A/N: THAT CLIFF HANGER THOUGH! THERE BE MYSTERIES ABOUT!

Why? Why am I talking like this?

Just...I'll stop.

***

"DAD!" Sparrow yelled, frantically waving her hand in front of his face. (Of course it was pointless! Don't bother pointing it out.)

Sparrow's dad moved toward Sparrow, followed closely by his daughters. Sparrow stared at her family, not sure what she could do.

She couldn't...kill them. She hadn't seen them in years, sure, but they were still her family.

Sparrow's dad and sisters formed a tight ring around her. They pulled out the slick silver instruments that shot darts and aimed them all at Sparrow. Sparrow shivered. Even though she knew very well that the darts couldn't hurt her, there was something sinister about weapons being pointed at her by her own family.

"Dad..." Sparrow whispered, walking slowly up to him. His blue eyes followed her ever move but he gave no sign that he would shoot at Sparrow. Encouraged by this, Sparrow slowly outstretched her hand and gently touched her dad's arm. Silver light started to glitter around her hand, but it was weak, and after a moment it sputtered out.

Sparrow stared, unable to believe that her magic had failed her. 

Sparrow's dad shook her off and pushed her away. She lost her balance and fell to the ground with a bone-jarring thud. 

This isn't the type of Magic that I can heal! Sparrow thought frantically. I have no way to protect myself! 

Except...

But no, she couldn't! This was family! She couldn't shed her own family's blood!

Sparrow took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She heard a small whooshing sound and five darts hit her neck at the same time.

***

"What do you mean 'Sparrow didn't come to training'?" Ainnya snapped at Tony as the group of seven walked through the door. 

Miki, who had been twirling her dagger between her fingers absentmindedly, looked up at these words. "It's true, ma'am...or cat...or whatever you'd rather me call you." She said, setting down her weapon and resting her chin on her hands. "Tony just helped us train because he couldn't train anyone...Sparrow never showed up."

Tiquail did her best to keep from baring her teeth in a satisfied sort of way. She was not happy that Sparrow had skipped training, but she had told Ainnya that the Ancient was up to something, and now, here was proof! Oh, how wonderful it was to be right!

"And you never went looking for her?" Ainnya growled, turning back to Tony, her fur bristling. 

Tony shrunk away. "N-no I didn't"

"And why, may I ask, is that?"
"Well, with her special magic I figured she'd be oka-"
"OKAY!? YOU FIGURED SHE WOULD BE OKAY!? IF ANYTHING SHE'S IN MORE DANGER! WE KNOW SOMEBODY HAS BEEN FEEDING THE TRACKERS INSIDE INFORMATION AND BY NOW THEY'RE SURE TO HAVE FOUND OUT THAT SPARROW-"

"Wait!" Dot yelled, cutting off Ainnya and turned red as the cheetah shot her a threatening glare. "Someone's been feeding the Trackers inside information?" She squeaked.

The entire room feel silent. It was a tense silence, one that you would get after someone was just informed of a loved one's death in the presence of friends.

Ainnya's ears went flat against her head. She flicked her tail angrily. 

Tiquail shot Ainnya an icy glare. She knew very well that the cheetah was more angry at Dot than she was at herself, having the prideful personality that she had. Almost as if Dot had been listening at the door instead of listening to Ainnya's open roars. 

Ainnya paid her no mind and bared her teeth at Dot, who took two steps closer to Chase. Chase wrapped his arm around her shoulders and held her protectively against himself.

"Listen," Tiquail said quietly. "I know it might seem frightening, but we can fix it."

"How?" Marley asked boldly. Tiquail shot Ainnya a sideways look. "Well...we're not quite sure, really." She said when Ainnya looked resolutely away from her. 

"Do you have an idea of who's doing it?" Miki asked. Tiquail twitched her whiskers, rather unwilling to answer the question. Ainnya had her own suspicions about who was feeding the Trackers any new information, but Tiquail didn't want to believe it, so she said nothing. 

There was silence for a moment. The three girls shot one another nervous looks and the boys set their jaws, as if they were expecting the enemy to walk into the building at that very moment. 

"It doesn't matter," Ainnya said into the tense silence. Tiquail swung her massive head around so fast to face the cheetah she heard a crack. 

She hadn't expected Ainnya to keep quiet about her suspicions, and though she was grateful that she had done so, she was also curious as to why she had chosen that decision. 

"Why don't you all go and relax?" Tiquail suggested. "I think I'll go look for Sparrow."

Marley opened her mouth to object, but both Ainnya and Tiquail looked at her sternly and her words died in her throat. 

"C'mon," Vinny said quietly, getting to his feet and leading the way up the spiral staircase. Everybody but Tony followed. 

"Tony, please go upstairs." Tiquail growled. Tony didn't even flinch. "I'm helping you look for Sparro-LET ME FINISH!" Tony snapped as Ainnya began to speak. "I'm helping you look for Sparrow whether you like it or not. She's partly my responsibility, and it's not fair for me to sit around and wait. You can't force me to go upstairs, I'm not new here anymore, and I know very well that you two wouldn't hurt me."

Ainnya sneered, but Tiquail flicked her tail in embarrassment. Whatever she might say or threaten, she wouldn't hurt Tony. He had been in Trails too long and their bond was stronger than most people (or animals) would approve of. The same went for Ainnya, and though she was contantly trying to hide it, Tony was like a human son to her. 

"Fine, come." Tiquail hissed. "But make sure you bring your sword along."