Second solemnly walked through the base, heading towards where they left the boat.

It was going to be a long and upsetting journey, far from identical to the one he hoped he'd have going home.

Full of the bright colors in place of dull and gray. Full of light and happiness.

But without Dark and Purple, it seemed almost impossible now.

Second sighed. Maybe Purple would be safer here, instead of with them and their crazy antics.

"No. Don't speak like that," He slapped himself, trying to talk himself out of speaking that way. "Purple did this to save us."

He stared out the window. "Oh god, how am I gonna tell King?!"

God, telling King just seemed like a death wish. Purple and King seemed so adamant about defeating Orchid and her team so that King could protect Purple. Hell, he had died protecting Purple.

How would he tell King that his kid had given up seeing him again and was going to possibly die to make sure he got out of this fight alive?!

"No!"

Purple isn't going to die.

"Purple's not going to die," He told himself.

He stared down at the boat, then back where Purple and Dark had been taken.

"Because I'm going to save them."

The world felt cold.

And stiff.

And gray.

King could barely remember what had led up to this.

They'd escaped the desktop, gotten attacked by Night Shade, they had commented on Purple and the others…

Purple!

Shit, was he okay?!

Suddenly, everything was warm, and someone was calling him.

"Dad! Dad, wake up!"

Purple?

He groaned, trying to make out what was happening. "Purple..?"

"No! It's Gold! Wake up!"

Something shot him back into reality. "Where's…the kid?"

"Last time we heard from Purple, he and Dark were taken by Orchid. Something about their powers for our lives or something like that. We're not sure where Second went."

King's heart dropped.

Purple gave himself up for him.

"Purple…gave himself up…?"

"It sounds like he and Dark both did."

"No! Dark isn't that stupid!" Chosen snapped. "He wouldn't do something like that."

"Well, we're alive, and they're in danger. They gave themselves up so we could live. Think of it, Cho. Dark gave himself up for you."

"No-he wouldn't! He wouldn't!"

"He did."

"But-"

"He gave himself up so you can survive. From what we know, Purple did the same."

"So they've been captured?!"

"From what we got from Orchid and Night Shade's conversation a little bit ago, Purple struck a deal with Orchid, and she promised she would let us live if he and Dark gave up their powers. They both agreed, got captured, and they left Second, who could either stay behind to do something about it, or is going to give up and return to the city."

"No. They wouldn't have!"

Purple isn't stupid. He wouldn't do something like that, even if Orchid had promised him King and the others would live.

"But they di-i-id!" Night Shade sing-songed, a deceiving tone in his voice.

"Son of a bitch-your never getting away with this." Chosen snarled.

"Who's gonna stop me?"

Yellow grabbed the command block staff from nearby as the others prepared for battle. "We are."

"Hey-let me go!" Dark snapped.

"Why would we?" The guards asked with the most monotone of a voice Dark had ever noticed with the guards Orchid and Navy had.

He took that into consideration. Were they brainwashed?

The guards roughly threw the two sticks into a cell farther away from the outside and slammed the door. "You'll remain here until it's time for your powers to be extracted."

"Hey, wait! You can't just let her take our powers!" Dark snapped. "What is she, your boss or some shit?! You guys are better than this!"

"We just follow Orchid's orders."

"Don't you guys have…like friends or family to get back to?! Lives?! Jobs? Careers?! Anything?!"

"Maybe, but we follow Orchid's orders now. And she has promised a land where everything we ask for can come true. Our dreams will be fulfilled. And soon, you will understand that as well." The lead guard said nonchalantly.

"You guys don't understand!" Dark yelled as the guards walked away. "She is evil! She isn't promising a land of prosperity and a land where everything comes true! She's dominating the world! Taking away your lives! Killing the people you love! She's done that to Purple! She's done that to me!"

His pleas fell on deaf ears. "She'll do it to you guys too…"

Unless someone did something. Orchid had promised King and the others would survive this, but if she actually went through with that, they certainly wouldn't survive the whole "gray death" shit.

At least, so far as he knew.

"Come on, Sec. You aren't stupid enough to just leave us. He's gotta be able to do something!"

"Like what?! The only reason we're in this mess is because I wanted King and the others out of this unscathed. And now everyone's going to die!" Purple snapped. "I wanted King back, and that got us into this mess!"

"Hey, Purple, chill," Dark said. "Yeah, the deal was stupid as shit, but we both know damn well I would've done the same thing for Chosen if I was in your position."

Purple stared at him.

"Either way, we'd still be in this mess, even if I was the one striking the bargain. But if she promised their survival, I'm going to make sure she keeps the promise."

"But how?"

"We're gonna make sure Second comes back for us, and make sure Orchid doesn't take our powers. We'll stop her, while keeping the others safe."

"Your sure this'll work?"

"I'm The Dark Lord! Of course it will!" Dark exclaimed proudly.

"Yep, sounds like something the Dark Lord would say."

Dark snapped his head back to the door, finding another guard that looked very familiar to him.

"Who the fuck are you?!"

"The person who's about to save your asses." The guard said.

"Second?!"

"Flesh and blood."

Dark sighed in relief. "Holy shit, I'm glad your okay. How'd you get past the guards? This place is crawling with them!"

"You two aren't the only ones with powers, so it wasn't that hard." Second smirked.

"Orchid must not realize Sec has powers too, which is why she only mentioned me and you," Purple said. "So we still have another shot at escaping, and another advantage."

"Why do we have another advantage?" Dark asked.

"Because these guards are just normal sticks Orchid brainwashed. For all I know, they've had these guards since their first stint with the sky dome." Second said, looking out for any guards heading their way.

"You better hurry." Dark whispered.

"Well, you guys are just about to head back to Orchid for the whole extraction thing, and my disguise is the perfect cover. I just need to get you guys out of here and get you to Orchid so I can defeat her before she can extract her powers."

"Smart."

"Plus, the gray death is kind of on hold, thanks to Purple, so she can't really do much when it comes to killing you guys."

"Don't underestimate these guys. Navy almost killed Purple and I with the whole ViraBand issue. Orchid could do ten times worse.

"True. I also noticed they have some sort of ritual set up, and she was talking about a guard to start getting the ritual song ready."

"The what?" Dark asked, puzzled.

"That's what the whole submersion tank was about!" Purple exclaimed. "They're trying to bring back Navy, and our powers can help do that because Orchid might not use them, but it's a combination of our powers, hers, and most likely Night Shade's!"

"Shit," Second muttered, pulling the hood back over his head. "That means King and the others have to keep Night Shade in the city before Orchid can go through with the plan!"

"So, what your saying is…" Dark trailed off, staring at Purple.

"We've got more than a battle on our hands. We have a war for power on our hands. And for all we know, the three of us are the only ones who can stop it."