Jessica:

Hearing the sounds of battle I shot across the ground along the train tracks. How far away were they? Would I get there in time? How much time had already passed in battle? What could the boys even do?

I stopped, looking ahead to see the boys on either side of Tyrin, Xao up on a train car and Kyle holding up his magnet to his right as he backed away. Tyrin's eyes were on Kyle.

Tyrin was slowly moving up his left arm. I knew that was his pulse cannon, and Kyle's magnet would do nothing about it. I tore out my sword Sally and screamed, lightning ripping out and firing between Tyrin and Kyle.

Tyrin turned his head to me, both boys shooting away from him in blurs of color. The boys appeared beside me, Xao grabbing my hand. "Destination north, three seconds." He said.

I watched as Kyle held up his right hand while dumping the contents of three of his bags of iron dust. He closed his right fist as we all closed our eyes.

I heard Tyrin appear close to us, but I shot away anyway, feeling the metal dust impact my face, sweater, and pants.

As I shot away, I counted to three, then stopped.

I opened my eyes and the boys were with me. We looked on as a massive area was covered in dust.

We were back in the area where Raven and Jaden had rescued J-Star.

"Well Jess- we can retreat and try again, but- he's alone right now," Kyle said. "How many better chances are we gonna get at this?"

"So are we," I said. I closed my eyes. "Actually, no we're not..." I closed my eyes and folded my hands, kneeling and bowing my head.

"Jess this is hardly time, Tyrin will be here any moment!"

"Xao is right, faith means nothing if you'll do nothing for it," I said. "God, hear me..."

(***)

J-Star:

Jaden and I traveled down the hill quickly, me having to piggyback for the journey.

"What's going on?" I asked. "Shouldn't we try to back up the kids?" I asked.

"Kids?" Jaden asked, laughing as we kept running away. "They're way more than kids, and I think over the years we've learned not to underestimate kids anyway."

"Still..." I said. "I can fight... maybe..." I felt horrible leaving the others to fight Tyrin alone. None of us had ever even come close to beating that man despite several engagements and really... my stomach churned as I realized there was likely no reason to believe this time would be any different.

"Someone needs us, Jay," Jaden said as we finally reached the van. We had been able to run straight there as it was a pretty sure shot none of Tyrin's men were watching the woods right now- they had other issues to deal with- like running for their lives. He opened the passenger side door and placed me inside. "Besides, you may not fight physically like the rest of us, but you would still need to move around to be effective." I clenched my fists, feeling so helpless sitting in that van.

"So just leave me here and go back yourself," I said.

"Did you not hear me? Someone else needs us. And in a capacity, I wager you can help with even in your state. We're not the only ones surrounded by enemies right now." He moved quickly to the other side of the van and got in. "Remember those kids you were supposed to protect?"

"Oh right- Jacobson got a hold of them?" I asked, guilt creeping in for how I had stopped even considering their fate.

"Might have been better if they had," Jaden said. I gave him a raised eyebrow. "Hard to say, Jay. Turns out, Devon is a gargoyle."

"WHAT!?" I practically screamed. "You guys DO remember I haven't taken your side on that matter right? If they're gargoyles- let them meet their fate with the Banshees, better than letting that woman and her children slowly go insane-"

"We're going in to rescue them," Jaden said forcefully. "Or I am. Devon risked a damn lot to help us out here, no matter his true allegiance. We owe him." He paused for a moment. "To be honest, even now I'm not sure we have the whole story on the guy. But his kids are kids, and regardless, we should still try to protect them."

"I owe nothing to a gargoyle," I said with a glare.

"Ya know what? Fine," Jaden reached across my lap and opened my door. He shrugged, waving at the open door. "Get out."

"What?"

"Sit by the side of the road for all I care. You know what we are don't you?" he asked.

"I don't know that any of us are sure right now what we are," I said hesitantly, figuring that was along the lines of what he was getting at... maybe? "That doesn't mean we just go after random missions."

"Really?" he said, starting to give a minor chuckle. "Maybe we lost sight of what we are- but let me remind you. We're the Tracers. We're a group of the children of different races, formed by a crazy girl with a heart too big for her own good." He started to smile, even as he waved for me to leave if I wanted. "We've fought, again and again, we've been in the midst of massive wars all around us, but every time, we've fought above all, to save and protect those who could not fight for themselves. We are children of privilege and misfortune, putting everything on the line, not for causes, but people themselves. We fight to save people." He shook his head. "My siblings are off trying to end a great conflict, and I'm off to save a woman and two kids. The conflict is what we have to do, saving those kids has been what we choose to do. This is what we are, protectors of individual people. If you don't want to choose that life, Xao will understand, just walk out of our lives."

"I CAN'T walk. You're leaving an injured girl out here alone?"

He raised an eyebrow at me. "You're hardly defenseless even now. I'm fighting for those who can't fight. You either join me or get out. I'm not debating several hundred-year-old histories while people alive right now are in danger. You don't know where you stand on the gargoyles? Well, either you have faith in me and my siblings that we know what we're talking about, or you get out."

"I've been taught about the Purge all my life. It was an act of justice and mercy, you're asking me to turn on all of that and just have faith that you're right?"

"I don't have time to convince you."

I closed my eyes. I heard that strange voice again.

'Daughter. This is a test. Can you let go? Can you not know all the answers and fight anyway? Can you accept that you're weak, and say that you don't know?'

"I leave you, I leave on principle. If I'm wrong, I'm leaving two innocent children to die for no reason. I go with you, I may have to face my own beliefs and who knows where that leads."

"Talk to Kyle if you want to know where it can lead. Standing for what you believe in can lose you everything. Power, connections, you name it." Something clicked on hearing that. "

'So, what will you do? Will you risk your "power" or not?'

He continued. "You either risk yourself and who knows what else that you have and go with me, or you get out and abandon someone who needs you."

"You won't judge me either way?"

"You'll judge yourself."

I closed my eyes. At the end of it, what was the question here? What was the gamble? If I was wrong, I was abandoning innocent children, if I was right, I was saving them for a life as monsters.

'Daughter, maybe, maybe. What do you have faith in? The evidence also says that you can't be a better person either. Do you, or don't you have hope in spite?'

I slammed my door shut. "Drive."

(***)

Apparently, Jaden had been told where they had taken Devon's family, so we were spared having to investigate that part of the adventure.

We drove through a large trailer park, me seeing one black family after another. How many of them were banshees I didn't know, but probably most.

We drove past several run-down mobile homes, dogs barking at us from behind torn apart and run-down fences. All around were BBQ grills and fire pits where people would make their meals. Kids were playing around or sometimes even in the street, and it seemed like each property was only marked by its respective mailbox- well, some had fences, but others didn't.

Another Banshee base. Pretty much everyone here was a member of the secret societies, mostly banshees. A few were non-mutant familiars, people who had been saved by banshees but asked too many questions about their heroes. These people had been forced out of normal society, often made to leave family and friends to live in a new world.

It was a tradition apparently. Every so often a man or woman would start sniffing around after seeing unusual things, such people would oft be labeled "inquisitors". These inquisitors would be confronted by teams of werewolves or banshees or maybe mixes of such. They would be offered money or other rewards to simply leave with the team any evidence they had found and go about their lives. If these people refused, they would be given the option to induct themselves into the societies. These inductees would become familiars.

Those who refused to move on or join us... well, they would often live in these homes too, but as prisoners instead of allies. They would sometimes have another chance to join the societies. The werewolves for many years had tried to move away from killing inquisitors, but even to this day, if someone resisted too much, it wasn't out of the question.

We drove through this nest of criminals who fancied themselves heroes and their prisoners. I had to admit, the longer I actually lived in the societies, the more I questioned their morality.

"You think they want to make the family of Devon into familiars?" I asked Jaden as we slowly drove through, Jaden no doubt looking for a specific address.

Jaden nodded. "That's probably the plan. But there's no way they can hide what they are forever like that."

"If we find a way to get them out of here, won't the wolves and banshees be hunting them until they're found again anyway? I mean if people get away from custody there have to be contingencies for that."

"No system is flawless," Jaden said, still scanning for the address. "Certainly not one made by a bunch of people hiding from the world. People escape custody all the time, however, they generally have to go into hiding themselves- so the secrets are kept either way." He slowed the car to a stop in front of a brown trailer that had a green tarp held up by cheap wood over its front door. "Devon is waiting at a certain location not far away. We get these people out of here, meeting back up with their father and staying out of sight from there will be up to them. Course- given what they are, that's probably not a way they're unaccustomed to living anyway."

We got out of the car, Jaden having to carry me.

Immediately two black women came up to us. "Jaden?" one asked. "What are you doing here?"

Jaden shifted my weight a little, me shrieking at the pain... I had to swallow thoughts of strangling Jaden for that one. "Jay here is out of commission, I'm getting her out of the fight. I'm just here to assure her the family she was guarding is okay. Would it hurt to just have a look?"

The banshee woman shrugged and led us to the trailer behind her.

When we were in the trailer we looked around at the dirty clothes strewn around us, a woman and her two children sitting eating at a table in obviously borrowed clothes. Jaden shuffled me over and deposited me with them.

The seven-year-old girl looked at me. "Oh yeah- the jerk," she said.

"The drill sergeant," the ten-year-old said.

"I take it thou had to be a little rough," said the banshee. She chuckled as she and Jaden walked out to talk for a while.

I watched them leave, the door closing. Go time. I didn't have long to get the family on board so- time to go for the throat. "So... you're gargoyles," I said casually. Both children paused eating immediately.

"Who told? Did you Kevin?" the little girl asked. "Mommy said not to!"

"It wasn't me!" Kevin exclaimed back. I waved and shushed them both.

"Don't you shush my children!" the woman. "Now that we're talking on somewhat even grounds I- I thank you for your quick thinking. I know you were attacked, but we were safe in the basement... I suppose now we have to fight you."

I pointed down at my leg. "I guess you figured I'm an illusionist- but this is no illusion." I lifted my pant leg to show the now huge purple bruise. "It's broken and even the pharaoh tech drugs I stole will have me laid up for a while with this. Course if I were here to fight I would have just stabbed your mom and exposed her while the banshee was still in here."

"You're a direct one hm?" the woman asked.

"Are we gonna be okay?" asked the little girl, Tori, I remembered was her name. Her brother sitting next to me wrapped an arm around her and glared at me.

"I'm not the enemy guys," I said, putting my hands up. "But we need to get out of here. Jaden comes in, you three grab hands and I'll guide you out. We're gonna pretend to be trying to get you to our trailer for more normal reasons. They say yes, we just walk out, they say no, we sneak out... you will have to help me either way of course."

"You do this, what happens to you?" asked Kevin. "The banshees think you snuck us out, they're not gonna be happy."

"We'll handle that ourselves," I said.

"I hope they forgive this for your sake," said the woman. "Your illusions, which I gather you will be using somehow, will fade and you will be found out." She looked away. "We're at your mercy girl. Just call out, and this is over. Don't, and your cover story may not work and you'll be on the run from everyone like us."

"One path gives me power, the other can make me lose more power than I even appreciated having." I sighed. "Lucky for you that's on topic for a lesson the cosmos seems to be teaching me- don't ask, life can get weird."

I waved my hand in the air. "This is my crutch." An image of a crutch appeared in my hand.

"You were carried in here," Kevin said.

I chuckled. "And your mom will have to carry me out so- that's a thing. It's an image, not a real thing."

"So um... what do we do until then?" asked Kevin.

"I don't know... kinda all I had to say there. In the movies this is when Jaden would come back in by sheer coincidence..." we all turned to the door. "Hmm...."

Kevin started drumming his fingers on the table.

Finally Jaden walked back through the door, the children just barely avoiding sighing with relief. "As I said, we think Tyrin's men have traced the family here. They didn't go after them before because Jay was their target but now... so can we take them out of here?"

"And like I said- I'm sure you have a point I just have to ask my superiors- any reason you just blurted that out suddenly?" the woman with him asked.

Could we just wait for the superiors? I bit my lip- probably be harder to sneak out if we did. In for a penny... I grabbed the hand of Devon's wife, her picking me up with one arm like I weighed less than air. She then grabbed Kevin's hand and Kevin grabbed his sister.

The three of them vanished as only the image of me left the table, images of them staying at the table as well. Jaden shrugged his shoulders as the banshee walked out with us, the family rushing out before her and Jaden of course.

Jaden walked behind the image of me crutching along and opened the van door. I felt as the family shoved themselves in and all hid under the seats.

"Well, get back to me," Jaden said as he got back in the van. "We'll wait outside the park."

"You could just wait in here," the woman said.

"Last time Tyrin's goons attacked us they got everyone pinned because everyone was inside the park. You don't let me get them out- I'll at least help that outcome not be repeated." The banshee woman shrugged.

And thus we drove out.

Out of the camp, the woman sat next to me. "I can't thank you two enough for this."

"It's alright," I said. It looked as if we were just in eyeshot of the banshee camp. "You ready to make a break for it?"

The woman sighed. "Whatever my husband says- we owe you."

"Yeah- you're alright!" Kevin said. "Still a drill sergeant, but an alright one."

"She okay with you honey?" asked the woman, but her daughter didn't answer. Instead, Tori just snuggled into my side with a huge smile on her face.

"What does your husband say?" I asked back.

"Well, you should know that-" she began, but Jaden interrupted.

"Yep, they just went in that trailer- move it guys!"

Thus the family jumped out of the trailer and I used my device to project the sounds of a battle. The family made a break for it as the banshees ran to our trailer.

Devon's family got away. It was all so easy.

Jaden made his excuse that we were actually getting ready to make a break for it if Tyrin attacked again.

The banshee leaders were split on if they liked the plan Jaden told them about- especially considering it apparently failed.

Eventually... a long eventually... I and Jaden were alone.

I was relieved everything went over so cleanly- still- what did she mean? What exactly would her husband say?

Then again, I looked at the clock in the car and sighed. We had been out here for hours. By this point, whatever had happened with the kids and Tyrin had played itself out. Either my friends were dead or Tyrin was.

I bit my lip. "We risked more than our standing coming out here... if they lost out there?"

Jaden paused, looking down at the clock with me. "Well, we're heading back to them, whether they won or they're corpses."

Tears fell down my cheeks. "You sure there was nothing we could have done, that it was better to come out here?"

"Maybe?" he said with a sigh.

"We... we may never see any of them again. So, if that happened, if they're gone... what do we do now?"

Jaden squeezed his eyes shut. "Those stupid kids..." he whispered. "How did I let them all talk me into leaving? How did they talk me into being okay with not knowing?"

"Drive Jaden, we need to get back."

"Does it even matter how fast we go?"

"No... but we can't not find out."

I watched Jaden fold his hands and look up. "Please God, tell me you watched over them..."