Gerard wasn't sure how long it had been. His magic stayed close to his heart, squeezing tight so he knew he was alive despite being stuck in darkness.

He could hear movement around him. He could even feel the brief gusts made by things rushing past. The cold surface beneath him felt similar to the cold that still chilled his body. Muffled voices as something poked into his arm. Something clicking as something was dragged across his torso.

He strained his ears to listen, hoping to catch at least something being said, but it was to no avail. He was stuck in a limbo.

That was until everything stopped.

There was an energy that became present in the air, bringing a new breath to Gerard before it pulled away.

Gerard moved his eyes under their closed lids, not that it helped him see the scene playing out around him. Voices suddenly pitched as things clattered against the ground. He could feel his magic slowing its race around his heart, curious. It expanded its movement around his chest, creating a warm feeling like he hadn't felt in so long as multiple sets of feet slammed against the ground away from him.

It was still dark, but a flash of red swept over his closed eyelids. He could feel his brow furrow. Another pass of the red. What was happening?

There was the sound of metal slamming before panting began to fill the air. Gerard could almost turn his head. He could feel his muscles twitching as the panting continued.

"You?"

A soft voice called out, shaking with the syllable.

Gerard could feel the warmth of his magic spreading through him, pushing away the cold. He tried to turn towards the voice, but he still couldn't. He could hear soft footsteps cross the room towards him.

"You're him, aren't you?" The voice was louder now, closer. The voice itself wasn't familiar, but there was a feeling that followed that was. It felt like the energy that had just been in the air. It tingled against his side, bringing more warmth on top of what his magic was already spreading. "Gerard?"

Gerard's eyes snapped open with his name. Everything was dark and blurry. A flash of red made him squint as he turned his head towards the voice. It was still so dark, but he could just barely make out a figure standing against the dark. They were close, but obscured. The only thing Gerard could make out was a dark hue that stood out as another flash of red moved across the room. It was so familiar...

"Frank?" The name croaked against his throat as his vision blurred further and everything went dark.

He gasped as his eyes shot open once more. He wasn't cold anymore. The surface beneath him was soft. He could feel his magic communicating rapidly, at a pace so fast he couldn't understand it. He pushed himself upright, groaning as his muscles tightened under the movement. He wasn't sure how long it had been since he last moved.

"Gerard?"

Gerard turned his head at the sound of the voice. A girl looked back at him with wide eyes. He had never seen her before, but his eyes narrowed as he saw her familiar uniform. She held her hands up, eyes still wide.

"You're okay, I think. You're not in the labs anymore."

"Labs?" It hurt Gerard's throat to talk. For the first time, he took in his surroundings. It was grey. A wide open space with smooth walls with occasional darker pattern shooting down from the ceiling to the floor. He was sitting on a bed in the space next to a shorter wall. "Where am I?" He turned his attention back to the girl, "Who are you?"

The girl kept her hands up. "My room. The power was still down and I kind of took you in the chaos." She shook her head, "I-I don't know why, I just had this feeling that I followed but I've never felt something like that before." Her expression was a clear mirror of the uncertainty that cracked through her voice as she tried to explain. "Everything moved so fast after Frank-"

"Frank?" Gerard's eyes widened at the name. His magic had been there. Gerard had felt it. He shook his head. "No, no the last time I saw him..."

The girl stepped closer to him, keeping her hands up. "You can remember?"

Gerard focused his attention back on her. "Who are you?" He asked again, feeling his magic shoot up his throat before magenta covered his eyes. "How do know my name? How do you know Frank?"

The girl stopped her movement forward. "I'm Jamia." She replied, "I'm a friend of Frank's. He mentioned your name and... and I felt like it belonged to you when I saw you. Something said..."

As she spoke, a dark mist swirled behind her. A dark mist Gerard immediately recognized. "You have a piece of his magic."

"What?" She dropped her hands, looking at him with confusion. "No, he has his magic."

Gerard shook his head. "He shared a piece with you." Gerard forced himself up off of the bed, only to fall to the ground immediately. His body wasn't ready to fully support him. He was still trying to push himself up when Jamia knelt beside him, offering her hand. He could see the faintest trace of magic rising from her skin. He hovered his hand underneath hers. "Look, can't you see it?"

She looked down at her hand, but didn't speak. Slowly, she just began to shake her head.

"It's not something done with a light heart." He looked up at her, watching as she stared down at her hand. "It's faint, but his. You do know him."

"We... We were being lead to the labs." Tears began to brim in her eyes, "He took my hand and said to be safe. I felt something like a small tingle of electricity before he pulled his hand away..."

Gerard watched as the tears began to move down her cheeks. He could see shimmers of Frank's magic glisten within the small beads that traveled down her skin. "It was a message for you and his magic." He said, raising his hand to hold onto hers. "Whether he realized it or not."

She lifted her head just slightly to meet his gaze. "But he used it. We were in a room and there was a darkness from him that filled everything and... I-I screamed as it made the power shut off."

"Is that why he isn't with you?" Gerard asked as his magic moved through him to reach his hand. It swirled with the remnant of Frank's magic, dancing over his and Jamia's hands. Gerard felt tears brim in his own eyes, but he quickly blinked them away.

Jamia watched, fascinated by the faint trails of color. Gerard had to call out to her again to pull her attention away from it. "I was pushed out when the lights went out." She shook her head. "Frank was still there... I think he is still there. I was being pushed in the hall when I felt something pulling me to the room you were in..."

"It was him." Gerard let his eyes trail to the faint swirling colors of pink and black. "His magic."

"Do you need it?" She asked, looking at it with uncertainty. "I don't know how it works. You can take it."

Gerard felt his own magic cheer at the idea. It didn't want to pull back from Frank's magic. It kept a tight swirl around it, trying to obscure it inside its own color. The connection to Frank after so long of just feeling cold... Gerard shut his eyes as his magic continued to emit joy.

"It's... It's not my gift to take." Gerard finally sighed, "He wanted you safe..." If Frank had shared magic with her... She had to be someone he trusted. He couldn't just take that protection away because it would make himself feel good. He didn't know the condition of the world he was in at the moment. He had to trust Frank.

Jamia helped Gerard upright, though she twisted her hand in his so that she could hold it back. "He was hoping to find you, but now I think he's in more trouble."

"Where is he?" Gerard squeezed her hand, "why isn't he here?"

"He put off this energy." Jamia gulped, "The lights went out and I got pushed out of the room, but Frank and his dad were still there."

Gerard inhaled a sharp breath at the mention of Frank's father. The one who had put up all those walls. The way Frank would get so lost because of all the meddling with his mind and memories. "He has him?"

Jamia nodded. "When you weren't with the others, we hoped to find you in the labs. You were there, but the Force Captain must have known somehow..." She let out a nervous laugh, "and now there's a prisoner in my room, with magic. Telling me that my friend decided to lend me some magic..."

"I tend to make Force Soldier's lives very interesting very quickly." Gerard replied. As she pulled her hand away from his. His magic whined as it retreated from that small piece of Frank's. It didn't want to let go. It wanted to be near him, just as much as Gerard did. "How do we get him back?"

Jamia looked nervous. "The lights are back up and they're on a pretty high alert now."

Gerard's brow furrowed. "Yea, but you've also got me on your side now." He willed his magic up to his eyes, coating his vision in magenta. He tried to push himself up to his feet, but his body still refused to cooperate. He groaned as he fell back into his sitting position. "We have to help him."

"Gerard, we were there trying to find and save you." She rubbed her hands together nervously. "That didn't exactly work out. Now we have to find Frank and with everything The Force Captain's already done to him..." A muffled choking sound wracked her body. She stilled for a moment. Gerard watched as more tears formed in her eyes. "I feel like we're kids again. I have to see him leave and I don't know what to do. I can't do anything. I can only be there when he gets back... and I don't know if that will happen this time." Her express quivered as the tears began to seep from her eyes.

Gerard placed a hand on top of hers as she began to shake. He could feel the fear radiating off of her. Through Frank's magic, he found himself looking at the dark, misty figure of a child sitting inside the space that Jamia occupied. He saw the worry on her expression as another small misty figure walked by her. He saw her sitting at a table, offering food and trying to make another misty figure smile.

"You're a lot like him." Gerard kept his hand on top of hers as the dark mist pulled back to reveal Jamia's current state to him. "You care."

Jamia sniffed. She didn't say anything for awhile as she tried to calm herself down. Gerard used his magic to send a calmness to her. Eventually, her tears stopped. She took slow breaths and shook her head. "He was the one who cared." She said, "That's why we went looking for the others in the cells. That's why we went looking for you."

"What others in the cells?" Gerard asked.

Jamia's eyes suddenly lit up. "I think I need to show you. I think we need their help."

"You're not answering my question." Gerard sighed, "What others?"

Jamia blinked at him. "Others with magic. Ones Frank went to for help before we found you. Ones that helped him remember."

"He couldn't remember?" Gerard felt a soft tear in his heart with her words. Frank had been pushed right back where he had been before Gerard stole him away? What had he been through?..

"Not until someone... Patrick helped him."

"The Seer is here?!" Gerard exclaimed. Jamia looked at him with confusion as he cursed to himself. Patrick couldn't be here. It was so dangerous for him to be inside these grey walls...but it was also something that could be used to their advantage to find Frank. He once again tried to push himself up. Jamia aided him this time, helping his stand on his feet with shaky legs. He thanked her  softly before taking a deep breath. "We need to get down to those cells."