Song of the Chapter: The Mentalist - Mr FijiWiji (Dubstep)

I promise after this chapter there will be no more important characters introduced ...

BUT NO HAVE YOU SEEN 030?? IT'S BEAUTIFUL BUT FINALE MAKES ME WORRIED LIKE WHAT IF THERE'S NO MORE?? ANYONE?? ANYONE??

(Monstercat's POV)

"Don't go to the meeting place," Tristam calls from my communicator. "Ephixa's been caught. Find a place to hide and we'll meet up in a couple hours, once things have cooled down."

"I'm going to get him, then."

"No! I can't ... I can't lose you, too. This wasn't supposed to happen."

"That's why I have to go back. This mess was my idea." I turn around, grabbing some of the extra fireworks from my bag. "You guys will be fine on your own, right?"

"Of course," one half of the Pegboard Nerds says.

"We'll watch the kid," the other one says.

"I'm not - " Nitro begins, but the Nerds both smack their hands over his mouth so he can't speak.

"Don't wait for me. Go find somewhere to hide and I'll get back to you." Without waiting for a response, I turn and run down the streets, toward the meeting place. I'm silent and almost invisible in the night air.

Once I reach the point, I watch in a mix between anger and fear as an MI truck pulls away. Ephixa must be in there. I light two smoke flares and throw them on the street. The officers turn and yell in surprise, but recover quickly and ready their barriers. They have guns, I notice, but they're not using them, to my relief.

"I'm here to change the world!" I shout, the words a little muffled by my bandana.

I can hear them shouting orders, but I don't understand them. The smoke almost hides them from view, but it doesn't hide the person running toward us, his sword drawn.

"Rogue!" I yelp, suddenly afraid for my friend.

"Come back!" Noisestorm orders, somewhere behind him.

"They have Ephixa!" Rogue howls in despair. The MI officers shuffle nervously, as if they don't know how to deal with a crazy guy wielding a sword.

He takes a swing and the man he's aiming to hit brings his barrier shield up and gets lucky. The blade bounces off, leaving a decent sized dent, but other than that, doing no harm. Before Rogue can attack again, Noisestorm tackles him from the side and they crash to the ground.

"All three of you are under arrest by order of the MI," one of them demands.

"We have to get out of here," I mutter, frantically trying to think up a plan. My brain is empty. Or maybe it's full of this smoke that's now hiding the MI from view.

"This was supposed to be a no-one-gets-hurt mission," Noisestorm growls, trying his best to restrain Rogue.

"They are going to KILL HIM." Rogue shoves Noisestorm out of the way, only to charge the wrong direction and ram into a lamp post.

I try to draw the MI's attention away from the two artists by throwing more fireworks in the other direction, and it seems to be working. While I'm doing so, however, I notice something that almost makes my heart stop.

There's a dead man crumpled on the ground in front of me. He has a nasty bullet wound in his back. The only one who has a gun is Ephixa. He's the only one who could have done it. Rogue is right. Ephixa will be charged for murder. It's almost like ... I can feel my dreams shattering. I'd hoped that none of us would get hurt, but that's not how real life works.

Someone taps my shoulder and I spin around in panic. It's too hard to tell who it is through the smoke, but I don't think I recognize him. "I know a place," he says softly, and I can barely hear him. Without making sure I'm following, he silently vanishes into the smoke cloud.

"Come on, guys!" I call to the others. They catch up quickly, but the MI are still coming as well. "Follow me," I say, quieter. I don't know if I can trust this strange guy, but we're in trouble anyway.

Rogue falls over on top of me a second later. "Sorry," he mutters, rubbing his head and holding on to his helmet.

Noisestorm grabs his arm and yanks him to his feet. "I swear, if you can't do ONE THING RIGHT - "

"Stop it, you guys." I keep pushing forward, until finally, we've gotten out of the smoke. "The MI will catch up in a second if we don't keep going."

I can't see the one leading me. I keep running though, hoping I'll find a place and the three of us can stay low for a while.

Something grabs my arm while I'm running and pulls me into a tight alley. I yell embarrassingly in surprise. Well, I found him.

"I swear he just disappeared," Rogue says from outside, looking for me.

"You idiot. He's in there." Noisestorm shoves his way into the alley and then pauses. "It's pretty tight ... " he mutters.

"What, are you claustrophobic?" Rogue gives him a push and enters behind him. There's a pause before he says, "Alright, maybe I am, too."

"Just a little farther," the mystery leader says.

We squeeze out into a little opening between four buildings, the sides no wider than the guy is tall.

"Is this it?" Noisestorm grumbles.

"It's perfect." I pull my bandana down so it hangs around my neck. "They'll never think to check in here ... unless you guys keep yelling at each other."

"I was not - " Rogue complains, cutting off as I glare at him.

Finally, the two begin to calm down and I can look around. The leader guy is wearing dirty jeans and a spotless white sweatshirt. His hair is almost to his shoulders and his eyes are redish brown, almost freaking me out. He has a thoughtful expression; the look of a guy who doesn't miss much or say much about it. The area between the buildings has been swept clean except for one wall, where the dust has been pushed to the side. There's a pile of blankets in one corner and a small box table thing in another. Other than that, the area is empty.

"Do you live here?" I ask in concern.

The guy nods.

"Alone?"

He shakes his head.

"What's your name?"

Before he can answer, Noisestorm groans loudly, recognizing him. "Goldie? How are you still here?"

He shrugs.

"His name is Goldie?" I ask, confused.

"It's actually Au5," Rogue explains. "But we all call him Goldie because it's easier to say."

Au5, without speaking, tells us to sit down and get comfortable. We pass around a water bottle and finally try to relax. I can't stop thinking about Ephixa. He's gone now, taken by the MI.

Rogue can't seem to get his mind off our lost friend either. He sits down for two seconds and then gets up to spin a circle in frustration, muttering things under his breath. This must be one of his other wild personalities. Before we started, he was quiet and collected, and now he's angered and anxious.

We wait in an almost-silence for about ten minutes, and just as I'm readying myself to get up and leave, I hear two people up on the roof.

"I can walk by myself!" Phantom snaps, still out of sight.

There's a laugh that gives me chills. I don't think it's supposed to be creepy, but it definitely is. "Come on, kid."

Phantom shrieks and a moment later, he and another guy seem to fall from the sky. The stranger dumps Phantom on the ground, off his back, and straightens up, standing with a stance that suggests he is not one to be crossed. His jacket also sends a vibe - it looks like leather and has a pair of white angel wings patterned on the back. Everything about him is just
... creepy, but seemingly friendly.

"I see you picked up some strays as well, Au," he says, slinging a gun over his shoulder and gently setting it down.

"More artists," Au5 agrees.

"Excuse me, I am not a 'stray'," Phantom says hotly. "I have places to go and missions to complete, thank you very much."

"Thanks for letting us stay here," I add, trying to stay polite. "Even though it's cramped." It's getting a little crowded with the six of us.

"Almost any time," the new one says. "Nice to see you Rogue, Noise." They both nod curtly, as if all three of them don't get along but are trying to be nice.

"Aero," Noisestorm mutters. "Pleasure, I'm sure."

"Some revolution that was," Aero continues, turning to the box table and snagging a half destroyed box of crackers. "I could've done better, and I'm just one man." He eats a few, frowns at the taste, and tosses the box to Au5.

"You killed someone," Phantom snaps, obviously furious. "That's not what we're trying to do."

Aero shrugs. "Never said revolutions were harmless."

I'm disturbed by how casual his tone is. People should not be this comfortable with war.