────── ★★★ ──────

────── ★★★ ──────

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟐𝟓
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐂𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐀

────── ★★★ ──────

It wasn't long before they finally arrived at a very tall tower. A chill ran throughout Roland's entire body as he stared up at the structure. If it wasn't the fog that gave it the creepy atmosphere, the moon glowing through the trees behind it did. It didn't take a genius to know this was where Alice was trapped. He was also grateful that Everly's "tower" was an island and not some tall structure. The tower was definitely something the Hood boy could live without seeing again.

He was soon pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of car doors slamming shut. After letting out a long sigh, Roland copied the girls' actions and got out of the car. A wave of sadness washed over him at the sight of Alice staring up at the tower.

"This is it, isn't it?"  Robin asked as she watched Alice take a few steps closer to the tower.

"Yep. For the first 6,205 days of my life...this was home sweet tower," the blonde girl said before taking another silent moment to stare at the tower, "I hate this place. I hate its stupid stones and its stupid turret and its dumb, mossy base. And I hate...I hate that all I've wanted to do since I left is come back. At least when I was trapped, I could have hope that when I got free, everything would be okay. But then I did. And it wasn't."

"Hey, hey, it's okay," Robin responded while taking a few steps toward Alice.

"No, no, it's not okay! Who in their right mind wants to be a prisoner?!" the blonde girl exclaimed as the latter turned around and faced the Hood siblings with tears in her eyes, "I've escaped these walls but I'm still bloody trapped. I'll never be free of it, will I?"

Without thinking twice, Roland took a few steps forward and pulled Alice into a tight hug. The girl went stiff in his arms for a moment, not used to that type of affection from anyone. However, it wasn't long before the blonde girl returned his gesture and hid her head in his shoulder. Robin watched from a distance, silently wishing to be in on their moment. But she couldn't figure out if it was because she wanted a hug from her brother or if it was because she wanted to be the one to comfort Alice.

Another moment passed before Roland carefully pushed Alice away from him while keeping his hands on her shoulders. A small smile formed on his face as he studied every inch of the blonde girl's face. After finally finding the words that he thought may help in his situation, the Hood boy finally opened his mouth to speak. "Don't be so hard on yourself, Alice. My Uncle Will always used to say 'some of the best people in this world are the mad ones.'"

Before Alice had a chance to respond, a loud roar could be heard in the distance. The three of them instantly turned their attention in the direction of the sound to find a tree flying through the air before crashing into the tower. Roland instantly grabbed Alice and Robin's wrists and dragged them behind a large boulder. The three of them crouched down to avoid being crushed by the debris as another loud roar cut through the air.

"Alice, you need to stop the troll. Now," Robin declared, only for Alice to look over at her as if she had grown another head.

"How am I supposed to do that? Just say, 'hey, troll! Stop!'?" Alice retaliated before silence cut through the air, causing the Hood siblings to exchange a confused look. It wasn't long before a hint of realization appeared in Robin's eyes as she looked back at the blonde girl.

"Yes. If anybody can do it, you can do it," the Hood girl responded right as the troll threw a tree aside and walked into the clearing, "look, you may be mad, but you have magic. I can sense it."

"She's right, Alice," Roland added to the conversation after he realized that what his sister was saying was true, "think about it. The troll came home because you wanted to come home. And when we needed an escape, the Bug appeared."

"What are you saying?" Alice questioned as her eyes continued to move between the Hood siblings.

"What if all those years ago when you wanted to escape the tower you created the troll?" Robin questioned, causing all emotion to fade from the Jones girl's face.

Confusion soon took form on Alice's face as she thought back to that day. "I wished for him on my birthday...or at least to be free."

"Why do you think he came back?" Roland asked while trying to keep his attention on the girls and not the giant troll walking around in the clearing behind them.

"Well, because...because today's my birthday," Alice responded as she looked to the ground with tears in her eyes. She stayed like that for another moment before looking back up at the Hood siblings. "And I didn't wanna be alone."

"You're not alone. We're here. I'm here," the Hood girl told her before reaching forward and placing her hand on top of Alice's, "don't you see? It was you all along. You saved yourself."

More grunting and growling could be heard from behind them, causing Roland to peek out from behind the boulder. What he saw next made his blood run even colder. "I hate to interrupt your moment but the troll picked up the Bug...and he doesn't look very happy."

The girls immediately copied his actions and looked back at the troll. All of them were frozen as they watched it swing the car around in the air. Just as he pulled his arm back to strike the tower with the Bug, Alice ran out from their hiding spot. Roland reached out to pull her back, only for Robin to grab his arm and hold him back.

"Hello, old friend. It's me, Alice," the Jones girl called out, causing the troll to stop his actions and turn his attention toward her. The beast just stared at her for a moment before Alice continued speaking. It wasn't long after that when the troll began walking towards her. That caused Roland to make a move to save the blonde girl, only for his sister to pull him back once again.

"Are you not seeing what I'm seeing?" Roland questioned with a hint of panic in his voice then he gestured at Alice and the troll, "you're okay with that happening?"

"Just give her a second," Robin responded before the two of them looked back at the scene in front of them.

They were both shocked to find Alice slowly reaching up to the troll until her hand was on its nose. The place where she touched instantly began to glow as the troll backed away from her. More parts of its body began to pulse red as it continued to move away until it settled on the ground. Not even a moment after that passed when the troll's entire body along with the car in its hand turned to stone.

Roland just stared at the rock as Robin came out from their hiding spot. The Hood boy's attention soon turned to his sister as she approached Alice, who was crying on the forest floor. A small smile appeared on Roland's face as he watched Robin comfort Alice.

────── ★★★ ──────

"I don't understand how you four lost Tilly! How hard is it to keep track of one girl?!" Everly shouted into her phone, annoyed that she had to leave her family behind again. She wanted to spend as much time with them as possible before Felix had to leave with the twins. They were still trying to keep up the facade that they barely knew each other in order not to draw attention to them. But it annoyed Everly to no end that she couldn't be with her entire family while in Hyperion Heights.

"Relax, Jo. Getting angry isn't gonna solve anything," Hook told her, causing the blonde woman to roll her eyes even though she knew he couldn't see it. Not even a second after those words passed when she heard both Roland and Sam getting annoyed with the pirate captain for his words. After hearing a sigh on the other end, the Jones man continued speaking. "I think I know where she's headed but you're closer than we are and we're running out of time."

"I know. I know," the Purest Heart responded as she proceeded to drive through the streets of Hyperion Heights. After turning another corner and seeing a figure in the distance, Everly let out a long sigh. "I think I found her. I'll call you after."

Before she could hear their response, Everly ended the call and parked her car. The Thorne woman let out another sigh before getting out of her Jeep. Chills ran throughout her body after a cold breeze greeted her while she walked over to the young girl. Alice glanced back and sent Everly a small smile before turning her attention back to the stone troll. The Purest Heart stopped next to the girl and looked up at the statue momentarily before her attention fell back on the blonde girl.

"Hey, Tilly. How's it going?" Everly greeted, only to receive silence from the girl standing next to her. The Throne woman let the silence surround them for another moment before she knew it was time to break it. "Rogers called me. He said we were out of time. I don't want to but I'm gonna have to take you in. We'll find you an alibi, I promise."

Instead of an immediate response from the girl next to her, Everly received a smile from Alice. Confusion flowed through the Throne woman's veins as she stared at the girl. It wasn't long after that when Alice opened her mouth to speak. "I think I've already found someone."

After staring at the Jones girl for a moment longer, the Purest Heart followed her gaze. She was now staring at one of the troll's eyes, confused as to how a statue was going to help them. But her uncertainty soon faded when she saw a flashing red light coming from its pupil. "A security camera?"

"He saw me. He's always seen me," Alice said to herself as her smile grew before her attention finally fell on Everly, "and now it seems he can talk."

After arriving back at the police station, Everly and Alice ran through the halls. It wasn't long before they arrived at their destination, only to find Hook, Henry, Sam, and Roland waiting in the detective's office. Before Everly could even ask if they found the right tape, the pirate captain gestured for the new arrivals to join them. Alice and Everly didn't hesitate to take their places behind the Jones man before he pressed play on the screen in front of them.

Everyone held their breath as they watched people walk past the troll without a care in the world. After letting out a long sigh, Hook reached forward and pressed the button to skip through the footage. It wasn't long after that when he stopped right before the time of the murder. Relief filled every corner of the room as everyone stared at the screen.

"This places you at the troll at the time of the blind baker's death," Hook announced as he turned to look at the smiling Alice.

"How did I not see it before?" the blonde girl questioned while keeping her eyes glued to the screen, "it was like he was winking right at me."

"Well, I checked, and the city only recently installed it because of a graffiti problem," Sam announced after looking over the information from a notebook on the table behind them.

"Guess you had a friend after all," Roland added with a giant smile on his face.

The smile on Alice's face soon faded as her eyes fell back on the screen in front of her. "But if I didn't do it, that means the real killer's still out there somewhere."

"And whoever it is tried to frame you," Henry concluded before letting out a long sigh.

"Well, that's for the three of us to worry about, isn't it?" Hook responded after gesturing to himself, Sam, and Everly before his attention fell back on Alice, "all that matters is that you're free to go, Tilly."

After sending the pirate captain a smile, Alice turned and began walking out of the room. Hook watched her for a moment before taking the notebook from Sam and placing it back on the shelf. It wasn't long after that when the blonde girl stopped right in front of the door before turning to face the Jones man. "Detective?"

Hook instantly turned around to see the conflicted look on Alice's face, causing a worried look to appear on his. "Yeah? What is it?"

The blonde girl hesitated for a moment before forcing a smile onto her lips. "No, nothing. Just, thank you. All of you. Thank you."

With that, Alice turned around and walked out of the room, leaving her allies in a state of confusion.

────── ★★★ ──────

────── ★★★ ──────