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The tension around camp was growing worse by the hour. Rogue had explained to some of the others that he was going to rebel, and those who hadn't joined had hard feelings for the ones who had. Fights broke out between Raiders, and instead of breaking them up, most of the others encouraged them. Rogue tried to stop them, tried to convince them that they didn't need to fight yet, but no one listened.

Days passed.

Nitro and Puppet both worked together to create another robotic arm for Alyssa, and surprisingly, it worked pretty well. Alyssa's condition was getting better, the only positive side in all of this.

Tristam was more energetic than ever, but Echo couldn't decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Apparently, when She'd chained him to the wall at Haven, his body hadn't been able to hold Solar's control for long, and Tristam had slept well for the first time in years. That was good for him as a person, but as an insane enemy, it was wildly dangerous.

Thinking of Solar and Haven made Echo's thoughts drift back to Luna and Her. Was the AI dead inside Her body, or was it still alive, in Her or someone else? He knew he would probably never know the answer.

Echo spent many long hours by himself on the edge of camp or on a curb outside. He was almost always seen with his hand grasping his locket, determined to protect it this time. Once Alyssa had recovered from Haven, she spent those hours with him. Sometimes, they talked, but usually, they just sat in silence. Echo liked the silence. The noise of the Raiders was too much for him.

One morning, Puppet found them sitting outside the camp, down an empty street. He quickly ran up to them and pointed at Echo. He was breathing hard, as if he'd run a marathon, and had to pause to catch his breath before he spoke. Echo noticed that he had a gash on his cheek and was wearing that blue mask that covered the top half of his face. "Echo -" the Raider tried to say, but he had to wait another moment.

"Come on," Echo mumbled, helping his sister stand. She glanced back at Puppet, but didn't protest as they began to walk away.

"Wait!" he said, calling after them. "We need your help."

"Really?" Echo said sarcastically. "Did Tristam send you?"

"No, Rogue did. I know you're angry at us, though I'm not sure why, but please, you have to help this once."

"Why? What's going on?"

"Braken's out of control. He's got WRLD trapped in that room you were locked in, and they're fighting in there. The only one with the key is Tristam, and he doesn't care." Puppet's voice cracked slightly and he cleared his throat. "He was going to make Nitro kill him, but why pass up an opportunity like this?"

"Why do you need my help?" Echo asked, his voice cold.

"Because we can't get in. And because we're afraid." Puppet shifted his weight uncomfortably. "Something happened to Braken, and he gets into fights almost more than Noise does. You're his friend. You can stop him."

"You're afraid?" The Shifter laughed once, letting his voice be as sarcastic and taunting as it could. "I thought you weren't afraid of anything."

"I'm a coward, okay?" Puppet snapped. "You've seen me fight. I stay back all safe and sound while I control the enemy. I don't ever have to get physical. And Braken - He's become a nightmare. He'll pin you down, steal your jammer, and then force that horrible feeling of guilt and regret and loneliness down your throat, smiling while you sob and beg for mercy ..." He tensed up, his breath growing faster as he must've recalled a moment like that. "He's not the same anymore. You know him better than anyone. Please, stop him before he kills my friend."

"Why should I?"

Puppet almost staggered back at Echo's response. "Excuse me?" he said.

"Why should I help you, when none of you have done anything for me?" Echo nearly yelled. "All you want from me is my power. If my power transferred when I died, you'd all kill me in a heartbeat, wouldn't you?"

"I wouldn't," Puppet said softly. "I know how it feels to have a Gift so valuable, you're used on every mission, only accepted because of the power you possess. We're in the same boat. Neither of us asked for this. But I went back into Haven to save you, even though I knew they'd catch me again. I knew that man would find me, the man who gave me these strings." Puppet violently ripped the bandages away from his right arm, holding it out for Echo and Alyssa to see. His arm was covered in slashes and scars, on both sides of his arm, up his wrist, and covering his entire hand. Some were still bleeding. "They don't ever heal. I went back to the place that did this to me to save you, Echo. I could've left you in there, but I didn't. Please, I'm your friend. Help me out."

Echo glanced at Alyssa and then back at Puppet. "Fine," he finally growled. "I'll help just this once."

Relief washed over the Raider's face. "Thank you."

He just snorted and stormed back to camp, Alyssa following close behind. Sure enough, there was a crowd gathering around Tristam's tent, though the leader was nowhere to be found. If Echo listened hard, he could hear WRLD's screams of terror. He signed loudly. He'd have to jump in.

He readied himself, sighed again, and made the jump.

...

The room was dark and smelled of terror and blood. The air was stale and crushing, as if the door hadn't been open in weeks, months. Echo could hear WRLD whimpering somewhere, but couldn't see him. After a moment, he heard a muffled thud and a quiet yelp of pain.

"Shut up," Braken hissed, and the whimpering stopped. "Echo, what are you doing here? This isn't your fight."

"I know," Echo said. "What did he do to you?"

"Absolutely nothing. He's just like everyone else. He did nothing to help me, and everything to ignore me." Braken paused. "Tristam asked me to restrain him. He has plans for Nitro Fun later today."

Echo remembered both Tristam and Nitro's words. The leader was going to force Nitro to kill his best friend. Echo didn't understand why. That moment seemed so long ago. "Why?" he asked.

"Why are you so interested?"

"Just answer, please."

"Alright. WRLD's useless. More useless than Rogue, and Rogue doesn't even have a Gift."

"I'm not -" WRLD started to say, but another thump cut him off with a soft groan. His voice was shaking and strained, as if it caused him a great deal of pain to speak.

"No one is useless, Braken," Echo said.

Braken laughed. "Yes, some people are useless. Even you agree with it. Your thoughts say so. You even think WRLD's useless, just like me, just like Tristam, and just like the rest of camp." His voice hardened. "Now why are you here?"

"To help WRLD. He's my friend."

"No, he's not. No one is your friend. You're here because Puppet guilt tripped you into coming. He thinks we're still friends. He thinks you didn't whirl on me and stab me in the back the first chance you had."

"You betrayed me first! I was doing it to protect my sister! You were doing it to save your own pathetic little butt!"

Braken paused. "Did you just call me a little butt?" he asked in confusion.

WRLD laughed a little, but cut off with a soft cry.

"Why'd you do it if you loved Her?" Echo asked, playing his last card, the card that would either get him seriously hurt or save them both.

Braken suddenly slammed into him and they crashed to the ground. The breath was knocked out of Echo, and as he gasped for air, Braken pressed his knife against his neck. It was wet with blood - WRLD's blood. "Don't you ever talk about Her again!" Braken screamed, his voice cracking.

"Why did you give me up," Echo hissed, catching his breath, "when you were just going to run right back to Her?"

Braken pushed the knife harder, but didn't answer.

"Why, Braken? What's wrong with you?"

Just as Echo thought Braken was going to finally slit his throat, the other boy sighed and slumped over, loosening his grip. Echo kicked him over and sat up.

"I don't know," Braken finally said. "I don't know what came over me." He pulled the star from his pocket, the glow illuminating the regret on his face. Echo noticed the gashes down his arms where the barbed wire had cut him. "I guess ... I'd given up. I didn't care anymore. I knew She was going to rape me again, sooner or later, and there was no point in fighting it, not anymore. I gave in and gave up, and once I did, I started to play the part. I felt like ... like maybe She really did love me. She just had a funny way of showing it."

Echo listened silently, his fear growing worse. Braken was insane. No normal person had thoughts like this.

"And when we slept together, that night in the bed, that was the first time we'd ... casually slept, you know, and I felt ... different. Almost like ... like I belonged, or something."

"You woke up crying that you wanted to go home," Echo protested.

"And then She told me that Haven was my home. And I guess I started to believe Her." Braken turned the star over in his hand, his eyes sorrowful. Echo had ever seen so much pain in one person before, not this kind of pain, the pain he'd seen in him in Fij's tent, the first time he'd time he'd told him about Her, at Haven, when She dragged him away, and in this prison. "Home is where the heart is. She stole my heart a long time ago, ripped it up and tore me to pieces. I guess it's still there. I guess I do belong in Haven." He smiled a little and rubbed his scar. "Once I accepted that, well ... She was suddenly so warm, Her arms so gentle and kind. Her kiss was sweet like honey, and I never wanted to part with Her again."

His smile suddenly grew from regretful to morbid, and Echo shivered. He had a feeling that something terrible was going to happen, either to him or to WRLD, he didn't know.

"And then you came crashing in," Braken said, giving him that gap-toothed grin.

Echo started to back up, but Braken lunged for him and pinned him down on his back, holding his arms down to the side by his wrists. The more Echo fought Braken, the more he realized how strong the Raider actually was. He may have looked like a stick with arms and legs, but he was a strong stick nonetheless.

"Braken -" Echo tried to say, but something was happening to him. Braken was using that strange power on him. He could feel the mental pain, the emotional trauma that Braken had felt, the despair, the heartache, the terror. He didn't know what to do. He just squeezed his eyes shut and prayed for a miracle.

"No one can hear you," Braken hissed. "No one's out there to save you. There's no 'supreme being' or whatever stupid thing you believe in. Your little prayers are useless."

Echo didn't know he believed in something until he was accused. Then he was sure. He didn't know what he believed in, or how religion even worked, but there was definitely something there, and he definitely believed in it. "How do you know?" he managed to gasp out.

"How do I know -" Braken cut off laughing. He laughed for a long minute, cold and heartless, and Echo began to get angry.

"Well? How do you know?"

The Raider's fingers tightened around his wrists, his fingernails digging into him. "Weren't you listening? All those times I told you about Her, about Haven, about all the horror I've been through? Isn't that enough? How could something be out there and claim to love us, and yet let that happen to me?" His hard blue eyes seemed to stare right into Echo's soul as he lowered himself down until they were almost touching. Echo could feel the Raider's breath on his face. "I still remember the first time like it was yesterday. The chains that held me down like this, the way She slit my shirt off, up one way and down the other. I remember how Her hands held me tight as She yanked my pants off, how She kissed me before She took my shorts, the way Her hands played with my entire body before She began, how She pressed Herself against me, crushing me under Her weight. She pressed Her mouth against my neck like She was going to kiss me, but then She sunk Her teeth into me like some sort of monster, claiming it was some sort of sign of affection. I remember the pain, how much it hurt, and that no matter how hard I tried, my voice wouldn't come out. I could never tell Her how I felt. All I could do was lay there and cry, helpless as She claimed to love me, over and over."

"O-over -?" Echo gasped out, wincing as Braken snorted, almost in amusement.

"You think it only happened once?"

Echo's thoughts were interrupted by a loud thunk and a strangled cry of pain. The star's glow was just enough to illuminate WRLD, crumpled against the wall by the door. He was barely breathing.

Braken cursed under his breath, saying something horrible Echo never would have expected to come out of his mouth. The Raider pushed himself off of him and started over, but Echo climbed to his feet and grabbed his arm. "Don't touch -"

Braken whirled on him and slapped his hand away. "You just shut up. This is none of your business."

"You remember when they'd beat you half to death, don't you?" Echo said softly.

"I said, shut up."

"You remember how you felt?"

"Leave me alone, Echo."

"You're doing the exact same thing to WRLD."

"I said, shut up!" Braken's voice grew louder and more enraged. He tried to pull away, but Echo kept a firm grip on him.

"You know how he feels. You know how it feels to wonder first hand how people have the heart to beat someone senseless." Echo kept his voice calm and steady, contrasting Braken's outburst.

"Stop it!" Braken screamed, and the Shifter noticed tears falling down his face.

"They called you a freak, a filthy rat, a sorry excuse for a human being, and plenty more." Echo repeated what he'd heard Her say in the memory dream, trying to ignore the number of curse words he'd just said.

"Shut up!" the other wailed, his voice cracking again. Echo was breaking him. His plan was working.

"And yet, you're doing the same thing to WRLD," he said softly. "How could you do this?"

Braken's barrier shattered and he crumpled to the floor, sobbing into his hoodie sleeves. Before Echo could move to help WRLD, the door burst open and light flooded into the dark room. He squinted in the brightness, afraid it was Tristam coming to punish him, but instead, it was Rogue and Puppet.

Puppet went straight for WRLD, and Echo noticed just how bad he'd been injured. Braken had attacked him not just to restrain him, but to taunt him. The Raider had gashes up his arms, slashes up his wrists, and Echo could almost hear Braken taunting him, telling him he was useless, good for nothing. He could see the pain in WRLD's eyes, both emotional and physical. He had a massive bruise on the side of his face, already swollen and purple, his hair was a ruffled mess, some of it matted to his forehead with blood from a gash, and his left foot was twisted unnaturally, completely broken.

Braken had done this.

Echo looked down at the boy slumped on the floor in front of him, no longer crying. He had done this. Echo closed his eyes and clenched his fists, that same hate boiling up in his chest. He had done this. He had the ability to destroy someone.

"David!" Nitro screamed, shoving through the crowd of Raiders, pushing people out of the way. He grabbed his friend in a huge embrace, whispering softly to him. "What did he do to you?" he murmured. "How could he do this?"

"Echo!" Rogue called. "What happened?"

Echo stared right into his eyes. "I've lost all hope in you."