The walk seemed to take forever. Annie was vaguely aware of Rose congratulating Freddy. Cherical signaled a left, and they went down the following corridor.

And then Cherical signaled a halt. "In here," he said.

The girls followed him into a small room. It was empty, except wall decorations and a closet at the far end.

The doors parted, revealing a platform with a clear center. Cherical walked over and entered the 3-digit code. Annie and Savannah waited patiently, still unsure why they were here.

And then three beams shot out and enveloped Annie, shrinking her body as it pulled her to the podium. The process was painful but brief, and then she found herself standing on the podium, less than an inch tall. Cherical and Savannah were beside her. Behind her, the doors closed with a loud thunking sound. The closet was dim. A chill ran down Annie's nearly microscopic spine. She couldn't be any bigger than a mouse.

"Where are we?" she asked finally.

"This is a hologram projector," Cherical replied. "Photos of me and Charity's lives turned holograms. Its advanced technology allows it to read the photo and know where it was taken, and what happened 60 seconds before and after."

Two holograms about Cherical's reduced size appeared with a swish. A younger version of Charity, no older than 8 years old, stood before her mother. The image was clear and light blue.

"Charity?" said the woman.

"Yes, mother?" the girl replied.

"Bad news...the doctor said you had an eating disorder, amid other more mild disabilities," the woman said. "I am taking you to the doctor to rid you of it."

"What's that?" the girl replied.

"A disability of sorts," she replied.

And then the image switched. It resolved to a moving image of a doctor talking to Mrs. Hirz.

"Oh, no," the doctor said.

"What?" Hirz replied uncertainly.

"I messed up on the operation," he said.

Hirz stepped into the following room, and the sight before her made Annie pale a little. Charity had a hideous burn on her cheek, and there was a terrible gash in her arm, visible under the torn sleeve. Her hair was messy, and her expression was grim.

"Go away! Now!" she shouted.

And the image disappeared.

"She was immediately insecure...greedy...paranoid," Cherical said. "Then she met me."

An image appeared of Cherical running. Charity stopped him and asked him what was going on.

"I...don't exactly know," he replied. "What's your name, beautiful?"

"Charity," she replied.

And then a laser blast whizzed past Cherical. He dove to the ground.

Charity leaped in front of him. "If you want to kill him, you'll have to kill me too!"

"No," said the villainous pursuer. "You need to move aside."

"Never!" said Charity.

"Fine," he said, and fired. Charity flung her hands forward to defend herself...and suddenly, a magnetic field washed over the two new friends and absorbed the blast. The second blast rebounded and hit the villain.

"You saved my life!" Cherical said gratefully. "For that, I hereby declare a life debt to you. I am now your servant."

Charity was shocked. "Um...OK," she finally said.

The image was replaced again. In this shot, Cherical and Charity were both leaning against a hill.

"Did I ever tell you about my pills?" Charity inquired.

"No," said Cherical. He looked the same now, only his hat was off and he had more hair.

"Well, the secret ingredient is crossed ink," Charity said. "I've discovered that. Can you help me build a camp? By the lake?"

"Sure," Cherical replied.

The next image was of Charity and Cherical both nailing in floorboards with their hammers.

"You know, maybe exercise would help," Charity finally said. Cherical looked at her and finally nodded.

The image transitioned halfway, and it showed Charity returning, drenched in sweat. The real and shrunk Cherical added that this was the sixth exercise session.

"I made it!" said Charity's hologram. "I don't (gasp) think it's (gasp) helping..." Her knees buckled, and she fell against a wall. "I need to go lie down..."

The image switched again. Here Cherical's hologram stood by the window.

"Cherical?" said a familiar voice.

Cherical turned. Charity was in the room the projector displayed, standing behind him. To his surprise, and Annie's, she was wearing a tight, flashy supersuit with a red belt and matching scarlet gloves. "Yes?" Cherical's hologram replied.

"After the cross letters work, I will be a superhero. I will use my powers to help uplift people," Charity said. Adjusting her belt, she frowned. "I hate to put the kids through this. I promise, I will shut down the factory the day the ink runs through. And it is my number one priority to return the kids home safely. Then we will finish the last stage."She pointed. "I already finished my suit."

"I promise, I will help you," Cherical replied. "I will."

"Thanks so much," Charity replied. Her expression looked sincere and thoughtful.

The image disappeared. Annie rose up out of the pit, and moments later she lay on the cemented floor in exactly the same room with the closet and wall hangings.