Chandra looked around, "Lotus I need your help."

"With what?"

"Getting into here."

"What is that?" Lotus squeaked. The long flat building was made entirely of metal. It looked dilapidated in the image. The fence was falling apart and multiple parts of the building were rusted and falling away.

"That is a facility," Chandra shrugged.

"What for?"

"If I had to hazard a guess, human experimentation. However I'm after something a little different."

"What?"

"Something called an esper. Echo can fill you in," Chandra shrugged.

"Isn't Esper a plane-"

"I know. I know. The first one was created on Esper. That's why they're called that. They're created from ripping a planeswalker's spark into large pieces. Halves, or thirds are within the safe range. Any more than that and insanity become a big problem once the stolen power is reincorporated into the original."

"Oh, alright," Lotus nodded, "Do you want to go now?"

"Yes," Chandra rolled her eyes, "Would I bother going through all the trouble of explaining this to you now if I didn't want to go now?"

"Alright. Alright," Tina rolled her eyes, "Jeez oh Pete. Where are we going anyway?"

"Florida."

The plane tickets weren't hard to get a hold of for the two of them. Tina really wasn't looking forward to going to Florida. The place was known for a large swamp that was also a National Park. She didn't much care for swamps.

"Oh, muck!" Chandra hissed. She froze, "It's a crocodile."

"A crocodile?" Tina hissed, "I swear Phoenix. I'm never coming on another journey with you. You said we'd be going to Florida. You did not say we were going to be walking through crocodile infested waist deep mucky water."

"My apologies. I didn't know you were picky," Chandra snapped.

"I don't appreciate being soaking wet at the very least and I definitely won't appreciate being crocodile chow," Tina responded heatedly.

"Well I assumed you'd have guessed that we'd be dealing with crocodiles!"

"Florida does not equate to crocodiles. If you'd told me we were going to be in the Everglades then maybe I wouldn't be so perturbed about it."

"Really? Where the hell else would we be going? The middle of Orlando? We're looking for an old dilapidated, abandoned facility that was used for human experimentation," Chandra snarled, "What makes you think that it'll be out where everyone can see?"

"Whatever. I'm done arguing," Tina sighed.

"Cat Ears!" Ral knocked on the door, "Please let me back in. It's blisteringly hot out here."

"No," Jace said simply.

"Please? I promise I'll stay on my side of the room. Please let me back in."

"No. You can suffer in the hall tonight," Jace said.

"Cat Ears," Ral whined, "I promise I'll stay on my side of the room. Please let me back in!"

"No."

"But it's so hot."

"Well yeah. The air conditioning doesn't reach the halls. It's just the rooms that have it."

"You're cruel Cat Ears."

"This is not cruel," Jace said, "Good night. Sleep well and I will open the door tomorrow morning."

"Cat Ears!" Ral sighed and slouched lower against the door. It's so hot out here. It's disgustingly hot.

"Apparently the principal is going to hold an assembly tomorrow to say something," Jace said suddenly.

"It'd be easier to talk to you if I were in the room."

"If you're trying to appeal to the possibility that I am lonely without your company it's not going to work," Jace snapped, "I am actually quite enjoying the quiet. I was speaking to myself anyway."

"Cat Ears please let me back in!"

"I'm going to sleep."

"Cat Ears. I thought you didn't sleep," Ral whined.

"I'm going to. That way I won't have to listen to you whine." Chandra and Tina have been gone for three days now. I wonder what they're doing. And why they didn't say anything to anyone else. I'm sure Lilianna's enjoying having the room to herself. But then again that's none of my concern. Kurai's been at school for two of those three days. I find it interesting how he's so interested in keeping me happy. Maybe because I'm the only reason he's in this world and I can send him back to wherever he came from easily. Why would he be so desperate to stay in this world? His telepathic ability is why he's here as far as I'm concerned. With the connection that came from summoning him I can easily tell when he's lying to anyone let alone me. Until I figure out telepathy for myself his will have to suffice. His ability to stay in this world is all I'm here for as far as he's concerned. That's quite the dynamic. Jace looked up at the ceiling of the room. The room was finally quiet, void of Ral's snoring or talking. He'd finally stopped asking to be let back into the room. With the quiet came the perfect time to think. Michael and David seem to know Kurai which is weird. I didn't actually think Xerxes was a demon. Aren't demons monstrous inhuman things? Those are the only demons I've run into. I mean why would a demon look and...act so human? It doesn't make any sense. Everything here is so drastically different from everywhere else. I don't like it. Ugh. Oh well. Might as well not get myself down about things that don't matter.

"Cat Ears."

Jace flattened his ears and pretended to have not heard him.

"Cat Ears!"

"What?" Jace sighed.

"I've found it."

"Found what?"

"A piece of the treasure."

"What?!" Jace sat bolt upright and stared at the door that separated them.

"Let me in."

Jace's eyes narrowed, "You actually found it?"

"Yes Cat Ears. I promise I actually found it...well Beautiful found a piece and that gave me the information I needed to find the second."

"What piece did she find and where?"

"The medallion in Florida."

"So you've found the ring. Where is it?"

"The president's desk in the White House."

"O...kay?" Jace realized that he had no idea what Ral was talking about. He swallowed nervously.

"C'mon Cat Ears. Don't tell me you've spent so much time learning the magical and supernatural aspects of this world that you haven't bothered to look at the mundane," Ral teased.

"Shut up," Jace snapped. He got to his feet and opened to door, "Where's the White House?"

"It's in D.C."

"And where is that?"

"My god Cat Ears," Ral rolled his eyes. He got to his feet and led Jace to a map in the main room on the bottom floor. He pointed between Maryland and Virginia, "It's here."

"Okay," Jace nodded.

"We're not going tonight Cat Ears-"

"No. We're not. You're going to stay here."

"Why?"

"Someone has to keep up appearances," Jace shrugged.

"I'm the one that actually knows where we're going so of course we're going. You can break into the White House if you like but I'm the one that'll take you there."

Jace glared at him, "No."

"I will follow you," Ral insisted.

Jace's eyes narrowed, "Fine. But just this once and you will do everything I tell you or you will get us both in trouble and in jail at least. I'm sure Gideon won't approve if we get caught."

"He wouldn't approve anyway," Ral muttered.

"He won't know unless you decide to do something stupid," Jace snapped. He looked at his roommate, "Go back to the room. I'll be back before morning."

"What are you doing?"

"Getting a form of untraceable communication."

"How?" Ral stared at him.

Jace smirked, "The less you know the better."

"Why?"

"There's a telepath."

"What?" Jace left without answering Ral's question, leaving him to go back up the stairs to the room. He wasn't sure he could actually steal something from Echo right under her nose. She was after all a Black Lotus Assassin as well as everything else she did. He wasn't going to give it a shot anyway. If Ral was going to help him then they needed a way to communicate. He wasn't able to use telepathy and he definitely wasn't going to get Kurai's assistance on this one. He had the feeling that the less the demon knew about the treasure the better.