I am so happy you're all loving this story! Unfortunately, though, I think it's coming to a close. I suspect it'll be done in about three chapters. Anyway, please enjoy!

OoOoOo

"Ow," groaned the little girl in pain, blood littering her body. Realizing she was alone, she let the tears fall. If she cried in front of her parents, the punishments would get worse. No, it was better to cry in her own company. There were no consequences when she was by herself. Still, she somehow managed to despise herself for crying at all.

"Oh, my darling."

She turned her head to meet a pair of blue eyes. She tried to say the woman's name, but it came out incoherently. The girl wiped at her eyes, hoping the woman didn't see her crying.

The woman immediately lowered the girl's hands, cradling the child's small body in her arms. "You'll be alright, sweetheart," she vowed, more to herself than the little girl. "You'll get out of her one day. I promise."

The girl nodded slowly. "Can you-?" she managed, but cut herself off, glancing away.

"Yes, my flower?"

The girl looked embarrassed. "Can you sing to me?" she asked.

The woman smiled gently and nodded. "Hush, little baby, don't say a word," she began to sing softly. "Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird." The girl smiled before her eyes drooped and she slipped into unconsciousness.

"Well, it seems your instincts were proven right yet again, Jinja," praised Commandant Marshall Ace as he brought up the information from the arrest of her parents. "We found considerable amounts of Monsuno essence traces both your mother and father, as well as throughout their house. We've even uncovered a hidden bunker beneath their house. True, it was almost empty, but we managed to recover this." He held up a green Monsuno core.

Jinja fidgeted nervously. "And this is enough to put them away?"

Ace nodded. "The evidence is substantial," he confirmed. "Though, something is troubling me..."

Jinja tensed, fearing there was something wrong. "And what would that be?" she asked, trying to keep a straight face.

Ace regarded her before elaborating, "When you were brought to the infirmary, you refused to see your parents, even had a few STORM elites escort them out." This whole situation was strange to him. Any normal child, no matter how rocky the relationship was, would do anything to cover for their parents, but she was the first to bring them to justice. "And now, this? Is there any specific reason you want them behind bars, Jinja?"

Her blue eyes shifted as Jinja avoided eye contact with the commandant. "I wanted to do the right thing," she responded vaguely.

"Yet, you hardly hesitated when you found out it was your father," Ace shot back. "Why is that?"

"My parents are horrible people," she told him. "I take it that the privacy policies you came up with allows me to leave it at that, sir."

If Ace was insulted by her tone, he didn't show it. "Very well, Jinja," he accepted. "You may leave now. You parents' trial is set one month from today." Jinja nodded, but said nothing as she took her leave. As soon as she left, he spoke into his intercom, "Beverly? Can you add child abuse on the Faustus' charge?"

OoOoOo

Chase was waiting for her as she walked out of the office. "So?" he asked expectantly, getting up from the chair to face her. "How'd it go?" He had been nervous to let his friend confront Ace without him there, but she had been adamant. That was his Jinja, he mused with a silly grin forming on his face. As strong and independent as ever.

Jinja shrugged at him. "Good, I guess," she answered.

Chase frowned. "What's wrong?" he asked, concern shining in his eyes.

"Nothing," Jinja lied.

"Jinja..."

Without warning, Jinja brought him in for a tight hug, burying her face in the crook of his neck. "I don't know," she admitted. "They're going away, probably for life. I should be happy, right? So how come I'm not?"

Chase blushed at the sudden contact, but wrapped his arms around her. "Jin, no one expects you to get over this just because they're locked up," he told her, hoping that was the right thing to say. She didn't respond, simply clung to her to her friend. "Do you want to go see Joyce?"

Jinja nodded before pulling away. "Yeah, I promised to go with her to lunch, didn't I?" She gave a hollow laugh. "See you later, Chase."

Chase smiled and waved at her retreating form. "Yeah... see you."

OoOoOo

Jinja was making her way to the cafeteria when loud alarms sounded in the air, red lights blazing. Warning, code red. Prisoner has escaped. Building going on lock down. Dread filled her stomach as she came to the conclusion that one of her parents had somehow gotten out. She should have known, they were both too smart to be kept in custody long.

What happened next was a blur to her. She heard a gun go off and she felt a sharp pain in her right shoulder. Trying desperately to keep conscious, she noticed a black haired woman standing in front of her. Mother... she thought as she fell to the ground.

Her mother smirked and walked over to the young adult, looking down at her. "They're going to catch me," she stated. "but I had to do this. I had to kill you myself before they got the chance." Suddenly, there was a loud clang before her mother was rendered unconscious. She was thoroughly confused by this, but didn't have time to ponder this before she was being cradled in someone's arms.

"Hush little baby, don't say a word," sang a soft voice. "Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird..."

"J-Joyce," Jinja managed to get out, recognizing the voice from when she was younger.

"Please don't leave me," begged Joyce as she stopped singing, coming into the girl's vision. "I need you, Jinja."

"Joyce, I don't-" Jinja felt herself slipping away, her breaths becoming shorter and shorter.

"Shh," shushed Joyce. "Don't talk, my darling."

"Jinja!" She knew that voice. That was Chase.

"Oh my god," breathed Bren.

"What the hell did you do?" demanded Dax towards the woman currently cradling her.

Joyce didn't seem to pay them any mind. "I would never hurt you," she promised. "I'm your mother." And with that, Jinja's whole world came crashing down around her with those three simple words. Her eyes went wide as she stared at the woman who had always been there. Unfortunately, she barely had time to process this as she finally blacked out.

OoOoOo

Team Core-Tech watched in horror as they watched paramedics wheel Jinja into the emergency room. Joyce had disappeared soon after, no one knowing where she had went and none of Team Core-Tech really caring. Mrs. Faustus had been apprehended immediately afterwards, both she and her husband being locked up in cells with much more security.

Chase, not for the first time since Jinja had fallen at the club, wondered why this was happening to her. Jinja might be bossy and self-righteous and a bunch of other things from time to time, but she had a kind heart and meant well. It wasn't fair that she had to deal with everything life had thrown at her. He might have found it funny if one of his best friends wasn't fighting for her life.

He was angry, angry for what she had to go through. She had lived her own personal hell for years. She endured everything those two sorry excuses for parents had put on her. And when she finally escapes, those bastards still had the last laugh with this. He wondered how the world could be so cruel towards a girl who didn't deserve any of it.

He hated them, both of them. Chase had never really hated anyone so vividly before. Sure, Eklipse and Charlemagne were evil and crazy, there was no doubt about that. But Jinja's parents were absolute monsters and he sincerely hoped they burned in hell where they belonged.

It felt like decades before the doctor finally came out. Chase immediately stood up, the others quickly following suit. "Is she alright?" he asked. It had been utterly nerve wracking sitting in that chair, not knowing if Jinja would make it out alive.

"Miss Kay will be fine," the doctor assured them. "The bullet didn't hit anything vital and we were able to stop her from losing too much blood. Now, she's stable and awake, would you like to see her? She's been asking for you, Mr. Suno. Though, I do ask that you keep it one at a time as to not overwhelm her." Chase turned back to his friends, knowing that they were just as worried as he was.

"Well, go on, Suno," urged Dax. "She's waitin' for you."

Beyal nodded in agreement. "Jinja needs you right now, Chase Suno," he said wisely.

"Are you sure?"

"Chase, go," Bren encouraged. That was all he needed before turning back to the doctor and following her out of the waiting room.

OoOoOo

Jinja felt herself relax when she saw a familiar face walk through the door. "Chase," she breathed out in relief. Despite having just been being shot, she wasn't feeling weak or anything like that. She just wanted Chase.

Chase approached her. "Hey, Jin," he greeted. "How are you feeling?"

Jinja shrugged. "I've felt worse," she admitted in an attempt to lighten the mood. She twiddled her thumbs on her lap knowing what they should talk about, but not really wanting to.

"So," began Chase. "about Joyce..."

"It makes sense," Jinja cut in. "She was always there, you know? Just taking care of me when I was hurt, feeding me, that sort of thing. I don't know how I never realized it before, I look almost exactly like her."

It was true. He hadn't noticed it upon the woman's arrival, but everything about Joyce just screamed Jinja. From her eyes, to her hair, to the light freckles dusted across her face. "None of us did," was all he could say.

"Where is she, anyway?"

Chase looked away. "We don't know." He liked Joyce well enough, but he couldn't believe she had just left her like that. He couldn't leave Jinja on a daily basis let alone when she was bleeding to death with a bullet in her shoulder.

Jinja sighed. "I figured." As much as she loved Joyce, she hadn't always been there. When she was receiving her... 'punishments,' Joyce never intervened. Not even once. She wasn't angry, she'd never ask someone to risk their lives for her. "Thank you, Chase." He was different. He'd always been there for her when she needed him.

"For what?"

Jinja shifted her gaze to his sea green eyes. "Everything."

Feeling a bit brave, Chase took her hand in his. "I'd do anything for you, Jin," he swore. And he meant it too. Whatever she needed, he was there. "You know that, right?"

Jinja blushed, trying to convince herself that he meant it as a concerned friend. But no one looked at friend like that, no matter how concerned they were. "Yeah," she answered. "I guess I do..." Get a grip, Kay, she berated herself. Chase was a friend, just a friend. No more, no less. "Did they catch my... mother?" She had to force out that last part, especially in light of new information.

Chase nodded. "Yeah," he told her. "They moved them both to omega level security. They're not getting out any time soon."

Jinja smiled. "Well, that's a relief." She squinted at Chase, noticing his left eyebrow was twitching, something it always did when he was hiding something. "Chase, what aren't you telling me?"

Chase bit his lip. It really wasn't his place, but it was better that she learn it from him than someone else. "Well, Marshall Ace added something to your parents police report," he started slowly, looking for a reaction out of her.

Jinja raised an eyebrow. "Really?" A terrible feeling suddenly came over her, but she couldn't understand why. "What?"

Chase sighed before giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. "He added child abuse to their report," he told her gently, hoping she wouldn't be too upset.

Jinja jolted as if she'd been shocked. "He what?" she screeched, her heart monitor picking up speed. "What would he-" Her eyes narrowed. "You didn't tell him, did you?" She didn't think he would, but she had to make sure. With how many times she'd been deceived in her life, it made her wary of even the closest people to her at times.

The young man quickly shook his head. "Of course not," he assured her. He'd never betray her trust. "But Ace is real smart, you know. It must've been something you did that made him suspicious."

Jinja nodded, accepting this answer. "I mean, I did turn in my own parents," she reasoned. She then frowned. "I just don't think I can go through with this..."

Chase looked at her questioningly. "With what?" he asked.

Jinja sighed; she adored Chase, she really did, but sometimes he was so dense. "Chase, now that this is on their report I'll have to testify in court against them," she told him, staring at the ceiling with a blank look on her face.

OoOoOo

*sigh* I guess I'm not as good with suspense as I thought I was. I still can't believe y'all guessed Joyce was her mom, but not that her father was the core dealer. XD Anyway, please review!