Plip. Plip. Plip. When I wake up, I don't know where I am. My soul feels like it has been sucked out of my body. My breathing is shallow. Plip. Plip. Plip. My hands feel wet. Plip. Plip. Plip. My head feels heavy. Everything hurts. My eyes hurt. My chest hurts. My throat hurts. Everything hurts. Plip. Plip. Plip.

"Are you okay?" A familiar and comforting small voice echoes, bringing light into this seemingly dark room. Wherever this is. Tears stream down my face. I don't know where Elise is. I don't know what happened to Franklin. He could be dead for all I know. He could be tortured. Demitra betrayed us. She betrayed us all. And to think...just hours ago...we were all working happily together. In that cafe, treating each other to sweets. Getting ready to serve the customers.

"Issa..." I see the small frame and I know who she is. She steps into the light and nods.

"You suddenly appeared here, are you okay?" I look down to see the bandages wrapped around my body, blood seeping through. It looks like they were messily put together, and it's almost falling apart. I lift my eyes back at her, and realise her small hands are trembling. And her white dress is covered in blood.

"I'm okay, Issa, thank you," my lower lip starts quivering as I feel my chin crinkle. Tears well up in my eyes. She doesn't even know me that well. She doesn't even know where I came from, why I killed them, what I did. But she still cares about me. She stands there for a while, right hand over left, standing straight as usual. She doesn't really know what to do. But then her small feet step forward, step by step, until she reaches the bed. Then she opens her hands wide. And she doesn't move any closer nor any further. She stands there, in that position, staring at me.

"Are you...offering me a hug?" I can hear the water reach my voice, and it's shaking. Her head bobs up and down like a doll. And I lean in, and hug her. She's so small. She's so, so small. She's so young. I'm injured. I'm a wanted murderer. And yet, here she is, accepting me. Not shunning me, questioning me. Not backing away from me like Franklin did. She immediately helped me the best she could, even though she didn't know how.

"Thank...you..." I cry between sobs, letting the tears fall for the first time in years. I'm crying? Not Ash? Ash is supposed to be the one crying! 

"You're safe," she says, patting my back with her small hands. "I'll protect you."

This is coming from a 5 year old child. One who is small, one who cannot possibly beat anyone bigger than her. She probably doesn't even know martial arts or self defence. And yet...

I've never felt more secure in my life.

"Why... are you helping me? Even though you could get into trouble?" I ask, unsure whether to trust her or not. One of the people I thought I could trust the most in the world just betrayed me. She just wanted to use me from the very beginning.

"Because you're my friend," she said simply, tilting her head to the side, as if she was saying, 'What else could there possibly be to it?'. The light in the room seemed to shine on her. It's ridiculous. But it feels like I can almost see a halo above her head and the wings on her back. The purity that she has. She's just a kid. And I roped her into all of this mess. I can't stay here longer. What if they come after her because they helped me?

"You must pretend you never saw me," I urge her, while trying to sit up. But as I do, a sharp pain shoots through me, taking the wind out of me, and I collapse back down. I cough and I feel the red liquid coat the sheets. Her eyes widen and she starts trembling like a leaf in the wind. I see her eyes glistening in the light.

"You must go to the hospital," it's her turn to urge me, and there is an edge in her voice. She's worried about me. She's...worried...about me. I could start crying again, but now is not the time. I don't know where they are. But I suspect that they can find me easily. They found me so quickly the first time.

"I can't," I whimper, shaking my head. "They'll catch me. I don't have an identification, I don't have money." She grabs hold of my hand, and I now notice that mine are at least 3 times bigger than hers.

"It's okay, I'll get...if you trust me, if you don't mind, I'll get someone to look at you," she whispers. She looks me in the eye knowingly, because she can tell I don't really want other people finding out I'm here. I hesitate.

"Where will you find--"

"My parents usually hire a private doctor for me. If I call the maid to call him, he'll come right away," she says. Right. I forgot. She's a young kid that is rich, but doesn't really care for all the riches. "Don't worry, the maids don't know you're here, as of now. And they won't know unless you don't mind them knowing."

It just hits me how mature this 5 year old is. She's grown up too fast. Her English is...perfect. Her sentences flow well. She's handling this situation strangely well too. It's like she's a teenager stuck in a young child's body. Maybe...maybe because she's so young, and left all alone to a big house (probably), that she was forced to grow up too fast.

"Okay," I say, giving in, and deciding to put my faith in someone again. Despite being betrayed just hours ago. Despite feeling doubts cloud my mind. Because...it's Issa. She was my first friend. She was the first one...to understand me. To look past my flaws, and accept me as I am. "Please call the doctor."

...

Bang! She slams her hand on the table so hard her hands turn red. Sparks of lightning are shooting out from her head. Even when she used the wind to propel her forward, she still could not grab hold of Avery as he was disappearing. They lost him. Again.

Henry flinches, as usual, but he is secretly relieved. He knows that she cannot fully blame him or get rid of him now, since she herself was there and could not stop him from escaping. But...something is bothering him. He cannot get the red gleam of the boy's eyes out of his mind, and that smile upon his lips. There's something wrong with the boy, but he just doesn't know what. There's also something special about him. His boss has never been so hung up over another Powered before. So determined to get him.

"We have no choice. Send out another wanted poster of Avery, this time of his current form," she says through her teeth, clenching her fists.

"But ma'am, he can just...shapeshift again. And no one can find him again," Henry replies, which she thinks is a very good point. But she doesn't know what else they can do. She cannot let this boy run rampant. No one has ever escaped their grasps before, especially with her there. She was too careless the previous times. The third time must be the charm. She must get her hands on this boy, no matter what.

"Then what can we do?" She flings her hands in the air with an exasperated sigh escaping her lips. For the first time, she's at a loss.

"I think we can...do that, ma'am," Henry says, standing upright at attention, ready for the backlash he might receive for even suggesting doing that at all. Aureole turns to face him, and he thinks that he's done, for sure this time.

"Henry..." he awaits his pending doom. "That's brilliant!" His eyes widened in shock at her approval, which is rare to come by these days ever since Avery appeared.

"Send these words: Find him. No matter what. Dead, or alive," she says with a hint of anger. Henry bows deeply, before heading out the door, glad that he is still on his two feet and relieved that he has survived this long.

Determination reaches his eyes and his jaw sets. He must accomplish what his boss wants, no matter the cost.

Especially if he wants to live. At this, he hurries off to deliver her message.

Aureole stands up, moving away from her desk and looking at the view below. She is in an office building, about 50 stories high from the rest of the world. She stares at the lights and the cars zooming by. It is a marvellous sight. All of this will be hers. If she just...manages to get her hands on the boy. With the boy, everything will fall into place.

"Just you wait," she mutters, glaring at the world beneath her. "I'm coming for you."

...

"Someone is here to see you," Issa says, wringing her hands together. I am well recovered, though I think I'll need at least another month to recover properly. At least I'm alive and well. I frown, knowing that Issa would never sell me out to anyone. So who could it be?

"It's the old man you were with at the cafe," she says, and my eyes light up like the stars. Franklin! He did mention he had tracking powers. It seems that he managed to escape!

"How are you kid?" he gruffs, and he took one look up and down, before snorting. "You...just had to go get yourself hurt again, didn't you?" He folds his arms and shakes his head in disapproval. It doesn't matter to me. I climb out of bed and limp over, trapping him in a bear hug. I snuggle my head into his chest. It feels so warm. His hands are probably up in the air, because he doesn't know how to react.

"I thought you were hurt," I say, my voice muffled by his clothes. He slowly puts his palm on my back and starts patting it.

"I'm fine kid, I'm fine. Also...I'm not exactly the only visitor you have..." I lift my head up and move slightly backwards. Then I see a face with hollow cheeks and dark grey eyebags.

"Elise..." my stare slowly turns into a glare, and I can hear myself practically growling at her presence.

"Hear me out," she says, raising her hands and her eyes widening in fear. She knows that I think she betrayed us. Which I'm almost a hundred percent sure of. I think it was her voice that I heard that day.

Franklin sat me down and forced me to listen to her story.

"So to be clear...You betrayed us, because you needed the money. And also now you want us to help you because your entire family is missing? So you betray us and want us to help you??" I say in utter disbelief. She dare ask us for help after she did that to us. She hangs her head low.

"Well, I betrayed you because...I...Demitra told me that you guys...I don't know she made it seem like you were bad, and she needed my help...and I also needed the money...for my family...but now my family's missing, and...and...I think I got it all wrong...I think she's the bad one, not you guys..." I cross both my arms and legs. I don't know what she's thinking, expecting me to believe her just like that.

"Kid, I think she's telling the truth. Look, Aureole fooled all of us. She fooled you, too, didn't she?" Franklin steps in, defending her, which is so unlike him. I raise my eyebrow. But...it's Franklin. The old man who is suspicious and doesn't easily trust anyone. If he trusts Elise shouldn't I trust her too? But...he also did trust Aureole. So did you. Ash scoffs. As if you're any better.

"Who's Aureole?" Elise looks between the both of us, confused. I guess...she really didn't know.

"What did she say to convince you?"

"She told me that you were the same Avery who killed people on the news, just heavily disguised like Mission Impossible style, with a realistic mask," she mumbles, fiddling her thumbs.

The silence fills the room. Because me and Franklin know that... it's half true. And she... isn't wrong.

"She also told me that Franklin was your accomplice in helping you escape the police," she adds, now running her fingers through her hair, anxious at how absent of noise the room is.

"Fine," I give in, still apprehensive about this. But...Ash knew all along that Aureole was bad. Or at least she claims to know. And Ash isn't raising any qualms about this. "We'll help you." She immediately brightens at my announcement.

"But..." her shoulders slump a little, and she bites her lower lip. "I'm not doing it unless you swear that you won't betray us again. If you do, I'll kill you." Her face grows pale at my last words, and a smile forms on her lips because she thinks I'm joking. But she sees my black face and it sets in that I'm not. So she nods vigorously. I lift up my phone and hover my finger over the record button. She gulps, and opens her mouth a few seconds after I hit it.

"I swear that I won't betray you guys again," she blubbers, her voice trembling. I press the red button again, and save it.

"Issa, Franklin, you're witnesses," I say, just for more backup. So that she can't take back her word. It's not like I can actually sue her, but it just makes it feel more...I don't know, concrete? Safe? Issa nods. She has been silent throughout this entire conversation. Franklin initially wanted Issa to leave the room for the three of us to have a conversation. But I insisted she stayed, because she deserves to know some of the details for housing a fugitive in her home. If she wants the full story, I can tell her later. 

I lock eyes with the both of them. 

"So, what's the plan?"