We are preparing to fight.

I stretch my muscles, getting in the right mindset for battle. Carefully, I look around me, assess the situation.

These tables will make fighting difficult, broken up, but on the other hand, their edges and corners could be good weapons. Maybe not lethal, due to the hardness of the Albinos' skin, but they would sure pack some punch.

I glance at our uneaten meals next.

Our plates could be used as weapons against us, unless we use them first.

I cross the room, grab the dishes, shake the food off of them, and bring them to Jake. He is cracking his knuckles and rolling his head on his shoulders, making his neck pop.

"Ready?" I ask.

"Are we sure they're going to fight us?" Jake asks.

"Yes." There is no question about it. If we don't participate in their final Trial after making it this far, the Albinos aren't going to just shrug it off and send us home. So far, we've cooperated. But now that they've killed Deirdre...now that Jake's life is on the line...

"So what happens if we somehow manage to overpower them?" Jake asks.

"Their technology is so advanced that we could probably find something to...to teleport us home or something crazy like that."

"But there's nothing left for us there."

This gave me pause. What were we going to do if we somehow defeated the Albinos? We couldn't just return to our home planet. We'd be locked back up, questioned about what happened to the spaceship and the rest of the passengers. And then there would be no guarantee that our story about aliens would be believed - in fact, it was incredibly unlikely. I was certifiably insane, after all, and Jake was a convicted criminal.

"Maybe they know other alien worlds. Places that could support our kind of life. After all, if there was one other habitable planet, there have to be more. We could go to one of them."

"So your plan is to miraculously defeat the Albinos and then live on an alien world for the rest of our days?"

"Do you have a better idea?" I snap irritably.

"No, I actually love that plan. Always wanted to get out. See the worlds." Jake grins at me and I smile back softly, glad that he's fully on board.

"But what about their skin?" I suddenly muse out loud, realizing we have to consider our biggest problem.

"Xavier used his wholly intact metal leg. Everyone else who's touched them have used their bare hands. Maybe they won't be so oblivious to shards of pottery." Jake grabs one of the plates and snaps it in half. He hands me one of the jagged pieces. I adjust it in my hand and do a few test swipes to see how I can grip it best. To test the sharpness of the jagged side, I draw it lightly along my finger. Bright red blood wells up and I grin.

"Perfect."

And then there is nothing to do but wait.

Silent, tense minutes tick by.

"What if they're not coming?"

"You mean what if they've actually given up on us?"

"Yeah. Maybe we should go look around a little bit."

"No! That's an awful idea!"

"Why?"

"There are probably countless other secret doors that we still don't know about. They could jump out at us from anywhere, at any time."

"Oh. Yeah."

We fall silent again.

"I wonder what it'll be like on an alien world."

"We may have to slit a few throats."

"My only personal promise is to never kill another human, so I can roll with that."

"Cool."

"What about the...thing...in your head? Is it coming?"

I feel a flash of amusement from the Voice. It is resting, but I can feel how tense it is. Hopefully it'll use that energy and unleash it onto the Albinos. If they ever show.

"It's kind of the only reason I know how to fight, and it can hold information much better than I can," I explain. "We would probably have to work out some terms and conditions, but yeah, she's coming."

The tendril of Voice that made me speak the words retreats, her work done. She is safe.

Jake shrugs, but he looks at me closely. "You sound different when it makes you say things."

The Voice perks up. I shoot him a warning glance that I hope he can understand.

He smiles ever so slightly and I know he's going to keep picking at that vein before his mouth even opens again. "Yeah, your pitch gets lower and you get this sort of sarcastic, edgy tone to your voice."

"Do not!"

"Voice."

"Shut up!"

"You."

"I am armed with a shard of plate."

"Ooh, that was closer! Voice."

"Stop aggravating her!"

"Nice try. Voice."

"Fine, you win."

"Normal Sage."

"Stop!"

"And normal Sage once more. Okay, I'm done."

I sigh, rolling my eyes. At least Jake has been able to tell whenever I was being sincere or when I was being unnecessarily cruel because of the Voice. Having not realized he was able to do that makes me feel better. Maybe even before he knew about the Voice, he could tell when something was different about me.

"I'm hungry," I murmur after a moment, glancing distastefully on the food I dumped on the floor. "Do you want anything?"

"Give me something with excessive amounts of chocolate and peanut butter," Jake orders grimly.

"Oh, that sounds good. I'm getting that, too."

Two slices of chocolate peanut butter cheesecake for both of us later, the Albinos still haven't arrived.

"Maybe they seriously have given up," I mutter thoughtfully, giving my cheesecake plate to Jake to break. He had also broken his earlier plate, so we each have three shards. The extra shard is tucked underneath the waistband of my dress.

"I say we keep waiting. Just show them that we're not going to move. We're not going to play into their trap."

"What if we already have?"

"How so?"

"I don't know. I just...something feels wrong about this."

"Yeah, Maggie hasn't bothered us in, like, an hour. That's a new record for her."

"Maybe that's it."

I see that Jake is struggling with where to put his extra glass shard. Moving to his side, I take the shard from him and fit it carefully into his waistband, making sure it doesn't cut into his skin. On impulse. I stay there, pressed against his side, my hands tracing the smooth side of my glass shards.

Jake lets out a breath and throws an arm around me, hugging me close.

There we sit, waiting for someone. Anyone.

And nobody comes.

Soon, Jake's yawns get more frequent and larger. I know that he is not as alert as he needs to be for battle.

And I suddenly realize that this - this is their plan.

"Go to sleep now," I tell Jake urgently, which gives the opposite effect that I desired. Jake perks up, using the back of the hand that isn't resting against my arm to wipe the tiredness from his eyes.

"What?"

"The Albinos are going to take us to the Trial while we're asleep. If you sleep, like, now, I can stay awake and alert and then you can do the same for me when you wake up."

"Well, now I'm pressured."

"I'm going to go get some coffee."

As I do so, Jake lies down on his back and tries to get comfortable. At least he's heeding my advice.

I return to his side with my cup of coffee, and soon am put on even higher alert as his breathing levels and evens as a side effect of sleep.

If the Albinos come now, we are at a serious disadvantage.