of here?"

Alex gave the question some thought. She answered, "I'm going to give that bitch who locked us up what she deserves. Her and that Mona."

"By doing what?" Her mum seemed tired.

"I don't know yet, exactly," Alex said, "I'm sure Charlotte has some good ideas. We will do it together. Finally. Me and her." A warm feeling spread through Alex's chest at the thought.

"And Spencer?" Her mum bit her nail, "What about Spencer?"

"Your favorite daughter?" Alex snickered, "I don't know, mum. I suppose that's up to Charlotte, too."

"You don't want to steal her life anymore?"

Alex paused. She let her mum's words sink in. She felt the truth in them. She didn't want to steal Spencer's life anymore. She didn't want to be Spencer Hastings. Now that she knew Charlotte was alive, her need for Spencer's perfect life and family had nearly diminished. Sure, she was still envious of Spencer and everything she had growing up. Alex didn't have any of that. But Charlotte… She didn't need to be Spencer, because Charlotte loved Alex and Charlotte would take care of Alex.

"No," Alex said, "No, Charlotte's alive. And I'd rather be her sister than her doll."

That's for sure.