Gerard sat in silence for what felt like an eternity. The others from the hallway occasionally peeked in, but no one seemed to know what to say. Tyler briefly woke up, but he had only enough energy to roll onto his back before falling unconscious once again. Pete's head dropped, but he otherwise didn't move. Patrick was still as well.

Gerard's magic hummed low, moving at a sluggish pace in his gut. From being locked away to being used as an energy source, it was as tired as Gerard felt. He couldn't let himself fully relax, though. They weren't safe. Someone could come at any point and the find open cells. He debated hiding a majority of the group in the cells that would go unvisited, but that still left a handful vulnerable to detection if they were to be opened. He couldn't put the others at further risk by having them wait in Tyler and Pete's cell if someone came...

There was a sudden gasp beside Gerard. He lifted his head, seeing that Patrick was sitting bolt upright with wide, bright eyes. Pete was also sitting straight, eyes burning bright with their grey light as he stared ahead.

"The river of fate they can't escape, a power within them much too great
Her magic is the key to all, will he fight it or will he fall?
Born of both the land and sky, it all converges where it may die
Will stripped away and heart unknown..."

Patrick's eyes began to flicker in vibrancy as his eyelids dropped. "and heart unknown..." He repeated, though his words slurred together. His head began to drop forward.

"No!" Gerard rushed in front of him, quickly cupping his face in his hands. "There's more, you have to finish it!" He willed his magic to his fingertips, despite it's sluggishness. He needed to know what came next. "Just a bit more!"

Patrick's eyes continued to flicker with vibrancy. He didn't seem to register Gerard in front of him. "No place to truly call home." His head lulled to the side, being supported by Gerard's hand. The brightness of his eyes dimmed, leaving dull, yellow irises looking forward. Slowly, they found their way to Gerard's. "I see the river... I see the trees... The place we were before here..." He fell back, getting caught by a confused Pete. He muttered something incoherent before his eyes fluttered shut.

"The river?" Gerard's hands still hung in the air where they had been holding Patrick's face. "Why would they go back to the river?"

"Was that another prophecy?" Pete asked, shaking his head as the grey faded from his eyes. "He's never had one so soon after the last..."

"Does that change the first one?" Gerard asked, "Some parts felt similar but some of it was new." His arms dropped back to his sides. If Patrick saw the river, did that mean Frank was going to be taken off the base? How were they going to follow?

"Anything we just gave back was likely siphoned for that vision." Pete adjusted his position in order to cradle Patrick's upper torso in his arm as he used his free hand to trail his fingers along the side of his face. "He should be on the right timeline if he was able to share that, though."

"Did you see anything with his words?" Gerard remembered how Patrick's magic had danced into shimmering images with his first prophecy, but he hadn't been connected the same way this time.

Pete nodded. "There was a river of his magic that lead to a point where two figures stood before exploding." His face scrunched, "It was weak after that though. Like he couldn't put his energy into both without losing where he was. I saw that river, though. You mentioned going back to it. Is that where he had taken him before we wound up here?"

Gerard shook his head. "It's hard to remember. I was there with Frank, but I got hit by something. I heard others, but I'm not sure who."

Pete frowned. "After you left and before those Force soldiers arrived, he seemed really worried. He was having quite a few moments of his head becoming blurry from the branching possibilities ahead."

"We saw your magic rise up." Gerard shut his eyes with the memory. "It wasn't long after that when they found us."

There was a sound from the hall that pulled Gerard's attention to it rather than the memory. When his gaze made it to the door, he could see the others outside moving quickly down the hall. Gerard hastily pushed himself up to his feet and rushed to get to the doorframe. He leaned out, seeing Jamia holding up a hand at the end of the hall to Mikey and  Brendon, who already had their fists up and ready for a brawl. To Gerard's immediate side, Ryan sat against the wall, looking down the hall with wide eyes.

"Someone's coming." He whispered, shifting his eyes to Gerard. "Quick steps."

"Get in the room with the others." Gerard instructed him as he stepped into the hall. Despite his exhaustion, he held himself tall as he moved to catch up to the others.

Mikey and Brendon were just a few feet behind where Jamia stood at the hall's entrance. She leaned out, but made no sound as she looked towards both directions.

Mikey lifted his chin as Gerard approached. He nodded towards Jamia before tapping his ear. Gerard nodded as he moved past him. He made sure to keep his footsteps light, trying not to strain his magic further by being methodic to his foot placement. When he reached Jamia's side, she brought a finger up to her lips.

From this new position, Gerard could hear footsteps pounding against the cement floor. They were sloppy and rushed, but it didn't sound like more than one person. He looked at Jamia with question as her brow laced in confusion. As the steps continued to approach, her eyes suddenly widened. She pulled her finger away from her mouth, letting her hand hover in front of her chest. Gerard could see Frank's magic hovering just over it.

"It's Ray." She exclaimed, moving like a bolt around the corner.

"Who?" Brendon asked from behind Gerard.

"Is she ratting on us?" Mikey snapped.

Gerard moved to follow Jamia, rounding the corner to see her crouched beside a Force soldier who was hunched over with his hands on his knees. He moved cautiously, hearing the others also approaching behind him. Jamia seemed to trust him, but that didn't mean he was in the clear to be trusted.

The new Force soldier was breathing heavily, trying to catch his breath. He was nodding towards words Jamia was speaking towards him, but didn't seem able to form any of his own yet. He looked up as Gerard got closer, eyes growing wide.

"He's... Different..." Ray straightened his posture, though his breathing was still labored.

Jamia rose to her feet as well. "It's who Frank was looking for. He's Gerard." She turned to Gerard and the others. "This is Ray. He's Frank's oldest friend, he's no threat."

"Frank!" Ray grabbed hold of Jamia's arm, "Jamia, where is Frank? There was an announcement that a team is going out and when neither of you were in your rooms, this is the only place I could think to look."

"An announcement?" Gerard questioned, bringing Ray's attention to him.

Ray nodded, "On the overhead." He released Jamia's arm and pointed up. "Something super last minute. Word is even the Commander had no idea it was happening, but he's not vetoing it down."

"We didn't hear anything down here, the sound system is shit." Jamia had worry written on her expression as she looked at Ray. "The Force Captain has Frank. Is he taking him off base? Is he going to kill him?"

"Why keep him alive this long just to kill him?" Brendon asked.

"Why fight to bring him here if he was just going to be taken back off base?" Mikey added.

Gerard pushed his hands through his hair. This didn't make sense. Off base is where Frank gained more of himself and his memories. Why risk bringing it all back again if the goal was keeping him under control?.. Her magic is the key to all...

"First you suppress it, then you trigger it..."

Gerard looked towards Jamia. Her eyes were wide as her hands moved up to cover her mouth.

"What are you talking about?" Ray tilted his head at her with confusion.

"Before the lights went out, The Force Captain and Commander were talking about harnessing magic." Jamia pressed her palms against her cheeks. "The Force Captain said that. First you suppress it, then you trigger it. Right before showing... Gerard." Her gaze shot towards him. "He used you to trigger Frank. There was that energy he put off that killed the power..."

"So he wants to take Frank's magic?" Ray asked, "Why leave to do it, though, all the tech is here."

"Magic isn't tech." Mikey snapped, "If it was that simple, don't you think he would have taken what he wanted by now?"

"What if he couldn't do it before now?" Gerard questioned, getting all eyes to turn to him. He shook his head. "Frank didn't even know what was inside of him until I stabbed him with that suppression serum he had been using on me." He held a hand against his chest. "It was after that his magic first started to show. Even Patrick talked about how new to magic he was."

"Why leave the base, though?" Ray questioned, "His whole life, Frank was denied every opportunity. The Force Captain was absolutely furious when he left with you."

"They both have power now." Jamia's hands dropped to her chest. "It's not just a one sided game."

"A power within them far too great." Gerard breathlessly repeated words from Patrick's newest prophecy, "Frank's magic comes from the most powerful of us... Sometimes he couldn't control it with his lack of time with it..."

The ground beneath them lurched suddenly, sending them all to the ground. Gerard landed hard, barely getting his hands out in time in order to not land smack on his face. The ground continued to jerk, creating cracks in the concrete around them.

"What's happening?!" Jamia called out as small chunks of cement fell through the air from the ceiling above them.

"The planet senses danger!" Gerard covered his head with one arm while supporting himself with the other, "I can't reach the surface to try and settle it!" The ground was so cold, he couldn't sense life underneath it. He couldn't feel a way to get to the planet.

"Fall back!" Mikey cried out as Brendon rushed past Gerard, offering his hands to Jamia and Ray. Mikey pulled on his brother's arm, helping him to his feet.

The ground continued to shake underneath them as they moved back to the hallway where the others were waiting in Patrick's cell. It was a slow trek made slower by chipped pieces of ceiling falling due to the shaking. With what he could muster, Gerard made a thin cover over the group until they made it to the cell. Inside, Tyler was finally conscious. He sat close to Ryan, Pete, and Patrick, keeping up a flickering red bubble of magic to keep any debris from hitting them.

"Get in!" He called out as sweat poured down his face.

The group from the hallway rushed under the covering. Gerard slid beside Tyler, putting his hand on his arm for support. "Use what you need." Gerard told him as cracks continued to split the concrete around them with the shaking.

Tyler nodded, eyes glowing slightly brighter now.

They huddled together as the shaking continued. It continued for what could have been mere minutes or hours before finally settling. Tyler gasped, dropping forward on his hands once the ground beneath them stilled. Jamia and Ray still shook, clearly never having experienced that before. Ryan gripped Brendon's hand tightly while Mikey surveyed the ceiling above them.

Pete looked to Gerard. "That's another thing that has happened a bit more than it has in awhile."

Gerard nodded. "Last time it happened, I was with Frank. He put more magic in than I could to stop it."

"Patrick and I had put what we could in too." Pete paused, "With all of us here, though..."

Gerard bit his lip. When the planet trembled from fear or danger, it needed to be calmed by magic. With those born with magic beginning to become a rarity, it took more to calm it when it did find itself in that state. If they were trapped somewhere they couldn't help calm it... Had Frank been able to? Had it resolved itself on its own?

"Is The Force Captain the danger it sensed?" Jamia asked, still visibly rattled by what had just occurred. "Or, do you think..."

"I don't know." Gerard looked at the cracks in the cement around them. Some were surface level, but others bore deep into the grey concrete, ripping it apart. "What I do know is that we're probably running out of time we can spend here. So we better find a way out."