"Everyone," Uncle Donny asks. "Everyone," I reply. "I need backup. I have a plan to defeat Tanya, and I need you all to help me. I have no idea where I am, but I'll wait for you to track me on a GPS tracker. Once you find my location, meet me here. Then we can all find Tanya together." Uncle Donny sighs, "Lyrica-" "Just trust me," I say. "All right," he says, after a few brief moments of silence. "Let's do this." He hangs up then, and I prepare myself for battle as I wait for backup. It's quite a long wait, but I finally feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn around to see Bree smirking at me. "Hey," she says. I smirk and give her a fist bump. "The others should be here soon," says Bree. As if on cue, Daddy Douglas, Uncle Donny, and Ash come running to my side. "We're here," Daddy says. I smile at all three of them. "I'm here," Auntie Tasha cheers, running to Uncle Donny's side. Uncle Donny looks at Auntie Tasha, his eyes open wide. "What are you doing here," he cries. "I'm here to fight," Tasha replies. Donald gives a scream of frustration, "I'm trying to keep you safe! You need to stay out of this!" "I do what I want, Donald," Auntie Tasha says. "I'm not helpless. I can take care of myself."

  I suddenly realize that I know exactly how Tasha feels. "Yeah, Uncle Donny," I say, sticking up for my adoptive aunt. "She can take care of herself." Uncle Donny sighs, "Fine, fine." He turns to Auntie Tasha and rubs her arm. "I'm just worried about you, honey." Tasha smiles, "I'll be fine." "Did somebody call for some backup," says a voice. I turn around to see Adam and Leo standing behind me. "Duh," Adam says. "Of course. Lyrica did. Keep up, Leo." Leo rolls his eyes. I laugh and turn to face my adoptive father and my real father. "Thanks, Dads," I say, hugging them. "We thought we'd tag along," says a distinct female voice. I turn around to see Skylar, Oliver, and Kaz smiling at me. I smile back.

  "Excuse me," says a distinct voice from behind me. "I believe that somebody called for some backup?" I grin and turn around to see Chase walking toward me with a sly smirk on his face. I laugh, and once he's close enough to me, I grab him gently by his hair and bring him in for a long, passionate kiss, which he returns with just as much passion, if not more. Someone gags and we break away from the kiss. "Please," Leo wails. "Stop! Enough with the public displays of affection! My sensitive little boy eyes can't take it anymore!" I roll my eyes. "I agree with Leo," says Oliver. "You two should really cut back on the PDA." I can sense the jealousy in his voice, and it worries me. Skylar seems uncomfortable. "Well, everyone's here," she says to me. "Would you care to explain your plan to us now?" I smirk, "With pleasure."

  Once I explain my plan, everyone seems to be in favor of it, although none of them make it very clear except for Chase, who says to me, "Wherever you go, I'll follow, whether you like it or not." "Well...we have a plan," says Bree. "But we're stuck in the middle of nowhere!" "Boy, you sure have a knack for picking the most remote places to get lost in, don't you, Lyrica," Leo asks, sarcastically. I glare at him, "Boy, you sure have a knack for messing up on missions and then being quick to point out other people's mistakes, don't you, Leo? If I remember correctly, there were plenty of times, even after you got bionics, that you screwed up. For example, when you nearly destroyed Mission Creek High trying to impress Janelle! Oh, and also, there was that time where you you froze Janelle and your mother in blocks of ice by using a device that you were specifically told not to touch!"

  Leo frowns, "Well, if you wanna pick at an old wound." I glare at him again, annoyed. "Wait a minute," says Daddy Douglas. I turn to see him kneeling down and looking at the ground. He looks puzzled, "Are these...paw prints?" "Yes," I say. "I found a talking dog with bionics." I glare at Chase, "I'm not crazy." "I never said that you were crazy," Chase says, defensively. "I said that you weren't making any sense." "Same difference," I snap. "Yikes," Chase says. "Sorry." I sigh and pat him on the shoulder, "It's okay." "So what's our first order of business," Ash asks me. I think for a moment. Then I point to Genius 's paw prints, "Follow that dog!"

  "Okay," says Daddy Douglas. "You're the boss." And so, we all start to follow Genius 's paw prints. Not long into our journey, I start to feel slightly woozy. I start to fall, but Chase catches me and holds me in his arms. No one notices even though we are going at a pretty slow pace. "Are you okay," Chase whispers into my ear. The truth is, I'm not entirely okay. I feel sick and weak, but I decide to lie. "I'm okay, I'm okay," I say. "Are you sure," he asks, skeptical. "I'm fine," I say. Chase sighs, "Lyrica-" "I said I'm fine, all right," I snap. I look at him and see his eyes shining with tears. "All right," he whispers. I sigh, rest my head against his, and look down. For some reason, I don't have the courage to meet his eyes. "I'm sorry about the way that I left things between us earlier," I breathe. "It's okay," he says. "You had a right." I scoff, "To elbow you in the stomach and run off? I don't think so." He shrugs, "I deserved it." I look up at him, stunned, "What?" "I deserved it," he repeats. I sigh, "Chase-" "Yo, lovebirds," Bree yells. Chase and I look away from each other. "C'mon, slow pokes," Bree calls to us. "We gotta get goin'!" Chase intertwines our fingers as we run to catch up with everyone else.

...

  "I don't think that these paw prints are leading us anywhere," Leo says. "What if we're just wasting time?" "Trust me," I say. "We're not wasting time. We need that dog. There's something special about him." Chase leans over and whispers in my ear, "Besides the fact that the dog reminds you of me?" I give a slight gasp, "How did you-?" He interrupts me, "You named him Genius. It's kind of obvious. Well, obvious to me, anyway." I playfully punch him in the arm. "Ow," he chuckles. "Wait," Adam says. "There really is a talking dog with bionic?" I nod. He gasps excitedly, "Can I have a talking horse that fights crime?" I sigh and walk over to him. "Never change, Adam," I say, patting him on the shoulder. He chuckles proudly.

  "Listen up, guys," Uncle Donny says. "It's getting late. We should probably find a safe place to sleep and continue searching in the morning." "Agreed," I say. And just like that, it's settled. We're on our way to find a place to sleep. We eventually find a decent sized cave, make sure that it is safe, and settle down. "It's freezing," Bree shivers, a few moments after we settle down. "Shouldn't we start a campfire or something?" "Ooh, I love campfires," Adam butts in. "Let's all sing a campfire song!" "NO," we all shout in unison. Adam scoffs, "Fine." "Yes, a campfire would be nice," I say. "I'm on it," Leo says. "I'll go gather the materials." He starts to get up, but Auntie Tasha runs toward him and sits him down. "No way," she says. "I am not letting my baby go out into the woods alone at night." "Mom," Leo whines. "I'm not a baby!" "You're my baby," Tasha says.

  Leo rolls his eyes, "Fine. You can come with me." "I wasn't asking for your permission," Tasha says, grabbing Leo's hand. She turns to us and says, "We should be back shortly." "Be careful," Donald says, worry clear in his voice. "We will," Leo and Tasha say in unison. And then, they're off. "Well," Skylar says, yawning. "I don't know about you guys, but I am exhausted!" She rests her head on Oliver 's shoulder, clearly trying to get his attention. He doesn't pay her any mind. Something weird is going on. I just know it. I give an obnoxiously loud yawn, desperate to make things less...uncomfortable. "I agree with Skylar," I say. "Boy, I am beat!" "I think we should all get some sleep," Daddy Douglas says. "We have a long journey ahead of us." I get a sharp pain in my shoulder and wince. "Are you okay," a voice asks. I jump and turn around to see Ash looking at me. I scoff, "Why do you care?" Ash looks heartbroken, "Lyrica, I know that I did some terrible things, but I don't remember doing them. Can you please just...give me a chance to be the father that I never got a chance to be?"

  I look at him, long and hard. I still don't know if I can trust this man, even though I kind of believe him. So I don't give him an answer. Instead, I say, "You should get some rest. It's really late, and we all need to prepared for whatever comes next." His eyes fill with tears and he nods. I almost feel bad for him, but it's gonna take a long time for me to gain back his trust. I find a spot in the cave that is quite comfortable for me, and soon, I fall peacefully asleep. The peace doesn't last though, because I have another nightmare about my mother's death, and I wake up shrieking and screaming like a lunatic. Everyone jumps up and starts panicking. Chase bolts over to me and holds me tightly in his arms. "SHE'S GONE," I scream. "MY MOM IS GONE! SHE'S DEAD!"

  Chase just holds me tighter. "I know, Princess," he says, softly, stroking my hair. "It'll be okay. It'll all be okay. I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere. We're not going anywhere. Everyone's here. It's okay. It's okay." "She's dead," I sob. "She's dead!" "I know, baby," Chase whispers, kissing my hair. "I know." I bury my face in his chest and cry. I peek at Ash, and he looks so sad. He looks like how I have been feeling for quite awhile now. Lost.