Tony ran through the trees, Chase, Vinny, and Theo following close behind him. "How do you know where we're going?" Chase gasped, tripping over a tree root. Tony hopped over a fallen tree. "I have a gut feeling." He replied.

They ran for another minute before Tony crashed through a bush and turned his brakes on. "Stop!" He yelled over his shoulder. Chase pulled to a stop behind him, followed by Theo and Vinny. They were all panting.

"Did...we...find...it?" Vinny gasped between breaths. Tony nodded slightly. "I believe we have."

"How do you know?" Theo asked. "Because they're here." Tony whispered.

Theo peered over his shoulder and widened his eyes. "Crap." He muttered.

Sparrow was approaching a women. A women with long red hair and orange streaks.

And, even though they were standing for away, Tony could hear Sparrow.

"Mom?"

***

"Mom!" Sparrow's eyes widened as the women pulled off her mask and sunglasses. Sparrow's mom nodded her head and mouthed the word "run".

Sparrow looked back at Tiquail, her friends, and her father, who were all staring at her with wide eyes. Then she looked at her mom. She shook her head violently. "I'm not leaving you." She said stubbornly.

Sparrow's mom smiled sadly and walked up to Sparrow slowly, tears glistening in her eyes-eyes that could have very easily been a reflection of her daughter.

"You have to run." She whispered. "Or I'll have to kill you."

Sparrow swallowed. "You wouldn't do that." She said, trying to keep her voice steady.

Marielle raised a hand to touch to Sparrow's face. When her fingers were an inch away from her daughter's cheek, two men came crashing through the bushes, weapons held at the ready.

They froze when they saw Sparrow and Marielle so close.

Within striking distance.

Alex smiled. He pulled his sunglasses off of his face and watched Marielle, his eyes narrowed.

Marielle leaned closer to Sparrow. "You need to run. Now." She hissed. Sparrow glared over her mother's shoulder at Alex and the man next to him, who she didn't know the name of. "I've taken him once. I can take him again." She growled.

"Sparrow it's not them. It's me." Marielle said urgently.

"You would never hurt me."
"No, Sparrow. You would never hurt me."
"But-"
"You need to leave."
"Mom-"
"Now!"

"SPARROW!" Tony's voice came from the trees. He burst out, followed by Chase, Theo, and Vinny. Tiquail shot the four of them a look.

I'll talk to you later.

"SPARROW, PLEASE!" Tony's voice was frantic, terrified. It certainly did not possess the usual level of control.

He sounded like he was in physical pain.
He sounded anguished.

"Tony..." Sparrow shot him a sad look. "I...I don't know if I can."

Tony stared at her like she was insane. Being honest, she probably was insane. She didn't realize it at the time.

"DO IT MARIELLE!" Alex shouted, his eyes dancing with a manic fire.

Marielle's eyes traveled over Sparrow, trying to remember everything about her. She wanted to remember her as the way she was.

The way she was before she...

No. She couldn't think about it.

"DO IT!" Alex screamed. "BEFORE I SHOOT HER MYSELF!"

"Mom, please!" Sparrow begged. "Please don't hurt me."

Marielle smiled sadly. Her hand moved casually toward her pocket. "I won't hurt you dear." She said quietly.

It will happen to quick.

Marielle swallowed. "Just remember, I'll always love you."

The next thing Sparrow knew, a silver dagger was sticking out of her chest. Sparrow stared at her mother in shock. Marielle pulled her hand away, blood soaking her skin.

"I'm sorry, Sparrow." She whispered, her voice echoing strangely in Sparrow's ears.

Sparrow's knees buckled. She fell to the ground, the world spinning around her. Black spots dotted her vision.

"It's okay, mom." Sparrow whispered. "It doesn't hurt."

And the funny thing was, it really didn't hurt. Nothing hurt anymore.

She couldn't feel.
She couldn't see.
She couldn't breath.
She couldn't move.

She simply wasn't there anymore.

***

Marielle walked slowly away from her daughter's body, trying to ignore the rapidly fading light in the eyes so much like her own.

The boy that had been screaming Sparrow's name ran over to her body. He fell to his knees and bent over her, his frantic voice seeming to be the only sound in all of Trails.

"NO! SPARROW PLEASE! YOU HAVE TO WAKE UP! YOU HAVE TO! WE NEED YOU!" His voice died down, and Marielle was sure she was he only one to hear his next words.

"I need you."

Marielle felt a hand lay on her shoulder. She whirled around and brought her fist up, not caring who she punched. She felt her fist connect with flesh and heard a satisfying crunch.

Alex stumbled away, holding his face in his hand. "Marielle-"

"Are you happy now, you little rat?" Marielle asked quietly, advancing on Alex and pulling another silver dagger out of her belt. "Are you happy you made me kill the only piece of family I had left that didn't hate me?"

"Marielle, calm down." The other man, Jim, said quietly. He walked over to stand beside Alex, his hand on his own dagger.

"CALM DOWN!?" Marielle snapped. "What did you think this was going to bring you?" She hissed dangerously.

"Loyalty?" Alex growled, his voice harsh. "A talented worker? A beautiful-"

"Stop trying to flatter me!" Marielle snapped, taking a few more steps toward Jim and Alex and forcing them to move backwards. "You have taken everything from me. My husband, my home, and now my last daughter!" She screamed, her voice hysterical.

Jim pulled out his dagger and approached Marielle, his hand shaking slightly. "Calm down." He repeated, doing his best to keep his voice steady while a dagger was pointed at his heart.

"STOP TELLING ME TO CALM DOWN!" Marielle slashed her dagger at Jim. The man jumped back into Alex. Marielle continued to advance toward them, her eyes glittering dangerously.

Jimmy turned and glared furiously at Alex. "I knew she wasn't trustworthy! I told you she would never be loyal to us!"

Alex opened his mouth to contradict, but Jim kept on going. "Now we're going to be killed, and it's all your fault!"

Suddenly, Jim's eyes widened. He collapsed on top of Alex, revealing Marielle behind him, her eyes wild and crazy. Alex caught Jim and stared at the gaping wound in his friend's back.

Marielle lifted her dagger, now red with Jim's blood. She pointed it at Alex. "Remember me bye." She growled, slashing her dagger down Alex's face an leaving a scratch-one that would surely become a scar.

Alex's gaze hardened. "This is a mistake, Marielle." He whispered, gripping Jim and turning to walk back toward the Tracker's compound.

"And why is that?" Marielle snapped.

Alex looked over his shoulder and smiled so cruelly it was almost inhuman.

"Because we have the lion on our side."

Suddenly, Marielle was blown over by something. She slashed her dagger wildly, but whatever was on top of her was too fast. She watched Alex retreat with Jim's body as claws tore at her flesh.

***

Tiquail let out a roar of fury. She ran at Shikira, knocking him off of Marielle. "YOU!?" She screeched. "YOU WERE THE ONE FEEDING THEM INFORMATION!?"

Shikira grinned. One of his eyes was swollen shut and the edge of his mouth was cut very badly. "Of course it was me. Didn't your genius little cheetah friend explain that to you? Funny, what some animals will do just because of-"

Tiquail slashed her claws across the lion's muzzle. "Never speak of it. I refuse to believe that I ever even looked at a dirty liar like you." She hissed.

Shikira didn't move. He only scanned Tiquail with something like respect. But the look was gone as soon as it came, so the snow leopard couldn't be sure.

"Get out of here." She whispered. "Get out of here and allow me to spare every one of those loves you have left."

"Why would you want to?" Shikira laughed. "Am I not a dirty liar?"

"Just because I kill to eat doesn't mean I should kill for fun." Tiquail whispered, leaning over Shikira's ear.

Shikira shook her away. The snow leopard jumped off of the lion. Shikira got to his paws and ran in the direction of the Trackers, leaving a trail of blood behind him.

Tiquail's chest heaved as she breathed. Her white and grey fur was smeared red in some places, but other than that she was alright.

"Tiquail!" Tony yelled. Tiquail turned and ran over to Sparrow and Tony. "What is it, child?" She whispered.

"We need to get her to a healer. Now." He said. "Why?" Tiquail growled. "She's..."

"No, she's not." Tony responded confidently. "How do you know?" Tiquail asked.

Tony looked down at his hand, stained with Sparrow's blood. He opened his fingers and revealed Sparrow's own hand, clutching at Tony like her life depended on it.

"She did it herself, Tiquail." He said.

"She's not dead?"
"Not yet."