Warning for past child abuse, past character death, threats of violence, and brief mentions of suicide.

It was nearing sundown when the truck King and Maroon had jumped into reached the base.

By then, King's nerves were raging with a fire he couldn't control. Almost four hours had gone by since Purple had gone missing.

Sure, Green and the others were good fighters(he knew that from experience), and were pretty smart, but these guys had technology beyond even what King had worked with.

Purple could be in bigger danger than they originally thought.

"Hey, King, relax. I'm sure Purple's fine. He's a smart kid." Maroon reassured.

"Says the dude who sells corn dogs to kids." King retorted.

"Screw you."

"It's just the facts, Mar."

"Fuck you."

Purple tried as hard as he could to fight against the rough grip the guards had around his forearms. He fought against the feeling to completely shut down. The hands felt just like his father's whenever he was mad. Cold and hard and unforgiving.

God, he missed King. He might as well be held for ransom right now. Although he'd gotten himself into this mess by agreeing to help Green.

"And they're carrying you to the doom you set yourself up to end up in."

Again, he found he couldn't tell the voice to shut up. He wanted to so badly, but couldn't. On top of being at the mercy of his cousin, he didn't want anyone else thinking he was crazy.

As much as he wanted to believe that he was

"Well, well, well. My dear cousin, somehow still alive. Being entirely honest, I'm surprised you lasted this long. Figured a couple of years on the streets and you'd be toast."

"I was almost toast after two years on the streets, asshole," Purple grumbled. "After your dumb uncle abandoned the family."

"Oh, but didn't your mom die a couple years later? Oh, right, she did. Leaving a poor nine-year-old boy to fend for himself."

"Shut up. I'm doing just fine."

"Oh, please, a twelve year old was doing just fine being a servant to some egotistical maniac? I'm surprised you've survived the last three years."

"Of course you are. Nobody in your stupid family came to help, so what was I supposed to do? Move to another city? Kill myself?! What kind of person are you?!"

"Now, now, they're your family too."

"YOUR NOT MY FAMILY!" Purple screamed.

"Why? Because we abandoned you? Because we thought you were weak and worthless?! Because the entire family thought it better for you guys to just die anyway?! God, your dad was doing something right for himself! You and your whore mother were holding Navy back from being something he could be worth living for! And here you are, turning this around on my uncle like he was acting like an asshole?!"

"BECAUSE HE WAS! You weren't there, Silver! You don't know what me and my mother went through! We were abused in more ways than you can think of! I was thrown into a wall so often, every moment felt like my ribs were going to fucking break! He stormed out on us! All of us! Because he thought all of us were weak and undeserving of life! Be grateful that I'm still alive eight years later because I knew that I had a life worth living for! This is you eight years later! Defending an abuser and, if things had gone any more south, a murderer! You're defending your uncle, who walked out on all of us! How long has it been since you heard a word from the asshole?!"

Silver flinched. "Eight years..."

"Exactly! And your defending him when he walks out on you just like he walked out on me! Wow, you really are his sister's child."

Silver snarled. "Your whore mother-"

"Call my mother a whore one more fucking time, I will stab you." Purple snarled.

"You and your mother are just victims of manipulation. You were manipulated." Silver said simply.

It was taking all of Purple's willpower not to go through with his threat.

"The hell are you talking about?" He seethed.

"Your father manipulated you into believing that you were being abused."

Now Purple wanted to fulfill his threat. The hell were they on about?

"No the fuck he was not. You should have seen how we were afterwards. I almost broke numerous bones being thrashed around by that pitiful excuse of a father. My mother suffered the same. We were bruised beyond imaginable belief, and none of you came to help us. I'm surprised mother thought of you guys as family still, even after that. Hell, she expected one of you to take me in after she died."

Silver glared at him. "We tried.."

"Did you?! If you had tried, as you claim you did, would I be here right now, better off than I ever have been, happier than I was before the abuse started, and with friends?! Would I have a guardian who wouldn't hurt me, who swears on his life to protect me, who treats me like I'm a person who deserves to live and be happy?! Or would I be here, working alongside you as a husk for a tyrannical maniac who wants an innocent man?"

"Now, Chosen is not innocent-"

"You sure? Because with how your acting, it seems like your trying to perform your family's trait of guilt tripping. Turning everything around so it's someone else's fault, and not yours." Purple asked, most of his statements laced with as much sarcasm as he had left.

"Now, listen here, you little-"

"Whoreson? Worthless, weak, pathetic brat? Are those the statements about to come out of your mouth?" Purple was already reaching for his knife. He was thankful they hadn't taken his stuff.

Also surprised at how stupid they were for not. He had just threatened to stab Silver five minutes ago, and nobody had the nerves to even comment on it.

Jesus, these guys were stupid. What did they think he had in there?

Silver spluttered. "Now, listen."

"No, I think I've heard enough. Now, King, my friends, and I are leaving. And you and your stupid little plot are going to leave me and my family alone."

"But-"

"No." The word was bit out. Purple stared at Silver with a hardened glare. "Don't even try it. You and the people you love are nowhere close to family to me. King and the others are my family, not you."

Silver slumped against the wall, defeated. "Suit yourself."

Purple opened the door, calmly stepping out. That was the lightest he'd felt in years.

He had stood up to the embodiment of the worst figure in his life, and it was the best feeling of his life.

It all came crashing down from there.

Something was stabbing into his arm as he left, and before he had a chance to even question what the hell was going on, he blacked out, collapsing to the floor.

Only then did Silver grab the satchel slung around his shoulder. "I'm sorry it had to be this way, Purple," They cooed. "I truly wish we could've been a team."

"Because, boy, would we have made a good one. Take him to a holding cell. I'm sure Victim will want to speak to him. Personally."

"Yes, Agent Silver."

King was lucky he had found a way to reach the rafters of a holding room through a vent. Maroon right behind him, they snuck around, only ducking back into the shadows when someone came running down the hall.

"It's Purple and his friends!" King whispered, relief overflowing through his body. His kid was safe, thank God.

"They might be pursuited. Once the coast is completely clear, we'll go to them." Maroon said, bringing him back to the floor.

If only it were that easy. They were surrounded, and Purple was taken. The others were also taken and separated.

Only then did King and Maroon jump from the rafters and give chase. King ran after Purple, and Maroon went to free the others.

The overshadowed feeling of over-looming fear and dread did not leave them.