"We've got extra guards down in the cell and almost every available agent is looking for her," Pansy reported to Perry as they both sat outside Major Monogram's office. "Major Monogram's having the grounds checked too, though she won't have been able to escape over the electrified fence."

"How did this happen?" Perry asked. "What were you even doing in the cells?"

"I…" Pansy appeared embarrassed. "I was going down to apologise to Portia."

Perry stared at her in shock. "Who are you and what have you done with Pansy?"

Pansy slapped Perry's shoulder in embarrassment. "Look, this is really hard for me to say, okay?"

Perry nodded and made a gesture inviting Pansy to continue.

"I realised that she helped you get through some difficult times and that it must have been very hard seeing you with someone else, so I wanted to apologise for what I said. I know now that it was out of line and overly harsh. But when I got there, I saw that she was being moved by Ellie the Eagle and Harry the Hyena."

"Because she threw her bed against the glass," Perry stated.

"I felt bad when I saw that," Pansy confessed. "Because that was also my fault. Anyway, Ellie was just escorting Portia from her cell to the one opposite when Portia broke her handcuffs, knocked Ellie and Harry out, and rushed past me. I wasn't fast enough to stop her."

Perry considered this. "She must still be in the building," he said. "I know Portia. She's going to dart from hiding place to hiding place until she's able to escape. But the exits are all sealed off now. She won't have any way out." He paused. "I'm going to get a taser."

Pansy followed Perry to the armoury, where he picked out a taser gun and held it in his hands. "I don't want to hurt her," he explained. "I still do care about her."

"I know you do," Pansy said softly.

All of a sudden, something hit into Perry and knocked the taser out of his hands. Before Perry could move, Portia was standing a few metres in front of him, clutching Pansy's arms with her left arm and holding Pansy in front of her own body. She had a dagger in her right hand and she was angling this towards Pansy's neck.

Perry made a move to retrieve his taser but Portia immediately tightened her grip on Pansy. "Don't you dare move!"

"Portia, let her go!" Perry shouted in alarm, straightening up.

"This is the platypus who you replaced me with?" yelled Portia. "She's pathetic! She can't even defend herself!"

"You ambushed me!" Pansy complained, but she was silenced by Portia touching the dagger against her neck.

"Portia, please, just think about what you're doing," Perry begged. His eyes flickered towards the taser on the ground and he took a step towards Portia, who didn't move.

"I won't kill her," Portia snapped. "All I want is to be let go."

"The feeling's mutual," hissed Pansy, earning her a hit to the arm with the butt of Portia's dagger.

"I just want to leave!" Portia shouted desperately. "That's all I want! I want to forget this nightmare ever happened, I want to forget that you betrayed us!"

"Just let Pansy go and put down the knife so we can talk about this," Perry said quietly, holding out his palms toward Portia as if trying to tame a wild animal. He took another step forwards. "We can work something out and send you home."

"You don't understand!" Portia wailed. "The new punishment for getting captured is execution! I can't go back to ARCHANGEL or they'll kill me! My only chance is to escape from here and try to find a new life out there!"

Perry paused, thinking. This changed everything. He took one final step forwards. If he moved quickly now, he might be able to grab the taser.

Everything happened at once. Pansy writhed in Portia's grasp, twisting Portia's arm rather painfully. She didn't let go of Pansy but the distraction allowed Perry to do a forward roll, grab the taser, end up on one-knee, and shoot Portia with the taser. Portia let go of Pansy, who fell out of the way, and began screaming in pain as the electric current shot through her. A few seconds later, she collapsed on the ground.

Perry threw the taser away and hurried to Pansy's side. The orange platypus was lying propped up on her side, breathing heavily. "Are you okay?"

"She was going to kill me," Pansy said shakily.

"She wasn't. Portia isn't a killer."

Pansy looked like she was about to cry. "It was still scary. And just after I was going to apologise to her."

Perry took Pansy into a hug, feeling the platypus shaking in his embrace. Pansy buried her face into Perry's chest. "I still forgive her, though."

Perry was surprised. "Really? You forgive her for threatening your life?"

"For some reason, I can't be angry with her," Pansy sniffled. "I just feel sorry for her because she doesn't want to stay here but she can't go back home or they'll kill her." Pansy paused. "Is ARCHANGEL really that barbaric?"

"ARCHANGEL has certainly changed a lot since I was there," admitted Perry. "But yes, they certainly are that savage. I…I should know."

Pansy's shaking subsided a bit at that but she didn't question. She gently pulled away from Perry and said, "We'd better tell Major Monogram that we—you—defeated Portia."

"Yeah," Perry agreed, standing up. He helped Pansy to her feet, and then was surprised when Pansy kissed Perry briefly on the beak. The kiss only lasted a second or so but it had been the first time they had kissed since they broke up which, admittedly, had only been earlier that day.

As Pansy left to inform Major Monogram, Perry gazed sadly down at Portia's still body. He knew he should have expected her to try something like this but it still hurt to see his oldest friend threaten his—admittedly now ex—girlfriend.

…

General A/N: so has this chapter helped anyone forgive Pansy for the harsh things she said to Portia? Does anyone now dislike Portia? Tell me in the reviews!