Gerard pulled his hand away from Patrick's, head hanging low as he steadied himself where he sat. He felt dizzy from all the magic he had shared with the Seer. His magic buzzed under his skin, but it was wearing down.

Tyler was laying on the ground, fighting himself to keep his eyes open. He kept his hand on Patrick's arm despite his exhaustion, but his eyes barely burned like the fading light of a sunset.

Pete seemed determined to stay upright, though the burn of his eyes had dimmed significantly. There were bags under his eyes, but he refused to look away from Patrick.

Patrick's eyes had closed at some point. His breathing was evened out, but he was otherwise still. At some point, however, he had moved one of his hands to hold onto Pete's arm.

"Patrick, are you here yet?" Gerard asked, trying to shake off the dizzy feeling.

Pete shook his head. "He needs more time. Let me handle it." He jerked his chin towards Tyler, "You guys rest."

Tyler muttered something, but it was just a faint, unintelligible slur of words. Gerard reached out, gently pulling his hand away from Patrick's arm. As soon as the contact was broken, Tyler's eyes shut and his body relaxed. Gerard turned back to Pete. "You're going to exhaust yourself."

Pete shook his head. "I can do this for him. I've done it before."

Gerard Put a hand on Pete's shoulder. "Just a short pause. If you give him everything now, you won't be there when he does wake up."

Pete looked ready to argue, but instead sighed after a moment of silence. He pulled his hand away from Patrick's cheek, though he kept one hand pushing through Patrick's hair. He also slipped Patrick's grip off of his wrist, letting his hand instead rest on his chest. "Fine." He refused to look up at Gerard, instead continuing to keep his attention on Patrick.

Gerard pulled his hand away from Pete's shoulder and rose to his feet. He moved to the doorway of the cell, looking out to see the progress of the second group.

Mikey sat near the open cell door, glaring across the way where Jamia sat beside Brendon and Ryan. The three were talking quietly while Mikey sat silent.

Gerard lowered himself to the ground beside his brother. "I thought I said play nice."

"Unlike you, I'm not quick to take a liking to the people that killed our family." Mikey replied shortly, refusing to look in his brother's direction.

Gerard put his head down. "You know she wasn't a part of that. She's our age, and those soldiers were a lot older than us."

"She still stands in their ranks." Mikey hissed. "And so does he."

"I pulled him out of their ranks." Gerard hissed back. It was now his turn to point a glare at his brother. "Have you listened to anything, or are you so dead set on where they come from that you just refuse?"

"What about where we come from, Gerard?" Mikey's fists balled at his side. "You expect me to forgive them for what was done? If your words are true, do you expect me to forgive the mother?" His hands began to shake, "Both sides let our families die. Both sides that we were initially meant to trust betrayed us."

"Brother..." Gerard started to reach out to Mikey, but stopped himself. "It's a bit more complicated than that. This is something to discuss later."

"After you run off with your soldier again?" Mikey snapped his head in Gerard's direction. "After we leave this place but have to continue having no real home as we run? Brother, you're asking for a lot of faith that I'm not sure I have to give."

Gerard pushed his hands through his hair. His brother made fair points, it couldn't be denied. With so much on the line at the moment, however, he couldn't address them all in a way that would satisfy Mikey. He wasn't even sure there was any answer to satisfy Mikey. "Sometimes, in order to lead a group, you have to fake faith. Faith that we can rebuild a piece of what we once lost. Faith that you can keep your loved ones safe. Faith that others will have faith in you." He dropped his hands to his sides and paused. "When I left the group to you, my faith was true. Now that we're stuck here, I don't care what kind of faith you return to me. Fake or true, I just need you."

Mikey was quiet. His hands still shook at his sides as a shaky breath slipped past his lips. "What are we really fighting for?" The venom was gone, replaced by an emptiness that echoed through Gerard. "My heart is with you, brother, but faith?.. Our own matriarch lead us to this. She left us alone to deal with the Force. Even if Frank is somehow supposed to help save us, holding her magic, then what?" He brought his hands up to his eyes, pressing his palms against them.

Gerard looked at his brother with wide eyes, seeing a smaller version of him instead of the man he had become. He saw his little brother, who was letting the last of his emotion go after they had been told to run as the Force troops closed in on their home. The realization of those final moments with their family. Gerard dove forward and pulled Mikey into a tight hug, just like he had on that day, feeling his brother grip his arms tightly.

"We're fighting for us." Gerard held onto the embrace, trying to keep his own breathing calm. "For what's left. If heart is all you have to give, that's more than enough. We need a heart to function more than we need faith. Just don't lose sight of it... or us."

Mikey was the one to pull away from the embrace first. He kept his head down, nodding as he straightened his posture.

Gerard tried to smile, but it was hard to keep it on his face. He sat with his brother in silence for a moment longer before rising to his feet and moving to where the other three sat. As he lowered himself to sit with their group, Ryan pulled a petal from his vest and held it out to him.

"For your eyes." He said quietly as the edges of the petal crumbled between his fingertips.

Gerard thanked him softly, though he didn't immediately bring the petal up to swipe away the tears that had fallen. "What have you guys worked out?"

"None of us know the deserts well, Gerard." Brendon spoke up first, "If we can get out, there's no clear path to take or a lot of cover to hide."

"We don't really have easy to access exits either." Jamia frowned, "Everything comes and goes from the launch bay. That place is always manned by groups."

Gerard nodded, remembering how he and Frank had snuck through to find their escape last time. "We're too big of a target together."

"Not just that," Jamia added, "there's the official on base and what happened... What happened with Frank."

Ryan looked between Gerard and Jamia with question at the mention of Frank. Gerard cast his gaze to the ground, not wanting to meet Ryan's gaze. He wasn't able to be there to keep Frank from whatever he was going through now, but he had found the others. They could figure out something together... Right?.. Especially with Patrick's help...

"The important thing right now is that you're all alive, despite our other circumstances." Gerard finally spoke up after clearing his throat. "That's what means the most to me. We just need to stay that way."

"They don't come down very often." Brendon rubbed his hands together like he was trying to warm himself, "Food comes from a small wall port when they send it, and waste is taken down another if you can catch it in time."

Ryan shook his head. "No, they came a lot for whoever was next to me." He shivered, "I could hear their voices through the walls."

"The cell beside you was the one Frank visited." Jamia looked towards the open room.

Ryan shook his head. "Frank wouldn't say the things they said." His eyes began to brim with tears, but he quickly plucked a petal from his vest and pressed it against his eye. Brendon draped an arm over Ryan's shoulders, wordlessly offering his support with a look of sadness towards Ryan.

"We're trying to pull Patrick back to the now." Gerard rubbed his own eyes with the palm of his hands. "It's just taking a lot because of how disconnected he's been. Whatever else they've done to him couldn't have helped with the state he's in either."

"But then what?" Brendon gestured to the air around them. "We're still who knows how deep in. Jamia can't just hide all of us in her room like she hid you."

Gerard sighed. "That's why we need Patrick. We need to see any possible way out as soon as we can."

"What about Frank?" Ryan's question was almost inaudible, but it still slammed against Gerard's eardrums.

Gerard shut his eyes. He wished he could have an answer to that. Every moment Frank wasn't there with them, Gerard knew he had to be going through so much... "We will find him." Gerard stood with his low words, not wanting to fall down that path of conversation with the group. We have to.

Gerard moved back across the hall. He passed his brother, who kept his eyes low, to step back into the cell. Tyler still rested on the ground, breath quiet and even. Pete and Patrick had shifted positions, however. Pete was sitting uptight with legs outstretched with Patrick sitting in the space between his legs. Patrick was leaned back, face hidden in the crook of Pete's neck as Pete held him tightly.

Gerard hurried over to them before crouching at their side. "Are you back?" He asked, unable to see anything on Patrick's face beside a dreamy smile that pulled his lips. Pete had his eyes closed and didn't respond to Gerard's words. Gerard asked again, extending his hand and brushing his fingers against Patrick's exposed neck.

A soft giggle escaped Patrick. His head moved a bit away from Pete's neck, but remained rested on his shoulder. His yellow eyes were open, but unfocused as he hummed softly.

"Seer?" Gerard asked. He hoped Patrick had been fueled enough to return to where they were. "Please, we all need your guidance."

Patrick's eyelids fluttered before falling shut. "I know your voice." He muttered. His face scrunched. "Your face... Someone was looking..."

"Frank?" Gerard reached out again, taking Patrick's hand in his own. His magic was sluggish to reconnect with Patrick's, but he could feel a new energy in the way Patrick's magic met his. "Can you see him?"

"I saw him." Patrick sighed, keeping his eyes closed. "He was here... but he... He was..." A soft breath escaped him as his voice trailed off.

"Patrick, please, I really need you right now." Gerard squeezed his hand, "Stay here, please."

Patrick opened his eyes, brow furrowing in confusion. "Here." He repeated before pausing. "Here. This is close to where he was. It's close to how we got here. It's close to where it could end." His eyes moved, finding Gerard's and focusing on them. "Is he lost?"

Gerard bit his lip as he continued to squeeze Patrick's hand. He didn't want to say it out loud. He didn't want to admit it. Despite that, however, he gave Patrick a single nod.

"Oh..." Patrick blinked at him. "Then I suppose we're lost too."

"We need to get out and find him." Gerard whispered, hoping his magic would amplify the message for Patrick so it didn't have to be any louder than it needed to be. "We need your help."

Patrick nodded. "Let me look. It's all been so much... but you're all here now..." Another giggle escaped him as that same dreamy smile came back across his face. "In this poison place..." He moved his head back to where it had originally rested against Pete's neck and grew quiet.

Gerard pulled his hand away from Patrick's. He felt it begin to shake, so he tucked it across his lap. He could only hope Patrick would actually look and be able to see a future timeline where they could be safe. Where they could escape. Where Frank would be back with them once again.