Back at the cabin, the other immortal were going frantic looking for the Italian.

~MB~

They hadn't noticed his absence initially. Billy had glanced into Machiavelli's bedroom in the mid-morning, but the room was dark and the bunched up pillows gave the resemblance of the Italian's still form. Though Billy had wanted to go in and check on the boy, he abstained, fearing that he would wake the boy from needed sleep. Resisting his instinct to go further into the room, he closed the door with a soft pop and padded downstairs.

Finding Nicholas alone at the kitchen table, he shuffled into the half lit room. "He's still asleep," he said quietly, by way of explanation. He ran his hand through his hair, making it messier still. "Want me to make some breakfast for you, Nick?"

Nicholas rustled his newspaper and closed it carefully. He cocked his head to the side and then shook his head. "I'll have a pastry," he decided. Billy got the box of them down from the top of the fridge and handed it to the Frenchman, who accepted it with thanks. "Are you going to talk to him about last night?"

Billy slipped into the chair beside the Alchemyst and bobbed his head wearily. "I'll have to. We can't have a repeat of the behavior. He could have died."

"I just wonder what caused Niccolò to act in that way yesterday," Nicholas posited carefully. "It's so out of character for him to act like this."

"I don't know." The outlaw dropped his head into his hands and shrugged. He looked truly miserable. "It was fun having him little when he was little. This isn't fun at all. I just want him to be the man that I first met."

Nicholas didn't know what to say. He rested a hand on the back of Billy's neck and squeezed gently. "Try not to feel too badly, Billy. He's getting bigger every day. It won't be long before he's back to being that man."

Billy nodded, but inwardly fretted. Much as he disliked this new teenaged Machiavelli, he didn't want to think about him being an adult again, when he was sure to leave him alone again. He pushed the thought away and clattered around the kitchen instead, getting a bowl of cereal, but eating none of it. He looked around. Georgette had followed him down when he had gotten out of bed. A thought crept into his head. "Where's the Pup? Did you let him outside?"

Nicholas opened his paper again. He shook his head. "I didn't, but the girls might have. Or maybe they took him with them."

"Where are our ladies?" Billy asked, taking a bite at last. The cereal tasted like cardboard and he pushed it away, disgusted.

"Farmer's market, I believe. They said they'd be back in an hour or so."

~MB~

"Here are the girls, Billy," Nicholas called to the American. The younger immortal had been wandering around the cabin restlessly. Billy was out the front door in a flash. He traipsed down to where the female immortals were unpacking the car.

Perenelle glanced up at him. "Hello, Billy! Come to help us unpack?"

"I can," Billy said distractedly. "You don't have the Pup?"

Scatty maneuvered around him with a big box of produce. "No, why you don't know where he is?"

Billy shook his head. He grabbed at the remaining bags in the trunk, and turned back towards the cabin. "I don't know where he is, I thought he was with you. He was in the cabin last night."

"Maybe he's in Niccolò's room," Perenelle suggested.

"No, he wasn't in there when I checked this morning and…" Billy trailed off. He dumped the bags by the front door and quickly disappeared upstairs.

"What's up?" Scatty asked the Frenchman. But Nicholas shrugged, looking confused himself. They all jumped when they heard a muffled shout and a curse.

Billy thumped down the stairs. "He's not up there!"

"The Pup?" Perenelle asked cautiously.

Billy shook his head quickly, looking a bit sick. "Mac! He's not in his room. The bed… the blankets are made up funny, but he's not there…" He went out on the porch and came back in again.

"Maybe he took the dog for a walk," Nicholas suggested feebly, but even he didn't sound like he believed himself. "We'll go look for him, Billy, we just have to be smart about this. What if we all went out looking for him and he came back to the empty cabin?"

Perenelle nodded. "Write a note for him in case he comes back. Then we'll go looking for him."

Billy exhaled sharply. He tore a page off of their scrap paper and wrote in fairly big letters: 'Mac, call me immediately. Do not leave again.'

"Good," the Frenchwoman said. "We should bundle up a bit. It's started to get cold out there."

"I'll be out here," Billy said immediately. "I'm all ready."

The other immortals momentarily split up. Perenelle appeared first, dressed in a woolen sweater and jeans. The day was unusually chilly and she drew her arms around her as she joined Billy where he was pacing on the porch. "Where could he be?" he asked. "I've tried to pick up on his aura. I can't find it."

"I'm sure he's not far," the Frenchwoman said calmly. She placed a comforting arm on his shoulder. "Scatty thinks we all should go look for him. Nicholas and I will help."

Billy took in a sharp breath, held it, and let it out again. He ruffled his hair, messing it all up. "Okay, okay. You're right. We'll find him." He twisted around in a full circle. "It just really bothers me that I can't sense his aura."

Scatty came out to join them, Nicholas trailing behind her. The Shadow's face was a mask of determination, the planes of her face sharpening. "Nicholas and I thought we'd break up in two groups." She pointed to the two paths leading into the woods. "One group will sweep the area around one path and the other group will go up the other one. If we don't find him in an hour's time, we'll send up red sparks and regroup."

"What if he's not gone into the woods?" Billy asked quickly. "What if he went down the road?"

"Billy, you're starting to sound hysterical," Perenelle said sharply. "Where can he go without a car or any money?" She continued before he could protest. "Nicholas will go with you. I'll go with Scatty." The two women promptly marched off, heading towards the trail farthest from the lake.

Nicholas followed Billy to the mouth of the other trail. The older man caught the American immortal's elbow. "I'm sure he's alright, Billy. Niccolò might be confused right now, but he still is an intelligent adult at his core." With that assurance, the Alchemist began to examine the woods around them, squinting in the gloom.

Billy strode up the incline, glancing desperately to the left and right. "But why's he behaving this way?" he tossed over his shoulder. He stopped, noticing for the first time that he had gone far past where Nicholas was.

Nicholas shrugged tiredly. The forest lighting cast dim shadows on his face. "He's just acting like a normal teenager. He had a rough day yesterday and he took off. We'll find him and bring him back."

"But he's not a normal teenager," Billy said. He helped pull the older immortal up the incline. As upset as he was, he slowed down to let the Frenchman regain his breath. Nicholas shrugged at Billy's statement. Truthfully, neither man understood completely what was going on in the Italian's mind. Billy cupped his hands to his mouth. "Mac! Where are you?"

"Niccolò! If you can hear us, come out! We're not mad," Nicholas called in the opposite direction.

"Speak for yourself," Billy mumbled, surveying the area around them. "When I find him, I'm going to wear his hide out."

"No, you won't," Nicholas said carefully. He glanced sidelong at Billy. "You love him more than that. Now, Niccolò might have the mind of an adult, but he has the body and emotions of a child. What were you like when you were his age?"

"I don't know," Billy said somewhat angrily. "My mother had just died when I was his age." He inhaled sharply. They walked in silence for a good thirty minutes. Billy starting speaking again suddenly. "I wandered away from my house when I was very little. A blizzard started up and cut me off from my house. The only reason I didn't die was because I found a barn to stay in."

"Niccolò isn't going to die, he's still an immortal."

"He could still get hurt or overexposed to the elements," Billy snapped at the older man. He took in another deep breath and exhaled. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to snap at you." He noticed the Frenchman check his watch. "What time is it?"

"Noon," Nicholas admitted reluctantly. He checked the digital face of his watch again, hoping that he had misread the dial. He hadn't.

Billy wheeled around. "We've been out here an hour?" he asked, his voice thin. He shoved a hand in his back pocket and looked out at the landscape around them. Nicholas watched him but didn't comment. The Frenchman opened his fist and let a green ball of energy float up into the air. When it was about twenty feet above the treetops, he snapped his fingers and the ball exploded in red sparks. "Maybe the girls will have found him," Billy said hopefully, watching the older man's actions.

Nicholas nodded and watched the tree line. "The girls' sign should come from over there. Billy's heart sank when answering red sparks showed up in the distance. Nicholas squeezed the outlaw's shoulder gently. "Well, we'll meet up with them and regroup. He's okay, remember, the dog's with him."

The American didn't say a word, just trudged beside him. The only time Billy broke the silence was when they came over a ridge and saw the girls. "Nothing?" he asked desperately.

"Au contrair," Perenelle said. "We haven't found Niccolò, but Scatty thinks that she's found a trail of sorts."

Billy's spirits soared. He looked at the Shadow. "You have? Where is it?" He caught her elbow.

Scatty jerked her head in the direction the two women had come from. "Granted, it's not a perfect trail, but we came upon some paw and shoe prints at one point and then a half masticated squirrel a little while later." She shrugged. "I'm going to continue to track it. Do you want to go with me?"

Billy nodded. He began to follow Scathach, but paused to look back at the Alchemyst and his wife. "I'm sorry for being short with you before. It wasn't right." Nicholas waved him off, so the American turned and followed Scatty deeper into the woods. The two young immortals walked in relative silence for nearly an hour. Scatty would occasionally point out the tell-tale signs of the path: a broken twig, the occasional footprint, and once, a pile of dog scat. Billy was unusually silent throughout the whole journey. He only spoke once to ask Scatty why she thought Machiavelli would run away.

"I'm not sure that he ran away so much as took off for a little bit, Billy. He's only been gone a couple of hours." Scatty bumped shoulders with the outlaw. "He's had a tough week. I'm sure he's just upset."

"That's what Nick said," Billy mumbled. They came out on a clearing. "Pup!" Billy shouted suddenly. Scatty jumped, but ran after him. The American had never been so glad to see the dog before, especially when they came in full view of the husky and saw the Italian lying beside him. Billy skidded to a stop aside the odd pairing and fell to his knees. "Mac?"

"Is he alright?" Scatty asked, peering down at the Italian's still form. Billy grabbed the boy's arm and quickly found a pulse. He sighed in relief; the Italian's still form having caused him great anxiety. Scathach mirrored his sigh. She stepped slightly away from the group and sent up green sparks.

Billy lightly stroked the boy's face. Machiavelli mumbled, but didn't wake. Billy pressed an ear to the Italian's chest. "He's asleep." He examined the boy critically. Machiavelli's olive skin had kept him from getting truly burned by the sun, but he was still fairly red in the face. "I think he's dehydrated though. Probably from lying in the sun too much." He gathered the Italian up in his arms. "Come on, let's bring him back to the cabin."