Mitch's POV

Watching in awe, Anastatia's hands glow with a sharp white light, making her cuffs burst free with a loud click. She rubs her wrists, wincing slightly. "Wait" Deadlox says, and everyone looks over at him. "You mean all this time we could of broken out...but we didn't?" he snaps. I look over suspiciously at Ridgedog, who shrugs, slight guilt in his eyes.

"We had a plan, but it failed. Now, Tia, Liam and the rest of Team Crafted and the Yogscast are at a massive risk." He shuffles slightly as Ryan leans on him for support. "Not to mention we are starving to death," he adds. "Can you actually die from that?" I muse. Ridgedog chuckles slightly, though it's weak and ends with a slight cough. "No, but we grow weak and thin, and we go into comas. We need all of our strength to fight. So I suggest we go to the kitchen's first, and find some cake or something." Deamon commands.

"You want to break out of a prison to steal some cake?" I clarify, staring at Deamon as if he were insane, which he probably was. "Aren't you hungry?" Ridgedog asks sarcastically, tilting his head and raising an eyebrow. On cue, my stomach growls loudly and we all grin, Robin giggling quietly.

"Sounds like a plan" Deadlox chuckles, and I nod vigorously. "Before we go busting out, we should plan some more" Deamon suggests. "Who put you in charge?" Ridge huffs, glowering at his best friend. "I did" Deamon replies smugly, before carrying on, cutting off whatever harsh remark Ridgedog had conjured up for him.

"Once we are out of these cuffs, us demigods and quartgods will be able to use our powers again, however, they will be weak and slow, so don't pester us-we need time to recharge." Deamon explains, talking directly to Deadlox and I. I shuffle uncomfortably under the immortal group's heavy gaze.

"Deamon, didn't you have your powers taken off you?" a young demigod called Ellis points out. Cue Deamon cursing loudly. "Excuse me, my children are here!" Ridgedog snaps. Deamon raises an eyebrow at him, before nuzzling Robin' cheek, who blushes lightly, putting colour in her pale face.

"You two better not be dating!" Ridgedog snarls, glaring heavily at them both. "Not yet" Robin murmurs, going pink, and Deamon grins. "I forbid it!" Ridgedog declares, his tired, cut hands balling up into weak fists. "You and who's army?" Deamon mutters into Robin's neck, who leans her head on him appreciatively. 

"As the ex king of Voxeltopia, I forbid you from dating my daughter!" Ridgedog counters. "As the ex general of Voxeltopia, and your ex deputy, I object!" Deamon retorts. Both men glare angrily at each other before being reduced to shaky laughter, Robin joining in, anxiously trying not to be put under her dad's notice. I glance over at Deadlox who shakes his head at me, sighing, and I roll my eyes.

"Boy's, please, we are trying to plot an escape plan here" Anastatia sighs, raising her eyebrow at me. I grin back-Ridgedog's sister was awesome! "My power's should come back soon" Deamon smiles at Ellis who nods thoughtfully. "So what happens after we have some cake?" Ryan mutters and Ridge chuckles. "We will go to Sepia's secret brewing room, and heal up with some potions, then we will go back to your mum" he smiles.

"Is she OK, dad?" Robin asks, leaning off Deamon. Ridgedog's smile fades and the icy tension returns. "I hope so" he sighs finally, looking first at Deamon, then to the television screens, the images still fixed on the Budder palace and the temple. Maybe, just maybe, we would get out in time and I could save Liam...

Oh Liam. My future partner. How I miss you...

Looking over at Ridge, he has the same troubled expression. We nod determinedly at each other-we would be reunited again soon, I was sure off it. 

Sky's POV

Stirring, I blink in the distorting white light, fighting for focus. All I remembered was sitting on the mildly wet grass and there was the sound of shattering glass nearby, followed by intoxicating aromas that made you lean automatically forward to inhale. Then everything went black.

"Wake up" a voice whispers. I was violently shaken and I frown. "Wake up!" a louder voice commands, and I recognize it as Tato's voice. My eyes flicker open and my gaze is met by a frightened Tato and a worried Liam. "Are you alright, Sky? Are you hurt?" Tato demands. "I...I'm fine" I slur, sitting up.

Around me, other people were stirring, and we all looked around in confusion for a moment. Liam scurried off to the tent, and I stumbled after him. "Tia? Where's Deamon?" Liam demands. "Got captured, I think. I don't really remember..." she frowns. I narrow my eyes suspiciously-she seemed too calm. "What happened?" I ask. "Mexxy came and said the usual rubbish, then I became unconscious again. I only just woke up..." she trails off, looking around in a daze. "What happened to you guys?" she asks.

"A sleeping potion happened" Xephos' voice snaps from behind me, and I turn round, watching the spaceman pacing around in frustration. His dwarven friend looking worriedly at his usually calm friend. "Xeph, calm down" Tia murmurs. "I don't even know why I'm involved!" he yells, startling us. "You are free to leave if you wish" Tia coughs, her eyelids beginning to drop as she fought her unconscious state.

"It's too late now!" Sips snaps from a distance. He storms off with Sjin, followed by a reluctant Duncan, and Xephos and Honeydew follow on. In the distance, Tato, Ryan and Ash turn around and walk back to the grassy clearing. "They don't want to be part of this. All of their friends are being taken and it's my fault" Tia whispers. I turn and sigh, patting her on the shoulder. "They will stay, you know they will" I say softly. Liam sits on his sister's bed and holds her hand. "We're here for you sis, no matter what" Liam smiles. Tia smiles vaguely back, before slipping under the darkness.

Tia's POV

Deal with the devil...that phrase kept echoing in my unconscious mind. I really was a devil spawn. Why did Ridgedog have to fall in love with me, out of the millions of people in this Earth? Why me? Thinking more, I knew I didn't regret it, and I never would. 

I finally become conscious. blinking lazily. Deamon had been taken. No one could be spared of a devil's trap. Mexxy had spun a web of traps, and the only way to win was to get to the middle. Somehow...we had to get to the middle of a sticky web to the spider itself. But how?

A spider only moves when the enemy has been caught.

That was the only solution. I too was a spider now. I was the only one who could make my way across the web to the middle. The only one to free my friend's and family. But in return, the sacrifice was myself. Become the spider's apprentice.

It was the only option.

Mexxy's POV

She was interesting, that was the only way I could put it. Clever, witty, sarcastic...I could do with someone like that. But that would involve giving up my toys, and I wanted to play some more games...

Time was all I needed now. Just like a chess game, the moves were being made. I thought Ridgedog was the king that needed to be captured, but it wasn't. Tia was the missing link that bound everyone together. Take her away, and they fail. I have everything I ever wanted if I have her. They would give me many things for her, and I would be on top.

Then again, she really would be a useful apprentice. She was a quick learner, and smart. And my daughter. I pause my train of thoughts to chuckle. It was still hard to wrap my head round the fact that she was my next of kin, my blood family, the next in line. 

What she had proposed was a simple request, yet there were endless possibilies of outcomes to consider. One, for instance, was that she would kill me. That would be simple enough. But Tia wasn't simple, and she wasn't ready to kill me yet. She would wait. Wait until she'd squeezed everything she needed out of me, before she put the gun to my head and I would say my goodbyes to the world. 

"Thinking?" Cisco murmurs, chewing on the end of his pencil as he sat across from me, watching me cautiously. "About Tia's request" I grunt, leaning forward to lift up the bottle of champagne, popping off the cork with ease and clinking it against the glass as I top it up, glugging it down quickly in one go, and wiping my lips with my hand. "Are you sure you can trust her?" he asks, frowning doubtfully.

"If she's anything like me, no. She can't be trusted at all, and she will pull something off when I least expect it, which is annoying." I sigh. "Yeah, you aren't one for surprises" Cisco admits, taking the bottle from my hand and filling up his own glass. "That's just it though. She might surprise me, and be a good apprentice. If she's interested in keeping her family and friend's safe she wouldn't pull something off like that..." I frown, eyebrows furrowing. It was hard to decipher, to deduce, to figure her out. Usually, I can read people like a book. But her...there was something about her...what was she hiding?

I slam my glass on the table forcefully, causing it to shatter, but I don't care. I shake my hand once, getting rid of the glass shards, before grabbing chunks of my hair hard, gripping them tightly. I grit my teeth, huffing out an angry breath. "What?" he asks, watching me casually-it wasn't unlike me to have fits of rage. "There's something I'm missing. Something she's...done, or said, or shown me, and I'm missing it. It's so frustrating..." I sigh in anguish, slamming my hands down on the leather chair hard.

"Sir! Sir!" a voice pants from outside of the door. It opens, and the furry bacca Jerome appears. "It's Ridgedog, sir! The prisoners have all escaped!" he pants.

Note: Bit of a short chapter...but...Happy Valentines day! I was going to do a Valentines special...but...I'll do it tommorow:3