Escaping the castle was no easy feat, but after they got out and back to the hotel, they tried going out to the exercise room to look for Jimin. They did every chance they got. Kayden went in once, then Jericho, then Charlotte. Ivan was too busy mourning the loss of his friend to bother joining in the search. Ivan was the one who was convinced Jimin was gone for good.

Charlotte fought and didn't accept it. Jericho was somewhere between them while Kayden had no opinion. Really, Jericho was waiting for the death to stop. Their group that used to be 9 was reduced to 4. It didn't help that one of them was blind.

They were in their hotel room. They got a standard room with two double beds, both queen-sized. It was a tight fit with Ivan and Kayden on the same bed, and Jericho and Charlotte on the other. The files Kayden and Ivan collected were the only leads they had, and they weren't too promising.

"I don't want to do this without him," Charlotte said, tucking her knees against her chest. Jericho was behind her as they sat on their bed, him wrapping his arms around her and pulling her against him. She leaned into his touch, her soft breath hitting his neck and forming goosebumps on his skin.

"It's possible he'll come back-"

"He hates us, Jericho." As he went to protest, Charlotte cut him off. "He hates us. Both of us. Me as much as you, don't pretend that isn't true. I'm dead to him. My best friend..." She broke off and sucked in a breath. "My best friend is gone. This room is what's left of our rebellion. I don't know what to do."

"We can win this fight," Jericho said, but Kayden and Ivan sunk their heads from their spot on their bed.

"How?" He went to explain, but came up with nothing. "Do you think we're bad for each other? Jimin's right. I kept a secret for you that I shouldn't have, and now I lost my best friend because of it. We've caused so much chaos."

"We're not good for each other, Char. I'm not pretending we are, so why don't we cause chaos one last time?"

Kayden took out the blueprints and files, searching through them while Charlotte and Jericho stared at one another. Her eyes were gorgeous, him memorizing each spec in case they were separated - or killed - soon.

It was quiet, no one knowing what was their next move. "We have two options. Try to get out, or try to take out the Council once and for all," Kayden said, keeping his eyes on the papers.

"This can't be for nothing," Jericho said. "We've lost too many people to get here, I vote we keep going."

"June can't die for nothing," Ivan mumbled. "What else do I have to live for anyway? Why not at this point."

Hearing Ivan lose all hope was like a punch to the gut. At one point in time, Ivan would have done his best to save them all. Jericho couldn't fault him for that. Losing June was hard on all of them, but Ivan in particular.

Jericho was coping with Theo and Asa's deaths. Although they were flawed and brought Jericho into this mess, he loved them. There was no reason to love them, and he knew that. Yet he craved the love. It was familiar to his desire for power, only love was more tame. At least, that was what Jericho told himself. If he could overcome his addiction to power, he hoped love wouldn't be his next addiction. Why couldn't he let go and stop feeling such obsession?

"The castle is gigantic, which means there has to be waste, right?" Kayden asked, Charlotte giving him a glare.

"Oh you're not saying what I think you're saying."

"If we go down into the sewers, we can sneak inside the castle gates and get inside. The walls are too guarded, and it's not like we can parachute in. What other options do we have? We're not an ace squad anymore. We're not even the beta squad. There's either doing this the stealthy way, or doing it the stupid way."

"To be fair, both ways are pretty fucking stupid," Jericho said, and Kayden couldn't disagree.

"Look, I know we've had our differences, but trust me when I say the sewers are our best bet. I'll ask the front desk where the nearest hardware store is, and I'll buy a crowbar and some other random items so I don't seem like the criminal I am. We study the blueprints and the map and get out on the castle's property."

"From there?" Jericho asked, his eyes scanning Kayden's face.

"We fight," Kayden replied. They stared at one another, Jericho thinking of all the words he wanted to say. Most significantly, he wanted to say two words. The two words that could redefine their relationship. Redefine who they were.

He wanted to say 'I'm sorry'.

~~~

Two days after forming their plan, Jericho found himself risking it all to save their lives. No disguises, just themselves and the bag of supplies Jericho was carrying. Madam's compound was a fortress they were going to die in. There was no denying that. If they survived, Jericho would go to church and start praying. It'd take a miracle to save them, and they used up their miracles saving Ivan. Theo, Asa, and June weren't as lucky. Jimin wasn't either.

Jericho was in the lowest part of his life. Death was knocking on his door, and he knew he deserved it. There was no tiny segment of himself that denied that. His legs were moving him toward the Grim Reaper, and he was okay with that. Was it weird that he wanted the final blow to go to Jimin?

Feeling bad about it didn't change that he did it. He hoped the others would condemn him for his actions. His quest for power drove away Kayden, Jimin, Theo, Asa - everyone. All because he couldn't cope with being who he really was: a powerless monster. Desperation worked in numerous ways, but for Jericho, he utilized it to make a world he controlled. He was living in blissful ignorance to the damage he caused. If only there was a way to remedy that. If only there was a way to get Jimin to stop hurting.

They approached the manhole not far from the castle, no civilians around them. The castle was sitting atop a hill, overlooking Bromley with glistening shingles curling around the curved roofs. There were multiple sections of the castle, the arms branching out like it was straight out of a princess movie. There were gates surrounding the compound, guarded 24/7 with cameras all around the exterior. There was no way to get in through there. The sewers were their best bet.

Kayden pulled the cover off with the crowbar and winced from how heavy it was. He volunteered himself to go first, Jericho allowing him to without complaint. He planned to go last to hold up the rear, then Kayden would switch to the rear while Jericho led. Since the others were fed up with their grief, Jericho decided to memorize the tunnels they could go down. Kayden had all the files hiding inside his jacket, but it never hurt to memorize their path.

Charlotte guided Ivan to the ladder and helped him down, Jericho standing over the manhole. He froze up. Someone was watching them. He could sense the eyes pricking the back of his neck, his hairs standing up and alerting him to the shadow that was following them.

Jericho brought his eyes back to the streets. The empty streets. Not far from them, leaning against the wall of an office building, was Seong Jimin. He had his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes on Jericho. The most terrifying part was how no emotion resided there. None that he could pick up from the dozens of feet between them, although Jericho doubt it'd help if Jimin was only a foot away.

They stared at one another, Jericho not caring that he was holding up his group. He didn't tell them Jimin was watching them, he didn't want to give them false hope he was joining them. Jericho knew that, like the entire plan, his idea was dumb. He did it anyway, going to the manhole and slipping inside. The ladder smelled of rot, but he didn't care. Jericho descended.

And he didn't close the manhole like he was supposed to.

~~~
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