It took a moment for Stone's eyes to readjust to her surroundings.

How long had she been unconscious? How had she even become unconscious? She groaned and tried to stand, only to find she was pinned down by something. She could hear the blaring sirens, the alarms, the screams of whom she only could assume were her friends, all around her like a cascading waterfall of noise. Stone sighed and tried once again to move, only to, once again, fail at doing so. Suddenly she heard voices, THEIR voices, and realized if she didn't get out of there she'd be hurt, or worse. She heard a door open and she glanced in THEIR direction, watching two of THEM, in full body suits, enter the room. THEY stopped over a scared, injured rabbit sitting near a table, and watched as THEY pulled a small gun and shot them in the head.

Then THEY did this to another one. And another. And so on and so forth. Realizing if she didn't get out now, she wouldn't be getting out at all, Stone tried again and again to get up, only to find that she couldn't move. She could hear THEIR boots approaching, and she sighed. At least she'd told Nickle what to do, and at least she'd said goodbye. This had always been a possibility, she knew, this plan had always had a high risk factor to it. She just...didn't expect it to end so unceremoniously, and then, without warning, THEY began to scream. Stone turned and looked as a large creature snapped at THEM, tearing at their faces until they were sure THEY were dead, and then quickly came to her side. Stone looked up, her eyes watery from the smoke, but she knew.

"Thank god for you," Stone said.

"God has nothing to do with it," Minerva replied, "Let's go."

                                                                                                  ***

The sounds had become overwhelming to Mipsy, who'd found solace in hiding between a cabinet and a wall, where nobody could see her. This was all her fault. She was the map, she was supposed to lead them to safety, and now...now look at her, cowering here while her friends all died horrible around her. She shut her eyes and thought about Paw Paw, thought about the Hollow, thought about the life she'd never get to have. What could've possessed her to be so gullible as to believe Gerry would actually get her out of here alive? He rarely got anyone out of anywhere alive, she felt.

She heard footpads on the floor nearby, and recoiled in fear. Somebody was coming closer, a guard dog perhaps? She didn't know what to do, she didn't want to do anything. She just wanted all of this to end. And then, without warning, a voice.

"Mipsy?" it asked in a hushed voice.

"Kevin?" she responded, as a small little mouse face peeked in through the crevice and smiled at her; Mipsy grinned, "Salt!"

"Sweetheart, Kevin's in the room, we need to get the rest of the rabbits and get out of here," Salt said, "Which means we need you. You're the only way around this place, especially now in the chaos."

"I'm scared. It loud, bright, too warm, much too warm. So much scream," Mipsy said, beginning to cower again, until Kevin stuck his head through.

"Mipsy," he said, "Mipsy, I know you're scared, I'm scared too, but you haven't seen what I've seen. I need you Mipsy. You wanna be the hero? Now's the time. Please. Let's do what we came here to do and finish this once and for all. We'll circle back, collect everyone, lead them all to the vents and get the hell outta dodge."

"...you promise nothing hurt me?" Mipsy asked and Kevin nodded.

"I promise nothing will hurt you," he replied.

This seemed to be enough to finally coax Mipsy out of the spot she was crunched between, and bring her into the fire lit room they were standing in. Kevin smiled at her and together they turned and headed onwards. Mipsy couldn't believe all the horror that surrounded them as they traveled through empty rooms; screams as far as the ear could hear, fire as far as the eye could, and both seemed impossible to avoid no matter what direction you went. The whole thing made her incredibly uneasy. She hadn't expected things to go down like this, then again, Gerry hadn't either.

"Where everyone else?" Mipsy asked.

"No idea," Kevin said, "Gerry was back in the hall, but I haven't seen anyone else in ages."

This did not give her confidence.

                                                                                            ***

Stone and Minerva peered around a corner and waited, waited until they saw nobody else coming, then headed across the hall into another room. Once inside, Minerva pushed a few chairs together with her head up against the door, creating a weak barricade. It wouldn't hold but it at least gave them peace of mind for a moment. Stone finally exhaled and coughed, feeling the smoke inside her lungs. Minerva shook herself, blood splattering onto the ground around her.

"What in gods name happened to you? Where's Dice?" Stone asked.

"Dice got out," Minerva said, "She's waiting at the exit of the vents. I'm only still in here to defend anyone else from being hurt, but I...I couldn't risk losing her. I already lost my pups. I couldn't lose Dice too. You're lucky I came along when I did, you were about to be put down. How'd you end up in there?"

"I don't really remember. I remember the explosion, I remember Gerry and Paul taking off somewhere, and then we...we were headed to the holding area when everything sort of blew up. Suddenly there was fire and screaming and rabbits being plucked left and right. I have...I have no idea where Mipsy is..." Stone said, realizing she might be responsible for her possible death, "...oh god, I should have known this wouldn't work."

"It isn't over yet," Minerva replied, "We can still get out. We just have to meet up with the group and head to the vents."

"I don't even know where the holding area IS, not without Mipsy, she's the map!" Stone said.

"Luckily for you, then, I'm an expert tracker," Minerva replied, sticking her nose in the air and sniffing.

"...whose blood is on you?" Stone finally asked, her voice wavering.

"Some of mine, mostly a guard dogs," Minerva said, licking her paws, "Plus some of THEIR blood, when I ripped THEIR faces off to save you. It might take weeks before I get all this blood off my fur, but if I got all this blood by saving others, then I suppose to trade off is worth it."

Suddenly a slam against the door, making Stone jump in surprise and Minerva quickly picked her up by the scruff of her neck and pulled her under a desk as two scientists entered the room, quickly locking the door behind them. THEY panted, just catching THEIR breaths for a moment, until one finally spoke.

"This is ridiculous!" he said, "The whole goddamned place is going up in flames! What do we do?"

"I'm voting with leave," the other said, "And kill as many of these fucking rabbits as you can on the way out. I knew all along they were getting smarter, I knew this would likely be a possibility. I just didn't expect it to be so coordinated. We have nobody to blame but ourselves for this. We brought this upon ourselves for the horrors we conducted upon them."

"They're animals, Rob, that's ridiculous to think."

"You think animals can't feel pain? Regret? Remorse? Terror? Bullshit Stanley, you and I both know full well these are not just animals anymore. We made them into what they are today, and now we're paying the price for it."

Stone tapped Minerva on the paw and pointed at an open vent in the wall. Minerva nodded and, Stone still in her jaw, began to slink under other furniture through the darkness and head towards the vent. As the two men argued, Stone held her breath, terrified that even the slightest change in air pressure from exhaling would alert them to their presence. They reached the vent, and Minerva set Stone down, nudging her into the vent with the tip of her cold nose. She was only a little ways in when she heard the shot, and heard Minerva cry in pain, then force her way into the vent behind her. Minerva shoved Stone further with her snout until they were around a bend, out of line of sight, and she could assess the situation.

"Are you okay?" Stone asked.

"It's just in my back right haunch, I'll be fine, but it burns like hell," Minerva said, "Goddamn these bastards."

"We need to..." Stone started, before her ears perked up, "I can hear them, I can hear Mipsy! Come on!"

And with that, they headed towards the sound of salvation.

                                                                                               ***

Gerry and Number Two were finally back on track, heading towards the containment area, dodging hellfire and violence all around them. As they got further and further into the lab, thankfully, things seemed to have died down a bit, and they didn't need to be as overly cautious. Most of the mayhem was taking place in the early halls, and not deeper in the holding rooms. Number Two pushed a door open with his paw and let Gerry enter, then followed him in. The room was pitch black, and Number Two struggled to get up on a few boxes, until he finally managed to reach the desk and flip the light switch. The overhead lights illuminated the room, filled with birds, all kinds of birds.

"...holy hell," Number Two said, "THEY didn't just bring in new rabbits, THEY brought in new everything."

"We have to let them out," Gerry said, climbing up and beginning to unlatch the cages, Number Two nodding, right behind him following the same procedure. The more birds they let out, the emptier the room became, as they soared through the doors or pulled the windows open with their talons and squeezing through that way. Once the birds were all gone, Gerry stopped and took a long, deep breath.

"You okay, champ?" Number Two asked, and Gerry nodded.

"I'm as okay as I can be, I suppose," he said, "...Richardson is dead, because of me."

"Not because of you, for you, there's a difference. He gave up his life to save yours, and frankly, given what he did to us before, it was a rather noble thing to do," Number Two said, "None of what is happening is your fault, Gerry. THEY prepared somewhat, THEY figured we'd come back. We should've known that, we just...didn't, I guess. Or didn't think it'd be this severe, at least. But nothing that's happening is happening because of you."

"No, see, that's not fair. In order to be a hero, I have to be a villain. I can't just take the wins, I have to suffer the losses as well. A hero isn't just purely good. They make mistakes, the fuck up, they cause deaths. Richardson died because of me. I brought him here, he's leaving behind his entire Sister Rabbits because of my actions. I have to take responsibility for that. To only take the success is unfair. I have to own up to the failures. That's the thing Dodger never did. That's what makes me better than him. I don't think I'm infallible."

Number Two smiled.

"All I've ever wanted to hear was you think you were better than that dirty little rat," Number Two said, "Thank you for giving me at least that before this ended."

"Hah, no problem," Gerry said, "Thanks for making me believe it."

They got up and, side by side, the partners they'd always been, continued on their way to free the rabbits.

                                                                                            ***

Stone wasn't sure how much further Mipsy would be, as sound echoed throughout the vents, meaning she could be near or far, depending. This aggrevated her, she didn't have the time to waste just crawling through air ducts all night. Before long the smoke would encompass the entire compound, choking everyone to death, and the fires would burn whoever was left inside. She needed to get out of here, and fast. Suddenly she stopped, Minerva stopping behind her, her ears up.

"What is it?" Minerva asked, and Stone waited, her voice hushed.

"...I don't know, it sounds like...wings," she said.

Without warning, the vent grate beside them burst open and a dozen tiny birds fluttered in, feathers flying everywhere, scaring both Minerva and Stone half to death. After a moment the birds were gone, and Stone shook her head in annoyance.

"This is bullshit," she said, Minerva chuckling.

"Stone?" a voice asked, and when they glanced toward the end of the vent, they spotted Number Six.

"Six!" Stone said, "What are you...how did you-"

"I figured there might be some stragglers left in the vent, so I stayed behind to find them. Guide them out of here. I know where the containment room is, I know were we're going," Six said, "I'm sure that's where Mipsy is headed, I could hear her voice."

"Yeah, us too, we were following it," Stone said, "We should keep moving, the smoke is getting thick. I'm afraid we won't be able to breath pretty soon if we stick around much longer."

The three of them continued crawling through the vent, their ears on high alert for the sound of Mipsy's voice drawing ever nearer. As they went in silence, Stone thought about her life. How it had all changed since the Collective had come to her Hollow. How, somehow, despite all odds, this other group of rabbits had escaped and found her, the one Special Seven THEY had released willingly into the wilds. She'd taken them in, she'd helped them kill their enemies, and in turn, they'd given her a bigger family than she could've ever dreamed of. Things had turned out quite alright for Stone, in fact. At least up until this point, when she found herself crawling through a burning smoke infested air vent. The irony of being in an air vent, yet being unable to breath properly, was indeed not lost on her.

"You know," Six said, "I used to think the whole idea of being part of a 'special' group was ridiculous, but now I see it more as a noble effort, to take the most horrible of experiments so those below you don't have to be subjected to them themselves. If I could take anything back, it would be to put myself in place of everyone who got hurt by something in this lab."

"You can't live in the past, especially not right now, because if you do, you might not have a future," Stone said, "You're right, all I want to do is protect those who couldn't protect themselves, who didn't deserve to have these horrible things happen to them, but really there's no way to go back and fix that. We just have to live with what's happened and try and do better every day."

They finally came to a vent and could see, through the slots, Mipsy and Kevin standing side by side, speaking to the rabbits in the cages. Six tapped on the vent, and Salt scurried up, unscrewing the front end and letting them into the room. At the sight of Minerva, all the rabbits in the cages tensed up, somewhat understandably, but Kevin immediately reassured them.

"There's no reason to be frightened, I know she's tall and covered in blood, but I can attest that she is our friend," he said, "She's here to protect us and get us all out of here. Salt here is going to open up each and every one of your cages and then you will follow Mipsy, single file line, to the exit we've prepared. Once outside you will hurriedly approach the treeline, and wait there for the rest of us. Is that clear and understood?"

The rabbits all murmured in agreement. Having a fox on their side seemed to help keep them in check. Stone was, admittedly, impressed with Kevins leadership. She'd seen him be somewhat of a leader before, but now he was really putting his efforts on front display, and she liked what she saw. She could finally understand what it was Gerry had seen in him, and of course, what Number Four had fallen in love with. Kevin turned to face the others as Salt did her duty and Mipsy led them all into a line.

"Nice of you to join us," he said, jokingly, making Stone, Minerva and Six chuckle.

"It wasn't easy, trust me," Stone said, "Nearly died a few times over just trying to reach this place."

"Yeah, you're not the only one," Kevin said.

"Where's Gerald?" Six asked, and Kevin shook his head.

"Last I saw of him, he was in a hallway, facing down a guard dog," Kevin said, "He told me to get everyone out. I have no idea if he's still alive. Haven't seen Number Two either."

"Yeah we got separated fairly early on," Minerva said, "And when I rescued him from a dog, perhaps the same dog Gerald found himself faced with, I lost Paul even more. I can only hope he's okay."

"I'm sure if they're alive, they're together, and if they're together, they'll be fine," Stone said, "Those two make a great whole rabbit when working with their two broken halves."

Once all the rabbits were out of their cages and lined up, Kevin approached Mipsy's side and elbowed her, making her smile. He nodded at her. She was, just like him, a leader. Her disability didn't stop her, it didn't even slow her down, if anything her disability made her all the more powerful, and she was beginning to finally revel in it. She shouted at the rabbit to follow them, and away the group went. The walk back to the exit, thanks to Mipsy, was fairly easy. She was their map, after all. Single filed, the newly released rabbits began pouring out of the exit through the vent into the side of the lab where the Collective had entered, and Lorna took note.

She swept down from her tree branch and soared quickly over to her bundle of sticks, clutched one in her talons and then headed for the fire. She caught both ends and then circled, waiting for the last of the rabbits to come out. Staying there in midflight, the wind beneath her wings, she couldn't believe the sight she saw. An ocean of white and brown and black and grey fur beneath her; her beak curved somewhat up, grinning, shaking her head. They'd actually done it. Against all odds, they'd done it. And then a shot rang out in the night, and she felt a piercing pain through her left wing. She dropped the stick, and cried out in pain, diving into the thicketed forest below.

She landed in the dirt and mud, and looked at her wing. Someone from atop the lab had shot her. THEY were sniping anything that tried to leave. That's when something caught her eye...the sight of fire on the ground. The stick she'd dropped had ignited the dry grass they'd laid around the lab far too early, and was spreading quickly. Soon all the rabbits would be trapped in a ring of burning death with bullets hailing down upon them. Lorna grimaced, pecked into her wing and pulled the bullet out with her beak, spitting it onto the ground beside her.

"I've had enough of this," she said, then, even with all the pain shooting through her wing, took flight once more, heading toward the lab. She circled overhead, and cawed, trying to grab the snipers attention, and draw their fire away from the rabbits on the ground.

In the vents, Kevins ears perked up. He knew that shrill cry. Something had gone wrong. He'd heard the shot, and he knew from personal experience in the woods with the hunters it was a gun, but he didn't know what had happened. Now he was worried. As the last of the rabbits hurried through the hole, Kevin looked at Minerva, who was licking her hip where the bullet had entered.

"You need to get out," Kevin said, "I'll wait for them as long as I can, but you need to get out now and get back to your mate. You've done more than enough here."

Minerva nodded, and headed through the hole. Six followed next, and all that was left was Mipsy and Stone. Kevin looked at Mipsy, but she backed up and shook her head.

"I no leave until you leave," she said, "I refuse!"

"Mipsy-"

"No! You my friend, we stay together!"

"...Mipsy, come on, don't do this, THEY could blow these vents up any second now, you have to get out, Paw Paw is waiting for you. Don't die on my account, alright? Go home. Be with Paw Paw. Please..." Kevin begged, but she wouldn't budge.

"Oh fuck this," Stone said, turning heel and racing down the vent, disappearing from sight.

As she came out of the vents and into a room, she slid across the floor and found a staircase, which she quickly ascended, heading upwards towards the roof. She could hear where the gunshots were coming from, and she knew she needed to do something. The door to the roof was propped open, and she dove out onto the roof, jamming her teeth into the mans ankle. He screamed and kicked at her, his boot connecting with her face and skidding her across the rooftop until she hit a wall. He then picked his rifle back up, stood up and approached her. He cocked it as she looked up at him, and he aimed. After all this, she'd be shot in the head anyway. Well, if nothing else, she bought the escapees some time. But he didn't fire, instead he began to scream. When she opened her eyes, she saw Lorna was scratching at his face and pecking at him. He'd dropped the rifle on the ground, trying instead to wave her away.

Stone sat and watched, in sheer terror, unsure of what to do, or if there was anything she even could do. The man reached down and grabbed a small knife on his hip, pulled it off and lunged for Lorna's side. Stone raced at him and jumped up on a small box he'd left there with ammo, then leapt up onto the slightly raised wall of the roof and, just as he lunged again for Lorna, Stone leapt onto his face, screaming and clawing at him. The mans knife barely grazed Lorna, only cutting her mildly near her leg, and she backed away, watching him flail at Stone as she dug her teeth into his nose. Lorna felt time slow down, as she watched the man jam his knife into Stones side repeatedly, but Stone just shut her eyes, and ignored the pain. The man stumbled over his ammo box and toppled over the side of the wall, falling to his death, Stone still attached to his face, along for the ride.

As they headed for the ground, Stones life flashed before her eyes. Her brief time in the lab, her sanctioned release into the wild, her efforts at starting the Hollow, her friendship with Nickle, the arrival of the Collective, and everything else. She thought about Gerry, about Paul, about all the other rabbits she'd been lucky to have known. She smiled. She had done what she'd set out to do in more ways than one. Save a life.

She didn't even feel it when they hit the ground.

Lorna landed on the side of the wall and looked down, tears rolling down her face as she cried into the night. After a few moments, she looked out across the vast scope of the land between the lab and the treeline, and she did what Stone would've done. She picked herself right back up, she ignored her pain, and she went back to work.

                                                                                                ***

Kevin and Mipsy waited as long as they could, neither one speaking a word. They didn't know where Stone had gone, they didn't even know she was dead. All they knew was that they were waiting on two rabbits now, Gerry and Paul, and that they didn't have much time left to wait. Kevin sighed as he looked at his robotic foot and pawed at it momentarily.

"I've survived so much," Kevin said quietly, "...the fact I'm still alive is remarkable, considering the horrible things I've been a part of. But, all those horrible things paled when compared to the happiness knowing Ellen brought me. That's why I need you to promise me, Mipsy, that if it comes down to the wire, you will leave. You will leave and you will go home to Paw Paw. Don't let her become as broken as me. Love is worth surviving for."

Mipsy sighed and nodded, "Okay Kevin," she said, "I promise, I go home if it get too long. Thank you for caring. Thank you for being my friend, and believing in me. You know I'm not stupid."

"You're not stupid, Mipsy," Kevin said, "And anyone who says you are are the stupid ones, I guarantee that. You alone have helped us accomplish more than we ever did on our own. You're remarkable, and I'm glad someone else, like Paw Paw, sees that in you, enough to love you. Don't turn your back on that kind of love."

Just then Gerry and Paul came scooting around the corner.

"Where the hell have you two been!?" Kevin shouted.

"It's a long story, we gotta go!" Gerry shouted, "This place is burning to the ground! I presume you got the rabbits out?"

"Yeah, I did my job," Kevin said sternly.

"Hey," Number Two said, "Now is not the time. Belittle one another later, right now let's survive."

The four of them headed out the vent, surprised at the blinding fire raging all around them that had now even caught some of the treeline on fire as well. Kevin had told the new rabbits to run north if they needed to, so he wasn't worried about losing them, but his main goal right now was to get Mipsy back to the Hollow, or wherever they were. To get her out of here alive, no matter what the cost. Number Two pointed up in the sky at Lorna, who was struggling to fly, still dropping burning sticks to the ground to obscure any of THEIR views as THEY too tried to scramble for an exit.

Kevin grabbed Mipsys paw and turned her to look him in the eye.

"Do you trust me?" he asked.

"Why?"

"Do you trust me?" he repeated, and she nodded; he continued, "Shut your eyes, and hold on. I'm getting you out of here."

Kevin pulled her onto his back, and then ran headfirst through the fire, leaving Gerry and Number Two speechless. They looked at one another as the circle of flames began closing in, and they felt trapped. Number Two finally didn't have a plan, and he felt sick. He looked at Gerry and Gerry looked at him. They didn't need to say it, their eyes said enough. Suddenly, they heard a voice behind them, and were shocked to see Crisp and Melvin standing there.

"It's really hard to walk when you're attached like this," Crisp said, "But we're here."

"Oh my god," Number Two said, "How did you-"

"Jasmine," Melvin said, "Jasmine wandered into our area and helped us out. Now we're going to do the same for you. We're going to lay down on the flames and you're going to walk out over us. We...we didn't stay, and we should have. Let us do this for you."

"You guys have a group to lead," Crisp said.

Crisp and Melvin waddled, best they could, to the edge of the fire and collapsed onto it, feeling it burn them from underneath. Number Two and Gerry were quick, heading over their back fast and stopping on the other side to look back at them.

"Thanks guys," Gerry said, "I'll tell your story."

"Of course you will," Crisp said, "It's the same as yours."

Gerry smiled and, with Number Two, headed for the now blazing treeline.

Crisp held Melvins paw and the two of them rolled off the fire, burned to a singe on their underside, but happy they managed to make up for their mistake. As they lay there, the fire burning bright all around them, soon to completely overtake their body, the lab burning brightly behind them, they looked up at the night sky. Crisp sighed.

"I'm glad that, if I have to die attached to someone, it's you," she said.

"Right back at you."

"The stars are beautiful," Crisp said weakly.

"There's no stars out, and even if there were you couldn't see them through the smoke," Melvin replied.

"There's so many stars, you just have to shut your eyes," Crisp said, and Melvin did just that.

She was right.

He saw the stars.

And they were indeed beautiful.

*click*

The message started again from the beginning, a womans voice speaking loud and clear from the speaker.

"You're such a selfish bitch, I hope you know that. I hope you know that you don't actually want to help anyone, you only want to hurt them, you only care about bettering your own life. You're a fraud, and I hope you die you lying sack of human feces."

The message ended, and Natasha and Jay looked up from the phone on Lawrence's desk to Lawrence seated behind it, who merely shrugged.

"What did I ever do to this woman?" Natasha asked.

"We don't know, obviously, but she's been leaving messages for weeks," Lawrence said, "And it's starting to take up all my space on my answering machine, quite frankly."

"How...I mean...what can I even do about it? If we don't know who she is, if she's not leaving a callback number...is she?" Natasha asked, and Lawrence shook his head.

"No, she's calling from a restricted number, there's nothing I can really gleam from it," Lawrence said, removing his glasses and rubbing his eyes with his palms, "But this is getting out of hand and I'm prepared to do whatever it takes to find out who she is, because this needs to be stopped."

"Why don't you just replace the phone?" Jay asked.

"Already done it," Lawrence said, "She found my new number."

"Wow, that's dedication," Jay replied quietly, clearly impressed.

"Well, I promise I'll figure it out somehow and make sure she stops bothering you," Natasha said, "I'm so so sorry about this Lawrence, you shouldn't have to deal with this kind of thing."

After the meeting concluded, Natasha and Jay exited the office and leaned against the hallway wall outside the door, just staring into space and, occasionally, at one another. Eventually, they locked eyes and exhaled. Jay slid one hand into his coat pockets and his ran his other hand through his short brown scruffy hair.

"How exactly do you plan to find this person if there's no callback number and it's a restricted line?" Jay asked.

"We won't need to find her, because I already know who it is," Natasha said, surprising Jay, continuing, "I just didn't want to openly admit that to Lawrence. She's someone who's e-mailed me and I've met on a number of occasions before. I don't know where she lives exactly, but I do know her name and with that we can find her."

"Who is this woman?" Jay asked, thoroughly confused by the whole thing.

"Her name is Amanda Keaton," Natasha said, "She used to be a fan."

                                                                                           ***

Violet was, admittedly, somewhat frightened.

Horses were large, awkwardly shaped beasts, with teeth too big for their mouths and enough strength to crush a skull under their hooves. As she cautiously pet the front of the horses nose, she began to smile a little, liking how soft the tip of their snout felt. It was like velvet, and the sensation on her skin was lovely, texture wise. She shut her eyes and continued petting, listening to the horse breath. After a few moments, Courtney came back into the stable with riding gear, and watched Violet pet the horse. When Violet opened her eyes, she spotted Courtney just standing and watching her and quickly pulled her hand away, feeling somewhat embarrassed for having been seen.

"It's okay," Courtney said, "They feel nice, I know. Here, you have to wear a helmet."

Courtney handed her a nice helmet, and Violet managed to put it on fairly easily, locking the little straps together under her chin and then readjusting the rest of it to comfortably sit upon her head. Courtney opened the stable door and led two horses out with her, Violet in tow, as they headed towards the outdoors. Once outside, Bryan was standing there, and was already on his horse, in full riding gear.

"You're gonna love this!" Bryan said cheerfully, "Riding a horse for the first time is one of the greatest experiences one can have in the outdoors. There's a reason the wild west fought so hard to not die off."

"Your mom did say this was alright, didn't she?" Courtney asked, before hesitantly handing Violet the reins to the horse she'd been petting in the barn. Violet nodded yes, and Courtney smiled as she helped her up on the horse. Sitting there, atop this mountain of a beast, feeling its weight shift beneath her, Violet felt...calm. The fire that was constantly surrounding her brain finally seemed to die down a bit, and she felt truly relaxed for the first time in her life.

Bryan clicked his teeth, then his heels on the horses sides, and the three of them were off at a slow and steady pace up into the nearby wooded area. Violet knew Courtney's family was rich, but she wasn't sure just how rich they were until this very moment. They had a forest on their property, a property which included a stable full of horses. The house itself that they lived in was rather grand in scope, with as many bathrooms as Violet's had rooms. Heading up into the woods, Violet smiled, glanced over at Courtney and knew she finally had a real friend.

It was something she'd never really felt before. All her friendships before had been nothing more than her mother begging other mothers to let their children play with Violet. But this? This was genuine. Courtney had approached Violet herself, taken the initiative upon herself to take her horseback riding, and had followed through on all her promises.

Thank goodness, too, because a real friendship with someone her own age was something Violet desperately needed at this moment in time.

                                                                                            ***

Natasha and Jay were sitting in her living room, thumbing through a phone book. Thankfully, phone books still existed, though it certainly was somewhat of an effort to successfully track one down. They were seated on her couch and Jay, using his right index finger, was running down the list of names before them, hoping to eventually land on Amanda Keaton. Problem was, when they finally found her...there was a handful of them in the city. Natasha leaned back and groaned in frustration, covering her face with a pillow.

"Hey, don't get discouraged, we'll just...drop on by to each of them and see which one is which," Jay said, "You'd recognize her, right?"

"Yeah, she sent me a photo of herself and her family once," Natasha said, somewhat muffled through the pillow, "I would recognize her. I would. Still, that's kind of a creepy way to go about things, isn't it? This is why I whitelisted myself from the phone book. I mean, if I want my privacy, why should I just roll on up and invade someone else's personal space?"

"She's invading yours!" Jay said, half laughing at the absurdity of this logic, "She's leaving you hostile semi threatening voicemails, and she sounds rather upset. I think you have every right to approach her about it, especially if she doesn't intend to stop bothering our boss, who, really, has nothing to do with any of this other than he happens to employ you. Lawrence shouldn't have to deal with that."

"No, you're right, he shouldn't, and I...I know that, I do," Natasha said, putting a bookmark in the phone book and then picking it up, tucking it under her arm and heading towards the door, "Alright, let's go find these women."

Natasha and Jay piled into her car and started driving. It took a while, almost 3 hours, but they did finally track down the right Amanda Keaton. She was standing outside, in her bathrobe, washing her car. Her hair was disheveled, like she hadn't showered in days, and she was smoking a cigarette. Once they'd tracked her down, they parked a bit a ways down the street from her home so as not to arouse her suspicion, and simply watch her from the comfort of the car. Why had this woman been doing this to her? She'd once been a fan, what had turned her against Natasha? They'd spoken several times over, so why the sudden seemingly irrational streak of hatred? Then again, it seemed lately that she was making more enemies than friends, so perhaps it wasn't all that surprising after all. After a bit, Natasha exhaled and looked at Jay.

"You want me to come with you?" he asked.

"Yeah, please, I...I don't trust I won't get hurt or something," Natasha said, and Jay nodded.

"No probs boss," Jay said, unbuckling his seatbelt, quickly following Natasha out of the car and up the street towards the driveway. When they approached, Amanda Keaton was squatting down, squeezing her sponge out into a bucket, and slowly looked up at them.

"oh," she said quietly, "it's you."

"We need to talk," Natasha said.

"Well," Amanda said, standing up and dropped the sponge fully into the bucket now, "then let's talk, I guess. What do you wanna talk about? That you destroyed my entire belief system, or that you ruined my marriage?"

"...um," Natasha mumbled, "...I guess whatever you want to start with."

This wasn't going to go well, she could tell.

                                                                                             ***

Violet and Courtney dismounted at the top of the hill, Bryan doing so shortly after them, and approached the edge. Violet had a particular fear of heights, so this made her somewhat uncomfortable, but she knew Courtney wouldn't let anything happen to her. Or at least she trusted as much, seeing as that's what friends were supposed to do, wasn't it? Help protect you? She didn't really know, as she'd never really had a real friend before. Standing there, Courtney reached into a side bag on the horse and pulled out some small carrots, which she split with Violet, and then showed her how to hand feed them to their equine friends. Bryan sat down on a nearby rock and pulled out his cell phone, checking his messages, his apps and what have you.

"They're big but they're not dangerous, not anymore so than any other animal in our day to day lives, especially if you treat them with the same love and respect as you would anyone else," Courtney said, and Violet nodded.

"Their size scares me," she stuttered, "Big things are scary."

"Big things are scary," Courtney agreed, chuckling, "I'm scared of roller coasters myself. But...you need to face those fears, or else they control you. That's what my dad says anyway."

Violet looked back at Bryan and grimaced.

"I don't have a dad anymore," she said quietly.

"I'm sorry," Courtney replied, "My mom isn't around much these days, so I know what it's like to be down a parent, even though our situations aren't exactly the same. But you have your mom, right? And isn't she like a TV star or something?"

"Or something," Violet said, smirking, making a joke, "My mom is great, and I don't miss my dad really but I do wish my family was whole. My mom can be...weird, and sometimes that makes me feel weird. But she never makes me feel weird on purpose, she's never mean to me, not like the kids at school..."

Courtney frowned a bit and leaned against a tree, folding her arms as she watched Violet continue to feed the horses.

"It...it's even worse than you think or know," she said quietly, "...I don't want to alarm you, but you're very much a target of ridicule even when you're not there. Like, they're relentlessly cruel regarding you and your state of mental health. I had to break away from the rest of them because I just couldn't take it anymore. When I was a very little kid, I was made fun of too, for something out of my control, and I would never want to do that same sort of thing to someone knowing firsthand how it feels."

"You're a nice person, Courtney," Violet said, the two of them smiling at one another, "And you have nice horses. Can we keep riding?"

"Of course!" Courtney said, instantly cheering back up and hopping back onto her horse, Violet doing the same, Bryan following their lead and guiding them down through the hills and the woods. It was the first truly nice day Violet Simple had had in ages.

                                                                                            ***

Jay and Natasha were seated on the living room couch inside Amanda Keaton's home while she brought them some coffee. The place looked like a nightmare; it wasn't rundown or dingy or anything, but there were clothes and toys everywhere, bowls with spoons or forks in them in places they shouldn't be, and overall the place had the stench of 'unkempt'. Natasha dug her nails into her knees and looked over at Jay.

"What do you say we just leave?" she asked.

"You're so afraid of confrontation that you'll just bail?" Jay asked.

"Yes, yes I am, and I would. You don't understand, I...I freeze up in this situations, man. When my husband walked out, I couldn't even argue against it. It was like a part of me understood and was willing to let it just happen. Like I deserved it or something. Now I've ruined this womans life, just like I ruined his, and both times, despite being told it's my fault, I don't know what it was that I did wrong!"

She quickly shut up once she heard Amanda Keaton coming back into the living room. She handed them each their mugs of coffee before putting a plate of biscottis down on the coffee table in front of them and sat on the arm of a chair across from the couch. For a few minutes, nobody said anything, they all sat there awkwardly sipping coffee and eating cookies like they were old friends who'd just dropped in unexpectedly. Finally, Natasha opened her mouth, catching bits of cookie that tumbled from her mouth.

"Can I rust thay..." she started, before finishing and starting again, "Can I just say one thing?"

"Which would be?" Amanda asked.

"I'm sorry. Whatever it was I did, or you feel that I did, I'm sorry," Natasha said, "I don't...I've caused a lot of problems lately, and I'm sorry if I caused you problems as well."

"You broke my beliefs, Nat," Amanda said, "I mean, I was only a fan and we'd only corresponded a few times, but...but I truly believed in all the things you ever said. You were my guiding light in this world. The voice of reason on a television so often devoid of such a thing. And then you...you just...openly admit that none of it mattered or was true, and...and you broke me. My husband, on the other hand, emboldened by your newfound set of ethics, decided to finally leave."

"...what?" Nat asked, sounding genuinely surprised at this revelation.

"Yeah, he said you were right, he said he'd been feeling that same way for a while now and that you gave him the strength he needed to turn and finally leave," Amanda said, "This is the same man who, for many years, told me I was dumb for believing anything you said instead of forming my own critical opinions."

"Wait, so, a guy who called you stupid who agreeing with someone whose ethical and moral beliefs lined up with your own then has the gall to say he too believes what she says when she starts saying something he agrees with, and you're upset he's gone?" Jay asked, "Sounds like, if anything, Nat saved you the trouble of being trapped in a marriage where you're made to feel like shit constantly."

A silence engulfed the room, and Amanda pushed her bangs from her eyes, sighing.

"I...I've thought about that, yeah, and it's...hypocritical for sure, but I didn't want my marriage to end, much less the way it did," Amanda replied.

"I didn't want mine to end either," Nat said, "but it happens when it happens. Despite feeling like a ticking time bomb, there's actually no actual countdown clock for when something will explode. It just...happens. But the thing is, I've come to learn that I'm probably better off because of it now. Way I see it, he's with my sister, and I'm single and eating chinese takeout every night in my underwear in the living room watching whatever the hell I feel like watching. I'd say, between the two of us, I made out far better than he did, which is funny considering he's the one who pushed for it."

Amanda exhaled and ran her hands fully through her dirty unwashed hair. She slumped down from the arm of the chair and into the chair proper, looking around the house.

"I must be such a cliche," she said quietly, "Husband leaves and suddenly I can't function. Except the thing is, I can function. I just...didn't want to. When you're part of a team for that long, you don't really remember how to work by yourself when they're gone. You start to think maybe you can't. I know that I can, I just chose not to. It's not like I'm neglecting my children, they're going to school every day, clean and well dressed, and I'm making dinner every night, or ordering in, and so they're well fed. It's mostly just me, and the house proper, that's suffered."

"Understandable," Jay said, "But at least you recognize it. At least you acknowledge it. At least you admit it. And at least you're willing to do it. A lot of people wouldn't, they would just give up, because their self esteem has been so worn down by the other part of their team that they no longer think they're either capable or deserving of doing better."

"Amanda," Nat said, interrupting Jay, "...I never intended to hurt anyone. I...I did what I had to for me. My whole show was about helping others, but that one time, that one moment, that one singular instance, that was for me. I hurt. I still hurt, but it's, ya know, kinda manageable now, and it'll get more and more manageable every day that passes. You want a friend? I'll be your friend. Shit knows I could use one."

Amanda laughed and sipped her coffee.

"You're alright, Simple," Amanda said, "I'm sorry for harassing you the way I was. I didn't...I just didn't know who else to put my anger out towards. Doing it at my ex would've been so generic, you know? That's been done."

"Yeah, you should always strive for originality," Jay said, the three of them beginning to crack up.

This moment, to Natasha, was a real learning experience. Not only did her actions truly have impact on those around her, but it also made her aware that she herself had the ability to create such moments, if she so chose to. Much like her daughter, she too needed a friend.

                                                                                                  ***

After Violet had been picked up, and the horses had been put away, and they had had dinner, Courtney found herself sitting in her bedroom. She was on her bed, in her pajamas, just looking through a photo album. But she wasn't looking at her mom, who was currently away on business, no. She was looking at herself. Bryan knocked on the door and came in, and she smiled at him as he sat down on the bed and ruffled her hair.

"Hey kiddo," he said, "What're you doing?"

"Nothing, just looking at pictures," Courtney said, "...dad, thanks for taking us riding."

"Hey, it was a good time," Bryan said, "You know I love riding horses. I'm just glad you two had a good time. She seems like a good kid, if a bit strange. Then again what teenager isn't, right?"

Courtney looked away, looking mildly hurt, before Bryan quickly corrected himself and touched her shoulder.

"Hey, hey, I didn't mean that like that, you know that right? I didn't mean you," he said, "you're not strange, not for that anyway."

This admittance made Courtney smirk and hug her dad.

"I love you dad," she said softly, and he squeezed her back.

"I love you too, sweetpea," he said, "now get some sleep. You have a doctors appointment tomorrow."

With that, Courtney climbed into bed, grabbed her stuffed dog and hugged it close to herself as Bryan left the room so she could lay in bed and read for a bit before going to sleep. He made his way downstairs and sat down at the enormous dining room table, burying his face in his hands. He never wanted to make her feel weird or awkward for who she was, how she was. He worked so hard at keeping her happy, making her feel loved, but he often did the same for himself. Maybe self care was a real thing he should work on after all, he thought. He stood back up and walked to the couch, plopped down and clicked on the television.

Natasha's face filled the screen, as a re-run of her show aired in front of him. He had the sound off, but the captions were on, so he could clearly understand what she was saying. She was saying something about how only you really can depend on yourself, and yourself alone, and he disagreed. He didn't want his daughter to have to only depend on herself. He wanted her to be able to depend on him as well.

But he watched nonetheless. After all, if this new kid was going to be hanging around more, he'd better start boning up on his knowledge of Natasha Simple.

He'd need it if he were going to ask her for a favor.

Gus and Melanie were sitting in Gus's rental car, a birthday cake in Melanie's lap, her arms crossed and she was pouting like an angry child as he drove towards Darren's. Melanie opened the lid of the cake box and scoffed at it.

"What?" Gus asked, "What is your problem? It's a nice looking cake."

"She doesn't deserve cake, she deserves a bowl of broken glass," Melanie said, "And then the glass turns into bears and eat her from the inside out."

"Look, when we get there, you need to be on your best behavior," Gus said, "This is her birthday, okay? How would you feel if someone ruined your birthday?"

"I don't celebrate my birthday anymore," Melanie said sternly, "So it doesn't really matter does it."

Birthdays were somewhat of a sore spot for Melanie, not that she ever really talked about it or acknowledged reality outside a few brief bursts. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat and leaned her head against the passenger side window, hearing the tiara on her head clink against the glass. She reached up, pulled it off and put it in her lap, then continued moping. Gus glanced over occasionally as he drove, wanting to say something to her, but unsure what. He could tell she felt bad, but he never really understood why.

"Well, we have to be nice if we want this girl to like us, so keep that in mind," Gus finally said.

"I want to jab her violently in the face with something sharp and pointy," Melanie replied.

"Nobody ever made friends with anyone by jabbing others in the face."

"Gus, if something happens to me in there, I want you to tell the kids I love them," Melanie said, and Gus looked at her, his brow raised.

"You don't have kids," he replied.

"Not my kids, the kids at the school."

"You want me, a man they don't know, to tell children that a woman they barely know, that she loves them? I could get arrested for that," Gus said.

"And do it shirtless," Melanie said, starting to chuckle.

                                                                                               ***

Emma was sitting in her living room, toying with the new keyboard Darren had gotten her for her birthday. He'd woken her up early, made her breakfast - not that that was an unusual occurrence, he did that a lot - and then covered her eyes as he led her to the living room where he then unveiled to her a brand new, and fairly expensive, keyboard. Emma loved it. Her old keyboard was broken in a million different ways, rendering it virtually unusable at this point, so he figured this was something she'd really appreciate. Darren was now back in the kitchen, cooking again so the guests would have snacks when they arrived, and he could hear her playing on it. He smiled to himself.

Emma had always wanted to be a musician, she'd roadied for bands back in the day, and she'd played instruments in school, but she eventually went into education instead, finding it to be a better use of her time. Still, she played a lot at home, and lately she'd been grumbling about wanting to do something more with her musical skills, maybe release a record online or something. Darren was nothing if not supportive of her creative interests, so he figured the least he could do was get her the equipment necessary to create such a thing.

Emma came into the kitchen and poured herself some coffee, then leaned against the island counter watching Darren chop some cheese.

"It sounds good," he said.

"Yeah, it's...it's high end, I'm...I feel kind of bad, I...I make more money than you do and yet you bought me this really fancy thing," Emma said.

"Eh, our money is pooled, so it doesn't matter. Besides, you're worth it," he replied, leaning over the island, touching her chin and kissing her. As the kiss ended, she blushed and sipped on her coffee some more, looking back towards the living room.

"I'd be lying if I didn't say I was afraid though. I've always wanted to make music professionally, but now that I have the chance I'm...I don't know, I'm kind of questioning my abilities," Emma said, "And I know what you're gonna say, so you can just skip the whole 'but you're so talented' spiel, cause I know I am, I won't deny it, but I'm not worried that I'm not talented but more worried whether that that talent won't find the audience I want it to, or that the audience simply doesn't exist."

"I think these are all valid fears for an artist of one manner or another to experience," Darren said, handing her a small cutting of cheese and then eating one himself, "But, you know, you just do it anyway, cause it's what you do. If you make things, you make it for you, because it has to be made, and if it enriches the lives of anyone else? Hell, that's just a bonus."

Emma smirked and hugged him as they heard a knock at the front door. The hug broke and Emma went to answer, leaving Darren to his cooking duties. When she opened the door, Gus and Melanie were standing there.

"Hey!" Emma said, "Come on in, you guys are the first ones here."

The two entered the house and Gus handed her the cake. She took it, smiling politely, and walked it back to the kitchen, leaving them to explore momentarily. Gus walked towards a bookshelf and admired the titles on it while Melanie approached a small glass box towards one corner of the room.

"Oh my GOD," Melanie said, "She is a witch! She's turned this poor person into a frog!"

"Melanie, that's just a frog," Gus said, pointing at the label on the tank, "See? His name is Pooka."

"Does anyone want wine?" Emma asked, entering again, holding a few glasses and a bottle.

"God yes please," Gus muttered, taking a glass from her and waiting as she uncorked the wine and began pouring; his eyes spotted the keyboard, "Wow, nice piece of tech."

"Darren gave me that this morning," Emma responded, smiling happily.

"You play music?" he asked, sipping his wine and approaching the keyboard for a better look.

"Only as a hobby at the moment. I think everyone should have a hobby to escape their work life," Emma said.

"Oh I know your hobby," Melanie mumbled to herself, "turning children into goblins and...and....sucking blood out of people and turning into a bat...no, that's a Vampire, what do witches do?"

"Hey," Darren said, entering the room, nodding at Mel, making her brighten up a bit before turning his attention to Emma, "Your dad just got here."

Melanie's blood ran cold. Emma excused herself again, and as she and Darren exited the room back to the kitchen to let her father in through the side door, Gus's cell phone beeped. He sighed and pulled it out of his pocket, unlocking it and looking at the screen before gritting his teeth. Melanie stood up and approached him as he furiously typed back on the phone, muttering under his breath.

"We had a goddamned arrangement, this is unacceptable," he said.

"What's going on?" Melanie asked.

"I think I have to go," Gus replied, turning back to her.

"No, don't leave me here," Melanie said, "Please. Her dad just got here, I don't wanna be left alone, I barely know these people. You're my only source of protection."

"I'm really sorry Mel, but I have something I have to attend to, it's urgent," Gus said, finishing his wine in one fell swig and then hugging her before heading back out the front door. Just as he exited, Emma and an older man in a suit entered from the kitchen.

"Melanie, this is my father, Patrick," she said, as he held out his hand.

Melanie glanced at the hand and then at Emma and then back at the hand. A million different possibilities of how to handle this went through her head, and she eventually settled with the simplest one. Run away. So, Melanie turned and headed down the hall, towards the bathroom, where she locked herself inside. Patrick looked at Emma, who merely shrugged. Emma then excused herself and headed to the bathroom. She knocked lightly on the door.

"Melanie?" she asked softly, "Are you alright? Can I come in?"

No response.

"Melanie, you have to let me in, this is my bathroom," she said, slightly laughing, "Come on, open the door. We'll talk."

After a few moments of silence, the lock on the door clicked, and Emma gently pushed it open with her fingertips, entering the bathroom cautiously. She find Melanie sitting on the side of the tub, looking at her tiara, tears rolling down her face. Emma sat down beside her and exhaled, wondering just what to say. But, before she could get a word out, Melanie spoke, her voice cracking, sounding tired and worn down.

"I'm sorry, this is your birthday and I'm ruining it," she said, "I just...I wasn't expecting your father to be here. I don't know why I didn't expect your father to be here. It is your birthday after all, it only makes sense to have your family, your loved ones, around you on a celebratory day of life."

"Melanie, I've been seeing a woman for a few months now, her name is Leah Anderson. She's a therapist," Emma said, "Perhaps you should talk to her. I think whatever it is that you're dealing with, she could help you much more than I could. I'm your friend, or I'm trying to be, but I'm not a therapist."

Melanie nodded and put her tiara back on her head, then looked at Emma, who took her hand and smiled before leaning in to hug her and rub her back.

"It'll be okay," Emma said softly.

"Yeah, now kiss her," Darren said, standing in the doorway, watching.

The two of them glared at him, and he quickly exited.

                                                                                               ***

Back at her apartment that evening, Melanie was sitting on her bed, just looking at photos. She rarely looked at these anymore, as all they did was bringing her reality rushing back into her fantasy, and making her extremely uncomfortable. As she flipped through the pages of her photo album, she heard a knock on her bedroom door, and Gus entered, having apparently let himself into her apartment. She looked at him and smiled weakly as he took a seat on the bed.

"Sorry about rushing off like that earlier," Gus said, "I really did have an emergency."

"It's okay, things went better than expected," Melanie replied, "Did I ever tell you about my 6th birthday party? It was wonderful, we had a bounce castle and a fake dragon to slay and my father even hired a jester to tell jokes and entertain us. It was my official royal coronation, and I was so happy. Everyone liked my dress, and my tiara..."

Melanie slowly reached up and removed the tiara on her head, holding it out in front of them.

"...that was this tiara," she continued, her voice sounding weaker, "...this is the same tiara they got me for my birthday. It's made of real gems and metal. It's not just a cheap toy tiara. I was a real princess, daddy's little princess, and this was his gift to me, this tiara. He gave it to me the night before my birthday so I could make sure to really be the daughter of royalty the following day."

Gus smiled weakly, "That's a really nice story, Mel."

"But my birthday didn't go so well, and now I don't celebrate it anymore, and I no longer speak to the king or queen, or even my brother the prince. Life is better for them without me, much as I'd like to return to the kingdom, take my rightful place on the throne, I know it's better if I don't."

"Maybe instead you can make a kingdom of your own," Gus said, holding her hand as she laid on her side and shut her eyes.

"Maybe," she said, yawning, "One day."

Gus sat and watched her breath, falling easily into sleep. When he thought she was done, he pulled the photo albums off the bed and pulled a blanket up over her, then patted her head and set her tiara gently on the bedside table. He smiled at her, and knew that, even for as weird as she was, she really was in need of a friend, and that friendship was now his duty whether he wanted it to be or not. Thankfully, he did. He needed a friend too. Gus turned to leave when he heard her murmur, and he stopped in the doorway, looking back at the bed.

"Don't leave me," she said, and he nodded, coming and sitting back down with her on the bed, rubbing her back.

"Goodnight your highness," he said softly.

Smoke.

That's what all Gerry could make out. Smoke as far as the eye could see. His ears pierced with the screams of the rabbits around him, hurling themselves down the halls, hoping to escape the fire that was engulfing the building around them. Gerry's eyes watered, and he pushed his way through the thick smoke, coughing, wanting to blink but knowing it would hurt too much. He passed by a room and saw the body of a lifeless rabbit, likely having succumbed to smoke inhalation, but nobody he knew. His lack of personal attachment didn't alleviate his guilt, however, but he didn't have the time to focus on it.

Gerry pushed his way through the smoke, spotting the dented railing, where they had gone over. Gerry approached the spot and glanced over the edge, spying their body lying on the floor below, their neck broken. A sickening sight, but not undeserved. He turned and spotted the others body lying there, lifeless. He sighed and shook his head. After all that, they wouldn't live to see a world without the lab after all. Gerry wanted to shout their name, hoping they would respond, but he was afraid to open his mouth, the ashy taste in the air choking him instantly. Then he felt a pair of paws on him, turning him around, and he was face to face with Number Two. The two locked eyes.

"We have to leave," he said, his face smeared with blood and soot, "Now."

                                                                                           ***

It was dark outside when The Collective began gathered, waiting to head towards the lab. Everyone was murmuring, their voices low, somewhat wavy, the sound of fear present in many of them. Stone was waiting at the front entrance of The Hollow, looking out at the group, her eyes welled up with tears. She heard someone approach and stop beside her, also looking out in the same direction. It was Nickel.

"I hope they know what they've volunteered for," she said.

"I think they do," Stone said, "Most are from the lab, or are Richardsons Sister Rabbits. They follow orders, they feel a community they have to protect and defend. They know what they signed up for."

"...this isn't going to end well, is it?" Nickel asked, and Stone shrugged.

"That's not up to me to say," Stone replied, before sighing, adding, "Nickel, you have one job; when this group leaves, you're taking our group, the remainders from the Hollow, and you're heading the opposite direction. Do not stop even when the sun comes up. Because if they fail at what they're about to do, we need to be as far fucking away from this area as possible."

"Yes ma'am," Nickel said, "You're not coming?"

"I'm going with them," Stone said, "You forget, I was one of the original Special Seven. I feel just as obligated to torch the place as everyone else out there."

The two stood there momentarily, not speaking, until Stone sighed and turned to face Nickel.

"Whatever happens," Stone said, "Don't stop running. And if I never see you again, it was good knowing you."

"You too, ma'am," Nickel said.

Stone hugged her friend, and then turned and walked out of the Hollow, leaving Nickel there to watch. She didn't want to be pessimistic, but she certainly couldn't help but feel like this was the last time she'd ever see her friend. And she wasn't the only one having this feeling; inside the Hollow, in a burrow towards the back, Mipsy was preparing for her own exit while Paw Paw watched. Paw Paw had only known her for a matter of weeks, but it had felt like a lifetime, and now she may never see her again. So many things she still wanted to say, but unsure of how to say them.

After a bit of packing her satchel, repeating map areas to herself under her breath, Mipsy finally turned to face Paw Paw, and her face fell. She didn't know what to say either. The two stood there, staring at one another for a moment, until finally Paw Paw broke the silence and spoke.

"You'd better come home," she said.

"I will," Mipsy said, "And then we find better home. All of us. Beside, I'm the map. Gerry won't let anything happen to me."

"That's probably true, knowing him, but still, I felt it needed to be said," Paw Paw said, "...before you and your friends came looking for Gerry, before you all found the Sister Rabbits, I had a lot of trouble making friends. Even now I feel like I don't really fit in here with the rest of you. Except for you. You made me feel like I fit in."

"That good, prolly cause I don't fit in neither," Mipsy said, "That way, we not fit in together."

"Sound reasoning," Paw Paw said, smirking at this logic, "Still, don't you lie to me and tell me you'll come back and then not. I couldn't handle that kind of loss."

"I promise," Mipsy said, standing on her hind legs, putting one paw over her heart, "Cross my heart. I come back."

"...i love you," Paw Paw said, and Mipsy nodded.

"I love you too," she replied.

Outside, Number Two approached Minerva and Dice, who were sitting under a tree, waiting for Gerry and Kevin to lead them. Gerry was still in the Hollow, but where was Kevin? That was the question. They couldn't leave without him, after all, the fire had been his plan originally. Number Two stopped by the foxes and look up at them. They both looked down and smiled at him.

"You seem chipper for what's about to go down," Number Two, "What's got you two so happy?"

"I think it's a mixture of the relief we'll feel when this is all over and the terror we feel before that relief," Dice said, making Number Two chuckle as Minerva nodded.

"She nailed it," Minerva said, "That's exactly what it is."

"Have you two seen Kevin?"

They hadn't. Nobody had, it turned out. This didn't worry Number Two, exactly, as he knew Kevin wouldn't have gone ahead of them, but...he'd be lying if Kevins sudden absence didn't make him somewhat unsettled. He'd been spending more and more time alone these last few days, and while he'd always been a bit on the introverted side comparatively to the others in the Collective, this was a bit much, even for him. Number Two glanced around and spied Six and Gerry coming out of the Hollow, followed by Mipsy and Paw Paw. Richardson was talking to some of his Sister Rabbits, and everyone seemed to be accounted for...

...except for Kevin.

Kevin, as it turned out, was at the only place he really wanted to be anymore. Number Four's grave. Sitting beside it, his eyes shut, his breathing shallow, he knew he wanted to say something to her, but what, exactly? He sighed and opened his eyes a bit, speaking softly.

"Ellen, I may not come back," he said, "I may see you sooner than we thought. We're leaving to bring the fire to THEM today. I'm doing this for you. I just...I wish you were here, to see what I've accomplished. But, I'm also glad you're not, because if something happened to you now, or something happened to me and you survived, I don't think either of us would like that. Maybe this is the way it had to be all along, I don't know. But I may not come back here, so if you never hear my voice again...that's why. But please don't think it's because I abandoned your resting place, because I never would. I love you, even if you're gone. I always will," he said, tears rolling slowly down his face.

Kevin then picked up his stick in his mouth and headed back towards the Hollow, glancing only once back at her headstone, unsure whether he'd ever see it again or not. When Kevin finally arrived, he found Number Two, Richardson, Mipsy, Gerry and Stone all standing in a circle in front of The Collective.

"Does Nickel know what she's to do?" Gerry asked, and Stone nodded.

"Yes, I told her," Stone replied, "She won't deviate from my orders."

"Good," Gerry said, looking at Kevin, "Are we ready?"

"...yes," Kevin said, "I'm ready."

"Light it!" Gerry shouted, and with that all the rabbits lowered their sticks to the ground, lining up before a small fire pit the rabbits had built the night before, where Salt had, using flint she'd stolen from the lab, started a fire. The rabbits walked by, one by one, lowering the end of their sticks into the fire pit and getting the tips ignited. Once all the sticks were lit, Stone and Gerry tied each of the sticks to the backs of the rabbits, so they wouldn't have to carry them in their mouths to the lab. Gerry and the leaders lit theirs, and Gerry headed to the front of the group. He looked out at the sea of faces peering back at him, and he sighed.

"Let's move!" he shouted, "Let's burn THEM!"

                                                                                                 ***

Walking through the woods, heading towards the lab for, presumably, one final time, Number Two couldn't shake something in his head. He jogged up a bit to catch up with Gerry, and walked alongside him. Gerry looked over at Number Two and smiled.

"What's our exit strategy?" Number Two asked, "I mean, sure, in and out of the vents, no problem. But what's our actual exit strategy provided we manage to get back out?"

"We run. That's it, that's all I've got," Gerry said, "I know that it's not well thought out or prepared or anything but...to be quite frank, Paul, I don't know that I thought we'd need one."

"Jesus, that's not the answer I wanted to hear," Number Two replied, making Gerry chuckle.

"We'll run, we'll run as far and fast as we can. Stone has Nickel moving the rest of the group upwind from where we were. We'll head that direction, and we're likely to come across them at some point. No matter what, just stick by my side and we'll get eachother out of there, alright?" Gerry said, Number Two nodding in agreement.

"You got it, chief," Number Two said, sighing, "...Gerald, I...I want to apologize. I didn't believe in you in the beginning, and I...I fought with you constantly about whether leaving the lab was not only possible but even the right thing to do. I want to apologize for that. I was...so scared of being anywhere else that I let my fear cloud my judgement, and that's not okay. I'm sorry I didn't support you sooner."

"You had every reason to be cautious, and your cautiousness is what saved us time and time again," Gerry said, "Only when you began throwing caution to the wind did you start risking your life for reasons you never understood before, but neither was a bad way to live."

"Thank you," Number Two said, trying not to cry, "I trust you now. I have for a long time."

"And I trust you," Gerry said, "So let's finish this thing, side by side."

Further back, Kevin was walking with Mipsy, but he wasn't paying attention to anything she was saying. After a bit, she nudged him in the shoulder and he finally looked over at her and smiled.

"Sorry," Kevin said, "I wasn't purposefully ignoring you, I hope you know."

"I know," Mipsy said, "You say bye to Number Four?"

"...yeah," Kevin said after a pause, "I did...now I only hope I can say hello to her again."

"Don't worry, I get you out of lab," Mipsy said proudly, "I'm the map. I know where go. Stay with me, you be fine."

Kevin smiled. He knew he at least still had a real friend in Mipsy, and he appreciated that. But he also knew he had something to do before he could leave, and that was get Steve's feet from the garden. He wouldn't be able to stay by Mipsy's side, so he only hoped she would wait for him if he needed her to. He was depending on Mipsy to save all their asses. He hoped that that much responsibility wouldn't be too much pressure, but he also knew Mipsy could handle it. She was, after all, one of the ones who came up with the plan to finally put Dodger down, when nobody else could.

As they marched ever onwards, most of the walk was silent. Nobody really spoke much, and when they did it was often in hushed whispers and shallow voices. Finally, after what felt like hours, they reached the lab. There it was, standing tall and menacing as ever, across the field from the treeline. Everyone stopped and looked ahead at it. Gerry told everyone to wait, and then he, Number Two, Kevin, Mipsy and the foxes walked up into the field and waited. Salt was sitting on Kevins back, holding gently onto his ears so she wouldn't slide off. After a few moments, a large shadow loomed overhead and finally landed in front of them.

"Lorna," Gerry said.

"Gerald," she replied, "I see you have brought almost everybody."

"We're gonna need all the help we can get," Kevin said, "You know what you're doing, right?"

"Yes," Lorna said, "I have been collecting sticks all afternoon. Salt set fire to another pit only a minute away from here. After you all exit the lab, I swoop down, grab stick, light it and drop them all one by one around lab in circular motion. This way it prevent anyone else from exiting."

"Exactly," Gerry said, "We don't know what direction we're going to run in, but rest assured, it will be away from the fire."

This made everyone chuckle; a much needed moment of brevity to ease the anxiety and dread.

"I'm going to go ahead," Salt said, "Unlock the vents, and then we're going to get everyone in, one at a time. Once everyone is inside, it's a free for all. They can light wherever they can find a flammable surface, of which I guarantee there are many. Not to mention some of the compounds I'm sure THEY work with are flammable as well. This place is going to explode like a barrel of dynamite."

"Remember," Gerry said, turning to face the others, "When we exit, just run back towards the Hollow. Don't stop, don't wait for anyone, just run. We'll all convene and find one another after the fact, okay? I know it sounds selfish, but it's the only way to make sure enough of us get out of there alive. Salt, get to the vents."

Salt slid down off Kevin and looked at him, nodding; they'd made an arrangement that he'd be the first one in, and once he was, she and Kevin would leave to find the garden while Gerry and Stone got everyone else in through the vents. Salt was the only one who really knew where the place was, as she'd only taken them to it once before, so he needed her direction. Salt hurried across the field and got to the vent nearest the ground, taking her small tool from her pack and unscrewing the covering, carefully lowering it to the grass so it wouldn't make a sound. She then looked back, nodded, and the rabbits began their approach, Kevin first.

Kevin slid into the vent after Salt and they scurried ahead, leaving Gerry and the other "leaders" to help the other rabbits inside. Lorna, meanwhile, flapped her wings and took off into the sky, heading to her group of sticks she'd bundled nearby, so she'd be ready when she was signaled. Kevin and Salt were gone before anyone even noticed, except Gerry, who merely grimaced and shook his head, turning back to continue helping the other rabbits into the vent. After everyone had gotten in and gotten through, he and Number Two led them all down the vents to the nearest room they could find. Salt had already unscrewed the inside vents so they could just push their way in without her help.

As Gerry pushed the screen off the vent and poked his head into the lab, he was surprised to find it was...empty? Had they taken a wrong turn? He lowered himself down and looked around as another rabbit, one named Maurice, dropped next to him and squinted.

"Where are the other rabbits?" Maurice asked.

"I must've gotten it backwards, we need to go the other way. I've only been in their area once, so forgive me," Gerry said, heading back in as he spotted Number Two sniffing the air.

"Do you smell that?" Number Two asked, and Gerry looked back at Maurice pulling his torch off his back. The light illuminated the room, filled with black snakes, gas exiting out of every hole. Gerry wanted to scream, but before he could even speak, the gas emitted from the black snakes were lit by the fire of Maurice's torch and the whole room went up in a blaze, exploding, shaking the vents. Gerry coughed and opened his eyes, trying to see through.

"Jesus christ!" a rabbit screamed, "Jesus christ!"

"Is everyone okay?" Gerry asked, "Is everyone..."

He turned and looked at Number Two.

"How did THEY know?" he asked.

"Because we've come back before," Number Two said, "THEY'RE merely protecting themselves. THEY knew we'd come back again. THEY has us all figured out, Gerald."

"Nobody else pull your torches until I say so!" Gerry said, "We're heading the other direction!"

"That explosion is gonna cause someone to come look," Stone said, sounding worried, and at that moment the alarms blared. Everyone looked scared, but Gerry stepped up to the plate.

"Alright, everyone, ignore the sounds, head the other direction, just follow Stone! She'll lead you to where you have to go!" Gerry said, "I'll meet you there!"

He turned and headed past Number Two.

"Where are you going!?" Number Two asked loudly.

"To get Jasmine," Gerry said.

                                                                                            ***

Kevin and Salt were halfway to the garden when the sound of the explosion resonated throughout the vents. They stopped, momentarily taken aback by the slight shaking sensation it caused, and glanced at one another before heading onwards. Salt looked at her feet as they walked and sighed.

"Why are you doing this instead of helping them?" she asked.

"Out in the woods one day, I was chased by a hunter. During this chase, I wound up somehow back at the lab, and the hunter shot one of THEM by accident. On THEIR person, THEY had a keychain with one of Steve's feet. The fourth foot, the one we never recovered. When THEY blew him up, they handed out his feet like fucking prizes and used them as keychains. I buried it in the woods, and I promised it that one day I'd come back, I'd get his other feet and I'd bury them with the fourth one. Gerry has his promises, I have mine, and just like him I intend to keep it. Steve was my best friend, and he doesn't deserve to die twice in this miserable fucking place."

"...you're a good friend, Kevin," Salt said, "I'm sorry he died."

"Yeah, me too," Kevin said.

They arrived at the vent for the garden and Salt undid the covering. They made their way in, and looked around. It looked untouched, just like they'd seen it last time. Kevin smiled, remembering the nice time he'd had here with Ellen, and after allowing himself a moment of peace, he pushed onward. He remembered exactly where they'd buried Steve's remaining feet, and quickly headed to that spot. As he began to dig, Salt sat and watched.

"...I admire what you're doing, you know," she said, "Everything you've done. I know the others probably don't say it as often as they should, but you've really managed to hold this group together until Gerry got back. Now look at you, still doing things for the dearly departed, because you believe they deserve better. That's admirable as all hell."

"Thank you," Kevin said, pulling Steve's feet out of the dirt and tucking them into his pack. He sighed, turned and headed back to the vent. He helped Salt back inside the vent as well, and together the two headed down, back to the rest of the group.

                                                                                         ***

Gerry entered a room, Number Two at his side, just the two of them, as they searched for Jasmine's cage. Gerry knew where she was, he just wasn't exactly sure what part of it she was in. But he'd recognize the room the moment they entered it. He shook his head, he should've brought Mipsy with him, but she was more needed with the group.

"This is ridiculous," Number Two said, "I know she's a friend, but she never wanted to leave to begin with, you said so yourself. Why go through all this trouble for one rabbit who doesn't care about leaving than help rescue the whole group that does?"

"She may not want to leave, but that doesn't mean she deserves to be burnt to a crisp in here," Gerry said, "She should at least get a chance to make that choice. That's what I'm giving her, that last chance. If she decides to stay, then so be it."

Gerry nosed open another door, and grinned. This was it. He looked up at the shelves above and pulled his torch, holding it up so he could see in the darkness. Number Two stopped and watched, sighing. This was ridiculous, even if he did understand Gerry's reasoning. Gerry finally found her cage and tapped it with his torch.

"Jasmine!" he said in a hushed shout, "Jasmine!"

"You really came," she said, coming to the side of her cage, "You're a fool, you know that?"

"Jasmine, I'm just here to give you an option, do you want to-"

"You shouldn't have come here, they're here," she said softly, and as Gerry whipped his torch around, he was face to face with the guard dogs snarling teeth. He stopped, frozen in fear, suddenly unable to move. The guard dog, Richards, grinned as he approached, pushing Gerry back against the cabinets.

"How nice of you to come," he said, just as a torch jabbed him against the side of the face, and he yelped in pain before snapping his head to Number Two, holding his torch.

"That was for my fucking ear," Number Two said, his brow furrowed, glaring at him, "You leave us alone, and I won't burn the rest of your goddamned face off your skull. Back away, NOW."

Richards chuckled and looked back at Gerry, still grinning.

"I've waited a long time for this, and there's no lab dog to save you now," he said, opening his mouth, ready to attack, when suddenly there was an orange blur and Minerva was on top of him, biting at his neck. Number Two, shocked she'd followed them, grabbed Gerry and pulled at him, leading him away back into the darkness from the fight. In the struggle, they bumped the shelf, and Jasmine's cage fell to the floor, smashing open. She climbed out and took off in another direction. Richards rolled over atop Minerva and grinned looking down at her, snarling.

"How nice, they got another friend to fight their battles for them, the cowards!" Richards said.

"They're braver then you'll ever be," Minerva said, and with that she lunged up and attached her jaw to his throat, ripping at it. Richards shrieked in pain, as Number Two and Gerry took off, out a door and into the main hall. The alarm began to blare, and smoke began to fill the surrounding area. The group must've found their targets and began burning. Number Two looked at Gerry as smoke billowed out into the halls and began to surround them.

"Paul-" Gerry said, but Number Two hugged him and looked into his eyes.

"Don't die," he said, before heading back to help Minerva, disappearing into the black of night.

Gerry turned around and around, confused about where to go next. Things had already gone so off track, he wasn't sure he knew how to get them back on track. He paced in circles momentarily, before spotting one of THEM coming out of a room and shouting at him. Gerry turned and took off, THEM hot on his heels. He weaved throughout the halls, passing other screaming rabbits wielding burning torches, until he came to a room and dove inside. Once inside he backed into a corner, hoping to be ignored, as THEY pushed the door open and entered slowly, cautiously. Gerry didn't know what to do. He shut his eyes and hoped for the best, and suddenly a bright light lit up the room and THEY started to scream. When Gerry opened his eyes, he spotted Kevin standing on a shelf, his torch against THEIR face, searing them. He then dropped his torch, looked at Gerry and nodded.

"Thank god you showed up!" Gerry said.

"I didn't do that for you," Kevin said, "That was the one who got Ellen sick. I did it for her."

And then as they got back into the hall, they heard the clickety clack of nails on the floor, and turned to see a bloody, angry Richards standing there. Number Two and Minerva were nowhere in sight. He snarled and then lunged at them, the both of them taking off down the hall with him right after them. As they passed by other rabbits, Richards was very clearly uninterested in hurting anyone except them. He wanted their blood, and he was out to get it. They stopped on a catwalk, a rail next to them. Kevin peered over the edge to see if they could survive the fall, but it looked rather high up.

"What do we do?" he asked Gerry and Gerry shook his head.

"I...I don't know. Kevin, just go, just run, run okay?" Gerry said, "Just go. Find Mipsy, find the others, get some sort of control back under all this. Lead the group back to the vent and get them out, no matter what, alright? I'll deal with this."

Kevin nodded and took off, leaving Gerry alone to face Richards. Richards shook his fur, blood splattered onto the walls and Gerry's own snow white fur. As Richards approached, his sharp teeth glinting in the torch light of the hall, Gerry felt this was the end. He'd come this far, and if a fox couldn't take Richards out, what chance did he have? Gerry backed away, Richards getting ever closer with each step.

"You have been a pain in my neck since the day you arrived here," Richards said, "Your pathetic little escape attempts have only shown you only care about your own species survival, just like THEM! You're no better than THEM! You got Fern killed, you've gotten your own friends killed, and now you're gonna get yourself killed!"

"Please, come with us...you don't...you don't have to be here anymore," Gerry said.

"Too fucking little too fucking late," Richards said, "You didn't offer me or any of the other dogs that chance every other time, so why should I give you the option now? Do you have any idea what kind of horrors we have seen? We have been subjected to? No. If I'm going to burn to death in this miserable hole, I'm going to eat you before I die."

And without warning, Richardson was on top of him, biting and kicking at his face. Richards screamed, slamming himself against the wall. Gerry was taken back by surprise at Richardsons sudden arrival, but in the midst of all the screaming and the rampage, he wasn't that surprised he'd wind up in the same place as he was right now. Gerry backed away and shouted.

"Richardson, get off him and let's go, man!" Gerry shouted.

"He's only going to keep coming if you let him!" Richardson shouted, "Gerry, go! Get out!"

Gerry backed away, wanting to run, but he couldn't. He found himself caught in time, a time he was unable to move or think of even breath. The smoke was getting too dense, too heavy, and his breathing was becoming labored. He looked around, spotting so many of THEM on fire, so many of THEM trying to flee, and he knew this was all his doing. This was his legacy now. Richards stumbled and slipped on the catwalk, gripping the edge with his front paws with Richardson hanging onto his back. Gerry stood, staring.

"Richardson!" he shouted, rushing up to the edge as Richards attempted to bite at his paws, "Richardson, climb up, I can get you back up!"

"Gerry..." Richardson said, chuckling, "...why? I did what I had to. I made up for my mistakes. I owned up to my sins. I righted my wrongs. Now it's your turn to do the same. Go, Gerald, get them out of here, make a new, better life for them, for yourself. Tell Kevin to take care of my Sister Rabbits."

"Richardson, you don't have to-"

But Richardson was done. He bit Richards on the legs, then leapt up onto the ledge, with Gerry grabbing at him, as Richards paws gave way, letting go of the catwalks edge, sending him plummeting to the floor. Gerry heard a loud clanging sound, and when he looked over the edge, there they were. Richards had clearly broken his neck on a pipe on the way down. Gerry stopped and stared, tears welling up in his eyes. This wasn't supposed to happen. It wasn't supposed to go like this. Even for all that dog had done to them, he still felt bad they had to die like this. Gerry then turned his attention to Richardson, who was limping and collapsed on the floor, coughing up blood.

"Richardson," he started, "We can get you out of here, I can, I can-"

"No, just go, just go man, I did what I had to do," he said.

"No! This wasn't supposed to happen! You were supposed to come back with us! With me!" Gerry shouted, finally losing it, "Richardson, just stay awake, okay? I know it's...it's hard and the smoke is a lot and...and..."

He looked at Richardsons stomach, a large gash in it, likely from Richards paws, and blood spilling out. Richardson smiled and touched Gerry's face with his paw.

"Don't cry," he said, "I couldn't...I couldn't protect my sister...but I did protect you."

Gerry started sobbing, and shut his eyes, simply repeating, "no no no". When Gerry opened his eyes, Richardson was gone. His eyes were wide open, but the life was gone from them. Gerry began to finally wail openly, his cries filling the hall. Time itself seemed to slow, and nothing else matter. He couldn't figure out just how long he stayed there for, but it must've been a while. When he felt he was done grieving, the hallways were filled with smoke so much so that he could barely see.

Smoke.

That's what all Gerry could make out. Smoke as far as the eye could see. His ears pierced with the screams of the rabbits around him, hurling themselves down the halls, hoping to escape the fire that was engulfing the building around them. Gerry's eyes watered, and he pushed his way through the thick smoke, coughing, wanting to blink but knowing it would hurt too much. He passed by a room and saw the body of a lifeless rabbit, likely having succumbed to smoke inhalation, but nobody he knew. His lack of personal attachment didn't alleviate his guilt, however, but he didn't have the time to focus on it.

Gerry pushed his way through the smoke, spotting the dented railing, where they had gone over. Gerry approached the spot and glanced over the edge, spying Richards body lying on the floor below, their neck broken. A sickening sight, but not undeserved. He turned and spotted Richardson lying there, lifeless. He sighed and shook his head. After all that, they wouldn't live to see a world without the lab after all. Gerry wanted to shout their name, hoping they would respond, but he was afraid to open his mouth, the ashy taste in the air choking him instantly. Then he felt a pair of paws on him, turning him around, and he was face to face with Number Two. He couldn't believe it, he was alive! The two locked eyes.

"We have to leave," he said, his face smeared with blood and soot, "Now."

Natasha found herself sitting in the guest room backstage of a local talk show. She never would've expected herself to be a guest on anything, and yet, here she was. Ever since her breakdown on her own show a few weeks prior, the press had all been coming in positive, and bringing in more money to the public access station her show as a part of. She'd even been given the timeslot beside the other most popular show on the network.

She found her eyes glancing around the room, taking it all in. This was definitely more big time than she was, or likely ever would be. Suddenly her eyes drifted down to the table in front of her, filled with a snackplate that consisted almost entirely of grapes and nothing else. Natasha scoffed. Grapes? This was the best a talk show had to offer? Sure, they were only a local talk show, but still, that felt wrong.

The door opened and a young woman stuck her head in, adjusting the earpiece she had lodged into one side of her head. She smiled at Natasha and waved.

"Miss Simple? They're ready for you," she said.

Natasha stood up, brushed herself off and walked out, following the woman down the hall. This was her day, and nothing was going to ruin it. Except that wasn't true, because by the end of the day, she'd be in a lot of hot water, and all because of a single word she'd said.

                                                                                              ***

"I should ask what's wrong with you," Lawrence said, "but I'm not even sure that you know. I'm starting to think that we need to get you a doctor, a specialist, who can somehow saw open your head and inspect your brain to find out the problem, because holy shit you've created such a storm in just two weeks."

"I know. I'm sorry," Nat said, looking down at her shoes.

"Did you not know it was a family friendly talk show? Did you not know that all the women there are mothers? Did you not know that women with young children at home watch the show? Tell me what happened," Lawrence continued, sitting on his desk, folding his arms, "Cause I'm confused."

"I'm a mom too, I just...I...I guess I didn't think it was a big deal. I didn't even swear, but if I had, I swear around my daughter all the time, and she-"

"Your daughter is a teenager, she's swearing!" Lawrence said, "But show me the last 5 year old who spoke like a sailor, and then maybe you'll have an argument in your defense!"

Nat shrugged, continuing to avert her eyes from her boss as he rubbed his forehead, stood back up and paced around to the other side of his desk, seating himself behind it once more.

"I don't like being mad at you, I like you Natalie," Lawrence said, "You're...a really nice, intelligent, creative person, and I like you. But I can't ignore when someone creates a firestorm like this. I'm the president of the network, it's expected of me to punish you, or do something to show the public that you've been punished. The longer I don't do something, the more at risk that puts me, do you get that?"

"Yeah, I...I do, I understand," Natalie said, "...am I fired?"

"You're not fired, of course not. I think the fallout will blow over and be overshadowed by your good press from your show, but...I don't know what I'm gonna do."

Natalie didn't respond, and Lawrence started losing himself in paperwork. After a bit, he told her she could go, so she stood up and walked out. In the hall, Natalie leaned against the wall and cried quietly to herself. Jay stopped by and touched her arm, slightly startling her.

"Sorry," he said, "You okay?"

"...I'm an idiot," Natalie said.

"Naw, those people on the talk show are over reactionary, you're fine," Jay said, as they started walking down the hall together; he continued, "Honestly, I don't see anything wrong with what you did. They asked you a question and you answered, like an adult, to another adult, about an adult subject."

"Exactly!" Natalie said, "Thank you!"

"Who cares if their kids were watching? They're watching because their parents are watching it, and are you telling me those same kids don't hear those same words in their own household daily? Gimme a break. They're trying to relegate responsibility and shift blame to a guilty party because they don't wanna be the guilty party."

"God, see, you understand," Natalie said, "What's the big damn deal? They're gonna make me apologize. Can you believe that?"

"Well, you do represent the station," Jay said, "Much as I may agree with you, you do represent the station, so whatever you do that looks bad only looks bad on the station threefold. Makes sense to make you apologize, even if it is ridiculous."

"I guess," Nat replied, chewing her nails, "I never wanna get Lawrence hassled, so it's probably for the best."

Jay and Natasha continued to the kitchen of the office and made themselves a little snack, all the while bitching about the ridiculousness of the situation. It was nice that she had at least one friend, aside from Lawrence, around these parts, Natasha figured. Made her feel like maybe the entire world wasn't just out to get her.

                                                                                            ***

Violet was always picked up after school by her mother, but on the rare days she couldn't manage to do this, Violet found herself having to take the bus home. She hated taking the bus; it put her into extremely close contact with the kids who gave her grief, but without the sanctity of a teacher or guardian to protect her from their bullshit. Sitting on a bus seat now, listening to music and reading a book, she could hear all the kids behind her shouting and laughing behind her. She sighed and tried to drown it out, when she felt a hand on her arm, and glanced up to see Courtney.

"What are you doing on the bus?" Violet asked, pulling her headphones down somewhat.

"I saw you get on, and figured you'd be lonely," Courtney said, "But we're gonna get off at the next stop, okay? Trust me, just get off with me. It'll be worth it."

Violet certainly wasn't going to turn down the chance to escape this hormonal driven cacophony that surrounded her currently, so she nodded, agreeing to follow Courtney's lead. As the bus came to a stop, she felt Courtney tug on her arm and lead her off the bus. Courtney, belonging to the family she belonged to, wasn't stopped by the driver, and instead they walked right off and waited on the corner for a moment in a residential neighborhood Violet didn't recognize one bit. After a minute or two of waiting, Violet opened her mouth to ask a question, but Courtney, grinning widely, just pointed at a car approaching them. A very fancy car. As the car pulled over, an older man got out and looked at the girls.

"Get in," he said, "We're going to get something to eat."

"We shouldn't get in the car with strangers," Violet said and Courtney laughed.

"That's my dad!" she said, "Come on!"

Violet, this time rather reluctantly, agreed and followed Courtney into the backseat of the car. Courtney's father, Bryan, was a handsome older man. Still had a full head of hair, a slight beard shadow, and was dressed in a very nice suit. He quickly revved the card and took off down the street, far faster than Violet was admittedly comfortable with. As they sped down the road, Courtney looked at Violet, who had a face of concern, and touched her shoulder. Violet turned to face her and Courtney smiled.

"Relax," she said, "I just thought this would be better than riding the bus with those jerks."

Violet allowed herself to relax a loosen a bit. She wasn't used to being treated well by one of her peers, so her guard was constantly up, but she figured she could trust Courtney. After all, she was going to get her something to eat.

They found a nice Thai food place and all slid into the booth; Courtney and Violet on one side, her father on the other side. He made it clear they could order whatever it was they wanted, and not worry about the price. He just wanted them to eat well. Violet didn't know what a lot of this stuff was, so they had to explain it in detail to her, but eventually they settled on a dish she thought sounded somewhat appealing. After giving their order to the waitress, Bryan cupped his hands and smiled across the table at the two girls.

"Courtney tells me you like horses," he said.

"Yes," Violet said quietly, "I like horses a lot."

"She says you've never ridden a horse, and she brought up the idea of maybe the two of you going trail riding together sometime," Bryan said, "With a chaperone, of course, just because it can be dangerous at times."

"I'd like that. I've always wanted to ride a horse. I'll have to ask my mom though," Violet said, and Bryan nodded.

"Of course, no, we wouldn't want to do anything behind her back obviously. Ask your mom, see what she says and then maybe I'll call her up and we can arrange it all," Bryan said, "You'll love it. It's a very...calming experience."

Violet smiled at that sentiment. Life hadn't been very calm lately, so she liked the sound of that.

                                                                                           ***

Natasha was sitting in a waiting area at the station, prepared to make a public statement with Lawrence, when Sharla entered the room, still in her workout clothes. She smiled at Nat and took a seat beside her, biting into an apple.

"For what it's worth," Sharla said, "...I don't think what you did was dumb."

This surprised Natasha, who turned to look at her with a look of disbelief on her face.

"You? Of all people?"

"I know we haven't always gotten along, but I do think what you did was fine. These people, they're so uptight. You can't say a single thing around them that they think might hurt the children, even though half those children are going to grow up doing that very thing," Sharla said, "Had you said something actually genuinely offensive, then perhaps I'd be more inclined to agree with them, but this? This is lunacy."

"...thanks Sharla, that means a lot," Natasha said, and Sharla nodded, patting Nat on the shoulder before Jay entered and looked at them.

"He's ready for you," Jay said, and Nat sighed, stood up and pulled her hair back.

"Go get 'em tiger," Sharla said, making Nat smile as she headed out of the room, following Jay down the long hallway to the small lobby where the press and the women from the talk show Nat had dropped her offending word on were stationed. Lawrence was already standing at a small podium they'd brought there for this very occasion, holding a microphone. He turned and saw Nat, and both just sort of grimaced at one another. She stood behind him, looking at the ground, not saying a word. Lawrence turned to the crowd and cleared his throat.

"Um," he started, "My name is Lawrence Bell, and I'm the president of this station. As many already know, a personal friend and colleague, Natasha Simple, recently said something on a local talk show that has offended some people, and after some deliberation, we have decided that she should publicly apologize. Maybe then we can all let bygones be bygones and get on with our lives. Natasha is a very valued member of our station, but she does recognize when she's screwed up. That being said, she's also not too pride to admit to her mistakes and own up to them, as so. So with that, I'll let Miss Simple take the stand."

Lawrence handed Natasha the mic and backed away, now standing behind her, pushing his glasses up his nose.

"Hello," Natasha said, "As many of you know, I've recently undergone a very awful event, an event I then made public on my very own show. This is how I was invited to be on the talk show to begin with. At this talk show, I was asked a question about my situation, and I responded in a way they didn't appreciate, by dropping a word they didn't want their children to hear. This word is divorce. I only say it here to give you context. To me, the word should not be something shameful of feared, but instead embraced. I'm soon to be divorced, it's something I have to begin associating with myself. I think it's ridiculous to hide children from the realities of life, but if that's what some people want to die, lie to their kids, then who am I to say otherwise?"

"Nat, christ," Lawrence mumbled, as Sharla chuckled to herself from off to the side.

"That being said, I am going to apologize. I'm very very sorry, and if what I said made you children unhappy, if it made them ask you uncomfortable questions about marriage, then I'm sorry for that as well. I would never want to make children uncomfortable, I have a daughter myself, so I know the feeling of wanting to protect them from even the seemingly stupidest things."

Lawrence quickly grabbed the mic from her and pushed his way in front of her, looking annoyed.

"I think that clears that up," Lawrence said, cutting her off, "Any questions? Yeah, you, with the green tie."

A man in a suit with a green tie, holding a clipboard - clearly a reporter of some kind - stepped forward.

"I'm Carl Worth with the Family Values Network, and I just have to ask if Miss Simple thinks that perhaps, with her attitude towards the very concept of divorce in general, she deserved to be left?" he asked, and Lawrence gawked at him, almost in awe.

"Excuse me?" Lawrence asked, "No more questions. This conference is over."

Lawrence turned and began to walk away, then stopped and looked at Natasha, who wouldn't look at him. He gritted his teeth, turned around, walked up to the reporter and clocked him in the jaw, sending him sprawling to the ground. As people shouted and gathered around to help him up, Lawrence shook his fist and rubbed his knuckles.

"Now this conference is over," he said, before turning back, snapping his fingers for his people to follow him. In the halls, as everyone dispersed, Natasha walked briskly by his side as they headed to the kitchen so he could run his hand under some water.

"Wow," Natasha said, "I've never had my honor defended before."

"Well, as much as what they might not like what you said, I didn't appreciate what they said, so it goes both ways," Lawrence said, rubbing his hand off on a dish towel, leaning against the counter, "You may be my employee, but you're also my friend, and I won't let anyone talk about you that way no matter which you happen to be."

"...thanks Lawrence," Nat said, smiling, almost crying. Lawrence approached her and hugged her tightly, as she started crying into his shirt; she sobbed, "I didn't want it to end."

"I know you didn't, sweetheart. I'm so sorry. It wasn't your fault," Lawrence said quietly, rubbing her back.

It was the first time Natasha had really admitted that her marriage truly was over, and it felt like a huge relief off her shoulders.

                                                                                              ***

That night at home, Natasha was sitting on her bed, looking through some papers her husband had sent over that she'd been ignoring to this point, when she heard her door creak open and saw Violet standing there.

"Hi honey," Nat said, pushing her papers aside and patting her bed for Violet to come sit down.

"Can I ride a horse?" Violet asked, surprising Nat, making her chuckle.

"Uh, I guess? Why? Where'd you-"

"A girl at school asked me if I wanted to ride horses with her, she's rich and her family owns horses. They want to take me riding. Can I go?" Violet asked, coming in and sitting on the bed, "Please?"

"Of course, I think that sounds wonderful," Nat said, "Is everything else okay?"

"...I'm glad it's dad who left and not you," Violet said quietly, "I need you."

"Oh, Violet, you don't-"

"You understand me," Violet said, sounding like she was going to cry, before she crawled further up on the bed and pushed herself into her mothers lap. Natasha held her daughter and stroked her hair, rocking back and forth a bit, just taking care of her child. She'd known that her husband had never really understood, or been happy about, his daughters mental issues, but she wasn't sure if Violet had ever picked up on this. Apparently she had, and this only made Natasha hate her husband even more than she already did.

"I wanna ride a horse," Violet said softly.

"Then baby, you're gonna ride a horse," Nat said, kissing her head.

Even if they never had anyone else, the Simple girls at least had eachother, and that was more than most families had.

Melanie was playing with the radio, fiddling around with the dials, as Gus drove. He continually glanced over at her fingers, twirling the dials in circular motions to hopefully eventually find something suitable to listen to, and eventually he swatted her hand away, gripped the dial with his finger and ripped it out of the dashboard. He then sighed and rubbed his forehead as Melanie sunk back into her chair, looking perturbed.

"You know, this is a rental," she finally said softly.

"Son of a bitch, you're right," Gus growled.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm excited to get to this faire. Will there be magic? Dragons? Games and food and entertainment abound! What are you looking forward to?" Melanie asked, quickly bouncing back and grinning at him as Gus ran a hand through his silky black hair.

"Same thing I look forward to every year..." he said, "...facing down The Black Knight. Ever since high school, I've gone to this faire every year and fought The Black Knight. They always beat me, and I'm always laughed off the field, but that all changes today. This year...this is my year."

Melanie stared at him, her brow furrowed, and she very casually shook her head, sighing.

"That is bar none the worst glory days story I've ever heard," she mumbled.

The drive to the fair was about an hour away, and the whole ride was filled with nothing but Melanie asking Gus about his history with The Black Knight. He regaled her with tale after tale of loss after loss, and even one or two near wins, and she listened intently, completely engulfed in his story telling like a small child in a bedtime story. When they finally arrived at the faire, they paid for their parking - or rather Gus paid for their parking - and then drove around in the lot for a good while struggling to find a single parking spot.

As they circled more and more, it was becoming evident that Gus had not anticipated this setback, nor had he prepared with a backup plan. Melanie was no real help either, continually pointing out spots that either were not big enough, or simply not parking spots, like right between a collection of porta potties. Finally they shouted, pointing at a spot, shaking Gus with her free non pointing hand as she said ecstatically, "There's one! Right there! That gentleman is backing his chariot out!"

Gus smiled, nodding, happy to finally be done with this, and as he positioned his rental car to pull in, another car swooped in front of them and stole it. Melanie looked at Gus, who appeared steaming mad; gritting his teeth, his clenched knuckles on the steering wheel turning bright red.

"Um...are you okay?" she finally asked.

"Stay. Here," he said sternly, undoing his seatbelt and climbing out of the car.

Gus approached the other vehicle and knocked on the car door. The window rolled down and someone wearing a black knight helmet turned to look at him, waving casually. Gus threw his arms up into the air in frustration, beginning to pace.

"Of course, of course it's you!" he shouted, "You would do something like this, because you're evil! You're evil and you eat newborn babies for breakfast!"

The Black Knight got out of their car and sheathed their sword before looking at Gus and shaking their head.

"You need to chill, man," they said, before heading towards the faire.

Gus walked back to his car, fuming mad, as he began to pull away and search for another spot to park.

"Was that them?" Mel asked, and Gus sighed.

"Mark my words, today is my day," Gus grumbled.

                                                                                             ***

Once inside, Gus and Melanie parted ways, as Gus had to prepare for the joust. Melanie, now left to her own devices, simply wandered the fairegrounds until she could find Emma and Darren, all the while taking in the sights and sounds around her, beaming the whole time, feeling like she was finally home. There were blacksmiths and mystics, a tavern and petting zoos, and everyone - young and old alike - were decked out in era specific garb.

She finally spotted Darren over by a tent selling giant turkey legs, one of which he was chomping down on at that very moment, and Emma was nowhere in sight. Melanie waved at him, and began her approach. Darren smiled as she walked towards him and perched herself on a short wooden fence next to him as he ate.

"It's a good thing you were able to make it, we need all the help that we can get," Darren said, "I'm never enough help it seems and every year Emma appears to run herself ragged trying to watch after all these kids."

"That sounds thankless," Mel said quietly, scoffing, as Darren chewed and nodded.

"I don't wanna sound like a jerk, but I kind of agree. I don't dislike children by any means, but I certainly don't think I'd ever want any myself," he said.

"I don't like children," Melanie said, "Or anyone, really, of any age or gender."

"Well, here, she left me this card for you with the students you'll be responsible for," Darren said, handing Melanie a small index card with a collection of kids names on it, before turning towards a group of children at a nearby petting zoo and calling out to them so as to gather them around, where, once gathered, he said, "Kids, you'll be with Melanie today, so do as she says and don't misbehave, alright? Behave."

He looked at Melanie and smiled, before walking away as Melanie glanced down the card before glancing at the kids and sighing.

"Well," she said, "...who wants to go to the tavern?"

                                                                                             ***

Standing in the preparation area, pulling his armor on and muttering to himself, Gus couldn't shake the idea that he might, in fact, just lose this year again. He wanted more than anything else to beat The Black Knight; in fact, since his life fell apart a few years ago, it was all he'd really been looking forward to. He shut his locker door and turned, hearing chainmail swing nearby. Standing there was The Black Knight, leaning on their sword, watching him casually.

"This is my year," Gus said quietly, "You'll see."

"You really think so, huh?"

"I know so," Gus replied, "I watched instructional videos on jousting, I even took a class."

"Gus," The Black Knight said, "Jousting isn't a skill you can learn. It's something that's passed down in your blood, like painting...or being sexually gifted in the bedroom."

"Both of which I am an expert in," Gus said, smirking, making The Black Knight laugh.

"Well," The Black Knight said, "I will defeat you this year, just as I have done every single year. You will fall face first into the dirt, and then walk with your head hung in shame to your sad little car which you'll use to drive to your sad little hovel where you'll sadly cry yourself to sleep wondering when your life became so sad as you beg the lord to make you as amazing as I am."

"That's what you may think," Gus said, now turning to face them, stepping up and pointing in their face, his teeth baring, "But this year belongs to me, you'll see!"

The Black Knight looked down at Gus's shoes and then back up at him, very casually pushing hand out of their helmeted face.

"You're standing in manure," they said, before turning and walking out of the tent.

Gus glanced downwards, realizing they weren't lying, and sighed.

"...I hate this fuckin' faire," he whispered.

                                                                                              ***

Sitting at the bar on a stool, letting the kids run in behind her, Melanie sighed and looked at the bartender who was washing a glass across from her. He glanced up at her, at the sound of the ruckus, and approached her, lowering his voice.

"Hey, these kids can't be in here," he said, "They aren't adults."

"Of course they are, they're...Hobbits!" Melanie said, after thinking for a moment.

"That wasn't actually historical," the bartender replied, staring at her in disbelief.

"How dare you," Melanie said, "I'll have you know, good sir, that you're insulting these brave men and women who lived through the dark times of Sauron."

The bartender shook his head and went to tend to other customers as Melanie dug her hand into a bowl of snack mix on the countertop. She heard the stool beside her pull out and glanced over to see The Black Knight seating themselves beside her, and Melanie's eyes lit up.

"You're the black knight!" she said excitedly.

"How observant of you," they replied.

"I could tell cause you're a knight, in black armor," Melanie sound, sounding oddly proud.

"Wow, you're so knowledgeable, I'm impressed," the Black Knight said, trying to get the bartenders attention, "How'd you get this princess gig, did you just win a raffle?"

"Black Knight!" a voice called out loudly, and everyone looked towards the door of the tavern, to see Gus standing there, in full armor. The Black Knight stood up as well, pacing around the tavern, staring Gus down as he pointed with his sword at them and continued, "Every year you beat me, but I'm calling you out! This is the year, this is my time!"

"We'll just see about that," The Black Knight said, approaching him and lowering their voice to a near growl, "Meet me at the ring in 5 minutes."

Melanie walked up to Gus and looked at his armor.

"How hard is it to walk in that?" she asked.

"Extremely, I'm not very strong and it's very heavy," Gus said quietly.

Gus and Melanie exited the tavern, the children right behind them. Suddenly she felt Emma put a hand on her shoulder, and turned to see she looked somewhat upset. Melanie looked at the kids and put her arms up.

"Everyone, listen to me! Follow Noble Gustopher here to the jousting ring, and wait there!" Melanie said, the kids all listening, before she turned her attention back to Emma and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I need your help," she said, "There's this girl, her name is Sally, and she's extremely upset. Her parents are divorced, and her father hasn't been able to see her much lately but he managed to get a job here this year to spend more time with her and then was unable to make it, and, understandably, she's extremely upset about the situation. I would deal with her myself on any other day, but I just don't have the time or energy, so could you maybe talk to her?"

"What's in it for me?" Melanie asked, folding her arms.

"...feeling like a good person?" Emma responded, confused.

"Well that's a ripoff," Melanie muttered, following Emma to where Sally was holed up, behind a nearby tent, her face buried in her arms, crying. Emma nodded at Melanie, then quietly made her exit as Melanie sat down beside Sally and sighed. For a moment, neither one said a word, and then Melanie finally spoke.

"You're not alone," Melanie said, "Kings and Queens are supposed to stay together forever, but sometimes kingdoms fall apart, and sometimes Kings go away. Kings constantly fail their offspring, even if unintentionally, and rarely seem to think about how their shortcomings affect their own children. They tell lies, thinking they're protecting us but those lies only ever really end up hurting us, not protecting us."

"Did your dad lie to you?" Sally asked, looking up.

"...in a way, yes," Melanie replied, just as trumpets started sounding a bit away from them and both girls looked up and around for the source of the noise; then it dawned on Melanie and she grinned, "The joust must be starting! Come on, let's go watch Gus get hurt, that would cheer anyone up!"

So Melanie picked Sally up, put her on her shoulders and together they ran to the jousting ring, where Gus was standing inside by a horse, brushing it down. Melanie leaned against the rail and shouted at him, making him look her way and smile a little. It was one of the rare times he found he was genuinely appreciative her friendship, taxing as it may often be. He approached Melanie and stared at her for a moment, then hugged her, surprising the both of them as an announcers voice rang out over the crowd.

"Hello ladies and gentleman, and welcome to the 35th annual Jousting Tournament! As is tradition, normal faire going people will be able to spar off the ever present, the ever dangerous, the ever terrifying champion, the Black Knight!"

The Black Knight strolled into the ring, pulling their horse behind them, as the crowd booed and hissed at them. They stopped and threw their arms up in the air, in a rather grand gesture of force.

"Who dare has the gall to challenge me? I  shall defeat thee with my own brute strength, and thou shall fall to their doom!" they roared towards the crowd.

Melanie grabbed Gus's shoulders and started pushing him back towards the center of the ring, shouting, pointing at him.

"Oh, him! He will! This guy, right here! He'll do it! Don't worry folks, he does this every year, and he always loses!" Melanie shouted, cheering, the crowd cheering along with her as she made her way back to the rail and hopped it, standing back beside Sally.

Gus climbed onto his horse, the Black Knight doing the same, as they circled one another, speaking loudly for the crowd to hear.

"So," the Black Knight said, "you wish to challenge me again?"

"I've been telling you all day that I was," Gus replied, as the Black Knight rode up to them and whispered.

"It's for the crowd, man, come on. Play it up," they said, and Gus nodded, understanding.

"Yes! Tis I, Gus The Great, here to vanquish thee foul demon back to the hell from whence you came!" Gus said loudly, getting the crowd to cheer in his honor, as the Black Knight scoffed and rode to their starting point, Gus turning their horse to do the same. He was feeling sick in his stomach, could he possibly do this? Would this really be his year? Would this be the moment his luck began to change? They stood at their respective marks, turned on their horses to face one another, and at the sound of the trumpet, rocketed towards one another, their jousts sticking outwards defensively.

As he listened to his horses hooves clop in the dirt, Gus shut his eyes, knowing he was nearing either yet another failure or an incredible unexpected success. Either way, he didn't want to see it when it happened. And then, it was over; in what felt like a span of seconds, the joust was over, and the crowd was quiet. Gus opened his eyes and was still on his horse. He looked back behind him and saw the Black Knight was getting up off the ground, backing away from him, putting their hand to their helmet in shock. Gus looked out towards the crowd, grinning in his moment of glory.

"I won!" he screamed, "I won!"

He then looked at his arm and saw the Black Knight's lance was sticking through his arm.

"What the fuck?!" he screamed.

                                                                                                 ***

Gus, sitting in the back of an ambulance with his arm in a sling, was shaking his head in disbelief.

Sure, he'd finally won, but humiliated himself in a new, even worse way. He sighed and ran his hand over his face, just wanting to go home. Melanie was helping Emma get the kids on the bus, so Gus was sitting alone when he heard the sound of metal clanking nearby and watched as the Black Knight approached him, taking a seat beside him on the ambulance bumper.

"Well, you have a cool scar for chicks now," they said, making Gus smirk.

"Gee, thanks," Gus replied.

"Plus, you did defeat me," the Black Knight said, "Even if your arm took the sacrifice. Nevertheless, I have to admit, I'm impressed. Oh god, I have to get out of this thing."

The Black Knight reached up and pulled their helmet off, releasing a bundle of long, wavy chestnut brown hair and green eyes. She looked back at Gus as she set her helmet in her lap and smiled, running her hands through her hair. Gus had never seen them without their helmet, and certainly hadn't expected them to be a woman.

"That's better, it gets unbelievably hot in there," she said, grinning, "So, to show you how sorry I am, how about I drive you home? Cause I don't think you can drive yourself. We can even stop and get something to eat, cause I'm starving."

"...that...would be really nice, yeah," Gus said quietly, blushing.

Melanie and Gus met up before he took off, and he informed her of his plans, meaning she was going to be heading home in Emma and Darren's car, which she didn't seem to mind much. As everyone got into their separate cars, Melanie in the backseat of Emma's small car, it felt like the day was a great success. Emma fell asleep rather quickly in the passenger seat, leaving Darren and Melanie alone to talk on the long ride home. Melanie was propped up against the door in the back, looking out the window and sighing.

"Did you have a good time?" Darren asked.

"It was okay, yeah," Melanie said, "...it makes me miss my kingdom though. It was all rather bittersweet, honestly. Just made me want to go home."

"You can't go home?" Darren asked.

"There's a good chance there's no kingdom to even go home to," Mel said, her voice softening, quivering, "...without the king, what good is a kingdom. I can't rule it alone. That's why I need to find my Prince Charming, so he can rule it with me. We could make a great team, unlike the King and Queen, who failed to work together to fulfill their duties."

Darren got a sad look on his face, realizing Melanie was opening up in her own weird way.

"For what it's worth," Darren said, "I can't really go home either. But you know what, I'm gonna help you find your Prince Charming. Everyone deserves to be loved by someone, especially if their parents failed to do the one job they had."

Melanie smiled.

"Thank you, Darren," she said, yawning, "You're a noble knight."

"I really am, aren't I?" Darren asked, chuckling.

Melanie was asleep in seconds after the conversation came to a lull, leaving Darren alone to drive home in silence, thinking. Thinking about his own childhood, his own father who'd failed him, his own mother who'd hurt him. He began to believe that perhaps he and Melanie had a lot more in common than he'd ever considered, and that maybe they'd met for a reason. Maybe they could help one another, in some way. He glanced over at Emma and smiled warmly, realizing just how lucky he was to have found someone like her. Someone he could truly confide in and protect, be a real partner with. He knew what Melanie meant, about kings and queens failing to maintain and union, and he felt like he was working extra hard to prove his own folks wrong about how easy it actually was to be with another person.

Darren began to believe that night, on that car ride home, that maybe Melanie wasn't as warped as he'd been led to believe.

That maybe she was more sane than any of them.

Gerry had asked Stone to gather the Collective, their own, and Richardsons group, so he could speak to them all at once about the upcoming plans, but he couldn't deny that he was extremely nervous about this. Standing in his little room, pacing and wondering what exactly he was going to say once Stone was ready for him, he heard someone enter, and, expecting Number Two, turned only to find instead the young girl rabbit who'd escaped her own burrows genocide standing in his doorway.

"Oh," Gerry said, "Hi. I wasn't expecting you."

"...what's going on? Everyone is gathering outside," she said.

"I'm going to speak to the whole Hollow, talk about what's going to happen in a few days, things we've discovered, that sort of stuff. How are you doing? Is your head feeling better?" he asked, and she nodded.

"I think so," she said, "...can I...can I stay with you once we get out of here? I don't have any family anymore, and you seem to know how to care about others. If not it's okay, I just wanted to asked."

"Uh, that's a big request, I don't know," Gerry said, "Mostly because I don't know that I'll survive what's about to go down. How about this, ask me again later. Maybe when I feel more confident I'll still be around to take care of someone, alright?"

"That sounds fair," she said, turning and leaving as Stone and Number Two entered.

"Gerry, they're ready," Stone said, before turning and leaving again.

Gerry approached Number Two and took a long deep breath before looking him in the face.

"You're gonna do fine," Number Two said, "Comparatively to other things you've had to do? Yeah, this'll be a breeze."

"Thanks," Gerry said, chuckling, "...walk with me out there?"

"Always."

The two headed out the room and down the long now empty hall of the Hollow. Halfway down, Gerald stopped and sighed, looking around. Number Two stopped and looked at him, raising an eyebrow at this behavior.

"It's so quiet..." Gerry said, "I can't help but think this is one of the last times I'll ever be here. That I won't come home in a few days. I don't think I ever realized just how much I loved this place, how much like a home it came to feel like, until now. Now, when I may not come back to it. I don't want to leave it. I don't want to die. Especially not in that lab. I fought so hard to not die in that lab, and ironically enough, it might be how I go."

"You're not dying in that lab," Number Two said, "I can promise you that. I have one goal. Get you in and out of there, and god dammit I'm going to see that I accomplish both halves of that, no matter what. You're going to be fine, Gerald, you always are."

"...thanks Paul," Gerry said, "Let's do this."

The rabbits were gathered outside, in the early evening sunset, all murmuring, unsure of what was about to happen, when Gerald and Number Two finally exited the Hollow and headed up to the small speaking area made of rocks Stone and Nickel had pushed together for him. Number Two stayed right by Gerry's side as he climbed atop the rocks and looked out at the crowd. After a moment or two of silence and preparing himself, Gerry looked out at the crowd and spoke.

"Hello," he said, "As you all likely know, my name is Gerald. A few years ago, I made a decision to get my friends out of a lab, a horrible lab, where the people who ran it were performing awful experiments on us in the name of 'science'. It took a good few tries, we had a few tough setbacks, but ultimately we all managed to escape, thanks to the help of rabbits like Number Two and Kevin. But...when I think about thanking the rabbits who're here, I also think about thanking the rabbits who aren't. The rabbits who gave their lives for us to get out of here. Rabbits a lot of you likely never got to meet. Like Doug. Doug was my first friend in the lab, and he was such a funny guy. Always willing to make me smile to cheer me up. Doug gave his life for us to escape the first time, and his efforts, his sacrifice, allowed Kevin and Number Two and a lot of other rabbits to finally feel freedom. Feel grass, not steel, beneath their paw pads," Gerry said, before pausing and taking a long deep breath.

He looked around at the rabbits, looked at Number Two, who nodded at him to continue, which he did. He turned back to the crowd and kept speaking.

"Then there was Steve. Steve never managed to help us, because THEY killed him long before we ever tried escaping, but...honestly, Steve's death was the catalyst to everything, I realize now. Had we not witnessed his end, an end so violent and unnecessary, then we likely would never have actually attempted escaping in the first place. Steve deserved better. Moreso than any other rabbit I've ever known, Steve deserved better. Then there was Fern. She wasn't a rabbit, she was the lab dog, but she...she was our friend, and THEY were using her just like THEY were using us. In the end, Fern saved our lives, and gave her own so we could continue. I tell you this because...because in a few days, a lot of us may not come back. In a few days, a lot of us are going to the lab, and we're going to set it on fire, and finish this war THEY started once and for all."

Gerry took a long deep breath and exhaled, then looked back out at the crowd. Small children, Sister Rabbits, faces he barely recognized yet felt so obligated to protect. He continued.

"THEY have been carrying out genocides on burrows nearby. Sticking black snakes that emit a gas into them that kill any and all rabbits. Some have been lucky to escape it, myself included, and our friend Richardsons group, but others not so much. THEY think we're a threat, and THEY'RE right. We are a threat. Now the time has come to show THEM just how much of a threat we actually are. You are family, whether you lose some of us or not. You will always be family. There's nothing better in the world than having those around you that you care for, that care about you, and this is why we're doing this. Because if we don't, nobody else will, and someone has to protect you all. A few years ago, I made it my mission to get out of that lab to protect my friends. In a few days, I'll be going back to that lab to protect my friends. To protect all of you. You are all part of this Collective, and I...I wanted to thank you for giving me a purpose lo these many years. I wouldn't have made it without any of you. Thank you."

Gerry stepped down as Stone took his spot and began her own speech. As Gerry passed by the young rabbit, he stopped and looked at her.

"You can stay with me," he said, and she smiled before he continued back towards the Hollow, Number Two right by his side.

Off a bit, aways from the Hollow, Kevin found himself alone with Number Fours grave. He wasn't speaking. He was merely sitting beside her, thinking. Thinking about what Gerry had said, thinking about how much faith Gerry had put into him all those years ago, thinking about how he'd managed to even make it this far. He'd survived because he had someone to survive for, but now she was gone, and all that mattered to him was taking THEM with him when he went. Kevin sighed and knew he'd made a potential promise to Richardson, but he wasn't even sure he'd survive long enough to keep it. He laid his head on Number Four's grave and shut his eyes.

All he wanted was for THEM to feel the pain THEY had made her feel.

And he was going to make sure that happened.

                                                                                          ***

Number Two arrived back home late that night, where he found Dice already asleep and Minerva waiting up for him, chewing on a large bone she'd found in the woods. He stopped and looked at her, and she stopped chewing, looking at him. She cocked her head and he sighed, heading back outside. She quickly stood up and followed.

"How did it go?" she asked.

"It went fine," Number Two said, "...I need to ask you for a favor."

"Anything."

"...I need you to watch over Gerald if anything happens to me," Number Two said, "None of us know what's going to happen when we bring the fire in a few days, but...but I need to know that if he survives and I do not, that he'll be protected. Please. Can you do that for me?"

"Paul," Minerva said, "You risked your life to save me, you swore vengeance on the mouse that took my kits, and you know that I'd do anything for you. You're my friend," Minerva said, "I know that we...we only became friends because of extremely negative dire circumstances, and that we started as enemies ultimately, but that doesn't change the fact that you're here, and I'm here, and we're friends now. Who cares what we started as. So of course I'll do that for you."

"...I think it'll be fine, but I just needed a contingency plan, you understand," Number Two said.

"Of course I do."

Number Two sat there for a moment, until Minerva nuzzled his good ear and then went back into the tree. Number Two looked up at the sky and thought about what life might be like after THEY were gone. In just a few days time, it'd all be over, and they may finally be free of THEIR tyranny. The idea excited him, but, truth be told, also terrified him with his overwhelming possible outcomes, a lot of them negative. He didn't want to have come so far only to have this fail. He sighed and laid down under the stairs, shutting his eyes, and thinking of Gerald, and what they'd do when this was finally all over.

                                                                                            ***

Stone found Gerry the following morning, early, helping Six and Mipsy and Paw Paw gather good sticks to use for the fire. The girls were bringing him sticks and he would inspect each and every one, deciding whether or not it was worth it. A bit wet? Wouldn't work. Too short? Potentially hazardous to the user. The sticks had to be just the right thickness, the right length, the right amount of dry to be worthwhile. Gerry was standing on a small hill just outside the Hollow, watching the girls gather sticks, this is where Stone found him. She walked up to him and sat beside him, yawning.

"It's early," she said quietly, "You must be having trouble sleeping."

"I've been having these dreams," Gerry said, "Ever since I can remember, ever since I was in the lab, I've been having these dreams. I'm in a field, I've got blood on me, and there's a large bird overhead. It feels...safe, yet also final. I don't know what it means, and maybe it means nothing, but it's begun to unnerve me so much that I'd prefer not to sleep."

"Well, considering what's about to go down, considering what you'll need your strength and energy for, you could probably use the sleep, so I'd suggest getting some. I could do this for you," Stone said, "...your speech was good, by the way. I don't think I told you that yesterday. Every single one of your friends who hasn't made it didn't die for no reason. Their death had a purpose, and that's nice. I mean, it's not nice they're gone, but it's nice it wasn't pointless."

"I'm worried about Kevin," Gerry said, "I don't know what he's going to do when we get there, he's become somewhat unhinged, and I'm scared he might screw everything up. I knew he's got rage inside of him for what they did to him, for what they did to Number Four...but...at the same time, I'm concerned that rage is going to overtake his logic and force my hand in doing something I don't want to do, but will do, if it means protecting everyone else."

Stone nodded, knowing what Gerry meant. She sighed and twitched her nose, her whiskers wiggling.

"When I first started the Hollow," she began, "we had a rabbit here name Jeremy. Jeremy was smart, he was strong, he was kind. Jeremy was like my right hand man. He made a lot of the decisions, hard decisions, with me at the beginning...decisions I was somewhat afraid of making on my own. I relied on him. And then, one day, Jeremy just...snapped. Something inside of him broke, and he became vicious and cruel, stating his entire personality was a hoax, stating that he was angry because of what he'd been through."

"What had happened to him?"

"He'd been part of  his own group, met a rabbit, had some children. Then winter arrived and nobody could find any food. In an act of desperation, the group turned on one another, began eating children to survive the harsh winter. His children were no exception. He left one night, didn't even say goodbye to his lady, he just...vanished. He was, justifiably so, outraged. But he tried to move on, he tried to form a new life with his own group, with me, but once that rage returned...once it boiled to the surface...there was no stopping it. So I took him for a walk and we talked about his anger, he told me what had happened to him, and I gave him as much pity as I could muster. I'm not heartless, I really did feel genuinely bad for him, but...but he was a liability now to my group. So I pushed him off a hill, watched him roll down, break his neck on a rock."

"...jesus," Gerry mumbled.

"...it wasn't something I liked doing, and I've lived with that guilt ever since, but...I wasn't about to let him jeopardize my life, my friends lives, because of his unresolved anger. Anger he'd rather express than work on. I did what had to be done," Stone said, before glancing from the girls to Gerry and adding, "...when the time comes, I know you will too. Because we're not different, you and I. We both do what needs to be done to protect those that we love, even if it means losing one we thought we once cared about."

Gerry and Stone locked eyes briefly, before she turned and headed back inside, leaving Gerry alone to think about this. He looked back out at the girls and sighed. Stone was right, and he knew it, and he knew that Number Two would have his back if anything went down, and he found himself at the end of Kevins brutality.

When had it all come to this...when had things broken down so much that friends he'd once trusted, friends he'd once built up into leaders themselves, were now willing to turn on him just so they could relieve their sorrows? Everything was splitting apart, and Gerry knew this splintering wouldn't end. It would only worsen, until one of them were eventually gone.

He just hoped that, however it went down, it wasn't too painful for either of them.

                                                                                            ***
Back in the lab, back in the very beginning, none of these rabbits really knew one another.

Oh sure, they were friendly, but they weren't friends. They took to one another because they were scared, they needed companionship, and they were all in the same situation, even the Special Seven. And over time, Gerry and Kevin, Number Two and Six, Number Four and Doug, Melvin, Crisp, Mipsy and Richardson even, they'd all slowly come to trust one another. Trust that the other would put their life on the line for the others, if necessary.

And now, after all that time, after all they'd been through, it felt like it had become "every rabbit for himself", despite Gerry's upstanding belief in doing this all for the sake of other rabbits. That lab, with its shiny metal counters and their well kept cages, with its high end security systems and it's guard dogs, that lab that they'd once called home because they didn't know what home truly was, became a house of horrors, not comforts. And in a day or twos time, it'd be a pile of ash, and who knew who would be left standing. They had survived because they'd had one another, they got out because they worked together. This was not going to be any different.

They'd all come together to survive once...Gerry just hoped they could manage to do the same one more time.

Because they were going to need all the help they could get.

                                                                                              ***

The lab was quiet, but Jasmine could hear Salts breathing as she approached the cage. She turned and looked in her direction, smiling, smelling her. Salt put her hand through the cage and sighed as Jasmine touched her paw.

"They're coming," Salt said, "They're coming any day now, and I'll make sure you don't get left behind."

"It's not going to go well," Jasmine said, "I may be blind, but even I can see this is a terrible idea."

"They won't budge," Salt replied, "And we're all gonna get out of here, once and for all, and this place will finally be gone. I won't be around to guide you though, you'll have to rely on them, okay?"

"Where will you be?"

"I have to take Kevin to find something," Salt said softly, "He asked me personally, and it's the last thing he needs to do for closure."

The two sat silently together, listening to the deafening stillness that surrounded them. Neither said a word, but each knew what the other was feeling. This may be the last time they get a moments peace, and they each wanted to savor it. Salt had promised herself she wouldn't see Jasmine left behind, and she'd make sure that promise was kept, but she had made another promise, to Kevin, and she was going to make sure that was kept too.

"What does Kevin need?" Jasmine finally asked, neither one looking at the other.

"...he's going to get Steve's feet," Salt said, "Whether it kills him or not."

"Miss Simple?" the voice called again. She knew she had to answer, but she couldn't. She just sat there, frozen, staring at the camera lens and her principal cinematographer, Jay, behind it. She couldn't find the words to say what she wanted to, and she could feel her poorly home manicured fingernails digging into her knees in her jeans. Finally she took a long deep breath, forced a smile on her face and spoke.

"I'm supposed to try and help you with your self esteem," she said, "This is a self help show, after all, but...who are we kidding? I can't even help myself, much less any of you. You're all frankly better off without me, really, and I'm willing to bet whatever advice I would've given you would've only made things worse."

She leaned forward, cupping her hands together in her lap and continued.

"Because what I've learned is, nobody can really help anyone. You have to try and help yourself. I mean, if you can't rely on the man you gave your whole youth to not to leave you for your own sister, abandoning his daughter in the process, then who can you trust, right? Let's not kid ourselves, we can't help one another. The best we can hope for is that each of us does so poorly that we feel better about ourselves when comparing ourselves when eachother."

Another pause, as Nat ran a hand through her dark, rich chestnut hair and sighed, shaking her head.

"It's plain as day, we're all screwed, and we all look to helping others so we don't have to focus on how bad our own lives are," Nat said, "Because, really, that would take guts, and most people these days don't have guts. They don't have bravery. The most they have is this, me, someone telling them how they should feel instead of finding out for themselves. Sorry. That's the show."

And with that Jay cut the camera. Everyone stared at her as she stood up and looked at her crew, all awestruck by this act of total defiance. Natasha put her arms up and wiggled her fingers.

"Bring me a camera," she said, and Jay quickly brought her one of the smaller handheld cameras he rarely used. She took it, smiling the whole time, thanked him and then started screaming at the top of her lungs, bashing the camera repeatedly into the ground, holding onto its tripod to do so.

Natasha Simple was not a well woman.

                                                                                         ***

"Do you want donuts?" Natasha asked, sitting behind the drivers seat of her car, "Bear claw? Anything?"

"No thanks," her daughter, Violet, responded.

Violet was a teenager, almost 15, but looked like she was barely 13. She didn't age normally, and she had the mindset of a much younger child, likely around the age of 10 or 11 from what the doctor had told them. She was bundled up in a coat, a scarf pulled entirely around the bottom half of her face, as Natasha was driving her to school. Natasha sighed and shook her head.

"I'm sorry," she said softly, "I'm sorry, I...I shouldn't be making you go to school right now, with everything that's going on. But if I don't, then the school can have child services look into me, and they can maybe take you away, so I have to send you. You understand don't you?"

"Yeah," Violet said, drawing a pony in the frost of the passenger window.

"You don't wanna be home right now anyway," Nat continued, "Not with everything going on. Not with how I'm feeling. Though I gather school isn't all that much better for you. School is awful in general, so."

"School is okay," Violet said, speaking somewhat slowly, but clearly, "Kids aren't nice, but I like my classes."

"Well, that's nice at least. About the classes, I mean, not the...not the mean kids thing, you know," Natasha said, pulling up to the school and stopping at the curb, as Violet undid her seatbelt and looked at her mom. Natasha pulled Violet's ear flap hat off and lovingly touched her face, smiling at her; she added, "Just remember, you're not different than them, you're better. If you know that, then anything they say can really hurt you."

"Okay," Violet said, "Will you pick me up?"

"Yes, I'll be picking you up today," Nat said, "You won't have to take the bus. I know you hate taking the bus."

"Okay," Violet said, "I love you."

Violet leaned in and hugged her mom, her mom hugging her back tightly, loving every second of the act. After the hug broke, Violet got her rolling backpack and Nat plopped her hat back on her head so she could get out of the car and head into the school. As she passed by a woman coming out, Natasha rolled down the passengers side window and waved at the woman.

"Hi Miss Stevens," Nat said, "How are you?"

"Freezing, let me in," Miss Stevens said, opening the door and getting into the car, "I'm glad I managed to catch you. We need to talk about Violet."

"I know, she's a little behind on homework, but-"

"No no, you know she can turn it in at her own pace, that's not the problem," Miss Stevens said, "No, the problem is, and it's not even really a problem I would say, but it could be if we don't discuss it, is the interactions she's had with some of her classmates lately. She's begun refusing to eat lunch anywhere other than my classroom, because she's afraid of them harassing her."

"Have they been harassing her, Miss Ste...do you have a first name? This is too weird, I feel like a student calling you that. What's your first name?" Nat asked, and Miss Stevens laughed.

"My first name is Amanda," she said.

"Amanda, alright, um, she doesn't tell me too many details," Natasha said, "She...I don't know, I guess maybe she's embarrassed or something, even though I'm always telling her not to be. Whatever. Have students been harassing her?"

"They call her Little Miss Simple," Amanda said, "I've heard it firsthand, it's cruel."

"That is particularly cruel, yes, jesus," Natasha said, pulling her beanie off and scratching her head, "Um...what...what can we do?"

"Nothing yet, really. I just wanted it brought to your attention on the off chance that she hadn't, and from what you told me she hadn't, so. I reprimand any student I hear saying it, but it's an idle threat at best. They aren't physically hurting her, so there's only so much I can do, you know?" Amanda asked, and Natasha nodded.

"Yeah...yeah," Nat said, checking her phone, "I have a meeting to get to, can we maybe continue this discussion later? Thank you for bringing it up though."

"I'll e-mail you," Amanda said, getting out of the car, waving goodbye and then heading towards the school as Natasha started the car back up and, pulling away from the school, continued towards her place of business. Unbeknownst to her, the day was about to get a lot more interesting.

                                                                                            ***

Natasha was seated in front of her boss's desk, him behind it, shaking his head and staring around the room incredulously. He raised his hands in the air, then lowered them again, then raised them again and covered his face with them, moaning into them loudly.

"I know," Nat said, "I'm well aware, actually. I understand completely."

"You..." Lawrence said, "You...do you realize what you've done?"

"I've got a fairly good idea, yes," Natasha said, "And I'll apologize on air and-"

"What? Apologize? Are you kidding? You're talk of the town! You...you put us on the map!" Lawrence said, leaning forward, laughing, "People from other local access stations have been calling me all damn day wanting to talk to you! We've had people sending in e-mails and calling in all morning, all talking about how brave you were to talk that openly, how inspiring they found it. Sure, sure, we've had a naysayer here or there, but overall the reception has been nothing short of tremendous, much to everyones surprise."

"Myself included, apparently," Natasha mumbled, making Lawrence laugh harder.

"There's talk from a local stations talk show about having you on, one of those shows where all the women sit around in non confrontational lighting and furnishings and talk about feelings," Lawrence said.

"Which show?"

"Who cares, they're all the same," Lawrence continued, "What I'm saying is you've...you've laid a golden egg, here."

"I've never been compared to a goose before, but honestly it's kind of welcome," Natasha said.

"Well, goose girl, prepare to honk yourself to death because you're about to ruffle some feathers!" Lawrence said, standing up and pacing now.

"Wait, I'm a goose but I'm gonna ruffle feathers? Who's feathers? Other geese?"

"I...I don't know, Nat, what do you, look, what I'm saying is that you're about to create a nest egg here for the rest of us because of your little stunt."

"A nest egg? I don't think geese nest. I guess I don't know much about geese, actually."

"Forget the goose thing!"

"Okay, well, stop dropping bird metaphors and I will!" Natasha said, half laughing herself now.

She and Lawrence had always had a rather good working relationship. He'd hired her on after she mailed in a test pilot of her show, and he had liked her attitude and on screen demeanor so much he hired her without even meeting her in person. He hired her just over the phone, the day he watched the tape. This was rather unheard of at the station, but he'd always said she had "moxy", whatever that was, because Natasha had no idea. It was a word she'd always heard applied to people but never bothered to look up the definition of.

Lawrence was tall, lanky, slightly balding and older with golden wheat blonde hair and oval glasses covering his dark blue eyes. He was never mean to her, he was never cross with her, and he had never shown any romantic interest in her. The two merely appreciated one another as business colleagues, but after she made her rant on her show, she was immediately terrified of having let him down more than anyone else. He'd become a sort of pseudo father figure in her life, and she hated the thought of disappointing him, despite being an adult herself.

"So," Natasha said, crossing her legs and turning in her chair to face him, "I guess I'm not in trouble?"

"You're not only not in trouble, I'm putting you next to Sharla's show, every Thursday night," Lawrence said, and this made Nat ecstatic, making her squeal a bit.

Sharla Karbrook, the self imposed 'health guru' on the station, had always had a bone with Natalie for some reason unbeknownst to Natalie, and always seemed like she wanted Natalie not to be there. The fact that she had a rather strained relationship with Lawrence, who had once told Natalie he couldn't stand Sharla's 'self inflated smugness', while seeing Natalie have a good relationship with him certainly didn't help matters.

"Natalie," Lawrence said, leaning down and putting his hands on her shoulders, "I'm proud of you."

Natalie held it inside until she got back out to her car, but she cried because of hearing that. Then she cried because she'd caught a break, after everything her lousy husband and her sister had recently put her through, she'd finally caught a break. Things were finally starting to look up.

                                                                                              ***

"Watcha lookin' at, Little Miss Simple?" a boy asked, approaching Violet as she sat in the hallway against a row of lockers, reading a book. She tried to ignore him, keep reading, but he sat down beside her and peered at the book, laughing to the girl he was with, stating, "It's a book about horses, some Pony Club bullshit or something. God, you're even simpler than I thought."

Violet tried to ignore him, continue reading, but he stood up and poked her foot with his own, still trying to get her attention and draw a reaction out of her.

"Little Miss Simple, what's with the horse obsession? I mean, I know it's like a classic thing for girls to like horses, wouldn't wanna mess with a classic, but seriously. Is it cause they have brains the size of yours that you feel you can relate to them better?"

"Austin," a blonde girl said, walking up, backpack slung over her shoulder, "What's going on?"

"Just fucking with our friend here," Austin said, the other girl laughing as the blonde looked down at Violet and shook her head.

"I wish you were a horse," Violet finally said, catching Austin's attention.

"Oh, yeah?" he asked.

"Yeah, because when they break a leg, they get shot, and then they're turned into dog food or glue, and I'd like to see you get turned into dog food or glue, because you'd be more useful that way to people than you are now," Violet said, making the blonde raise her brow in surprise and stifle a laugh, turning away to hide her amusement.

"Fuck you," Austin said, pushing Violet against the lockers and then walking away with the other girl, as the blonde approached Violet and helped her up.

"That was good," the blonde said, "Are you okay?"

"He's so mean, and he's only mean to me," Violet said.

"He's mean to everyone," the blonde said, "It's because nobody really likes him. It's a male ego thing. He acts out because he's afraid of people seeing how he really is or something like that."

"...thank you," Violet said, rubbing the back of her head, as the blonde handed her book back to her.

"Have you ever ridden a horse?" the blonde asked.

"No."

"My family has horses, you should come see them sometime, we can go riding together, it's a lot of fun," the blonde said, smiling at her, "I'm Courtney."

"I'm Violet, it's nice to meet you," Violet said, smiling a little now at this random act of kindness.

Courtney Barber, one of the more popular girls at the school, had rarely if ever spoken to Violet, but now all of a sudden here she was, being friendly, and Violet appreciated it. She had virtually no friends her own age, and really her only actual friend would be her own mother, whom she loved dearly. Courtney sat down beside her and kept talking about horses with her. Courtney was your stereotypical popular pretty girl. Silky blonde hair and bright green eyes, perfect complexion, well dressed. It helped that she clearly came from money, but either way, she seemed to be naturally predetermined to be perfect, and Violet secretly wished inside that she was Courtney Barber.

Some days, she wished she could be anyone other than who she actually was, despite her mother telling her to be proud of herself.

                                                                                            ***

That night, sitting on the couch together eating chinese take out, Natasha and Violet were quiet, neither one really needing to talk and instead opting to simply enjoy one anothers company. They were technically physically watching some crummy sitcom, but the television was muted, so they weren't really paying much attention. They were just enjoying being there, in the moment, in their warm cozy living room, eating their dinner, amongst one another.

"I'm getting a new time slot," Natasha finally said.

"I made a friend today," Violet responded, making Natasha smile.

"Sounds like it was a pretty good day overall for the Simple gals," Nat said, playing footsie with her daughter, making her laugh as she tried to eat.

After dinner, Violet took a bath and then went to read until she fell asleep, leaving Natasha to sit at the kitchen table and stare at a photo of her now partially defunct family. The three of them, herself, her husband and Violet out getting pumpkins for Halloween one year, all looking happy as can be. Lies. All photographs were lies of one kind or another. Natasha sighed and looked around the house, realizing it was now her duty to make this their home, not his home, and she knew the first act she'd need to do before that could be done. She got up, gathered every single photo she had of him, and took them outside. She then dragged her yard waste trashcan in from the curb and into the backyard, where she dumped the photos into it and then set the internal contents of the can on fire.

Standing there, hands in her pockets, watching the flames lick the sky, she couldn't help but feel strangely proud of herself. Sure, she was on the verge of having a nervous breakdown, but at least she was trying to move forward with her life, instead of curling up into a ball of sadness and anxiety like she normally would've done. That was a big improvement for her. She sighed and looked up at the night sky, knowing that somewhere out there, her husband was under the same night sky, likely fucking her sister in a new bed. She shook her head and laughed at her stupidity, how she could have allowed herself to be strung along for so long, all the while knowing he was up to something.

She really had started, at some point, to buy into all that crap she'd once said on her TV show.

All that crap about love, and togetherness, and helping one another and being part of a team. Now she realized just how ridiculous it all really was. How she didn't really believe any of it, and often debated if she ever actually had or if she'd instead simply forced herself to because that sort of life was what was expected of a woman her age. Either way, it didn't matter now. Sure, soon enough the hate mail would come, the backlash would hit, but until then, Natasha Simple didn't care. All that mattered now was the sweet stench of burning memories filling the cool night air around her. And...what was that other smell? The lawn!

She realized the can had tipped over and caught fire to the lawn in a minimal capacity, but she quickly started stomping on it hard and fast as she could.

Even when you try and do right, the world makes it go wrong, she figured.

Melanie hadn't expected to be spending her free time with Darren's girlfriend, especially while she worked, but once he'd learned about her job search and offered to set her up as Emma's teaching assistant, there was no way she could say no. She was trying to win him over, after all, so being flexible and easy to work with seemed to be the best way to make a good first impression, she figured. But now, sitting here at the picnic table, watching Emma's students play outside, Melanie was reminded just how little she actually enjoyed children.

"Don't you just love the sound of childrens laughter?" Emma asked, her hands in her lap, her face bright with the happiness her job brought to her.

"Not particularly, no, I find it quite irritating, actually," Melanie replied.

"Well I love it," Emma remarked.

"Almost like a car alarm, or a...a...hot pepper," Melanie continued, paying Emma no attention.

"Children are just so full of life, it just...it makes you feel good to be around them. I want children one day," Emma added, waving at a couple of her students as they raced by chasing a ball.

"Or like some kind of hybrid car alarm that somehow mated with a hot pepper, and now when the alarm sounds, you not only get burned but you also go deaf," Melanie finished, now totally lost in her train of thought.

"Watch the kids, I have to use the restroom," Emma said, standing up and walking away, leaving Melanie alone. Sitting there, watching the kids play, Melanie wasn't at all reminded of her own childhood, mostly because she barely could recall most of it as it was. As she stared blankly off into space, a few kids wandered up to her, catching her attention.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Are you gonna be our new teacher?" one boy asked, and Melanie laughed.

"Lord no, I'm just your teachers assistant, even though I easily could be your new teacher, as I know just as much about history as she does. I grew up in a castle after all, I know all there is to know about lords and kings and medieval times."

"Tell us about George Washington," another boy asked, and Melanie stumbled on her words, quickly realizing she didn't know as much as she thought she did. If she truly was going to become Darren's new love, and replace Emma altogether, she figured she would have to learn all she could, and quickly.

                                                                                             ***

Gus opened his apartment door after a solid few minutes of nonstop knocking, only to find Melanie standing there.

"Here we go," Gus said under his breath, as she pushed her way inside.

"I need your help! I need you to teach me all there is to know about history, and pronto!" she exclaimed.

"I don't know jack shit about history," Gus replied, turning around, hands on his hips as he watched her pace across his apartment floor.

"Well we need to learn, because I told the kids Emma teaches that I'm far superior in my knowledge of history than she is, and they asked me about George Washington and I told them that he lived in England and poisoned 3 women and was therefore executed for his horrendous crimes!"

Gus stared at Melanie blankly, before rubbing his face, groaning.

"That's George Chapman, and he was a serial killer," he mumbled.

"Politician, serial killer, what's the difference," Melanie said, throwing her arms up in the air.

"Well, fair argument, sure."

"The point is, they told me that I was wrong, which means that we must now go to..." Melanie trailed off as she approached Gus, grasping him by the shoulders, her voice lowering to a whisper, "...the keeper of the knowledge."

"You mean the library?" Gus asked, Melanie nodding in response. So, Gus and Melanie got their coats and headed downstairs to Gus's new rental car, which he started up and drove them off to the library in. Once there, Gus helped Melanie gather a number of history textbooks, despite them being somewhat older and not as up to date as the ones used in schools currently, and, thanks to Melanie's insistence, a copy of "The Precious Little Puppy" because, as she so aptly put it, "there's an adorable dog in it." Gus could not argue with this. But once back at his apartment, the two quickly found themselves spiraling into despair, as Melanie's attention span seemed to wax and wane, being unable to focus for more than any particular period of time to learn something, thusly frustrating Gus. Melanie now was lying on the couch, a history book over her face, muffling her voice, as Gus paced, reading from a different history book.

"This isn't working," Melanie whined, "I'm a visual learner, you need to make this interesting! Oh! I know!" Melanie jumped upright, almost joyous, "How about a puppet show!? We used to have them in the castle for my birthday all the time! They're magical, it's a show put on just for you, and it makes you feel special!"

Melanie quickly leapt to her feet and began grabbing a handful of socks off the floor, shoving them into Gus's arms. He looked at this sock lump and furrowed his brow, digging through it until he found two in particular he liked. He pulled them up over his arms, then ducked down below the coffee table and propped his elbows on the top, as Melanie seated herself, giddily, back on the couch to watch.

"Presenting the Giggles and Noodles Happy Puppet History Hour!" Gus exclaimed, in an over the top high voice, before turning one puppet towards the other, "Hey Giggles, I need to learn stuff really quickly because I have a history test tomorrow!", Gus then opened the other socks mouth, stating, "Well it just so happens, Noodles, that I know a lot about history! For instance, did you know that-"

"Gus, I...I didn't think it was possible to suck at puppet shows, but, damn it all, you proved me wrong," Melanie said, resting her chin on her hand, looking extremely bored.

Gus turned one of the socks towards her, and spoke in character, "Well, you could learn a thing or two from Gus, young lady, he knows what he's talking about!"

"Oh come off it, Gus doesn't know anything, he admitted that himself," Melanie said, sitting up, looking annoyed.

"Actually Gus knows a lot! You just never want to listen to him!" Gus continued, via sock puppet.

"That's because he is an idiot," Melanie retorted.

"Maybe you're the idiot," Gus replied, still via sock puppet, thus making Melanie stand up, looking angry.

"Who do you think you're talking to, sock?! I am a princess, thank you very much!"

"Yeah, princess of the idiots, maybe," Gus continued, via sock puppet.

"I don't have to sit here and take this sort of abuse from a polycotton blend, screw you Noodles, go to hell!" Melanie shouted, standing up fully and storming out of the apartment, slamming the door behind her. Gus finally came up from the floor, looking somewhat upset, before looking at his two sock puppets.

"You guys wanna order a pizza?" he asked them, making them nod their heads in response.

                                                                                                  ***

Emma was standing in the kitchen, doing dishes, while Darren chopped some things up for dinner. The water sloshing over her hands as she washed the plates squeaky clean, the sound of water in a pot on the stove bubbling, this was all Darren had ever wanted with her, and now he had it, and was happy as hell about it. But Emma had other things on her mind. She finally turned the water off and turned towards Darren, leaning against the sink.

"Why did you hire that girl to help me?" she asked.

"Because she seems unstable, and she needed a job," Darren said, "I just thought it was nice to do."

"Sure, sure, I get that, I just...I don't need a teaching assistant, first of all, not only because I'm the best at what I do but also because it's elementary school and not a high end course in college where her help might actually be appreciated and necessary. Now she's claiming she knows more than I do, stating she could run my class," Emma said, starting to grip the sink in anger, "Why do the kids seem to like her more? Is she prettier than me?"

"Of course not, come on," Darren said, slicing into a tomato.

"You're my boyfriend, you have to say that."

"No I don't," Darren replied, laughing.

"Well she's not smarter than me, that's for sure, at least not about history. Is she just more overall likeable? Approachable? Is that it? Is that the problem? Am I...scary, or something?" Emma asked, now sounding genuinely upset.

"Scary's a strong word," Darren said, setting his knife down, wiping his hands on his jeans and turning to face her, crossing his arms, "I think maybe she just feels more like a mom to kids than you do. She has a weird sort of comforting warmth to her. She kind of feels like a mom, you know?"

"And I don't? What do I feel like?" Emma asked.

"Uh..."

"Darren?"

"There's no way this ends well for me, is there?"

"What do I feel like?"

"You're more like the distant aunt who went through a rough divorce," Darren said, "But don't get me wrong, I find that much more attractive!"

"You're right, there was no way this ends well for you," Emma responded, starting to go back to washing dishes.

"You wanted me to tell you!" Darren exclaimed.

"So you lie! That's what a relationship is all about!"

"I'm sorry, I'll try to be a worse boyfriend from now on!" Darren said.

"Good, see that you do!" Emma replied, as they both went back to their tasks, both smirking to themselves, knowing moments like these really were why they worked so well together.

                                                                                              ***
Melanie was lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling, when Gus entered her bedroom. She rolled onto her side, away from him, towards the wall, as he approached the bed and took a seat. He sighed and rubbed his forehead, scratching his hair.

"Look, I...I'm sorry," Gus said, "I don't...I've never really had a friend, exactly, so I'm not the best at helping people, because it's not something that's ever really been expected of me. But...but I shouldn't have been so mean. That wasn't cool of me. I know this is important to you, but I also think you need to think about how it feels to Emma."

Melanie sat back up now, looking at him sternly, noticing one sock still on his arm.

"You're still wearing that stupid thing?" she asked.

"Don't talk about Noodles that way," Gus said softly, pretending to cover the socks ears with his other hand, making Melanie chuckle, as he continued, "You threatened to take away the one thing she really cares about, her job and her work with kids, her connection with her students...I mean, just...just think about how you'd feel if you lost the most important thing in your life, you know?"

Melanie opened her mouth to make a counter argument, before noticing a man in a suit standing in the doorway behind Gus. Gus turned to look at whatever she saw, but there was nobody there. He turned back to Melanie, his brow furrowed, looking somewhat concerned.

"Mel?" he asked, "Your highness?"

"You're right," she said quietly, "You're...you're right."

Just then her phone rang, and she looked at the caller ID.

"It's Emma," she said.

"I think you should answer," Gus replied, smiling, patting her leg.

                                                                                              ***
Melanie was understandably wary of agreeing to meet Emma in the small diner she'd asked to meet at that evening, but she decided to go ahead and do it anyway. She figured the least she could do was maybe apologize for her behavior, and hope that Emma and Darren wouldn't "fire" her, not that she'd ever actually been properly "hired" in the first place, and was more just a guest in the classroom than anything. But when Mel got to the diner, she spotted Emma already there, seated in a booth, sipping a cup of coffee. Melanie walked over there and sat down across from her, not making eye contact.

"Melanie," Emma started, "I wanted to meet with you because-"

"I'm sorry," Melanie started, trying not to cry, "I...I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I tried to take the most important thing in your life to you away, I had absolutely no right to do that. You're a good teacher, and a good person, and I'm just some weirdo your boyfriend feels sorry for."

"...Melanie, it's okay, I wanted to-"

"Nobody should lose the most important thing in their life," Melanie continued, interrupting her, "I know what that's like."

Emma smiled, and put her hand on the table, letting Melanie hold it, comforting her.

"Do you want some pie?" Emma asked, "Let me order some pie."

                                                                                           ***

"Am I smart?" Emma asked, lying in bed that night while Darren read a book.

"For the millionth time today, yes, it's what initially attracted me to you," Darren said.

"But I'm more than just smart, right?" Emma asked, "I worry sometimes that that's my sole defining characteristic. I feel so one dimensional, like this is all that I am, a pathetic little school teacher who lives a boring mundane life and-"

"When I was a kid," Darren said, putting his book down and interrupting her.

"Hey, I was complaining."

"I know," Darren continued, "Shut up for a minute and listen to me. When I was a kid, my father, who was not a great guy for the record, took me to some ball games now and then. At one of these games, he pointed at a man collecting bats, and he told me 'Darren, that mans entire purpose in life is to pick up other peoples shit', and while I'm almost certain he meant it derogatorily, in a 'don't waste your life like that guy' sort of way, I took it more as an example of not letting what I do for a living define who I am as a person. Just because you teach for a living, don't let your career for a second make you think that you're boring, because you're not."

"I'm not?" Emma asked, smiling.

"When we met, you were a roadie for a rock band. You were a wholly different person in every single way, except for one...you knew who you were, and who you wanted to be. You didn't let the simple fact that you hauled equipment around define you, and you always were telling me that just because you carry stuff for other musicians doesn't mean you aren't musically inclined yourself. That one day you too would be interested in making music. You're cool, Emma, you're cool and smart, and honestly just because you live a more domesticated lifestyle these days doesn't erase those facets of your personality. If anything, it only empowers them more."

Emma smirked and kissed him, snuggling up to him.

"You said you were gonna be a worse boyfriend, you know," she said, "You're always going back on your word."

"Don't worry, I'll have an affair this week," Darren replied, the both of them laughing as he continued reading his book and holding her.

                                                                                            ***

One distinct memory Melanie did have was the funeral.

She was about 7 years old, seated in a pew all alone staring at the casket at the front of the church, when a man approached her from behind and took a seat beside her, holding her hand, though she barely noticed. After a moment, she glanced up at him and managed a weak smile.

"Hi Uncle Burt," she eeked out softly.

"How you doin', kiddo? You okay?" he asked.

"I'm sad."

Burt put his arm around her and pulled her close, kissing the top of her head.

"Sometimes reality is hard to accept, and it makes us sad. Sometimes it's so much, that it makes you have to take a break and back away from it all. Step away from everything, to maybe finally feel sort of happy again, you understand? You like fairytales, right?" he asked, and she nodded, so he continued, "Alright, so wouldn't you prefer to live in a world like that than the one we have now? That's what I'm saying. We'd all love to do that, escape into our fantasies, but eventually we have to face what's happened. We have to come back to reality. Otherwise we're not really living."

Neither one spoke for a bit, until Melanie pushed her little tear stained faced into his side and hugged him tightly.

"I miss him," she cried, and he stroked her hair.

"I know you do, sweetheart. We all do," he said.

The night was quiet, the crickets easily heard chirping into the cool sky, a slight breeze wafting through the trees. It was from back here, near the treeline, that Gerry was watching the lab from. He shut his eyes and took in the soft sounds of the night, letting them relax him before he finally turned back and looked at Six and Salt, both of whom who were sitting behind him, waiting. They all glanced at one another, none of them saying a single word, just waiting patiently, until Lorna swooped down and landed on a rock beside them.

"It looks like everything is shut down for the night," Lorna said, "I can still keep lookout though, circling, cawing if I see something I deem potentially dangerous."

"That sounds good. This will be a good practice run for when we bring the fire, too," Gerry said, "But this has to be quick, and quiet. We need to be in and out in no time. We're simply gathering information, letting the new rabbits know that we're coming, and preparing them for what's about to happen. If we do this right, everything will be fine and nobody will get hurt."

"Why am I coming and not Mipsy?" Six asked.

"Because she's our map, I can't risk losing her. Not to say that you're worth risking either, but, I need you with me. You've been by my side since the very beginning, and you're a very calming presence. They'll listen to you if they won't listen to me," Gerry said, before turning and looking at Salt, asking, "You ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be, I suppose," Salt said, "You say the word, chief, and we'll do it."

Gerry turned back and looked at the lab, recognizing this was their last shot to prepare the new rabbits before shit hit the fan. He couldn't afford to waste this opportunity. He sighed, shut his eyes and nodded.

"Let's go," he said.

                                                                                                  ***

"You cannot be serious," Number Two said, "You're going to go in before the attack?"

"We have to inform the rabbits about what's going to happen, we discussed this," Gerry said.

"Why not just send Salt, then? She's small enough to get in and out undetected, why risk yourself?" Stone asked.

"Because she's not a rabbit. They need to hear it from another rabbit," Gerry said, "Besides, no offense to Salt but...I trusted a mouse, and look how it turned out."

Nobody could argue with that, much as they may have wanted to.

"Then I'm coming with you," Number Two said, and Gerry shook his head.

"No way, out of the question," Gerry said, "I need you here. I need you helping Kevin keep the peace. And if something does happen to me, I need you to take control. Not that I foresee anything happening to me, but still, it helps to be prepared."

"I think something that needs to be questioned," Richardson started, "Is if this one trip is going to be enough time. Are we certain you won't need to go back? Will you be able to tell them everything they need to hear, and clarify it well enough within that time limit, that they'll understand and be ready for when we return?"

Everyone looked at one another, each knowing Richardson was right but nobody really wanting to state it. They'd all thought it, certainly, that one solo trip would not be enough, but it was likely their only chance. They were running out of time. Especially after The Black Snakes attack at the Sister Rabbit Hollow, the Collective knew THEY were getting ever closer with each passing day, and if they didn't bring the fire soon, they might not get a chance to before they too were gassed like all the other burrows out there.

"I'm going to have to try and hope for the best," Gerry said, "I don't have a choice."

"Gerald," Number Two started, "This is an incredibly risky plan. What guarantee do I have that you'll come back?"

Gerald smiled warmly and replied, "If I don't come back, I give you the job of keeping my memory alive."

"Gerald-"

"Paul, we have to do this."

He was right. There was no way around it. So Number Two simply too his job offer, and accepted Gerald's decision. Besides, he knew he'd come back, he always did. Why should this time be any different?

                                                                                            ***

Salt slipped in through a slot in the vent, and then pulled out the small screwdriver she'd stolen from the lab in order to let the rabbits in. Once she got the screws undone, letting them fall to the floor, she pushed the vent open and let Gerry and Six inside. Gerry stopped, and sighed, realizing this was the first time he'd been back inside the lab since he'd gotten out, and how weird it was to return here. To return and feel like he was coming home, despite it never really being a home. He quickly gathered himself and continued down the vent, Six by his side, Salt leading the both of them.

"God this is eerie," Six said softly, "I never in my life expected to be back inside here."

"I know, it's like some sort of bad dream," Gerry remarked, "But hopefully we can do what we came here to do in no time flat and get out lickety split."

"They're in your old section, so try not to freak out too much when you see it," Salt said, "It's really surreal seeing it full of rabbits again. These are all fairly young rabbits too, most of them children or teenagers. Makes them more malleable to THEIR desires, makes them easier to control."

"That's sick," Six said, Salt nodding in agreement.

"Extremely. I mean, I understand that line of thinking, but that doesn't by any means prove I condone of it," Salt replied.

They turned a corner in the vent and continued down another stretch, until they finally came to the vent that lead into their old room. They all took a collective sigh, and then Salt undid the bolts, and they pushed on through, unaware that what was on the other side wasn't actually their old room, but instead another section of lab. As they came through, they quickly realized they'd taken a wrong turn somewhere. Salt groaned and shook her head.

"See, this is why Mipsy would've been useful," she said under her breath, trying to regain her sense of direction.

This was a section that seemed somewhat familiar. That's when it hit him...this was where Number Two had taken Gerald to see the original Number Seven. A memory Gerry had long since tried to repress came flooding back to him in a visually gruesome spectacle only his head could see. God...seeing Number Seven on that table, half rabbit half machine, parts of him missing entirely...Gerry never wanted to come back to this spot, and when he realized this was where they were, he immediately suggested they leave. As Salt opened the vent back up and they started to head through, Gerry stopped.

"Gerald?" a voice croaked, hoarse and soft.

"...he...hello?" Gerry asked, turning back, "Who's there? How do you know my name?"

"Gerald..." the voice repeated, weak and low, "It's me...it's Crisp."

Gerry's eyes widened and he quickly scrambled to find the origin of the voice. He headed up to a table where he thought he heard it coming from, and there, staring back at him, was Crisp...and sewn to her side, was Melvin, fast asleep. Gerry stood there, his knees buckling, his eyes watering...this was what had happened to their friends. Gerry had let this happen by allowing them to leave. All this time...Kevin had been right to be wary of their departure, and Gerry now felt personally responsible for their outcome.

"What the fuck happened to you?" Gerry managed to ask, his eyes walking over their new arrangement.

"THEY caught us in a field....a field of dead rabbits," Crisp said, "...THEY used these...these..."

"Black Snakes," Gerry and Six said in unison.

"Yes, and THEY knocked us out. When we woke up, we were back in the lab, in separate cages. Melvin was inconsolable. I tried to calm him down, but he wouldn't listen. For a while, we just sat here, completely unacknowledged and seemingly unimportant. Until one morning when we woke up, and we were like this. THEY sewed us together..."

"Jesus christ," Salt muttered, a sick feeling rising in her stomach.

"Why...why would THEY do a thing like this?" Six asked.

"Why do THEY do anything THEY do?" Crisp responded, "To see if THEY can. From what we managed to learn, the purpose of this was to see if we could share a circulatory system. Now we just have more trouble breathing. You'd think double the lungs would help, but it really doesn't...Melvin...he can barely breath as it is, and we certainly can't speak at the same time. He spends most of his time asleep these days. Did you...did you come to get us?"

"We had no idea this had even happened," Gerry said quietly, "no...we...we're here to inform the new recruits that we'll be coming back shortly, bringing fire, rescuing them."

"Gerald," Crisp said, lifting her eyes to his, locking onto them, "Don't come back here. Not even for the new recruits. I know it sounds harsh, but get out, get as far away from here as you can while you still have the time. If THEY did this to that field we found, then THEY are clearly doing this to everyone else."

"THEY are...we...we found Richardson, and while we were there, his place was smoked out," Gerry said, "I almost got caught. But I can't just leave these new rabbits to be treated like you two. This is sick, it's inhumane, it's...it's not...if I let this happen I'm no better than THEM."

"For as long as I've known you, you've been comparing yourself to those around you who were worse, always worried that you'd turn into them. Dodger, THEM, well...you never will, and the reason is because you care. You can recognize right from wrong and follow a clear line dividing the two," Crisp said, "Don't let that get you and everyone else killed too, Gerry. We got lucky. Lightning doesn't strike twice."

Gerry turned away and shut his eyes, tears flowing down his face. This was his fault, he knew it, and he knew if Kevin ever found out about this, he'd never let him live it down. It'd always be an "I told you so" to fall back on. Another "remember when you trusted Dodger?" moment to pull rank with. Gerry shook his face clear of tears and turned back to Crisp.

"Can we get you out of here?" he asked, and she smiled.

"Gerry, just go home," she said, "Go home, get your friends and find a new home. Get as far away from here as you can, because-"

"It won't...matter...the distance," Melvin said, rolling his head back so they could hear him weakly speak, "...THEY won't stop. No matter how far...you run....it will never be...far enough. THEY will keep coming....THEY will always....keep....coming. You have to kill them."

"The biggest irony about our situation," Crisp said, "Is this is what we get for trying to be independent. Now we're forever codependent."

"Alright, we're gonna get these off you and-" Gerry said, referring to the straps holding them down, but they both laughed, best they could.

"Gerry," Melvin said, "Save them. Do what you....came here to....do. Then burn this....fucking nightmare factory....to the ground."

Gerry buried his face in Crisp's fur and apologized, but she assured him it wasn't his fault. Despite this, he knew he'd never believe otherwise. He backed away and looked at them, looked at the rabbits who'd once depended on him, once been his friends, and realized Melvin was right. This had happened because he'd become lethargic and not done something. He hadn't acted, and this was their punishment. He had to do what he came here to do.

"Maybe when we come back, to burn the place, we can get you out," Gerry said.

"Perhaps, but with extra lungs we'll likely only die of smoke inhalation all the quicker," Crisp said, trying to lighten the mood. They all smiled weakly at this joke, and then headed back to the vent. As they climbed through, Gerry took one last glance over his shoulder at the table where his friends were, and swore to himself, then and there, that no matter what from this point on, he wouldn't lose another friend.

He'd die before he saw that happen.

                                                                                              ***

Number Two was laying in Gerry's area, waiting for them to return, when Paw Paw walked by and stopped, glancing in, spotting him curled up on the pile of leaves Gerry used as bedding. She entered and looked down at Number Two, who merely glanced upwards at her with his eyes.

"You okay?" she asked.

"They're supposed to be back by now," Number Two said.

"They'll be back, man, don't worry. Gerry can take care of himself," Paw Paw said, "You really care about him don't you?"

"He's my best friend. We weren't always on the same page, but...I've always respected him, and admired him. He's got guts I never had, never will have, and he's got the bravery I could only ever wish I could have. If he doesn't come back, there's no future for any of us, especially me."

"...if he doesn't come back, we'll all simply move. We'll find a way to keep going. From what I've heard from Mipsy, you guys always do," Paw Paw said, "

Number Two smirked, nodding. This was true. No matter how bad things seemed to get, they always did manage to keep on going for one more day. But Number Two had always somewhat attributed this survival to Geralds ability to keep them grounded, and without him gone...there was no way he could do what Gerald did, and even less a chance that he'd trust Kevin to try. Kevin was passionate, certainly, but irrationally quick to anger, and that only spelt disaster.

"Guess you're part of the family now," Number Two said, "I have a family too, away from this one. I live with a couple of foxes a few miles from here. I should be there tonight, but...I have to wait and see that he comes home."

"Well, a home is wherever you feel most comfortable, so you can always have more than one home," Paw Paw said, "Like Sister Rabbit was my home, but now I'm here, and I'm with Mipsy, and she's my home."

"That's sweet," Number Two said.

"You don't have to pretend not to feel the way you do, you know," Paw Paw said, getting up and touching his paw, "Especially if things are this close to ending. Now's the time to really be honest with yourself. With those you care about. I know for me it was the best decision I ever made."

She had a point, he had to acknowledge. Number Two had always been rationally driven, living by logic, but ever since he'd decided to help run the Collective after the escape, ever since he'd helped Minerva survive her fall from the cliffside, ever since he'd opened himself up, he'd felt more real than he had ever before. But he also recognized that acting that way, with emotion, is often what got others killed. He'd seen it time and time again.

With that, they noticed Gerry standing in the entrance way to his room, staring at them. Paw Paw quickly excused herself, as Gerry walked in and Number Two sat up. Gerry stopped in front of him, looking at the ground. He wouldn't raise his eyes to Number Two.

"What happened?" Number Two asked, "How'd it go?"

"It went fine. We did what we went there to do. The new rabbits know. They know what to do, what to expect," Gerry mumbled, "...I saw Crisp and Melvin. THEY had sewn them together, trying to get them to share their lungs, a circulatory system. It was despicable."

"Jesus, are you okay?"

"Paul," Gerry said, "...it's not my fault, right?"

"No, of course not. They made the decision to leave, that wasn't on you. Even if you'd tried to argue against it, which you somewhat did if I recall correctly, they wouldn't have listened. They wouldn't even listen to Kevin. Gerald, what happened to them is not your fault. Nothing bad that's ever happened to any of us has been your fault," Number Two said.

"I'm so tired of pretending that I'm capable of doing this on my own," Gerry said, starting to cry, burying his face into Number Two's chest, "I'm so tired of pretending that it's all going to be okay in the end. I'm so tired of pretending that I don't love you."

This hit Number Two like a mack truck.

"...I...yeah....me too," Number Two said softly, rubbing Gerry's ears with his paws, "Me too. And shit, even if you were responsible for some of the bad things that have happened, even involuntarily so, none of that would matter to me now, because for all the bad shit that's surrounded us, you've given me personally so much more good shit to think about."

Gerry cried harder, letting Number Two hold him.

"It's not gonna be okay," Gerry whimpered through his sobs, "It's not gonna be okay."

"Who cares about how it might be later, let's worry about how it is right now," Number Two said quietly, nuzzling the side of Gerry's head, the two of them embracing, pretending like the rest of the world didn't exist outside of this burrow. Number Two was right anyway, Gerry knew; tomorrow would come, next week would come, the day when they brought the fire would come...

...but not right now. Even with encroaching potentially devastating moments that were right outside their home, it didn't matter, because it wasn't right now. Right now was about love. Right now was about peace.

Right now they were together, and that was all that mattered.