The next thing Frank could remember, he was throwing up gray bile. He didn't know where he Was. He was moving in and out of consciousness at a pace his brain couldn't keep up with.

He was out. He was awake, but so sick that he couldn't take in his surroundings. He was out once again.

When he was unconscious, he felt like he was being weighed down by enough force he couldn't move. He was trapped by darkness.

When he was awake, everything was sickeningly bright. He couldn't see through it. He was just exhausted.

It was a vicious cycle until it wasn't. Frank wasn't sure how long it took, but eventually the weight lifted in the darkness and the bright wasn't as blinding. He was just teetering on the verge of sleep with enough clarity to hear sounds around him.

Beeping noises.

People talking.

Was he in the infirmary?

"Has he woken up?" A familiar, sturdy voice.

"Not enough to speak, sir." Another voice responded, "He's been fairly ill due to the injection."

"What exactly was he hit with?"

"The magic suppression serum it seems, sir, but he's having a reaction to it that I've never seen-"

"Is he going to live?" The study voice cut the second voice off.

A sigh. "He's projected to, yes sir."

"Good." A pause. There was mumbling that Frank couldn't make out. "Keep eyes open for the prisoner he was supposed to be dealing with. He let him gain the upper hand and now we're all in hot water."

"Do you think the prisoner is still in base, Force Captain?"

"We've been on lockdown since the incident and we'll stay that way until the commander reaches us."

"T-the commander, sir?"

Frank opened his eyes. The room was no longer bright. The lights were on, but they were dimmed. He turned his head, feeling a slight ache in his muscles with the motion. He almost felt as if he had just finished an intense physical training session. Except he hadn't been at a session.

He had been in a cell.

"Shit." Frank spoke and immediately hissed at a pain stemming from his chest. It was worse than any pain he had felt before.

Frank brought his hand up to his chest. There was nothing covering his skin. It seemed normal enough, until his fingers grazed what felt like an elevated vein. Frank lifted his head in an attempt to get a better look.

"I wouldn't."

A hand slapped onto Frank's forehead and forced his head back down. Something silver flashed before his eyes before a face. Gerard's face.

"Not feeling so well?" Gerard asked, cocking his head. He glared at Frank, but Frank noticed his eyes dart to his chest for just an instant.

"Not feeling talkative either?" Gerard egged on. He raised the hand that wasn't holding Frank's head down. A small medical scalpel flashed with the light's glare before Gerard pressed it against Frank's cheek. "Fine. I need you to listen more than I need you to talk." The blade pressed harder against Frank's cheek with his words. "You're taking me home, so get dressed."

"Like hell." Frank attempted to lift his arm, but he was met by restraint. "What-"

Gerard smirked. "Your people really helped me out with that one."

"They'll catch you." Frank threatened.

"They haven't yet." Gerard snarled back. The small blade pressed deeper into Frank's cheek, beginning to draw blood. "I'm a bit tricky to catch when I want to be."

The blade pulled away.

"Why should I take you anywhere?" Frank asked, struggling against his restraints. Why had he been restrained? Hadn't heard just moved his hand? What had happened to him?

"I could just kill you if you'd prefer." Gerard offered. He shifted the knife in his hand.

"If you can stay hidden for so long, why do you need me?" Frank tugged his restraints. He shut his eyes, trying to take everything in. He was sick. He was restrained. He had heard two people talking... They had mentioned something about Gerard and the base...

"You can't leave." Frank opened his eyes. He caught the tail-end of shock from Gerard's face before he regained composure. "This place is locked down and you can't get out without someone on the inside." He grinned. "You won't kill me. You need me."

Gerard's eye twitched, sending a small burst of pink dust into the air, before he smiled. "Clever boy." His voice almost sounded layered. "I may need you, but that doesn't mean I need you alive."

With impossible speed, Gerard drew his arm back and brought the scalpel down.

Frank cried out and snapped his eyes shut. He waited for the inevitable pain from wherever the blade would land, but it never came. The only pain came from whatever was wrong with his chest. After a moment of holding his breath, Frank slowly pried his eyes open.

The knife hovered just above his nose. It quivered in Gerard's hand, constantly shifting the point of glare on the metal.

Frank gulped, crossing his eyes to stare at the blade's point. It was hard to bring his eyes away from it. Eventually, however, he was able to look towards Gerard.

The red head's expression was unreadable. His body was rigid. His eyes were fixed on the blade.

All was still. Frank barely dared to breathe.

"Although killing you would require disposal of a body." Gerard finally spoke after what felt like hours of pause. His voice sounded normal once more. Slowly, he pulled the scalpel away. "Feel like cooperating?" He turned his eyes to Frank. There was nothing readable behind their color.

Frank kept his mouth shut. He had never seen this side of Gerard. This must have been the rebel leader the others had seen on the field.

Gerard broke their eye contact with the slash of his scalpel. Then another. Then two more. It was so swift and smooth, Frank didn't even draw a breath between Gerard's movements.

"You will assist me." Gerard said, brandishing the small blade towards Frank as he pushed himself up.

Frank looked down at the straps Gerard had slashed. The cuts were clean and smooth, just like his movements. If he could do that much damage to a restraint, he could definitely do it to Frank.

"We'll be caught." Frank finally chose words to speak.

Gerard laughed. "They haven't found me yet." Pink, once again, seemed to drift from his eye.

Frank looked down, unsure what to say, but froze when he saw what was there.

What he had felt to be veins were tendrals of black rising from his skin. Six of them spread from a central point on his chest. "What the fuck?" Frank's voice was shakey as he brought his hand up to touch. Before his fingers grazed it, however, it seemed to pulsate. He quickly yanked his hand away. Pain spread through the tendrals, causing Frank to double over with pain. Darkness briefly coated his vision as it subsided, but it didn't fully vanish. The edges of his vision retained some of the darkness.

"What happened?" Frank's voice came out as a whisper. He could still feel the pain despite the moment having ended. It was like it went completely through him to leave a pain within him.

"No time." Gerard turned away from Frank to snatch something from a counter. He threw it at Frank without turning back around. "We need to go."

The thing Gerard had thrown was a clothing set, which hit Frank and fell into his lap. Frank, however, didn't move. He was still looking down at the spot on his chest, feeling the residual pain.

There was a blur as to where he had been before waking up here. There was muffled memory of laying here before being fully conscious. Now he has an injury unlike anything he has ever seen before. Was it deadly? Had someone said something about a reaction?

"Hey." Hands were suddenly on Frank's face, tilting his head up. Gerard was nose to nose with him. "Wake up and look alive."  His voice was even and focused, "We need to move to get out."

The unreadable Gerard that had held the scalpel to him was gone. He was now looking at compassionate eyes that put him at ease. Hues of warm tones laced with specks of pink that held Frank's attention fully.

"Hear me?" Gerard spoke again, slightly breaking the spell of his eyes.

"Yes." Frank nodded as much as he could in Gerard's grip. "Give me a minute."

Gerard stepped back, pulling his hands away from Frank. Frank shuddered when Gerard's touch pulled away. He had seemed to take a warmth with him.

"Get on with it." The scalpel was up again and the kindness was gone from Gerard's voice.

Frank nodded. He got up from the bed he had woken up on and changed into the uniform Gerard had thrown at him. "Where did you find this?" It was a simple soldier uniform with no distinguishing markings.

"Found it." Gerard replied, "Found two, actually."

As he buttoned his shirt, Frank turned to Gerard. He finally saw why the red head may have blended in so well. He wore a simple uniform that no one would look twice at. On the counter behind him there was a cap that could easily hide his bright hair. He could have passed for any other force soldier if he kept his head down.

"Ready?" Gerard gestured to Frank with the small blade in his hand.

"How do you know I won't just run?" Frank asked, already thinking of ways he could alert anyone they crossed paths with.

Instead of responding, Gerard narrowed his eyes. He was still for just a moment before his arm was moving and the scalpel he had been holding was rushing past Frank's ear. It thudded against the wall behind Frank not even a second later.

"Because I'm not known for missing twice." He spoke cooly, flicking another scalpel in his hand. With his other hand he softly grabbed his hat from the counter and stepped toward Frank. "Shall we?" Gerard asked as he hid his hair in the hat.

Before Frank could respond, Gerard had the scalpel pushing against his side and was guiding him out into the hall.

It took a moment for Frank to realize where exactly they were within the base. There were multiple infirmary units, but the markings along the floor and walls let Frank know that they were wandering the main floor.

"Take me to the ships." Gerard spoke lowly near Frank's ear as they walked. "We're taking one."

"I don't know how to drive one." Frank hissed back.

They were already on the path to the docking bay. They just needed to keep straight... But Gerard didn't know that. Frank could lead him straight back into the force's hands  and redeem himself from the situation he found himself in. Gerard's escape has to be his fault, even if he couldn't remember the event. He could prove himself to be a worthy soldier with a few simple turns. Gerard may have been quick with a blade, but the force has weapons twice as fast.

The more he thought about it, however, the more that familiar longing hummed inside of him. To feel the winds. To see the sands. To feel something that was alive and growing. It all waited for him outside. If he helped Gerard, he would finally be able to experience it all. He would know what it was to go beyond the dull walls of the complex.

Is that why he had let himself be drug along with the scheme in the first place? The hope of knowing? He could have just as easily tried to fight Gerard, cause enough noise for someone to check, and cleared himself there. It could have been over.

Yet...

Here he was. The docking bay crept ever closer as they moved forward. Freedom just beyond it. A world he had never known just beyond it. It really was all he had ever wanted.

Could he give that up?

"Hey." The small blade jabbed his side, pulling Frank from his thoughts. Gerard was shooting him a side glare. "Which way?"

They had come to an merge in the path. One path continued forward while two others veered in opposite directions. The straight path continued to the docking bay. The others lead to more populated units within the base.

One way out. Two ways to go staying right where he was.

"Straight." Frank replied without a second thought.

Gerard nodded and they began moving again.

The halls were mostly empty. Anyone they did pass seemed too distracted to pay them any mind. They were looking for a prisoner, not two young men that looked like soldiers.

"Stop." Frank instructed. They had reached the markings that indicated the docking bay was near. He moved forward slowly, trying to ignore the small knife in his side as he did.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" The question slipped past Frank's lips before he could decide whether the question was for Gerard or himself.

The boy beside him nodded. Out of the corner of his eye, Frank could see the determination on Gerard's face. Frank nodded back before reaching out to the cool gray wall in front of him.

"Okay. We're doing this."