A/N. DANG. Only 22 minutes later did I get the first review to Ch. 50. DAAAANNGG. That was seriously fast. I congratulate you, booksonclouds for your speedy review. :3

Special shout-out to RockstarGurl444 for being the 666 reviewer! ^^

OMG. I had the weirdest dream. I can only remember parts of it because I woke up too early from dreaming. I was on this chat website sorta thing, and I was greeting everyone, that was the only thing I was gonna do for some reason, and this guy replies back and we start talking -it's quite weird. Then he gets offline and I get a phone call from an unknown number. I think it's the guy so I answer it and it's my dad, "DO NOT SPEAK TO THAT GUY." So I'm like, "Okaay?" (How the heck did he know that?) and hang up. Then I'm online again and the guy asks me to be his girlfriend and I say, "What are you saying, you creep?" then I get offline and he's suddenly behind me giving me a hug. It was an AHH! THERE'S A CREEPY STALKER GUY HUGGiNG ME! Then he like vanishes and my parents come downstairs, telling me we're going to throw away unneeded things, so they tell me to throw away these silky blue and purple dresses that look like they cost $1,000 bucks each. So I throw them in the kitchen trashcan. xD Then I wake up. …Ah, sorry, that was random. :3

Okay, winners of the QotW: twilightfunatic (thank you for pointing out that it was 'swing', not 'so') and Eleni for being the only two to give answers!

The song lyrics were jumbled. Here's the right...'form'? Format? Whatever it is:

Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh. We have fallen down again tonight. In this world it's hard to get it right. Swing open up your chest and let it in. Just let the love, love, love begin. ~Everbody by Ingrid Michaelson. It's a really cute song. ^^ I love it.

Okay, something in this chapter is something that you may not like, but PLEASE KEEP READING. I swear by chapter 53 will you forgive me. If you leave this story once reading this chapter, you shall never find out what happens to Sage and Daphne and Mr. Firay and everyone else. You'll be curious for the rest of your life! With that being said, I hope these words echo in your mind:

No one is going to be fatally -and I mean fatally, fatally- injured in this story. No one is going to pass away (I'm not saying that K word nor the D word for some reason...?), so REMEMBER THIS.

So! ^^ Let's get on with the chapter everbody! Everbody, everbody, wants to love! Everybody, everybody, wants to be loved! Oho O Oh, Oho O Oh... :3

Chapter 51: One Hit KO

"Ariana!" I screamed into the phone, my eyes wide in terror. "Ariana!"

"Daphne! What's—" Ariana's voice suddenly disappeared and was replaced with an irritatingly familiar one.

"I expect you here in about fifteen minutes," Bryant said simply.

I swallowed nervously. "Don't hurt Ariana!"

"I won't, as long as you get here on time," Bryant said casually. "I'll be waiting."

There was a click and the call had ended. I turned to Sage, my mouth open in horror. He looked just as terrified as I did. Sage suddenly jammed his hand into his pocket, whipping out his phone.

"Shaine, come grab Sairi and come to the front of the baked potato stand," he said in a rushed voice. "Right now." He snapped his phone shut and turned to me. "Do you have any idea where Bryant would be?"

I nodded. "He said where we first met. That would be the warehouse you took me to."

"That's close," Sage commented, checking his phone. "It's only about ten minutes away."

"Ten minutes?" I cried shrilly. "Bryant wants me there in fifteen or he'll hurt Ariana! We've got to go now!"

Sage's looked hardened. "He gave you a time limit?"

"Yeah." I felt my eyes filling with tears. "I have to go, now!"

Someone put a hand on my shoulder and I jumped violently, turning to see a worried Wendell looking at me. When he noticed my expression, his concern doubled. "What's wrong?"

"Bryant has Ariana," I told him miserably.

"He what?" Wendell nearly shouted. "How? When? Where?"

I shook my head. "I don't know how or when! I do know where, and I'm going there now. Give me your car keys."

Wendell stared at me like I was crazy. "You're not going anywhere! That's too dangerous!"

"It's more dangerous for Ariana if I don't go!"

"Why would Bryant so suddenly go after Ariana?" Wendell inquired. "He's been quiet for so long."

I shifted uncomfortably. "Well… earlier I got a few text messages from him. But I thought he was just messing with me," I added quickly, seeing Wendell's expression turn livid.

Wendell grabbed my shoulders and held them roughly. "Daphne! Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"I—I didn't think it mattered." I tried to get away from his grasp. "Wendell, that hurts—"

"Daphne, are you stupid? If you had said something this wouldn't have happened!" Wendell snapped. "You need to learn to swallow your pride—"

"Pride?" I cried, staring at him incredulously. "Pride? You think I take pride in not telling someone that my stalker has been texting me? I wasn't going to tell anyone to keep everyone safe, Wendell!"

"That didn't work so well, now did it?" Wendell snorted, shoving me away. "You went and got Ariana captured."

I stared at Wendell, hurt. Tears filled my eyes again and I sniffled, rubbing my eyes. "I didn't know!"

I felt an arm around me and I looked up to see Sage frowning at Wendell. "You two, calm down," he ordered, squeezing my shoulders. "Daphne, it's not your fault. And Wendell… I understand this news is coming as a shock, but don't place the blame on Daphne so easily okay? You two will end up saying things you'll regret later if you keep it up."

Wendell stared at the ground, his fists clenched. Finally, he looked back up at me, sighing. "I'm sorry, Daphne. I know it's not your fault."

I shook my head. "No, it is partially my fault. Now Mr. Firay and Ariana are at Bryant's mercy. I should have texted Mr. Firay right away."

"He has Firay too?" Wendell gasped.

Shaine suddenly appeared in front of me, rushing towards us with Sairi in tow. Sage brushed past me, going up to the girls and saying something to them quickly. "Wendell," Sage started, gaining his attention. "I need you to do me a huge favor."

"What?"

"Bring my sisters home. I can trust you right? Daphne and I need to go save your friend and Matt. I don't want my little sisters coming… just in case something happens."

A shiver went through my body at Sage's words. Just in case something happens…

"No," Wendell refused. "I'm coming with you guys."

"No you're not!" Sage and I snapped.

Wendell looked at us in surprise, blinking furiously. "Why not?"

"You've already been attacked once," I pointed out. "You're not going to be in danger again. Please, Wendell. Take Shaine and Sairi home. I don't want them coming with us either and we need to go, now."

Wendell pursed his lips at me for a few moments before letting out a sigh. "Fine. But only because I don't want these girls going with you two either. However, I'm texting you an hour from now. And if you don't answer, I'm calling the cops."

I blanked. The cops? What if the cops came and Mr. Firay was still there? "Wendell, no. Not the po—"

"Sounds good," Sage cut me off. "Give us an hour. If you receive no reply, send the police to the old furniture workshop off King Street."

Wendell nodded. "Gotcha."

"But Sage—" I protested.

Sage shook his head. "We can handle this in an hour," he assured me. "As long as we go now. Wendell, I'll have Daphne text you my mom's address when we get in the car."

"Okay," Wendell responded, glancing at me. "Daphne… Be careful."

I swallowed nervously. "You too, Wendell."

He grinned. "I'll try not to hit any squirrels."

Sage quickly grabbed my hand and began sprinting towards the exit of the festival. People gave us annoyed looks as we brushed through them. Someone people gave me wondering looks, probably taking in the look on my face. I probably looked like someone who had just witnessed a murder— I felt like I had just witnessed a murder. Luckily, Sage's car was parked almost right next to the exit. We piled in and Sage wasted no time before peeling out of the parking lot.

While speeding down the streets Sage relayed to me his mom's address, and I quickly texted Wendell it. The ride to the old gang hangout felt like forever. It was silent and tense. Nerves had me drumming my fingers against my leg constantly, had my heart pounding hard, and kept my breathing uneven. Sage's hands were so grasping the steering wheel so hard his knuckles were snow white.

"Daphne," Sage finally spoke, "our goal is just to get Ariana and Matt and to escape. Nothing else."

I swallowed. "Alright." What else did Sage think I'd want to do? Once Mr. Firay and Ariana were safe, I'd want to get out of there as fast as possible.

"If Bryant tries to bargain with you, I want you to say no to everything," Sage continued in a serious voice. "And when I say everything, I mean everything."

"Bargain?"

Sage nodded. "Like, I'll let Matt and Ariana free if you stay with me."

My eyes widened. "What? No! I would say yes to that!"

"No, you won't," Sage said firmly. "Daphne, it will be pointless if we save Matt and Ariana, but you get taken instead. We need to figure out how to get you all out of this."

I clamped my mouth shut, thinking hard. What were Bryant's plans? Was he alone? No, he couldn't be alone. Bryant would never have been able to knock Mr. Firay down alone. Mr. Firay was… Mr. Firay. Strong. Resilient. Invincible. That still didn't help Sage and myself though. We needed a strong, reliable plan.

Sage cleared his throat. "If there's a chance for you, Ariana, and Matt to escape, I want you to take it," he started slowly. "Even if it means leaving me behind."

"No," I said instantly. "No!"

"Daphne, wait," Sage commanded, glancing at me from the corner of his eye. "Once you guys break free, you can call the cops. If they come and find the gang and me, nothing will happen to Matt, or myself, since I've never been caught up in any gang trouble."

"But we can't leave you alone in there," I whispered in a horrified voice. "What if they…"

Sage laughed. "Daphne, don't be so worried about me. I've got a few things up my sleeve."

"Like what?"

"It's a secret," Sage said with a wink.

I frowned at him. Although he seemed confident, I couldn't help but still be worried. There had to be some way to assure that Ariana, Sage, Mr. Firay, and myself could escape. If worse came to worse, I would bargain with Bryant. It wasn't like he was going to kill me.

Sage pulled onto the dirt road that led to the abandoned warehouse, and started speeding down it. My heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest. I took deep breaths, trying to calm down. It wasn't really working.

The warehouse came into view and as we grew closer, Sage cut the engine, quickly unsnapping his seatbelt. I swiped my sweaty palms on my pants before doing the same as Sage, and hastily climbing out the door. Sage met me at the front of the car, and together we made our way up to the front of the building. The steps groaned in an unnerving way under our weight as we hurried towards the door. Sage held me back as he opened the front door, peering in. The main room was pitch black.

"Daphne, your hand," Sage demanded, holding out his hand for me.

It felt a little silly taking his hand. It wasn't like I was a five year old crossing the street with her mom. Nonetheless I took his hand, and he pulled me into the warehouse, leaving the door open so the moon would provide at least a little sight. I held Sage's hand tighter as we went further in, losing all sense of sight.

"Why is it so quiet?" I whispered. The only noises I could hear were the sounds of Sage's and my footfalls. They sounded like a herd of elephants compared to the silence surrounding us.

"Shh," Sage responded. "We're going up stairs now. Careful."

I stumbled on the first step, misjudging the height. Sage held onto me tightly as I corrected myself, gaining my balance again. Each step creaked and groaned under our weight, and each time they did I thought it sounded like an air horn going off. It was too quiet. It was unsettling.

"The Hall of Fame, right?"

"Yeah," I whispered, finally making it to the top of the stairs. "That's where I first saw Bryant."

It took about thirty seconds to reach the door to the Hall of Fame. Sage pressed his ear to the door, and I copied him. It was silent in the room. Suddenly there was a cough, and I instantly recognized it as Ariana's. I reached for the door and yanked it open, ignoring Sage's protests. Stumbling in the dark room, I ran my hands over the wall until I found the light switch. I flipped it on.

Ariana was the first thing I noticed when the room was filled with light. She was sitting on the other side of the room, her knees pulled up to her chest. She squinted for a moment from the sudden light and when she saw me her eyes suddenly widened. Sage strode into the room, quickly surveying it. Ariana pushed herself to her feet, but as soon as she took one step towards me she winced and started falling forwards. Sage caught her before I could even move.

"What's wrong?" I heard him ask.

"My ankle," she responded. "I think I sprained it earlier."

"Where's Mr. Firay?" I asked, only slightly relieved.

Ariana's eyes drifted downwards, towards the front left of the room. The door was blocking my vision so I quickly stepped around it, dropping my eyes to the floor. My heart skipped a beat and a gasp left my mouth when I focused in on Mr. Firay's limp body. I staggered a few feet forwards and slumped to my knees, hovering over him. His eyes were shut, and it almost looked like he was sleeping peacefully. Except for the blood that covered half of his face.

"Mr. Firay?" I squeaked. "Hey. Wake up."

"What happened?" I heard Sage ask Ariana.

I put my ear to his mouth, and felt relief wash over me when I felt his breath against it. At least he was still breathing.

Ariana cleared her throat. "Someone— I don't know who— attacked Mr. Firay while he was untying me. He hit Mr. Firay over the head with a shovel," Ariana continued, her voice cracking on the word shovel. "I— I heard a crack…"

For a second it felt like I couldn't breathe. My chest constricted painfully as I gazed at Mr. Firay's peaceful face. That was how Bryant had managed to strike Mr. Firay down? Using a cheap attack like that? Anger boiled up inside of me. Bryant was definitely going to pay.

I gently brushed Mr. Firay's hair away from his forehead, my breath catching when I caught sight of a long, deep, bloody gash running along from his eyebrow to his ear. Tears filled my eyes again and my heart clenched painfully. This was my fault. And my phone's fault. If I made it out of here alive, I was smashing it to pieces and buying a new one from a different company. Actually, I think burning it with a wand would've been much better.

"Mr. Firay," I brushed my fingers along his jaw. "Please wake up. Can you hear me?"

There wasn't even the slightest response.

"Do you know where Bryant is right now?" Sage questioned Ariana. "When was the last time you saw him?"

"Who's Bryant?"

"The man who hit Mr. Firay with a shovel," I responded, turning to look at Ariana.

Ariana chewed her lip. "Oh… I haven't seen him for maybe the past ten minutes? He dumped Mr. Firay and me in here after taking us from the fair. He told me not to leave, and if I did Mr. Firay and I would both be, um, harmed."

Sage furrowed his eyebrows. "And he hasn't been back since? Was he with anyone else?"

"There were two other men," Ariana told him.

Only two other men? That thought made me feel a bit more relieved. That meant if something went on it'd be three on two. I smiled wryly. Well, more like three on one. I didn't know how much help I could be to Sage. Sage set Ariana against the wall before coming towards me. He crouched down beside me, taking in Mr. Firay. He inhaled sharply, brushing his hand lightly against the gash.

"That needs medical attention," he commented, pulling his hand back. "Daphne, take this."

I turned to Sage, blinking in surprise when I realized he was holding out a pocketknife. He shoved it closer to me and I quickly took it from him, my eyes wide. "Sage…"

"It's for your protection," Sage told me. "Since Bryant isn't around right now, we might as well try to get out right now. The longer we stick around, the chances of Bryant coming back and finding us here increases. Right now Matt is a major liability. We need as much time as we can get."

"You're not supposed to move someone with a head injury," I commented in a quiet voice.

Sage smiled at me. "It's better than leaving him here to die, right?"

My mouth suddenly went dry, and I could only nod.

"You help Ariana, I'll carry Matt."

Without needing to be told twice I pushed myself off the ground and hurried towards Ariana. She gave me the "you-have-a-lot-of-explaining-to-do" look as I took her arm and wrapped it around my shoulder. After a moment of adjusting ourselves so we were both comfortable, I turned around and found Sage carrying Mr. Firay princess-style.

"What?" he snapped when he caught me staring.

I blushed slightly, rearranging my expression into a blank one. "Um, nothing… Prince Charming."

Ariana chuckled as Sage's face heated up. He ignored my jibe and gestured with his head for me to follow him out of the room. The main room was still jet-black, and we all treaded with caution.

"Sage?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you handle the stairs?" I asked him.

There was a moment of silence before Sage responded. "Yeah, I can hold onto the railing."

A nerve-wracking ten minutes passed before I heard Sage sigh in relief, signaling he had made it to the bottom of the staircase without any problems. Ariana and I were easily able to climb down, and we caught up with Sage quickly. Like a shot, I realized that the front door wasn't open anymore. Sage must have noticed too, because I heard him curse quietly.

It didn't surprise me when Sage found the door locked. Before either of us could speak, light filled the main room. I squinted for a minute while my eyes adjusted, and when they did I locked gazes with Bryant, who was standing on the balcony. He smirked at me.

"Daphne! You made it."

"Yeah," I forced out between my clenched teeth.

Ariana tugged gently on the back of my shirt. "Daphne, put me against the door."

Without any questions asked, I set Ariana against the door. She put her back to it, staring up at Bryant. I glanced over my shoulder to see Sage still holding Mr. Firay, a scowl on his face.

"Poor Matt is in bad shape huh?"

"That's because you're a coward who uses cheap shots to knock people down," I shot back at him angrily.

"Daphne," Sage said in a quiet, warning tone.

Bryant laughed, leaning over the railing of the balcony. "Cowardice? Daphne, love, I was just using the moment to my advantage."

There was a pair of footsteps to my right and I looked over and saw a tall, burly man coming towards me. Another pair of footfalls to my left indicated there was something also coming from that direction. The burly man to my right stopped a good hundred yards away, a frown on his face. I watched him warily for a second before glancing at the other man, who had also stopped walking. His fiery red hair was easy to have him identified as Peter. He smirked at me, tapping a wand to his fingers, making me blink in surprise. How did he get a hold of Merlin's wand?

My mind was racing. I needed to think of a way that would let Sage carry Mr. Firay to his car, and get Ariana there as well. It would be almost impossible for Sage to have time to bring them both separately, even if I distracted Bryant. If we could take out the two men on the ground level, I was positive I could deal with Bryant. I had escaped him once before, hadn't I? Sage couldn't be the distraction because I knew I wouldn't be able to carry Mr. Firay's body.

A small amount of hopelessness began to rise in me, but I forcefully pushed it away. I had to think positively. We only had a few choices. Try to break down the door and escape before anyone caught us; take out the men on the ground floor and find a new way to escape; distract Bryant until Sage found a way to get Mr. Firay and Ariana to the car; or let Bryant get us. The last choice wasn't actually a choice. It was what would happen if we couldn't escape.

"Listen," Bryant spoke up. "I know your friend Wendell said he was going to call the police in an hour. It's been just about forty-five minutes since then, so that means we have about fifteen minutes to finish this before the cops show."

"How did you know?" I gasped.

Bryant smirked. "I have spies, duh. Shall we get down to business then?"

The sudden pounding of feet made my heart leap into my chest. I turned right, watching as the burly man suddenly started running straight at me. Throwing my head to the other side I noticed Peter was coming as well. Sage placed Mr. Firay on the ground as quickly and gently as possible, and intercepted the man from my right. My hand clenched the pocketknife I was still holding.

"Now, I don't want to hurt you," Peter told me as he stopped a few feet away from me. "I just need to bring you up to Bryant."

"No," I stated stubbornly.

"Then I do it by force."

A startled gasp escaped my lips as Peter instantly threw a punch towards my face. I ducked just in time, staggering backwards. Without hesitating, Peter threw another punch, which I managed to avoid again. I struggled with the pocketknife in my hand, trying to get it open. No matter how much I tried though, it wouldn't unlatch. Figures. Sage would give me a pocketknife I couldn't open.

"You're pretty good at evading, aren't you, Grimm?" Peter commented, looking amused and impressed.

I dodged another of his blows. "I've had practice."

"Unfortunately for you, I don't think you're paying enough attention."

Before I knew what happened, I was flat on my back. I stared in horror at Peter hovering over me, a smirk on his face. When I looked to my left I realized I had tipped over Mr. Firay's leg. He put a foot on my chest, and put pressure on it. I gasped in surprise, trying to pull his foot off.

"Should I knock her out?"

"Whatever works," Bryant called down. "Just don't kill her."

"Sure," Peter said with a grin. "Night-night, Daphne."

He began to press harder into my chest and I looked to my side to see Ariana staring at me in terror. With my left hand I fumbled with the pocketknife again, wincing as the more pressure was applied to my chest. It felt like I was suffocating. My left hand clenched uncontrollably as Peter suddenly pressed into me as hard as I could. A slight pain ran through my finger, and after a second my finger rubbed against something sharp and cool. The pocketknife had unlatched!

There was a loud crash behind me just as I brought up my hand and slashed the foot on me. Something fell out of Peter's hand and I snatched it towards me. Peter cried out in surprise and pain, pulling his foot away from my chest. I quickly sent my leg straight up, right into his crotch, making him stagger forwards. For a horrifying second I thought he was going to fall on top of me, but a hand flashed before my eyes, making contact with his face. From the force of the punch, Peter stumbled backwards, landing on the ground, unconscious.

Sage grinned down at me. "And Matt thought he was the only one who could do a one hit K.O."

"Ten bucks says I can too," a calm voice commented.

I looked beyond Sage, and straight at Bryant. When I realized what he was holding, I screamed in panic. I scrambled to my feet, never taking my eyes off Bryant's gun, or where he was pointing it. Straight at Sage.

"Wait!" I screamed.

Bryant spared me one glance. "I'm an impatient person."

I didn't even have time to blink before Bryant squeezed the trigger. A loud cracking noise filled the room and my mouth fell open in horror as I twirled around to see Sage, his face frozen in shock. Then, just as I reached out to grab him, he fell over backwards.

"One shot K.O," Bryant stated simply, an amused smirk slipping onto his face.

A/N. Like I said –you'll forgive me by chapter 53 or so. DON'T LOSE HOPE ON SAGE!

Did anyone start screaming when Bryant shot Sage? Tell me your reactions! ^^

And to answer some of your questions, I know Mr. Firay/Mustardseed is an Everafter. However, Briar died being smashed against a tree, so that doesn't mean MSeed is like, immortal immortal. So it's justified that MSeed is hurt and is able to have blood coming out of his injury because he's not an immortal that has golden blood. And who knows –he might get into that cocoon thing like Puck. *shrugs*

HAPPY TIME CHANGE DAY! I think it should be –actually- eight right about now. I'm still confused with the time change.

Last words before I go to bed:

No review replies. D: I know, I know –I'm sorry. You're all probably like, "LARA! BUT IT'S SPRING VACATION ALREADY! CAN'T YOU FIND THE TIME TO REPLY TO US?" I don't have vacation until April. Sorry.

OMG! HETALIA IS SO FUNNY. I LOVE ITALY AND CHIBI ITALY. He's so cute.

HUNGER GAMES COMES OUT THIS WEEK! YAYA!

Fluggernuggets.

I believe that's it. OH, I finished reading my book for this semester! YAY! The Quest for a Maid was really great at the end –I thought the Princess was dead, but she wasn't, and Meg's gonna marry Peem instead of Davie, and…Shoosh, I'm spilling.

Sorry of some of the A/N is babbling like and whatnot –I'm supposed to be getting my lunch ready for tomorrow and I should be asleep by now, but oh well. I'll fix it tomorrow probably.

Any errors? Comments? Feel free to express your feelings in a review! ^^

See you Friday!

~Lara