The hallway seemed to go on forever, and seemed to get older the further they walked. More of the passage seemed to be rusted, but the floor stayed sturdy. There was no noise except for their footsteps, and no one said a word. The air was thick with tension.

Tori's senses were on high alert, waiting and hoping for anything that might tip her off to where Jake was being held. However, there was nothing except the walls extending as far as the eye could see. Their eyes had grown used to the dim lighting by now, but they hadn't come across any doors.

Finally, Michael broke the silence. "She's tricking us."

Tori paid him no heed. She couldn't afford to think like that, not if Jake was still alive.

Just as this thought was going through her head, the hallway ended abruptly. Tori looked around, confused. What was the purpose of this? She was sure they hadn't missed any other doors. She felt the old walls in front of her, hoping to find something she missed. As her frustration grew, tapping turned to slamming.

"Tori?"

She looked back at them, suddenly aware of the tears on her face. Everyone was watching her sadly.

Tori shook her head in denial. "He… he can't be… I know it…"

She pounded the wall with her fist one more time, and dust fell from the ceiling. There was a sound of creaking metal, and the wall shifted a little before snapping back into place.

Tori stared at the wall, and hit it again. More dust fell, and she could feel the wall shift again.

She looked back again. "Help!"

Even before she spoke, they were moving forward. Everybody pushed on the door, but nothing happened.

Michael took a step back and rammed into it, and it shifted again.

"That should work!" Tori said. "At the same time, c'mon!" She stepped back and paused for a second. "One…"

Everyone else moved back to the same position.

"Two…"

Tori thought of how much pain Jake must be in right now, and how desperate she was to see him.

"THREE!"

The last word came out as a yell, and everyone rushed forward and slammed against the wall.

It must've been out of use for a very long time, since it didn't look remotely like a door, but it swung open anyway. The five of them burst into a large room.

It was even darker than the hallway they entered from, but Tori could just make out Jake. He was sitting against a wall on the far side of the room, and looked even worse than the hologram she'd seen earlier. His breathing was heavy and his eyes were shut.

Even as Shelly was about to voice a warning, Tori cried out his name and ran across the room. When she was halfway across, a strong blow struck her shoulder, and she was sent sprawling to the ground with an "oof!"

A second later, a length of pipe came flying out of nowhere and hit her knee, which was followed by Alanis. There was a knife in one hand and a small glass container in the other, and she moved around Tori at a quick pace, pressing the knife against her collar.

"Hello again," she said, her voice dripping sweet venom.

Michael started forward, but Alanis intensified her grip on the knife. Tori yelped, and when the knife was moved, there was a thin wound in its place.

"You're smart enough to know what'll happen here," she said.

Michael grimaced, and took a step back.

"That's better," Alanis said cheerfully. "Now, if you would…" She looked past them, and nodded.

Out of nowhere, Lilac whipped out the same kind of glass container that Alanis was holding and snaked one hand across Pip's mouth, effectively gagging her. Shelly immediately raised her weapon, but Lilac moved Pip in front to shield herself.

"Bitch," Shelly muttered. "I knew it."

"Now's your time to feel smug," Lilac shot back. Pip struggled against her, but she adjusted her grip so that the arm holding the glass container was across her neck, applying a bit of pressure.

Michael moved to Shelly's back, pointing his Hero Shot at Alanis.

"Lilac…" Tori said. "How could…"

"You don't get it, Tori!" she accused. "We've been down here for too long! Why should they be able to-"

"You can… leave…" Tori choked out. "Come with me… come to Inkopolis and-"

"That's not enough!" Lilac shouted. "They need to pay! I'm not going to let them run around up there while we have to stay underground, worrying about whether or not the next kettle is gonna collapse!"

"Exactly," Alanis purred. "There will be a full attack, and it'll be beautiful. We'll rule the surface."

Behind them, Jake stirred. Michael's eyes flicked over to him, but instead of trying to get his attention, he asked "What's in the bottles?"

"It's a special formula we just developed," Alanis explained. "It's very good at dissolving liquids. And certain solids."

Tori's eyes darted around the room wildly, and she hoped that she could get a glimpse of Jake. She could barely see him, just out the corner of her eye, but she couldn't tell if he was moving.

In fact, he was just waking up. His vision was a bit blurry, but he slowly lifted his head, staring at the scene in front of him. It took him a moment to process what was going on. When he did, he stayed quiet, but it didn't matter. Lilac was facing him, and noticed.

"Lieutenant," she said, nodding in Jake's direction.

Alanis' head whipped around to see that he was, in fact, awake. A smile spread across her face. Michael watched, his face unchanging, and nudged Shelly. "Well. Back for more, are we?"

Jake shuddered, remembering what he'd already been put through, but he didn't have to dwell on it for long. Before anyone could react, Michael had dashed forward, landed a few shots, and pulled Tori away. At the same moment, Shelly jerked her E-Liter upward and fired, hitting Lilac in the face. Her body dissolved.

Alanis got to her feet, growling, and started stalking towards the four of them. "That wasn't very-" She was cut off by a loud whack, and her eyes went wide. She raised one hand to rub the back of her head, and was about to turn around when there was another whack, and she crumpled to the floor.

Jake was standing behind her, breathing heavily. The length of pipe clattered to the floor, and he dropped to his knees, hard. He would've fallen over again, but Tori rushed forward and held him up. She pulled him into a hug, tears rushing down her face, basking in the feeling that she was holding him and it was real.

"T… Tori… thank goodness you're here…" he said between breaths.

"Shh…" she soothed. "You're with me now…"

Jake returned the hug as best he could.

They stayed like that for several long moments before Tori pulled away. "We… we should get out of here," she whispered. He nodded weakly, and tried to get up, but his legs buckled again and Tori had to catch him. Michael rushed forward to help, and the two of them hauled Jake to his feet.

"Pip, do you still remember the way out?" Tori asked.

Pip closed her eyes, thinking. "…Yes," she said, although she sounded uncertain.

Tori started to argue, but Michael shushed her. "It's the best we got."

Shelly peaked out the window, checking that the coast was clear, and Pip followed her immediately. Tori and Michael helped Jake find a good pace, and set off after them.

"We found the exit," Tori told him. "We'll be out soon, okay?"

"I… know," Jake said. "I was… there… Pip was really impressive…"

They helped him forward. Every step took an effort, but they moved about as fast as they could go under the circumstances. Shelly and Pip stayed ahead and made sure there was no one in their way, and Pip called out directions whenever they came to forks in the path.

Twice, they had to stop because Jake was in too much pain. It took longer than they would've preferred to finish their little journey, but eventually they made it to the end, rounding what Pip said was the last corner.

And, inevitably perhaps, they were greeted by a horde of Octarians. Alanis and Lilac were heading the group. Neither smiled. The group could see the kettle, so close yet so far away, behind the Octarians.

For the first time since they entered the facility, Alanis decided to skip the speech. "You're not leaving here," she said simply, and the Octarians moved towards the little group.