The first part of this chapter sets up a lot for the aligning part of Schizoid. If you haven't been able to tell where this plot fully fits into Schizoid's, this chapter will change that. Before you read it,  reread the first chapter of this fic. There's a detail in it that will explain a lot. There's not much of this fic left. Enjoy. 

Adam looked down at his phone, reading the text again before getting up to go into the bathroom. When he got there, he locked the door and hit the 'CALL' button on the top of his screen, which was opened to his messages with Katana. She picked up right away and began speaking.

"Konran shita. Konran shita, Adam-senpai, konran shita, nanite kododesu (I messed up. I messed up, Adam, I messed up, oh, my God)," she said breathlessly.

"What did you do, Tana-chan?"

"I talked to one of the doctors from Ohio about having Tyler sent here. They swore that they would send him the moment that he won his case."

"Then why are you freaking out?" Adam asked, confused.

"He didn't win. He's still in prison. He's got a life sentence. We... we can't get him out of that and I don't know what to do about it."

"Why does he matter so much to you, K-chan? We have our Joshua-kun, isn't that enough?"

"You don't understand," Katana said lowly. "I believe that they are the same person, Adam-kun. They were born within minutes of each other in the same hospital... Can that be a coincidence? I don't think so. I fear that something will happen to Josh-kun on his mission today and it will kill them both." Adam was silent on the other line. "I shouldn't have let him come with you. I should have made him stay and I should have sent a squad to break this American Tyler out of prison to keep him safe."

"Yes. You should have. As a matter of fact, you should have told us what was happening instead of leaving that information to yourself," Adam snapped.

"Maybe... maybe I'll ask his doctor to help."

"Are you forgetting your own biggest secret? Alex Gaskarth is his doctor. Joshua killed Alex's father. Why the hell would he do him any favors?"

"Because Alex loves his Tyler, that's why!" Katana's voice was loud and on the edge of breaking with every word spoken. "And if he doesn't do this, there's a good chance that we'll lose all of them! I cannot carry the blood of four young men! I will not!"

Adam kept quiet as Katana sobbed. He stayed on the line, silent until he felt the need to speak. "You know what, senpai?" He asked quietly. "You should have thought about that when you chose to keep this information to yourself. I hope you've learned your lesson, and I'm sorry that it'll have to be at your students' expense."

:.:

"Still nothing from Shinzo?" Matty asked Ashley, who was experimenting with makeup in the bathroom while he lay restlessly across the bed in their room on his back.

"Nope, nothing." Ash peeked her head into the room. "Can I do your makeup?"

Matty laughed at the younger woman, sitting up and nodding. "Just my eyes, though."

"What color eyeshadow?"

"Ain't it your job to figure that out?" Matty asked with a playful snort.

"Nope. You like the heavy black eyeliner with glitter and you like the blue and pink. You pick."

"Ah, ah, ah," Matty chastised with a wag of his finger. "I always have lipstick with the pink and blue."

"Oh!" Ashley said in remembrance, bonking her head lightly against her own hand. "I'll go get the glitter."

She soon came back with the makeup in her hands, and Matty sat upright, holding his face still as she drew over his waterline.

"Ay, Ash?" Matty asked as she applied the thick glitter under his eyes.

"Yeah, babe?" She replied distractedly.

"Do ya think that maybe the fact that Shinzo hasn't replied is a bad thing? Like maybe something's happenin'?" Matty bit his lip as the question trailed off.

"Or maybe he's scared so shitless that he doesn't even wanna bother anymore," Ashley giggled.

If looks could kill, Ash would be dead. Matty's perfectly lined eyes cut into Ashley like daggers. "I'm not kidding."

"I'm not either," Ashley chirped. "We're metas! We're on top of the world!"

"Stop acting like you're the only metahuman on earth!" Matty finally screeched as she shrunk back a little. Her childishness was irritating him; this was an important mission to carry out, and messing around wouldn't help them. "This is serious, Ash! What if they got help?"

"From other metahumans?" Ashley snorted, defensively taking her makeup into her arms and putting it on her side of the dresser. "Who would be dumb enough to do that?"

"I don't know, Ashley," Matty sighed in frustration. "But it's worth thinking about. You know what, I'm gonna go check the altar for more messages."

"Why?" Ash asked, attitude lacing her voice and body movements. "Do you not trust my judgement or something?"

"I just want to make sure-"

"I'm not a fucking child, Matty! I know how to look for a goddamn piece of paper!"

"That's the thing: you are a child!" Matty retorted, slamming his fist down on the bed. "You're a fuckin' kid, and you're actin' like it!"

Ashley sat in stunned silence for a second before frowning deeply and shaking her head. "Just go," she told him. "If you're gonna go then just go, I don't care."

Matty cocked his head to the side in exaggerated confusion. "This is my apartment, Ashley! Don't say shit like that as if you actually own somethin'! If I want to leave, I will!" Before Ashley could get in another word, he was grabbing his jacket and leaving the room. Not three seconds later, the front door opened and then slammed shut after a moment's hesitation. Ashley violently swiped the makeup off of the dresser and onto the ground, then ran to flop herself down on the bed. Her face was shoved into the pillow when she finally burst into tears.