A/N: As usual, I would recommend putting the video on loop.

"The signal ultimately depends on ... him." Ether sighed, not liking the idea. It was evident that no one else appreciated it either. "I won't wake her up until he demands it. Otherwise, there was no purpose in knocking her unconscious."

"Great," her father muttered, looking as though he would smash the nearby table into two, though; he most likely was hoping to crush Ether's head, but that wasn't exactly realistic. "Another thing we have to depend on him for." His (e/c) eyes locked sharply with Ether's. "First, I have to trust that he'll keep my wife and baby safe when you ram a truck into the building. Now, I have to have him ask you to wake my daughter back up." With his patience thinning, he rubbed the bridge of his nose and tapped his right foot against the floor. "What if he doesn't ask for that? What if he just wants her dead then and there?"

Before Ether could reply, (f/n) cut in, "He won't." Her father glanced over to her. "After everything, he won't. Ether's already told you that he wants an audience. If I'm out unconscious, he can't have the audience he wants." His daughter was disgusted by such a fact, but she knew that it was true, and it also would get her father to believe in Ether's plan a little more even if the whole thing sounded bizarre. Unfortunately, she couldn't come up with something better. "He'll want me to wake up."

Releasing a rough sigh, her father crossed his arms over his chest. "Fine, but I still hate this whole thing." Everyone in the room mentally thought welcome to the club. "But, what happens after my daughter wakes up?" His eyes narrowed at Ether, and Ether held his glare, but Ether, admittedly, was worried about that part the most.

"... I don't know." Almost, (d/n) rose out of the chair, but Deidre rested a hand on his right shoulder to calm him down. She shook her head lightly, and (f/n)'s father released another sigh. His fists clenched, but he remained seated. Ether resisted the urge to grin at the older male due to the circumstances, but even the thought of grinning quickly vanished from his mind as concern crept back in. "Once (f/n) is up, he'll probably begin the negotiation. It'll be something sick, and he'll still try to kill your wife and child regardless of whether it's fulfilled or not unless he has a change of heart, which I doubt."

Ether's left nails tapped against his right forearm. "I just don't know what he'll ask. It might have to deal with finishing off what he wanted last time. Or, he might change it to something else." Honestly, any of the possibilities running through his head involved his pink flower getting skewered one way or another, and it made him sick. Nearly, he stabbed his own arm at the thoughts, but he stopped himself just before he could.

"Do you want us to jump in, then?" Nick questioned, trying hard not to look over at (f/n) in concern. Then again, it was made easier by the fact that Deidre would be involved in the rescue plan too, and he refused to let her die under his watch. Ultimately, (f/n) had Ether's protection. Deidre only had him when it came down to it since (f/n)'s father would be focused entirely on his family.

Nodding, Ether replied, "Most likely. That's why if you two are by the hatch in the roof, you'll need it open a little. That way, you two can see to a degree when the other creature looks most vulnerable or when he looks ready to kill (f/n)'s mother and sibling." His very pale blue optics looked over to Chris before they traveled back to Nick and Deidre. "Both of you should be prepared to be severely injured or killed when you jump him. Chris attacked him from below; you'll be coming from above." Both Nick and Deidre felt their stomach curl into knots, but they tried to keep neutral facial expressions; however, Ether easily could tell that they feeling immense trepidation.

"It's very possible that one of you will be skewered by his left hand. That's why it's better to have two of you." Ether glanced between the two of them while (f/n) stared down to her lap. Her hands intertwined, and she wished that she could protest against the idea, but words fell silent on her tongue. "And, you need to jump at the same time. Any delay and he could kill both of you before you even reach him. If both of you jump simultaneously and in a slightly different direction, there's a higher chance that he'll miss one of you or only injure one of you somewhat."

"Then, one more of us should ..."

Immediately, Ether cut Chris off. "We already went over your part. Ren and you are taking the car elsewhere." Ren looked like he wanted to protest too, but he knew that Ether wouldn't budge, and Nick even agreed on that idea. Plus, he couldn't stomach having Chris or him go and leaving the other behind. "I hate being separated from my partner. You two probably are the same."

Chris looked up and over to Ren, who gave her a small smile. It was pained by the prospect that they were leaving two of their friends to their potential deaths, but, like (f/n), he couldn't say a word against it. It felt awful, but he couldn't lose Chris, especially after what had happened in the subway. A frown tugged on Chris's lips, and tears started to form, but she didn't argue anymore.

Nick and Ren both shared a glance, and Nick gave his younger friend a reassuring smile so that he wouldn't feel guilty about it. An appreciative smile was returned to the older male, and Nick diverted his attention back to Ether. "Once we've distracted him, will you strike?" Nick asked Ether, who nodded.

"I just need him separated from (f/n)'s mother and sibling so that I can dash forward and get to him before he gets back to them. While I'm dealing with him, all of you should bolt."

"Then, we do need the car!" Chris cut in, her determination to help further growing again. She got up to her feet, and when she wobbled a little, Ren instantly stabilized her. Chris gave her fiancée an appreciative smile before her expression hardened into a serious one. "Otherwise, just where will they run to? If you want them out of there quick, you need another car since the semi most likely will be useless."

Thinking it over, Ren mentioned, "We could travel some distance behind all of you and stop further down the road." Pulling out his phone and a map of the region, he double-checked himself. "The road to the factory isn't perfectly straight. If we stop on one of the curves and due to the trees in the area, we might be safe to sit there and wait." Before he handed the map over, he made sure that Chris was fine, and she nodded that she was. He gave the phone to Ether, who inspected it.

"Hmm, they must've changed the road a little. Either that or I didn't follow it exactly when I was younger." He furrowed his brows before he gave the phone back, and Ren returned to Chris's side. "That might work. There is a curve closer to the factory, and it should be far enough away that he won't pick up the sound of another car stopping. Running will still be quite a distance, but it's better than not having any car around." Liking it, he nodded. "Fine, you two can do that if you really want to help."

An uncertain gaze crossed over Nick's expression. "... I ..."

"We'll be fine, Nick. All of you will need to get out of there fast, especially if one or more of you need immediate medical attention." Ren briefly looked over to Ether before back to his friend. "Ether can handle him. None of us can."

"You're probably hoping that I'll die with him in the fight too." Hearing Ether's words, no one spoke. (F/n) hesitantly glanced over to him, and he giggled. "It's fine. I expected as much." He grinned to his pink flower. "You miss me, but if both he and I are dead, you're fine with that outcome too. Don't blame you. Anyway, I'll be staying back until he's dead, and I'll return to the funeral home when I'm done." His expression was completely serious, and he looked directly to (f/n). "Don't look behind; keep going."

"You're worried that you might actually lose," her father spoke, and Ether's head snapped over to him. Slightly, (d/n) tensed, but he didn't step down from his statement.

To everyone's surprise, Ether did nod, but it was extremely slow. "He's going to be beyond pissed. When he's like that, I don't know how strong he'll be. If I do feel like I'll be close to dying, I'll use one of your phones and call. You don't have to answer. Instead, you should focus on driving out of there as fast as you can." Roughly, he released a sigh, and he combed his left nails through his hair, almost drawing blood. "But, I'll be fighting at my full strength too, so I doubt that only I will die. It'll most likely be him or both of us."

"But, you're not sure." A frown was on (d/n)'s lips, but Ether simply nodded. (D/n) scoffed before he grumbled, "Then, it sounds like we've all agreed upon a plan." Collectively, everyone nodded. "When are we leaving?" His tone was gruff, but it was out of urgency to get to his wife and baby even if the plan still didn't seem like the best one. Then again, like his daughter, he couldn't offer a better one.

"Tomorrow." Ether looked to everyone. No one argued. "Tonight, all of you need rest." With those words, Nick and his team took it as their signal to leave the room before Ether got impatient. Chris and Deidre waved to (f/n) while Ren helped Chris walk and Nick forced himself not to look over to (f/n). The door closed behind them all soon after, and Ether's eyes landed on (d/n) as though he should've left with them.

Beating Ether to speaking, (f/n) remarked, "Ether, I want to talk to my dad about what happened. You can stay in the room, but let us just talk." He looked uncertain, but she held his gaze and didn't back down. Annoyed, he gave a sigh and signaled for her to get it over with before he changed his mind.