There's a metallic taste that I can get out of my mouth as I sit in the neon lit cells of Nico's dungeon. It's probably been hours since the last round of neon therapy. The ghosts of it still linger around, except this time there's a new one—Peter. I know it's not my Peter, especially with everything he's saying.

"You're never gonna get out of here, you know." The neon Peter says, "Now that you're here, there's no way I'm risking myself to come back for you."

I shake my head and try to ignore his taunts. Peter would never say anything like that. He's not like this. It's just the neon. I keep repeating it to myself.

"Why do you keep fighting it? You and I both know it's so much easier if you just give up and let Nico win." Neon Peter tells me as he crouches down in front of my bunk. "He's going to win no matter what. Why put yourself through so much pain?"

"Because, I won't give up now or ever." I grit my teeth and push myself to my feet. "Nico has taken everything from me and caused me so much pain. I won't give in now."

My legs tremble as I push myself to my feet and step towards the bars. I've got to find a way out of here. The watchers finished their patrol, which means I have at least to the count of two hundred before they'll be back.

I do my best to make the door budge, but it's stays put. Not to mention, the keys are nowhere to be seen. "This isn't it. I'm not giving up."

"Well, that's good to hear. I was worried there for a second." A familiar voice calls, and my head immediately snaps up to the source—Peter. "You still wanna get out of here?"

"Is that even a question?" I smile up at him. "We've got to work fast though before the watchers come back on their rounds or to get me for more neon."

"Right." He replies as if he forgot for a moment that we're in this situation, "Do you know where the keys are?"

"No, I've been doped up on neon most of the time." I tell him as I look around for any shadow that resembles the shape of a key. But nothing. "If you can't find them, just go hide. I can pretend to still be enough out of it that they won't raise any alarms."

"There's no way I'm leaving you again."

"Peter, you have to. It's the only way we can both make it out of this alive." The sound of footsteps echo through the stones, and I feel my heart drop against the cold concrete floor. "We're out of time to argue. Go, please."

He hesitates with his hands on the bars covering mine. The pain is clearly reflected on his face as he has to back away and hides away. I offer him a small nod of encouragement in the hopes it will encourage him and myself.

My heart pounds in my chest as I lay down on my cot and pretend to still be under the hazy influence of the neon. The watchers talk in that strange hushed whisper that sounds like rocks crunching. It seems to swim around my head as they approach and mixes with the jingling of the keys as they unlock my cell.

Their fingertips are colder than ice as they lift me to my feet likely for another round of neon. I struggle against them, pretending to still be weak, but the moment we're free from the cell, I fight with every ounce of strength I have. Peter joins the fight and quickly puts them down faster.

I steal the watcher's jackets and toss one to Peter. "Put this on. We'll draw less suspicion if they see the watcher colors. Question is, how do we get out of here?"

"I don't know if we can make it back to the tunnels, but it's the best chance we have." Peter wraps an arm around my waist to help me stay upright. "The closest entrance is on the other side of the sector."

"Don't worry about me, I'll make it." I reassure him and walk with him as we sneak out of the dungeons and out into the wide, concrete expanse of Nico's domain. "Take a left turn up here, it's a shortcut. Just check the walls for watchers."

"How do you know all this stuff?" Peter whispers as we press against the wall as a pair of watchers pass. "Did you really do this much recon before you escaped?"

"In a way, yes. I always knew one day that I would I'd have to get out from Nico's thumb. It was a habit to pay attention to ever watcher patrol or snitch, but I made a habit of memorizing the patterns over the past two years." I tell him with a shrug as I we try to calmly walk through another open area. "We should be better off at this time of night. Nico's up in his tower and the rest of the population is locked away."

"At least it helped you get out once and again now?" He goes quiet for a moment, "But I promise, it gets better."

"Not to sound cheesy, but it already did." I tell him with a soft smile.

"You're right. That was quite cheesy." My blood runs cold at the sound of Nico's voice, and I barely get the chance to blink before ice cold hands pull me away from Peter. "So, this is the boy who's been sneaking in to see you? I'm so disappointed in you, Y/N. Did you not learn the last time that you'll never be able to run from me no matter what anyone tries to put inside that pretty little head of yours?"

"That's where you're wrong. We will get out of here." Peter argues, but a watcher quickly punches him in the stomach.

"Leave him alone." I scream at Nico. "It's me you've always wanted. So leave him alone and take me back."

"Y/N, don't."

"Let the girl speak for herself. Take him to the dungeon for now. We'll see if this bandito isn't so easily broken." Nico snaps and turns to me with a wicked grin as he holds my chin in his icy hands. "Now, pet, it's time for you to go back in your cage until I'm certain you've learned your lesson."

"But—I already have." I tell him and watch as his face morphs into confusion. "I've learned I'm strong enough to beat you." It brings me an odd sense of glee to see the realization slowly dawn on him as I slam my forehead into his nose and push through the pain and dizziness.

It's enough to distract the watchers for a split second to let me run after Peter. I shout for him as I launch onto a watcher's back. He twists and slams me up against a concrete wall, but I hang on tightly.

Luckily, Peter finishes knocking out his watcher and helps me take this one down. "I told you, I wasn't giving up—especially not this close." I tell Peter as I grab his hand and tug him along. "We have to move before they catch—"

The words die in my throat as we round a corner and a sharp pain hits my stomach. "Y/N!" Is about all I hear before the sound of my blood pounding drowns out everything else. My fingers come away sticky and stained in red as I pull them away from my stomach. "No, no, no. Keep pressure on it okay? I'm gonna get you out of here. I promise you're gonna be okay." Peter tells me and pushes my hand against my abdomen. "You're gonna be okay."

Everything gets fuzzy, but I keep enough of myself to feel Peter picking me up and a clamor following us. Then it all grows dark, whether from the injury or us making it to the tunnels, I don't know. I try to stay alert by focusing on the feeling of the watcher jacket we stole beneath my fingers as I cling to Peter and the excitement of eventually seeing Ned again.

Unfortunately as quickly as it all happened, it's gone.

I feel like I'm underwater, tumbling under the weight of sleep and waking up. A part of me is being tugged to the surface, enticed by the warmth I feel there, but the closer I get, the harder it is to break through and wake up. Until finally, I break through.

My immediate reaction is to panic until I remember everything that happened. I look around, half expecting to see the normal concrete walls of Nico's sector surrounding me. Instead, it's—well, I don't know what it is. I'm just now realizing that I've spent my whole life in DEMA, which is why I'm fairly certain I'm no longer there.

It's a struggle to push myself up to my feet and find the exit—after a bit of ridiculous searching. When I finally manage it, there's a large fire roaring and people all around. My heart pounds in my chest when I realize where I'm at.

I'm finally free.

"Peter?" I call and look for him to make sure he's okay too. When I finally see him, my knees nearly give way with relief. He rushes toward me with the widest smile and wraps me in a tight hug. "This is real, right? I'm not having some crazy, neon-fueled dream?"

"It's real. I promised you we'd get you out, and I wasn't going to go back on that promise."

"I can't—I just—I don't even know what to say. So can I just kiss you instead?" I ask Peter and barely wait for him to reply before kissing him. "I'm so happy—not just because I'm out of DEMA, but this, this makes me happier than I ever thought I could be."

"I can honestly say the same thing." He tells me with a smile that looks like it could split his face.

"Dude, I thought I asked you to save my sister, not fall in love with her." Ned's voice rings out, and I turn around to see him for the first time in over two years.

"Ned," I cry as we pull each other into the tightest hug.

"If it's any consolation, dude, I did. The other part just—happened." Peter says as his thumb brushes over my knuckles when I pull away from my hug with Ned. We both smile at each other. "Plus, she makes me happy."

"Does he make you happy, Y/NN?" Ned questions, and I immediately nod. "Then I totally approve of this relationship. I mean, my best friend and my sister? I couldn't be happier."

"Thanks, Ned." Peter and I both say, and all three of us take seats by the fire as we leave DEMA behind us for good and focus on the good in our lives.