It seems the moment I actually have a reason for not being able to update faster, I have time to update faster! (Knock it off universe! Make my schedule make sense again!)

Anyway, AHHHH! So freakin' close! !:O! !'0'! !O:!

Ive noticed theres a sudden shortage of the rest of the BAU team in the last few chapters... ima have to work on that... :[/]

The Hag was only a pile of forgotten ashes, the team deciding to instead crowd around the two smoldering bodies laying past the pile of ashes.

"Reid." Garcia croaked through thick, wet, tears, brushing back a blackened clump of dry, withered hair.

Reid's unconcious face was burned black in some spots, completely burned away in others. Only his eyes and bottom jaw looked untouched, just flecks of ash speckled these areas like black glitter. Nothing remained of his former forced occupation as a Ring Master. Instead of a colorful patchwork tailcoat, he wore his t-shirt and pajama bottoms. Instead of shiny black dress shoes, raggedy old socks that looked like they'd been run in for miles and miles and miles.

"Oh-" Prentiss couldn't finsih her exclamation, the pressure of her waterworks overcoming everything else. She collapsed into Hotch's arms, overcome with grief as she sobbed into his shoulder. Hotch kept strong arms around her, ignoring her nails digging into him as she struggled to stay upright as she sobbed.

JJ even regretted her recent past's mistrust of the BAU super genius. Even he didn't deserve this. And what of the poor little girl? JJ thought, even she didn't deserve this fate.

Rossi removed his jacket and placed it over the two, granting them the dignity of lying their in privacy of death.

Morgan and Orbus watched through the glass, like viewers of a tragic movie that must have been coming to a close. It's stars were dead...

"Reid..." Morgan sobbed, silent tears running down his face, "Reid no..."

"Lyssa." Orbus grieved, head in shaking hands, "What'll I tell Richard and Tiffany?"

"That she was a brave little girl?" Morgan said, trying to offer the poor man comfort. But it was still to difficult to look at him... he still held Reid's face. Those tears ran down his face, out of Reid's brown eyes, used Reid's tears for gosh sake! Morgan couldn't look Orbus in the eye without fresh sobs exploding from him.

Orbus only nodded weakly... what else was there to do?

Reid breathed hard, he was surrounded by a inky black darkness. A cold darkness. The only source of warmth was him palm, where he felt a terrified little girl trembling as she endured the same as he...

"It's okay..." Reid heard himself say. But his voice seemed detached, like it wasn't him speaking. The voice came from a distant corner somewhere, not from his mouth.

"I'm scared!" The little girl wailed, beyond help if they stayed here much longer.

But which way was out? Where was Reid supposed to lead Lyssa?

Well, taking the first step in any direction might not hurt. Right?

Reid took a tentative step forward. As his weight shifted to the outstretched foot, logic jumped in with the fear that there might not be anything for the weight to shift onto! What if he fell, dragging Lyssa with him, and they plunged downward, no idea when they'd stop! They could fall for a forever, or only for a long period of time! Coming at some point to a painful impact with whatever lay below!

But a KLACK! quieted these fears as Reid realized they had been standing on a marble (he was sure it was marble) floor this whole time.

Reid tugged Lyssa's hand and they two took slow, tentative steps forward, outstretching unclasped hands to search the empty, black air for a way out. A wall they could travel down. Some form of navigation, if it was out there, the two were positive they'd find it.

And, after a single forever, they were rewarded with exactly that. Reid's fingertips kissed a wood door, some picture deeply engraved into it. Reid remarked silently to himself it was a pity he couldn't see it. He dragged his fingers down the door, looking for a knob.

Lyssa found it first, curling her fingers around it and throwing it away from her, watching as a bright white light flooded over the two, granting them the ability to see again.

Someone was waiting on the other side of the door, just a few feet from it.

"Mommy?" Lyssa whispered unsteadily, her voice quivering slightly like she might cry any second now.

Sorry for the cliffhanger! But I'm about to get kicked off and I want to reward all my loyal readers for their patience (and reviews yelling at me to update ((Im lookin' at YOU theuntitled! I appreciated every one of those reviews demanding an update! (((Especially the last one, it made me laugh))))